Latest On Penang Type 0 Visa

[Canuk_Al]

I have just returned from my annual Visa run to Penang to get a new one-year multiple entry Type 0 Visa. I have lived in Thailand for 4 years now and have had this Visa for all of those four years. I was advised by my agent in Penang last year that the consulate office in Penang wanted to see a bank certified letter that I had at least 200,000 Baht in the bank, I did this and received my Visa. A couple of months ago I contacted the agent again in Penang and asked what I needed again for another Type 0 Multi entry Visa and was advise to have 400,000 in the bank and have a letter from the bank as well as show my passbook from that bank. I did all of the above and had well over 400,000 Baht in the bank. The day after giving the agent my application etc. he called me at my hotel and advised me that I was only able to get a 90-day single entry Type O Visa. To say that I was extremely frustrated with this result would be a understatement based on me bringing in all of that extra cash etc. just to get a 90-day Visa. When the agent delivered the Visa he said he was sorry but that is all that they would give and advised that when I returned in 3-months I should have in the bank 600,000 or better 800,000 Baht in the bank. I informed him that if I chose to have 800,000 in the bank why would I come to Penang, I can easily and quickly get a one year Type OA at the immigration office in Chiang Mai where I live.

He shrugged his shoulders and asked for his fees then left my hotel room.

The bottom line is that Penang is now not an option for me to get a Type O Visa, with this in mind I now have two options on is the Type OA Retirement Visa the other is the Type OA Marriage visa.

Yes, I know that some of the readers will reply saying that one does not have to show money in the bank to get a basic Type O Visa. While that is technically true, verbal rules come from Bangkok to embassies and consulate offices which can be interpreted differently and this seams to be the case. I am not one who challenges the rules here as I would loose every time. I try to find out what requirements are required for various Visas then select the one which best suites my comfort level.

[lopburi3]

Did you provide a marriage certificate and copy of the ID card of your wife?

There is not such thing as OA anything issued by Immigration inside Thailand (the OA is a pre approved O visa issued by a Consulate for retirement). What they can do is extend your current entry and that can be for "retirement" if over age 50 or "support Thai wife" if you have a registered marriage and apply with her. The retirement requires 800k and support 400k but retirement is generally easier with less paperwork and a one visit affair. You can also use pension income as verified by your Embassy to make up any bank deposit shortfall.

[Canuk_Al]

Did you provide a marriage certificate and copy of the ID card of your wife?

There is not such thing as OA anything issued by Immigration inside Thailand (the OA is a pre approved O visa issued by a Consulate for retirement). What they can do is extend your current entry and that can be for "retirement" if over age 50 or "support Thai wife" if you have a registered marriage and apply with her. The retirement requires 800k and support 400k but retirement is generally easier with less paperwork and a one visit affair. You can also use pension income as verified by your Embassy to make up any bank deposit shortfall.

OK, I will try and be brief as there is much confusion about Type O visa’s and as a result I will try to clarify what I believe are the types of class O Visa’s.

The Type of O Visa that I had previously was a One-year Multi-entry Visa that required me to leave the country every 90 days then re-enter again. It was not a Type OA Visa through marriage!

The type of Type O Visa that you are referring to is I believe a Type “OA” that requires a foreigner to be legally married to a Thai national and have 400,000 Baht in the bank and comes in two flavors one a multi-entry the other a single entry.

Another version of this Visa is also a Type “OA” this is a basic retirement visa that one is required to have 800,000 Baht in the bank and comes in two flavors one a multi-entry the other a single entry.

Both of these Visas do not require a holder to leave the country but rather the holder must register every 90 days at an immigration office or through the mail to a police station.

Please do not think that I am an expert in Thai Visa’s as I am not! It should also be mentioned that the two Type OA visa’s mentioned above can have the amounts that are required to be on deposit in a bank reduced if one can show that one receives a monthly income to there bank i.e. through a pension income.

[Noel]

Please do not think that I am an expert in Thai Visa’s as I am not!

You have made that very clear!

Worry not, I am sure Lop will tell you how it is...

[lopburi3]

You are wrong in your understanding. The type OA has nothing to do with marriage. A non immigrant O visa can be issued for many reasons, both as single entry or multi entry type. The "O" stands for other. Meaning it is not B business, ED education or such. The OA is only issued for long stay (retirement) and only in your country of residence and provides the normal O visa and A approval for extension of stay for one year. It is not in the picture for you unless you return to your home country and apply there with a medical report, police report, and 800k equivalent in a bank account there. After your first year you extend this entry as any other non immigrant visa with the money/pension proof here in Thailand.

To obtain a non immigrant O visa normally all you need at any Consulate is your marriage papers and copy of the id card of your wife. Most local Consulates will only issue a single entry but Penang, if you already have had a visa from them, has normally issued a multi entry if requested. There is no money proof required. Penang has also been providing a multi entry O visa to those who are over age 50 and provide proof of bank account of 200k (which seems to be what you have been doing) but this has never been a normal practice of any other Consulate that I know of. It seems that this option is now off the table.

