Extending O/A multiple entry visa an extra year

[jamie2009]

This is where the I am confused, my stamp on my re entry in February says Non O. I had a a 90 Non O, Sept 2014 to Dec 2014 which I understood was then changed to Retirement Visa giving me 15 months expiring Dec 2015. I also paid for a Multi Entry Permit. The page on my Passport does say RETIREMEN* suppose that's the Thai way of spelling it. I did my 90 day report at Jomtien today, it says THIS NOT AN EXTENSION OF StAY, basically what type of Visa do I have, I understood a Retirement Visa was an O-A Visa which I thought I had.

I did try to copy and paste the page of my Passport but it wouldn't do it.

You do not have a OA visa. You have a one year extension of stay based upon retirement.

Every time you enter the country using your re-entry permit you will get stamped in until the 14th of December.

You will have to have to apply for a new extension prior to the date your extension ends.

So the agent 'conned' me ? How do I or can I change to an O-A Visa ?

[ubonjoe]

The only place you can apply for a OA visa is at an embassy or consulate in your home country or country of legal residence.

[Liquorice]

@Jamie.

The Immigration law only allows aliens permission to stay in Thailand for 90 days at a time unless, you either report to an Immigration office every 90 days or leave the Country every 90 days. There are different types of Visa and 'extensions' that can dictate which method you follow.

A Non Imm O-A is valid for 12 Visa months and is multi entry.

With your Visa you can either report to an Immigration office every 90 days, or leave and re-enter to reset your next 90 day permission to stay. As it's multi entry you can leave and re-enter whenever you want up to the 'enter before date' in your passport.

On each entry it also resets the validity of your Visa back to 12 months.

However if your 'enter before date' (not the Visa expiry date) was say 15th Dec 2015 and you left the Country and re-entered on 14th December, your Visa will be valid for another 12 months, but the multi entry facility ends on that last entry.

Thereafter you either have to report to an Immigration office to receive another 90 day permission to stay, or if you wish to travel you can get either a single or multi entry re-entry permit from an Immigration office. This will allow you to come and go as before but keep your Visa valid.

If you leave the Country without getting a re-entry permit your Visa will have expired and re-entry will be refused on that Visa.

You state you last re-entered Thailand in February. What date?

You need to either report to your local Immigration office 90 days after that Feb re-entry date, which means you have to report again this month, or leave the Country again.

Hmm.... Faz, it seems you're confusing a multi-entry O-A with a multi-entry O visa. With an O-A, each entry is stamped for 365 days, with an O, it's 90 days. With the O-A you have to do 90 day reports at the local Immigration office or you could leave, re-enter, get a new re-entry and not have to do a 90-day report (although this is a stupid reason to travel - just to avoid doing 90 day reports). With a multi-entry O visa, you have no choice you HAVE to leave every 90 days and re-enter to get another 90 days permission to stay. No option to simply go to the local immigration office and submit a report.

With both visas, once the date of the actual "enter by" date of the visa has passed, then you have to get a re-entry permit to keep your permission to stay alive when you leave the country.

Sorry Nancy, I think maybe you misread my post.

Each entry may be stamped for 365 days, but his permission to stay is still 90 days.

With your Visa you can either report to an Immigration office every 90 days, or leave and re-enter to reset your next 90 day permission to stay.

[Liquorice]

This is where the I am confused, my stamp on my re entry in February says Non O. I had a a 90 Non O, Sept 2014 to Dec 2014 which I understood was then changed to Retirement Visa giving me 15 months expiring Dec 2015. I also paid for a Multi Entry Permit. The page on my Passport does say RETIREMEN* suppose that's the Thai way of spelling it. I did my 90 day report at Jomtien today, it says THIS NOT AN EXTENSION OF StAY, basically what type of Visa do I have, I understood a Retirement Visa was an O-A Visa which I thought I had.

I did try to copy and paste the page of my Passport but it wouldn't do it.

Does it look like the one on the left.

[jamie2009]

The only place you can apply for a OA visa is at an embassy or consulate in your home country or country of legal residence.

s

Apologies for the twenty questions, so how do I extend my Visa for another year in December, Pay an agent again or is it straight forward ?

