Understandung the Non-Immigrant O-A M visa

[laislica]

 Hi,

I have a friend who has an Non-Immigrant O-A M visa

Issued 13 May 2016  Enter before 12 May 2017

 

He entered on 30 May 2016 and is Admitted until 29 May 2017

He Departed 25 Aug 2016, Re-entered 21 Nov 2016 and is Admitted until 29 May 2017.

He intends to depart about the end of Feb 2017

Intends to return early May 2017

 

If he follows this plan, when will he be admitted until?

If so can he come and go more or less every three months without re-entry permits, until the permitted to stay date?

Is there any way to wring more time out of the visa?

My friend thinks that 15 months is the maximum amount that can be obtained, is this correct?

 

Next point:

This visa cost 225AUD plus 100 AUD for a police clearance certificate.

Using a rate of about 26 Baht the cost in Baht is about 8,450b.

 

Is this the cheapest option?

A retirement extension would cost 1,900/annum plus 2 or 3, 000b for re-entry permits.

 

Many thanks

 

 

[ubonjoe]

A OA visa allows unlimited one year entries as long as they are done on or before the enter before date on the visa.

He should of gotten a new one year entry when he entered on the 21st unless he made the mistake of getting a re-entry permit that was not needed.

If he enters on or before May 12th, 2017 he will get a new one year entry. After that date he would need a re-entry permit to keep his last entry valid.

If does it correctly he will not need to get an extension of stay or a new visa until May of 2018.

[Diplomatico]

  He can get up to two years out of his visa.  If he re-enters in "early" May 2017 (prior to 12 May 2017, the "enter before" date) he'll be stamped in for another year from his date of arrival.....taking him until May 2018.  He can come and go as he pleases up until the "enter before" date and he'll be stamped in for a year each time he re-enters.  He'll need a re-entry permit if he plans to leave during that second year.

 

  

[OJAS]

"He Departed 25 Aug 2016, Re-entered 21 Nov 2016 and is Admitted until 29 May 2017."

 

Why was he only admitted until 29 May 2017 again? He should have been admitted until 20 Nov 2017. He would therefore be strongly advised to hot-foot it down to his local immigration office to get this apparent error corrected ASAP.

 

If he were to depart Thailand at the end of Feb 2017, he should be stamped in for a further year provided that he returns before his OA visa expires on 12 May 2017. In this way he should get nearly 2 years out of this visa. However, he will then need to obtain a re-entry permit to keep any subsequent permission to stay alive during the second year (assuming, of course, that he is planning any further trips out of Thailand during this period).

[laislica]

10 minutes ago, OJAS said:

"He Departed 25 Aug 2016, Re-entered 21 Nov 2016 and is Admitted until 29 May 2017."

 

Why was he only admitted until 29 May 2017 again? He should have been admitted until 20 Nov 2017. He would therefore be strongly advised to hot-foot it down to his local immigration office to get this apparent error corrected ASAP.

 

If he were to depart Thailand at the end of Feb 2017, he should be stamped in for a further year provided that he returns before his OA visa expires on 12 May 2017. In this way he should get nearly 2 years out of this visa. However, he will then need to obtain a re-entry permit to keep any subsequent permission to stay alive during the second year (assuming, of course, that he is planning any further trips out of Thailand during this period).

 

 

Oops, my bad (it's dark in ere LOL)

 

You are quite correct. The stamp does say admitted to 20/11/2017 from his arrival on the 21st Nov

 

OK So what's the first date he must get a re-entry permit before he leaves?

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2016 by laislica

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, laislica said:

OK So what's the first date he must get a re-entry permit before he leaves?

He only needs a re-entry permit if plans on entering after May 12th, 2017.

[laislica]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

6 minutes ago, laislica said:

OK So what's the first date he must get a re-entry permit before he leaves?

He only needs a re-entry permit if plans on entering after May 12th, 2017.

 

Many thanks Joe, my friend sends his thanks to you and the other posters.

