Hi,

Can I please ask some advice regarding my application?

I am 50+, carry Swedish passport and wish to retire in Thailand. On this trip I have been here 6 weeks on tourist visa and extended my tourist visa yesterday in Jomtien so I now got 6 weeks more in Thailand.

Last week I transferred 800.000 baht to my account here and today I put the money in a fixed deposit account.

I wish to retire in Thailand but I also want to make a 1-3 months trip to the Philippines (where I stayed before), starting sometime November or December.

So my "plan" is simply to go to PI before my tourist visa in Thailand runs out. And by February-March next year apply for Thai retirement visa at the Thai Embassy in Manila. I will have my passport and bank statement to support the application. I will *not* have any "permanent address" in Thailand to show to the Embassy.

Is this a good plan? Is the Thai Embassy likely to issue a visa to me? (Non-O I think it is called).

(I told this to a lady running the copy shop outside Jomtien immigration. She wanted to sell me an "all inclusive" package for 15 months retirement visa @ 27.000 baht!! So she naturally said it would be better for me to get that and a multi entry permit to go to PI. ("You will only get 7 days when you come back.") Whether her package is legal, includes further fees and whether it works at all I do not know. But she worked in the copy shop and gave me a business card. I don't think she would like to have a visit by the police

I also told my plan to the immigration official that extended my tourist visa. She said that maybe the Embassy wanted a letter from the bank. ("That is what we ask here", she said.) - Bangkok bank has an office in Manila so maybe that can be fixed, even though that office is more for business transactions.

Sorry for writing too long but my question is if there can be any (for me) "unexpected" problems getting the visa in Manila?

Since I still like to move around in Thailand I want to postpone getting a permanent address for a little longer. Is it likely that a Swedish passport (age 50+) and 800.000 in Thai bank will suffice to get the visa in Manila?

If I then get a Non-O visa I guess I can return to Thailand and will maybe have three months to the first "address check" at immigration so I have time to find an apartment?

Thanks a lot for any advice about this and thanks for the advice I got here last time!

You should be able to get a single entry non-o visa for being 50 or over. All they should want to see is your bank book and have a copy attached to your application.

If you can't get it then you could apply for a single entry visa and get settled in here and apply a for change of visa status to get a non immigrant visa entry and then apply for your extension of stay.

Thanks for reply. If I have to return to Thailand on a tourist visa, I guess the permitted time of stay may be short, since I will have a recent 3 months stay stamped in my passport.

But as I understand, this is the best I can make of the situation.

Thanks.

(Sorry irregular replies. The app does not work, but the Web does.)

There is no limit on the amount of time you spend here on tourist visas. If you get a single entry tourist visa you will get 60 days on entry that can be extended for 30 days again.

Thanks. Good to know. I am sure you know the situation.

I have just heard people say that Thai authorities want to stop those foreigners that have stayed in Thailand year after year on tourist visa through repeated visa runs.

But I am no expert on this. I really appreciate you guys sharing.

I have just heard people say that Thai authorities want to stop those foreigners that have stayed in Thailand year after year on tourist visa through repeated visa runs.

But I am no expert on this. I really appreciate you guys sharing.

You may have heard about visa exemption. Not people with a visa.

Ok, I see.

I don't know the details. But during many years, some now and then, I have heard people saying how much stricter the Thai visa rules have become.

But when I have tried to check up and heard of individual cases, the rumors often seem to have been exaggerated.

So it's really good to have this forum to ask in. Thanks again.

I still enjoy going around, looking for a place to stay longer. Udon last week, Hua Hin now, really many attractive places for retirement.

If it really is possible to get a new 2+1 month tourist visa every third month then I wouldn't mind doing that repearedly until I settle in one place. A trip to the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh or Vientiane every third month is no problem.

But I now remember meeting a foreigner in Udon 4-5 years ago. He told me about "the guys with razorblades" outside the Thai Embassy in Vientiane. They somehow cut out the old Thai stickers or stamps from the foreigners' passports so they could apply again to go back to Thailand. I could never verify that information.

But if you are granted 2+1 month tourist visa repeatedly that is a very good start for me.

Edited October 25, 201411 yr by thailandsgreat

You can get 2 entry tourist visas in Vientiane or Savannakhet. Each one will give you almost 6 months of stay. They normally will do up to 3 of them without a problem.

