On 6 June 2017 at 11:37 PM, skorts said:

The determination of UK Residency if you spend more than 183 days outside of the UK is not straightforward. As well as the Automatic Overseas and Automatic UK Tests there are the Sufficient Ties Tests. HMRC have a 104 page manual covering this, including decision trees to help you determine your Residency Status - they are pretty easy to use and a good starting point. If you do not meet the Automatic Overseas or Automatic UK Tests then the number of Sufficient Ties determines how many days you can spend in the UK each tax year without being classed as UK resident. The staying with close relatives Accommodation tie requires you to stay with a close relative(s) for 16 nights in a tax year. Alternatively, if you have accommodation available to you for a period of 91 days and stay there just 1 night this would be classed as an Accommodation tie. This could be a property you own but you do not have to own it for it to qualify. This is a complex area and worth taking advice from an accountant/tax adviser who specialises in UK Residency etc. We have just been through this process ourselves.


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Well worth a read of this document. I read it, fell asleep 3 times in the process but very worthwhile. Or consult an advisor.

 

As noted before rules change and you need to keep abreast of these changes if they concern you.

On 07/06/2017 at 3:53 AM, mikebell said:

I am a Brit.  I foolishly did the 'right' thing and told the authorities I was living in Thailand.  My pension (State) has been frozen now for the last nine years.

 

If you spend 6 months a year in Britain, however, your pension is unfrozen; your NHS benefits secure.  + you get a Cold weather grant?

If in Thailand its an air-conditioning grant.....lol.

 

....Been very busy so sorry for the delay in replying. Thank you to everyone for their valuable input. I was hoping for the expert input of Ubonjoe but I think u guys have covered everything.

 

With the exchange rate being so bad and with little chance of improvement until the UK leaves the EU, the O-A option seems the most appealing at the moment.

 

.....A few more questions on this please:

 

1) How long is the O-A year; a full 365 days?

 

2) On the London embassy's website O-A is the option for over 50's, so will it be issued to me at 64 (65 when I travel), or will they insist I take an O visa. And could they restrict that O visa to a single entry?

 

3) All evidence submitted "must be certified by a Notary Public officer". Who will they accept for this please?

 

4) Will funds in a Building Society ISA savings account satisfy their financial requirement for 800k in a bank account? Please dont suggest phoning and asking them as in the past it was extremely difficult to get through and when you eventually do, different staff give you different information. It is as if they tell you the 1st thing that comes into their head! Or they just say submit your application and we will consider it. Unlike Hull and Cardiff, they are not helpful at all.

 

4) If and when I do convert to extension of stay in Thailand, how long does the 800k need to be in my Thai bank account before I apply?

 

Thank you all again.

 

 

Edited June 13, 20179 yr by SunsetT

.....And if u wonder why I dont email the address they provide on their London website for 'Visa matters' , all u get is this automated reply:

 

"Thank you very much for your message, if you have any query about visa, whether you need and how to apply for a visa,Types of visa and supporting document please kindly visit http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/en/visa-modern"

 

........Pure unadulterated ignorance!!!

9 hours ago, SunsetT said:

1) How long is the O-A year; a full 365 days?

 

2) On the London embassy's website O-A is the option for over 50's, so will it be issued to me at 64 (65 when I travel), or will they insist I take an O visa. And could they restrict that O visa to a single entry?

 

3) All evidence submitted "must be certified by a Notary Public officer". Who will they accept for this please?

 

4) Will funds in a Building Society ISA savings account satisfy their financial requirement for 800k in a bank account? Please dont suggest phoning and asking them as in the past it was extremely difficult to get through and when you eventually do, different staff give you different information. It is as if they tell you the 1st thing that comes into their head! Or they just say submit your application and we will consider it. Unlike Hull and Cardiff, they are not helpful at all.

 

4) If and when I do convert to extension of stay in Thailand, how long does the 800k need to be in my Thai bank account before I apply?

1. The OA visa is valid for 12 months from the date of issue and allows a unlimited 12 month entries up to the date it expires.

2. As long as you are 50 or over they will issue you a OA visa. Getting a non-o visa is only an option if you are 65 or over it is not mandatory.

3. Any notary public or solicitor can do it.

4. Yes

5.Near the end of your last one year entry from the OA visa the 800k baht would need to be in the bank for 60 days on the date you apply for the extension at immigration.

7 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

1. The OA visa is valid for 12 months from the date of issue and allows a unlimited 12 month entries up to the date it expires.

2. As long as you are 50 or over they will issue you a OA visa. Getting a non-o visa is only an option if you are 65 or over it is not mandatory.

3. Any notary public or solicitor can do it.

4. Yes

5.Near the end of your last one year entry from the OA visa the 800k baht would need to be in the bank for 60 days on the date you apply for the extension at immigration.

Thanks Joe.

 

Do the bank statement & letter, the police check, and the medical certificate need certification if you send the original documents and not copies because the London embassy website states: "  Copies of bank statement, criminal record, medical record and marriage certificate must be certified by a Notary Public officer or Solicitors " ?

 

 

Edited June 14, 20179 yr by SunsetT

2 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

Thanks Joe.

 

Do the bank statement & letter, the police check, and the medical certificate need certification if you send the original documents and not copies because the London embassy website states: "  Copies of bank statement, criminal record, medical record and marriage certificate must be certified by a Notary Public officer or Solicitors " ?

