I have got an O-A (retiree) visa issued in may

I enter the gate late september

1)- am I allowed to stay until next may or one full year after I have come into the kingdom?

2)- for an extension of stay, will I ask for it before may (date of issue) or before september 2014 ?

Thank you for your kind replies

Single or multi entry O-A visa?

September 2013 will be an entry until September 2014 so with that single entry you would apply for extension in August/September 2014.

You can stay until September 2014

If you leave and re enter before the May 2014 expiry date you will get another 12 months until May 2015.

You actually applied far too early.

Only if he has multi entry could he get a new permitted to stay date with a new entry - which we do not know yet.

According to the Topic Title he has

Yes, a good lesson for others anyway.

If you are going for an O-A (if there is choice of single or multi) always choose multi.

Don't get your visa too far in advance of your planned initial arrival date in Thailand. If you do, you reduce the benefit of this visa.

Should have seen that - actually did read it twice and still missed as expected multi to be before the visa I guess. Checked posting and not sure if that country issued single or multi so why I asked. As said very important OP knows there is an option to get more time with any exit/return before visa expiration date.

Dears

I have got a multiple entry

Know I have asked for it very very early, but I was scared not to get it at time...

I understand That, entering september 30th, I will be allowed to stay until september 29 2014

But, willing to stay definitely thereafter, must I ask an "extension of stay" before

- september 2014 (one year after entering)

Or

- may 2014 ( validity of the original visa) ?

Thank you very much to everybody here

As I said if you leave the country and return May 2014 you will get another 12 months stay.

You have paid for a multi entry visa. Why not use it?

If you do not wish to do this you apply for a 12 month extension anytime September 2014

It would be Sept. 29 of 2014 if you did not make any further departures and re-entry into the country.

Prior to the enter before date of your visa you will get another one year permit to stay when you enter the country.

The validity date of your visa does not stop you from staying in the country longer than that date.

Thank you very much for these explanatoons

All is clear now

Best

Jean-louis

One last question: when applying for an extension of stay, must I go to bangkok or may I apply at the Hua Hin immigration where I will be living?

Hua Hin is where you will need to do it.

Hua Hin is also where you'll need to report your address every 90 days you're in Thailand, with your entry date in late September counting as Day 1 for this purpose.

If you are over 50 with no other issues, what is the primary advantage of getting an O vs OA prior to landing in Thailand?

If you are over 50 with no other issues, what is the primary advantage of getting an O vs OA prior to landing in Thailand?

I gather that you don't need a police check or medical certificate for an O, whereas you do for an OA. Other than that, precious little advantage, I would have thought, particularly now that consulates are seemingly no longer issuing O visas according to the thread at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/653264-consulates-no-longer-issuing-non-imm-o-visas/page-2 (they never issued OA visas in the first place).

For the O-A if using a bank method you can show money in your home country and get started that way. For retirement extensions when starting with an O, the banked money must be in Thailand and also seasoned if using the 800K method. Of course those starting with an O-A they will eventually be in the Thai system, qualifying for extensions the exact same way as all retirees. With the O-A multi-entry you get the "special bonus" of being able to stretch it for approximately two years by using it properly, as described in this thread.

Edited July 28, 201312 yr by Jingthing

I have the minimum money in a Bangkok bank acct now. It's in my wife and my name as we opened the account on a 30 day visit 2 years ago. Seems that the drawback is the requirement for police and health verification as listed in the DC Consulate link below that I go to. No problems with either other than the cost of getting a doctor to sign off might be ridiculous as they practice defensive medicine in the US and, with friends in all specialties, might soak you for every test available.

http://dc.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

I have the minimum money in a Bangkok bank acct now. It's in my wife and my name as we opened the account on a 30 day visit 2 years ago. Seems that the drawback is the requirement for police and health verification as listed in the DC Consulate link below that I go to. No problems with either other than the cost of getting a doctor to sign off might be ridiculous as they practice defensive medicine in the US and, with friends in all specialties, might soak you for every test available.

http://dc.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

For the bank account methods in Thailand (800K or combo) for retirement extensions, the Thai bank accounts must be in your OWN name only. If using that Thai account to qualify for an O-A in D.C., that would be up to the embassy or consulate whether to accept a joint named account. I don't recall that issue coming up before for the O-A.

You are correct, for some U.S. people the doctor form can be expensive if you don't have a good relationship with a doctor and they insist on being literal and performing all the clinical tests implied by the questions.