[Liquorice]

This is where the I am confused, my stamp on my re entry in February says Non O. I had a a 90 Non O, Sept 2014 to Dec 2014 which I understood was then changed to Retirement Visa giving me 15 months expiring Dec 2015. I also paid for a Multi Entry Permit. The page on my Passport does say RETIREMEN* suppose that's the Thai way of spelling it. I did my 90 day report at Jomtien today, it says THIS NOT AN EXTENSION OF StAY, basically what type of Visa do I have, I understood a Retirement Visa was an O-A Visa which I thought I had.

I did try to copy and paste the page of my Passport but it wouldn't do it.

You do not have a OA visa. You have a one year extension of stay based upon retirement.

Every time you enter the country using your re-entry permit you will get stamped in until the 14th of December.

You will have to have to apply for a new extension prior to the date your extension ends.

So the agent 'conned' me ? How do I or can I change to an O-A Visa ?

If the agent was in Thailand he didn't con you. He got you an extension of stay with a multi re-entry permit which is as much as he could do.

[ubonjoe]

The only place you can apply for a OA visa is at an embassy or consulate in your home country or country of legal residence.

s

Apologies for the twenty questions, so how do I extend my Visa for another year in December, Pay an agent again or is it straight forward ?

Not need for an agent to apply for an extension of stay.They are easy to do.

You will need to show 800k baht in a Thai bank for 3 months or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 totaling 800k baht.

[jamie2009]

This is where the I am confused, my stamp on my re entry in February says Non O. I had a a 90 Non O, Sept 2014 to Dec 2014 which I understood was then changed to Retirement Visa giving me 15 months expiring Dec 2015. I also paid for a Multi Entry Permit. The page on my Passport does say RETIREMEN* suppose that's the Thai way of spelling it. I did my 90 day report at Jomtien today, it says THIS NOT AN EXTENSION OF StAY, basically what type of Visa do I have, I understood a Retirement Visa was an O-A Visa which I thought I had.

I did try to copy and paste the page of my Passport but it wouldn't do it.

Does it look like the one on the left.

Yes, but I have told that's an extension of stay based on retirement,

[Liquorice]

Yet another case of someone not having any idea about what is in the passport !

Here we are hearing about "multi entry non imm" and a (non existent) retirement visa .

Suggest the only way this to be resolved is for jamie2009 to scan and post pictures of what exactly is in the passport. Pics of the "multi entry non-imm" and the "retirement visa" are needed.

Yep, follows on from a topic the other day where the importance of the terminology used was important so as not to give the wrong information..................as I just did

@Jamie, please ignore my posts about the O-A Visa.

[jamie2009]

Are there any benefits to having an O-A Visa rather than an Extension of Stay based on Retirement ?

[ubonjoe]

Are there any benefits to having an O-A Visa rather than an Extension of Stay based on Retirement ?

For most people the advantage of the OA visa is that they can leave their money in their home country instead of having to put it in a bank here to apply for an extension.

[jamie2009]

The only place you can apply for a OA visa is at an embassy or consulate in your home country or country of legal residence.

s

Apologies for the twenty questions, so how do I extend my Visa for another year in December, Pay an agent again or is it straight forward ?

Not need for an agent to apply for an extension of stay.They are easy to do.

You will need to show 800k baht in a Thai bank for 3 months or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 totaling 800k baht.

What documentation do I have to complete ?

[Liquorice]

Your not on a Visa anymore.

You have an extension of permission to stay in Thailand until it's expiry date.

Up to 30 days before it's expiry you can apply for a new extension of permission to stay.

It is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.

You must report to Immigration every 90 days.

You need a re-entry permit if you wish to leave the Country.

If you leave and re-enter your 90 day count to report starts the day you re-enter.

An 'extension' is the choice of thousands who intend to remain in Thailand.

There are two different types of application.

An 'extension' based on retirement.

An 'extension' based on marriage to a Thai.

Each extension has it's own criteria of rules to be met to be successful.

