Can I obtain a retirement visa while being in Thailand as a 60-year-old U.S. citizen?

you can indeed go from a 30 day visa exempt entry stamp to a 90 day Non-O and then to a yearly extension based on 'retirement' inside the country.

@Soe***

(y)

what now

what were you trying to link to on the immigration website?

All I get is "broken link" when I click it

@Walter ******

Hua Hin DOES require the extra stamp now. I had to go back to BKK in March to get it. Pain in the ass

@Tod ********

thank you for the correction on my mix up of certified translation and certified signature. The Hua Hin office of Prachuap Khiri Khan might be the other location requiring it.

The immigration offices that want that MFA stamp on the income affidavit are Phetchaburi, Nonthaburi, Jomtien and one other I believe.

The affidavit of income from abroad letter from the US consulate doesn't need to be translated and certified :/

Although some immigration offices want you to get the stamp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office on it. All they do is stick this stamp on the back of the notarized paper from the consulate

yes, at your local immigration office by meeting the requirements.

I meant If he had only the stamp one month on arrival

I meant If you don’t have the required document and money in the bank for the non immigrant visa you want. Also the immigration office in Pattaya will tell you it’s not possible only in your country of origin. They will say only extensions one month is possible giving you no other choice then to go through their private agency just outside the immigration office

The paperwork is all yours anyway, which you have to get yourself, so you might as well do the travelling about as well. Why pay someone else to do it for you? The immigration offices will even tell you what you need to bring!

@Jo***

, despite your assertion it DOESN'T take someone "pushing paper" for you aka "visa agent" to get a 90 day Non-O and then a yearly extension of stay.

Many MANY people do it all on their own. It takes patience, some research and a little more patience but it is NOT beyond the ability of the average foreigner here.

Steve,Big Money...!

@J**

Of course, but as you say, it's "nonsense"

@Steve ******

. He's has to be taking about the paper Pushers...!

Going from a 30 day visa exempt entry or a 60 day tourist visa entry to a 90 day Non-O and then a yearly extension of stay inside the country costs 2000baht for the Non-O visa and 1900baht for the year extension. If you need a re-entry permit after that it's 1000baht for a single or 3800baht for a multiple.

As

@J**

says its 1900bt for the yearly extention of stay and another 3,800bt for a multiple re entry permit

Nonsense. 1900 or 3900 thb total....!

daytodaydata.net

@Thomas ****

it's a few extra steps at this point but in the long run much easier

@Tod ********

also Italy requires proof.

@Mike *******

just easier to stay with the O visa I think

Thomas Day if your married to a Thai why not get a marriage/family visa

Income requirement 40k a month or 400k deposit

First time money has to be in bank 60 days

90 days is for renewals

Here's the letter you fill out for the US consulate in Bangkok

/05/income-verification-affidavit-bkk-0517.pdf

Now with that being said I am NOT advocating putting something down as income from abroad that you can't back up with proof (bank statements, pension letter, rental income etc) because an immigration officer can ALWAYS as for proof that the letter is really backed up for something.

Still the chance of that happening is super slim. Since I turned 50 I've used the US income affidavit letter for the last 9 years and NEVER (as in not even once) was I asked to prove the amount on the letter was backed up with anything. I always HAD the proof with me but never submitted it with my application for extension.

At most country's consulates you don't show anything. You go in fill out the form, swear it's true, they notarize it and you're done.

The consulates that DO require proof (that I know of) are Canada, UK, Japan. Those places you SHOW them your proof of income and they write the letter for you. In fact you can ONLY get the UK letter by post and credit card :O

@Tod ********

Thank you

@Patricia *********

yep you could apply for the 90 day Non-O visa at the immigration office right from a 60 day tourist visa, a 30 day visa exempt entry or a 30 day extension on one of them IF you use an immigration office that can do it, and if you meet the requirements and have enough time on your current stamp for it to be processed.

