obtaining proof of income living in UK

[fabman5]

Hi Guys ,  I am hoping to come back out to Thailand in January.  I'm just over 50 years old now so am hoping to get the O,A visa so i can stay for a year or more.

 

I dont have savings so I need to have proof of monthly income , to take /send to the Thai embassy in London. I am just wondering what is accepted.  Obviously i am too young to get a pension but i have income from other means.

 

Do i just need to show bank statements ? They are asking for an income certificate on the website ..never heard of that in England before.

 

I have tried calling the Thai Embassy in london , but its an absoloutely shocking phone service ( non existent) i was waiting on the phone over 2 hours before it went dead ( the joke is  the recorded message just keeps saying please hold , we will be with you shortly )  and judging by google reviews, other people have expereinced a simular terrible service ! what a waste of an afternoon and money !  All of the consuls have closed as well now , things are just getting worse and worse !

 

Anyhow if anyone has an idea of what i actually need i would appreciate it.

 

Also i have read on another website ( if i have understood this correctly ) if you get this visa from your home country , you can stay for up to 2 years now

 

Many thanks

[berybert]

I have had same thing with trying to provide a bank statement to prove I have enough money in my account for the A-0 visa.

I have to get a reference letter to prove i have the money . My bank Barclays can only send the letter to a 3rd party. No point in them sending it to the embassy.

So I am now in the process of seeing a solicitor and having it sent to him,  bear  in mind that the letter needs to be signed by a solicitor anyhow along with the police report and medical certificate. I am getting my man to sort the lot out.

They certainly  don't make it easy.

 

[ubonjoe]

Some type of income statement would be accepted. Perhaps your income declaration used when you do your tax returns. Banks statements showing income coming in ever month. And etc.

When they write income certificate it probably means proof of a pension.

[Liquorice]

Any document that provides evidence of income is acceptable.

 

Rental agreements, interest from investments............what do you provide to HMRC for taxation purposes?

Self employed accounts, anything from HMRC, such as income earned and tax paid will do.

Bank statements will show your income, but proof of where it comes from is more convincing.

 

An O-A Visa can allow a two year stay maximum.

The Visa is valid for 1 year, and each entry allows another 1 year stay.

During the first year you can use the multi entry part to exit/enter Thailand as you wish.

Just before the 'enter before date' exit and re-enter to get a 2nd year permission to stay.

The Visa has now expired and you will need a re-entry permit from local Immigration to exit/enter Thailand to keep the permission to stay alive.

 

You have the option to leave the Country every 90 days or report to an Immigration office every 90 days.

 

You can only obtain a Non Imm O-A Visa from your home Country.

 

If you then wish to stay in Thailand you can get annual 'extensions' of stay from your local Immigration office based on marriage or retirement, but must deposit funds in a Thai bank to meet the financial requirements.

Edited November 3, 2016 by Faz

[sometimewoodworker]

Is far as I have heard (I hope I'm wrong) the London embassy does not usually give a Non O-A to people under 65, even though the website states it can be given to people over 50 with the relevant documents.

 

please correct me if you know anyone under 65 who has been successful.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

36 minutes ago, Faz said:

You can only obtain a Non Imm O-A Visa from your home Country.

 

Or country of residence. 

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Is far as I have heard (I hope I'm wrong) the London embassy does not usually give a Non O-A to people under 65, even though the website states it can be given to people over 50 with the relevant documents.

 

please correct me if you know anyone under 65 who has been successful.

 

You heard wrong. The 65 or over rule is only for getting multiple entry non-o visas.

Many people under 65 have certainly got the OA visa at the embassy in London.

[Acharn]

1 hour ago, Faz said:

<snip>

If you then wish to stay in Thailand you can get annual 'extensions' of stay from your local Immigration office based on marriage or retirement, but must deposit funds in a Thai bank to meet the financial requirements.

 

Minor quibble -- you can use the proof of monthly income to meet the financial requirements. I was initially on a marriage/support of a Thai national extension until my wife died and then switched to retirement, and I have never had the funds in a Thai bank, it's always been monthly income.

[Dene16]

7 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Is far as I have heard (I hope I'm wrong) the London embassy does not usually give a Non O-A to people under 65, even though the website states it can be given to people over 50 with the relevant documents.

 

please correct me if you know anyone under 65 who has been successful.

