Hi, I recently got a retirement visa and it expires in January 2020 as my passport also expires at that time.
As a rule, Malaysians cannot renew their passport from the embassy in Thailand. I have called to check on my options due to this current Covid situation. I am told that should I want to renew it from Thailand, I have to send back my passport to Malaysia (through the embassy) 4 months before the expiry. This poses a problem because I need to do my 90 day reporting and according to immigration I need my passport for that.
So, both sides are asking that I wait till Jan to see what happens. Right now, I can go back to Malaysia but there is no way to come back because it is not opened to anyone with just a retirement visa (as I understand).
I also understand that there is a OA visa which I can apply (should I be back in Malaysia in Jan next year) from Malaysia. And that there is no financial proof requirement in Thailand for this visa.
So, the question is would I be able to get an OA visa in January and come back to Thailand to stay as this is where I am staying right now?
TLDR : Answer Summary
User is currently holding a retirement visa that expires in January 2020, but must renew their Malaysian passport first, which requires sending the passport back to Malaysia. There are concerns about the necessity of the passport for 90-day reporting in Thailand. User is wondering if applying for an OA visa in January, after returning to Malaysia, would allow them to return to Thailand.
NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
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