Urgent request for visa advice following death of my husband

[MLS]

Hello, I must apply for a Non-Immigrant 'O-A' (Long Stay) visa on Monday. My husband has died. My plan is to move to (what was going to be our retirement home together) in Hua Hin as soon as possible.

The application form asks for the name and address of a "Local Guarantor". I asked the clerk at the Thai Consulate here in Hong Kong what this entails - Do they need to be a Thai national? What would I actually be asking of this guarantor? What would be their responsibility if any? etc. - and she said it's just a formality so I should simply provide contact details of any friend in Thailand. However, I want to check before I ask a friend if they would be prepared to be named on the form as naturally I want to make sure I know what I'm asking of them.

I should be really grateful if anyone could give me some urgent help on this, based on your experience. Thank you.
M.

[Nereus]

Hello, I must apply for a Non-Immigrant 'O-A' (Long Stay) visa on Monday. My husband has died. My plan is to move to (what was going to be our retirement home together) in Hua Hin as soon as possible.

The application form asks for the name and address of a "Local Guarantor". I asked the clerk at the Thai Consulate here in Hong Kong what this entails - Do they need to be a Thai national? What would I actually be asking of this guarantor? What would be their responsibility if any? etc. - and she said it's just a formality so I should simply provide contact details of any friend in Thailand. However, I want to check before I ask a friend if they would be prepared to be named on the form as naturally I want to make sure I know what I'm asking of them.
I should be really grateful if anyone could give me some urgent help on this, based on your experience. Thank you.
M.

My condolences on your sad loss, must be a very difficult time for you. Why are you wanting an "O-A" visa?
A plain "O" visa does not involve any "guarantor" in my experince, nor does it require a police certificate or any financial proof. Not sure if you can get a multiple entry in Hong Kong, but even a basic "O" will give you
3 months after which you can apply for a 1 year extension, when you will be required to provide financial proof.

[MLS]

Thank you so much for your swift and kind reply, and sorry for not replying earlier - I was whisked out for a much-needed howl over many beers and I am useless trying to type when out on my iPhone. Now back home and still useless on the iMac.

The reason I've been advised to go for the O-A entry level visa is because apparently that is the entry level one I need in order to ship over a lot of household goods in order to pay minimal duty, though I could be wrong and would love to find out my best option so should welcome any input. I can't afford to put stuff in storage here, it's not easy to sell stuff on classified, and basically it's 33 years our/my life I might just have to throw in the bin. So ideally, I would like to bring over a lifetime of personal effects, and not so worried about audio, IT things. From what i am told so far by the Thai Consulate and other people, I need this particular visa and only when I have the paperwork can the shippers get me out of here. Really appreciated your early reply.

Thanks again. M.

[Bluesky]

My sincere condolences on you recent loss and the circumstance in which currently find yourself. I am a little suprised that a guarantor is required as the wording on the visa application required under "additional requirements for Oa visa" require a person of reference which would imply a person of contact rather than a person acting as guarantor. For myself my O visa from australia did not require a guarantor nor did I provide one. I have attached a copy of the visa link from there. I understand there may be some may be some restrictions with respect to passports issued by certain governments for entry into the Kingdom. I may also suggest you contact one of the major expediters involved in international removal such as Asian Tigers Mobility (based in Bangkok) who deal with matters of international relocation into Thailand on a daily basis The staff there deal with these issues regularly and should be able to provide you with quality advice with respect to customs and duties with respect to particular visas. I trust this is of some help for you.




http://canberra.thaiembassy.org/doc/for ... cation.pdf

[Nereus]

Well, really need to have Lomumart comment on this. But unless things have changed recently, with an "O" visa, issued on the basis of your intended retirement, you have up to 6 months to import personal effects duty free. It would not be the first time that a Thai Consulate has handed out incorrect advice.

