How To Get A Retirement Visa

[PigDogg]

Gaybutton (gaythailand.com) wrote a comprehensive article detailing the steps required to get a retirement visa. You need to be at least 50 years old though.

[rossco]

PigDogg

Excellent post - why so many people think it is difficult is beyond me.
Passport
Thai Bank Account
Certificate of residency (address can be temporary) - available from Immigration office
Passport photos
Letter from bank confirming money on deposit OR document from your Embassy endorsing monthly income.

The post does simplify the way to do it but also misses a couple of points.

Retirement visa requires the applicant (over 50 - age has its advantages!) to have:
800,000 in a Thai bank in Thailand - this figure drops to 400,000 if married to a Thai National.
OR
65,000 Baht, or equivalent, guaranteed income - endorsed by your Emabassy. Eg Pension

Your INITIAL, Retirement visa, application requires the money to be on deposit for 3 months prior to application. Subsequent annual renewal does NOT require 3 months deposit in advance.

So you can arrive with 800/400K and put on deposit with an initial 3 month stay. Visitor visa for 90 days or a couple of visa runs.

Now apply, after 3 months, for a Retirement visa. You need a copy of your bank book and a separate letter from the bank confirming that you have the money on deposit (costs 200 Baht).
You require your passport (obviously) and an address in Thailand (I initially used my hotel).

After the initial application you can now use the 800/400K to live on. This has caused confusion in the past. The money can now be used to live and does NOT need to be on continuous deposit.

Upon your annual anniversary, of your retirement visa, you need to show, yet again, 800/400K on deposit BUT, ony currently on deposit, NOT 3months prior. Alternatively show monthly income of 65K Baht.

After "showing" the deposit balance you may utilize this as living costs - you do NOT need to maintain a balance of 800/400K.

During the course of your annual visa you will be required to 'attend' the immigration office, every 90 days, to review your visa - no charge and no paperwork. Just present yourself and your passport every 90 days - you can be UP TO 7 days late BUT NO MORE.

If you decide to leave Thailand, during your annual visa period, you MUST obtain a re-entry certificate or you may be required to recommence the whole process again - Ouch!

Like all bureaucracy 'Dot the "i" and cross the "t"' to make life simple. The UK honorary consul (Barry Kenyon) holds 'surgery' near the Immigration office, in Soi 5, Jomtien, Pattaya a couple of days a week to help applicants check their paperwork. Well worth meeting up with him.

If you are retiring here I would recommend getting a Thai driving license. This can be used as ID in most places which means you can leave your passport and visa safely locked away. Most English language licenses can be used to obtain a Thai equivalent license - I had a French license which did cause some issues!!! You can still retain your original license so you do NOT surrender your original license.

Hope this helps

[Lefty]

This may or may not be new info to my more learned colleagues here, but when talking to the Thai consulate in Portland Oregon, I was told I can just as easily get a retirement visa in their office before heading over to Thailand. For some reason, I had been under the impression that we needed to already be there to apply for a retirement visa, but that is not the case. If one were using their bank account as proof of income, if applying here, a US bank account would be allowed, no need to have the money in a Thai bank for 3 months.
Also, it was suggested to me by a friend, long time expat, to go there without a visa other than the 30 day stamp and get the retirement visa there. This would only work if one were using proof of a govt pension rather than a bank account and also one would need a return airline ticket dated within 30 days, or the airline would not let you go without a visa already in possession. Once in country, the return ticket could be canceled , after getting the retirement visa, to be used later. If one already has their retirement visa in possession, having received it here in the USA, they could buy their ticket with an open return and still be allowed to depart.

[Stogie]

STEP 1 : OBTAINING A NON-IMMIGRANT "O-A" VISA

To start your Thai retirement plans, you need a non-immigrant visa. Ideally, it should be acquired prior to your arrival in Thailand. You CAN convert a tourist visa to non-immigrant visa inside Thailand but it can take up to 1 or 2 months for this conversion process.

