Apply for O-A Visa in the U.S. (Retired Milit

[Lenard52]

Has anyone used their monthly military retirement/pension pay document as proof of income - had that certified and had no problems getting their visa?

The medical clearance - heading out to find a doctor to sign that off soon..

Thank you for your time..

[ubonjoe]

They will accept proof of your retirement income as long as it is equal to 65K baht or more.

[Lenard52]

They will accept proof of your retirement income as long as it is equal to 65K baht or more.

Thanks for the reply...

When it's getting so close to submitted my application at the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles, everything seems it could go wrong.

Just wanted to be sure, they won't disapprove my visa because of a format error..

[TheAppletons]

The Thai Consulate in LA is pretty easy to work with. Very helpful.

For your notarization, find a Postal Annex or Mailbox Etc.....each usually has a notary on staff that charges around $10 a signature. Since the medical clearance, proof of income, and police report all require a notarization, the notary will do a batch "certified to be a true copy" for the three of them (together). It's essentially a cover sheet that says you certify each to be a true copy. Total cost then is $10 for the notarization, if you go that route. LA Consulate accepts that, btw.

You'll need four photos....conflicting information on the website as to whether it's two or four.

[Pib]

This is history, but around 8 years ago I used my military retirement pay when getting my OA Visa years back when you could still get a OA Visa at the Honorary Thai Consulate in Honolulu. I just attached the DFAS monthly annuity statement, some bank statements, etc., to the application and they were happy.

[Lenard52]

This is history, but around 8 years ago I used my military retirement pay when getting my OA Visa years back when you could still get a OA Visa at the Honorary Thai Consulate in Honolulu. I just attached the DFAS monthly annuity statement, some bank statements, etc., to the application and they were happy.

Thank you!

[Lenard52]

The Thai Consulate in LA is pretty easy to work with. Very helpful.

For your notarization, find a Postal Annex or Mailbox Etc.....each usually has a notary on staff that charges around $10 a signature. Since the medical clearance, proof of income, and police report all require a notarization, the notary will do a batch "certified to be a true copy" for the three of them (together). It's essentially a cover sheet that says you certify each to be a true copy. Total cost then is $10 for the notarization, if you go that route. LA Consulate accepts that, btw.

You'll need four photos....conflicting information on the website as to whether it's two or four.

Thanks! Especially for the photo info.

Did you have any issues getting a doctor to fill out the medical clearance form?

[TheAppletons]

The Thai Consulate in LA is pretty easy to work with. Very helpful.

For your notarization, find a Postal Annex or Mailbox Etc.....each usually has a notary on staff that charges around $10 a signature. Since the medical clearance, proof of income, and police report all require a notarization, the notary will do a batch "certified to be a true copy" for the three of them (together). It's essentially a cover sheet that says you certify each to be a true copy. Total cost then is $10 for the notarization, if you go that route. LA Consulate accepts that, btw.

You'll need four photos....conflicting information on the website as to whether it's two or four.

Thanks! Especially for the photo info.

Did you have any issues getting a doctor to fill out the medical clearance form?

I didn't but others have reported that their doc wanted to run a blood screen first....I wouldn't have objected to that but others seem to have a problem with it. Local police report took about a week, cost me $23 this time around.

If you are near LA, pretty easy to go to the Consulate in person to expedite the process. Drop it off in the morning, pick it up 24 hours later. If you get there when they open at 0900 you'll be done in 20 minutes or so. Grab a late breakfast, catch the races at Santa Anita in the afternoon, Happy Hour after that, and you've got a pretty decent day.

[Lenard52]

Wonderful plan. Yes, will do this in person. And for sure no problem with the doc doing any blood test if it gets that medical clearance signed off.

[SpokaneAl]

I am retired military and get a new non imm o-a multi entry visa each year. I print off a copy of my retirement pay statement from DFAS MyPay and have had no problems.

Concerning the doctor statement - prior to becoming Medicare age when Tricare was my primary insurance the doctor completed the form with no problem. I have had the same experience since moving under Medicare.

Each year I deal with the LA Thai Consulate and complete the process via the mail and find them pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. I seem to deal with the same nice fellow each year.

I suggest you get your passport photos as WalMart - the cheapest I have found.

