Clear Advice on O-A visa...Help

[Flustered]

O-A Visa....Catch 22

 

My wife and I are beginning to organise our lives to retire in Thailand. We have many Thai friends and really love the country. However............

 

We intend to sell our house in the UK and travel to Singapore. My wife is Singaporean and a UK permanent resident. We intend to purchase an apartment in Singapore for occasional use and also for our niece. We will be opening a UOB bank account in Singapore (they have branches in Thailand). Then we will travel to Chiang Rai and try to sort out our retirement.

 

The problem:

To obtain an O-A visa, you need a Thai bank account (money not an issue). To open a Thai bank account you need a long term visa. Chicken and egg scenario. You also need proof of Thai residency along with health docs and police docs (not more than 3 months old)  from country of origin. As we will be in Singapore for a few months, by the time we get to Thailand the documents will have almost expired. Also, does Thai residency mean a long tern rental or a hotel address?

 

If I read this correctly, the way forward would be a 90 day visa, commitment to a rental property and hope that this is enough to open a bank account. Then it would be a case of back to Singapore, return to Thailand with another 90 day visa and ask for this to be changed to an O-A visa.

 

Surely there is a simpler way to open a bank account from the UK and apply for a O-A at the consulate in Hull?

 

 Clear advice would be very welcome.

 

Tony

[Pib]

When does it say you need money in a "Thai bank account?"    To get the O-A Visa you just need to meet the income requirements from your home country bank, pension, etc.  

 

Now if applying for an "Extension of Stay" within Thailand when your O-A Visa is almost expired, then yes you need to have the funds in a Thai bank account or get an income letter from your embassy.   

 

If you decide not to apply for an Extension of Stay while Thailand and you Visa expires, then you must generally start the Visa process outside Thailand again like you are doing now.  Or you can show up in Thailand on a short term stay/Visa, convert that to a long term visa/extension of stay within Thailand if meeting income requirements of having the req'd amount in a Thai bank account or getting the embassy income letter. 

 

Once you get your long term Visa and arrive Thailand, opening a bank account in Thailand should be easy.

 

 

[Andrew Dwyer]

Tony, I am pretty sure that you can't get a O-A visa at Hull, only London.

I opened a bank account (Bangkok bank)while on a 60 tourist visa from Hull, it's a bit of a lottery is the opening bank account saga, I was refused 5 times ( 3 at Kasikorn, no work permit) twice at Bangkok bank ( no work permit), was getting depressed !!, one more try at Bangkok bank and no problems, got a savings account with ATM card.
You will need 800,000 baht in your account or an income ( pension) of 65,000 a month, or also you can combine the two to achieve the target.

You can do the Police check online ( ACRO) and have it posted to you anywhere ( they posted mine to Thailand).
It says on website you need notarised documents but many people say that is not necessary, I sent mine via post to Foreign Office for validation.

I also had the medical done in Thailand, seems people have problems getting it done in U.K. ( mainly with the cost).You can download form from Uk Embassy in Bangkok website, will attach a photo.



It's difficult to get all the information together at the same , but study carefully and you will be ok.

I am only quoting my experiences and some of these maybe won't apply to you.

But good luck [emoji6]


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[Flustered]

Thanks for the info. It is appreciated.

 

I believe in doing as much research up front as I am only too aware of the pitfalls with Thai law.

 

There are several websites that state you need a Thai bank account but the Thai Embassy site does not. It would be my luck to fill in all the forms here and then find out I needed a Thai bank account. However, we are covered on both income and savings so it should be straightforward. The fact that a spouse only gets an O visa is a bit off but we can always apply separately. I will email the consulate in Hull but always prefer information from those who have been down the route.

 

My feelings are now that we should apply for the O-As in the UK, go straight to Chiang Rai (or Phuket), sort out some accommodation, get a bank account, get an exit stamp and then fly onto Singapore to sort out our mess there. Then return to Chiang Rai for some really good chilling out at the hot spa at Pha Soet (just love the place).

