apply retirement visa within Thailand

[mja1906]

My parents are in Thailand on a 30day permission to stay stamp (UK and Malaysian passport holders). If they apply for a retirement visa, how long do they give you before you have to apply for a 1 year extension. I assume that if they apply now, but plan to return to UK for half a year or so, then they wouldn't be able to do the 1 year extension right? Just need a bit of clarification on the process. Also for the requirement to show 800k in the bank for 2 months, are you allowed to take any of that out for spending purposes during those 2 months or must keep the full 800k there? Thanks

 

 

 

 

 

 

[buick]

i arrived on a visa exempt entry (30 days) and obtained the extension based on retirement within thailand.  did it a couple years ago.

 

you need to visit immigration with at least 15 days left on your 30 day entry.  you also need to open a bank account and put in 800,000thb.  when you visit immigration (after the money is in the bank), you will apply for a 90 day non O immigrant visa.  you will have to wait two weeks for the final approval, which is why they require that you have at least 15 days left on your permission to stay.  this non O visa you obtain in thailand will be stamped used and give you a 90 day entry/permission to stay.

 

30 days before that 90 days end, you go to request the one year extension and, at the same time, get a re-entry permit.  with the re-entry permit, you can leave thailand and return w/o voiding your one year extension.  the 800,000thb needs to be in the bank for 2 months before (and 3 months after) the one year extension (don't need that 'seasoning' for the 90 day non O visa).

Edited October 16, 2019 by buick

[Psimbo]

There is no such thing as a 'retirement visa'.

[jacko45k]

If a tourist visa or Visa exempt entry is converted to a non-Imm O, a permission to stay of 90 days is effective. To obtain a one year extension on that, they should apply a minimum of 2 weeks and up to a month before that expires. 

They would need to be in Thailand to apply for the retirement extension . The 800k (each) must have been in the account (separate for each) untouched for the 2 months prior and not go below that amount. 

Edited October 16, 2019 by jacko45k

[kuzie57]

A lot of people still call an extension of stay based on retirement a "retirement visa". A miss use of terms only.

[Acharn]

45 minutes ago, kuzie57 said:

A lot of people still call an extension of stay based on retirement a "retirement visa". A miss use of terms only.

Yes. When I go to Immigration I tell them I'm there to "Daw visa." That's Thai for "extend (my) visa." They know what I mean. I've never understood the reasoning of the people who object so much to commonly used language. It's like people who object to calling a tomato a vegetable, because it's actually a fruit.

[khunPer]

20 hours ago, Psimbo said:

There is no such thing as a 'retirement visa'.

Yes there is...

Quote

Retirement Visa Non-Immigrant Visa “O-A” (1 Year Visa)

Important Information:

• • The best time to apply for a visa is approximately 4 weeks before traveling and 6 weeks if you apply by post.
  • When applying for a visa at the Royal Thai Embassy, it is required that the applicants use and submit an application form from the Royal Thai Embassy only. Applicants are to bring the documents as listed in their subjected visa category along with the application form.
  • Applications lacking any required documents will not be processed and will be returned to the applicant immediately.

Source: Royal Thai Embassy, Consular Section.

[fishtank]

5 hours ago, Acharn said:

Yes. When I go to Immigration I tell them I'm there to "Daw visa." That's Thai for "extend (my) visa." They know what I mean. I've never understood the reasoning of the people who object so much to commonly used language. It's like people who object to calling a tomato a vegetable, because it's actually a fruit.

Bizzare.

[zaZa9]

Im currently in Thailand on an Non Immigrant O-A 'Retirement' Extension.

 

If I were to let this expire , go to some other country , return on a 30 day visa exempt and apply for a Non Imm O , as Buick did ,  would Immigration treat this with some suspicion or  have grounds to refuse it outright?

Any views ?

[zaZa9]

23 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Yes there is...

Source: Royal Thai Embassy, Consular Section.

Yep......

Edited October 17, 2019 by zaZa9

[zaZa9]

Every Year for 12 so far , my extension stamp has "RETIREMENT" typed in bold as a heading .

Funny that ...

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, zaZa9 said:

Every Year for 12 so far , my extension stamp has "RETIREMENT" typed in bold as a heading .

Funny that ...

That is not a visa, that is "extension of stay based on retirement"...????

[Lancelot01]

13 hours ago, kuzie57 said:

A lot of people still call an extension of stay based on retirement a "retirement visa". A miss use of terms only.

So what, if they are comfortable in using the term, tightly or wrongly, does it matter?