Requirements for getting a non-immigrant visa outside Thailand:

  1. 50 years old of age or older
  2. Passport (at least 1 year remaining until expiration)
  3. Holding the nationality or permanent residence of country of application
  4. Police Records Check
  5. Certificate of Health
  6. Proof of meeting financial requirement
  7. Bank letter showing funds or pension statement

STEP 2 : ONE-YEAR RETIREMENT VISA IN THAILAND REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

   Passport - copies of every page. Each copy must be signed by applicant.

  1. Non-Immigrant Visa
  2. Departure Card TM.6
  3. Proof of meeting financial requirement
  4. Thailand Bank book (original)
  5. Letter from your Thai Bank
  6. Medical Certificate (health exam administered by doctor at first class hospital)

Photos, three (3) in quantity which are 4 x 5 centimeters in size (not passport photos) with full face and taken wearing business attire (no hat and some jurisdictions require suit and tie). Must have been taken within six (6) months.

FINANCIAL REQUIREMENT:

1. BANK ACCOUNT SHOWING THB 800,000 OR...
2. MONTHLY INCOME OF AT LEAST THB 65,000 OR...
3. COMBINATION (BANK ACCOUNT + INCOME x 12 = THB 800,000)

Of course you need to satisfy the financial requirements for the retirement visa. In order to qualify for a retirement visa you need to have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account which has been verified by the bank as having been remitted from overseas.

This money also has to be in the account for at least 3 months prior to applying for the O-A retirement visa.

The alternative is to prove that you have a monthly income of at least 65,000 Baht a month, alternatively a combination of the two. Part income and part deposit. If you are however married to a Thai national you only need to have 400,000 Baht deposited into a Thai bank account alternatively an income of at least 32,500 Baht a month, alternatively a combination of the two.

If your finances are more complicated than simply having the 800K on deposit then getting a lawyer to spear head your application will help your case along enormously.

Signing for your new Retirement Visa

Your Thai retirement starts with your first and only appearance for the retirement visa at the Immigration office upon its approval. You must appear in person with your passport and sign the visa paperwork in the presence of the Immigration staff. The Immigrant staff puts a stamp in the passport at the time of approval.
Restrictions on Your Retirement Visa

The retirement visa, once approved, allows you to stay in Thailand for one year. You are not allowed to have employment while on this type of visa. Also you must report to Immigration every 90 days to verify your current address.

STEP 3 : BRINGING YOUR HOUSEHOLD ITEMS TO THAILAND

You have six months from your entry to Thailand to bring in from your home country your household items.

After you have been granted a permit to stay for a year in Thailand, your belongings will not be taxed. However, if your permit to stay is for less than one year, these items will be taxed 20% import duty plus 7% value-added tax.

The period of six months starts the date that you initially entered Thailand on the retirement visa O-A visa, regardless whether you leave or re-enter Thailand after that date. However, the deadline is somewhat flexible. If your personal items are due to arrive in Thailand more than six months after the entry date, you should inform Customs about this at least two months before the six-month deadline.

STEP 4 : OBTAINING THE RE-ENTRY PERMIT

If you leave Thailand without your re-entry permit when you re-enter Thailand your retirement visa will be cancelled & you will receive a walk in 30 day!

Definition: €œVisa€ is issued outside of Thailand by a Thai Embassy or Consulate in which you request entry into the Kingdom of Thailand. Once allowed to enter the Kingdom, the Immigration Officer will stamp a date in your passport. This is referred to as your €œExtension of Stay.€

Definition: €œExtension of Stay€ is the time period you are allowed to remain in the Kingdom of Thailand. This is typically the date stamp in your passport by the Immigration Officer either after arriving in the Kingdom through a border checkpoint or issuance by the Immigration Police after a request for an extension of stay.

