Do I need a retirement visa to lease a condo in Thailand for 12 months?

@James ******

huh?

@Ron ********

The 30-day extension of the stay permit from a tourist visa or a visa-exempt 30-day stay permit:

To do this, you have to visit the immigration office that is responsible for your place of stay.

Thai Immigration always talks about “visa extension”. They make no distinction between “visa” and “stay permit”, even though they are two different things. Technically, a visa cannot get extended. Only stay permit will get extended.

What do you need for the 30 day “tourist extension”?

Most immigration offices allow an extension if there are still 30 days left on your stay permit stamp

However, many immigration officers will tell you to come back a week before the stay permit expires. NOTE: You will not lose a single day by going early

To extend your stay permit by 30 days you need:

- Passport

- Copy of passport page with personal information

- Copy of the stamp/visa page

- Copy of the departure card TM6 (has been discontinued by air)

- Completed TM7 form (extension application) The TM7 form is available at immigration

- two passport size photographs (many immigration offices now do this digitally)

-1,900 Thai Baht, preferably the exact amount, because you don't get any change at most immigrations

It might occur that the officer also wants to see a TM30.

TM30 is the completed registration of your accommodation provider/hotel/guesthouse/resort, which must be done within 24 hours of your arrival at the residence of stay

However this is usually not asked, because if the officer, when he is entering your personal data on his computer, he will see that you were registered by the hotel using TM30

@Ron ********

with regards and thanks to Robert Lagas, who wrote this! Another example of yourv wrong wording and confusion. PLEASE learn to use your brain and eat a portion of logic!

Once more, because people try to give advice based on what they think is a "Retirement Visa"

First of all, you DO not have to be retired to apply for this visa.

Second is that all options have DIFFERENT rules, regulations and requirements.

So please read and try not to give incorrect advice by using the requirements for a different type of visa or extension of stay.

What is a retirement visa?

It is a phrase used by foreigners and Immigration and it could be 6 different types of visa or stay permits, with different rules, regulations and requirements

OR

it could even be an 1 year Extension of Stay based on being over 50 years of age and willing to sit out the rest of their life inside Thailand.

It is easy to type “retirement visa”, but very difficult to understand which option the person refers to

Options are:

1. Single Entry Non Immigrant O visa based on being over 50 years of age

2. Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O visa based on being over 50 years of age

3. Non Immigrant O visa based on being over 50 years of age without entry by conversion at local immigration office

4. Non Immigrant O-A visa (Long Stay)

5. Non Immigrant O-X visa

6. Long Term Residency (LTR) visa

7. Extension of Stay based on being over 50 years of age and willing to sit out the rest of their life inside Thailand (stamp from Immigration, which is not a visa)

ONLY for options 3, 5 and 7 the applicant needs a bank account in Thailand or a Certificate of Income from their Embassy.

Option 2 becomes a rare visa as most Thai Consulates take it out of the program.

Option 3 is applied for by conversion of your Visa Exempt Entry or Tourist Visa at your local Immigration Office inside Thailand.

Option 6 is applied for with support of BOI Thailand

Option 7 is applied for at your local Immigration Office AFTER you used a Non-Immigrant visa.

Other options are applied for at a Thai Consulate OR for those countries who are legit, on-line.

Thanks for reading this long explanation.

@Ron ********

Actually the question is wrong – because a „visa“ cannot be extended and will never get “extended”

Even when the paper pushing stamps stomping officers on Thai Immigration call it “visa extension”, all they do is extending a simple “stay permit”

As a “visa” is meant for use when ENTERING their beautiful country, it becomes invalid the moment you used it, so logically, it cannot be extended any more. A "visa" is for entering, and a "stay permit" is for staying in a country.

What you get stamped into your passport at the border, is an “admitted until” stamp, in simple words: “a stay permit”. It is NOT a “visa”

Now let’s assume that 95% of the people who answered you on Facebook, used the wrong wording as well and believe in “visa extensions” . . . . it sometimes makes you wonder if you can ever receive a thumb solid information in a Facebook Group.

