Hi

In September I will be 50.

My E/D visa expires mid November.

1. Am I correct in saying I need to have 800,000 Baht on deposit in a Thai bank 2 months prior to my application (so mid September) ?

2. Will it be straightforward going from E/D Visa and will there be an additional fee to convert to a non O first?

3. Any recommendations on the type of bank account, ie one that satisfies immigration requirements and maybe pays a decent amount of interest? ( I have bank accounts with both Kasikorn and SCB)

Riki

Do you have a visa or extension of stay from immigration?

1. Correct Sixty days before date of application.

2. You do not do any conversion so their is no additional fees. You just change the reason for your extension from education to retirement if you are already on an extension of stay (it is not a visa). You should get a letter from school stating that you have finished your classes effective the date you plan on getting the extension based upon retirement.

3. As long as the account is liquid meaning you can take money out at any time (with penalties of course) it should not be any problem.

Edited June 30, 201313 yr by ubonjoe

Thanks fro the quick reply ubonjoe

I believe have an extension of stay.

My E/D visa was Stamped in August last year and every 90 days I have to get the extension. (1,900 Baht)

I can get 15 months out of it so takes me to November this year..

Edited June 30, 201313 yr by riki48

So you are getting 90 day extensions of stay.

There is no one year or 15 month limitation on how long you can get the extensions of stay for education.

You don't have to wait until November to change to the retirement extension. You can do it during the last 30 days of any of your 90 day extensions. And continue to study if you wanted to. You don't have to have a ED visa or extension of stay to study.

Edited June 30, 201313 yr by ubonjoe

I would make the money in account three months just to be sure myself as the rule is "first" extension application allows only the 60 days (and this is done to allow you to do on one 90 day visa entry) - if converting from another extension they could say this is not your first extension (even if it is for a different reason) and say you need 3 months in account - or perhaps end current extension and obtain a new visa entry to avoid it.