[ubonjoe]

Just a TM7 application form. http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/download/pdf/tm7.pdf

You will also need proof of which ever type of financial proof you use.

[Liquorice]

The only place you can apply for a OA visa is at an embassy or consulate in your home country or country of legal residence.

s

Apologies for the twenty questions, so how do I extend my Visa for another year in December, Pay an agent again or is it straight forward ?

Not need for an agent to apply for an extension of stay.They are easy to do.

You will need to show 800k baht in a Thai bank for 3 months or proof of 65k baht income or a combination of the 2 totaling 800k baht.

What documentation do I have to complete ?

Documents for Extension of Stay Permit based on Retirement

1. Completed Form TM 7

2. Passport + Copy of Homepage showing given names / Passport number / Hologram or Photo, plus;

- Current Visa or

- Current Extension and

- Last Entry Stamp

3. Proof of Address

- Copy of House owners Tabian Ban (Wife/Landlord) and

- Copy of House owners ID card. (Wife/Landlord) and

- Rental Agreement + Copy (If rented) or

- Tabian Ban (If you possess one)

4. Map pinpointing and detailing Address

5. Medical Certificate.

6. Proof of sufficient funds.

- Updated Passbook + Copy and

- Letter from the Thai Bank confirming funds. (Must match funds in Passbook)

7. Letter from your Embassy confirming Income. (If using the monthly income method)

8. Passport photo (attached to TM 7 Form)

9. Copy of both front and back of your TM 6 Departure Card.

That's what I take every year. Not every document may be asked for but better to be safe than sorry.

[jamie2009]

I would like to thank every one today, I know I went on and on but for me here in Thailand you have to be 100% sure, not like the UK where you can just 'vanish of the radar' or if you do get found out they appear to do anything, in fact they might even send you back to where you come from foc !

[flynn]

I have a o-a visa, I have been leaving every three months & received a year from my date of entry each time, thinking of going to jomtien this time, do they give you the same stamp as coming in by plane ? Valid for a year ?

[Upnotover]

I have a o-a visa, I have been leaving every three months & received a year from my date of entry each time, thinking of going to jomtien this time, do they give you the same stamp as coming in by plane ? Valid for a year ?

No, they will just note your 90 day report and tell you when the next one is due. You have to leave and come back to get 12 months on entry (before the OA expires of course).

[ubonjoe]

I have a o-a visa, I have been leaving every three months & received a year from my date of entry each time, thinking of going to jomtien this time, do they give you the same stamp as coming in by plane ? Valid for a year ?

You can only get a new one year entry stamp by leaving re-entering the country.

When your current one year stay is about to end you could apply for an extension of stay.

Why are you leaving every 3 months?

[Dene16]

Due to conflicting information here (as always) i need to ask the question .

Question 1

i entered thailand on the 12 feb 2015 (I am on an OA visa) but my visa says enter before 21st Jan 2016 (i have since returned) i return in November and intended to leave again in February 2016. Do i have to leave and re~enter before the 21st Janruary to get the extra year or is February ok.

I would rather ensure i am here in february each year rather than January

To my mind the visa will start when you enter the country but not to some people here who state the enter before date is important

Question 2

If i wish to do my extention before i need to, with seasoning of money etc,before the end of the extended term, can i do so

[nzexpat]

"To my mind the visa will start when you enter the country"

Wrong ! Visas start loosing validity from the day of issue !

No "conflicting " information here !

If the visa has an enter before date of 21st Jan 2016 then that is the date the visa expires !

If a 2nd year is required from the visa an exit/entry must be made on or before 21st Jan 2016 (providing a new " permission to stay date" not an extended term)

Any travel undertaken during the second year will require a re -entry permit to protect and retain the permission to stay date.

An extension of stay can be applied for whenever you wish .............. but probably best done toward the end of what the O/A visa allows .

[NancyL]

@Jamie.

The Immigration law only allows aliens permission to stay in Thailand for 90 days at a time unless, you either report to an Immigration office every 90 days or leave the Country every 90 days. There are different types of Visa and 'extensions' that can dictate which method you follow.