In Bangkok and most offices you need 15 days left on your current stamp because it goes under consideration for 14 days before you go back and get the Non-O visa inked into your passport. In Chiang Mai you need 21 days left on your stamp.

So say if I have a SETV and get a 30 extension, can I change it to non-immigrant O for retirement if I meet the income requirements? Will I need any other official documents? Thanks

@Robin ******

you weren't on a one year ED visa :O you were on extensions of stays that you got every 90 days from the immigration office.

All you did was change the REASON for your extension from education to being over 50 by canceling your ED extension and applying for one based on being over 50 (retirement).

Unless you couldn't meet the financial requirements on your own you didn't need an agent down there to 'push paper' for you. That's changing the reason for an extension is an easy one to do on your own, IF you are on extensions of stays NOT on the original entry from the visa.

Interesting...

I went from a 1 year ED visa to a qualifying visa and with it a yearly retirement extension without leaving the country...

Done thru a visa agent and chonburi immigration last August

The thing is you already have a non-immigrant type visa, (a requirement to get a yearly extension) it's just a type ED and you can't change that visa inside the country :/ All you can do is change the reason for your extension (from one based on education to one based on being over 50) BUT if you're still on the original 90 day entry you got on that visa you haven't gotten an extension yet <- which means you can't change the reason :(

Okay, unfortunately IF you are still on the original entry of the Non-Immigrant Type ED visa you're stuck and can't do anything in country in regards to getting a yearly extension.

Be that as it may, there are three ways you can go about getting the year extension (and/or a Non-O visa and then the year):

1 - get a 90 day extension based on education THEN when that 90 days is running out, cancel that extension with paperwork from the school and immediately apply for a NEW yearly extension based on being over 50 and meeting the financial requirements.

2 - go to a thai consulate in a near-by country and BUY a 90 day single entry Non-Immigrant Type O visa by meeting the requirements (proof of funds, police background check and a medical certificate)

3 - either go to the border, bounce out and back in to get a 30 day visa exempt entry OR go to a thai consulate to get a 60 day tourist visa, then apply for an in country 90 day Non-O visa by meeting the requirements <- this way doesn't require a police background check or a medical certificate.

They are talking about the affidavit of income from abroad notary letter you get from your consulate here in Thailand stating you receive at least 65K baht in income

@Phil ******

First you got the Extension of Stay, than the conversion into a new Non Immigrant O visa for 90 days and than you applied 45 days before the last day for a new Extension of Stay for 1 year. And you can apply every year 45 days before last day again for a new 1 year Extension of Stay as long as you meet the requirements.

@Robert ******

thank you. I will delete my remarks.

Robert when I extended my visa about 3 years ago the 30 day extension to my tourist visa converted the visa to non-immigrant type O so I could then get a 1 year extension. Have the rules changed?

@Ja***

, That is mentioned already a few times, if he like to read all the other comments.

He first has to apply for the Non Immigrant O visa based on being over 50 years before he can apply for Extension of Stay based on being over 50.

@Robert ******

- I let you fishish it😁

and proof of some money in the bank or monthly income.

I meant the granting of another year of life. More optimistic than my doctor 555😕

The optimism you see in that is, perhaps, questionable seeing as the extension lasts for a year :)

@Tod ********

That's got a kind of nice optimism about it

@Ra***

surprisingly that is the ONLY place the word retirement appears in english OR thai.

The actual clause in the immigration rules for that extension is called "in the instance of living out the end of your life" กรนีใช้ชีวิตในบั้นปลาย :O :/

@Robert ******

Oh Ok, thanks, my mistake. I know its an extension based on a non O visa but I wasn't aware that a thai official could take such liberties in the wording used on a Govt document given their penchant for being pedantic in all things paperwork.

This is not a Visa. As you can read in the second line it starts with Extension of Stay. Immigration preferred to use the word "retirement" instead of "being over 50 years of age and live out the rest of his/hers live" or the even much longer Thai text.

Still wonder why they stamped retirement on my mates visa