Thai Retirement visa

Post by **waltpong** » August 28, 2012, 12:03 pm

Help; about leave to Thailand on Nov 1 2012 to retire there, some of the questions here are that I need a
#1criminal record report and a #2 certificate of health and bank statements and proof of retirement. Can I just
go there and do the retirement visa there with out this BS of #1/#2. thx

Post by **douglas** » August 28, 2012, 1:04 pm

Ht,
I got a multi entry "O" visa, in my home country. You could get a 90 day one. You must, so i was told by Udon Imm., have a valid "O" visa, and about a couple of weeks, before that runs out, go to Imm. for a 12 months extention to it. I do not know what the "O" visa, in the US is, that is 60, or 90 days. You only need a single one.
When you get to Udon and are, settled in, go to Udon Imm., they are very good, and get a leaflet about getting a permission to stay in Thailand, due to retirement. You have also to be over 50.
Myself i was never asked for a police report, or a cert. of health. I had to get a letter from my Embassy, stating my pensions. They would not take my tax returns from my home country. These have got to be over 800,000B per year. You could also get it by having 800,000B in a Thai bank account.
Anyway Walt, hope you have a pleasent retirement here. If you want, t could send you a copy of the leaflet, but i would have to know your e-mail address.
Cheers Doug.

Post by **papaguido** » August 28, 2012, 1:16 pm

waltpong wrote:Help; about leave to Thailand on Nov 1 2012 to retire there, some of the questions here are that I need a #1criminal record report and a #2 certificate of health and bank statements and proof of retirement. Can I just
go there and do the retirement visa there with out this BS of #1/#2. thx

A. Come on non-immigrant "O" visa (in support of Family, i.e. Spouse, Child or Parents), but you'll have to provide some type supporting documentation like a marriage certificate or *birth certificate for a child.

B. Come on tourist visa and convert to retirement, but this may be a bigger pain in the azz than your #1 & 2.

Post by **papaguido** » August 28, 2012, 1:25 pm

douglas wrote:Ht,
I got a multi entry "O" visa, in my home country. You could get a 90 day one. You must, so i was told by Udon Imm., have a valid "O" visa, and about a couple of weeks, before that runs out, go to Imm. for a 12 months extention to it. I do not know what the "O" visa, in the US is, that is 60, or 90 days. You only need a single one.
When you get to Udon and are, settled in, go to Udon Imm., they are very good, and get a leaflet about getting a permission to stay in Thailand, due to retirement. You have also to be over 50.
Myself i was never asked for a police report, or a cert. of health. I had to get a letter from my Embassy, stating my pensions. They would not take my tax returns from my home country. These have got to be over 800,000B per year. You could also get it by having 800,000B in a Thai bank account.
Anyway Walt, hope you have a pleasent retirement here. If you want, t could send you a copy of the leaflet, but i would have to know your e-mail address.
Cheers Doug.

Doug,

In the US a criminal report and health certificate are required when applying for an O-A visa (retirement), not required for Non-O immigrant visa, but supporting documentation is required to prove a family connection for the non "O".

Income requirements are either 65K a month or 800K annual for retirement & 40K monthly or 400K annual for family support (what some refer to as marriage).

KB_Texas · Post by **KB_Texas** » August 28, 2012, 1:37 pm

I am about to find out how it all works out in September. I came on a Multi-entry O visa, applied for and gotten through the Thai Consulate in Atlanta. I told them that I was coming to Thailand to marry my wife and to find a place to retire, and decide if it was the place for me. The visa was granted in September of last year, but my last stamp is good until mid-October. Immigration told me to return with all the paperwork in September, so I am putting all of that together. I will apply for a permission to stay based on retirement, as it is just easier than the marriage permission to stay.

When I was looking at the various visa's, I was going to go ahead and get a retirement one, but finding a US Doctor who would fill out the health certificate, and getting the police report from where I had moved from was just too big a hassle, so opted for the Multi-entry O. With it, you will need to make border runs every 90 days until it is about to expire, which costs ~$50 for the Laos visa on each run. A Single-entry O gives you 90 days to get the paperwork here, and would be the way I went if I had it to do over again.

KB

Post by **papaguido** » August 28, 2012, 3:43 pm

waltpong,

check your messages I sent you a PM (private message).

Post by **FrazeeDK** » August 28, 2012, 4:06 pm

We did our O-A Retirement visa at the Thai Embassy in DC in May..

1. criminal background check; local clerk of court and request it... cost me about $25 bucks in NC.. It isn't a national check but the Thai Embassy doesn't care they just want a Document that states you've got no convictions.

