Costs of Retirement Visa?

[sdweller]

My wife and I are trying to decide between the Retirement Visa and the Elite Visa... (we are both obviously in our 50's).   I know what the Elite costs...but can anyone be so kind as to give me an idea of approx costs to aquire the retirement visa for both of us?  And do we have to make border runs every year and do we have to re-apply every year?  

[jacko45k]

Which country will you be obtaining the Visa(s) in? There are 3 types of 'Retirement' Visa that might be associated with what you are asking of . A simple Non-Imm-O based on being retired can be obtained in some countries, but only permits a single 90 day entry. There are also long stay Visas designed for over 50s, the Non-Imm-OA and OX. 

[sdweller]

We are US Citizens... both over 50 years old...looking for the long-stay visa I believe Non-Imm OA

[jacko45k]

21 minutes ago, sdweller said:

We are US Citizens... both over 50 years old...looking for the long-stay visa I believe Non-Imm OA

I expect you have read this then already. That shows each visa will cost $200 USD per application.

Extra costs incurred will be obtaining a medical certificate, criminal record check, 12 months of medical insurance. 

One must show a bank balance in the USA (or Thailand) of approximately $27,000 or income of $2,200 pcm, or combination. (800.000 baht and 65,000 baht respectively)

There are further requirements during Covid not included here.

 

The O-A is a multiple entry Visa valid for 12 months, and each entry would be for 12 months stay or the validity of the medical insurance. It would be desirable to do a 'border run' just before the end of the Visa life (one year from issue) to effectively get another year out of it. After 2 years you have the choice of either returning to the USA, for another Visa, or applying within Thailand for a retirement extension to continue to live here. 

 

 

[Delight]

 To answer your Q. directly -A retirement visa costs 1900 Baht per applicant. That is  the easy bit.

To qualify for such a visa -which is technically a visa extension you have to start with a Non immigrant 'O' visa . Typically this can be obtained in your own country.

However I understand that you can arrive in Thailand on the 30 day Visa on Arrival-and obtain a Non immigrant 'O' visa if you intend to convert to a retirement visa. Your local immigration office will give you more advice on this.

 You also have financial obligations.

800K Baht in a bank for 2 months prior to application date and the same 800K  90 days after.

Alternative if you can show 65000 Baht coming into a Thai bank for each of 12 months prior -then that is also acceptable.

The foregoing -in your case -has to be repeated . There are no concessions for a married couple.

[Sheryl]

2 minutes ago, Delight said:

 To answer your Q. directly -A retirement visa costs 1900 Baht per applicant. That is  the easy bit.

To qualify for such a visa -which is technically a visa extension you have to start with a Non immigrant 'O' visa . Typically this can be obtained in your own country.

However I understand that you can arrive in Thailand on the 30 day Visa on Arrival-and obtain a Non immigrant 'O' visa if you intend to convert to a retirement visa. Your local immigration office will give you more advice on this.

 You also have financial obligations.

800K Baht in a bank for 2 months prior to application date and the same 800K  90 days after.

Alternative if you can show 65000 Baht coming into a Thai bank for each of 12 months prior -then that is also acceptable.

The foregoing -in your case -has to be repeated . There are no concessions for a married couple.

As he is coming from the US he cannot get a non-O for retirement, will have to get O-A. Same same except for mandatory health insurance - which is more problematic than it sounds as only Thai issued policies (overprices and poor value) are allowed for in-country extensions, though can use a foreign policy for the initial visa if the insurer will sign the requisite certificate.

 

I think he could get just OA for himself and his wife piggy back onto that with a dependent visa? (Maybe not at this time, but post-COVID restrictions)?

[zzzzz]

8 hours ago, sdweller said:

We are US Citizens... both over 50 years old...looking for the long-stay visa I believe Non-Imm OA

get the Non O
cost apx $60 for the 1st 90 days.

than a 1 year extension is 1,900 IF you have the 800,000 in the bank,

NOTE: if ur legally married you can get the extension on ur 800,000 or 65,000 transferred monthly and ur wife can have her extension tagged to urs, ( dependent extension)  so no need for her to have the 800,000 in the bank

 

DO NOT get the Non OA as than ur always going to need insurance..