 

 

i got my OA visa aged 51 2 years ago

[fabman5]

Thanks for your reply's. I rent out my house here in England , but with  the £ being rubbish at the moment that woulsd only ammount to about 45-50 thousand baht per month :-( 

 

I am worrking here at the moment ( employed ) , so i could use my payslips, although obviuosly when i come to Thailand i will stop work ing there . Does that affect the application ?

 

So i am geussing if i use a combination of , payslips , Uk house rental agrrement , Bank statements , hopefully that will be enough ?

 

How many months of bank statements etc do you think are required ?

 

Do i also need a police and medical report as well then ?

[fabman5]

Just looking at the website and realised i need to get police and medical checks , then get them signed by  solicitors as well. ( not that i know any )

 

A private medical report can be quite expensive

 

I had no idea so much information and cost was involed !

 

how much are your solicitors charging you  berybert ( if you dont mind me asking )

 

I am guessing the total cost for everything ( Visa application , doctors report, police checks and solicitor fees ) could be as much as £350 ! depending on solicitors fees

[Dene16]

27 minutes ago, fabman5 said:

Just looking at the website and realised i need to get police and medical checks , then get them signed by  solicitors as well. ( not that i know any )

 

A private medical report can be quite expensive

 

I had no idea so much information and cost was involed !

 

how much are your solicitors charging you  berybert ( if you dont mind me asking )

 

I am guessing the total cost for everything ( Visa application , doctors report, police checks and solicitor fees ) could be as much as £350 ! depending on solicitors fees

 

I went to my local doctors for the medical certificate. They cannot check everything on the list as it would require blood tests etc so go on your history or medical file cost £30

Police check cost £35 or £45 cannot remember exactly, its on the police website

I had bank statements, medical,  etc signed by a solicitor £5 for the first document and £2.50 for each after that total cost £12.50 or £15.

Do not have them notarised as they do not need to be, regardless of what it says on Thai embassy website. Notarisation in other countries,  other than UK, just means signed by a solicitor. May be slightly more expensive as this was cheap just phone around.

My bank statements were taken from my online account

Biggest cost can be trip to London to get it all done as it has to be done in person and why all the paperwork needs to be correct

 

I went the cash in bank route so slightly different i do not know what an income certificate is also

Edited November 3, 2016 by Dene16
add further information

[fabman5]

Thanks Dene , when you say "go on your history or medical file" , you mean your Doctor signed the Medical Certificate, Basically just saying you were fit and healthy. and they accepted that.

 

Edited November 3, 2016 by fabman5

[berybert]

6 hours ago, fabman5 said:

Just looking at the website and realised i need to get police and medical checks , then get them signed by  solicitors as well. ( not that i know any )

 

A private medical report can be quite expensive

 

I had no idea so much information and cost was involed !

 

how much are your solicitors charging you  berybert ( if you dont mind me asking )

 

I am guessing the total cost for everything ( Visa application , doctors report, police checks and solicitor fees ) could be as much as £350 ! depending on solicitors fees

I am not to sure what the cost will be at the moment.  But I am not expecting much change out of £400.

Dene says he got his bank statements signed and that was good enough, I no longer believe that will be the case. If you read the embassy website in says now you have to get a reference from the bank but it has to be done through a 3rd party, i.e. solicitor.

It would appear it has been made a lot harder than it was a couple of years ago.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has done it within the last few months.

[Roy111]

I got my OA Visa last week from London.

 

Can't help with the income question I'm afraid but I can help with the rest of the process.

 

Filling in the Application Forms: There are a couple of questions that maybe people don't know what to put as answers. For 'Purpose of Current Visit',  I just put 'Long Stay - Retirement'. For 'Evidence substantiating your Purpose of Visit', I left it blank.

 

Additional Application Form: Mostly self-explanatory if using Income just fill in that question, if using bank balance just fill in that section. I left the 'Reference person in Thailand' blank.

 

Police Report - I applied online through the website (ACRO) - cost £45, mine was 5 weeks old when I applied for my visa - it is allowed to be 3 months old.

 

Medical Certificate: My GP was happy to spend the 2 minutes it takes to fill in - cost £25. Also about 5 weeks old and allowed to be 3 months old.

 

Financial Proof: I used a very stagnant Fixed ISA account that had a little more the the required balance and no movements for 11 months. I went to a branch of Halifax, asked them to print off a statement and stamp it with the Branch Stamp (You don't need a reference letter if all the right details are on the statement page. I understand from other threads and my own experience that all they are looking for is your address and the Bank address on the same bit of paper with the balance and account details). Mine was about 3 weeks old when I applied.