Many people misunderstand the difference between an extension of stay and re-entry permit much to their own disadvantage. Here is the key point:

Your €œextension of stay€ stamp is the controlling date.

Everything is dependent on this date. Your re-entry permit is only valid until the date stamped in your passport to leave the country. Any re-entry permit you obtain will expire when your €œextension of stay€ expires. If you depart the country without a re-entry permit, your €œextension of stay€ is invalidated. This is the key distinction so after going through the process of getting a longer period of time for your €œextension of stay€ please ensure your have a re-entry before departing Thailand.

There are two types of re-entry permits: single for B1,000 and multiple for B3,800.

Single is just that: leave the country once and re-enter. If you want to take a second (or third, or...) trip out of the country you'll need another re-entry permit, B1,000 each time.

Multiple is probably what you want: leave and re-enter to your heart's content without filling out any additional paperwork, other than the usual TM.6 "arrival card" that you already receive and fill out on the airplane before landing in BKK.

To apply for a re-entry permit: Simply complete Form TM.8, with a copy of your passport picture page and a 4cm x 6cm photo, and bring along either B1,000 or B3,800. It takes about five minutes.

STEP 5: RENEWING YOUR RETIREMENT VISA

Your Thai Retirement Visa expires when your Extension of Stay does.

You will need to renew your stay in Thailand before your extension of stay expires. This can be done in Thailand. If you cannot obtain your extension inside Thailand, you will have to get a new non-immigrant visa from a Thai Embassy or Consulate abroad as explained above. Siam International Legal Group with its global presence can assist you in any country with renewing your visa.

Reporting your Stay every 90 days

You are required to report to Immigration Police every 90 days for persons on a long term extension of stay. Persons holding a multiple entry visa will simply depart Thailand and renew their extension of stay after each 90 day entry. Our firm offers professional service with a yearly package to perform the task of the reporting to Immigration each 90 days.

A point of interest... if your wife/husband is 50 or over then it doesn't matter how old you are! You can be 21 and get a retirement visa!

Also - if you can't meet the conditions above... well, let's just say... Immigration is ambiguous in Thailand. It is designed to allow, shall we say, flexible enforcement. Especially, for example, if you have kids dependent on you.

I hope that simplifies things a bit.  

[Lefty]

Thanks Stogie. I don't know why I had always previously had it stuck in my head that one needed to apply for the retirement visa only while in country. If I wasn't aware it could also be done abroad, perhaps someone else was also previously presuming the same thing.

So when I arrive at the airport with my Ret Visa in my hand, they will stamp my passport with a 1 yr extension of stay and then report to an immigration office every 90 days during the year? Or do the extension of stays go in 90 day increments and on those 90 day reporting of stays, we get another extension of stay?

[Stogie]

The 90 day reporting is a formality, only to confirm your address and the fact that you are still in the country!

[Lefty]

It does not require a crossing of the border then, and reentry? There is some office in the major cities we just check in at, yes?

[Stogie]

Correct. You do NOT have to leave the country for the entire length of the extension.

[PigDogg]

(Lefty @ May 05 2009,18:15) It does not require a crossing of the border then, and reentry? There is some office in the major cities we just check in at, yes?

One of the places you can check in is about a minute walk from Sally Bar in Jomtien.

[Ivor Biggun]

While you can dip into the B800k it needs to have been topped up again 3 months prior to RENEWING your retirement visa ( this may be different in Patts but its how they apply the rules here). A certificat of health has not been needed for over a year in Phuket, and at the moment they are not requesting a police check paper either. Things may be different up north but this is the current situation with Phuket Immigration. A useful link to a helpful consulate here http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/downloads-and-visas.aspx

Lefty the visa is valid from the day of issue so get it as close to the start of your journey as possible otherwise you start losing days.

And finally isn't it nice to have a process that you can do yourself with a minimum of hassle and patience, keeping large amounts of money out of a lawyer's hands. Visa services are a complete rip-off, preying on the uneducated. The more threads like this the better.  

