Can you apply for a retirement visa while on a holiday visa in Thailand and what are the differences between single and multiple entry retirement visas?

@Paul **********

you are incredibly fortunate to have the group’s most knowledgeable members reaching out to you.

Good luck with your adventure in Thailand!

You can enter Thailand only once on Single Entry Visa. With a multiple-entry visa, you can enter Thailand on that visa as many times as you want as long as the visa itself is valid. The last day you can enter Thailand is the "valid until/must be used by" date on your visa.

You will be stamped in for a specific number of days as stated on the visa every time you enter Thailand on that visa. Non-immigrant multiple entry visa without the suffix A gives you 90 days for each entry. A visa with an A on the tail gives you 365 days for each entry.

You can apply before travel for

1. a Single Entry Non Immigrant O visa (populair called retirement visa)

2. a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O visa (populair called retirement visa)

3. a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O-A visa (populair called retirement visa)

4, a Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O-X visa (populair called retirement visa)

5, the LTR Visa (populair called retirement visa)

Or get into Thailand and apply as Tod describes for the Non Immigrant O visa (populair called retirement visa)

And later for the 1 year Extension of Stay (populair called retirement visa)

And when you have this 1 year Extension of Stay you apply for a single or multiple Re-Entry Permit to be free to travel and keeping your period of stay alive.

summary of in-country visa procedures as Tod explained above.

If you look at the website for the Thai consulate in your home country you will see a yearlong visa called an OA visa which is, or used to be, used for retirement. The OA is NOT the same as the O visa that Tod talked about. I recommend you pursue the O visa in Thailand.

you need about 3 months total to go from a free entry or a tourist visa entry to first a 90 day non-O visa and then a year extension (based on retirement) because that's how long the process takes a most immigration offices.

SO if you're not gonna be here at least 3 months you don't have the time to pull off getting a "retirement visa"

Also INSIDE the country "retirement visas" (really the 90 day Non-O visa and a year extension) are sold as NO entry because you're already IN thailand when you apply for them. Once you get the year extension then you buy a re-entry permit (single 1000 baht or multiple 3800baht)

Now in YOUR country at the thai consulate VISAS are sold as single or multiple entry because you're outside thailand and you need to enter to activate the visa