Edited February 11, 2016 by SpokaneAl

[Lenard52]

I am retired military and get a new non imm o-a multi entry visa each year. I print off a copy of my retirement pay statement from DFAS MyPay and have had no problems.

Concerning the doctor statement - prior to becoming Medicare age when Tricare was my primary insurance the doctor completed the form with no problem. I have had the same experience since moving under Medicare.

Each year I deal with the LA Thai Consulate and complete the process via the mail and find them pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. I seem to deal with the same nice fellow each year.

I suggest you get your passport photos as WalMart - the cheapest I have found.

Thanks for the reply. I feel less stressed hearing someone that is also retired military, that successfully went thru the process at the same Thai consulate.

This is my first try at a retirement visa, and those visa services in Thailand make it sound impossible to get one, unless they help you.

So, thanks again for the information.

[SpokaneAl]

I am retired military and get a new non imm o-a multi entry visa each year. I print off a copy of my retirement pay statement from DFAS MyPay and have had no problems.

Concerning the doctor statement - prior to becoming Medicare age when Tricare was my primary insurance the doctor completed the form with no problem. I have had the same experience since moving under Medicare.

Each year I deal with the LA Thai Consulate and complete the process via the mail and find them pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. I seem to deal with the same nice fellow each year.

I suggest you get your passport photos as WalMart - the cheapest I have found.

Thanks for the reply. I feel less stressed hearing someone that is also retired military, that successfully went thru the process at the same Thai consulate.

This is my first try at a retirement visa, and those visa services in Thailand make it sound impossible to get one, unless they help you.

So, thanks again for the information.

Please note that you must apply for the non imm o-a multi entry visa in your home country - it cannot be done in Thailand. Those visa services in Thailand are probably offering help in obtaining an extension of stay based on retirement - not a visa.

There are some visa services in the US who will help, for a price of course, but I have never found a need to engage them.

I have never found that, by doing it myself, the process to be overly difficult. I follow the requirements on the LA Thai Consulate website precisely, including separating the piles into four separate paper clipped packs, with the original copies in a separate pile and the three required copies in three more piles. I place each pile in the exact order as listed on the website, including a separate photo on the top of each. My goal is to make things as easy as possible for the Consulate.

This is basic stuff that we learned from a career in the military.

In order to keep terms correct and precise, there really is no such thing as a retirement visa, although I suppose the non imm o-a comes closest.

If you have anymore specific questions, please feel free to send me a private message.

Edited February 12, 2016 by SpokaneAl

[Lenard52]

I am retired military and get a new non imm o-a multi entry visa each year. I print off a copy of my retirement pay statement from DFAS MyPay and have had no problems.

Concerning the doctor statement - prior to becoming Medicare age when Tricare was my primary insurance the doctor completed the form with no problem. I have had the same experience since moving under Medicare.

Each year I deal with the LA Thai Consulate and complete the process via the mail and find them pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. I seem to deal with the same nice fellow each year.

I suggest you get your passport photos as WalMart - the cheapest I have found.

Thanks for the reply. I feel less stressed hearing someone that is also retired military, that successfully went thru the process at the same Thai consulate.

This is my first try at a retirement visa, and those visa services in Thailand make it sound impossible to get one, unless they help you.

So, thanks again for the information.

Please note that you must apply for the non imm o-a multi entry visa in your home country - it cannot be done in Thailand. Those visa services in Thailand are probably offering help in obtaining an extension of stay based on retirement - not a visa.

There are some visa services in the US who will help, for a price of course, but I have never found a need to engage them.

I have never found that, by doing it myself, the process to be overly difficult. I follow the requirements on the LA Thai Consulate website precisely, including separating the piles into four separate paper clipped packs, with the original copies in a separate pile and the three required copies in three more piles. I place each pile in the exact order as listed on the website, including a separate photo on the top of each. My goal is to make things as easy as possible for the Consulate.

This is basic stuff that we learned from a career in the military.

In order to keep terms correct and precise, there really is no such thing as a retirement visa, although I suppose the non imm o-a comes closest.

If you have anymore specific questions, please feel free to send me a private message.

I do appreciate the advice on the process and try to be military next time and use the correct terms when it comes to: Not using the Royal Thai Consulate, Los Angeles - description on their website, as a Non-Immigrant O-A Retirement/Long-Stay Visa and use your official: "imm o-a" version instead.