Without giving away your private business, you have stated that you have a "house" here in Hua Hin. If that is correct, then you must also have some form of document that shows your ownership, be it a Company method, or a lease on a block of land? This also implies that you have an established Bank account here, which would make it easy to prove funds in Thailand for a yearly extension on an 'O" visa, if that is your intention.

Best to take your time a bit if you can do so.

[MLS]

Hi, many thanks for your replies. Yes, I'm realising I need to make absolutely sure I apply for the right visa so will try to pin this down tomorrow with Santa Fe, who will most likely be the shipping agent I'll use, before going back to the Thai Consulate hopefully on Tuesday.
The visa form for applicants going through the process here at the Thai Consulate in HK is generic, covering non-immigrant, tourist and transit (and diplomatic, official and courtesy) visas, with various boxes for the applicant to tick the appropriate one. It asks for both a local (i.e. Hong Kong) guarantor and a Thai guarantor.
There's also an additional "O-A" visa application form to complete that asks for monthly income and amount of savings, plus the contact details of a 'Reference person in Thailand'. I can produce evidence of finances and show them I own a hour on a 30 year lease and the reference, police and medical checks won't be a problem. It's that Thai 'guarantor' bit on the generic form that I'm stalling on.
From what I understand from the Consulate and from preliminary chat with Santa Fe, once the long stay visa is issued my household and personal goods can be shipped. (Well, as much of my stuff I can get away with shipping without getting shafted on duty.) Realistically, I'm expecting to stay in Hong Kong for c. two months doing everything I have to do here while my visa application is processed. My thinking is it would make sense to do as much of the application admin as possible here as the Consulate is very close by and Santa Fe should be able to assist me with it. I will need to apply for multiple entry endorsements once I have the one year visa so I'll check if these can be issued here or if I can only do that part in Thailand, preferably on arrival as I would love not to have to go back and forth from Hua Hin to Bangkok, as I'm wrongly or rightly assuming this can't be done in Hua Hin(?)
I suspect I will probably be pestering you for more advice over the next few weeks and my thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
M.

[lomuamart]

Sorry to hear about your loss. I hope your move goes OK.
I'll try and help with some of your queries.
I see no reason why you can't ship stuff over here on an O visa. I'm sure there are plenty of people on the forum who have done so in the past. Perhaps some can detail their experiences?
Getting the OA visa entails more paperwork than for an O, as you seem to be up to speed on already. Which route you choose will be partly influenced by your current financial situation in Thailand.
The OA visa will give you a year's permitted to stay when you enter. You will need to report to Imm every 90 days once here. The visa will be either single entry or multiple. The former will give only that initial year and if you want to exit the country you'll have to apply for a re-entry permit to keep your permitted to stay date alive. The latter also gives a year but during the visa's validity you can exit and re-enter as many times as you like and get another year's stay. If you exit just before the visa expires, you can make the visa work for almost 2 years. No need for a re-entry permit in the first year but it'll be necessary in the second once the visa has expired.
Another thing to mention about the OA is that you can only apply for one in your home country (USA by the looks of things) unless you are domiciled in HK. Have you raised this with the HK consulate? You should do so as not to be disappointed.
O visas also come in single and multiple entry varieties. The multi entry is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain outside of your home country as well although single entries are easier to get from other Thai missions if you're over 50 and looking to retire. If you can only get a single entry from HK then you'll only get one stay of 90 days and you need to get your finances sorted out. If you apply for an annual extension, here in Thailand, you need to show an income of 65k THB a month or savings in a Thai bank of 800k THB. The savings have to be in the bank for three months before you apply and must not have fallen below that figure during that time.
So, unless you've already got savings here, a single entry O visa isn't going to work for you because you won't have enough time to season the money. (As an aside, the seasoning for first extension should only be 2 months for exactly this reason but HH Imm have decided to ask for the extra month).
Finally, all extensions and re-entry permits (single or multiple) are applied for and granted in HH. There will be no need to go to BKK and indeed you'll be turned away from there once they realise you live in HH.
Hopfully, the above helps. If you've got any more questions, fire away.

