My wife and I both have a Non Immigrant O-A visa.

 

1. The mention ‘Retirement’ in our passport refers to an O-A visa only?

2. I was just informed that an O-A visa includes a multiple entry for 1 year. Is this correct and if it is so we pay 1000 B per person each time we apply for a re-entry?

3. The next information goes like this. If the visa expiration date is say november 1^st ,2016 and we leave/return Thailand on October 25, 2016 (thus before the expiration date) the Immigration Officer at the border will automatically issue a new expiry date for 1 year later ie October 25, 2017. If this is so no new extension of stay procedure would have to be followed?

 

You can leave and return as many times as you like as long as your Visa is valid.

You will get 12 months on each entry.

5 minutes ago, Lite Beer said:

You can leave and return as many times as you like as long as your Visa is valid.

You will get 12 months on each entry.

 

While your visa is valid you dont need a re entry permit but after the visa runs out you need a re entry to go and return (12 month stamp just before visa ran out)

Yeap, exit and entry during the visa validity period which you said for example is 1 Nov 16 can be done as many times as desired without needing to get/buy an exit/reentry permit.  Upon reentry you get another full year permitted to stay.

 

Like the example you gave of reentering on 25 Oct 16 before the Visa expires on 1 Nov 16, you would get a stamp saying good to stay until 25 (or 24) Oct 17.   

 

But beware, after your visa expires on 1 Nov 16 and although  you are allowed to stay until 25 Oct 17, if  you leave the country after the 1 Nov visa expiration you need to get/buy an exit/reentry permit before you leave in order to keep your 25 Oct 17 permit to stay valid.   Because when you reenter say a month later that 25 Oct 17 permitted to date will not change.   But if you didn't get the exit/reentry permit you have just trashed your ability to reenter the country and still have the 25 Oct 17 date.  You'll only get 15 to 30 days permitted to stay and have to start all over in getting a Retirement O-A/Retirement Extension of Stay.

 

 

 

 

11 hours ago, Pib said:

Yeap, exit and entry during the visa validity period which you said for example is 1 Nov 16 can be done as many times as desired without needing to get/buy an exit/reentry permit.  Upon reentry you get another full year permitted to stay.

 

Like the example you gave of reentering on 25 Oct 16 before the Visa expires on 1 Nov 16, you would get a stamp saying good to stay until 25 (or 24) Oct 17.   

 

But beware, after your visa expires on 1 Nov 16 and although  you are allowed to stay until 25 Oct 17, if  you leave the country after the 1 Nov visa expiration you need to get/buy an exit/reentry permit before you leave in order to keep your 25 Oct 17 permit to stay valid.   Because when you reenter say a month later that 25 Oct 17 permitted to date will not change.   But if you didn't get the exit/reentry permit you have just trashed your ability to reenter the country and still have the 25 Oct 17 date.  You'll only get 15 to 30 days permitted to stay and have to start all over in getting a Retirement O-A/Retirement Extension of Stay.

 

Hi Pib,

Thank you.

So it’s possible but it falls under the category of dangerous livin’! And since we had to bend over fifty times to obtain the right documents and spent real money to get the O-A, maybe it’s too tricky!

But this one puzzles me. You said that we do not need to obtain/buy a re-entry permit having a valid O-A? We have been asked by our agency (actually a good one I think) how many re-entries permits we wanted and paid for one since in 2016 we stayed in Thailand, went to Europe only and are now ready to return to Th so we paid for one re-entry which was duly entered in our passports. Have we been taken for a little ride?

1. If they have written/stamped "Retirement" on the visa it is just to note the reason why the Non Immigrant Visa was issued.
2. The visa is valid for 1 year from the date it's issued and you can enter as often as you want during that year, and can make your last entry on or before the 'Enter Before' date printed on the visa (expiry date). You don't need a re-entry permit.
3. Yes, you would be granted permission to stay for a full 1 year. If you want to leave during that time, because the visa has expired, you need to buy a re-entry permit before you leave. Single entry, 1,000 baht; Multiple Entry, 3,800. If you leave and return using a re-entry permit you would be granted permission to stay for the balance of your last 1 year permission to stay. You can apply for a 1 year extension of stay from Immigration towards the end of any 1 year entry/permit to stay.

