Can I convert my tourist visa to a Non-O visa in Thailand or should I leave the country first?

@Cheryl *********

correct, :)

Tod, you must also meet financial requirement, correct? But with funds in a US bank account?

it's also good to search for answers on but of course just asking in a fb group is soooo much easier ;)

@Da***

, we seem to be having a disconnect. I said a few times to contact the thai consulate there, ask first IF they issue Non-O visas based on being over 50 (retirement), then ask what they requirements are. That's because each consulate has different requirements as far as the documentation.

Check with the consulate in Bali OR go to a thai consulate that issues that visa without a problem like at Vientiane or Savannakhet Lao, Penang Malaysia etc.

@David *********

, you might or you might not need to affidavits.

That's a question you should ask the immigration office down in Samui. I don't know that answer.

You could apply for the 90 day Non-O off a visa exempt entry

@Da***

, if you get a single entry tourist visa you can't apply to change over to a 90 day Non-O visa at the immigration office until you have about 30 days left on the stamp. Then once you get the 90 day Non-O you wait until you have 30 days left on that stamp to apply for the yearly extension.

Some immigration offices will stamp a copy of your income affidavit when you get the Non-O visa saying you gave them the original and can use the copy for the yearly extension in two months BUT some offices make you get a new affidavit each time.

Why not take your income affidavit and ask at the consulate IF you can get a 90 day Non-O visa from them while you're down there, and if not get the tourist visa and do it inside the country.

@Da***

, I did say that BUT each consulate makes their own rules for the issuing of visas AND some consulates don't offer a 90 day Non-O based on being over 50.

No you can't get a Non-O without telling them the reason AND without meeting the requirements of that particular consulate. The O in Non-O means other and they are issued for a variety of reasons

You need to check with the consulate you're going to apply at to see first IF they offer the visa and secondly what their requirements are to issue it.

@David *********

I dunno that you can get a 90 day single entry Non-O based on being over 50 at the thai consulate in Denpasar.

You would have to check with them as far as whether they'll take a bank statement from your US banks or need to use the affidavit of income from the US consulate.

@Da***

, the O in a Non-Immigrant Type O visa stands for "Other" and it is a category of visa they issue for being over 50, being married to a thai, being married to a foreigner who legally works here, taking care of half thai or foreign children here and volunteering.

You could use the income affidavit at a thai consulate in the area to get a 90 day Non-O visa, BUT they will take the affidavit, meaning you'd need another one when you apply for the year extension inside the country 60 days later..

Any way you slice it you're not going to break either the 14-21 days under consideration to get a Non-O inside the country (if you get the Non-O at the immigration office) OR if you got one from a thai consulate you're not going to break the time line where you can't apply for a yearly extension until you have 30 days or less left on the 90 day stamp you got stamped in with.

you can't get ANY visa by border-bouncing <- that is where you go to the border, stamp out of thailand, stamp in&out of another country then stamp right back into thailand to get a 30 day visa exempt entry.

You go to a thai consulate and BUY either a tourist visa or a 90 day Non-O visa. It takes two days to get it.

You would meet the financial requirements to apply for the 90 day Non-O visa at a thai consulate.

2 days in Penang, but that 3 years ago

The time line works like this

apply for the Non-O

WAIT 14 days

go back and get it and a new 90 day stamp

WAIT about 45 days

Go back and apply for the year extension of stay

David Phillips, nope, that's not how it works. They are two completely different things.

it works like this in Bangkok, you need at least 15 days or more left on either a 30 day visa exempt entry or a 60 day tourist visa entry to apply for a 90 day Non-O visa. When you apply it will go under consideration for 14 days, then you go back and get the Non-O visa and a new 90 day admitted until stamp inked into your passport. The 90 day stamp will be dated from the date you applied for the Non-O (so two weeks will be used from it already.)

Then you wait until you have 30 days or less left on that stamp before you go back and apply for the yearly extension of stay. It will be issued on the spot and the expiration date will be a year from the expiration date of the 90 day stamp you got when you got the Non-O visa.

@David *********

there is no other way, you have to wait until you have 30 days or less left on your 90 day Non-O stamp before you can apply for the yearly extension.