- I heard some guys that retire keep that military peanut stuck up their ass, that they always feel the need to shit on everybody, just to get that military feeling back. Not me, I retired from that bull shit!

-As far as obtaining an O-A visa while in Thailand, too long of an explaination to care about that..

Agree - Provide the requirements to obtain any visa - it's so simple, you apparently got one.

-As far as paper clips and piles, those bitches in the admin department did that crap for me. But I could girl it down and do it your way. (Good Advice).

Anyway, shit comes across wrong when communicating via text.

Again, thanks to all.. I got my answer.

** Great site, to be all you can be! Plus, to get priceless information from others that most likely have the answer to all your questions..

Peace Out!

[SpokaneAl]

Good luck. Here is an unsolicited piece of advice - you come across as a bit of a nasty piece of work in response to someone who is just wanting to offer some helpful advice. Next time, figure it out on your own.

[JimGant]

Each year I deal with the LA Thai Consulate and complete the process via the mail and find them pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. I seem to deal with the same nice fellow each year.

Al, how do you deal with the notarization requirement?

[SpokaneAl]

Each year I deal with the LA Thai Consulate and complete the process via the mail and find them pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. I seem to deal with the same nice fellow each year.

Al, how do you deal with the notarization requirement?

I get a letter signed by an officer at my bank with my account balance. I apply for the police report on line and receive a notarized copy. The medical letter is signed by a doctor which has been sufficient for the consulate.

Edited February 12, 2016 by SpokaneAl

[TheAppletons]

Each year I deal with the LA Thai Consulate and complete the process via the mail and find them pleasant, knowledgeable and easy to work with. I seem to deal with the same nice fellow each year.

Al, how do you deal with the notarization requirement?

See my post #4 of this thread for a cost effective way of meeting that requirement.

[Pib]

OP,

After you get this OA "Visa", enter Thailand, "and if still in Thailand" 30 days before the Visa Permitted To Stay Until Date expires you really should consider getting a "Retirement Extension of Stay." Think of it as "extending" your OA Visa....which can be extended over and over, forever as long as you meet the requirements which is basically just a proof of income requirement....none of this police and medical clearance stuff year after year like with getting a whole new OA Visa.

Without getting into technical names of Visa or Extension of Stay, getting an Extension of Stay is a heck of lot easier, much less paperwork intensive, much less time intensive, and you don't need no police or medical reports. You just need to fill out a super easy one and half page application form (Bt1900 application fee) that's mostly just entering your address and signing your name, attaching a photo, and attaching an income affidavit from the U.S. Embassy (costs $50) saying your have Bt800K annual income or a letter from your Thai bank (cost Bt200 at Bangkok Bank) confirming you have had Bt800K in a Thai bank for at least 2 months prior to application date the first time applying and for at least 3 months on subsequent applications/extensions. Even another income method called the "combo" method of X-amount in a Thai bank plus X-amount income per month (affidavit stating such) with the two totaling up to Bt800K per year in income.

I've been doing this every year here at Bangkok immigration for 7 years now...I usually show up at immigration at 8:30am...and usually I'm out the door around 2 hours later with an extension good for another year. For the first few years I went the affidavit route but got tired of paying the U.S. Embassy $50 for the affidavit and just started going the Bt800K in a Thai bank approach...that Bt800K can serve as you day-to-day living money, just your BIG money emergency fund, and/or investment...use it for and call it what you like. Just be show it stays at or above Bt800K 2 or 3 months before your next extension application.

It's an easy (very) process....you don't need any help from lawyers or agencies to accomplish it...heck of a lot easier and faster than getting a OA Visa every year in the U.S....no medical or police clearances to get. But as mentioned you need to be in Thailand to apply and you can not apply before 30 days (45 days for some immigration offices like the Bangkok office) of your current Permitted to Stay Date expiration. Something to consider.

[SpokaneAl]

The Thai Consulate in LA is pretty easy to work with. Very helpful.

For your notarization, find a Postal Annex or Mailbox Etc.....each usually has a notary on staff that charges around $10 a signature. Since the medical clearance, proof of income, and police report all require a notarization, the notary will do a batch "certified to be a true copy" for the three of them (together). It's essentially a cover sheet that says you certify each to be a true copy. Total cost then is $10 for the notarization, if you go that route. LA Consulate accepts that, btw.

