What are the different types of Thai visa for an American who ...

[Grin Grasser]

I read some posts that talk about O visa, O-A visa, non-O ... , etc. Then I see travel agency's ads for border runs.

Some expats living in Thailand told me that there is no such visa as a retirement visa.

Some expats said that O-A visa is a visa for retiree, but to get it an expat has to apply for an O visa first.

So, the lot of information seems to lack cohesiveness.

What I would like to do: visit Thailand for up to 2 months or maybe 89 days for leisure activities, do such visit several times a year, minimize visits to the Thai Immigration office, and pay as few fees as possible.

I am not interested in permission to work, nor an education visa, nor a resident visa.

On my USA passport, I currently have a Philippines visa, called the Special Resident Retiree's Visa. Stated on this visa are "Entries: Multiple" and "Expiry Date Indefinite". The major costs to obtain were: US$20,000 deposited in a special bank's certificate of deposit and about US1,200 application fees. There were smaller application costs, such photos, medical exam, and National Bureau of Investigation (Philippine) background check. See the web site for the Philippine Retirement Authority, which I think is www.pra.gov.ph or maybe www.pra.ph for a better description of requirements.

So, in PI, the only time I see an Immigration official is when I fly in and out of the Philippines and the only time I see a PRA official is every 3 years when I get a new PRA ID card for US$30. Foreigners who are in PI for long periods and do not have a SRRV visa have to go to an Immigration office to obtain an ACR card and to file an annual report. SRRV visa holders are exempted from the ACR card and annual foreigner report requirements.

PRA used to have a requirement of a notice of every entry and exit. I emailed them. But, PRA told me several years ago, that this requirement was dropped. I guess PRA can access Immigration computer data on when I entered and exited PI, if it needs such data.

Does Thailand have a similar visa? (muliple entries, indefinite validity, small annual fee paid up to 3 years in advance)

Up to now, I visit Thailand for up to 30 days at a time on a no-visa tourist entry. Someone posted that the Thai Immigration beginning Nov 2014 no longer limits this type of entry to a maximum of 90 days during a six-month period.

My last visit was on a 60-day tourist visa. I got that at the Thai consulate in Makati. Its web site said 2 business days to process. But, it only accepts application in the morning and gives a slip of paper that says to return on an afternoon four business days later. It costed me about US$45 and only US cash was accepted. The consulate said maximum of 3 entries, which I think meant a maximum of three 60-day tourist visas per year. Traveling to and from Makati during workdays is a real pain due to heavy traffic.

I would like to minimize the Thai requirements and loss of time to deal with them.

Thus, could someone list the types of Thai visa that might fit my desired tourist visits, validity period, approximate costs, and number/years of allowable extensions.

Thanks in advance.

[nowretired]

All available Thai visa are listed on the Thai MFA website

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908

[55Jay]

Why do you want to spend so much time in Thailand vs. PI?

[paz]

What I would like to do: visit Thailand for up to 2 months or maybe 89 days for leisure activities, do such visit several times a year, minimize visits to the Thai Immigration office, and pay as few fees as possible.

if you are 50 or older you can get the O/A visa you mentioned or the extension of stay that are largely equivalent, about which the forum is filled with postings on each page.

Otherwise tourist visa, 1, 2 or 3 entries, each 60 days extensible to 90, $40 per entry.

Thailand also has VIP visa program that starts at Bt 500,000 for 5 years. No paperwork required, just pay up.

Edited July 3, 2015 by paz

[thousandpercent]

You need to continue to get 60 day tourist visas (which can be extended for 30 days- total of 90 days - with a visit to Immigration while in Thailand. That's the best thing for you.

[momtaz]

Try elite - easy access via, but you have to pay 500k THB, and will be valid for 5 years, included services are 25 pick ups from and to the airport, more infotrmation in the below link:

www.thailandelite.com

wish you a good luck

[BritTim]

I do not think any of the options are ideal given what I understand of your requirements. With the exception of the expensive Thailand Elite program (discussed at the end of this post) there is some inconvenience with all the options:

