Thanks as always for your guidance. I did some follow up based on advice from this forum.
I am a US citizen currently with an extension of stay based on an OA over 60 visa. I am heading back to the USA for a month and was hoping to cancel the extension, return on a Tourist visa, and then apply for an in-country O retirement. I asked the Chiang Mai officer if there was the possibility of using 12 months of international deposits of 65k or more in lieu of the 800k banked money for the in-country O visa. The answer was a ‘no’ as I pretty much expected.
Not a big problem. I explained that my intention was to at least limit the duration of time that banked funds sit in a Thai account and commented that I could at least use the monthly international deposits 90 days later when applying for a 1 year extension of stay. The officer said that could not be done on the first year of an extension of stay. I would need to use the 800k banked method for a full year before I could use the monthly deposit method of qualifying for an extension.
That was surprising information to me and I don’t see a first year rule in the extension of stay requirements. So I need help verifying this information or considering confusion and misunderstanding on my part. By the way, my query was escalated to the most senior officer at the information desk.
A related question. When I am in the states I have the choice of applying for a TR and subsequently applying for an in-country O. Or I could apply for the nonimm O in the USA. Outside of ease and lower cost of getting a Tourist visa vs an O visa, are there other advantages to the in-country O?
TLDR : Answer Summary
The user seeks clarification on whether they can utilize monthly international deposits instead of the 800,000 THB banked requirement for their first year extension of stay under the Non-O visa regulations. They received conflicting information from immigration officers in Chiang Mai. Comments from community members suggest that there are no specific rules prohibiting the use of monthly income for the first extension, and it may be beneficial to appeal or seek further assistance. Additionally, the user explores the option of applying for a Tourist visa versus applying for a Non-O visa while back in the USA.
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.
- Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.