 

Certification by a solicitor: The documents do not need to be 'notarised'. What is required is for them to be 'certified' as true copies of the original by a solicitor. I took mine to the solicitors who are linked to on the Thai Embassy website (Ashtons). They charge £5 per document so total cost was £15. You have to go to London to get this visa so you may as well use them. They are in Covent Garden a 15 min tube ride from Gloucester Road (the Thai embassy closest tube).

 

Took my documents in, the girl who looks at them spent about 30 seconds looking at my forms and that was that - waited for my receipt and then back the next day to pick it up.

 

Total cost £210.

 

 

[Roy111]

P.S. Thanks to BMs 'Lookme' and 'Senior Player' for previous threads that certainlt helped me to get through the requirements for the process. Those threads are here:

 

 

[OJAS]

17 hours ago, Dene16 said:

Police check cost £35 or £45 cannot remember exactly, its on the police website

 

https://www.acro.police.uk/subject_access.aspx

 

[berybert]

13 hours ago, Roy111 said:

P.S. Thanks to BMs 'Lookme' and 'Senior Player' for previous threads that certainlt helped me to get through the requirements for the process. Those threads are here:

 

 

Thank you very much for these links Roy111. I have just been to the bank and got statements for the past 3 months. I also spoke to Mohammed from Ashtons solicitors he told me they should be enough and no letter is needed to cover the statements.

The bank stamped the statements also. So I am now hoping this should be enough regarding the bank.

Just got to hope I can get my doctor to sign my medical report now rather than having to pay out over £100 to do it privately.

 

[berybert]

Just had a  quote from a company called The London Doctors Clinic. They want £503 to get the medical form filled in. Don't think I shall be using them.

[Dene16]

On 03/11/2016 at 2:49 PM, fabman5 said:

Thanks Dene , when you say "go on your history or medical file" , you mean your Doctor signed the Medical Certificate, Basically just saying you were fit and healthy. and they accepted that.

 

 

Basically yes and Yes they did 

The doctor stated that some of the things they asked for would take months to do if some of the tests were done.  I stated that this was normally just signed by the GP as many others had done this  before . She said ok and they phoned 2 days later to pick up the certificate. The certificate must be downloaded from the embassy website for them to sign 

[berybert]

15 minutes ago, Dene16 said:

 

Basically yes and Yes they did 

The doctor stated that some of the things they asked for would take months to do if some of the tests were done.  I stated that this was normally just signed by the GP as many others had done this  before . She said ok and they phoned 2 days later to pick up the certificate. The certificate must be downloaded from the embassy website for them to sign 

Just been back to my doctor and he refused to sign the paperwork without the tests being down.

 

[Dene16]

4 minutes ago, berybert said:

Just been back to my doctor and he refused to sign the paperwork without the tests being down.

 

 

Looks like your unlucky, i went on the advice of others and as ROY111 has also stated his just took 2 minutes

However they may not charge you for the tests as its your own GP, curious to know as i'm sure others are

ROY111 also said he had his documents certified in London.

Due to a 2 hour traffic jam i was 2 minutes late from the 11 o'clock close and they refused to except my documents and told me to come back the next day. I think i would rather get them done before you go. I had travelled 80 miles

It is also stated that the solicitor  said the bank statements were okay as they were stamped by the bank. Again for the sake of £5 i would get them to sign them just in case.

 

[berybert]

Just now, Dene16 said:

 

Looks like your unlucky, i went on the advice of others and as ROY111 has also stated his just took 2 minutes

However they may not charge you for the tests as its your own GP, curious to know as i'm sure others are

ROY111 also said he had his documents certified in London.

Due to a 2 hour traffic jam i was 2 minutes late from the 11 o'clock close and they refused to except my documents and told me to come back the next day. I think i would rather get them done before you go. I had travelled 80 miles

It is also stated that the solicitor  said the bank statements were okay as they were stamped by the bank. Again for the sake of £5 i would get them to sign them just in case.

 

My doctor is unable to do  all the tests he can do the 3rd step syphilis and T.B. But the others It looks like I will need to go private.

Its hard to believe these tests cant even be done on the NHS privately. 

 

[fabman5]

6 hours ago, berybert said:

My doctor is unable to do  all the tests he can do the 3rd step syphilis and T.B. But the others It looks like I will need to go private.

Its hard to believe these tests cant even be done on the NHS privately. 

 

This sounds like it could be a problem , good luck getting your medical sorted berybert.  Not sure what to expect from my own GP then , i was quoted £150 private

[fabman5]

On 03/11/2016 at 2:33 AM, Faz said:

Any document that provides evidence of income is acceptable.

