I would like to retire in Bangkok mid to late October. I am 65 from US . I have the baht and pension. Is there anyway possible to get some kind of retirement visa without insurance???
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TLDR : Answer Summary
To retire in Bangkok, you can apply for a Non-O Visa based on retirement, which does not require health insurance. You can obtain the initial 90-day visa from your home country, which allows you to stay in Thailand and apply for a 1-year extension based on retirement. For this, you need to provide proof of funds—either by having a minimum of 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account or showing a monthly income of at least 65,000 THB. After you are properly registered in Thailand, you will need to maintain the required funds in your account and comply with reporting requirements every 90 days. While some suggest going without health insurance, it is advisable to consider having coverage due to potential high medical costs.
NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
provided OP already have a thai bank acct...getting one without long term visa is almost impossible
Reply to
Jesper *******
Reply
Sean **********
In my opinion non-oh is the way to go. Because the insurance that’s approved for the long away is not that great. So with a no, no, you can come to Thailand and select the insurance you really want.
J **************
Research O retirement visa
Max *************
Of course, the answer is the Non-immigrant O based on retirement. Don't go for the totally useless O-A.
Jesper *******
Get a nonO instead of nonOA which doesn't require insurance.....many ppl come to thailand with nonO and start looking for local insurance to cover themselves
Francois ********
DTV 5 yr visa
“soft power- learn Thai cooking”
from Thai E-visa website
Show statement of 500k Thb/17usd
Google an agency (fee 30k Thb)
in Thailand to do it for me
Ian ********
Bronze Elite visa
Bruce *****
Not sure why i would want to go without insurance.
It will probably bite u on the bum in the future.
Your treatment for anything will be very limited. And anything u do have to do will cost a fortune.
when you get over 60 and have existing health conditions, the health insurance often becomes worthless and expensive as they still charge the same premium, but do not cover all your existing health conditions and things related to them. As a result many people elect to self insure.
Age would be a major factor as the older you are the more difficult getting insurance appears to be
Self funded is still cheaper than home depending on where home is😀
Reply to
Anna *********
Reply
Anna *********
Get a non O visa from your home country and then extend based on retirement once you get to Thailand
You will need a Thai bank account with 800k thb in the account
No health insurance required as you will be self funded meaning you will have to pay for any health issues yourself
Richard **********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Thank you so very very much. I must friend you
Dwayne ********
All costs Thailand for “long terms” have increased greatly including medical expenses. However Thai Insurance companies are currently in question because they don’t like to pay out. Something to research at some point as there are lots now placing Ads as they’re getting dropped by clients for violating their own rules for not paying the bills. TiT, not is always what is seems to be or advertised as in Thailand. Good luck.
they were thai companies when building my house. Have receipts but can’t read Thai. Sorry, it’s all a crap shoot when going with outside companies. Most items outside of construction I try stay with the big companies like HomePro & Do Home as they have guarantees. Something you always have to ask the sales person is about, how long are the guarantees or warranty. Shockingly lots are none once leaving the store or just 30 days. Most manufacturer warranties aren’t honored in Thailand. Careful the fact that most also come with that stamp on the receipt, “no returns, no refunds, no exchanges”. For that reason I don’t use JIB Electronics anymore. Just beware of smaller outside companies & ask lots of questions.
Reply to
Dwayne ********
Reply
Nongnuch ********
We are now talking about the most common and persisting misunderstandings regarding the applications for the “retirement visa” and the subsequent “one-year extension of stay permit based on retirement”
The best way to reach your goals is to show up in Thailand on a “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O Retirement/over 50 years visa” you have applied for in your home country in the E-Visa online system of the Thai embassy or consulate. On this visaclass, you will get stamped in on a 90-days stay permit upon entering Thailand.
After having entered Thailand, you need to get registered in your accommodation per TM30 within 24 hours of arrival in the premises. If you have booked a hotel stay, the hotel will automatically register you per TM30 in the System. If you rent or live in a friend’s accommodation, the landlord or the friend has to register you.
Right after you got properly registered, you can get a “certificate of residency” from Immigration and with this and your passport, you can open a Thai bank account.