That is really great. Thanks a lot for info. I had never heard of those. After three of them I may well have a reason to return to Sweden and at home I always get a new passport. I guess all starts from scratch with a new passport?

Thanks a lot. Very useful information for me.

That is really great. Thanks a lot for info. I had never heard of those. After three of them I may well have a reason to return to Sweden and at home I always get a new passport. I guess all starts from scratch with a new passport?

Not even needed, what people does is to rotate consulates and present the application with an agent well backed up with income documents.

May do not forgeth, that it looks like at the moment foreighners are not very wellcommed in Thailand.

They like touristst, not peoples who like to live here.

I see peoples with retiremtvisa for over 10 years, have to show up 2 times at the immigaration! :-(

What documents are needed for the 90 days check I would like to know. I have asked some foreigners around the swimming pool in Hua Hin. One said he only gave an electricity bill (with his name on, I assume). Another said he only had to fill out a form. But I think that person had bought one of these "15 months package deals".

Edited October 27, 201411 yr by thailandsgreat

Are you talking about 90 day reporting, which you don't do unless you are on an extension of stay, or about leaving and re-entering on a multiple entry visa?

I am sorry, I have still not understood the differences well between re-entering on a multiple entry visa (I think that is called Non-O) and the extension of stay (converting the tourist visa status).

So if I get a one year visa from abroad, there will be no 90 day reporting? But maybe the Thai Embassy abroad will ask for my permanent address?

If you get a 1 year multiple non-O you do not report your adres but instead have to leave the country every 90 days, unless you apply for a 1 year extension of stay in which case you do 90 day reporting.

What is needed for 90 day reporting depends a bit on your local immirgaiton office, some want proof of adress and other don't.

I am sorry, I have still not understood the differences well between re-entering on a multiple entry visa (I think that is called Non-O) and the extension of stay (converting the tourist visa status).

So if I get a one year visa from abroad, there will be no 90 day reporting? But maybe the Thai Embassy abroad will ask for my permanent address?

A multiple entry non-o visa from an embassy or consulate only gives a 90 day entry meaning you have to leave every 90 days.

A one year extension of stay obtained at immigration just requires reports of staying longer than 90 days in the country.

Thanks a lot, I did not know. Very clarifying for me.

So the Non-O may be a good option for me.

(I once crossed into Thailand at Hat Lek and met bussloads of foreigners doing visa runs from Thailand. (The Thai immigration official was so surprised that I really came from Cambodia he asked me twice!)

I don't think the Cambodians even asked for a visa from the foreigners that did visa runs from Thailand. But if needed, it would just be $20.

That sounds like a really good way. Thanks for telling.

Thanks for useful advice earlier here. I just got a double entry "2 x 60" tourist visa in Savannakhet. Processing time one day, cost 2000 B. Can enter Thailand within 3 months.

I hear that Savannakhet consulate is less strict than other consulates. But next time I may try Non-O in Vientiane where I have my home country embassy and Bangkok Bank which can issue necessary documents.

I closed my dollar account in Bangkok Bank, Phnom Penh. Some of the staff were difficult to deal with. But in an "emergency" I guess they may issue the document I would need for Non-O, or at least mediate with Bangkok Bank, Thailand where I got a Baht account. But I also read that Thai embassy in Phnom Penh is strict. That also fits my experience.

Anyway. Thanks for advice guys. I'm good for another 6 months now. Savannakhet was a good option. Town not so active. Recommend Leena guesthouse. Discourage from using Savannavong GH.

I just noticed something. According to the visa I must enter Thailand within 3 months. And I hope to extend 2x60 days to 2x90 days.

I assume both entries must take place within the stated three months. So if you want to "squeeze the last day" out of a double entry visa, you should apply for it immediately before entering Thailand. Otherwise you can not make the second entry within 3 months.

But for me it is just a detail. I plan to stay in Vientiane about a week, so I just lose one week time from the joint 6 months visa period.

But it is not like a single entry visa. With such a visa you can wait up to three months before entering Thailand and you will still be able to use your entire period in Thailand.

Edited August 10, 201510 yr by thailandsgreat

All visas have to used before or on the "enter before" date. After that date the visa expires and is of no further use.