norcalherb Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Hello all. I'm going to apply for my retirement visa online and through the LA Thai consulate. One requirement is an FBI background check. Has anyone that applied for same visa do this, and how? Thanks for any advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 One from the state you are living in is also possible. Info for a FBI check is here. https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xeniv23 Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 I just arrived in Thailand on Dec 18 on an O-A visa based on retirement. I did my background check through the Washington State Patrol as I was a Washington Resident. You must get fingerprinted which was easy, even with Covid. The whole process took about two weeks and was painless and the folks I dealt with were very pleasant. I imagine any state's process is similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan O Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 34 minutes ago, norcalherb said: Hello all. I'm going to apply for my retirement visa online and through the LA Thai consulate. One requirement is an FBI background check. Has anyone that applied for same visa do this, and how? Thanks for any advice. Most all US states offer it thru the state police or most local police departments. Don't do one from any of the on line 3rd party background check companies as that won't be accepted. It has to come from a government agency Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Denis Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 @norcalherb > Not specifically related to your back-ground check question, but did PM you a Guideline on how to meet the mandatory IO-approved health-insurance requirement when applying for the Non Imm O-A Visa. To access your PM messages just click the letter icon next to your profile when logged in to the Forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sqwakvfr Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 Fastest way to get an FBI fingerprint criminal background check is to go through an FBI Channeler. One company is called applicantservices.com. Simple process: register, pay, and book an appointment at your nearest location to have your fingerprints digitally taken. I have used this company twice in the last few years. I got an email in two hours and printed out my FBI background check. Cost is about $50 dollars. In the past one could make the request directly with the FBI and submit an ink fingerprint card. This can take weeks. The LA Consulate has always accepted this background check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVENKEEL Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 11 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said: Fastest way to get an FBI fingerprint criminal background check is to go through an FBI Channeler. One company is called applicantservices.com. Simple process: register, pay, and book an appointment at your nearest location to have your fingerprints digitally taken. I have used this company twice in the last few years. I got an email in two hours and printed out my FBI background check. Cost is about $50 dollars. In the past one could make the request directly with the FBI and submit an ink fingerprint card. This can take weeks. The LA Consulate has always accepted this background check. I can vouch for this method as it's what I did with the Hollywood Consulate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTXR Posted January 13, 2021 Share Posted January 13, 2021 If you decide to do it yourself, it's fairly simple, especially if you get your digital fingerprints taken at a post office. Here's how (from the FBI site).https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/identity-history-summary-checks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcalherb Posted January 13, 2021 Author Share Posted January 13, 2021 Great to get advice on this forum. Thank you to all. So, I ended up getting an appointment for a live scan with an FBI Channeler, called http://www.fieldprintusa.com/. The process was rather simple, after scheduling an appointment time I had my fingerprints scanned locally and within about 6 to 8 minutes I received an email stating my FBI report was ready. Now I wonder if I should attempt getting my retirement visa here or wait until I am back in Thailand and then apply. Reason being I have a 21 year old DUI on the report from June of 2000. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Denis Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 4 hours ago, norcalherb said: ... Now I wonder if I should attempt getting my retirement visa here or wait until I am back in Thailand and then apply. Reason being I have a 21 year old DUI on the report from June of 2000. Any thoughts? You can ONLY apply for the 1-year Non Imm O-A Visa in your home-country, which can provide with you almost 2 year IO hassle-free stay in Thailand. You can also come to Thailand VisaExempt or on a 60-day Tourist Visa. And with at least 15 days left on the permission of stay of either of those, you can then apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa at the Immigration Office of the province where you intend to stay long-term in Thailand. In the last month of those 90 days you can then apply for a 1-year extension of stay based on that Non Imm O Visa, and this has to be done at same IO where you applied for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa. Some up- and down-side considerations for both options. 1 - The main down-side from a Non Imm O-A Visa is that it since end Oct 2019 requires a mandatory IO-approved health-insurance policy. Note: I already did sent you a Guideline document on how to meet that requirement, which is relatively easy (and cheap) to get hold of, if you know how. The up-side of a Non Imm O-A Visa is that during the almost 2 years the Visa can provide you, you will not have to apply for extensions at your local Imm Office. And also you are NOT required to park/transfer any funds to a Thai bank-acount. 2 - The up-side of the Non Imm O Visa is that it does not require that health-insurance policy mandatory for a Non Imm O-A Visa application. The down-sides being that contrary to a Non Imm O-A Visa which does not require any visits to an IO during the 2 year period, the Non Imm O Visa will require 4 visits during that period. First the 90-day Non Imm O Visa application, then the collection of your permission to stay stamp at the end of the 'under consideration' period, and then twice a 1-year extension of stay application. On top of that, to meet the financial requirements for those applications, you would need to park 800.000 THB on a Thai bank-account (with foreign origins proven), and keep those funds there during the full 2-year period (mid-year you can lower to +400.000 THB). >> Do PM me if you are interested in a comprehensive Guideline on how to stay long-term in Thailand when over 50 years of age, which outlines all the options in detail, and how to go about applying for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 4 hours ago, norcalherb said: The process was rather simple, after scheduling an appointment time I had my fingerprints scanned locally and within about 6 to 8 minutes I received an email stating my FBI report was ready. Be sure it has been signed by the FBI or it will not be accepted. 4 hours ago, norcalherb said: Now I wonder if I should attempt getting my retirement visa here or wait until I am back in Thailand and then apply. Reason being I have a 21 year old DUI on the report from June of 2000. Any thoughts? That should not be a problem since it is old and may not show up on the background check. Thailand actually do not consider a DUI as a criminal offence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVENKEEL Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 I used the fieldprint method for my OA in 2019, no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwill Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Wow. Did the requirements change? When I got my O-A in 2013 just had to go to the local police station and get a background check. Ok. I just went to the Royal Thai Consulate, Los Angeles web site. It states "Letter of verification stating that the applicant has no criminal record (verification have to valid for not more than three months and must be issued from a state or Federal Bureau of Investigation only." It says "state or federal". So you can still do it at a local police station. I don't think a DUI from that long ago would show up on the report. You could do the police report first to check. It's good for 3 months. Also remember this stuff has to be notarized too. For the medical report I had to find a notary that would go to the doctors office to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norcalherb Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 9 hours ago, rwill said: I don't think a DUI from that long ago would show up on the report. Unfortunately it does show up, at least on the FBI background check. And at the moment due to covid the city police dept, the state patrol and the sherifs offices all have suspended fingerprinting. Think I'll just submit the report and hope it will not be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomtienisgood Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 On 1/13/2021 at 8:37 AM, xeniv23 said: I just arrived in Thailand on Dec 18 on an O-A visa based on retirement. I did my background check through the Washington State Patrol as I was a Washington Resident. You must get fingerprinted which was easy, even with Covid. The whole process took about two weeks and was painless and the folks I dealt with were very pleasant. I imagine any state's process is similar. Amazing, Covid doesn't affect fingerprinting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RocketDog Posted January 15, 2021 Share Posted January 15, 2021 On 1/13/2021 at 8:37 AM, Dan O said: Most all US states offer it thru the state police or most local police departments. Don't do one from any of the on line 3rd party background check companies as that won't be accepted. It has to come from a government agency Same for me. I got my visa from the LA consulate as well in 2017. I went to my local Colorado (state) police department, paid $15 and got an official letter in minutes. No fingerprints or other malarkey. My visa was approved and I got my passport back by mail in only 4 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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