[jacko45k]

13 hours ago, Acharn said:

t's like people who object to calling a tomato a vegetable, because it's actually a fruit.

Yes, I call my cat 'dog'..... it makes no difference whatsoever to the cat, but confuses people and makes me look stupid!

[Martyp]

People do confuse visas and extensions of stay. And people, expats and Immigration officers, commonly refer to both the O-A visa and extension of stay (based on retirement) as a "retirement visa". 

 

However, the O-A visa, purchased outside Thailand, is a visa available only to people over 50 years of age. You cannot work inside Thailand and you cannot get a work permit while on an O-A visa. However you do not have to be retired from work. Plenty of people get this visa and work in their home country and spend considerable time in Thailand. With an O-A visa you can keep your money in your home country but you do have meet financial requirements to apply for the visa at a Thai Consulate. And, as of Oct31st, you will have to have insurance.

 

For a 1 year extension of stay based on retirement you do need to have money and/or income in a Thai bank. You get an extension of stay at an Immigration office inside Thailand. Once again, you don't have to formally be retired from work. You could leave Thailand and work outside the country. BTW. When you fill out the TM7 form for a 1 year extension of stay there is a large blank space for you to write in your reason for applying for an extension of stay. I write in "retirement" and that is what they put on my extension of stay stamp. However, there are other options to write in that space.

[saengd]

Regardless of the precise definitions I think it's important to understand that most expats in Thailand have nearly always referred to the extension of an O-A visa for retirement purposes, as a retirement visa and almost everyone, apart from the most pedantic, have understood this.

[Martyp]

16 minutes ago, saengd said:

Regardless of the precise definitions I think it's important to understand that most expats in Thailand have nearly always referred to the extension of an O-A visa for retirement purposes, as a retirement visa and almost everyone, apart from the most pedantic, have understood this.

I agree except when there is an issue that affects them differently. In the case of this insurance requirement the initial reports were that it onLy affected those applying for an O-A visa. If you think your extension of stay based on retirement is a visa then you might become unnecessarily concerned. I have no idea how this insurance thing will play out but the point is that sometimes the distinction between a visa and an extension of stay is important.

[jacko45k]

40 minutes ago, saengd said:

referred to the extension of an O-A visa for retirement purposes, as a retirement visa

You can't extend a Visa, only the Permission to Stay......????

[Pib]

On 10/16/2019 at 11:55 PM, buick said:

you also need to open a bank account and put in 800,000thb. 

Regarding that Bt800K, did immigration require proof those funds came from outside Thailand....like a letter saying the funds were rec'd via SWIFT transfer?   Or they just wanted to see Bt800K was in the Thai bank and didn't care about the source of funds?   Didnt care if the funds came from a domestic deposit/transfer or international transfer?

Edited October 18, 2019 by Pib

[Martyp]

6 minutes ago, Pib said:

Regarding that Bt800K, did immigration require proof those funds came from outside Thailand....like a letter saying the funds were rec'd via SWIFT transfer?   Or they just wanted to see Bt800K was in the Thai bank and didn't care about the source of funds?   Didnt care if the funds came from a domestic deposit/transfer or international transfer?

I just got my 2nd extension of stay in Bangkok. I’ve never been asked about the origin of the 800,000k

[SpokaneAl]

It really matters not about the terminology one uses when talking with friends.

However, I see it here often when someone is asking for help and is vague, confused or in error about terminology. It takes several posts to sort out the specific issue before precise help or advice can be proved.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Acharn]

13 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes, I call my cat 'dog'..... it makes no difference whatsoever to the cat, but confuses people and makes me look stupid!

You're being too hard on yourself. I would not think you were stupid for calling you cat "dog." Eccentric, maybe, but not stupid. Quirky sense of humor. 

[Acharn]

11 hours ago, Martyp said:

People do confuse visas and extensions of stay. And people, expats and Immigration officers, commonly refer to both the O-A visa and extension of stay (based on retirement) as a "retirement visa". 

 

However, the O-A visa, purchased outside Thailand, is a visa available only to people over 50 years of age. You cannot work inside Thailand and you cannot get a work permit while on an O-A visa. However you do not have to be retired from work. Plenty of people get this visa and work in their home country and spend considerable time in Thailand. With an O-A visa you can keep your money in your home country but you do have meet financial requirements to apply for the visa at a Thai Consulate. And, as of Oct31st, you will have to have insurance.