Within this 90-days stay permit period, you have plenty of time to arrange for the application to the “1-year extended stay permit based on retirement” (which people wrongly refer to as a “retirement visa”) Actually, this thing is not a visa. It is an extended stay permit
In order to apply for the “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O retirement visa” through the online E-visa system at the Royal Thai Embassy of your home country (or also in any other country using the e-visa system) you can use the proof of income of a monthly minimum of equivalent of 65,000 THB, by using your original pension statements or other income documentation.
Or you use a deposit of a minimum of 800,000 THB or the equivalent in your home country currency, or on your home bank account, or on a Thai bank, or just anywhere in the World – as long as the account is in your sole name
However, for the application inside Thailand for the “1-year extension of stay permit” out of the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa, if you are a citizen of a country, whose embassy in Thailand does not issue the “income affidavit” any more
(which are the embassies of the USA, UK and Australia, Norway, Canada and Belgium - AFAIK)
you would need proof by a “12 months bank statement”, showing that for the past 12 months, you have been transferring from abroad to your Thai bank account a minimum of 65,000 THB, consecutively month for month
If your embassy still issues a the legalized affidavit of income, you can use this method for the financial proof, as long as you can show a monthly income or pension of a minimum of 65,000 THB
For above mentioned citizens, in the first year there is no other way around than depositing a minimum of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account and use this deposit for the financial proof. For the application to the “one year extension of stay permit based on being over 50/retired” you need to show a minimum of 800,000 THB in your account and the funds must have been sat there for a minimum of 2 months, and you got the “bank letter of guarantee” that confirms this.
The alternative would be, if you don’t have that kind of money or are not willing to deposit 800,000 THB in your Thai Bank account, paying an agent a hefty sum (mostly in the range of 32-40,000 THB) to “arrange” the requirements
The downside is, you will get stuck with the agent for a while. You will need an agent to fix your 800k issue. You will be trapped in the agent’s hamster wheel.
To qualify you will need the 800k fronted by the agent the first year and simultaneously deposit 65k per month for 12 months without fail, to qualify the 2nd year for income method. Yet this is not enough to enable you to escape the hamster wheel.
If you use an agent, you will not qualify for the 2nd year as you did not have the money in the first year . . . . So you will need the agent grease the palms again and again.
NOTE: It is income method OR deposit method.
And there is a third method, called the “combination method”:
A combination, a mix of income and deposit.
Some immigrations don’t allow the combination method in the first year. And some Immigration want the deposit part to exceed 400,000 THB. The combination method means that the sum of the deposit AND the monthly income exceeds 800,000 THB in one year.
But let’s continue with the “normal method” (visa issued in your home country, followed by the application to the Extension inside Thailand):
On the day of application to the 1-year extension, the 800,000 THB must have “seasoned” in your account for two months, and this has to be proven with the “bank letter of guarantee” (rab roong thanakan).
Immigration will only service you if you are properly registered in your accommodation by the TM30.
Every landlord or hotel needs to register you within 24 hours of your arrival in the premises. While hotels do this automatically online, many landlords are not aware of this or haven’t registered their house or rooms in the system. It is your responsibility to ensure that you get properly TM30 registered.
After been issued the “1-year Extension of Stay”, the 800,000 THB need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After these 3 months, the deposit shall never go under 400,000 THB. And before your application for the next “1-year Extension of Stay”, a minimum of 800,000 THB must have seasoned in the account for two months, again
When you get issued the “1-year extension of stay”, you should always buy a re-entry permit for it.
A re-entry permit will keep your 1-year stay permit alive in case you exit Thailand before the expiry of the 1-year stay permit.
A single re-entry permit is 1000 THB on Immigration. A multi re-entry is 3800 THB.
With a multi re-entry permit, you can exit and re-enter as many times as you wish during the whole 1-year stay permit period.
Regarding all this hassles, it’s better to show up in Thailand on a 90-days Non-Imm-O Visa issued in your home country, because on this visa you are allowed to open a bank account.
It helps in opening a bank account in the first week after arrival, with or without the help of an agent, and then 60 days after your 800,000 THB deposit has been transferred into the account, the money will have seasoned for 2 months and you can directly apply for the 1-year Extension of Stay
From up to 30 days (in some places 45 days) before the initial 90-days stay permit expires, you can apply to the “1-year extension of stay based on retirement”
Hello, I want to follow the same route, but I want to apply for a marriage visa after my arrival in Thailand. Do you know if I will need a TM30 too? (For the rest I know the applicable rules).
you need to be properly TM30 registered in your accomodation, before you visit Immigration and ask for any service from them. If you stay in a hotel, they will automatically do the TM30 for you and would be able to print a receipt, or at least give you a screenshot of the registration. If you stay in a friend's place, the home owner (either your friend or the landlord) must register you TM30 within 24 hours of your arrival
If I deposit i00k baht into a Thai bank, will I have any trouble when I want to withdraw part or all of it? That's my biggest worry with these financial requirements in Thailand. Anyone care to chime in on this?