Edited September 12, 20169 yr by elviajero

Muchas Gracias Elviajero.

Has anyone actually done this:

 

1. Leave/Re-entry on an O-A without buying a Re-Entry Permit during the validity period of the O-A?

2. Has anyone done the leave/re enter just before the expiry date’ to avoid the extension of stay procedure saving a lot of time and money?

 

Adrian

 

a) On your O-A visa there is an "enter before" date.  Every time you enter before that date you will get a 12 month entry.  You do not need a re-entry permit for this entry.

 

If you enter just before the expiry date ("enter before") you will get another 12 months entry.

 

Any subsequent exits will need a re-entry permit.

6 minutes ago, AHVV said:

Muchas Gracias Elviajero.

 

Has anyone actually done this:

 

1. Leave/Re-entry on an O-A without buying a Re-Entry Permit during the validity period of the O-A?

    

2. Has anyone done the leave/re enter just before the expiry date’ to avoid the extension of stay procedure saving a lot of time and money?

Adrian

 

First, do confirm that you have an O-A visa (a sticker in your passport from your home country Thai embassy with an Enter before date) and do not have an extension of stay on the basis of retirement. Your mention of agents suggests to me that you have had an agent arrange an extension of stay from inside Thailand. This is not an O-A visa.

 

If you do have an O-A visa, then what you describe (leave and return without re-entry permits during the validity of the visa, then leave and return just before the Enter Before date on the visa to get a further year) is standard practice. Almost everyone does this.

18 minutes ago, AHVV said:

Muchas Gracias Elviajero.

 

Has anyone actually done this:

 

1. Leave/Re-entry on an O-A without buying a Re-Entry Permit during the validity period of the O-A?

    

2. Has anyone done the leave/re enter just before the expiry date’ to avoid the extension of stay procedure saving a lot of time and money?

Adrian

De nada

1. As long as you are re-entering before the visa expires ('enter before' date) you don't need a re-entry permit. Re-entry permits are only required to keep any permission to stay alive. As you get a full 1 years stay for a new entry there is no need for a re-entry permit.

    

2. Many people have re-entered just before the visa has expired to get a full 1 year permission to stay.

 

 

Hello amigos,

Thank very much all of you because you have helped us a lot and given us insight!

 

Adrian

 

 

Can you respond to the questions in Post number 10?

1 hour ago, AHVV said:

But this one puzzles me. You said that we do not need to obtain/buy a re-entry permit having a valid O-A? We have been asked by our agency (actually a good one I think) how many re-entries permits we wanted and paid for one since in 2016 we stayed in Thailand, went to Europe only and are now ready to return to Th so we paid for one re-entry which was duly entered in our passports. Have we been taken for a little ride?

If someone is possibly returning after the visa has expired it can be worth buying a re-entry permit.

1 hour ago, AHVV said:

Muchas Gracias Elviajero.

 

Has anyone actually done this:

 

 

 

1. Leave/Re-entry on an O-A without buying a Re-Entry Permit during the validity period of the O-A?

    

2. Has anyone done the leave/re enter just before the expiry date’ to avoid the extension of stay procedure saving a lot of time and money?

    

 

 

Adrian

 

 

 

 

  Just about everyone who has an O-A visa (and understands its conditions) does both a. and b.  (Yes, I've done both.)

My uncle has a Non O-A visa and wishes to visit me in Chiang Rai and at the same time avoid having to do his 90 day report in Chiang Mai.  If he crosses in and out at the Mae Sai border will that reset (90 days from re-entry) the date he will need to report?

1 minute ago, kanook said:

My uncle has a Non O-A visa and wishes to visit me in Chiang Rai and at the same time avoid having to do his 90 day report in Chiang Mai.  If he crosses in and out at the Mae Sai border will that reset (90 days from re-entry) the date he will need to report?

If he has a valid non-oa visa from an embassy or consulate he would get a new one year entry.  Leaving the country would end his current stay prior to 90 days which would mean he would not need to do a report until 90 days from the date he enters the country.

It the visa is not valid he would need a re-entry permit and he would be stamped in the expiration date on it.

Thanks ubonjoe, I assumed that was the case, but I wanted to verify with one of the experts.