Edited July 28, 201312 yr by Jingthing

I have the minimum money in a Bangkok bank acct now. It's in my wife and my name as we opened the account on a 30 day visit 2 years ago. Seems that the drawback is the requirement for police and health verification as listed in the DC Consulate link below that I go to. No problems with either other than the cost of getting a doctor to sign off might be ridiculous as they practice defensive medicine in the US and, with friends in all specialties, might soak you for every test available.

http://dc.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

For the bank account methods in Thailand (800K or combo) for retirement extensions, the Thai bank accounts must be in your OWN name only. If using that Thai account to qualify for an O-A in D.C., that would be up to the embassy or consulate whether to accept an joint named account. I don't recall that issue coming up before for the O-A.

I figure I would open a new account in my name shortly after arrival and transfer funds from the existing acct if needed. Sounds like the criminal/health verification might be the drawback versus O

I figure I would open a new account in my name shortly after arrival and transfer funds from the existing acct if needed. Sounds like the criminal/health verification might be the drawback versus O

I misunderstood you. You can show money in the USA to qualify for the O-A visa in the U.S. (or show pension income, etc.).

Edited July 28, 201312 yr by Jingthing

I figure I would open a new account in my name shortly after arrival and transfer funds from the existing acct if needed. Sounds like the criminal/health verification might be the drawback versus O

I misunderstood you. You can show money in the USA to qualify for the O-A visa in the U.S. (or show pension income, etc.).

Thanks JT. Even the co-pays and non covered charges here in this mess of a health system will be far greater than additional application fees later in Thailand.

A side question...Who do you use as a virtual address currently and are you satisfied?

... the cost of getting a doctor to sign off might be ridiculous as they practice defensive medicine in the US and, with friends in all specialties, might soak you for every test available.

You are correct, for some U.S. people the doctor form can be expensive if you don't have a good relationship with a doctor and they insist on being literal and performing all the clinical tests implied by the questions.

In complete contrast, my UK doctor merely signed the scruffy certificate I'd downloaded from the London Embassy website solely on the basis of a cursory glance in my direction! That said, that was 5 years ago, so things may well be different now.

I figure I would open a new account in my name shortly after arrival and transfer funds from the existing acct if needed. Sounds like the criminal/health verification might be the drawback versus O

Another possible drawback in the case of the O-A is the requirement (in the UK at least) for all application docs to be notarised, which proved to be the most expensive and time-consuming part of my application. AFAIK O applications don't require notarisation.

If you are over 50 with no other issues, what is the primary advantage of getting an O vs OA prior to landing in Thailand?

I gather that you don't need a police check or medical certificate for an O, whereas you do for an OA. Other than that, precious little advantage, I would have thought, particularly now that consulates are seemingly no longer issuing O visas according to the thread at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/653264-consulates-no-longer-issuing-non-imm-o-visas/page-2 (they never issued OA visas in the first place).

Thus far that has only been reported for two honorary consulates in the UK and was for multiple entry visas only.

You need to read the entire topic.

I have the minimum money in a Bangkok bank acct now. It's in my wife and my name as we opened the account on a 30 day visit 2 years ago. Seems that the drawback is the requirement for police and health verification as listed in the DC Consulate link below that I go to. No problems with either other than the cost of getting a doctor to sign off might be ridiculous as they practice defensive medicine in the US and, with friends in all specialties, might soak you for every test available.

http://dc.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

Unless your wife can qualify on her own for a OA visa you should not go the OA visa route.

Your wife will only get a multiple entry visa meaning she will have to make border runs every 90 days, Immigration does not have authority to issue dependent extensions for OA visa entries.

I suggest you both get single entry non-o visas from an honorary consulate. Then as soon as you arrive move the money into an account in your name only and get the extension of stay as soon as you have it in the bank for 60 days. Your wife can then apply for the dependent extension as soon as yours is done.

I have the minimum money in a Bangkok bank acct now. It's in my wife and my name as we opened the account on a 30 day visit 2 years ago. Seems that the drawback is the requirement for police and health verification as listed in the DC Consulate link below that I go to. No problems with either other than the cost of getting a doctor to sign off might be ridiculous as they practice defensive medicine in the US and, with friends in all specialties, might soak you for every test available.

http://dc.thaiembdc.org/consular/visa/Non-Imglong.aspx

Unless your wife can qualify on her own for a OA visa you should not go the OA visa route.

Your wife will only get a multiple entry visa meaning she will have to make border runs every 90 days, Immigration does not have authority to issue dependent extensions for OA visa entries.

I suggest you both get single entry non-o visas from an honorary consulate. Then as soon as you arrive move the money into an account in your name only and get the extension of stay as soon as you have it in the bank for 60 days. Your wife can then apply for the dependent extension as soon as yours is done.

Thank you. My wife is Thai....with dual US citizenship, so she should be good to go. I am thinking that going the O route initially presents the least hassle. Arrive and set up account, etc and do the extension in the last 30 days