Convert Tourist to Retirement Visa?

[KimoMax]

In Chiang Mai, Is it possible to convert a multiple entry Tourist Visa to a Retirement Visa.

I know a Medical certificate and Confirmation of Monies by Bank or Embassy Letter is required and additionally possibly a Residence Letter.

[ubonjoe]

You do not need a medical certificate.

You will need a letter from the bank confirming the balance of 800k and one confirming the funds came from abroad. Or a income letter.

You will need proof of address. A rental contract or in some cases a receipt for where you are staying. A residence certificate would not be needed.

You need a completed TM86 change of visa status form and copies of your passport photo page, visa, entry/permit to stay stamp and TM6 departure card.

You must also have 15 days remaining on your visa entry.

[KimoMax]

Thank you ubonjoe.
Sounds as tho all I need is the Embassy Income verification which I can obtain and quality for, and a tm86 to go with the tm6

I am crossing the boarder in a couple of days to start my 2nd entry of a includd wih their house book per se'multipe entry Tourist Visa. So will have nearly 60 days remaining on that stay.

I do have a signed copy of my rental contract with their per se' house book copy.

Edited February 10, 2014 by KimoMax

[ubonjoe]

Rental contract with signed copies of landlords house book and ID card.

Download Application for Change of Visa (TM.86)

The TM6 is your departure card you got when entered the country.

[tomdfc]

We are in the same position as KimoMax in wanting to get from a multiple entry Tourist Visa to a Retirement Visa. (Though maybe our circumstances are not exactly the same - we are both British, aged 60 & 59, have lived in Thailand for 7/8 years, have a 30 year lease on a property, have +800k each.)

A couple of clarifications, please, before we revisit Chiang Mai Immigration -

The downloaded TM 86 says "I wish to apply for a non-immigrant visa". It doesn't mention a retirement visa - which is in the title of this thread.

Also, we did speak to the officials at Immigration a few weeks back and we were told by one of the front desk ladies that we had a two-step process to undertake - first, a non-Immigrant O, second, a Retirement visa. To get the Non-Imm O we were told we would have to leave the country, and come back in with the Non-O visa stamps. The TM86 would seem to offer a simpler solution - if it's acceptable.

Thanks in advance.

[moe666]

No reason why you should not be able to convert at immigration, you will get the non-o first and then about 30 days before it expires you apply for a extension of stay on your non-o the extension will be for retirement. With the extension of stay you will no longer be on a visa as it will expire. You will have to do the money verification twice once for the non-o and again for the extension of stay. It may not seem important but the verbiage is important, it is a extension of stay not a retirement visa

[ubonjoe]

We are in the same position as KimoMax in wanting to get from a multiple entry Tourist Visa to a Retirement Visa. (Though maybe our circumstances are not exactly the same - we are both British, aged 60 & 59, have lived in Thailand for 7/8 years, have a 30 year lease on a property, have +800k each.)

A couple of clarifications, please, before we revisit Chiang Mai Immigration -

The downloaded TM 86 says "I wish to apply for a non-immigrant visa". It doesn't mention a retirement visa - which is in the title of this thread.

Also, we did speak to the officials at Immigration a few weeks back and we were told by one of the front desk ladies that we had a two-step process to undertake - first, a non-Immigrant O, second, a Retirement visa. To get the Non-Imm O we were told we would have to leave the country, and come back in with the Non-O visa stamps. The TM86 would seem to offer a simpler solution - if it's acceptable.

Thanks in advance.

In reality a retirement visa does not exist. It is misnomer for a non immigrant O/OA visa or an extension of stay based upon retirement.

When you do a change of visa status you are applying for a non immigrant visa with no category such as O, B and etc.based upon qualifying for some type of extension of stay which in your case is retirement. That is why you have to show the money in the bank and etc to prove you qualify.

It is a 2 step process first the visa and then the extension during the last 30 days of the 90 day entry you will get from the visa application.

When you asked about getting a non-o visa immigration gave you the correct answer because they do not do non-o visas which I think my previous sentences have explained.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Did the op manage to make the conversion from tourist visa to o visa in chiang mai? I heard that chiang mai immigration won't do this and advise that it can only be done in bangkok? Does anyone have any uptodate information.

[ubonjoe]

Did the op manage to make the conversion from tourist visa to o visa in chiang mai? I heard that chiang mai immigration won't do this and advise that it can only be done in bangkok? Does anyone have any uptodate information.

They will do them based upon getting a retirement extension. But not for an extension based upon marriage.

[GinBoy2]

Dunno about most of you, but Thai immigration information is confusing, and depending on where you live the offices all seem to operate in their own 'special' way. My understanding based on my own experiences (disclaimer, previous performance does not guarantee future results)

1. As unbonjoe stated, there really is no such thing as a retirement visa, just an extension of stay which gets stamped in your passport with the word retirement emblazoned in red.

