Update needed on non-imm O hurdles in Penang

[roo4]

Hi all. I'm 54, unmarried, have been employed legally in Thailand for 20 years (back-to-back work permits) and recently resigned from my job. I have had 800k deposited in a Thai bank for the required two months, but have no pension or other provable source of income (I will be living upcountry on income generated by my long-term Thai partner).

I realise I need to leave the country and get a non-immigrant O visa to start the process of getting an extension of stay based on retirement. Since I have no pension or other provable source of income, I am trying to decide on the most hassle-free embassy/consulate to apply for this.

A recent post by Ubonjoe recommended the Thai embassy in Vientiane as the best nearby location to apply for a non-immigrant O visa for reasons of retirement.

But I would prefer to do this in Penang if at all possible. Some (perhaps dated) info online suggests that the Penang consulate requires the non-imm O applicant to be at least 55 years of age and to be able to show evidence of a pension in addition to the 800k in the bank. Does anyone have any recent information on the situation there in this regard? Or as a pension-less 54-year-old am I better off heading for Vientiane?

[paz]

If you still are in based on extension of stay due to employment, you may not need to leave country all.

I recommend you formally apply for a changes of extension typpe at your local office with a perfect paperwork and go from there.

[roo4]

Thanks Paz. I am still here on the original work permit which my employer has agreed not to cancel until the end of Feb. But have been advised by an immigration lawyer that because I resigned on November 1, the only way I can avoid a trip abroad for this non-imm O visa is if I can get my employer to pretend that I paid tax for Nov, Dec and Jan (i.e. push forward my resignation date to Feb 1). That may be a tall order indeed!

[paz]

Do not confuse the work permit for permission to stay, as stamped on your passport.

All what matters is the day on which you cancel your work permit (from what I know, no tax receipts are needed), and apply for a change of extension of stay the same day at immigration.

If for any reason you are refused, you get 7 days to leave country and can travel to a consulate abroad to get the non-imm 'O' visa.

[TerryLH]

"All what matters is the day on which you cancel your work permit..."

Which is supposed to be when the job ends, not 4 months later.

[ubonjoe]

I don't know where you found that info about Penang.

I recommend Penang if you are in the south and Vientiane in the north.

With your passport to prove you are 50 or over and your bankbook showing 800k baht you can get a single entry non-o visa without a problem in Penang.

There have been several reports of some immigration offices refusing to change the reason for an extension of stay for several months now. So that option would only be valid if the office you have to use will do it.

[bigt116]

If you have not been working since Nov 1 , surely you have been on overstay since then ? Your WP has NOTHING to do with your permission to stay.

[stuurman]

Hi I saw as well that several visa agents in Penang state on their website you need to be 55. I live in Penang so went to the consulate to ask about it and there they told me it's 50 and above. They also told me that if you have the 800k for 3 months on a Thai bank account you can get a multi entry Non-O.

Edited February 4, 2015 by stuurman

[Ballbearing]

Guys,

I posted this question on another post but did not receive any replies.

As I am also based close to Penang I thought I might include on this post (sorry roo4 if I have hijacked).

If I am trying to get a Non Immigrant O visa based on marriage do I require TBH 400,000 in account for this visa or only when I apply for the extension of stay based on marriage ?

Cheers,

BB

[ubonjoe]

Guys,

I posted this question on another post but did not receive any replies.

As I am also based close to Penang I thought I might include on this post (sorry roo4 if I have hijacked).

If I am trying to get a Non Immigrant O visa based on marriage do I require TBH 400,000 in account for this visa or only when I apply for the extension of stay based on marriage ?

Cheers,

BB

You wold not need the 400k baht to get a single entry non-o based upon marriage. For a multiple entry non-o you would need to show it.

[roo4]

Thanks for all the replies, people.

To Terry LH and big116: yes, one's work permit is indeed "supposed to be" cancelled very soon after one leaves a job, but in this case my employer agreed to delay things until the end of Feb to allow me time to meet the bank-deposit requirements for a extension based on retirement. In the interim, I tested the water by applying for a re-entry permit for a short visit (sightseeing) to Laos in January. The permit was granted and I re-entered Thailand a week later without any hassles. I suppose that, technically, I am guilty of overstaying, but because my WP and the permission to stay stamped in my passport both run until much later this year (and have not yet been cancelled by my employer), the officials busily peering at their computers are none the wiser.