 

IF you cant get the non O in the states , ( its easier to than get a regular tourist visa ( for now) an than update to a non o ( for now easily done) 

If you wait a few months or so after covid

you could alternatively  easily travel to Penang or Laos to get the non o

[jackdd]

Apply for a tourist visa at your local embassy, costs about 1000THB

Fly to Thailand, deposit 800k in a Thai bank account, apply for a non-o visa for retirement, costs 2000THB

After 90 days apply for a one year extension for retirement, costs 1900THB (yearly)

 

I would clearly choose the retirement visa route for 4900THB for the first year and then 1900THB in the following years over spending 50,000 to 100,000THB per year for the Elite visa.

[sdweller]

Thanks to everyjone for this info.....to be clear, I need to show 800,000 thai baht balance in a Thai bank, or my bank here in the USA?  

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, sdweller said:

Thanks to everyjone for this info.....to be clear, I need to show 800,000 thai baht balance in a Thai bank, or my bank here in the USA?  

To apply for a non-o visa at immigration you need 800k baht in a Thai bank on the day you apply and then 800k baht in for 2 months for the one year extension of stay application.

[DouglasTsui]

10 hours ago, Sheryl said:

As he is coming from the US he cannot get a non-O for retirement, will have to get O-A. Same same except for mandatory health insurance - which is more problematic than it sounds as only Thai issued policies (overprices and poor value) are allowed for in-country extensions, though can use a foreign policy for the initial visa if the insurer will sign the requisite certificate.

 

I think he could get just OA for himself and his wife piggy back onto that with a dependent visa? (Maybe not at this time, but post-COVID restrictions)?

well said, Sheryl.

[olfu]

Its all right now not easily  available because of virus. And depending on your financial situation you maybe should wait till all restrictions will be gone. Even opening bank account  in Thailand might be problem. On a top of it you sounds like never spend any time in Thailand.

Rent before you buy.

[sdweller]

I'm aware things are crazy now, and plan on being patient.  I've actually spent plenty of time in Thailand, but finally ready to step it up. I have good timing huh?  ????

[kbb]

Last year, I converted from an Annual Retirement Visa to the 20 Year Elite. 

 

No perfect answer.

I was caught in crosshairs of the Coronavirus, not wanting to travel 10 hours to get certain documents. 

Had also moved from Jomtien to Isaarn - So the trip to Immigration went from an easy 20 minute walk to a 2+ hour drive. 

Also -- The insurance requirement for retirement visas only gets more and more expensive (and restrictive) as you get older.  Do the long term math, and the Elite Visa is cheaper. 

 

If you live in Bangkok, there are some other (limited) benefits to the Elite Visa. 

And there's the simple convenience of only renewing every 5 years. 

 

Traded the 800k baht Retirement guarantee sitting in the bank for a 1M baht payment.

Not that I expect to live 20 years - But as I told my wife - If I croak much sooner than the 20 years on the Elite Visa, the loss of a few 100k baht will probably be the least of my problems. 

[jackdd]

2 hours ago, kbb said:

And there's the simple convenience of only renewing every 5 years. 

You need to apply for an extension every year, same as with a retirement extension. Every 5 years you need to get a new visa.

But with a retirement extension you would only have to renew your driving licenses every 5 years, with the Elite visa it's every 2 years.

[lopburi3]

At this point the waters are indeed muddy but in normal times there is no requirement for any visa before arrival in Thailand - you can change status after arrival with visa exempt entry or tourist visa entry to non immigrant O visa entry for 2,000 baht fee with show of financials (if each can show better as then stays will be independent and not lost with loss of spouse).  The money if using bank deposit would be in Thailand account (no time requirement) and then after having O entry 2 months you could extend for year at a time for 1,900 baht fee each.  No extra insurance/police checks.  Another normal method to avoid the O-A requirements is to obtain non O visa from adjacent country such as Laos or Vietnam and make entry using that.  But until the COVID waters clear a bit these are not current options.

[Sheryl]

While the O-A insurance requirement is well worth avoiding, having adequate insurance is indeed very important here and should not be overlooked.

 

The problem is that the O-A requirement is structured such that you end up paying more than you need to for vastly inferior cover that cannot be relied on longterm (locally issued policies are allowed to raise rates on an individual basis if you have a large claim..and some will automatically drop you after a certain age; while the rest may  price you out).

