Best title I could come up with

My wife and I are both British aged 59 and 55 respectfully.

We are in a posistion to retire and choose Thailand, because of the weather, the people and the food (also it is some what cheaper than living in London).

We asked Saim Laywers to help, but they are having problems with the UK Thai Embassy. We went to the Embassy in London and applied for Non 0 90 day visa based on retirement. Even though we could prove that we had more than £80,000 in savings it was refused as we had to be over 65 and drawing a UK pension. So would not even consider going for a Non OA visa as this is lengthy and still not a safe bet via the London Embassy.

So the only Visa we could get was a 60 day Tourist Visa and we get the passports with visa's on Monday.

We need to get from this state of 60 day Tourist visa to a 1 year extension based on retirement.

1/**** We each have to open a bank account to transfer the 800000 bhat into when we first arrive. The question is can open a bank account in Chaing Mai whilst staying in a hotel ? as we would like to take some time and not risk long rental contract if all goes wrong. We understand this money has to have been in the bank for greater than 60 days before we apply for the retirement extension.

2/**** This brings us to the second part where we need to extend our tourist visa by 30 days and is this possible in Chiang Mai ?

This would allow us the time required for the bank balance to have matured for the 60 days required for the retirement option.

3/**** We then intend to get the Bank Book verified along with the letter from the bank the day before we apply to change the tourist extension to a 1 year retirement extension and I believe we need to do this at least 15 days before the tourist extension runs out. Can this change of visa be done in Chiang Mai or do we have to go to Bangkok.

4/**** The other concern is our place of residence, do we have to have a rented house in the district where we are applying for the change of visa from Tourist to Retirement. We don't want to rent in Bangkok if we can help it.

Any help for us virgins in this great adventure would be appriciated.

1. Banks vary a lot in what they require and what they will allow. Some won't open an account for Farang under any circumstance. Some require nothing more than a passport. Some want to see a rental contract, some a title deed, some a work permit. Things might be more difficult now for US citizens since FACTA, for anyone else, I'd recommend going to a location with a lot of banks and ask each one in turn to open an account. Don't get discouraged, you'll find one.

2. Pretty sure you can extend your 60 day entry by a further 30 at CM immigration.

Can't help with 3 and 4!

1. Opening a bank account is a hit and miss operation. If you are going to transfer money ona regular basis from the UK it would be best to use Bangkok Bank as they have a Branch in London and the transfer are cheapest. Many retired falangs have their retirement pensions directly deposited in BKB this way.

2. You can not extend a tourist visa for retirement purposes. It first has to be converted to a Non-O visa. Once you open the bank account and can show that the 800000 baht has been deposited you can apply for the visa conversion. The money does not have to be seasoned at this time. They will issue you a Non-O visa and give you 90 days permission to stay. During the last 30 days of thjis permission you apply for a 1 year extension. At that time the money has to be seasoned for 2 months, but the Non-O and the 90 days permission to stay is time enough for the money to be seasoned. , so you don't have to do the 30 day TV extension - save 1900 baht. The conversion costs 2000 baht and the extension 1900 baht. I think that Chiang Mai will still do the conversion.

3. You will need two letters from the bank, one for the conversion and another for the extension. The branch where you have the account will issue the letters and the day before in Chiang Mai is accceptable, I think. The CM office is very very crowded.

You will need some proof of address when you do the conversion and extension. A letter from a hotel should work, but it's really up to the immigration officer that interviews you - I'm no help!

You do have other options: You could use the income method which requires that you have a letter from your Embassy stating that you are receiving at least 65k baht per month rather than have 800k in the bak. You could use a combination of both to make the 800k requirement, or you could apply for the extension and once received your wife coule get a dependant extension with no financial obligation.

You could of gone to one of the consulates in the UK to get your non-o visas, I know it is to late for you but for others it might be good advise.

You both don't have to do extensions based upon retirement. One can get the extension for retirement and the other can get a dependent extension based upon the others with no need for financial proof.

Opening a band account can be difficult at times. You just have to keep trying at different banks and at different branches of the same bank. Perhaps this info on Bangkok banks website will help by clicking on documents required. http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

You will not be able to do the change of visa status to get a non immigrant visa at Chiang Mai immigration. They stopped doing them last month. You would have to go to immigration in Bangkok and it would mean 2 trips 15 days apart.

I suggest you make a trip to Vientiane Laos to get your non-o visas after you have your money in the bank. You would just have to show your passports to prove your age and a bank book showing the 800 baht in the bank. You can get flights from CM on Nok Air to Vientiane that are a fly/ride service via Udon Thani.

Agree with Joe.

Easier to go to Laos and get Non Imm O Visas.