• Visa exempt entry: easy for 30 days per entry. If you want to stay longer, you can get a single 30 day extension, but this requires a visit to an immigration office. Besides needing to get to and from the office, it can take from a few minutes to hours to process the extension. Possibly adequate if you want to stay a maximum of 59 days on each visit.
• Tourist visa: 60 days on each entry. For each entry, it is possible to get a single 30 day extension by visiting an immigration office. I am unsure if tourist visas can be had by post in the US. If so, this may be an option. Maximum 59 nights without extension for each entry, 89 nights with extension. Perhaps, most attractive if you want to make a side trip of two out of Thailand to break up your visit. You can get a tourist visa with 1, 2 or 3 entries, but the last entry will probably need to be within 6 months of the issuing of the visa.
• O-A visa (aka multiple entry non immigrant visa). Once you have it, this is pretty nice, but is only valid for one year (actually 1-2 years as explained later). This allows you to enter Thailand any number of times within 12 months of the visa being issued. On each entry, you receive a permission to stay for a year. If you enter Thailand near the expiry date of the visa, you still get a full 12 month permission to stay, and ... before you leave, you can get a reentry permit (quickly at the airport) that allows you to reenter with the original validity of the permission to stay. This means that, if convenient for your schedule, the one year O-A visa can actually be good for nearly two years. The trouble with the O-A visa is that the embassy may require a lot of paperwork before giving it to you.
• O visa allows 90 days on each entry. Often only a single entry. Can be multiple entry valid for a year. In that case, the main practical difference is that you only get 90 days rather than 365 days on each visit. A corollary of this is that there is no way to making it last two years as you can with the O-A visa. Easier to get than the O-A visa, but can still be a bit of a hassle.

All the above options are inexpensive in terms of cash, with varying levels of convenience. You also have the

• Thailand Elite visa. This gives what amounts to a 5-year (or longer depending on the option taken) multiple entry tourist visa, with up to a one year stay on each entry. You can initially make the arrangements by email, send the money, and receive the visa, with the assistance of the program's staff, on first entry at the airport. It includes various other perks. If money is no object, this is a great option, but the options start at 500,000 baht.

I do not bother to discuss one year extensions of stay received inside Thailand, because they do not seem suitable to your needs.

[SOTIRIOS]

........one would think that after all these years...and millions of tourists...they would simplify all this....

...bottom line....go to Immigration for a visa.....halfway....they stop calling numbers.......and start counting all the money for immediate bank deposit.....

...cha-ching.....

[elgenon]

I have heard visas by mail are easy to obtain from Thai office in Portland Oregon.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just to be clear, the Thailand Elite $500,000 deal mentioned above isn't like the PH deal where you're just required to deposit those funds in a local bank account that still belongs to you.

In the Thailand Elite case, you're paying them that amount of money as a fee in order to receive annual visas with a total duration of 5 years. You get none of those funds back.

------------

As for the other options:

The problem with visa exempt 30 day entries for someone in the OP's case right now is that Thai Immigration at the international entry points are cracking down on repeat repeat visa=exempt entries, out of the belief that those people may be illegally working.

The tourist visas would cover the OP's schedule in terms of the length of stay allowed, and are pretty inexpensive to obtain. Also, those generally don't seem to be getting the same, or as much hassles, for repeat uses. Although, if someone kept returning to the same Thai consulate over and over again for repeat tourist visas, the consulate at some point might start to balk.

The Thailand Elite approach is a good alternative for people under age 50 who can't qualify for retirement extensions of stay (one year annually renewable permissions granted inside Thailand by Thai Immigration). The TE program is probably the lowest hassle, longest term option of all those available, but it's also by far the most expensive.

The choices also might depend on whether the OP is only staying in the PH, and has to deal with the Thai consulate there only, or perhaps also is returning to the U.S. periodically, where some of the local honorary U.S. consulates will likely be much more accommodating for Americans seeking various kinds of Thai visas vs their SE Asia counterparts.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Sorry, in the post above, the 500,000 figure should have been Thai baht, not $. A bit of a difference there...

http://www.thailandelite.com/glimpse.php

[Guest]

I have heard visas by mail are easy to obtain from Thai office in Portland Oregon.

True.

[Guest]

"Some expats living in Thailand told me that there is no such visa as a retirement visa."

Some expats have not clue one what they are talking about.

I have lived here for 5 years on one, and there are thousnds more like me, and some, who have held that visa for decades.

If you are over 50 .. it is child's play.

[ubonjoe]

"Some expats living in Thailand told me that there is no such visa as a retirement visa."

Some expats have not clue one what they are talking about.

