where to apply for Retirement Visa?

[bodo]

Can I apply for a Retirement Visa from within Thailand or from the Thai embassy in Vientiane? Or do I have to go to my home country first?

[Eclipse]

It all depends on what you want.

Do you want a Non Imm O-A Visa?

Do you want a Non Imm O Visa?

Do you want an extension of stay?

Where are you now?

Do you have 800,000 Baht in the bank?

Do you have 65,000 Baht monthly income?

Do you have a combination of both?

What is you Nationality?

[bodo]

I'm looking for a Non-Imm O-A visa and at the moment I'm in Thailand.

I could put 800.000 Baht on a Thai bank account and I know this has to be there for 2 months before I can start the process for getting a Retirement Visa.

Can the visa exempt stamp be converted into a Non-Imm O visa?

[fgmr]

I applied whilst in Thailand on a Tourist Visa after obtaining the Affirmation of Income letter from the UK Consular Service in BKK. They now do it only by post and you can pay for their letter via your sterling Credit or Debit card. See UK Government in Thailand website, cost was 50 GBP, but that was before Brexit.

[ubonjoe]

I'm looking for a Non-Imm O-A visa and at the moment I'm in Thailand.

I could put 800.000 Baht on a Thai bank account and I know this has to be there for 2 months before I can start the process for getting a Retirement Visa.

Can the visa exempt stamp be converted into a Non-Imm O visa?

You can only apply for a non-oa visa in your home country or a country where you have legal residence.

You can apply for an extension of stay based upon retirement at your local immigration office. The 800k baht needs to be in the bank for 60 days on the date you apply.

It is possible to convert a visa exempt entry to a 90 day non immigrant visa entry (class O) at some immigration offices. You must have at least 15 days remaining on your entry or the 30 day extension of it to apply.

Where you are you living now?

[bodo]

At the moment I'm in Thailand on a visa exempt stamp and it would be convenient if I could start the Retirement Visa process from here and in Vientiane, so without having to go back to my home country. Just to be sure : this is not possible?

[jacksam]

OP you perhaps are better off obtaining a non o based on retirement from somewhere like vientiane. Especially if dont wish to return to own country. The OA has some advantages in that its multiple entry however some extra requirements. The non O is simple and can be obtained quickly at thai consulate outside of los. As pointed out you can do conversion provided you have enough time left on your permission of stay

[Jip99]

OP you perhaps are better off obtaining a non o based on retirement from somewhere like vientiane. Especially if dont wish to return to own country. The OA has some advantages in that its multiple entry however some extra requirements. The non O is simple and can be obtained quickly at thai consulate outside of los. As pointed out you can do conversion provided you have enough time left on your permission of stay

I thought a visa granted on the basis of retirement was only for a single entry ?

I believe that the OP is talking about a 12m extension of stay based on retirement. In which case the single entry is fine and he can apply at his local immigration office for the extension.

[ubonjoe]

At the moment I'm in Thailand on a visa exempt stamp and it would be convenient if I could start the Retirement Visa process from here and in Vientiane, so without having to go back to my home country. Just to be sure : this is not possible?

You can apply for a single entry non-o visa in Vientiane. The 800k baht will need to be in the bank on the date you apply (no 60 day requirement).

Or as I wrote you can also do it at some immigration offices.

[bodo]

OP you perhaps are better off obtaining a non o based on retirement from somewhere like vientiane. Especially if dont wish to return to own country. The OA has some advantages in that its multiple entry however some extra requirements. The non O is simple and can be obtained quickly at thai consulate outside of los. As pointed out you can do conversion provided you have enough time left on your permission of stay

1) So is it possible to get a multiple entry Non O visa in Vientiane and the only requirement would be to leave the country every 90 days?

2) I still got 3 weeks left on my Visa Exempt stamp, is that enough time to get a conversion at Vientiane? Or do I have to do the conversion at an immigration office in Thailand?

3) Would a back-to-back trip to Mae Sai/Tachilek be allowed with a multiple entry Non O visa?

4) And after 1 year could I apply for the 2nd Non O visa, with a validity of 1 year, at Vientiane again?

[ubonjoe]

OP you perhaps are better off obtaining a non o based on retirement from somewhere like vientiane. Especially if dont wish to return to own country. The OA has some advantages in that its multiple entry however some extra requirements. The non O is simple and can be obtained quickly at thai consulate outside of los. As pointed out you can do conversion provided you have enough time left on your permission of stay

1) So is it possible to get a multiple entry Non O visa in Vientiane and the only requirement would be to leave the country every 90 days?

2) I still got 3 weeks left on my Visa Exempt stamp, is that enough time to get a conversion at Vientiane? Or do I have to do the conversion at an immigration office in Thailand?

3) Would a back-to-back trip to Mae Sai/Tachilek be allowed with a multiple entry Non O visa?