 

Rental agreements, interest from investments............what do you provide to HMRC for taxation purposes?

Self employed accounts, anything from HMRC, such as income earned and tax paid will do.

Bank statements will show your income, but proof of where it comes from is more convincing.

 

An O-A Visa can allow a two year stay maximum.

The Visa is valid for 1 year, and each entry allows another 1 year stay.

During the first year you can use the multi entry part to exit/enter Thailand as you wish.

Just before the 'enter before date' exit and re-enter to get a 2nd year permission to stay.

The Visa has now expired and you will need a re-entry permit from local Immigration to exit/enter Thailand to keep the permission to stay alive.

 

You have the option to leave the Country every 90 days or report to an Immigration office every 90 days.

 

You can only obtain a Non Imm O-A Visa from your home Country.

 

If you then wish to stay in Thailand you can get annual 'extensions' of stay from your local Immigration office based on marriage or retirement, but must deposit funds in a Thai bank to meet the financial requirements.

Thanks for the info Faz , with regards to when you are first issued your Visa , does the 1 year start as soon as its issued or when you first enter Thailand ?

[fabman5]

On 03/11/2016 at 9:33 PM, Roy111 said:

I got my OA Visa last week from London.

 

Can't help with the income question I'm afraid but I can help with the rest of the process.

 

Filling in the Application Forms: There are a couple of questions that maybe people don't know what to put as answers. For 'Purpose of Current Visit',  I just put 'Long Stay - Retirement'. For 'Evidence substantiating your Purpose of Visit', I left it blank.

 

Additional Application Form: Mostly self-explanatory if using Income just fill in that question, if using bank balance just fill in that section. I left the 'Reference person in Thailand' blank.

 

Police Report - I applied online through the website (ACRO) - cost £45, mine was 5 weeks old when I applied for my visa - it is allowed to be 3 months old.

 

Medical Certificate: My GP was happy to spend the 2 minutes it takes to fill in - cost £25. Also about 5 weeks old and allowed to be 3 months old.

 

Financial Proof: I used a very stagnant Fixed ISA account that had a little more the the required balance and no movements for 11 months. I went to a branch of Halifax, asked them to print off a statement and stamp it with the Branch Stamp (You don't need a reference letter if all the right details are on the statement page. I understand from other threads and my own experience that all they are looking for is your address and the Bank address on the same bit of paper with the balance and account details). Mine was about 3 weeks old when I applied.

 

Certification by a solicitor: The documents do not need to be 'notarised'. What is required is for them to be 'certified' as true copies of the original by a solicitor. I took mine to the solicitors who are linked to on the Thai Embassy website (Ashtons). They charge £5 per document so total cost was £15. You have to go to London to get this visa so you may as well use them. They are in Covent Garden a 15 min tube ride from Gloucester Road (the Thai embassy closest tube).

 

Took my documents in, the girl who looks at them spent about 30 seconds looking at my forms and that was that - waited for my receipt and then back the next day to pick it up.

 

Total cost £210.

 

 

Regarding the medical  Roy111, how did you get round the tests for Leprosy , Terbercolosis , Drug addiction etc , it seems some GPs are signing the medical form easier than others

[Dene16]

5 hours ago, fabman5 said:

Thanks for the info Faz , with regards to when you are first issued your Visa , does the 1 year start as soon as its issued or when you first enter Thailand ?

 

Its when they issue the visa

[berybert]

8 hours ago, fabman5 said:

This sounds like it could be a problem , good luck getting your medical sorted berybert.  Not sure what to expect from my own GP then , i was quoted £150 private

Hi fabman can you send me a private email and let me know who quoted you the £150  its a lot less than I have been able to find so far.

[dentonian]

9 hours ago, fabman5 said:

Thanks for the info Faz , with regards to when you are first issued your Visa , does the 1 year start as soon as its issued or when you first enter Thailand ?

 

It has an 'enter before' date, which is dated I year from the date of issue.

[elviajero]

10 hours ago, fabman5 said:

Thanks for the info Faz , with regards to when you are first issued your Visa , does the 1 year start as soon as its issued or when you first enter Thailand ?

• The visa is valid for 1 year from the date it's issued. There will be a 'enter before' date printed on the visa.
• Each time you enter the country, before the 'enter before' date, you are given permission to stay for 1 year, even if you enter on the 'enter before' date which is the last date you can enter using the visa.