I have lived here for 5 years on one, and there are thousnds more like me, and some, who have held that visa for decades.

If you are over 50 .. it is child's play.

So you have been getting OA visas from an embassy or consulate for 5 years. That is the only visa that comes close to being called a retirement visa.

It think you may be be calling an extension of stay based upon retirement a retirement visa which it is not.

[BKResort]

First get a NO visa. In 15 days, get a retirement one year extension with multiple re-entries paying $150. To get that only needs to shows an US Embassy income certification of over $2300/month. Very easy to get, cost $50. Do not need to show any bank certifications, anywhere.

Next visit to immigration only in one year. The 90 days visit, now can be done online, and it is free.

Easy than that, only getting a nice and young Thai companion to help you with the language at some immigration offices during the day ....and share a night celebration after getting all done.

To good to be true? It is true....Do not believe in complicated people and visa services advice.

Welcome to Thailand.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The OP hasn't responded again after his original post, as yet.

Suffice to say, I don't believe he's indicated whether or not he's age 50 or above, which would make him eligible for an O-A retirement visa issued at a Thai consulate in the U.S., or an annual extension of stay based on retirement issued by Thai Immigration here in country -- assuming he also had the required bank funds or monthly income to qualify for those.

And for that matter, other than currently residing in the PH, he also hasn't indicated whether he could or would want to travel back to the U.S. to pursue any kind of visa issued by the various Thai consulates there.

So, until and unless the OP returns to fill in some details, it's going to be kind of hard to flesh out what options would be the best for him.

[Maestro]

It is true that the age of the OP is an important factor in answering his question, more so since he referred to the O/A visa, and an indication of it would have allowed more definitive answers rather than "if...then..." replies.

I imagine that the OP has already received the information he needed but –given his aversion to losing time – has not yet found a suitable time window to post again in this topic.

My best wishes to the OP. I consider it ideal for a retired person to spend his time I more than one country.

[Grin Grasser]

The OP hasn't responded again after his original post, as yet.

Suffice to say, I don't believe he's indicated whether or not he's age 50 or above, which would make him eligible for an O-A retirement visa issued at a Thai consulate in the U.S., or an annual extension of stay based on retirement issued by Thai Immigration here in country -- assuming he also had the required bank funds or monthly income to qualify for those.

And for that matter, other than currently residing in the PH, he also hasn't indicated whether he could or would want to travel back to the U.S. to pursue any kind of visa issued by the various Thai consulates there.

So, until and unless the OP returns to fill in some details, it's going to be kind of hard to flesh out what options would be the best for him.

Thanks for the answers, especially BritTim for a comprehensive answer.

I am over 60 years old. I travel back to the USA every 2 years, but only stay about 2 weeks.

Similar to girl friends, I like variety and change; so I prefer to be in-and-out of a country up to 60 days, maybe 90 days.

A month ago, I stayed in Thailand for nearly 60 days and thought about a 30-day extension. But, I got too restless.

Several years ago, I went to the Thai consulate in Makati, Philippines to apply for an O visa. They refused to accept my application and told me that I could apply for it while in the USA.

But, several expats told me that an O visa could be obtained while on a visa-exempt visit in Thailand. Also, one expat said that it was required to get an O visa in order to get a O/A visa. Correct?

Sorry, I did not reply sooner. I only get on the internet every 2 or 3 days. Also, I have but do not use a smart phone. The only things I do daily are: sleep, eat, drink, toilet. If convenient, I would go nightly to a go-go club and watch rock videos.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

• O-A visa (aka multiple entry non immigrant visa). Once you have it, this is pretty nice, but is only valid for one year (actually 1-2 years as explained later). This allows you to enter Thailand any number of times within 12 months of the visa being issued. On each entry, you receive a permission to stay for a year. If you enter Thailand near the expiry date of the visa, you still get a full 12 month permission to stay, and ... before you leave, you can get a reentry permit (quickly at the airport) that allows you to reenter with the original validity of the permission to stay. This means that, if convenient for your schedule, the one year O-A visa can actually be good for nearly two years. The trouble with the O-A visa is that the embassy may require a lot of paperwork before giving it to you.
• O visa allows 90 days on each entry. Often only a single entry. Can be multiple entry valid for a year. In that case, the main practical difference is that you only get 90 days rather than 365 days on each visit. A corollary of this is that there is no way to making it last two years as you can with the O-A visa. Easier to get than the O-A visa, but can still be a bit of a hassle.

