Can I transition from a marriage O visa to a retirement visa in Thailand?

@Ivan ***********

I changed from an "OA after 11 months " to an "O" retirement extension 15 years ago , so dont recall the initial years requirements....but that's not the case now ....90 day report requires zip paperwork these days

And Ivan , you only got 12 months with a 90 day extension on an OA back then , then couldnt renew in thailand ...unless you changed to an O

@Kool ******

with a type O retirement extension you have to do visa runs, right?

@Jan ********

, no. You can get a retirement extension on a type O visa, and it is preferred, as the type OA has a health insurance requirement. Most embassies will not issue a type O retirement visa, you have to change it after you get to Thailand now. The visa runs were being done if you did not, or could not, get the one year extension.

@Kool ******

I still can't understand the difference with O and OA... If the only difference is health insurance then why still apply for an OA?

Please enlighten me....

@Jan ********

, when you apply for a retirement visa at a Thai embassy before you enter Thailand, they will now only issue you a type OA visa. You do not have a choice. If you get a type O visa, for any other reason besides retirement, you can change it to a retirement extension after you get here. You could also change an OA to an O, but before this virus you had to leave the country to do it. Not sure how they do it now.

@Jan ********

they just started the health insurance last year

@J**

no, you don't, you can extend for a year each time. Advantage of an O over O-A is you don't need insurance. O-A you need to show specific Thai insurance to get your extension.

@Ivan ***********

as a health insurance is always handy, why would anyone still apply for an OA then?

@J**

you need a very specific policy from a short list of Thai insurers to extend the O-A. You can't use insurance from your home country. Many retirees might have better insurance from their home country, some included as part of their retirement package but they can't use it and need to buy another policy which they will never use just for the extension.

Note- you can use foreign insurance to GET the O-A visa (if they will fill in a form certifying it, which some will, some won't). But you need a Thai insurer to extend it in country.

There are also a few niggles about the content of the policy, for example it MUST cover outpatient to a level of 40k. A lot of people have very good insurance but it doesn't cover this, specifically. So they have comprehensive insurance that covers say €10,000,000 but because it doesn't cover €1k outpatient they can't use it.

@Kool ******

I've been on an extension of my B visa based on retirement for 9 years. It isn't just for Os and OAs.

@Ko**

yes for sure! - in his case 14k should be the answer. O- visa for 3 months first is 18k of that. Just for clarity.