 

For a 1 year extension of stay based on retirement you do need to have money and/or income in a Thai bank. You get an extension of stay at an Immigration office inside Thailand. Once again, you don't have to formally be retired from work. You could leave Thailand and work outside the country. BTW. When you fill out the TM7 form for a 1 year extension of stay there is a large blank space for you to write in your reason for applying for an extension of stay. I write in "retirement" and that is what they put on my extension of stay stamp. However, there are other options to write in that space.

I confess I never heard of the O-A visa until last year when it suddenly had problems. I came on an O visa and had to extend for one year (actually nine months) after ninety days, so I thought that's what everybody does. I have the same financial requirements and I've been extending my stay for the purpose of retirement for 37 years. Still, when I go to immigration (and this was true at Soi Suan Phlu and Chaeng Wattana, as well as here) I tell them I am there to "extend my visa," and they direct me to the right place.

[stuandjulie]

11 hours ago, Martyp said:

People do confuse visas and extensions of stay. And people, expats and Immigration officers, commonly refer to both the O-A visa and extension of stay (based on retirement) as a "retirement visa". 

 

However, the O-A visa, purchased outside Thailand, is a visa available only to people over 50 years of age. You cannot work inside Thailand and you cannot get a work permit while on an O-A visa. However you do not have to be retired from work. Plenty of people get this visa and work in their home country and spend considerable time in Thailand. With an O-A visa you can keep your money in your home country but you do have meet financial requirements to apply for the visa at a Thai Consulate. And, as of Oct31st, you will have to have insurance.

 

For a 1 year extension of stay based on retirement you do need to have money and/or income in a Thai bank. You get an extension of stay at an Immigration office inside Thailand. Once again, you don't have to formally be retired from work. You could leave Thailand and work outside the country. BTW. When you fill out the TM7 form for a 1 year extension of stay there is a large blank space for you to write in your reason for applying for an extension of stay. I write in "retirement" and that is what they put on my extension of stay stamp. However, there are other options to write in that space.

Strange that, I got my Non O 'A' multiple entry Visa at the age of 48 from the UK ! I used it for 15 months and then extended using the retirement extension when I reached 50.

[graeme72]

On 10/17/2019 at 3:55 AM, buick said:

i arrived on a visa exempt entry (30 days) and obtained the extension based on retirement within thailand.  did it a couple years ago.

 

you need to visit immigration with at least 15 days left on your 30 day entry.  you also need to open a bank account and put in 800,000thb.  when you visit immigration (after the money is in the bank), you will apply for a 90 day non O immigrant visa.  you will have to wait two weeks for the final approval, which is why they require that you have at least 15 days left on your permission to stay.  this non O visa you obtain in thailand will be stamped used and give you a 90 day entry/permission to stay.

 

30 days before that 90 days end, you go to request the one year extension and, at the same time, get a re-entry permit.  with the re-entry permit, you can leave thailand and return w/o voiding your one year extension.  the 800,000thb needs to be in the bank for 2 months before (and 3 months after) the one year extension (don't need that 'seasoning' for the 90 day non O visa).

What documents are required for this ?

[lamyai3]

10 hours ago, stuandjulie said:

Strange that, I got my Non O 'A' multiple entry Visa at the age of 48 from the UK ! I used it for 15 months and then extended using the retirement extension when I reached 50.

What year? Maybe you're getting it confused with the multi Non O on basis of visiting friends and family (discontinued around 2013). The Non O-A is for over 50's. 

[Sophon]

10 hours ago, stuandjulie said:

Strange that, I got my Non O 'A' multiple entry Visa at the age of 48 from the UK ! I used it for 15 months and then extended using the retirement extension when I reached 50.

If you used your visa for 15 months before applying for an extension, the visa was most likely a multiple Non O (not the same as a Non OA). A Non OA would have given you up to two years before needing to apply for an extension.

 

Sophon

[jacko45k]

11 hours ago, Acharn said:

You're being too hard on yourself. I would not think you were stupid for calling you cat "dog." Eccentric, maybe, but not stupid. Quirky sense of humor. 

I am simply a dullard, I actually call it 'cat', in Thai!

[ubonjoe]

2 hours ago, graeme72 said:

What documents are required for this ?

The general requirement to apply at immigration is here. https://www.immigration.go.th/content/service_80

The 15 days remaining on your entry depends upon the office you apply. Some want 21 days remaining.

They may also want proof of residence and etc.

[stuandjulie]

10 hours ago, Sophon said:

If you used your visa for 15 months before applying for an extension, the visa was most likely a multiple Non O (not the same as a Non OA). A Non OA would have given you up to two years before needing to apply for an extension.

 

Sophon

It was a Non O A, I used it for 15 months then went on extension when I hit 50.