I'll start one on the Driving Licence process if its wanted, as I've got the 5 year one now- again its 'fairly' straight forward

[rossco]

Process in Pattaya - Soi 5 Jomtien.

In the same Soi there is now a UK Consulate who will also assist non UK people. The UK Honorary Consul is a guy called Barry Kenyon

Initial application for a Retirement Visa (50+) then 800,000 on deposit in an ATM access account for 3 months prior.

Subsequent annual renewals, of your retirement visa, the 800,000 can be shown as of the day of renewal - it does NOT need to be on deposit for 3 months. I know many guys who actually borrow the required amount, locally, to achieve their visa requirement.

Alternative is to show a guaranteed income of the equivalent of 65,000 Baht per month.
For the 65,000 Income the US Embassy are more flexible but the UK is more stringent.

Driving license is very easy IF your original license is in English - mine was not!
Basically complete the form and do some static tests in the office - color blindness/Braking test/Parrallex check.
You are supposed to have a separate license for a Car and a Motorbike.

This is from my own experience and I do strongly recommend speaking to the Consular office in advance. Like all Government procedures it is very important to get all your paperwork sorted out in advance to avoid frustration etc.

[Lefty]

(Ivor Biggun @ May 06 2009,08:26) Lefty the visa is valid from the day of issue so get it as close to the start of your journey as possible otherwise you start losing days.



I'll start one on the Driving Licence process if its wanted, as I've got the 5 year one now- again its 'fairly' straight forward

Thanks Ivor. I guess that is one drawback to getting the visa here rather than there.
The other one would be needing to get my local doctor to sign off on the medical certificate that says I don't have Leprosy, Elephantiasis, etc. I wonder if can just look at me and figure that out.

Even if one does not plan on driving, the driver's license sounds like a good idea. Someone said we can carry it as an acceptable ID and can therefore keep our passports locked in the safe. I think to know that process may be beneficial. It won't be for me immediately, but in a few months it would be and if you post here the process, it will always be available as a reference.

[Lefty]

(PigDogg @ May 05 2009,23:41)

(Lefty @ May 05 2009,18:15) It does not require a crossing of the border then, and reentry? There is some office in the major cities we just check in at, yes?

One of the places you can check in is about a minute walk from Sally Bar in Jomtien.

Wow, that far away huh? It would be hard to manage such a long arduous trip. Maybe I'd need a couple of ladyboys to carry me.

Thanks mucho amigo. That's good to know.

[Mister Ree]

The information in this thread is accurate, but be aware that the various embassies and consulates are within their rights to interpret things differently. One place may not require a particular certificate and another might insist on it.

I'm currently in US, preparing to return to Thailand and resume my 'retiree visa' status. After a consultation with a consulate officer here, I decided to go back on an initial tourist visa, convert to non-Imm O in Bangkok, then to retirement. That's how I did it originally, and it wasn't hard.

I chose this route basically because I know the ropes in country. I didn't want to go through explaining to some US doctor what I needed for Thai immigration, and have him charge me an arm and leg for it.

Likewise asking the US police department for a piece of paper certifying that I'm 'OK'.. If i were closer to an embassy or consulate here, I might have worked with them to get the final visa before leaving, but I didn't want to get caught up in courier exchanges and uncertainties. So back to the tried and true.

But yeah, basically it's easy. You're 50+. You have money. You're not wanted by Interpol and you're not obviously diseased. The boys at Suan Phlu or other Imm office will walk you through it.

One suggestion is that you go ahead and get a multiple re-entry stamp at the same time you get the visa. That way, you can pop out of the country any time you feel like without  worries.

There's one thing I don't understand, though. Supposedly, chronic alcoholism is cause to deny you permission to stay in the country long term. I always thought it was a requirement!  

[SamplerDoc]

So you must be over 50 for the retirement visa no matter who you marry, eh?

If so that plan is busted