Until now, he only got a year out of each  M visa.

He was under the wrong impression that he could only get another 90 days at most!

Big smiles, happy chappy!

 

But I think that it might still be easier and cheaper to change to a retirement extension?

If so, when would he have to apply with the current M visa?
 

[ubonjoe]

24 minutes ago, laislica said:

If so, when would he have to apply with the current M visa?

During the last 30 days of the last one year entry from his visa.

[laislica]

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

27 minutes ago, laislica said:

If so, when would he have to apply with the current M visa?

During the last 30 days of the last one year entry from his visa.

 

 

So assuming he returns early May 2017, can he still come n go without re-entry permits until 30 days before early May 2018?

I'm a bit confused....

I had the idea that this had something to do with the enter before date?

That after the enter before date he would need the re-entry permits to keep the admitted to date alive?

[ubonjoe]

3 minutes ago, laislica said:

 

 

So assuming he returns early May 2017, can he still come n go without re-entry permits until 30 days before early May 2018?

I'm a bit confused....

I had the idea that this had something to do with the enter before date?

That after the enter before date he would need the re-entry permits to keep the admitted to date alive?

 

46 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

He only needs a re-entry permit if plans on entering after May 12th, 2017.

It is an extension of a permit stay that is applied for not a the visa.

The visas expiration date (enter before date) means nothing once in the country.

[BritTim]

6 minutes ago, laislica said:

 

 

So assuming he returns early May 2017, can he still come n go without re-entry permits until 30 days before early May 2018?

I'm a bit confused....

I had the idea that this had something to do with the enter before date?

That after the enter before date he would need the re-entry permits to keep the admitted to date alive?

 

Let's sort out your questions (note the important difference between the visa and permission to stay):

1. When can you enter Thailand on an O-A visa without a re-entry permit, and receive a one-year permission to stay?
   ANSWER: Up to and including the Enter Before Date of the visa.
2. If I am planning to return to Thailand after the Enter Before Date of the visa (so the visa will have expired) what are my options?
   ANSWER: Get a re-entry permit (before leaving) that keeps the previous permission to stay intact, or get a new visa.
3. What if I want to use an extension of my permission to stay rather than a visa?
   ANSWER: You must apply for the extension of stay before the permission to stay expires. You can generally do this during the last 30 days of your current permission to stay. If you want to travel overseas, the extension of stay must be paired with a re-entry permit or the permission to stay will be canceled when you leave the country.

[Laza 45]

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

A OA visa allows unlimited one year entries as long as they are done on or before the enter before date on the visa.

He should of gotten a new one year entry when he entered on the 21st unless he made the mistake of getting a re-entry permit that was not needed.

If he enters on or before May 12th, 2017 he will get a new one year entry. After that date he would need a re-entry permit to keep his last entry valid.

If does it correctly he will not need to get an extension of stay or a new visa until May of 2018.

Correct..

[Suradit69]

5 hours ago, laislica said:

Re-entered 21 Nov 2016 and is Admitted until 29 May 2017.

 

Each time he enters the country on an unexpired O-A visa he should be given a new one year permission to stay. so if he entered on 21st Nov 2016, he should have been given until 20 Nov 2017. He needs to check the expiry date on the actual visa to make sure his last entry is before it expires. Once the visa expires he would still have a valid permission to stay, but would need a re-entry permit to maintain that same expiry date on his permission.

 

If he was given until 29 May 2017, it sounds like the visa may have expired and he's using a re-entry permit which maintains the same permission to stay expiry date.

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

If he was given until 29 May 2017, it sounds like the visa may have expired and he's using a re-entry permit which maintains the same permission to stay expiry date.

You seem to of missed this post.

5 hours ago, laislica said:

Oops, my bad (it's dark in ere LOL)

 

You are quite correct. The stamp does say admitted to 20/11/2017 from his arrival on the 21st Nov

 

[Suradit69]

36 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You seem to of missed this post.

 

Apparently I did.