You'll need four photos....conflicting information on the website as to whether it's two or four.

I really like your notary solution and will definitely use it the next time I apply for a non imm o-a visa.

If the OP wants to save on the cost, since he is retired military, and if he lives close to a military installation, he can go there and get the notarization for free.

[JimGant]

I get a letter signed by an officer at my bank with my account balance. I apply for the police report on line and receive a notarized copy. The medical letter is signed by a doctor which has been sufficient for the consulate.

Doesn't sound, then, that the LA Thai consulate requires "notarized" copies, at least in the strict sense (i.e., having your doctor's, police chief's, and banker's signatures affixed, and witnessed, before a notary public). What they want, it sounds like, is just authoritarian looking documents, with probably letterhead stationery sufficing. And Appleton's solution sounds like what we've seen some others on this forum doing, namely, writing out a letter with something like "I affirm the attached bank, police, and medical statements are authentic." Then, sign the letter before a notary.

The Wash DC consulate doesn't even waste space on its website requiring notarization anymore. Maybe LA has gone in that direction, in spite of its website still requiring notarization (knowing full well that your doctor is not about to visit a notary for signature purposes, or vice versa).

[Langsuan Man]

Washington DC Embassy and New York Consulate do not have the notarization requirement

Chicago and Los Angeles do

Unfortunately anyone used to be able to use the Embassy in DC (for their no notary requirement) but they recently changed their rules and now only accept applications from:

Royal Thai Embassy, Washington, DC 1. Alabama 2. Delaware 3. Florida 4. Georgia 5. Louisiana 6. Maryland 7. Mississippi 8. North Carolina 9. South Carolina 10. Tennessee 11. Texas 12. Virginia 13. West Virginia 14. Puerto Rico 15. District of Columbia

The true copy loophole is used because there are not a lot of doctors , employers, or police departments that will provide a notarized signature so this is a workaround that the LA and Chicago Consulates accept

This really a Thai thing since most consulates in foreign countries follow the rules set out by the Embassy, but like Immigration here, Thainess extends to US Consulates

[Lenard52]

OP,

After you get this OA "Visa", enter Thailand, "and if still in Thailand" 30 days before the Visa Permitted To Stay Until Date expires you really should consider getting a "Retirement Extension of Stay." Think of it as "extending" your OA Visa....which can be extended over and over, forever as long as you meet the requirements which is basically just a proof of income requirement....none of this police and medical clearance stuff year after year like with getting a whole new OA Visa.

Without getting into technical names of Visa or Extension of Stay, getting an Extension of Stay is a heck of lot easier, much less paperwork intensive, much less time intensive, and you don't need no police or medical reports. You just need to fill out a super easy one and half page application form (Bt1900 application fee) that's mostly just entering your address and signing your name, attaching a photo, and attaching an income affidavit from the U.S. Embassy (costs $50) saying your have Bt800K annual income or a letter from your Thai bank (cost Bt200 at Bangkok Bank) confirming you have had Bt800K in a Thai bank for at least 2 months prior to application date the first time applying and for at least 3 months on subsequent applications/extensions. Even another income method called the "combo" method of X-amount in a Thai bank plus X-amount income per month (affidavit stating such) with the two totaling up to Bt800K per year in income.

I've been doing this every year here at Bangkok immigration for 7 years now...I usually show up at immigration at 8:30am...and usually I'm out the door around 2 hours later with an extension good for another year. For the first few years I went the affidavit route but got tired of paying the U.S. Embassy $50 for the affidavit and just started going the Bt800K in a Thai bank approach...that Bt800K can serve as you day-to-day living money, just your BIG money emergency fund, and/or investment...use it for and call it what you like. Just be show it stays at or above Bt800K 2 or 3 months before your next extension application.

It's an easy (very) process....you don't need any help from lawyers or agencies to accomplish it...heck of a lot easier and faster than getting a OA Visa every year in the U.S....no medical or police clearances to get. But as mentioned you need to be in Thailand to apply and you can not apply before 30 days (45 days for some immigration offices like the Bangkok office) of your current Permitted to Stay Date expiration. Something to consider.

That's great info, since I would be back here again seeking help on the next step to staying in Thailand, without ever leaving it.

I really do appreciate the advice from everyone!