How to come and immediately get a Retirement Visa?

[elektrified]

I have an elderly relative that would like to come to Chiang Mai to live. She is about 75 years old and holds a Swiss passport. She is originally from Hong Kong. I doubt she ever renewed her HK passport as she has lived in Europe for the last 40 years. She lives in the South of Spain and could not possibly get all the way up to Madrid alone to apply for a Tourist Visa in person. I don't see Switzerland on the list of countries eligible for a VOA. Even if it was, it requires a return ticket. She is planning on selling her house and relocating here. She does not want to return to Spain.

So how could she come here and get a retirement visa? Could she get a tourist visa from the Royal Thai Embassy in Madrid by applying by post? If she got 3 months then I guess she could do 1 X 30-day extension and that would give her the 3 months to season her 800K THB and the 30 days to complete her Retirement Visa application, get settled, etc. Correct? What about the issue of a return ticket? If she can't get the Tourist Visa by post then what are the options for her?

Thanks for your help.

[steve187]

you will have to research either a visa exempt entry or a tourist visa, or in fact a non immigrant 'o' from her home country.

book a cheap throw away air ticket, to allow boarding. if she got to Thailand on any entry, she could convert that entry to a non immigrant 'o' visa within Thailand, that would give her a fresh 90 day entry and would allow the money to season, the money would have to be in a thai bank in her name, on the day of the conversion.

[lopburi3]

Normally a tourist visa can be obtained by any travel agency as well as by mail so should be an easy process to obtain prior to departure. Once here she must change to a non immigrant O visa entry after getting money into account ( which provides another 90 days) so there would not be any problem with money being in account two months for the actual retirement extension. An onward ticket will likely be required for any travel (but not return) so can be throw away or if full fare refundable get refund later.

[ubonjoe]

She would get a visa exempt entry not a VOA.that would allow a 30 day entry.
She might be able to apply for a single entry non-o visa for being over 50 instead of a tourist visa.from the embassy since she is not a Spanish citizen. I see nothing on the embassy website about doing mail in applications.

Contact info for the embassy is here:http://www.thaiembassy.org/madrid/en/organize
There are also 2 honorary Thai consulates in Spain where she could get a visa.
Barcelona
Avenida Diagonal
339 bis 4-1A 08037
Mr. Jamie Sabate Herce
Tel (34) 93 458 1461
Fax (34) 93 458 1461

Tenerife
Loro Parque Bencomo s/n
38400 Puerto de la Cruz
Mr. Wolfgang Kiessling
Tel (34) 922 373 841, 374 081
Movill (34) 922 908 646464
Fax (34) 922 375 021

[elektrified]

Thanks guys. I guess I missed the visa exempt entry for citizens of Switzerland. So that would make getting here easy for her. And then the application process could begin for her retirement visa. She could open her bank account to deposit her 800K THB with her visa exempt entry I imagine? Then what? Go to Immigration and tell them that she wants a retirement visa and they would extend her visa exempt entry for the next 3 months?

[ubonjoe]

With a visa exempt entry she could be asked for a ticket out of the country in order to board her flight to here .She could get a low cost one way to ticket to a nearby country to overcome that though.

She would only have 15 days to do an application for a 90 day non immigrant visa entry at an immigration office. She could also apply for it after getting a 30 day extension of the 30 day entry prior to the last 15 days of the extension..

How difficult it will be to do the visa application will depend upon where she is living. Only Bangkok immigration can approve the application but there are a few offices that can accept the application and send it to Bangkok for approval.

The best option would be to try and get the non-o visa before coming here.

[Eclipse]

Without a Visa she might not be allowed on the flight without a ticket leaving Thailand within 30 days.

As said, it would make it so much easier to arrive with a Non Imm O Visa if possible.

However the website says this:

Non-Immigrant Visa "O" - Family

For spouse or child of a Thai citizen

[IMA_FARANG]

O.K. there is such a thing as being old and having problems traveling.

I understand that.

But here is my story.

in October 2010 I was working as a U.S. citizen for a U.S. company in Crete, Greece.

Had a U.S. passport.

I retired from my job.

To get my Thai visa I flew from Athens, Greece to Heathrow.

The next day I took a train to Hull stayed overnight in a hotel in Hull, and the day after that went to the Thai consulate there to apply for a Thai non immigrant O visa.

Having got that (on my U.S. passport) I then took the train back to Heathrow, where I boarded a flight to the U.S.

The next week I went to my local Social Security Office and filed my retirement papers for my U.S. Social Security pension.