2. Medical certificate.; download the one from the Thai Embassy website and go to any clnic.. I think we paid $65 for the very quick physical and chat with the Doctor.

3. Retirement income; as stated, a current bank letter stating you've got over the 800,00 baht amount (about 24K) or a letter from the company you retired from stating you're making in excess of around $2200 a month.

Better to get it done Stateside.. You'll then have your one year O-A "Long Stay" visa in hand..

KB_Texas · Post by **KB_Texas** » August 28, 2012, 4:18 pm

FrazeeDK wrote: 2. Medical certificate.; download the one from the Thai Embassy website and go to any clnic.. I think we paid $65 for the very quick physical and chat with the Doctor.

...

Better to get it done Stateside.. You'll then have your one year O-A "Long Stay" visa in hand..

This is definitely NOT my experience, though perhaps it varies from place to place. A family doctor in Atlanta would not touch the letter, citing malpractice concerns since there are no tests for one or two of the listed diseases. A free clinic also would not sign the certificate, though they just said, 'we do not do forms other than our own'. If you can get these things done easily and quickly, by all means go ahead...it will save you time and aggravation.

The ability to get a police background check done easily is also questionable depending on where you reside.

KB

Post by **bamakmak** » August 28, 2012, 4:30 pm

When I retired and moved to Thailand, I asked for and received a single entry Non-Immigrant "O" Visa from the Denver consulate. No criminal check, no medical certificate, no family connections. I simply told the consulate that I was interested in retiring in Thailand and I requested the Non-Immigrant "O" Visa. Just under 90 days after arriving in Thailand, I went to Immigration and received my one-year extension. Easy and no problems. I am now beginning my 7th year here. Be sure that you have your "ducks-in-a row" when applying for the extension. The extension requirements have been well covered in other posts.

The primary advantage to the "O-A" Visa is that you have one year to apply for the extension, rather than 90 days.

Post by **papaguido** » August 28, 2012, 5:10 pm

Things can changes in 7 years...from the Thai consulate Denver:

http://www.thaidenver.com/

Post by **BarnicaleBob** » August 28, 2012, 8:52 pm

I did mine in the States and it was no major problem. I downloaded the Thai medical form which is a simple one page form for your doctor to fill out. I took the form to my VA doctor and he filled it out for me while I waited. For my police report I went to my local law enforcement agency during normal business hours and the records section had a letter for me the next day for a $5.00 fee. To prove my income I called my pension company and asked them to type up and notarized a letter for me stating what my gross income was (before taxes) and they mailed it to me within a couple of days. I sent all this off to the Thai embassy in DC with my passport and had my retirement visa within four days. Once you are in Thailand for a year when it's time to renew your retirement visa you only need the proof of income which again you can have sent to you from the States or you can go to the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok or U.S. Consulate in Chiang Mai (make and appointment first) and have them notarize the form they provide on-line.
Income statement is by far the easier way to go, if you use the bank deposit method it ties up you money and sometimes they find problems with the paperwork from the bank.

Post by **BarnicaleBob** » August 28, 2012, 8:53 pm

By the way, the U.S. Consulate takes your word for how much your income is so you do not need to provide them with any documentation of income.

Post by **kjellsnell** » August 29, 2012, 12:33 pm

Yesterday i went in to immigration In Udon to renew my retirement vis...in and out in 5 min, excellent service as usual!

Post by **douglas** » August 29, 2012, 4:20 pm

Hi,
For proof of income, in my case pensions, the Udon Imm. office would not accept my goverments tax returns, and forms stating my pensions. When i went to see them, Udon Imm, they said they require a letter from my Embassy, stating, my pensions, used to be every 3 years you had to do this, now every year it is required, if i wanted a further 12 months permission to stay in Thailand. As they stated you cannot obtain a "O" visa in LOS, section 2 in their form. it has to be got in a Thai. Emb. or Con., of which there are none in LOS. To my knowledge. The cost is about 2200B for the letter from the B.E., which stated my pensions, in GBP's from my tax return forms. As for a doctors report, Imm. said it was to easy to get one, so they dropped it. Their words, not mine. I also never had to submit a police report, ever.
By the way the B.E. do not take your word for how much your pensions are. They require proof. ie. tax returns etc..
I must say i have recieved very good service from the Udon Imm. and would like to thank them for that. Been coming to LOS since 1970, and lived in Udon since 2005. And realily like the place. and agree with Kjel. about how good Udon Imm. are.