You can then get the 12 month extensions in Chiang Mai.

Only one of you needs 800,000 in the bank.

The other can extend as a dependant.

Retirement with 59 and 55... what a life!

I would suggest that before you transfer money to Thailand you make sure that this is where you want to live in retirement. Stay here a while before you decide. There are possibly things you haven't taken into consideration.

Air pollution is just one & I'm not talking about vehicle exhausts. In the village where I live many people make their own charcoal in open pits behind their houses. Then there are those who refuse to pay for the twice weekly garbage collection (450Bt a year) & burn their rubbish, not to mention that most farmers burn off their land after harvest.

Over the last 20 years (I had my house built in 1995) the air in my village has become so poor that I'm having to relocate for the sake of my health. And don't tell me the air in London is just as bad because I was born & brought up in Greenwich.

Make sure you've considered everything before moving your hard earned.

not sure... did you say you have been to Thailand yet?

I am a American so immigration is slightly different for me.

Rule number one. sometimes things take three tries in Thailand, so don't be discouraged. Just try to get one thing done a day, if that.

check list in order:

1.) make sure you get new passport right before you leave the UK, so you don't have to renew for maximum period and have plenty of blank pages.

1A) Make sure your bank in the UK lets you add your new Thailand bank account on line from WITHIN Thailand.

My bank in the US did not. research SWIFT codes. common stuff, easy.

1b.) make sure you understand the complete procedure for transferring money month to month as you need it. My bank requires a "OTP" one time pass word that can only be sent to my cellphone IN THE USA. your bank may be completely different.

2.) buy a smart cellphone in Thailand and get a SIM card and make sure you don't lose that cell number because that is the one the banks communicate with you on. One of the lower end Samsungs if you are on a budget. this also becomes your back up cell phone. Make sure you can create a "wifi" hot spot if you have pads or notebook computers because hotel, apt wifi can be very intermittent.

2a.) Use AIS cell company. you can find tune your cell phone carrier later. My cellphone costs 600 baht a month. there is much cheaper.

3.) find a month to month apartment in the city you want to live in and rent room. (i have heard you can use a hotel address at banks)

4.) dress as nice as you possibly can and go to the biggest office of Bangkok Bank you can find. BB is best for international transfer and ATM security. Not as practical as other banks but don't worry about that. Open a savings account. You will need passport. operational Thai cell phone, your address. bring a rent receipt or business card of apartment building or hotel. Don't worry you are not going to get any mail. you will be issued a passbook and ATM card on the spot.

5.) repeat at different bank branches if you have a problem.

6.) if you can't open a account at BB, go to SCB bank, they are really easy at big branch with English speakers. No english? leave.

7.) SCB bank to pay AIS cellphone on line using phone apps.

8.) ATM issues. cover the keypad with your other hand as you enter your pin number. ATM card cloning is still a problem here with hacker hardware attached to the ATM's.

i have completely redundant linked bank accounts in US and Thailand. Two US Banks. Two Thailand banks. no linkage between the two sets of banks. Two sets of ATM cards, backup credit cards different accounts... PIN number for emergency cash advance. two wallets so if one is lost i am not COMPLETELY hosed. Copy of passport, all pages, passport locked up in safe.

can't help you with your UK stuff. All I did walk into Thailand as a tourist. did the above stuff alone. went to immigration and applied for my non immigrate o visa, showed them a letter from bangkok bank saying i had enough cash and walked out the same day. good for one year.

i am 59 year old man in great condition and it took two-three weeks to get all this done. so slow and easy does it.

it is "cold" here now, so bring your warm clothes, (no joke) but don't forget about the heat, language barrier, misunderstanding, corruption, taxis, and bad water. it will take a lot of energy out of you so plan for a few down days.

don't forget international drivers license. try to get a thai drivers license early on even if you don't plan on driving.

expect google to shut down access to your email when you get here. if you can't get back in you could be trouble for a while. other providers may do the same. outlook did the same.

set email alerts for all banking transactions at all levels in your country and Thailand so you can monitor what is going on. BELIEVE ME, using your UK based credit card or ATM card here is sort of like have sex in soi cowboy without a condom.

you can apply for a BB visa card using the money in your account for collateral. that takes UK banks out of the equation.

there is a myth that everything is cheaper in Thailand. only THAI food, public transportation, rent, housing, labor, medical and a few other things, (that is a lot of stuff) but if you want to buy a good quality coffee maker or anything manufactured outside Thailand it will cost more. If you want high quality food like protein, low carbs, no sugar, no white rice, it will cost you just like in the UK or USA.

Edited January 17, 201511 yr by NCC1701A