Non Immigrant O-A questions

[Putmak]

Hello,

 

I have a some questions relating to the application for a Non Immigrant A-O visa please. They are :-

 

1/ If i apply for this visa at the Royal Thai Embassy in London where does the 800,000 baht or the combo of deposit/income need to be held, in a UK bank or Thai bank ?.  

2/ If it's in a UK bank is the Sterling equivalent worked out on the exchange rate on the date of application ?

3/ If i apply for this visa in Thailand which visa will i require initially to enter Thailand and then "upgrade" to the O-A ?

 

Many thanks.....

    

[elviajero]

1. UK Bank, but I don't see why they wouldn't accept a Thai bank.
2. Yes they will apply the going exchange rate.
3. You can't apply for this visa in Thailand. You can enter with a Non 'O' visa and apply for a 1 year extension based on retirement, or you can enter as a Tourist, convert to a Non 'O' visa, and then apply for the 1 year extension of stay.

Edited October 26, 2016 by elviajero

[Putmak]

Many thanks for the reply Elviajero, 

Regarding a Non "O" visa, sorry what does a "1 year extension based on retirement" mean ? 

 

So if i get the O-A visa in London, and then i am living in Thailand for a year what happens when its about to expire ?. Is the O-A renewable in Thailand or must this be done in London ?.... If its possible to renew in Thailand i guess this is when you need the 800,000 in your Thai bank for however long it is ?.....

 

[elviajero]

27 minutes ago, Putmak said:

Many thanks for the reply Elviajero, 

Regarding a Non "O" visa, sorry what does a "1 year extension based on retirement" mean ? 

 

So if i get the O-A visa in London, and then i am living in Thailand for a year what happens when its about to expire ?. Is the O-A renewable in Thailand or must this be done in London ?.... If its possible to renew in Thailand i guess this is when you need the 800,000 in your Thai bank for however long it is ?.....

 

• You can only get a Non 'O-A' Visa from the London Embassy.
• The visa is only required to enter Thailand and qualify you for a 1 year extension of stay (if required).
• A Non 'O-A' visa is valid for 1 year and you can enter as often as you want within that year.
• Every time you enter you'll be given permission to stay for 1 year, even if you enter on the last day of the visa validity.
• Within the last 30 (maybe 45 days) of any 1 year stay, as long as you can meet the financial requirements, you can apply for a 1 year extension of stay based on retirement (over 50).
• To maximize the stay gained from the visa (nearly two years), and delay applying for an extension of stay, most people exit close to the last day that the visa expires to get a final 1 year stay and apply for the extension at the end of that.
• Once you have an extension of stay you can renew it in Thailand at the end of each year and no longer need a visa.

Edited October 26, 2016 by elviajero

[Jingthing]

With an O-A visa, every time you exit and return to Thailand within the INITIAL validity period of that visa, you get an additional "free" one year stay in Thailand. That's a great feature! That means timed well, you can get close to a two year stay in Thailand on that visa. After that, to further stay in Thailand without starting again with a new O-A, you need to apply for annual extensions based on retirement in Thailand and meet those specific requirements (somewhat different than the O-A).

Also after your initial O-A validity period, you need to get REENTRY permits if traveling outside of Thailand to save your current permission of stay.

[Putmak]

Many thanks Guy's for the detailed replies and clarification....thanks for your help.

 

[lcp0761]

I will be applying for a Non-Immigrant O-A Retirement extension in the USA at the Thai EMB, Washington, DC around February 2017.  I currently have $350K in my retirement savings account which I am retiring on Jan 3, 2017.  The US Govt will take approx. 3-months from Jan 3, 2017 to process my retirement package before I can get access to my $300K or I have to pay a 20% penality (no problem to wait).  My estimated annual (gross) retirement is approx. $80K which averages approx. $6,700 USD a month or 230K THB per month. 

 

So when I initially apply for the above Non-Imm. O-A Retirement extension they will base it on my above estimated gross income and later when I renew it is when I need to have $800K THB transferred into a Thai Bank 3-months seasoned.

 

Correct?   

[BritTim]

I think you will need to talk to the Washington embassy to determine what they will accept. Many consulates insist on money on call at the time of application in a bank account. Some are much more flexible, some even accepting a 800,000 baht equivalent line of credit on a credit card.

 

For an extension of stay within Thailand, the answer is simple. You need 800,000 baht that has been in a Thai bank account for 2 months or income of 65,000 baht per month attested to at the US Embassy in Thailand, or a combination of bank deposit and income.

[lcp0761]

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2016 at 3:36 PM, BritTim said:

I think you will need to talk to the Washington embassy to determine what they will accept. Many consulates insist on money on call at the time of application in a bank account. Some are much more flexible, some even accepting a 800,000 baht equivalent line of credit on a credit card.

 

For an extension of stay within Thailand, the answer is simple. You need 800,000 baht that has been in a Thai bank account for 2 months or income of 65,000 baht per month attested to at the US Embassy in Thailand, or a combination of bank deposit and income.

 

Interesting as the Thai Emb. form here in Washington, DC for a Non-Immigrant O-A (Long Stay) has the below of which apparently they are basing my income in both my 401K & USA Bank account.  I need to provide them with a print-out from the two systems with my name/value. 

 

 

[elviajero]

22 minutes ago, lcp0761 said:

Interesting as the Thai Emb. form here in Washington, DC for a Non-Immigrant O-A (Long Stay) has the below of which apparently they are basing my income in both my 401K & USA Bank account.  I need to provide them with a print-out from the two systems with my name/value. 

You shouldn't have any problem using a combination of income and bank deposit as long as the total of 12 x monthly income plus money in the bank is at least the equivalent of 800K baht.

Edited November 4, 2016 by elviajero