I would keep all the receipts of money transfer to Thai, as well as the exchange from shop and the deposit to bank for proof, ps many people sold their condo and forget the initial FET (aka a proof of bringing money in Thai) , without those it is pain to move your asset out of Thai
After you have been issued the “1-year Extension of Stay”, the 800,000 THB need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After these 3 months, the deposit shall never go under 400,000 THB. And before your application for the next “1-year Extension of Stay”, a minimum of 800,000 THB must have seasoned in the account for two months, again . . In case you want to move back to your home country, you can withdraw the 800,000 THB and take them to a moneychanger like Superrich, and get them exchanged back into your home currency and take it out of Thailand. You also could ask your Thai bank to make a direct transfer to your home bank account (exchanging in cash would get you more $$$)
thanks for that explained very well, I have an Irish passport and I’m planning on retiring in the New Year and the Irish embassy still certifies pension incomes so I am now led to believe that all I will have to do is provide this affidavit from my embassy to immigration authorities showing a years bank statement with pension income above 65 k per month and with my with my non o 90 day then I will get my one year extension ?
yes, if your embassy still issues the income affidavit, you can use it as part of the financial proof. Visit your Immigration and get the handout list of requirements, as maybe they want to see that the money actually arrives in your Thai bank account. Some Immigrations also want to see the source of your income (in your case pension) this should be noted in the affidavit of income
very clearly written and explained. Can you please add after one gets the 1 year extension what has to be done in that year to keep it and get a 2 year extension? This part I still don’t understand. Do I need to be in Thailand every 90 days to check in? Thank you😊
After been issued the “1-year Extension of Stay”, the 800,000 THB need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After these 3 months, the deposit shall never go under 400,000 THB. And before your application for the next “1-year Extension of Stay”, a minimum of 800,000 THB must have seasoned in the account for two months, again. . . regarding the 90-days report, you only have to report yourself if you have stayed inside the country for 90 consecutive days . . in case you have left Thailand, the 90-days clock restarts at number 1 on the day you return
wow..easiest explanation I have ever seen. Will copy it for future ref . Is what I thought was the case but sometimes doubt my self as others say different.
yes thank you very much for such a great explanation. I am going to save this also. hopefully will be putting your plan into action in the next few months.
thankyou for that, you explained all that very well without it seeming too complicated. Think I need to copy and paste it into my notes for when I retire in a few years 😊🙏🏼
You need to wait and check what the current requirements are when you are planning to move here. Nobody knows what will change or still be valid a few years down the track.
It could. Small surgeries and outpatient services are normally affordable to pay out of pocket, but a catastrophic event like a motorbike accident or a heart attack or stroke that could leave you in the hospital for months could easily bankrupt you. I’d never go without some kind of catastrophic insurance.
If most didn’t pay, insurance agencies would die here. Nobody would get it. I think the majority do well and a few outliers and subsequent bad reviews taint the whole market.
The existing condition exclusion is used to disallow treatment for related illnesses even when medication or cure has controlled the underlying conditions. Example if medication controlled high blood pressure exists, any cardiac event, stroke or kidney failure could be disallowed. For me, I won't pay a premium with the hope they will pay when it's needed. All the major insurers are subsidiaries of USA insurance corporations. Greedy bastards who are only interested in profits. Sorry, but I'm pretty jaded when it comes to insurance companies....
I'm 10yrs older than you. In good shape and good health. Medicate for high blood pressure. Had and cured Hep C. Never been hospitalized other than for shoulders replacement (overnight). I'm happy to self insure. I'm from USA, so healthcare here is about 30% of USA and of equal or even better quality.
or not. Healthcare is inexpensive in Thailand. Insurance is archaic and if you're over 70 very expensive. If you have the savings, self insurance is a good option.
Reply to
Tony **********
Reply
Brandon ************
The non-O visa based on retirement does not require insurance.