 

A lot of messing around but I am sure it will be worth it.

 

Thanks again.

 

Tony

[KhunBENQ]

1 hour ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

Tony, I am pretty sure that you can't get a O-A visa at Hull, only London

Although I am not experienced with the UK it is equivalent to other countries that only the general consulate at the embassy or other general consulates will issue such visa.

I did this in 2010 in Germany and it was fairly easy.

But seems in other countries they have some higher hurdles about the documents.

 

It's described on the London site:

http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/en/types-of-visa#section8

 

And don't be puzzled by the Thai Baht amounts.

They still mean equivalent in the UK.

In other countries they usually state an amount in local currency (updated every other time).

London writes: "(approximately £14,000.00 / annum)".

A visa from your home country req. money in a Thai bank account is not feasible/makes no sense.

 

If you have the Non O-A there is no rush.

One year of continuous stay per entry (it's a multi entry) and another year with a border run shortly before expiry of the visa (ENTER BEFORE date).

So you can manage a stay of almost 2 years without dealing about money in Thai bank accounts, extensions etc.

 

[Flustered]

It's a big deal when you are selling up and leaving your home country. You have to have all of the ducks in line. Trying to sort out accommodation in two countries is not easy. Singapore can be overwhelming with it's adherence to rules and regulations.

 

We have been visiting Thailand since the early 80s and are very much at home with the culture and the people. It's just that Thais make the Indians look amateurs when it comes to bureaucracy. We have a lot to do as we intend to see all of the country so it's the full 9 yards, driving license, car, bank account etc. We are lucky in having Thai "relatives" from Phuket to Chiang Rai so we are well taken care of when we are there.

 

I just don't want the paperwork to screw up what should be a straightforward event as we are fully aware that there is no such thing as "straightforward" in Thailand.

 

But thanks again guys for the info which has helped.

 

Tony

 

Edited January 15, 2017 by Flustered

[steve187]

non imm 'O''A' visas are only issued in the UK to persons over 50 and only from the London Embassy, the money does not need to be in a Thai bank account. 

 

non imm 'O' visa are only issued to over 65's in the UK

[Flustered]

My confusion started because I read too much information.

 

Sites like Siam Legal state you need a Thai bank account etc. The Embassy says otherwise.

 

i only live a few miles from the Consulate in Hull so it's a quick trip in the near future to talk with them and then probably by post to London with the documents.

 

We tick all of the boxes for an O-A but will apply separately as its a bit of an insult for the wife to have an O while mine is an O-A. Singaporean women are very equality conscious.

 

It's a year or so off but there is a lot to plan and do so I like to have all of the information as soon as possible.

 

I appreciate all of your comments. It's often better from the horses mouth than a lawyer.

 

Tony

[Maestro]

@Flustered

Your are in good hands here at Thaivisa. Anytime you have a question or a doubt about any immigration matter, do not be shy to post in this forum. Read also the topics on the notification of staying in the country longer than 90 days and about the notification of the "house-master" (owner or tenant) of the residence where you are staying to report the arrival of foreigners at the residence.

 

And enjoy browsing the other forums on Thaivisa and posting a reply whenever you like.

[Flustered]

That's the next hurdle. How to travel the country staying at various places while dealing with the 90 day reporting. Also with the change in addresses, how to deal with the bank and registered car address. Will the bank allow an overseas address etc.

 

I think I may have to ask one of our Thai "relatives" to have the car and bank registered at their home address.

 

Thanks again to all. I really appreciate it.

 

Tony

[ubonjoe]

5 hours ago, Flustered said:

That's the next hurdle. How to travel the country staying at various places while dealing with the 90 day reporting.

Many people travel around the country but maintain a permanent address for immigration and other issues. You can do your 90 day reports online or by mail to the immigration office where you maintain a permanent address.

You only need a UK bank account to apply for the OA visa at the embassy in London. Not sure about the London embassy but many do not accept a Thai bank accounts to apply for one.