A Non Imm O-A is valid for 12 Visa months and is multi entry.

With your Visa you can either report to an Immigration office every 90 days, or leave and re-enter to reset your next 90 day permission to stay. As it's multi entry you can leave and re-enter whenever you want up to the 'enter before date' in your passport.

On each entry it also resets the validity of your Visa back to 12 months.

However if your 'enter before date' (not the Visa expiry date) was say 15th Dec 2015 and you left the Country and re-entered on 14th December, your Visa will be valid for another 12 months, but the multi entry facility ends on that last entry.

Thereafter you either have to report to an Immigration office to receive another 90 day permission to stay, or if you wish to travel you can get either a single or multi entry re-entry permit from an Immigration office. This will allow you to come and go as before but keep your Visa valid.

If you leave the Country without getting a re-entry permit your Visa will have expired and re-entry will be refused on that Visa.

You state you last re-entered Thailand in February. What date?

You need to either report to your local Immigration office 90 days after that Feb re-entry date, which means you have to report again this month, or leave the Country again.

Hmm.... Faz, it seems you're confusing a multi-entry O-A with a multi-entry O visa. With an O-A, each entry is stamped for 365 days, with an O, it's 90 days. With the O-A you have to do 90 day reports at the local Immigration office or you could leave, re-enter, get a new re-entry and not have to do a 90-day report (although this is a stupid reason to travel - just to avoid doing 90 day reports). With a multi-entry O visa, you have no choice you HAVE to leave every 90 days and re-enter to get another 90 days permission to stay. No option to simply go to the local immigration office and submit a report.

With both visas, once the date of the actual "enter by" date of the visa has passed, then you have to get a re-entry permit to keep your permission to stay alive when you leave the country.

Sorry Nancy, I think maybe you misread my post.

Each entry may be stamped for 365 days, but his permission to stay is still 90 days.

With your Visa you can either report to an Immigration office every 90 days, or leave and re-enter to reset your next 90 day permission to stay.

No I didn't misread your post, Faz. You're just plain wrong and I'm sorry to break this news to someone who can be so very pendantic about things. With an O-A visa your permission to stay is 365 days and you must report your presence in the country if it you're here for more than 90 days. If you fail to do so, that doesn't mean that you've exceeded a "90 day permission to stay". Most people who have been here any length of time know that the 90 day reports expirations operate independently of the permission to stay expirations.

[flynn]

I have a o-a visa, I have been leaving every three months & received a year from my date of entry each time, thinking of going to jomtien this time, do they give you the same stamp as coming in by plane ? Valid for a year ?

You can only get a new one year entry stamp by leaving re-entering the country.

When your current one year stay is about to end you could apply for an extension of stay.

Why are you leaving every 3 months?

Thanks for the information, been leaving every three months to visit the surrounding countries & a excuse to get away from the missis ,,,,

[ubonjoe]

Due to conflicting information here (as always) i need to ask the question .

Question 1

i entered thailand on the 12 feb 2015 (I am on an OA visa) but my visa says enter before 21st Jan 2016 (i have since returned) i return in November and intended to leave again in February 2016. Do i have to leave and re~enter before the 21st Janruary to get the extra year or is February ok.

I would rather ensure i am here in february each year rather than January

To my mind the visa will start when you enter the country but not to some people here who state the enter before date is important

Question 2

If i wish to do my extention before i need to, with seasoning of money etc,before the end of the extended term, can i do so

1. If you want to get the most out of your visa you would need to do an entry on or shortly before the enter before date of January 21st. If you do an entry after that date without a re-entry permit you would get a 30 day entry.

A visas validity starts on the date it is issued. When you enter the country you get a permit to stay in the country.

2. You can apply for an extension of stay during the last 30 days of your last one year entry from your visa.

[louse1953]

The only place you can apply for a OA visa is at an embassy or consulate in your home country or country of legal residence.

s

Apologies for the twenty questions, so how do I extend my Visa for another year in December, Pay an agent again or is it straight forward ?

Do it yourself,this is the only way to learn.It's easy,why pay an agent?

