orichá wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 11:29 pm

phuketrichard wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 5:10 pm

Alex wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 3:39 pm Minimum age 50 years, you need to show either 800,000 baht deposited in a Thai bank or a monthly "income" of 65,000 baht. Financials can be waived when using an agent, but the minimum age is a hard requirement.

Cost depends, officially it's 2,000 baht for the initial non-immigrant visa and 1,900 baht for each extension. Re-entry permits extra. Agent fees extra

No visa runs required, it's extendable in increments of 1 year.

As of now, no health insurance requirement unless you start with a Non-OA visa, which would be foolish.

800,000 in the bank needs to be sent from outside Thailand or get a non o in Phnom Pehn at the Thai embassy, if you have the equivalent tof 80,000 in Any currency in any bank anywhere

OR
no money in Bank, Only need a bank account>
if ur in pattaya 27,000 baht for the initial convert from a visa exempt or tourist visa to non o than a 1 year extension ( so 15 months)
anywhere but Patttaya 36,000 baht
2nd year and onwards 12,500 ( if in Pattaya ) or 16,000 if anywhere in thailand
re entry permit single 1,000 baht, multiple 3,800 baht ( needed if you leave the country)

Richard, I am sorry, your explanation is not easy to understand. First you say you need to send 800,000 to a bank in Thailand, OR get a non O visa in Phnom Penh? So what's the point of sending 800,000 to a bank in Thailand before going, (or going out again after depositing it?) What is the advantage of getting a non O visa in Phnom Penh instead of a tourist visa on arrival -- saving on conversion fees? Also what does 800,000 baht deposited into a Thai bank accomplish? Does it save you the expensive conversion fees you mention once you arrive in Thailand and apply for residency? It's all baffling to me.

...Alex also says if you start with a non O visa you must enter the country with health insurance. So, what is a non O visa? And, what's the difference between converting from a tourist and a non O visa to retirement residency visas? If any? Just fee differences?

(Sorry, I know nothing about visa rules in Thailand. I only remember hearing lots of expats left nearly 6 or 7 years ago -- or maybe a decade ago -- because the government made it very hard/costly to obtain residency and stopped allowing visa runs to Myanmar for short-term visas, etc....... I have not researched this because I assumed it's impossible to get residency or a retirement visa in Thailand without mega-millions.)

Anyone know a good website explaining the current rules?

OK, you can have 800,000 or equivalent in ANY bank anywhere ( does not need be in a thai bank) an get a non o visa ( valid for 90 day stay, single entry) at the embassy (cost $80), than when u get to Thailand apply for a 1 year extension for 1,900 baht, the 800,000 needs than be in a Thai bank for 60 days OR you can show a income from outside Thailand of 65,000 baht or more

or arrive on a visa exempt/tourist visa ( $40) , put 800,000 in the bank and convert that to a 90 day non 0 visa, cost 2,000 baht and than pay 1,900 for the 1 year extension as above

Non O-A visa is obtained in ur own country and you need have med insurance to get it>PLUS its multi entry valid for 1 year

Non O-A visa valid 1 year

Eligibility:

1. Applicant must be aged 50 years and over (on the day of submitting application)
2. Applicant not prohibited from entering the Kingdom as provided by the Immigration Act B.E. 2522 (1979)
3. Having no criminal record in Thailand and the country of the applicant’s nationality or residence
4. Having the nationality of or residence in the country where applicant’s application is submitted
5. Not having prohibitive diseases ( Leprosy, Tuberculosis, drug addiction, Elephantiasis, third phase of Syphilis) as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No. 14 B.E. 2535
6. Applicant must have a Thai health insurance for the duration of stay, with coverage for outpatient treatment of no less than 40,000 baht and inpatient treatment of no less than 400,000 baht

Validity of a visa: multiple entries

Non O no insurance needed an can get it in Thailand or a nearby embassy/consulate.

....because I assumed it's impossible to get residency or a retirement visa in Thailand without mega-millions

NOT TRUE
I entered end of Nov, on a visa exempt an changed that to a non O an than a 1 year extension with no money in bank using an agent for 36,000 baht
IF i was in Pattaya or travelled to Pattaya it would have cost 27,000

is that easier to understand?

explanation;
https://www.keyvisathailand.com/what-is ... -thailand/

Agents do make problems go away. I paid 16,000/US$450ish for my retirement extension last summer. I started out with a Non-immigrant O-A visa in 2010 so that means I'm stuck with having to have insurance for each extension. However . . .

Paying an agent makes any issues go away:

1. I did not need 800,000 baht in the bank. Agent inputs their own 800k through my bank account for a few minutes for bank statement purposes and then takes it out.
2. I never do 90-day reports so no problem. (I tended to leave Thailand regularly anyway, which helps this issue a lot.)
3. I did not need insurance. (However, the Bangkok Immigration -- Chang Wattana -- is strict on this so the agent sent my passport to another district -- Chiang Rai -- and presto, no insurance, no problem.)
4. Agent does all the leg work.

I used to do my own retirement extensions (not visas!) for years. Never had a major issue. Until three years ago. Despite having everything on the list of requirements, they'd pop up with something out of left field, e.g., a copy of an annual tax statement. WTF? I was somewhat prepared for some BS, due to rising reports of difficulty. I proffered colour copies of my government pension statements. That worked and no tax statement. However, Imm officers are/were getting stickier, just so you'd be forced to use an agent, which is when they make big money. << The name of the game. Plus different districts will have different sticking points. Ugh!

Yes, Cambodia is soooo much easier.