Your wife can apply for a extension as your dependent at immigration based upon you having a OA visa. It will be valid up to the date your one year entry from the OA visa ends.

[Andrew Dwyer]

Many people travel around the country but maintain a permanent address for immigration and other issues. You can do your 90 day reports online or by mail to the immigration office where you maintain a permanent address.
You only need a UK bank account to apply for the OA visa at the embassy in London. Not sure about the London embassy but many do not accept a Thai bank accounts to apply for one.
Your wife can apply for a extension as your dependent at immigration based upon you having a OA visa. It will be valid up to the date your one year entry from the OA visa ends.

I used a Thai bank (Bangkok) to obtain my O-A visa at London Thai Embassy with 800,000 baht deposited and a letter from the Bank ( in Thai).
Most use a U.K. bank but just saying you have this option also .


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[little mary sunshine]

You do not need a Thai bank account 

 to apply for an O-A Visa for retirement...

google requirements and read carefully.

Edited January 16, 2017 by little mary sunshine

[lassebasse]

When I have obtained the O-A visa in Sweden I have always shown my Swedish bank-accounts. There has never been any discussion about this. When later, in Thailand, asking for an extension I will show a Thai bank-account.

[CMBob]

I think you're overthinking things a bit.  The O-A should be easy to obtain and, if you time it right, you'll be able to stretch that into almost two years.  And, unless and until you're here in Thailand for a full stretch of 90 days, you don't have to do any address reporting (and, if and when you do, you can do it by mail....very easy).  I do realize that a lot of people (especially here on TV) complain about the visa/extension paperwork here in Thailand but in reality it's very little burden at all.  At worst, you have to go to immigration once a year for an extension and you can use an agent (3000 baht+) to help you through that if need be; other than that, simply mail in the 90-day reports.  Can't be much easier as far as I and many of my friends are concerned.

[louse1953]

10 hours ago, Flustered said:

My confusion started because I read too much information.

 

Sites like Siam Legal state you need a Thai bank account etc. The Embassy says otherwise.

 

i only live a few miles from the Consulate in Hull so it's a quick trip in the near future to talk with them and then probably by post to London with the documents.

 

We tick all of the boxes for an O-A but will apply separately as its a bit of an insult for the wife to have an O while mine is an O-A. Singaporean women are very equality conscious.

 

It's a year or so off but there is a lot to plan and do so I like to have all of the information as soon as possible.

 

I appreciate all of your comments. It's often better from the horses mouth than a lawyer.

 

Tony

You are not getting your OA from Siam Legal.You are getting it from a Thai Embassy,so this is the web site you read.Follow the steps and it's easy.If in doubt,ring them.

[louse1953]

33 minutes ago, little mary sunshine said:

You do not need a Thai bank account 

 to apply for an O-A Visa for retirement...

google requirements and read carefully.

Your right,but some of us don't want money in our home countries banks.

[little mary sunshine]

12 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

Your right,but some of us don't want money in our home countries banks.

 

 

Get your O-A Visa, you can bring $10,000to Thailand

legally each time you enter the country or just transfer

your funds to Thailand..simple!

[Pib]

The Siam Legal website does indeed say money is needed in a Thai bank account but in this case they are really referring to where you convert say from a 30 entry stamp or tourist visa to a non-o visa for retirement purposes which you can do at some immigration offices in Thailand.  For example, see this past post from ubonjoe.  And/or Siam Legal is using the "visa" name interchangeability with the "Extension of Stay" name which people and even some immigration office refer to as a visa....this can cause confusion of requirements sometimes.

 

 

[skorts]

Flustered, my wife and I are UK citizens. At age 50, I obtained an O-A Visa from London and my wife an O Visa as my dependant which was extended at Hua Hin Immigration. We are both now on yearly extensions with the same permission to stay dates.