[thapsak]

Interesting topic ..

I had a Non-Immigrant O-A Multi Entry Visa with an "enter before date" of 20 March 2015

I last entered Thailand on 11 Feb 2015 and passport was stamped "admitted until" 10 Feb 2016.

On 16 Feb 2015 I decided to enquire at the local Thai immigration office about the next step.

When I explained I still need to frequently leave Thailand (for work) the officer said pay 4,000 baht now and I received a (Non-RE) Multiple re-entry stamp valid until 10 Feb 2016. Note: This stamp is identical to post #29 by Jamie2009 but headed "Non-RE"

There were some language difficulties but I think I paid 2000 baht for the extension, 1900 baht for the multi entry and 100 for expedition ??

Can anybody here throw any light on whether this was correct? Thanks

[ubonjoe]

Interesting topic ..

I had a Non-Immigrant O-A Multi Entry Visa with an "enter before date" of 20 March 2015

I last entered Thailand on 11 Feb 2015 and passport was stamped "admitted until" 10 Feb 2016.

On 16 Feb 2015 I decided to enquire at the local Thai immigration office about the next step.

When I explained I still need to frequently leave Thailand (for work) the officer said pay 4,000 baht now and I received a (Non-RE) Multiple re-entry stamp valid until 10 Feb 2016. Note: This stamp is identical to post #29 by Jamie2009 but headed "Non-RE"

There were some language difficulties but I think I paid 2000 baht for the extension, 1900 baht for the multi entry and 100 for expedition ??

Can anybody here throw any light on whether this was correct? Thanks

You paid 200 baht extra for a multiple re-entry permit (3800 baht).

[thapsak]

Many thanks Ubon Joe for clearing that up. I probably wasted 5 weeks of the visa but was relieved to have it all sorted on the spot.

[Kerryd]

I'll be renewing my "extension of stay" later this month (at Jomtien). Just tried filling out and printing the TM.7 and it came out crappy. I downloaded a fresh copy (from the TV link) and same problem. Downloaded directly from the Immigration website and.....same problem.

I've cleaned the printer and test pages print perfectly. It seems it's just that some of the lines on the TM.7 are too faint (and because it's protected I can't "copy all" and paste into a blank page and try to fix the formatting). Of course, it could still be just my printer.

Does anyone have a copy of the TM.7 that prints out clearly ?

2nd thing. I had an agent due my extensions in the past, but all I recall every giving him was my passport, pictures, bank letter, photocopy of bank book and a wad of cash. Never signed a TM.7 or TM.8, or had a rental agreement. For "proof of address" can I do the same as when I did my last 90 day report and bring copies of utility bills (cable, electricity, internet, etc) ? I'll have (hopefully) properly filled out, printed and signed copies of the TM.7 and TM.8 forms of course.

[ubonjoe]

I'll be renewing my "extension of stay" later this month (at Jomtien). Just tried filling out and printing the TM.7 and it came out crappy. I downloaded a fresh copy (from the TV link) and same problem. Downloaded directly from the Immigration website and.....same problem.

I've cleaned the printer and test pages print perfectly. It seems it's just that some of the lines on the TM.7 are too faint (and because it's protected I can't "copy all" and paste into a blank page and try to fix the formatting). Of course, it could still be just my printer.

Does anyone have a copy of the TM.7 that prints out clearly ?

2nd thing. I had an agent due my extensions in the past, but all I recall every giving him was my passport, pictures, bank letter, photocopy of bank book and a wad of cash. Never signed a TM.7 or TM.8, or had a rental agreement. For "proof of address" can I do the same as when I did my last 90 day report and bring copies of utility bills (cable, electricity, internet, etc) ? I'll have (hopefully) properly filled out, printed and signed copies of the TM.7 and TM.8 forms of course.

I think all the TM7 for downloads are the same. Did you try changing the printer settings to best quality or whatever it is called on your printer settings. Perhaps try converting it to a PDF and then printing it,

Normally proof of residence is not needed at Jomtien from posts I have read. But there was post saying a persons was asked for it.