Types of visa:

Non-immigrant O-A is proper long-stay, multi-entry visa, for one year. Obtainable ONLY in your home country. However, there's a bonus 1 year if you leave Thailand near the end of your O-A period and WITH a re-entry permit in hand. This means the O-A becomes an almost 2-year visa. But you do need that re-entry permit (one time or multiple) to maintain the validity of the O-A for its second year. After that, it's 1-year extensions.

Non-immigrant O (based on dependent Thai child, marriage, or retirement) I've never used but if I switch to an Non-O visa, I can skip the insurance. A number of ways to obtain it, but Im not familiar with all the ins and outs, as others above are.

Yes, in Thailand you do need the skills of an accountant or bureaucrat.

^^^ Forgot to mention two things. First, the O-A is a multi-entry visa. Second, you only need the re-entry permit if you will return to Thailand after the expiry date of the 1-year O-A visa. Now, the date of expiry of a re-entry permit is one year. Which means it expires beyond the date of expiry of your O-A visa. This is what gives you the extra time beyond the visa.

If you leave Thailand in the waning months of the O-A, you can return to Thailand despite the visa expiry. This can be as much as an extra year of stay or coming and going. But, to repeat, you need a valid re-entry permit to get back in after the visa expires. Buy the re-entry permit before you leave. The one-time re-entry permit is 1000 baht (except it is a few hundred more at the airport). For 3800 baht, you can come and go as many times as you want on the multi entry re-entry permit -- until it expires.

Phew.

ExPenhMan wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:01 am Paying an agent makes any issues go away:

1. I did not need 800,000 baht in the bank. Agent inputs their own 800k through my bank account for a few minutes for bank statement purposes and then takes it out.
2. I never do 90-day reports so no problem. (I tended to leave Thailand regularly anyway, which helps this issue a lot.)
3. I did not need insurance. (However, the Bangkok Immigration -- Chang Wattana -- is strict on this so the agent sent my passport to another district -- Chiang Rai -- and presto, no insurance, no problem.)
4. Agent does all the leg work.

#1 makes sense to me. #2 is a pleasant surprise. (Daydreaming a bit here.)

Thanks for the info.

Big Daikon wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 1:30 pm

ExPenhMan wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 11:01 am Paying an agent makes any issues go away:

1. I did not need 800,000 baht in the bank. Agent inputs their own 800k through my bank account for a few minutes for bank statement purposes and then takes it out.
2. I never do 90-day reports so no problem. (I tended to leave Thailand regularly anyway, which helps this issue a lot.)
3. I did not need insurance. (However, the Bangkok Immigration -- Chang Wattana -- is strict on this so the agent sent my passport to another district -- Chiang Rai -- and presto, no insurance, no problem.)
4. Agent does all the leg work.

#1 makes sense to me. #2 is a pleasant surprise. (Daydreaming a bit here.)

Thanks for the info.

re #2. If you have to get a certificate of residence for say, a driver's licence, then you need to have had either a TM30 (registration of foreigner as tenant) filed by the owner of the apartment/condo, a copy of which is stapled into your passport. Or a 90-day report registered. The 90 days is a reconfirmation you're at the same address you registered with your visa/extension. Condo owners are supposed to register you at their address via an online government portal. Then you're supposed to receive a paper to staple in your passport. Some lazy assed landlords refuse to do this so it's up to you to do the TM30, showing the lease at Immigration. 90 days later you have to do the 90-day report.

Ignore all this and get an agent to do the steps and even skip some. You still have to provide the agent with your lease and passport. If you want to be a bit more conservative, arrange with the agent to do the 90-day reports for about 500 baht a time.

I still dont know if I've covered everything. It's so damned fussy and off-putting. Hence, agent!

PS: I guess I should make it clear that, if you leave Thailand and return, the 90-day clock is reset.

.....then you need to have had either a TM30 (registration of foreigner as tenant) filed by the owner of the apartment/condo, a copy of which is stapled into your passport. Or a 90-day report registered.

not true<
you ONLY need file a tm 30 ( notification of where your staying) and have ( if it as done online no paper in ur passport or if done in person you get a paper stating when ur next report is due) to get the residency certificate>
nothing to do with 90 day report

I got my last certificate nov 29th, ( to apply for a motorcycle license) after i had been in country 5 days
tm 30 was filed by hotel i was staying at and i only needed a screen shot of it to get the residency cert.

Best to start with Non O 90 day visa. The 800,000 Baht transfer needs to "mature" for 60 days before you apply for the retirement visa (In Chiang Mai at least, where I applied) so it's good to open a local account and deal with that as soon as you can upon arrival.

Having an agent temporarily deposit the 800K wouldn't have worked in Chiang Mai. Maybe that's possible in other parts of the country.

DavidK99 wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 10:01 pm Best to start with Non O 90 day visa. The 800,000 Baht transfer needs to "mature" for 60 days before you apply for the retirement visa (In Chiang Mai at least, where I applied) so it's good to open a local account and deal with that as soon as you can upon arrival.

Having an agent temporarily deposit the 800K wouldn't have worked in Chiang Mai. Maybe that's possible in other parts of the country.

Initial 800,000 for the Non O VISA in Thailand can be deposited that day, ( but needs come from outside Thailand )
for the EXTENSION, needs mature for 60 days, Unless you use an agent

Works fine all over Thailand where ever there are immigration officers desiring more baht in their account LOL

in Dec, there was a crackdown /arrest of immigration official's relating to the Chinese crime lord, ( Chaiyanat “Tuhao”) arrest

https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/as ... ese-triads

Richard, that's what I meant, but clearly I was unclear. Thanks.