i;m a 49 yo aussie soon to be eligible for thai retirement visa.

i live in sihanoukville, gold coast & pattaya (for 30 days at a time a few times/year)

1. i've heard a retirement visa cannot be obtained in thailand whilst here on a visa exemption. t/f?

2. if above is true, can i get a 60 day thai tourist visa from sihanoukville/gold coast & then proceed with applying for a retirement visa?

3. someone suggested it's easier getting the retirement visa whilst outside of thailand instead of dealing with thai immigration. t/f?

4. can i deposit the required bt 800,000 into two separate thai bank accounts (as a preventative measure against possible bank fraud - i believe the thai gov't guarantees up to bt 500,000 in fraud/losses)?

5. single entry retirement visa bt 1900; multiple entry bt 3800. accurate?

cheers

It can be done inside Thailand but might be easier to get a non-O while abroad.

Conversion requires at least 15 days left on your permission to stay and you will have to apply in BKK and return 2 weeks later to receive the conversion. If based on money in the bank you will need proof you got the money from abroad and deposited in the bank in Thailand.

Cost of a Non-O visa is 2,000 for a single, you won't get a multiple.

If you go for a conversion you would still pay 2,000 for the conversion.

Extensions for 1 year are 1,900 baht.

For your travel plans you will need a multiple re-entry permit at 3,800 baht to keep you permission t stay alive.

Cut out the 60-day tourist visa in your step 2 and, if possible, go straight for a 90-day non-O visa by virtue of being over 50 at sihanoukville or gold coast (at which, I assume, are located Thai consulates) instead.

Recent reports on the threads at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/767406-pattaya-immigration-no-longer-does-conversion-to-non-o-visa/ and http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/767359-how-to-get-retirement-visa-when-in-thailand-on-visa-exemption/ indicate that applying for a non-O conversion at Chaengwattana Immigration in Bangkok (which is where you'd in all probability need to go for this purpose) is far from a smooth and straightforward process - with signature of forms exclusively in the Thai language being the strict order of the day.

The answer to your query in step 3 is, therefore, "True" IMHO at any rate!

Edited October 15, 201411 yr by OJAS

You could get a single entry non-o visa in Brisbane at the honorary consulate there, You probably could also find an agent in Sihanoukville to get one from the embassy in PP.

Then apply for the extension of stay at immigration.

At the moment bank accounts are protected up to 50 million baht. See: http://www.dpa.or.th/main.php?filename=index___EN

You could put your money in 2 accounts. There is also the of option of proving 65k baht income or a combination of income and money in the bank totaling 800k baht.

If you plan on doing all this in Thailand (not arriving with an O visa) and your home office is Jomtien (as indicated in your OP) you do the conversion to O visa in Bangkok. That is the first step. Very recently, Jomtien stopped offering this service. Then you do the annual extension based on retirement at Jomtien. Yes, my most recent understanding is two bank accounts is OK but it does add a complication and could possibly be annoying to the officer. Also keep in mind if using the 800K method the funds must total over 800K for two months before the date of the application for annual extension based on retirement. This shouldn't be a problem for you as the O "conversion" visa you get at Bangkok will be for a three month stay. The two month money seasoning rule applies to FIRST annual extensions; all later ones require THREE months.

My current understanding is that yes you can do a conversion to O at Bangkok with only an entry stamp and don't need a tourist visa for that purpose. Do go in earlier during the 30 day period though.

Also to add, as part of the application for conversion to O (from your entry stamp) you must show evidence that the funds in your bank account were imported from abroad. At this point, the money does not need to be seasoned for two months. If you can't supply this evidence, choose another method such as above, a single entry O from outside Thailand, for example.

BTW ... the conversion to O (90 day stay) is not a retirement visa and also the annual extension to stay is also not a retirement visa. But if doing it all in Thailand, those two are exactly what you need.

Another option is applying for an O-A visa (commonly called either Long Stay or Retirement visa) IN Australia. O-A visas are never available in Thailand.

Edited October 15, 201411 yr by Jingthing