2. I don't believe you can apply for an extension based on a tourist visa, you need some kind of O-A. In my case I held a non-Imm Business visa

3. O-A's cant be issued from within Thailand, that has to happen outside the Kingdom

4. If you have the O-A and apply for an extension in Thailand you don't need the health or police reports, just income statements. You will need to take your passbook, plus a letter form the bank. My bank, SCB had a ready made form for immigration purposes

Hope that helps, or at least re-enforces what others have said

[Jingthing]

You do not ever NEED an O-A! Yes you can convert a tourist visa to an O at CM and with that apply for your annual extension.

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[ubonjoe]

Dunno about most of you, but Thai immigration information is confusing, and depending on where you live the offices all seem to operate in their own 'special' way. My understanding based on my own experiences (disclaimer, previous performance does not guarantee future results)

1. As unbonjoe stated, there really is no such thing as a retirement visa, just an extension of stay which gets stamped in your passport with the word retirement emblazoned in red.

2. I don't believe you can apply for an extension based on a tourist visa, you need some kind of O-A. In my case I held a non-Imm Business visa

3. O-A's cant be issued from within Thailand, that has to happen outside the Kingdom

4. If you have the O-A and apply for an extension in Thailand you don't need the health or police reports, just income statements. You will need to take your passbook, plus a letter form the bank. My bank, SCB had a ready made form for immigration purposes

Hope that helps, or at least re-enforces what others have said

2. All you need is a non immigrant visa to do an extension of stay not OA. At some immigration office you can do a conversion from a tourist visa or visa exempt entry to a non immigrant visa entry by showing you qualify for an extension of stay.

3/4. OA long stay visas can only be issued in your home country. You are confusing OA with non immigrant visas.

[GinBoy2]

You are of course correct, thanks for clarifying. Clearly my 'retirement' stamp needs overprinting with 'old & befuddled'

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[axle chassis]

The other option is to get a 90day medical extension with a letter from a doctor, and get the one year oa visa from there.

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Edited February 20, 2014 by axle chassis

[Jingthing]

The other option is to get a 90day medical extension with a letter from a doctor, and get the one year oa visa from there.

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O-A visas are NEVER available in Thailand.

[axle chassis]

The other option is to get a 90day medical extension with a letter from a doctor, and get the one year oa visa from there.

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O-A visas are NEVER available in Thailand.

Sorry but my understanding and experience differ. The one year oa visa is ONLY issued in country. There are several ways of going about it.

The medical extension is one, You can apply for an oa straight off a 30 day tourist visa with the correct documents. If you get jammed up somehow the medical extension is an easy bail out. Another way is apply for a non-imm o visa in Penang or wherever and then apply for the oa.

I think the only exception is if you apply for an oa at the thai embassy in your home country they issue a one year visa.

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Edited February 20, 2014 by axle chassis

[Jingthing]

The other option is to get a 90day medical extension with a letter from a doctor, and get the one year oa visa from there.

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O-A visas are NEVER available in Thailand.

Sorry but my understanding and experience differ. The one year oa visa is ONLY issued in country. There are several ways of going about it.
The medical extension is one, You can apply for an oa straight off a 30 day tourist visa with the correct documents. If you get jammed up somehow the medical extension is an easy bail out. Another way is apply for a non-imm o visa in Penang or wherever and then apply for the oa.
I think the only exception is if you apply for an oa at the thai embassy in your home country they issue a one year visa.

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No, you are definitely incorrect.

O-A visas, repeating again, are NEVER available in Thailand.

O-A visas are ONLY available from home countries (or in rare exceptions, permanent residences of third countries).

You are talking about O visas (done as conversions from tourist visas or 30 day stamps as the the first step towards an annual extension based on retirement, and annual extensions based on retirement), NOT O-A visas. Yes, those (conversions to an O not to an O-A and annual extensions which are also not O-A visas) are done IN Thailand.

Be clear, O-A visas are a VERY SPECIFIC thing and very specifically you cannot get one in Thailand. Never. Ever.

There is no reason to be sorry about not understanding about O-A visas, but on the other hand, there is no reason to repeatedly post the same wrong information once you have been definitively corrected.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

No, you are definitely incorrect.

O-A visas, repeating again, are NEVER available in Thailand.

O-A visas are ONLY available from home countries (or in rare exceptions, permanent residences of third countries).

You are talking about O visas (done as conversions from tourist visas or 30 day stamps as the the first step towards an annual extension based on retirement, and annual extensions based on retirement), NOT O-A visas. Yes, those (conversions to an O and annual extensions) are done IN Thailand.