4) And after 1 year could I apply for the 2nd Non O visa, with a validity of 1 year, at Vientiane again?

1. No Vientiane will only do a single entry non-o visa for being 50 or over for retirement.

2. You don't need any time remaining on your entry to apply at Vientiane since it would end as soon as you leave the country.

3/4. See number one.

[bodo]

So the total validity of the Non O visa is only 3 months which I cannot extend in any way?

Or can I go back to Vientiane and apply for a new Non O visa again? If so, how many times can this be repeated?

[ubonjoe]

So the total validity of the Non O visa is only 3 months which I cannot extend in any way?

You can extend the 90 entry from the non-o visa for one year at your local immigration office if you have the 800k baht in a Thai bank for 60 days.

[bodo]

And because Vientiane only will do a single entry : if I leave the country I have to apply for a new Non O visa, for example in Vientiane?

(I'm talking about the situation that I only go for the Non O and not the Non O-A.)

[ubonjoe]

And because Vientiane only will do a single entry : if I leave the country I have to apply for a new Non O visa, for example in Vientiane?

(I'm talking about the situation that I only go for the Non O and not the Non O-A.)

Since you will need the 800k baht in the bank to apply for the single entry non-o visa I see no logical reason for not applying for the one year extension (it is not a OA visa) at immigration.

Once you have the extension you can apply for a multiple re-entry permit (3800 baht) if you want to travel.

You would have to return to your home country to get the OA visa.

[bodo]

And I can repeat this process (applying for a Non O) in Vientiane after 1 year or do I need to go to another embassy in the region?

[ubonjoe]

And I can repeat this process (applying for a Non O) in Vientiane after 1 year or do I need to go to another embassy in the region?

After the one year extension ends you just need to go to immigration and apply for another extension by showing the 800k baht in the bank for 3 months, You can keep applying for a new extension year after year without needing a new visa.

[jacksam]

OP , AS usual ubon has covered all bases. Just added info.... Personally I applied for an OA in my home country. Had minor hic up. When back in los with a setv, did not bother with conversion even though I live in bkk.

Went to Vientiane and obtained non o.

Within the 90 day permission of stay I applied for 12 month extension of stay. That is continued for another 12 months prior to it expired. If you need to exit los you obtain reentry permit. I exit so much I needed one for the 90 day period and also another after I obtained the 12 month extension. Single 1000baht multiple 3800.

Easy peasy. Can obtain at airport upon exit.

[Suradit69]

At the moment I'm in Thailand on a visa exempt stamp and it would be convenient if I could start the Retirement Visa process from here and in Vientiane, so without having to go back to my home country. Just to be sure : this is not possible?

"convenient if I could start the Retirement Visa process from here and in Vientiane,"

It sounds like your goal is an extension of stay (not a visa) based on retirement. You can start off with a non-imm O visa from the Thai embassy in Vientiane. You'd get a 90 day entry. During the last 30 days of that entry you would go to your local immigration office in Thailand and apply for an extension of stay based on retirement (not a visa), which can be renewed annually.

When you return to Thailand with the non-imm O, you'd have a 90 day permission to stay. The visa you used to enter would no longer be valid since you used it. Once you have the extension, you would have extended your permission to remain in Thailand for a full year, but you would no longer have a valid visa. If you intend to remain in Thailand continuously, all you need is the permission or extension. If you want to travel out of Thailand and then return, you'd need a re-entry permit because you would not have a valid visa.

[bodo]

At the moment I'm in Thailand on a visa exempt stamp and it would be convenient if I could start the Retirement Visa process from here and in Vientiane, so without having to go back to my home country. Just to be sure : this is not possible?

You can apply for a single entry non-o visa in Vientiane. The 800k baht will need to be in the bank on the date you apply (no 60 day requirement).

Or as I wrote you can also do it at some immigration offices.

If I let my Visa exempt stamp (with still 15 days left on it) convert in Chiang Mai into a Non O, then there's also no 60 day requirement for the 800K to be in the bank?

And if I get an extension of stay for 1 year later on with a multiple entry permit, for how long am I allowed to be outside Thailand?

[ubonjoe]

At the moment I'm in Thailand on a visa exempt stamp and it would be convenient if I could start the Retirement Visa process from here and in Vientiane, so without having to go back to my home country. Just to be sure : this is not possible?

You can apply for a single entry non-o visa in Vientiane. The 800k baht will need to be in the bank on the date you apply (no 60 day requirement).

Or as I wrote you can also do it at some immigration offices.

If I let my Visa exempt stamp (with still 15 days left on it) convert in Chiang Mai into a Non O, then there's also no 60 day requirement for the 800K to be in the bank?

And if I get an extension of stay for 1 year later on with a multiple entry permit, for how long am I allowed to be outside Thailand?

There is no limit on how long you can be out of the country other than being back in time to do your next extension. The re-entry permit will be valid to the date it is due.