Do I need a return flight booked for a Non-O retirement visa in Thailand?

And then, there is another method to acquire a 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa and the subsequent “one-year extension” on Immigration inside Thailand.

It is called “Change of Visa Type” and it is the change from a 60-days Tourist Visa or a 30-days Visa-Exempt entry, to a 90-days Non-imm-O visa.

Here, again, you CANNOT use your income as a proof, because Immigration would only accept an affidavit of income from your embassy, which your embassy does not issue any more.

So, in order to be allowed to apply for the “change” from the Tourist Visa to a “90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa”, you need to have a minimum of 800.000.- THB sitting in your Thai bank account. No seasoning required at this point.

I won’t go into detail on how to open a Thai bank account on a tourist visa right after you arrived in Thailand, because any agent can do this for you for a circa 5000.- THB fee.

As soon as 30 days are left on the 90-days stay permit from the Non-Imm-O Visa, and when the 800.000.- have seasoned in your account for two months, you can apply for the “1-year extension of stay permit based on retirement” on Immigration. The fee is 1900.- THB, and I recommend buying a single re-entry permit for 1000.- THB, which will keep your stay permit alive should you exit Thailand for a trip abroad.

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

We are talking about the most common and persisting misunderstandings regarding the rules that come with applying for the “retirement visa” and the subsequent “one-year extension of stay permit based on retirement”

In order to apply for the “90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa” through the online E-visa system at the Royal Thai Embassy London,

You can use the proof of income of a monthly minimum of 65.000.- THB, by using your pension letters.

However, for the application inside Thailand, for the “1-year extension of stay permit” out of the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa,

you would need proof by a “12 months bank statement”, showing that for the past 12 months, you have been transferring from abroad to your Thai bank account a minimum of 65.000.- THB, month for month.

That’s why you CANNOT use the “income proof” in the first year.

Your embassy does NOT issue the “income affidavits” any more. Period.

So, for British citizens, there is no other way around, than depositing a minimum of 800.000.- THB in your Thai bank account and use this deposit for the financial proof which is required for the application to the “one year extension of stay permit”

On the day of application, the 800.000.- THB need to have “seasoned” in your account for two months, and this has to be proven with the “bank letter of guarantee” (rab roong thanakan).

After been issued the “Extension”, the 800K need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After the deposit shall never go under 400.000.- THB. And two months before your application for the next “one-year Extension of Stay”, the minimum of 800.000.- THB have to sit in the account, again

In Short yes but will you meet the Financial requirements etc?

Take your time Paul…slowly..you will find the correct path…🙏

Hi how do I open a Thai bank account ready to save up the 0 bhat

If you apply for the non-O visa from the Thai embassy before you travel, you won't require a flight out of Thailand.

If you travel without a visa or on a tourist visa, you would need to check with your airline to see if they require it.

Please note that a pension will not allow you to apply for an extension of your non-O visa as the only proof of income immigration will accept is embassy certified income and the UK embassy does not offer this. That means you will need 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account in order to apply for an annual extension.