Retirement visa

[bottomfeeder]

Hey, do any of you guys have an O-A non-immigrant retirement visa? I'd like to know what the advantages are. I know you don't have to leave the country every 30 days, but it seems to have its drawbacks. For instance: You have to check in with immigration every 90 days. Before you leave Thailand you have to go to immigration first to obtain a reentry visa. And  you can't be out of Thailand for more than 6 months  or you have to reapply all over again for the retirement visa(which is a real pain in the bum). It really doesn't seem worth it. Visa runs every 30 days are really no big deal. Is there something I'm missing? Any info from you learned gentlemen would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Guest]

i recommend the one year retirement visa. they say you have to be 50, but thats not inforced. i'm under that and as long as the other requirements were met it was no problem. you have to put 800,00baht in a thai bank. if you don't have it that ends the matter. the other requirements are not difficult. medical, police record; hopefully not to long; minimum income. checking in every 90 days is no big hassle. takes 10 minutes. every year you can renew the visa and get a multiple re-entry permit. the yearly cost is about 100 usd. after you have been here for 3 years you can get a permanent status visa. compared to running to poipet every 30 days its cheap and a piece of cake. also you don't have to worry about the uncertainies of immigration police policies. are they going to not allow you re-entry once your passport gets too many stamps. they blow hot and cold on this. it's a bit of a bother getting the initial visa. you have to get in your country. if your city doesn't have a consulate it must be done by mail. everything has to be notorized , but then its over. you can live here forever. you have permenant entrance to the joys of thai lady boys

[Guest]

thats 800,000baht, not 80,000' my typewriter cannot spell

[bottomfeeder]

Thanks bkkman. Actually you no longer have to have money in a Thai bank, but you do have to show that you have at least 800,000 bht in a bank in your home country or proof of a monthly income of no less than 65,000 bht for at least 12 months. The part that seemed like a hassle to me is getting a re-entry permit at immigration every time I wanted to leave Thailand for a quick trip to Cambodia or Malayasia, or anywhere. Also I was told by immigration that if I leave Thailand for more than 6 months, the retirement visa would expire and I'd be back to square 1 again.

[BAM]

So you need
800,000.00 Thailand Baht = $20,212.15 USD in a bank account and have an income of only
65,000.00 Thailand Baht = $1,639.43 USD

[Guest]

So you need
800,000.00 Thailand Baht  = $20,212.15 USD in a bank account and have an income of only
65,000.00 Thailand Baht  = $1,639.43 USD

Does not sound like much at all. I assume that 65,000 THB is monthly income?

bkkman you say that being over 50 is not enforced, can I ask how far under you are?

[bottomfeeder]

It's OR not And. You need proof of the bank account or proof of income. Not both. Check out www.thai-la.net

[Guest]

So you need
800,000.00 Thailand Baht  = $20,212.15 USD in a bank account and have an income of only
65,000.00 Thailand Baht  = $1,639.43 USD

Does not sound like much at all. I assume that 65,000 THB is monthly income?

bkkman you say that being over 50 is not enforced, can I ask how far under you are?

what i tell all the girls. i'm 19

[Guest]

Thanks bkkman. Actually you no longer have to have money in a Thai bank, but you do have to show that you have at least 800,000 bht in a bank in your home country or proof of a monthly income of no less than 65,000 bht for at least 12 months. The part that seemed like a hassle to me is getting a re-entry permit at immigration every time I wanted to leave Thailand for a quick trip to Cambodia or Malayasia, or anywhere. Also I was told by immigration that if I leave Thailand for more than 6 months, the retirement visa would expire and I'd be back to square 1 again.

if they have changed the rule about having money in a thai
bank thats a new one to me. i renewed my one year in n
ovember and had to have my bank records.
to clear up the question of
leaving and re-entering. on the first floor of immigration turn left as you enter and go to the far wall. you can get an unrestricted re-entry permit good for a year. can come and go as many times as you like. costs only 1900 baht. also the 90 day check in reguirement is 90 days from your last re-entry, not 90 days from the original date of your visa. i.e. you
go to laos for a week. your passport is stamped when you re-enter. the 90 days begins from the date of that passport stamp. i travel a lot so seldom have to check in

[bottomfeeder]

Yes, the rule about money no longer being required in a Thai bank is relatively new. I know it was in effect last Sept, but I had to tell personnel at immigration in Bkk about it. It seems the left hand sometimes doesn't know what the right hand is doing. A perfect example is the unrestricted one year re-entry permit you mentioned. I was just at the Thai consulate in the States(where I did get the non immigrant retirement visa and I used my US bank acct) and they said I would have to go to immigration for a reentry permit  every time before I  travel outside the country.
Obviously your information is more on the mark because you are living it! How about what they told me about not being able to leave Thailand for more than 6 months or I'd lose my visa. Is that true?  Thanks.

[BAM]

Visa just sent me a card with a $20,000 limit. Maybe I could just show them that?      

[Guest]

I just got one of them too, same same credit limit; it also came with 15,000 FF miles!

So that will cover the money requirement and your flight.

[PigDogg]

Think I'll go the retirement visa route. Any mistakes I might avoid?


Anyone here (especially Americans)have a retirement visa? If you don't want to post you can PM me.

[SamplerDoc]

Nope a different one but I can tell you that I have gone thru about 900,000 THB in 6 months thus far.  Thats about 150k THB per month and includes rent, food etc.
Hope that helps you and Everyone else

[stogie bear]

That's 5,000 baht every day! I couldn't spend that much in Pattaya even if I had that sort of money!