 

Look for a good internationally- issued expat policy. Only inpatient cover is necessary as long as  it also includes outpatient cancer care and dialysis and day surgeries (most do). AA brokers in Thailand are a good source www.aainsure.net

 

While still comparatively young and healthy is the time to get the policy and make sure it is one which (1) guarantees lifetime renewal (2) will nto raise rates based on claim history or change in health status and (3) has direct payment agreements with Thai hospitals.

 

That is assuming you go the route of avoiding an O-A. 

 

 

[TigerandDog]

Please correct me if I'm wrong Joe, but as they are both farangs, aren't they required to have 800k baht each, not between them?

[ubonjoe]

38 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

Please correct me if I'm wrong Joe, but as they are both farangs, aren't they required to have 800k baht each, not between them?

Only one of them needs the 800k baht to apply or a extension based upon retirement. The other one could get a extension based up being the spouse of the other one with no need for financial proof.

[fakser]

19 hours ago, sdweller said:

Thanks to everyjone for this info.....to be clear, I need to show 800,000 thai baht balance in a Thai bank, or my bank here in the USA?  

Once you are in the Thai Immigration for the one year extension, hop to the post of the multiple entry permit (3,800 THB) and you are settled and free to exit ant return to Thailand as many times you wish, during the period of the visa (one year)

[mrfaroukh]

Go for non immigrant O visa in your country it will be valid for 3 months. If you are retired and your pension is greater than 65000 bhat a month get this letter from your embassy in Thailand then go to immigration, apply for retirement visa, it cost you 1900 Bhat. You have to apply for reentry visa if you want to leave Thailand and come back on your retirement visa, it cost you 1000 bhat for a single reentry and 3900 bhat for multiple. 

 

If you don't have pension one you enter the country you have to open a bank account and transfer 800000 bhat to your account, after 2 months get a letter from bank and go to immigration and get your retirement visa. So as you see retirement visa is much cheaper than elite visa 

[asiacurious]

On 12/6/2020 at 2:41 AM, jackdd said:

Apply for a tourist visa at your local embassy, costs about 1000THB

Fly to Thailand, deposit 800k in a Thai bank account, apply for a non-o visa for retirement, costs 2000THB

After 90 days apply for a one year extension for retirement, costs 1900THB (yearly)

 

I would clearly choose the retirement visa route for 4900THB for the first year and then 1900THB in the following years over spending 50,000 to 100,000THB per year for the Elite visa.

 

Jackdd provides both the best and the most affordable answer considering you can NOT get the Non-Immigrant O-A visa in the US.

 

15 hours ago, kbb said:

Last year, I converted from an Annual Retirement Visa to the 20 Year Elite. 

 

[SNIP] Traded the 800k baht Retirement guarantee sitting in the bank for a 1M baht payment.

Not that I expect to live 20 years - But as I told my wife - If I croak much sooner than the 20 years on the Elite Visa, the loss of a few 100k baht will probably be the least of my problems. 

 

When only 1 person needs a visa that's not a bad plan financially.  Sure, you're out that 1M all at once, but the value of 800K sitting in the bank for 20 years only goes down, down, down.

 

For the OP, cost is 2X since the spouse would also need to get an Elite visa.  With the Non-O route, the spouse can be added on to the Retirement visa

 

One suggestion to the OP.....   If one of you is a bit younger than the other (say one is 51 and the other 59), then it can make more sense for the younger and/or healthier of you to apply for the retirement visa once you've gotten here, and add the other as the spouse.  Unless of course you're using the annual pension/income method, in which case whichever of you meets that pension/income requirement is the one who will need to apply. 

 

My reason for suggesting this is that I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) the spouse's permission to stay based on their partner's retirement visa ends the day their partner dies.  I know this isn't something people like to think about, but consider part of normal estate planning that most people do as they get older.  Everyone understands that the death one's partner can be one of the most stressful times of life.  There's no need to add even more stress worrying about visas when the primary visa holder dies.

[judokrab]

36 minutes ago, mrfaroukh said:

Go for non immigrant O visa in your country it will be valid for 3 months. If you are retired and your pension is greater than 65000 bhat a month get this letter from your embassy in Thailand then go to immigration, apply for retirement visa, it cost you 1900 Bhat. You have to apply for reentry visa if you want to leave Thailand and come back on your retirement visa, it cost you 1000 bhat for a single reentry and 3900 bhat for multiple. 