If you will read the very good outline of visas attached at the top of this forum it should provide you a good overview.

[COBBER]

Canuk_Al,

On what basis were you applying for a Non Imm O multi entry visa?

Are you married to a Thai or supporting a Thai child ?

If you are not applying on either of these basis it is allways a bit dodgy whereever you go.

[wpcoe]

I'm 51 yrs old and planning to apply for the Retirement Visa within the next few months. A few weeks ago, one of the Pattaya newspapers (either Pattaya Mail or Pattaya Today) carried a commentary by the editor in response to a letter to the editor. The editor's comments said (implied?) that you could enter Thailand on a plain old "O" visa, and not necessarily on the "O-A" visa and still apply for the Retirement Visa.

Unfortunately, I'm not in Thailand right now to locate that newspaper issue to give you a direct quote, but what I wrote is what stuck in my mind.

So, I have a couple of questions:

Must I return to my home country (USA) to apply for an "OA" visa in order to apply in Thailand for the Retirement Visa, or is it acceptable to apply for a plain old "O" visa, a "One-year Multi-entry Visa that require me to leave the country every 90 days then re-enter again", in a close-by location like Penang?

In connection with applying for an OA visa in one's home country, above lopburi3 says: "It is not in the picture for you unless you return to your home country and apply there with a medical report, police report, and 800k equivalent in a bank account there." That's the first I've read that I can keep the 800k equivalent in my home country ("there" = in my home country, right?) Or, must I subsequently have the 800k equivalent transferred to my Thai bank account and present that documentation when I apply for the Retirement Visa in Thailand?

Perhaps I'm confusing (a) a method of applying for a Retirement Visa when I have a plain old "O" visa, versus ( applying for a Retirement Visa when I have an "OA" visa?

I've been living/working in Japan and have not set foot in my mother country (USA) in over 2.5 years. I'm trying to avoid the long trek back to the motherland just to apply for an O-A visa. Can I somehow manage to get an acceptable type of visa "locally" (e.g. Penang) in order to apply for the Retirement Visa in Thailand?

[lopburi3]

1. You can apply for extension of stay for retirement in Thailand (it is not a visa) with any non immigrant visa and even can do (with conversion at 2,000 baht extra by immigration) from a 60 day tourist visa. When done in Thailand the money has to be in Thailand. But you also have the option of pension income verified by Embassy to make up any shortfall.

2. If you want an OA long stay (retirement) type visa to enter Thailand and stay one year before having to see immigration here for an extension of stay you must present the money in your homeland bank. When you apply for your first one year extension at immigration it must have been transferred into a Thai bank account.

3. You may or may not obtain a non immigrant O visa in Penang but normally that is only a given if you have a Thai wife. But as said entry with a 60 day tourist visa will work as long as you are ready to extend with at least 3 weeks remaining on the 60 day entry.

[wpcoe]

lopburi3: Thanks for the quick and very useful reply.

While reading through the message threads here (I'm a newbie) I never picked up on the fact that all of the folks getting the O visa in Penang were married to Thai spouses.

Question: Why would I need to have 3 weeks remaining on a 60-day tourist visa? Wouldn't 1 or 2 weeks be enough?

I've picked up a wealth of info reading the posts here on Thai Visa. Many thanks to all!

[lopburi3]

Because immigration says 21 days I believe. This is a new service as you used to have to obtain a non immigrant from outside the country to obtain an extension of stay.

[easy_jim]

Did you provide a marriage certificate and copy of the ID card of your wife?

I got my Type O multi entry visa at Penang two weeks ago on basis of marriage to Thai spouse. It seemed like their requirements had changed.

The previous year all I needed was a marriage certificate and copy of wife's ID card. This year I thought I would let an agent do the work. I saw two agents and they both told me I needed a copy of my Thai bank account book or I would only get a single entry.

I did not have my Thai bank account book so I decided to go to the consulate. The officer at the consulate confirmed that in addition to marriage certificate and copy of wife's ID card they also wanted to see my bank book and my wife's particulars (not sure what he meant by that).

I of course politely claimed ignorance of the rule change and said it was not the same as what I did the previous year. The officer said they would take my application under consideration but I might only get a single entry. The next day they gave me a multi entry but also a reminder that next time I should bring my bank book. Don't know if this is a permanent change but it did seem like they were serious.

Edited August 16, 2006 by easy_jim

[lopburi3]

We have had reports that a first application would only result in a single entry but this seems to be the first hard report of them wanting a bank passbook presented (which you probably would not want to give an agent). So all the more reason to consider extensions of stay unless your work (oil-rig type) requires frequent travel I would guess.

As there is sometimes a difference according to being under/over age 50 if anyone can find out if that makes a difference it might be helpful to others.