Be clear, O-A visas are a VERY SPECIFIC thing and very specifically you cannot get one in Thailand. Never. Ever.

Sorry but you are just wrong I have on numerous occassion been issued oa visa in country. I have been here 10 and find this kind disinformation disturbing.

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This is ridiculous now. Your error has been corrected. Suggest you accept the truth of that. What you think you have done is actually impossible and you can bet the house on that.

I don't know what your passport looks like but yet again you CAN convert from a 30 day stamp or tourist visa to an O visa in Thailand and then apply for an annual extension based on retirement in Thailand (again and again). Neither of those things are O-A visas which can never be be obtained in Thailand.

I am sorry you are disturbed but you have not been getting O-A visas in Thailand. Period.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

My facts are straight. You are correct to say that disinformation is not helpful here which is why I have patiently corrected you. You have been getting ANNUAL EXTENSIONS BASED ON RETIREMENT in Thailand. Many people incorrectly call those retirement visas (which they are not). They are most certainly not O-A visas, which again are only available from HOME countries, NEVER in Thailand. I think this is more than enough now.

It is important for people to know that annual retirement extensions are NOT O-A visas. This is because O-A visas (never done in Thailand) are very specific things with DIFFERENT features and application requirement details than annual extensions done IN THAILAND.

Actually, I think I can now PROVE, even to you, that you have not been getting O-A visas in Thailand. Open your passport and look at your RETIREMENT EXTENSIONS. Do you see anything on those stamps saying O-A visa? I thought not.

THIS is what an actual O-A visa looks like. Note it was obtained in Sydney. That's in Australia, not Thailand, mate:

Edited February 20, 2014 by Jingthing

[axle chassis]

So explain to me what an oa visa is?

I have always been of the understanding the oa visa is a one year retirement visa.

What kind of visa are you talking about?

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[Jingthing]

So explain to me what an oa visa is?

I have always been of the understanding the oa visa is a one year retirement visa.

What kind of visa are you talking about?

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It's a Retirement / Long Stay visa.

It is only available from home countries.

It is good for a one year stay.

It can be obtained using showing money outside of Thailand totally unlike an in-Thailand retirement extension.

Age requirement is also 50.

When it's a MULTIPLE ENTRY, it can be stretched to about two years stay in Thailand without any need for an extension application in Thailand, by exiting and reentering Thailand before the validity of the original visa expires. This feature is totally unlike annual extensions obtained in Thailand.

Actual long term retirees generally enter the EXTENSION system in Thailand after using up their INITIAL O-A (about two years if played well).

Starting with an O-A is NEVER required; only an option.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Jingthing

[axle chassis]

So explain to me what an oa visa is?

I have always been of the understanding the oa visa is a one year retirement visa.

What kind of visa are you talking about?

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It's a Long Stay visa.

It is only available from home countries.

It is good for a one year stay.

It can be obtained using showing money outside of Thailand totally unlike an in-Thailand retirement extension

When it's a MULTIPLE ENTRY, it can be stretch to about two years stay in Thailand without any need for an extension application in Thailand, by exiting and reentering Thailand before the validity of the original visa expires.

So there is no age requirement for this oa visa? Is is not in actuality the same retirement visa I am talking about!

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Edited February 20, 2014 by axle chassis

[Jingthing]

So explain to me what an oa visa is?

I have always been of the understanding the oa visa is a one year retirement visa.

What kind of visa are you talking about?

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It's a Long Stay visa.

It is only available from home countries.

It is good for a one year stay.

It can be obtained using showing money outside of Thailand totally unlike an in-Thailand retirement extension

When it's a MULTIPLE ENTRY, it can be stretch to about two years stay in Thailand without any need for an extension application in Thailand, by exiting and reentering Thailand before the validity of the original visa expires.

So there is no age requirement for this oa visa? Is is not in actuality the same retirement I am talking about!

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The age requirement is 50 as I has already added for both O-A visas and retirement extensions.

Again, sir, you have been getting annual extensions based on retirement in Thailand.

You had to start that with SOME kind of O visa, not necessarily an O-A visa.

You can indeed get continuous extensions for life.

O-A visas are only available from home countries, never in Thailand.

This isn't that complicated now. You think your retirement extensions are retirement visas which you also think are O-A visas. But they're retirement extensions. It's probably benign to think they are retirement visas, but you can really confuse people to suggest O-A visas are done in Thailand, which they are not. People considering retirement in Thailand NEED TO DECIDE whether or not to ever bother with starting with an O-A visa so they need to know what it is, and what it isn't.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Jingthing

[olddoc]

Jingthing has already explained in detail.

