Hi there, apologies if this has been covered before and isn't news to some of you

A friend of mine was trying to get a non-imm O single entry (over 50, has the required funds for retirement extension in Thailand) and was basically sent out of the embassy in London with a flea in his ear, told to 'go away' and come back with the forms and documentation for an O-A full retirement visa.

He called the Consulate in Hull who were very helpful and told him they could supply him with a single entry non-imm O

They told him what evidence they needed (bank statements showing more than £1,400 for 3 months prior).

He was told they couldn't issue 'while-u-wait' as it had to be approved by the embassy in London first.

Fair enough, all duly sent off in the post.

He got a phone call today from the consulate apologising and explaining that they could not issue the visa, and that the only retirement option is the O-A as explained to him at the embassy.

The lady from the consulate did also explain that he could enter on a tourist visa and have that converted/extended in Bangkok.

So, it seems that single entry non-imm O visas, for the purposes of retirement, are no longer available in the UK.

No embassy will do a single entry visa. Are you sure Hull understood it was a single entry visa he wanted. Only multiple entry visas require embassy approval.

I suggest he contact one of the other consulates (Birmingham, Liverpool, or Cardiff).

As I previously posted my wife and I had to get an O-A visa each,No O visa for retirement purposes will be issued unless you are over 65 even single entry. Phone the Embassy in London for clarification first.

No embassy will do a single entry visa. Are you sure Hull understood it was a single entry visa he wanted. Only multiple entry visas require embassy approval.

I suggest he contact one of the other consulates (Birmingham, Liverpool, or Cardiff).

I am absolutely sure they understood.

He called them before sending everything to them. He said they were extremely helpful (unlike the Embassy) and told him he could indeed have a single entry visa.

He then sent them all his paperwork and his passport on Tuesday.

They called him this morning to apologise and told him to get a tourist visa, convert it to a non-imm in Bangkok, and extend from that.

They definitely understood what he wanted to do, and that he didn't want a multi-entry visa.

I was refused a multientry O and told to apply for retirement OA also

over 50 single had 20k sterling in current account = met the requirements

I had no time to make application for OA so settled for 3x tourist visa's

will be getting retirement visa soon in Thailand

I wasted a lot of effort and money meeting the requirements for M' type O and still refused, they can stick it somewhere