Must You Leave Thailand To Get A Retirement Visa?

[dmerchent]

Sorry I can't find an answer anywhere on the forum for this.....

if a person is here on a Tourist Visa...over 50, has the 800,000 in a Thai bank account...all the paperwork, Dr's exam etc.. must they leave the country to get a Non-immigrant visa or can it been done at an immigration office, consulate/embassy, in Thailand. If they have to leave Thailand where is the best place to go. Home country is US..

Thanks for any help!

[Maestro]

if a person is here on a Tourist Visa...over 50, has the 800,000 in a Thai bank account...all the paperwork, Dr's exam etc.. must they leave the country to get a Non-immigrant visa...

No. It can all be done in Thailand, at the local immigration office.

It’s a two-step procedure, but both steps can be done during the same visit to immigration:

Step 1: With at least 21 days remaining on your permitted stay following your entry on a tourist visa, go to immigration and apply for a change of visa status to non-immigrant visa. Fee 2000 Baht.

Step 2: Apply for an annual extension of stay for the purpose of retirement. Fee 1900 Baht.

Optional step 3: If you plan to travel abroad during the period of your extension of stay, apply for a re-entry permit. Fee for single re-entry 1000 Baht, for multiple-re-entry 3800 Baht.

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Maestro

Edited September 18, 2006 by maestro

[dmerchent]

Maestro... I was totally incorrect when I said tourist visa... I came into Thailand Feb from Singapore with a 60 day tourist visa...extended the 30 days...after that have been doing runs...3 now, so I quess I will have to leave the country..

I don't really want to go back to the US...do you know where a good place to go?

Thanks!!

[lopburi3]

Penang, KL or Singapore will probably be willing to provide at least a tourist visa but take the retirement proof with you and perhaps they will provide a non immigrant O visa which would remove one step later when you extend for retirement.

[Maestro]

Penang, Kuala Lumpur or Singapore for a new single-entry Tourist Visa.

Better even, apply for a non-O visa. Purpose of visit “to investigate retirement possibility in Thailand”. If they don’t give you that, you still have the option of the Tourist Visa.

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Maestro

Edited September 18, 2006 by maestro

[dmerchent]

Thanks! I can't believe I didn't think of that! Just checked flights to Penang and it's only around $200 round trip!

Thanks again!!

[Maestro]

Wishing you a happy retirement in Thailand, dmerchant.

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Maestro

[dmerchent]

Thanks to both you and lopburi2...I feel much better now! Great help!

[carpediem]

if i may hop on this thread for info on a slightly different situation.

i have a multiple entry non immigrant o visa which i obtained in march. i am of retirement age.

can i apply for a retirement visa at any immigration office? i am presently in rented accommodation near pakchong - in a month or two hope to move to rented accommodation in chiang mai. i'd like to deal with an immigration office in chiang mai which may be more familiar with these matters.

questions

- must one apply at the office local to one's address, or is address and/or proof of address not a document needed for this purpose?

- other than the proof of 800k baht from overseas & doc's cert is there something more i should prepare?

- presumably it is to my advantage to wait until nearer the date of expiry of my current visa before applying, since my visa has the authorization for multiple entries and i do expect to be going out at least once before its expiry.

i don't doubt that i could get this information by an assiduous search but perhaps the helpful & clearly knowledgeable contributors could provide me this short cut.

thanks a lot.

cd

[lopburi3]

The requirement is the bank passbook, letter from bank, medical certificate, passport, arrival card each time. Not sure if there is an extra address certification required first time or not. Believe the standard is apply in area of residence or Bangkok. Not sure if others will accept. But there is no need to do this until last week or two of permitted to stay time (last).

[Hurricane51]

You should stop by the U.S. Embassy's American Services Unit in Bangkok (95 Wireless Road) and pick up what's referred to as a "Letter of Certification of Income". Then you present proof of income, get it notarized right there (B1200), and you should have no trouble at Thai Immigartion.

I've heard that the process is essentially rubber-stamped by the Embassy. Also, the ASU is closed for lunch between 11:00-13:00.

I can email you the form if you want, so you can see it in advance.

[Hurricane51]

You should stop by the U.S. Embassy's American Services Unit in Bangkok (95 Wireless Road) and pick up what's referred to as a "Letter of Certification of Income". Then you present proof of income, get it notarized right there (B1200), and you should have no trouble at Thai Immigartion.

I've heard that the process is essentially rubber-stamped by the Embassy. Also, the ASU is closed for lunch between 11:00-13:00.

I can email you the form if you want, so you can see it in advance.

Sorry, I forgot to say that this is only to verify that you have a steady income from the U.S. I'm not sure it will apply to lump sums in banks. The form doesn't appear that it does.

[Maestro]

Just checked flights to Penang and it's only around $200 round trip!

The latest I read, yesterday, is that you can now apply at the local immigration office to change from a 30-day stamp on arrival to a non-O visa. Therefore, before you book a flight to Penang, stop by immigration to check if this can apply also to you, or give them a call.

You need at least 21 days remaining of your permitted stay, which may mean that you have to do one more border run before applying for the change.

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Maestro

[lomatopo]

Non-Immigrant O Retirement Visa follow-on questions:

1.) How do you handle leaving/returning on a Retirement Visa? Via re-entry stamps?

2.) On this website it says that, "The applicant must provide three (3) copies of a certificate issued by local law enforcement not more than three months earlier verifying the applicant does not have any criminal record in their home country;" If this is indeed still a requirement, what's the best source (local, state, federal) for such documentation for a U.S. citizen, or can the Embassy provide such documentation?

[lopburi3]

Non-Immigrant O Retirement Visa follow-on questions:

1.) How do you handle leaving/returning on a Retirement Visa? Via re-entry stamps?

2.) On this website it says that, "The applicant must provide three (3) copies of a certificate issued by local law enforcement not more than three months earlier verifying the applicant does not have any criminal record in their home country;" If this is indeed still a requirement, what's the best source (local, state, federal) for such documentation for a U.S. citizen, or can the Embassy provide such documentation?

That link is about O-A visas which are issued in your country of residence. It is not about extension for retirement in Thailand from immigration. There is not such requirement for local extension of stay.

You handle travel with re entry permit(s) that you obtain prior to travel.

[carpediem]

lopburi3, thanks for the clarification. i'll make a note of the info for action when my non immigration o is in its last month. i assume it can all be done quickly on the day.

maybe i can make an initial attempt to do this at the office convenient to me and if it doesn't work let them advize me of the appropriate place. i assume if i did need an address verification this document can be obtained 'on the spot' - but at a different office from the immigration office? (i expect to be in a rented house in chiang mai at the relevant time. if you live in chiang mai, perhaps you could you tell me roughly where this office is - i could check on this point with them in advance.)

appreciate the advice.

hurricane, thanks but your advice presumed I was american - which i'm not. british.

[lopburi3]

I am in Bangkok but believe Chiang Mai immigration office is across the street, or very near, the airport.