To paz: I will ultimately have to deal with the Immigration office in Nakhon Sawan vis a vis the retirement extension. I spoke to a female official there recently by phone and was informed, firmly but politely, that it would be impossible to apply for a retirement extension there without having a non-imm 'O' visa. "You can't apply for a retirement extension on the visa you currently hold," she explained very patiently, "because that visa is a non-imm 'B' only issued to people who are working in Thailand and you are no longer working here."

The same official also listed the other documents I would need in addition to my passport/non-imm 'O' visa and photos:

1. a letter from my bank confirming the 800k deposit for two months;

2. a "bank statement" ( I will need to seek clarification from her about whether an updated bank book will suffice for this purpose);

3. a copy of the house registration book (tabien baan) for the place I will be residing upcountry.

I asked whether I would also need to bring along a letter from the local village headman (pooyai baan) confirming my living arrangements, but she said that that would unnecessary.

To Ubonjoe: thanks for your very definitive info about Penang. And, yes, you are right about some Immigration offices refusing to change the reason for extension of stay from work to retirement (see my reply to paz above).

To stuurman: thanks for the on-the-ground reassurance about the situation in Penang (re visa applicants needing to be merely over the age of 50 and not 55) and the new info about a 3-month deposit of 800k qualifying one for a multiple-entry non-imm 'O'.

So I'll be heading down to Penang soon. Will report back on developments there.

[Ballbearing]

Thanks Ubonjoe,

Is it a requirement that the funds for the original Non Immigrant O multiple entry visa are in Thai Baht ?

I have had AU$100,000 (approx 2.5 million THB) in a Malaysian bank for the past 6 months waiting for the exchange rate to improve.

Can I use my bank statements to obtain the visa or do I have to transfer to my Thai bank and then wait 2 months ?

Cheers,

BB

[paz]

Thanks for clarifying roo4. Predictably, the difficulties raised by the immigration office were foreseen already by ubonjoe.

I guess you could also have done without the pedantic comments of those that place their opinion higher than your valid documents, but hey...

Good luck then!

[ubonjoe]

Thanks Ubonjoe,

Is it a requirement that the funds for the original Non Immigrant O multiple entry visa are in Thai Baht ?

I have had AU$100,000 (approx 2.5 million THB) in a Malaysian bank for the past 6 months waiting for the exchange rate to improve.

Can I use my bank statements to obtain the visa or do I have to transfer to my Thai bank and then wait 2 months ?

Cheers,

BB

If I recall correctly Penang just want to see the equivalent of 400k baht anywhere to get a multiple entry non-o. If you put in a Thai band it would not need to be there for 2 months.

The 2 months is only for applying for an extension of stay here.

[stuurman]

Thanks Ubonjoe,

Is it a requirement that the funds for the original Non Immigrant O multiple entry visa are in Thai Baht ?

I have had AU$100,000 (approx 2.5 million THB) in a Malaysian bank for the past 6 months waiting for the exchange rate to improve.

Can I use my bank statements to obtain the visa or do I have to transfer to my Thai bank and then wait 2 months ?

Cheers,

BB

If I recall correctly Penang just want to see the equivalent of 400k baht anywhere to get a multiple entry non-o. If you put in a Thai band it would not need to be there for 2 months.

The 2 months is only for applying for an extension of stay here.

When I was at the Thai consulate in Penang a few weeks ago to find out what I should bring to get a Non-O the gave me this flyer.

They verbally added that I could also apply with the funds I have in my local (Malaysian) bank account but in that case I would only get a single entry.

[ubonjoe]

Thanks Ubonjoe,

Is it a requirement that the funds for the original Non Immigrant O multiple entry visa are in Thai Baht ?

I have had AU$100,000 (approx 2.5 million THB) in a Malaysian bank for the past 6 months waiting for the exchange rate to improve.

Can I use my bank statements to obtain the visa or do I have to transfer to my Thai bank and then wait 2 months ?

Cheers,

BB

If I recall correctly Penang just want to see the equivalent of 400k baht anywhere to get a multiple entry non-o. If you put in a Thai band it would not need to be there for 2 months.

The 2 months is only for applying for an extension of stay here.

When I was at the Thai consulate in Penang a few weeks ago to find out what I should bring to get a Non-O the gave me this flyer.

They verbally added that I could also apply with the funds I have in my local (Malaysian) bank account but in that case I would only get a single entry.

That was for retirement not marriage.

It is difficult to read the document you posted a photo of since it upside down. But it also states it is for retirement.