Retirement Visa Up Country

[Gary A]

Today I went for my retirement visa. They would have preferred that I had a new income verification from the US Embassy but last years was OK for this time. I needed two copies of everything, TM 7, pictures, all bank book pages, bank letter, embassy income statement, (two copies and I kept the original) , passport and (surprise) the original up to date medical certificate AND a copy. I'm not complaining because I walked out with a brand new visa good until November 6th 2007.

[Krub]

Today I went for my retirement visa. They would have preferred that I had a new income verification from the US Embassy but last years was OK for this time. I needed two copies of everything, TM 7, pictures, all bank book pages, bank letter, embassy income statement, (two copies and I kept the original) , passport and (surprise) the original up to date medical certificate AND a copy. I'm not complaining because I walked out with a brand new visa good until November 6th 2007.

Which immigration office did you use ?

[Gary A]

Today I went for my retirement visa. They would have preferred that I had a new income verification from the US Embassy but last years was OK for this time. I needed two copies of everything, TM 7, pictures, all bank book pages, bank letter, embassy income statement, (two copies and I kept the original) , passport and (surprise) the original up to date medical certificate AND a copy. I'm not complaining because I walked out with a brand new visa good until November 6th 2007.

Which immigration office did you use ?

I live in Loei province and this is the first retirement visa I have gotten from the Loei immigration in Chiang Khan.

Added - The letter from the Siam Commercial bank, Nong Hin verifying my bank account was done at no cost to me and the health certificate from Loei Ram hospital cost 50 baht. If I remember correctly the bank letter from Pattaya was 200 baht and the medical certificate was 130 baht. No big deal but I thought that was interesting.

Edited November 7, 2006 by Gary A

[naka]

Any similar experiences regarding the med. cert. ?

Naka.

[lopburi3]

As you received this from one of the smaller units wonder if you mentioned hearing the medical certificate was no longer required? You say surprise but do not mention if you had it available or not.

[Gary A]

As you received this from one of the smaller units wonder if you mentioned hearing the medical certificate was no longer required? You say surprise but do not mention if you had it available or not.

It is an aggravation to have to go get a certificate if it isn't actually needed. I called the immigration office and specifically told them that I heard the medical certificate is no longer needed. I was told in no uncertain terms that it WAS needed. I stopped at the Loei Ram hospital and got one on the way to Chiang Khan. Other than being told that a current (2006) income statement would have been better, the lack of the medical certificate copy was the only problem I had. Since it was only that one copy that I was missing the guy sent one of the girls to get a copy made for me, no charge. They are nice people there, but to question the way they do things I think would be a mistake. It's better to do what they ask and then things go smoothly.

[PeaceBlondie]

I knew the medical certificate wasn't needed (allegedly), but when I renewed my retirement visa for the first time in late October, I brought a photocopy of the medical cert that I got the month before, for my driving licenses. The officer took a copy of that, without comment. He said he would have accepted a year-old certified copy of my pension income from the embassy, but I'd lost the original, so had to get a new one (he only looked at the original and kept a copy).

Technically, I shouldn't have proved that I had one satang in a Thai bank, but I was asked to get a statement anyway. This was in Chiang Mai. The entire immigration staff was professional, courteous, and one even made a joke.

[JimGant]

Technically, I shouldn't have proved that I had one satang in a Thai bank, but I was asked to get a statement anyway.

Any feel for the minimum needed to satisfy them?

[Gary A]

Technically, I shouldn't have proved that I had one satang in a Thai bank, but I was asked to get a statement anyway.

Any feel for the minimum needed to satisfy them?

I don't think the amount in the bank is important if you have the embassy verification. I remember one time I had less than 20,000 baht in the account and this time there happened to be about 200,000. I think next year I will just go ahead and put 800,000 in the bank and be done with it. I did that one time because I had wired in money to buy a condo and my visa came due while the money was still in my account.

Last year in Pattaya, I had the new letter from the embassy to verify my monthly income. My old bank book was full so I had a new bank book. I made copies of every page in the new book. The lady in immigration sent me back home to get the old full book. I had to also make copies of EVERY page of the old book. That lady sat there with her calculator and spent a LOT of time with the bank books. I have no idea what she was calculating and thought to myself that she was simply justifying ordering me to make all the copies of both books. I think it was PMS.