 

If you don't have pension one you enter the country you have to open a bank account and transfer 800000 bhat to your account, after 2 months get a letter from bank and go to immigration and get your retirement visa. So as you see retirement visa is much cheaper than elite visa 

Lots of misinformation above:
1. You cannot get a non-O (retirement) in the USA. In fact, I don't think any country issues them any more.
2. The US Embassy stopped issuing income letters nearly two years ago.
3. The visa costs 2000 baht - not 1900.
4. It''s a re-entry *permit* - not a re-entry "visa".
5. It's 3800 for the multiple - not 3900.
6. You don't need a pension. In fact, you don't need any income at all. You just need to transfer money.
 

[judokrab]

On 12/6/2020 at 7:07 PM, sdweller said:

Thanks to everyjone for this info.....to be clear, I need to show 800,000 thai baht balance in a Thai bank, or my bank here in the USA?  

If you apply for an O-visa in Thailand, the money must be in a Thai bank. (It can be in any currency. And it can be in a term deposit, as long as it is accessible.)

If you apply for an OA-visa in the USA, it would normally be in a US bank. 
 

[judokrab]

On 12/6/2020 at 11:40 AM, Delight said:

 To answer your Q. directly -A retirement visa costs 1900 Baht per applicant. That is  the easy bit.

To qualify for such a visa -which is technically a visa extension you have to start with a Non immigrant 'O' visa . Typically this can be obtained in your own country.

However I understand that you can arrive in Thailand on the 30 day Visa on Arrival-and obtain a Non immigrant 'O' visa if you intend to convert to a retirement visa. Your local immigration office will give you more advice on this.

 You also have financial obligations.

800K Baht in a bank for 2 months prior to application date and the same 800K  90 days after.

Alternative if you can show 65000 Baht coming into a Thai bank for each of 12 months prior -then that is also acceptable.

The foregoing -in your case -has to be repeated . There are no concessions for a married couple.

1. 2000 baht - not 1900 baht
2. You cannot get an O-visa for retirement in the USA.
3. There is not such thing as a 30 day Visa on Arrival. You mean 30 day Visa Exemption. Anyway, neither are available during COVID.
4. There *are* concessions for a married couple. One can piggyback off the other person's visa.

[judokrab]

16 hours ago, kbb said:

Last year, I converted from an Annual Retirement Visa to the 20 Year Elite. 

 

[...] The insurance requirement for retirement visas only gets more and more expensive (and restrictive) as you get older.  Do the long term math, and the Elite Visa is cheaper. 

 

[...]

But there is no health insurance requirement at all for an O-visa (retirement) ... so it is a lot cheaper than the Elite.

[judokrab]

On 12/6/2020 at 5:42 AM, jacko45k said:

Which country will you be obtaining the Visa(s) in? There are 3 types of 'Retirement' Visa that might be associated with what you are asking of . A simple Non-Imm-O based on being retired can be obtained in some countries, but only permits a single 90 day entry. There are also long stay Visas designed for over 50s, the Non-Imm-OA and OX. 

Non-Imm-O based on being retired can be obtained inside Thailand. (I don't think that any other countries even offer it any more.)
 

[jacko45k]

7 hours ago, judokrab said:

Non-Imm-O based on being retired can be obtained inside Thailand. (I don't think that any other countries even offer it any more.)
 

That wasn't the question being asked of course.  The conversion of a Visa Exempt or Tourist Visa Entry is an option, although Visa Exempt Entries are not. 

 

The Non-Imm-O based on being retired is certainly still on offer, from London for example. 

[JimGant]

On 12/7/2020 at 7:56 AM, kbb said:

Traded the 800k baht Retirement guarantee sitting in the bank for a 1M baht payment.

Not that I expect to live 20 years - But as I told my wife - If I croak much sooner than the 20 years on the Elite Visa, the loss of a few 100k baht will probably be the least of my problems.

Yeah, the 800k in your retirement extension account is (for most of us) treated as a sunk cost (and presumably as completely expendable, i.e., not needed for any unforeseen costs down the road). Add to that an additional 200k of sunk/expendable funds needed for the elite visa, well, there you have it -- no great sacrifice for YOU.

 

But, explain to the wife, presumably your beneficiary in your Will, that in addition to the 200k now gone from your joint account, that upon your death, she won't receive the 800k no longer in your retirement extension account.

 

Thus, the elite visa has additional costs when your overall estate is considered. But, if you're a really high roller or if you're not married, and your beneficiaries are worthless nephews who haven't contacted you in years -- an elite visa is certainly an viable option.