Think of the O-A visa obtained outside of Thailand from Thai consulates and the annual retirement extensions inside Thailand obtained from Thai Immigration as kind of cousins of each other. A lot of similarities, but a few differences.

Both require 800,000 baht in the bank (in a Thai bank for the retirement extensions, while the O-A deposit can be anywhere, usually in the country where you're applying), or the equivalent of at least 65,000 baht per month in income, or a combination of the two.

The O-A visa can give you up to almost a two year stay, because each time you re-entry the country, you're granted a new one year permission to stay. So if you leave just before your first year is up, that stamp will cover you for another full year. During that second year period, you'll need to purchase a single or multiple entry re-entry permit from Thai Immigration in order to keep your permission to stay alive.

In contrast, the extensions of stay based on retirement are only annual, approx. 12 months and then must be renewed annually at Thai Immigration by showing you're old enough and meet the financial requirements. Fee at present is 1900 baht. If you want to leave Thailand during that year, you need to also apply for/buy a single or multi-entry re-entry permit to keep your extensive alive.

Immigration generally likes retirement extension applicants to be starting out with some type of non-Immigrant visa. But, at least in Bangkok, you can also start out with a tourist visa or even a visa-exempt entry and jump thru a few more hoops, whereby Thai Immigration will issue you a single-entry O visa themselves and then later convert it to a retirement extension.

One other difference is the O-A visas typically require both a medical clearance and a no criminal history clearance to be provided by you as part of the application package. The retirement extensions in country don't require either of those.

There are other details and subtleties involved....

The Thai Embassy website in Wash DC has an overview of the O-A visa and related stuff.

http://thaiembdc.org/consular-services/non-immigrant-visas/non-immigrant-category-o/

In general, I'd say most age and finance eligible expats who live full-time in Thailand will tend to choose the retirement extension of stay, whereas those folks who may still live in their home country or do a lot of traveling back and forth may choose the O-A because of its longer duration, provided they're not put off by needing to get the criminal and medical clearances.

[BritTim]

Thanks for the answers, especially BritTim for a comprehensive answer.

I am over 60 years old. I travel back to the USA every 2 years, but only stay about 2 weeks.

Similar to girl friends, I like variety and change; so I prefer to be in-and-out of a country up to 60 days, maybe 90 days.

A month ago, I stayed in Thailand for nearly 60 days and thought about a 30-day extension. But, I got too restless.

Several years ago, I went to the Thai consulate in Makati, Philippines to apply for an O visa. They refused to accept my application and told me that I could apply for it while in the USA.

But, several expats told me that an O visa could be obtained while on a visa-exempt visit in Thailand. Also, one expat said that it was required to get an O visa in order to get a O/A visa. Correct?

Sorry, I did not reply sooner. I only get on the internet every 2 or 3 days. Also, I have but do not use a smart phone. The only things I do daily are: sleep, eat, drink, toilet. If convenient, I would go nightly to a go-go club and watch rock videos.

But, several expats told me that an O visa could be obtained while on a visa-exempt visit in Thailand. Also, one expat said that it was required to get an O visa in order to get a O/A visa. Correct?

To be accurate, those who want to apply for an extension of stay based on retirement can have their tourist visa or visa exempt entry converted to a non immigrant, one, and can subsequently apply for the one year extension of stay. The procedure is:

• Apply for a conversion. This is not granted on the spot. You must go back about a week later. Also, most immigration offices cannot do this. You would probably need to use the immigration office in Bangkok.
• When the conversion is complete, apply for a one year extension of stay. The main requirement is 800,000 THB in a Thai bank continuously for two months prior to the application; or proof of an income of 65,000 THB per month (or a combination). If all your ducks are in order, you can receive the extension the same day.
• Immediately after receiving the one year extension of permission to stay, you probably want to purchase a reentry permit. This keeps your extended permission to stay valid if you exit Thailand and want to return.
• If you are in Thailand within 30 days of the expiry of a one year extension of stay, you can apply for a fresh one year extension on nearly the same basis as the first (the 800,000 THB must have been in the bank for three months rather than two).

For people who want to live in Thailand, the above procedure is cheap and not too onerous. For someone who just wants to enjoy two or three months here every now and then, it may be too much hassle.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Good summary above...

Another difference I wanted to add from last night...