EDIT When talking about the multi entry OA visa, I should have said that you need to re-enter Thailand during the visa's validity to get the second year - not just exit.

[MLS]

Belated thanks for your responses - I didn't want to hassle you with more questions until I was little clearer with action plan but Imdomhave another one, which I'd be grateful if you could advise...

I now understand from several sources that I definitely should apply for an O-A one year that this is the best retirement one for me, being over 50, not a dependant, needing a multiple re-entry permit and to be able to extend each year. As I will also be shipping over household goods I will get some duties and taxes allowance. Now I have all the forms and paperwork together I intend to apply next week.

I am assured the 'guarantor' in Thailand is merely a contact point - there is absolutely no responsibility on their part and they can be a friend living there (obviously above the radar) of any nationality, which is a relief.

My main question now is: can I apply as soon as I arrive in Thailand at Hua Immigration for a multiple re-entry permit and iwhatnis the procedure? Is it same day processing, and if not, how long does it usually take?

And do you know if I can do quick trips to Thailand on what I've always done so far - on a visa waiver basis - while my O-A is being processed? It will take a month for the HK police report to be completed then a few days after that for the visa to be granted. I need to be here anyway so that's not an issue but I would like to try to pop over once or twice in the meantime to get organised HH end without having to explain myself at airport Immigration.

Thanks for reading this and for your much appreciated help.
M

[caller]

If you get a multi entry OA visa in the first place, which costs a bit more, then you won't need the re-entry permit until the visa is due to be extended after 12 months.

[MLS]

Yep, on the right hand side of the generic form, below the Non Immigrant Visa bit I ticked, in the Entries space I wrote "Multiple", but I have been told by Thai Consulate staff that I must still apply for a multiple re-entry permit and I can only do this when I am physically in Thailand after the O-A is issued. So I would like to know how easy/quick it is to do this - in Hua Hin - in the very likely event that I will need to whiz back to HK at short notice to deal with probate.

[Nereus]

So I would like to know how easy/quick it is to do this - in Hua Hin - in the very likely event that I will need to whiz back to HK at short notice to deal with probate.

It depends entirely on the length of the Q in front of you. Could only take 10 minutes, or could take an hour.
Fill in a form: TM.8, a photo as in your passport, pay 3,800 Baht and thats it.

[lomuamart]

If you've got a multi entry OA then you don't need any type of re-entry permit in the first year. But you must make sure that the visa is multi entry, not single entry.
The OA visa will be valid for a year from the date it's issued in your passport. On arrival here, you'll be stamped in for a year. With the single entry, that's it. Your visa is finished and you will need a re-entry permit to keep your permitted to stay date alive if you leave the country.
With the multi entry OA, you can exit and re-enter as many times as you want as long as the visa remains valid - ie a year from when it's granted. You'll get another year's permitted to stay each time you return. No need for those re-entry permits because the visa is already multi entry.
So check what type of visa you get - single or multi entry and take it from there.
If you need to get a re-entry permit, then do it in HH and it's painless. 1,000 THB for single re-entry, 3,800 THB for multiple.
Hopefully that's clear. If you've got any more questions, just fire away.

[caller]

but I have been told by Thai Consulate staff that I must still apply for a multiple re-entry permit and I can only do this when I am physically in Thailand after the O-A is issued.

The Thai Consulate staff who gave you this information are wrong. Lomu and I are right! Thinking logically what's the point of paying extra for a multi OA if you then have to immediately pay extra again for a multi re-entry permit? My multi OA visa recently expired and before it did, I left the Country and came straight back in and my expiry date was extended to August 2016. I then had to get a multi re-entry permit because the stamped 'date to' in my visa had expired, this re-entry permit wasn't needed before the visa expired.

Sorry for error in using quote function