Non Immigrant Type "o"

[mrjohn]

I am a 55 year old British citizen currently in Thailand on my second type O non-immigrant visa both of which were issued in the UK. It is due to expire in Oct. Last year I went back to England and obtained a new one but do not wish to do so this year.

My preferred option would be to renew the visa here in Thailand. Is this possible? If so how?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

I am a 55 year old British citizen currently in Thailand on my second type O non-immigrant visa both of which were issued in the UK. It is due to expire in Oct. Last year I went back to England and obtained a new one but do not wish to do so this year.

My preferred option would be to renew the visa here in Thailand. Is this possible? If so how?

Open a bank account in Thailand with 800,000 baht, do a very simple medical, go to Immigration with the medical certificate, a letter from your bank evidencing your bank balance, you can extend your present visa for a year. Same procedure for ensuing years.

[mrjohn]

Ok So what is the cheapest and easiest method to transfer funds from Uk to Thailand and back again? I am assuming that once the visa is issued the money can be sent back to my Uk bank.

[lopburi3]

Wire transfer. But if you expect to do the same thing the next year you may have a few questions to answer about how you managed to live here with no money for 12 months. The money you show is supposed to be used to support you and topped up each year when you use the bank deposit method. How serious the officer would become would probably be dependent on him and you but I know I would not plan on here today; gone tomorrow movements.

[mrjohn]

The only reason I would transfer the money back to the UK is that my UK bank pays interest whereas, as I understand it, we farang cannot earn interest in a Thai bank account. Is this correct?

Two other points: Do I have to do this before my current visa expires which is therefore a genuine renewal? or is the visa a new application altogether?

I forgot to mention that I have an income of about 500,000 Bht from property in the UK. Can this be offset against the required 800,000 Bht in a Thai bank?

[Phil Conners]

You get interest in Thailand but not much.

I think you can not transfer the funds out again. You could put it in an account with an ATM card and withdraw it that way but it would probably not be worth the hassle.

You don't get a new visa, you extend your current visa. You can do that anytime before your visa expire - they will usually give you a temporary extension valid until everything is sorted out. I wouldn't wait to the last moment though, you never know in Thailand.

Yes, documented income can be offset against the requirement. It's all explained on www.thaivisa.com

Edited June 6, 2006 by madsere

[lopburi3]

As said if the money is certified by your embassy it can be used. There is no wait for a retirement extension of stay - if you qualify you receive it immediately. But as said it is best to do a couple of days early in case you have a problem getting that embassy certificate, bank letter or medical taken care of, a holiday comes up, or you fall sick.

[mrjohn]

So its OK then for my income from property to be going in to a UK bank account??? But not the lump sum.

I make withdrawals on a regular basis from my UK account via an ATM (which should be able to prove that I am not working)for which there is no charge.

I am asking these questions because the visa system is ridiculous.

Does anyone know why, having shown that you have more than adequate funds to support yourself for a year you are still required to leave the country every three months?

I am currently spending about 7000 Bht per week (more than many Thais earn in a month)and living really well on it. That amounts to 364000 per annum! Less than half of what I am required to deposit in a Thai bank.

OK I am living cheaply at the moment.

The 800,000 itself is not the issue I have much more in my UK account. I just want to avoid putting my money in Thai banks.

I have just seen on another thread that you can get 4% interest in a Thai bank. Does anyone know where?

My visa application in the UK required a bank statement showing 10,000 pounds or about 700,000 Bht and that is all. No medical and no explanation of why I wanted to stay in Thailand for a year.

The assertion that "Its all explained on www.thaivisa.com" is equally absurd especially since these "rules" are open to widespread differences in interpretation.

If these matters were adequately explained there would be no need for this forum.

[lopburi3]

You are not required to exit the country if you have an extension of stay for retirement or if you had entered on an O-A non immigrant for long stay. You do not have that. What you have is a multi entry visa for those that visit often - it is not designed for long term stay in Thailand. If you had done the retirement process you would have had to have a medical and police clearance as well as the money in your account before the O-A visa was issued.

ATM receipts are not normally accepted by immigration for proof of anything.

All Thai banks are paying about 4.5% currently for time deposits. These are not normally accepted for immigration money purposes. The money is expected to be in a passport savings account to be used for your support - that is the reason they issue the one year extension of stay - because you have demonstrated the funds to support yourself are available.

[Maestro]

I am asking these questions because the visa system is ridiculous.

Does anyone know why, having shown that you have more than adequate funds to support yourself for a year you are still required to leave the country every three months?

You’ve got it wrong, Mr. John.

Meeting the financial requirements, you can get your annual extensions without ever having to leave Thailand for the rest of your life, if you don’t want to. Isn’t that beautiful?

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Maestro

[Maestro]

...as I understand it, we farang cannot earn interest in a Thai bank account. Is this correct?

Interest rates on bank accounts in Thailand are the same for everybody, regardless of nationality, race, colour, creed, gender, sexual orientation, body-mass index, etc.

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Maestro

Edited June 6, 2006 by maestro

[mrjohn]

ATM receipts are not normally accepted by immigration for proof of anything.

All Thai banks are paying about 4.5% currently for time deposits. These are not normally accepted for immigration money purposes. The money is expected to be in a passport savings account to be used for your support - that is the reason they issue the one year extension of stay - because you have demonstrated the funds to support yourself are available.

Interest rates on bank accounts in Thailand are the same for everybody, regardless of nationality, race, colour, creed, gender, sexual orientation, body-mass index, etc.

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Maestro

AsI said the system is ridiculous.

Anyway noone has answered the question as to how I prove that I have a regular income from the UK which goes into a Uk account from which I draw funds to support myself.

I said at the outset that all I wanted to do was to renew my existing visa I do not want a retirement visa yet

[Maestro]

I wanted to do was to renew my existing visa I do not want a retirement visa yet

A visa gets used, and when it is used it is invalid. It cannot be renewed.

Often, however, people here use “renew” to mean an annual extension of stay and you have received answers on the basis of this commonly used meaning of “renew”.

If you mean “get a new multiple-entry non-immigrant visa category O”, then simply apply for it at a Thai consulate in your home country, but this is what you have professed not wanting to do, and you have been informed about the alternative, which you don’t seem to like either, yet this is the only way of extending your stay without having to leave Thailand. A visa, any visa, also visas to enter the UK, are always obtained at a consulate and consulates are obviously outside the country.

Talking about “ridiculous”, this is relative. Compare the procedure with that for a Thai national obtaining multiple-entry visas valid for one year at a time, for entry into the UK, for three consecutive years, then rate the ridiculousness of the two countries’ systems on a scale of one to ten.

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Maestro