Best place to apply for year long Non-Immigrant B & O type visas in the UK

[fuzzmonkey]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum and have a couple of questions I'm try to working out:

My wife and I will be moving to Bangkok for work at the end of July. She will be on a non-Immigrant B visa (she will have a work permit) and I will be getting an O type as her spouse.

Having spoken to her work she thinks that it's possible to get a year long visa from one of the consul's in the UK (possibly Liverpool). I presume she means the multiple entry visa.

Is a multiple entry year long non-Immigrant visa (B and O respectively) the best visa to get initially, or would it be better to get another type and to change it when we arrive either locally or through a visa run to a neighbouring country?

Secondly, is it possible to get a multiple entry year long non-Immigrant visa (or any other year long visa) from the embassy in London or should we go to Liverpool?

[ubonjoe]

I am not sure you will be able to get multiple entry visas at any location in the UK. All multiple entry visas need approval by the embassy in London before a consulate can issue them.

If you wife is working here with a work permit she can get a one year extension of stay at immigration. Then you can then get an extension as her dependent. She would just need a single entry non-b visa and you a single entry non-o visa.

[woozlewuzzle]

Wrong - if you make an appointment at cardiff consulate they can issue non immigrant visas in about 30 mins, and they issue multplie entry as well

they are very friendly and accomadating, all ran by the same family, dad, two sons and his wife.

btw, they are welsh and have no knowledge of speaking or reading thai - nice little earner if you can get it, 60 odd pounds for a stamp or signature.

Edited May 27, 2015 by woozlewuzzle

[ubonjoe]

Wrong - if you make an appointment at cardiff consulate they can issue non immigrant visas in about 30 mins, and they issue multplie entry as well

they are very friendly and accomadating, all ran by the same family, dad, two sons and his wife.

btw, they are welsh and have no knowledge of speaking or reading thai - nice little earner if you can get it, 60 odd pounds for a stamp or signature.

When was the last time you got one. Things may of changed since then.

[nzexpat]

Wrong - if you make an appointment at cardiff consulate they can issue non immigrant visas in about 30 mins, and they issue multplie entry as well

they are very friendly and accomadating, all ran by the same family, dad, two sons and his wife.

btw, they are welsh and have no knowledge of speaking or reading thai - nice little earner if you can get it, 60 odd pounds for a stamp or signature.

That Consulates website displays the following words .................

"Please note that consulates are not authorised to issue all the above Non-Immigrant visa's"

http://www.thaiconsulatewales.org.uk/visas.htm

Cardiff is subject to the same "rules" as all other UK Hon. Consulates .

[Rob Roy]

As usual Ubonjoe is correct. To get a non o visa or a multiple o visa everyone now must go to the Royal Thai Embassy. Consul's no longer issue a non o visa as I just tried to get one in Glasgow and I was told I had to go to London. I was given advice from ubonjoe to go to Vientiane in PDR LAOS to get my first non imm o visa then when back in Thailand I will go to my local police immigration office to get a single entry 1 year extension based on retirement and having 800k in my thai bank. As u are married you will only need 400k in bank for 2 months in first year then for 3 months in your 2nd year. Plus a letter from your bank manager plus an up to date bank book. Because I cannot get a non o visa from Glasgow Thai Consul I will get a single entry tourist visa £25 instead. Ubonjoe will give you very good advice about visas. Good luck.

[Croyd1]

To get a non o visa or a multiple o visa everyone now must go to the Royal Thai Embassy. Consul's no longer issue a non o visa as I just tried to get one in Glasgow and I was told I had to go to London.

This seems to be a massive generalisation and I'm not sure it's correct - especially as there has been no mention on this forum as to UK consulates suddenly being told they can no longer issue multi-entry O visas (and I'm sure there would be a major uproar on these boards if they had been). Yes, I realize that thanks to Hull's previous easy-going attitude to visas all the consulates now have to get permission from the embassy before they can issue a non-o visa, and I can't comment on the Glasgow office as I've never been there, but I picked up my usual multi-entry non-immigrant O visa based on marriage at the Cardiff consulate just a few weeks ago (mid-April) and there were no problems at all, nor any mention that there might be in future.

Or am I missing something?

[ubonjoe]

To get a non o visa or a multiple o visa everyone now must go to the Royal Thai Embassy. Consul's no longer issue a non o visa as I just tried to get one in Glasgow and I was told I had to go to London.

This seems to be a massive generalisation and I'm not sure it's correct - especially as there has been no mention on this forum as to UK consulates suddenly being told they can no longer issue multi-entry O visas (and I'm sure there would be a major uproar on these boards if they had been). Yes, I realize that thanks to Hull's previous easy-going attitude to visas all the consulates now have to get permission from the embassy before they can issue a non-o visa, and I can't comment on the Glasgow office as I've never been there, but I picked up my usual multi-entry non-immigrant O visa based on marriage at the Cardiff consulate just a few weeks ago (mid-April) and there were no problems at all, nor any mention that there might be in future.

Or am I missing something?

You got yours based upon marriage. The post you quoted is for being 50 or over for retirement. What the OP asked about is also different from either of those.

To get a multiple entry non-o visa for retirement in the UK you must be 65 or over and be drawing a old age pension.

[VBF]

To get a non o visa or a multiple o visa everyone now must go to the Royal Thai Embassy. Consul's no longer issue a non o visa as I just tried to get one in Glasgow and I was told I had to go to London.

This seems to be a massive generalisation and I'm not sure it's correct - especially as there has been no mention on this forum as to UK consulates suddenly being told they can no longer issue multi-entry O visas (and I'm sure there would be a major uproar on these boards if they had been). Yes, I realize that thanks to Hull's previous easy-going attitude to visas all the consulates now have to get permission from the embassy before they can issue a non-o visa, and I can't comment on the Glasgow office as I've never been there, but I picked up my usual multi-entry non-immigrant O visa based on marriage at the Cardiff consulate just a few weeks ago (mid-April) and there were no problems at all, nor any mention that there might be in future.

Or am I missing something?

You got yours based upon marriage. The post you quoted is for being 50 or over for retirement. What the OP asked about is also different from either of those.

To get a multiple entry non-o visa for retirement in the UK you must be 65 or over and be drawing a old age pension.

Ubonjoe, may I just add to your post - it has to be a State (Government) Pension - a private pension will not do. I say that because it's no longer the case that all men in the UK get their State Pensions at 65. The younger you are now, the older you will be when it kicks in. For example, I'm 59 - I won't get my State Pension until I'm 66. Younger men than I will get theirs at 67 or 68 etc.

You can calculate it here

On the other hand a Private Pension may be taken from age 55 but the Embassy say they won't accept that for an O Visa

Edited May 27, 2015 by VBF

[Rob Roy]

Ubonjoe is absolutely 100% correct with his information and is bang up to date.

[VBF]

Yes he is as usual! UJ is the recognised authority on such matters and I'm certainly not disagreeing with him. I wouldn't dare! :-)

I am just pointing out that the London Thai Embassy's restriction is to specify that the Pension MUST be a State Pension not a Private Pension. In certain circumstances (including mine) it affects the age at which you can get them to issue the visa based on RETIREMENT. I confess to knowing little about the requirement for visas based on marriage as they don't affect me.

Edited May 27, 2015 by VBF