Convert Visa Exempt to OA retirement

[m_right]

Years ago I cam in on a tourist visa and I was able to get a retirement visa at immigration. I can't remember the process. Maybe I had to convert to OA and then get an extension. Years ago so my memory has deleted the process.
I have been out of the country for almost two year due to Covid. Looks like I will be coming in visa exempt. Will I be able to get a retirement visa after I arrive.

[handdrummer]

Years ago I cam in on a tourist visa and I was able to get a retirement visa at immigration. I can't remember the process. Maybe I had to convert to OA and then get an extension. Years ago so my memory has deleted the process.
I have been out of the country for almost two year due to Covid. Looks like I will be coming in visa exempt. Will I be able to get a retirement visa after I arrive.

If you can fulfill all the requirements for the visa, you'll get it. You need to see the form T7 for requirements. Then there will be whatever the local IMM officer dreams up as additional pain.

[REEM]

I am in exactly the same position, my retirement visa expired 10 months ago and I would like to return next March and start with a 30 day tourist visa on arrival.

There seems to be so much confusing and conflicting info. around at the moment so any updates on requirements from those who have done this would be very welcome.

[Dannie Boy]

I know of an Australian couple whose visa had expired - when they returned instead of relying on the 30 day tourist entry, they came on a 3 month tourist visa obtained in Australia and then within the 3 months converted to an O visa. As to be expected, Imm found ways of making it difficult but they managed to get it in the end.


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[Scout]

No problem coming in on 30 day visa exempt (tourist visa), then converting to (applying for) a 90 day Non-Immigrant O visa “based on retirement”. Then, once you get within 45 days of the 90 day Non-O expiring, you can apply for a 12 month extension. I’ve helped a number of my family members and friends do exactly this process, most recently about 12 months ago. A requirement of converting the “tourist visa” to the 90 day Non-O is that you must have at least 15 days remaining on your “tourist visa”, so best to apply for the Non-O as soon as you arrive, otherwise you will need to pay 1900 baht to obtain a 30 day extension of your “tourist visa”. The 15 days is required to cover the time it takes Hua Hin Immigration to send the Non-O application to Bangkok, have it approved in Bangkok, then have it sent back to Hua Hin Immigration and finally for you to get it from immigration. Do yourself a favor and apply for 90 day Non-O within a few days of arriving in Thailand and you will save 1900 baht. The “tourist visa” is free, the 90 day Non-O visa costs 1900 baht, and it costs an additional 1900 baht to obtain the 12 month extension of the Non-O.

A better option than coming into Thailand on a 30 day “tourist visa” is to get the 90 day Non-O from the Embassy or Consulate in your home country before you depart for Thailand. Notice that I wrote “90 day Non-O” and NOT “Non-Immigrant OA”. You have to specifically request the “Non-O” when applying at your Embassy or Consulate, otherwise they will issue a “Non-OA”, you will be stamped into the country for 12 months when you first arrive (instead of only 90 days as you will if arriving on a Non-O) AND you will forever have to meet the insurance requirements when doing your annual renewals (this insurance currently costs about 8000 baht per year, I know because unfortunately I came in on a Non-OA back in 2013). My parents are currently getting their Non-O visa’s from the Thai Consulate in Los Angeles, USA. Until this year we always assumed you could only get a Non-OA from the Embassy/ Consulate, and assumed you could only get a Non-O once you arrived in Thailand. We have now confirmed that in addition to getting a Non-OA from the Embassy / Consulate before departing for Thailand, you can also get a Non-O, but you have to request it. What I don’t know is if the Non-O is available from the Thai Embassies or Consulates in countries other than the USA. If anyone else knows, please let me know so I can pass that info on to friends who are not Americans. Meeting the financial requirements for the visa (which are the same for either the Non-OA or Non-O) is easier if done through the Embassy / Consulate before you depart, all it takes is a letter from your normal banker confirming you have the required funds. You don’t have to transfer the money to a Thai bank in advance (but you will before requesting a 12 month extension to your 90 day Non-O). One other major advantage, if you have a spouse, is that each of you can get a letter from your home country bank, each get a Non-O from the Embassy / Consulate before departing for Thailand, then each person’s “Step 1” begins when the Non-O is stamped active upon arrival in Thailand. “Step 2” then begins when each spouse applies for a 12 month extension to the original 90 day Non-O. During “Step 2” one spouse will need to transfer 800,000 baht to a Thai bank, the other spouse will submit marriage license so they can “Follow” the visa of the person with the 800,000 baht in a Thai bank. Only one spouse ever has to transfer money to a Thai bank. A spouse can NOT “Follow” the other spouses visa until “Step 2”. This means if you and a spouse come into Thailand on a “tourist visa”, then you each apply to convert it to a Non-O, both spouses will need a separate Thai bank account, each with minimum of 800,000 baht transferred into it from an overseas account. I’m 99.99% sure I’ve got this all figured out based on my first hand experiences and conversations with immigration, but I’m open to hearing from others that may have different experiences. I’m especially curious if others can confirm if Non-O visas are available from Thai Embassies/Consulates in countries other than the USA.

[REEM]

Thanks for the detailed info.

Its very useful.