Do I need to have my retirement visa income in a Thai bank or can I use UK bank statements?

Ok Tod i see the difference. The point I was trying to get across to Tom Orr was that he doesn’t have to go home to get a retirement visa.

@Juandre *************

right that is a 90 day single entry Non-Immigrant Type O visa. You can get those at most thai consulates.

It's not the year long, multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type O-A <- note the A after the O. They are totally different visa types.

The O-A requires a police back ground check, a medical certificate and you can meet the financial requirements by using your bank in your country. It's also good for a year every time you stamp into the country.

Maybe it’s changed then or I’m getting confused. I was in Cambodia on a 1 year ordinary visa in 2016.

I went to the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh who issued me a Non- immigrant O visa based on retirement. I then had 90 days to extend this to a 1 year visa while in Thailand.

@Juandre *************

that is totally incorrect and you need to apply for a year-long, multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type O-A visa at a thai consulate in a country that your passport is from or where you legally hold residence.

@Juandre *************

No you can only apply for it at your "home country" embassy.

@Tom ****

. you can apply for the O-A visa at any Thai embassy.

@Tod ********

it was more the simplicity to get it than anything else simply by showing a pension statement

Thanks guys, worth considering in 2 years time for me, although having to go 'home' has to be the downside for me!

@Tom ****

The O-A visa can be gotten from a thai consulate in a country where your passport is from. It requires a police back ground check, a medical certificate and proof of financials (you can bank the money in your country). It's good for unlimited entries during the validity of the visa (a year from the date it's issued) and every entry gets you stamped in for a whole calendar year. You still need to do 90 day reporting. BUT the way this visa works IF you exit/re-enter just prior to the "enter before" date on the visa you'd get stamped in for a new calendar year. Meaning you can wring almost 2 years of stay out of that visa.

@R**

, ONLY the UK has that wacky age restriction of 65 years old for the O/A visa. And that's because of their retirement and/or pension rules NOT anything else.

Otherwise it's the same one sold to people all over the world at thai consulates when they're 50 years old.

The particular O-A for being over 65 and drawing a state pension is ME 12 month visa and no need to leave the country. Some people use them that visit the UK once a year and simply get another one. You MUST be over 65 and be drawing a state pension though to qualify. It's very simple for those people to get.

What's the advantage of an O-A over a yearly extension of stay based on being over 50

@R**

? Apart from the cost of going home to get it, would I not have to leave Thailand every 90 days and re-enter, whereas now I just have to report every 90 days? Cheaper and less hassle.

Yes got you Tod. My post probably wasn't clear regarding income.

On that note, anybody over 65 and receiving a state pension would be crazy not to apply in London for the O-A simply by showing 2 months pension income to a bank account or there government pension book. I don't believe that option is offered to anybody else anywhere in the world.

Thanks guys I ask as soon I will be able to do a combination of income/bank deposit, I currently just leave the 800k untouched. Always good info!

@R**

, they do but it can be almost any type of income not just pension.

I know people who have rental property income that exceeds the 65K threshold for retirement extensions.

They just submitted copies of the deposits of the rents into their bank account in the UK to the consulate here and they got the letter fine.

Tod, do UK citizens not have to prove income anymore or am I misreading your post?

You can get that letter from the UK consulate without having ANY pension at all too. They are very open to you using other forms of income on the letter they write for you.

You can't go to the UK consulate in person anymore.

It's all done only by mail or email. They don't let you walk up for that letter.