It is like the roll of dice

And before I leave the discussion: Yes you can get your “visa” extended on immigration (sorry for using the wrong expression), just get up from your hocks and shuffle to the next immigration to listen to what they say

@Ron ********

Visa and Stay Permit CONFUSION

I almost quit reading further when I realized that you, like so many Western expats living in Thailand, call a one-year extended stay permit a ”one year retirement visa”

There is nothing such as a “one year retirement visa”

There only is a “1-year Extension of Stay” permit based on retirement, and this is what the stamp in your passport says.

Please understand the correct use of the terms visa & stay permit and note the differences:

A 90-days single entry Non-Imm-O retirement visa becomes invalid for further use upon entry.

Upon entry, you receive a 90-days stay permit

The 1-year extension out of a former Non-Imm-O retirement visa, is an extension of the stay permit.

It is not an extension of a visa. The visa is already invalid and thus can't get extended

A visa is a permit to enter Thailand.

The length of the stay permit you will be allowed in, is determined by the visa class.

After you entered with a visa, you are staying in Thailand not on a visa, you are staying in Thailand on a stay permit.

The stamp you receive upon entering, is an “admitted until” stamp. This stamp is not a visa

I am fully aware that Immigration in their bad English, don't draw a difference between a stay permit and a visa. Thai Immigration calls the extension of a stay permit a "visa extension". They say “we extend your visa” regardless they are technically not extending any visa, but only extending your stay permit.

@Ron ********

A 60-days single entry tourist visa becomes invalid for further use upon entry.

When you ENTER with a 60 days tourist visa, you receive a 60-days stay permit, and the visa becomes invalid for further use.

The 30-days touristic extension is an extension of the stay permit.

It is not an extension of a visa.

The visa is invalid already and thus can't get extended

A visa is a permit to enter.

The length of the stay permit is determined by the visa class

After you entered with a visa, you are staying in Thailand not on a visa, you are staying in Thailand with a stay permit. The stamp you receive upon entering, is an “admitted stay stamp”. This stamp is not a visa

I am fully aware that Immigration in their bad English, don't draw a difference between a stay permit and a visa.

Thai Immigration calls the extension of a stay permit "visa extension".

This is just another example of WRONG use of English and the ignorance for the basics of understanding what they actually are doing.

@Ron ********

you ENTER Thailand either with a visa, or without a visa. Upon entering and getting stamped in, in the case that you had a visa, it became invalid for further use. In the case you didn't show up with any visa, you still have no visa after you entered. You are in Thailand with a stay permit. It is so easy, you just have to use the right side of your brain

@Ron ********

you ENTER Thailand either with a visa, or without a visa. Upon entering and getting stamped in, in the case that you had a visa, it became invalid for further use. In the case you didn't show up with any visa, you still have no visa after you entered. You are in Thailand with a stay permit. It is so easy, you just have to use the right side of your brain

@Ron ********

you are totally confusing the facts. The "admitted until" and date stamp is just a stay permit stamp, not a visa. Actually, in the upper right corner under the "visaclass", the Immigration officer will enter "free 30" in Thai. Chinese citizens used to either need to apply for a tourist visa in their home country, or otherwise they had to buy a "visa-on-arrival" at the airport for 2000.- THB, and that gave them 15 days stay permit, not extendable! Chinese earlier this year had been granted a "visa-waiver programme", allowing the to enter visa-exempt for a 90 days stay permit. Same Same - a stay permit and DEFINITELY NOT A VISA

@Ron ********

you do NOT receive a 30-days tourist visa when you enter Thailand visa-exempt. There is nothing such as a 30-days tourist visa. You just receive a 30-days "admitted stay" stamp. It is NOT a visa. The 30-days stay permit can be extended once for a 1900.- THB fee on Immigration for 30 more days

@Ron ********

Mark (The new gent) above 🔼 what you got?

@Ron ********

how long did your retirement visa take?

@Brandon ***********

exactly

@Brandon ***********

yup!