An O/A visa CANNOT be obtained in Thailand. Such a visa can only be obtained in ones home country with proof of adequate finance and satisfactory medical and criminal record checks.

It would appear you have been receiving extensions of stay .

Check in the passport -----look at the stamps -------is there any mention of O/A visa ?

Is there in fact any mention of "visa "

Perhaps you could do us all a favour ------

Please scan and post the last O/A or any visa obtained in Thailand .

We are all willing to learn

[Tywais]

I have removed several argumentative and inaccurate/misleading posts and their replies. Continuing to do so will result in a warning or posting suspension.

Once more, an O-A can only be issued in your home country. Anything after that done in country is a one year extension of permission to stay based on retirement. It is not a new O-A visa.

[axle chassis]

I have removed several argumentative and inaccurate/misleading posts and their replies.

Once more, an O-A can only be issued in your home country. Anything after that done in country is a one year extension of permission to stay based on retirement. It is not a new O-A visa.

That's fine it was getting messy in here.

But now that we are clear in our terminology, it should be also made clear that a one year visa based on retirement can be obtained in country off a tourist visa or a medical extension, I wont call it an OA visa but it clearly says retirement and was issued here, I probably never have had an oa visa seeing how I've never applied for one in my home country.

But the bottom line is that the requirements are then same.

If there is a difference between the one year oa retirement visa issued outside Thailand and the one year retirement visa issued inside Thailand I would really like to know what it is.

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[Jingthing]

O-A visa (multiple entry)

Allows about a two year stay in Thailand if played well (strategic exit and reentry)

Does not require reentry permits obtained in Thailand to leave Thailand.

Gets a NEW one year stay on each entry as long as the ORIGINAL one year visa is valid.

Is applied for in home country (sometimes non-Thailand permanent residence country) ONLY.

You can use funds OUTSIDE Thailand to qualify.

Medical form and police form required for application.

The original O-A visa once it's played out works as any O visa to be qualified for annual extension applications in Thailand (can continue for life).

It's called an O-A visa. Nothing else is.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Retirement extensions IN Thailand (these are NOT retirement visas even though many people continue to call them that)

Allows exactly ONE year stay.

Requires reentry permits to keep alive if leaving Thailand.

Each new entry only gets till the end of the current permission to stay, NEVER a new additional year on reentry.

If using bank funds to qualify, funds must be in a THAI bank account.

Medical form and police form NOT required for application.

In order to be qualified to apply for a retirement extension in Thailand, you need to START with some kind of O visa. It could be an O-A (played out and originally obtained in home country), an O visa from any country, or a conversion from a 30 day stamp or tourist visa CONVERTED to an O at a Thai immigration office). Once you have your first extension, you can do the same for life, every year, no new O visa needed.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Both have age 50 requirements and similar financial level requirements.

Once people START in the retirement extension system in Thailand, it is IRRELEVANT what kind of O visa that they started with. In other words, starting with an O-A visa wouldn't mean have any greater or lesser status in the long run, but it would be a DIFFERENT thing as long as using the initial O-A visa.

---------------------------

O-A visa and retirement extensions --

Not the same.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Jingthing

[axle chassis]

Thank you, I was not aware of all those distinctions, now I know why when my brother moved here he was stamped in for 20 months.

I would only add that US citizens can use an income affidavit for income verification, from the US embassy or one of thier many outreach programs. And that you can get an retirement extention from a tourist visa, an o visa or a medical extension. Without having to travel back to your home country. Also lately in Phuket anyway has been asking for a photocopy of your atm card.

As the saying there is more than one way to skin a cat

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Edited February 20, 2014 by axle chassis

[Jingthing]

I have no idea about getting stamped in for 20 months. As I said, with a multiple O-A you get a NEW one year (NOT 20 months) for each entry during the original VALIDITY period of the O-A visa. When that's fully played out, you can then apply for retirement extensions in Thailand like anyone else who started with any O visa.

Yes one can convert from a 30 day stamp or tourist visa to an O visa IN Thailand as the first step in the two step process with the annual retirement extension being the second step.

O visas (single entry, these are NOT O-As) can also be obtained in Laos or Malaysia just for being age 50 or over and stating an intention to apply for a retirement extension in Thailand.

So yes no need to go to your home country, and no need to EVER have had an O-A visa.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Jingthing

[axle chassis]

Righto anyway the bottom line it is basically the same visa based on retirement, as I recall my brother was given misleading information that he had to return to the USA to get his retirement visa. He is older and I subsequently figured out when it came to be my time to turn 50 I just had to got to KL and get an o visa., I had a B visa at the time. Apparently they weren't converting b visas to o visas. And once I cancelled my work permit I had a whole week to get outa the country.

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