tourist visa vs O or OA visa

[watgate]

Help- I am retired and 61 years old from the USA. I have been wintering in Thailand for the past 4 winters for anywhere from 3- 4 months. I have used a triple-entry tourist visa in the past. I am now considering going another route and I need some clarification as how best to proceed. I understand the o-a visa is for individuals over 50 who want to stay long-term in Thailand. What I need to know is since I am planning on staying in Thailand this winter for 5 months (primarily in Chiang Mai), should I apply for a O visa? I am not sure if I qualify for a O-visa or if it would suit my purposes for staying in Thailand this winter for 5 months.I have sufficient income and/or assets and need some advice on which visa would be most appropriate for my needs. In the past the triple-entry tourist visa worked fine but now I am a little concerned. I would like to think if I went to Thailand this winter with a triple-entry tourist visa and showed them my return ticket back to the USA in 5 months,plus my hotel reservation for 5 months, plus bank statements showing sufficient income, as well as scrutinizing my passport showing that in the previous 4 times I wintered in Thailand as a snow bird and each time I departed Thailand at the end of my stay to go back to the USA, that that would suffice but now I am not sure. Any advice or clarification, especially on the O-visa and whether it is something I could use would be greatly appreciated.

[Suradit69]

If you apply for an O-A in the US, it requires some extra things like medical check for things like TB and a police report, which some people find inconvenient to do. It does allow you a full year in Thailand with automatic re-entry permit for the first year. And, if you exit and re-enter before the "use by date" on the visa, you would get another year's permission to stay, but for travelling in and out during the second year you'd need a re-entry permit or your permission to stay would be cancelled. While you're in Thailand, you'd just need to report your address at a local immigrations office any time you're in the country for 90 uninterrupted days. Once you used up your permissions to stay based on the O-A, you need to get extension of stay from Immigrations or start back at square one again.

If you get a Non-Imm O, you could apply in Thailand for an extension of stay based on retirement during the final 30 days of your permission to stay that immigrations gave you when you entered using the O visa, but keep in mind for the extension of stay you'd need Baht 800,000 in a Thai bank for a couple of months or a letter from the US embassy certifying you have at least Baht 65,000 a month in income (or a combination of the two) and you would need to get a re-entry permit for any travel outside Thailand if you want to return using the extension. You'd also have to report your address every 90 days.

To renew the extension each year you'd still need to meet the financial requirements and you'd have to be in the country during the final 30 days or your current extension in order to apply for a new one ... or you'd be back at square one.

You'd probably be OK for annual 5 month stays using a tourist visa especially since you're back in the US for the rest of the year, but obviously things are changing and it's impossible to say for certain how an immigrations officer may react if you have had a number of tourist visas in your passport or even worse if you've accumulated quite a few visa exempt entries. You do seem to qualify as a legitimate tourist, but ... who knows. Que sera, sera.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Suradit69

[Langsuan Man]

I spend 8 months in Thailand and 4 months in the US every year. In my case I have found that an O-A visa works fine for me and in many cases having a "non immigrant visa" has advantages while in Thailand (bank accounts & 5 year DL license) and since I leave every year I get 2 "winters" out of my O-A visa. I have been doing this since 2007 and have never had a problem.

BUT, I have a family physician who will sign the Medical Form that states that I don't have Leprosy, Tuberculosis, drug addiction, Elephantiasis, or third phase of Syphilis as a part of my annual physical, my state offers a criminal records check via the Internet for $10, and my former employer issues an official monthly pay slip that details my income

But most importantly, I obtain the visa from either the Embassy in Washington or the Consulate in New York via mail and they do not require the documentation to be notarized like Chicago and Los Angeles Consulates do

[ubonjoe]

You can still do your trip with a 3 entry tourist visa if you want. None of the changes will have an effect your your plans.

[watgate]

Ubonjoe- You are sure I can stay in Chiang Mai for 5 months from October17,2014 until March 2015 when I depart back to the USA with a triple-entry tourist visa? If you are sure, this will take a big load off of me because part of the requirement for obtaining an O-A retirement visa in the U.S. is submitting a verification of no criminal record. It takes a long time for the FBI to process fingerprints and it is not beyond the realm of possibility that the results would not be sent back to me prior to my scheduled departure to Thailand on Oct 15,2014. As stated previously in other posts, this will be my 5th wintering in Chaing Mai and each time I came with a triple-entry tourist visa and stayed anywhere from 2- 4 months after which I departed back to the USA. This year I am planning on staying for 5 months, I have a return ticket, have already made a reservation at the same hotel I have stayed at for the previous 4 years,and will be bringing sufficient funds with me. I thought I would be alright but thought it maybe best to apply for a retirement visa in the USA since I am over 50 years old. Unfortunately, I have started to realize it is not that easy considering the need for the criminal background check through the Conn State Police where you have to apply with the necessary paperwork along with a set of fingerprints which I am sure are forwarded to the FBI. I know for a fact that there is a big backlog on processing fingerprints and, as stated previously, there is no guarantee I would get the results of the fingerprint check sent back to me in sufficient time to bring them to the New York Thai consulate so they could process my OA retrement visa.