Right now, O-A visas via in-person application are only available in the U.S. at 4 locations, the Thai Embassy in DC and at the three Thai consulate locations, L.A., New York and Chicago, I believe. Though, they may accept mailed in applications, provided all your paperwork is in order and you're willing to send your passport thru the mail, and have the time in country to await the turnaround. [Those visas used to also be available from some of the honorary consulates located elsewhere, but the Thai MFA put a stop to that some time back].

Whereas retirement extensions can be obtained from the Thai Immigration office for wherever in Thailand you happen to be living at the time. All of them do that business. Although, as noted above, if you don't already have a non-Imm visa and need to do a conversion, that part of the process probably needs to be handled in Bangkok... But once that's done, future extensions can be done wherever you may be staying in Thailand, usually in-out the same day.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Re the notion of using recurring/repeat visa exempt entries... here is a current and good thread to read... shows how Immigration is giving people grief over that approach...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/838400-hard-time-at-suvarnabhumi-on-visa-waiver-and-visa-advice/

[Travelighlty]

Slightly off topic, but can anyone say how long you can remain in Thailand on a tourist visa during a one year period? Having received a 60 day tourist visa from outside Thailand, I was able to get a 30 day extension after that. Is it still possible to leave Thailand and return the same day for a final 30 day extension, doing a border run? The last time I did this, about a year and a half ago, I was told I would have to have an airline ticket leaving Thailand after that final extension. Then, when I returned after a month (or three months?), Thai Immigration told me I had spent too much time in Thailand, (5 months over the previous year) and, after the 30 day visa they then "graciously" gave me, told me I would have to leave Thailand for 6 months!

I have been in Thailand now for just short of three months and wondering if I can get one of the long-stay visas without the hassle of leaving Thailand again. I've only got a week left of the 90 days and don't have all the required legal paperwork. I did try looking on the Thai Embassy page, leaving even more confused.

[johnatong]

Slightly off topic, but can anyone say how long you can remain in Thailand on a tourist visa during a one year period? Having received a 60 day tourist visa from outside Thailand, I was able to get a 30 day extension after that. Is it still possible to leave Thailand and return the same day for a final 30 day extension, doing a border run? The last time I did this, about a year and a half ago, I was told I would have to have an airline ticket leaving Thailand after that final extension. Then, when I returned after a month (or three months?), Thai Immigration told me I had spent too much time in Thailand, (5 months over the previous year) and, after the 30 day visa they then "graciously" gave me, told me I would have to leave Thailand for 6 months!

I have been in Thailand now for just short of three months and wondering if I can get one of the long-stay visas without the hassle of leaving Thailand again. I've only got a week left of the 90 days and don't have all the required legal paperwork. I did try looking on the Thai Embassy page, leaving even more confused.

What kind of "long stay visa" are you looking for and what do you regard as long stay ?

Visas are available (from outside Thailand) for those who are married, retired, working or are following a course of education at a school/university.

Each of these visas have different requirements and conditions relating to extensions of stay.

You should also take a look at the Thai Elite Visa which provides a 5 year stay and may meet your needs.

http://www.thailandelite.com/glimpse.php

Unless you can indicate a visa that you might be interested in/qualified for I cannot assist further.

[BritTim]

Slightly off topic, but can anyone say how long you can remain in Thailand on a tourist visa during a one year period? Having received a 60 day tourist visa from outside Thailand, I was able to get a 30 day extension after that. Is it still possible to leave Thailand and return the same day for a final 30 day extension, doing a border run? The last time I did this, about a year and a half ago, I was told I would have to have an airline ticket leaving Thailand after that final extension. Then, when I returned after a month (or three months?), Thai Immigration told me I had spent too much time in Thailand, (5 months over the previous year) and, after the 30 day visa they then "graciously" gave me, told me I would have to leave Thailand for 6 months!

I have been in Thailand now for just short of three months and wondering if I can get one of the long-stay visas without the hassle of leaving Thailand again. I've only got a week left of the 90 days and don't have all the required legal paperwork. I did try looking on the Thai Embassy page, leaving even more confused.

First, there is insufficient time to convert your current tourist entry into a Non Imm entry. You will need to leave Thailand.

At stated above, if you want to stay long-term in Thailand, you need to find out which options you qualify for and choose between them. If not intending to work, and under the age of 50, your options are limited.