Post by **Feltyattabs** » August 30, 2012, 6:15 pm

Hi Everyone,

My wife is with me in the Uk On a settlement visa, now one problem we may have is the her current passport will expire mid Feb 2013 and we are planning to visit Thailand some time in November. Looking at the UKBA site the only info i can find is that anyone visiting the UK needs to have a passport that has at least three months remaining after departing the UK ?

Now does this effect my wife as she is resident in the UK but not a citizen, or do we need to renew the passport before we leave at the Thai embassy in London or leave till we come back if possibleor renew in Bangkok once we are in thialand.

One concernig point is reading another post is that the Thai passport with Visa was not returned on renewal at the Thai Embassey in London.

Any ideas ?

Thanks

spider

Post by **Dingo** » August 30, 2012, 7:29 pm

Hi Waltpong
If you are interested, check out this site and make contact.
Jim has all the answers..........I kid you not!

You'll be pleasantly surprised and maybe he can lighten the load?
I personally, recommend him, highly!

http://www.tbabusinessservices.com

Cheers
Dingo

Post by **Stantheman** » August 31, 2012, 4:23 am

Feltyattabs wrote:Hi Everyone,

My wife is with me in the Uk On a settlement visa, now one problem we may have is the her current passport will expire mid Feb 2013 and we are planning to visit Thailand some time in November. Looking at the UKBA site the only info i can find is that anyone visiting the UK needs to have a passport that has at least three months remaining after departing the UK ?

Now does this effect my wife as she is resident in the UK but not a citizen, or do we need to renew the passport before we leave at the Thai embassy in London or leave till we come back if possibleor renew in Bangkok once we are in thialand.

One concernig point is reading another post is that the Thai passport with Visa was not returned on renewal at the Thai Embassey in London.

Any ideas ?

Thanks

spider

Spider,
My wife entered Bangkok Thailand with her expired Thai passport (asked the lady directing people what to do). They allowed her in enter(had to have supervisor do the entry), then she got new passport after going to Udon. She was able to retain old Thai passport. As a backup for her, she also has U.S. passport.

Post by **stattointhailand** » October 14, 2012, 1:37 pm

Just a "Heads Up" guys for those who tend to move their 800k around during the year.
The Udon Thani Imigration Office leaflet states:-

"5. In case of having a saving deposit account in a bank with in Thailand. The available balance must be least 800,000 Thai Baht, and has to be in your bank account for at least 3 months before your visa renewal

6. The Bank must issue a letter of verification. (Bank Statement) Stating the current balance of the saving deposit account. (Bank statement should be made the same day as application for visa extension is submitted) Copies of all pages of Saving Deposit Account Passport Book (Note; money must be in a Thai Bank.)

What is not mentioned in their leaflet is that the money has to be in the SAME account for the entire three months.
Even if you have a letter from the bank and get them to add a paragraph to the letter stating ...

Mr xxxxx has had over 800k Thai Baht deposited continually at Bangkok Bank Udon Thani Branch since xx/xx/xx (a date over 3 months before)
this is still NOT good enough for Udon Immigration.
I opened a new account 2 1/2 months ago on advice from the bank (better interest rate in new account/ old account now expired), but because my old account showed "ACCOUNT CLOSED" at the bottom Immigration will not accept that this account can be used, even if the Bank letter tells them that the money was electronically transferred and had never left the bank.

Post by **parrot** » October 14, 2012, 2:42 pm

I've read of a few people who have had this problem........and since the time requirement on most fixed accounts varies from bank to bank, it bears thinking ahead a year (or more) if you decide to invest in such an account.
If your extension is due in Jan 2013 and you put your 800k in a 13 month fixed account in Oct 2011, you're screwed......the account will mature in Nov 2012....which is less than 3 months before you head to immigration.

Two questions:
- If your extension was due in Jan and your account matured in Nov, what would happen if you just left your money in that account until after you obtained your extension?
- Has anyone tried to elevate this predicament to a more senior immigration official?

Post by **stattointhailand** » October 14, 2012, 3:03 pm

Went and saw the guy in the back room, he gave me two options ..... go to embassy in Laos (and pay for Laos visa & Thai visa) or wait till 26th and come back when money had been there 3 months (and kop a 15 day overstay no doubt). Told me to go back to bank and return following day with new letter which I did, only to have that refused because the bank didn't re-open the closed account (as if they would)
Eventually negotiated on second day for a one month visa B2000 and 1 day overstay B500 and return on 26th. They took a copy of my marriage cert and one of my daughters birth cert ..... don't know what that was about.

Problem is you have to get the passbook updated before going for the visa and as soon as you do, the bank will stamp the account closed.