I used a UK bank account, and provided police and medical reports for my O-A. All documents were Notarised by a Public Notary. I went on my own to the Thai Embassy in London and returned the next day to pick up our passports and Visas. It was straightforward.

We went down this route as my wife was 48 so did not qualify for an O-A in her own right. Even if she was 50 we did not want to have to commit 800,000 for each of us for renewal of our annual extensions. It also meant we did not have to transfer the 800,000 baht for my first extension until 2 months before Extension was renewed (for ceding).

Where did you get married? Reason I ask is because we got married in Sydney, Australia. Despite us both being British Citizens and having the original Australian Marriage Certificate, in English, with the embossed stamp and bar code, Hua Hin Immigration would not accept this. They insisted we go to the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, get a certified copy, have it translated into Thai and then stamped by the Thai Consulate in Bangkok.

We did this, returned to Hua Hin Immigration and obtained our extensions. The Officer said we would not need to show these documents again as they had put a flag on their system. However, each year they still insist on seeing originals of our certified, translated and stamped marriage certificate.

That said, last November, we completed our two extensions in under 20 minutes.


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[skorts]

Apologies - 2 months for ceding of money for O-A application, 3 months for each subsequent annual extension.


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[JXCutter]

As many have said you do not need to have a Thai bank accoun to obtain your visa outside of Thailand (and visas can only be obtained outside of Thailand). There is no requirement to open a Thai bank account.  When it comes time for you to obtain a visa extension and you use the statement of income letter then you do not have to have a bank account.  If you use the 800,000 baht for the prior 90 days then you do need a bank account.  I have had an O-A visa for the last 15 years and have not shown any bank information in the last ten years.

 

Also, there is a bad rumor that floats around.  You do not need to do a border run before getting your visa extension.  Anytime within 45 days of your "Admitted Until" date you can go to immigration and obtain a visa extension which will be dated a year from your your last "Admitted Until" date.

[JXCutter]

Because there is a lot of confusion regarding the life of the original O-A visa I am attaching a power point in two parts because the whole thing is too large to attach.  The main thing to remember is that the visa is about your status while in Thailand.  Nothing on the face of the visa indicates how long you can be in Thailand.

Retirement Visa - Part I v1.pptx

Retirement Visa - Part II.pptx

[Andrew Dwyer]

JXCutter
Excellent !
Although I have been here since March 2016 ( since October on an O-A) I still find it a little confusing.
Your PowerPoint presentations make it easy to understand !!


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[keeniau96]

Phuket Immigration is quite good and well organized, seems better than most others. Also getting bank account in Phuket at Bangkok Bank or Kaesikorn is quite simple if in Patong or at the Central shopping mall, very used to farengs there.

[Flustered]

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Many people travel around the country but maintain a permanent address for immigration and other issues. You can do your 90 day reports online or by mail to the immigration office where you maintain a permanent address.

You only need a UK bank account to apply for the OA visa at the embassy in London. Not sure about the London embassy but many do not accept a Thai bank accounts to apply for one.

Your wife can apply for a extension as your dependent at immigration based upon you having a OA visa. It will be valid up to the date your one year entry from the OA visa ends.

 

 

This is more or less what I understand. The only issue I have which will probably work out for the better is that Singaporean wives are EXTREMELY independent to the point of down right stubborn over identity and equality. However, applying separately  for O-A visas will sort out any issues over marriage certificates as we were married in Singapore, have the proper marriage certificate (in English) but according to Skorts, this could be an issue.

 

We have budgeted for a base in Chiang Rai and then travel the country. 

 

A point did cross my mind on the 90 day reporting (which I understand the need for) and that is, if you are based and registered in Chiang Rai but are staying at a hotel in Phuket, the hotel will have registered you and if you went to Phuket immigration, would they accept you for a 90 day reporting as you are on the system in Phuket?

 

Thank  to all the answers on this forum, at least I should be in good shape when we finally move.