After a week or so visiting my relatives in the U.S. I then got on a plane to Bangkok with my new visa.

I wouldn't be able to do that today, because the rules have been changed in Hull since that time.

I was only 65 then, but it was possible at that time.

I guess my philosophy is ---- just do it.

[Evilbaz]

Most airlines are very good about providing wheelchair assisted boarding and disembarkation - providing there are no more than two per flight.

VIP lane at Immi and Customs and assistance with bags.

Some don't even charge!

[Suradit69]

Thanks guys. I guess I missed the visa exempt entry for citizens of Switzerland. So that would make getting here easy for her. And then the application process could begin for her retirement visa. She could open her bank account to deposit her 800K THB with her visa exempt entry I imagine? Then what? Go to Immigration and tell them that she wants a retirement visa and they would extend her visa exempt entry for the next 3 months?

"Then what? Go to Immigration and tell them that she wants a retirement visa and they would extend her visa exempt entry for the next 3 months?"

If she doesn't enter the country using a non-imm O visa, she'll first need to apply to immigrations for a conversion to a non-imm O visa entry. That would give her 90 days permission to stay.

Then during the final 30 day of that permission she would apply for an extension of stay based on retirement ( not a visa).

At that point she'll need proof from her Thai bank manager that she's had the Baht 800.000 in her account for at least two months ... along with a filled in application, photocopies of pages from her passport & bank book, etc.

The extension of stay will be good for one year. She will need to report to immigrations every 90 days and if she wants to travel out of Thailand & return she'll need a re-entry permit.

[NancyL]

She can convert a 30-day visa exempt entry into a 90 day O-visa in Chiang Mai but she must do it with 15 days remaining on her entry. So, she'll need to move fast to open her bank account -- no need for the money to have been seasoned -- as soon as she arrives and then go to the old Immigration office near the airport as soon as the 800,000 baht shows up in her account to show them she's on the path to meeting the financial requirements for a retirement extension.

Also, she'll have to have proof of where she's living -- ideally the home owner should have filed TM 30 for her shortly after she arrived. Or she can bring a rental contract when she applies for the 90 day O visa.

In summary, what's needed to apply for a 90-day O visa for retirement in CM is:

1. at least 15 days remaining on the permission to stay

2. financial proof, in this case a Thai bank account of 800,000 baht

3. TM 30 or rental contract

If she or you aren't good with paperwork, you may wish to hire the services of a visa agent like O.S. Thai Visa or Assist Thai Visa for the process.

[mogoso]

O.K. there is such a thing as being old and having problems traveling.

I understand that.

But here is my story.

in October 2010 I was working as a U.S. citizen for a U.S. company in Crete, Greece.

Had a U.S. passport.

I retired from my job.

To get my Thai visa I flew from Athens, Greece to Heathrow.

The next day I took a train to Hull stayed overnight in a hotel in Hull, and the day after that went to the Thai consulate there to apply for a Thai non immigrant O visa.

Having got that (on my U.S. passport) I then took the train back to Heathrow, where I boarded a flight to the U.S.

The next week I went to my local Social Security Office and filed my retirement papers for my U.S. Social Security pension.

After a week or so visiting my relatives in the U.S. I then got on a plane to Bangkok with my new visa.

I wouldn't be able to do that today, because the rules have been changed in Hull since that time.

I was only 65 then, but it was possible at that time.

I guess my philosophy is ---- just do it.

You could have applied for Social Security online

[Suradit69]

O.K. there is such a thing as being old and having problems traveling.

I understand that.

But here is my story.

in October 2010 I was working as a U.S. citizen for a U.S. company in Crete, Greece.

Had a U.S. passport.

I retired from my job.

To get my Thai visa I flew from Athens, Greece to Heathrow.

The next day I took a train to Hull stayed overnight in a hotel in Hull, and the day after that went to the Thai consulate there to apply for a Thai non immigrant O visa.

Having got that (on my U.S. passport) I then took the train back to Heathrow, where I boarded a flight to the U.S.

The next week I went to my local Social Security Office and filed my retirement papers for my U.S. Social Security pension.

After a week or so visiting my relatives in the U.S. I then got on a plane to Bangkok with my new visa.

I wouldn't be able to do that today, because the rules have been changed in Hull since that time.

I was only 65 then, but it was possible at that time.

I guess my philosophy is ---- just do it.

You could have applied for Social Security online

Yes, I applied while I was in Thailand using the US Social Security office in the Philippines.

[elektrified]

Thanks again for everyone's advice. Much appreciated.