All copies must be certified. You have to submit 3 application forms with copies attached. 

32 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

All copies must be certified. You have to submit 3 application forms with copies attached. 

Just to be absolutely clear Joe; Do you mean that all original documents must be certified and not just 'copies'?

All copies must be certified. You have to submit 3 application forms with copies attached. 

To get each document notarized would mean hauling each signor in front of a notary. It won't happen.

Simply craft a cover letter stating that you certify that each of the documents enclosed is a true copy and get that notarized.

Then you just need one original of each document and the required three copies. Not a big deal.




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I am preparing to apply for an O-A visa from London and as well as asking for bank statements to be certified or notarised,  their website states that bank statements must be accompanied by "the original reference letter from the banking concerned". Does anyone have experience of what they actually mean and if it is enforced? Thanks.

 

While I am here could someone kindly tell me how much re-entry permits cost; single and multiple entry, and how long are they valid for?

 

Also, on arrival in Thailand on an O-A, is there any need to report anywhere within a certain time, or does one just report to any immigration office after 90 days? Thanks.........

I have been staying in Thailand on retirement extensions for similar periods each year. I initially entered on October 29th thinking that I would get the year extension from December so that I could have a flexible return date but they backdated the one year extension to October. The extension date has remained 29 th October every year since. I was disappointed at first but got used to it, I return around the 25th and extend soon after. I am currently in UK and making a new visa. I note that the embassy now requires only the notification letter from The pension service for a non-immigrant O visa if you are a pensioner. No medical certificate, no police report which is a change from my initial non-imm O and which I found irksome, vaguely remember paying a notary- public for his signature. My pension is less than £100 per week so I included copies of my bank books in Thailand which I have been using for annual extensions. Theoretically the Embassy shouldn't concern themselves with the police requirements for a one year extension and that appears to be the case. However if you are not a pensioner, under 65 years of age, the 'how to apply' section on the website seems not to offer a visa for retirement in spite of it being available in Thailand to those over 50 years of age.

The O-A multi entry is a mystery to me, lots of hassel and more expense simply to avoid showing enough funds, requiring the subject to leave the country to avoid reporting by mail every ninety days it seems, does anyone get it for other reasons?

 

 

 

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I have been staying in Thailand on retirement extensions for similar periods each year. I initially entered on October 29th thinking that I would get the year extension from December so that I could have a flexible return date but they backdated the one year extension to October. The extension date has remained 29 th October every year since. I was disappointed at first but got used to it, I return around the 25th and extend soon after. I am currently in UK and making a new visa. I note that the embassy now requires only the notification letter from The pension service for a non-immigrant O visa if you are a pensioner. No medical certificate, no police report which is a change from my initial non-imm O and which I found irksome, vaguely remember paying a notary- public for his signature. My pension is less than £100 per week so I included copies of my bank books in Thailand which I have been using for annual extensions. Theoretically the Embassy shouldn't concern themselves with the police requirements for a one year extension and that appears to be the case. However if you are not a pensioner, under 65 years of age, the 'how to apply' section on the website seems not to offer a visa for retirement in spite of it being available in Thailand to those over 50 years of age.
The O-A multi entry is a mystery to me, lots of hassel and more expense simply to avoid showing enough funds, requiring the subject to leave the country to avoid reporting by mail every ninety days it seems, does anyone get it for other reasons?
 
 
 
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The non imm o-a multi entry visa that you obtain in your home country does not require one to leave the country every 90 days. I just received my sixth o-a visa - my passport arrived in the mail today from the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles for our annual six month stay over the winter in Thailand.

I report, with the house owner, within 24 hours of arriving and, depending on the exact timing of my stay, perform one or two 90 day reports.

I find the visa easy to obtain and I have no need to keep large amounts of money in Thailand, or go the alternate route and visit the American Embassy.

I like this visa in that I have little interaction with immigration, and can concentrate on my priority in life - ensuring my wife and I enjoy our six months in Thailand.


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I can see the point of it in your case, I think that is probably the reason the visa was designed, I have friends who visit from Germany every year and suppose that they must use the non-imm OA. I have always felt that I am cheating and perhaps the London embassy may take that view and insist on the OA. You have shown me that it wouldn't be a disaster if they did, no need to visit immigration, a windfall of about a million baht, renewing my driving licence would be the problem perhaps. Thank you.



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I can see the point of it in your case, I think that is probably the reason the visa was designed, I have friends who visit from Germany every year and suppose that they must use the non-imm OA. I have always felt that I am cheating and perhaps the London embassy may take that view and insist on the OA. You have shown me that it wouldn't be a disaster if they did, no need to visit immigration, a windfall of about a million baht, renewing my driving licence would be the problem perhaps. Thank you.



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If you are referring to renewing your Thai drivers license - I have not had a problem with that and renewed a couple of years ago for both the automobile and motorcycle.


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No problems then. I send off the docs tomorrow and I won't mind if they refuse and make me get an O-A provided it is as easy as you say, consuls are not all the same.

 

 

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Update, Sent the new passport, pension letter, and additionally, copies of Bangkok Bank accounts although they don't ask for them. Passport returned today with new non-imm O visa, expires 15th Nov.


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