 

Tony

[JB300]

 

 

This is more or less what I understand. The only issue I have which will probably work out for the better is that Singaporean wives are EXTREMELY independent to the point of down right stubborn over identity and equality. However, applying separately  for O-A visas will sort out any issues over marriage certificates as we were married in Singapore, have the proper marriage certificate (in English) but according to Skorts, this could be an issue.

 

We have budgeted for a base in Chiang Rai and then travel the country. 

 

A point did cross my mind on the 90 day reporting (which I understand the need for) and that is, if you are based and registered in Chiang Rai but are staying at a hotel in Phuket, the hotel will have registered you and if you went to Phuket immigration, would they accept you for a 90 day reporting as you are on the system in Phuket?

 

Thank  to all the answers on this forum, at least I should be in good shape when we finally move.

 

Tony

Tony,

(Assuming your Wife is over 50) you could always do it the other way around, come to Singapore, she gets the Non-O from Thai Embassy then you get a Dependant Visa

You might even get a Non-O from Singapore yourself (they say only citizens & PRs but my friends who are married to Singaporeans are treated almost the same as PRs).

BTW, have you seen the price of property in Singapore nowadays! Then add on the tax when buying it (18% for me as an EP holder)!!

Am in the same boat as you re chicken-and-egg rules around needing money in a Thai bank account for a Non-O visa, I'm going to try to open & seed one next time I'm in Bangkok, failing that I'll weigh up the Pros & Cons of a trip to the UK to get a Non O-A Vs going down the Thailand Elite card route.

JB

[ubonjoe]

20 minutes ago, Flustered said:

This is more or less what I understand. The only issue I have which will probably work out for the better is that Singaporean wives are EXTREMELY independent to the point of down right stubborn over identity and equality. However, applying separately  for O-A visas will sort out any issues over marriage certificates as we were married in Singapore, have the proper marriage certificate (in English) but according to Skorts, this could be an issue.

 

We have budgeted for a base in Chiang Rai and then travel the country. 

 

A point did cross my mind on the 90 day reporting (which I understand the need for) and that is, if you are based and registered in Chiang Rai but are staying at a hotel in Phuket, the hotel will have registered you and if you went to Phuket immigration, would they accept you for a 90 day reporting as you are on the system in Phuket?

 

Thank  to all the answers on this forum, at least I should be in good shape when we finally move.

 

Tony

If your marriage certificate is in English I can see not reason for you to have a problem using your Singapore marriage certificate at the embassy in London. You would though need to have it certified for her to apply for an extension at immigration. Not sure how Singapore handles the certification but if you are going to be there it should be easy.

There is a immigration office in Chiang Rai and from reports I have seen they are easy to deal with.

A TM30 report would not be enough for you do your 90 day report in Phuket. You would have to formally change address to there at immigration there. They would want proof of residence more than staying in a hotel. If I recall correctly Chiang Rai allows mailed in 90 day reports. Doing them by mail would be your best option.

 

 

[Flustered]

8 minutes ago, JB300 said:

BTW, have you seen the price of property in Singapore nowadays! Then add on the tax (18% for me as an EP holder)

 

What we sell our house for in the UK will buy a 3 bdr HDB near all of her sisters with a few dollars left over. She is happy with that so who am I to complain!

 

All i want is to relax in the hot springs at Pha Soet , reading my Kindle and sipping a cold beer. or is that too much to ask for?

 

The simplest way seems to be the Thai Embassy in London as we both qualify and tick the boxes for an O-A. I never underestimate the pain in the arse Singapore paperwork and procedures. They make life a misery and enjoy it.

 

Still, looking forward and lots to do.

 

Thanks all.

Tony
 

 

 

 

[ubonjoe]

12 minutes ago, hyku1147 said:

Can the OP get a 6 mounth visa the Thai Embassy,then convert it to retirement once in Thailand? That is what I did in 2011.

I am not aware of any visa that allows a 6 month stay. Perhaps a multiple entry tourist visa that is valid for 6 months that allows 60 day entries.

A single entry tourist visa would be all that is needed.