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How can I change my visa status from OA to O while applying for a stay extension in Thailand?

Feb 5, 2026
3 months ago
Djamel ***********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Changing from OA to O status when applying for a stay extension.

Hello, first of all, thank you for the information shared in this group; it has greatly helped me understand the visa / stay extension system.

My plan is to arrive in Thailand with à non-immigrant OA visa, open a bank account, and deposit 65k Bath into it monthly for one year. After one year, i intend to apply for a one-year stay extension (TM.7) and a change of status from OA to O. I have searched this group and elsewhere, but i haven’t been able to find a description or forms related to this status change (OA to O). Could you help me understand how it works? Thanks!

Update : I understand that the best way is to leave Thailand and return with an O visa. Thank you for your help.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
A user is seeking guidance on changing their visa status from a Non-Immigrant OA visa to a Non-Immigrant O visa while applying for a one-year stay extension. The conversation reveals that a direct status change is not possible, and the recommended approach involves leaving Thailand before the OA visa expires and applying for an O visa in a nearby country. To secure a one-year extension, the user must maintain monthly transfers of 65,000 THB to their Thai bank account, although some comments indicate that certain immigration offices might require holding 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account for a period before applying for the extension.
OA RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
  • Go to the OA 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 OA 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.
Simon *******
It's probably cheaper and easier to get a non o visa open a bank account in Thailand when you arrive, get an agent to sort the 1 year extension by them putting g the 800,000bht into your account but at the same time start paying in 65,000 bht every month ready for the following years extension.
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Djamel ***********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Simon Adams I'm aware of this method with agencies, but I'm not ready to use it. I'm thinking of applying for an O visa abroad and using it to open a Thai bank account, then funding it for a year. I would have to leave Thailand before the end of the 90 days, spend about six months abroad, and return with a new O visa, wait three months, and then apply for a one-year extension based on monthly transfers of 65,000 baht for a year. Does this seem realistic to you?
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Simon *******
Djamel Benbrahim no the first extension has to be done with the 800k in a Thai bank.
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Simon *******
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John **********
@Simon ******
how would you show you met the terms of your current extension? That's a requirement to get the next extension
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Simon *******
@John *********
if you hadn't met the terms of your current extension you wouldn't have the extension to start with ,I am confused with your question
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John **********
@Simon ******
when you get a 12 month extension based on 800k baht in a Thai bank you are required to maintain that 800k baht in your bank account for 3 months after receiving the extension and never letting the account drop below 400k baht at any point for the remainder of the extension. If you can't do that then you will need to use an agent again for the next extension
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Simon *******
@John *********
this is only if you are using the 800,000bht every year you can't let it drop below 400k but has to be back upto 800k for the renewal
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Simon *******
@John *********
Thats interesting a friend of mine uses the
*****
will ask him if he has the 400k
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John **********
@Simon ******
he would only need that for a year he used the 800k method to get his extension
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Simon *******
@John *********
I have spoken to him he only pays in the 65,000 every month don't have 800,000bht or 400,000 in his bank and he doesn't use an agent ,he used an agent at the start but then went over to paying 65,000 for 12 months
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John **********
@Simon ******
it's how he changed that matters
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Simon *******
@John *********
he just started paying in 65,000 every month,I maybe missing something
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Simon *******
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Lisa ******
Why are you getting the non-oa and changing to a non-o?
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Phil ******
Can't be done sorry. If you haven't yet started your Non IA application start the NON O application.
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Carlos *********
Not even Harry Potter can do that. Youll need to start over for a new visa
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Nongnuch ********
if you don't do the border run and let the 1-year visa validity expire, if you are still in Thailand after the expiry, you will be in "overstay". . . . . . .

You can theoretically apply for the 1-year Extension of the Stay permit before the first year stay permit of the Non-O/A visa expires, but you will then have to meet the financial requirements and the tgia-health insurance requirement. . . .

. . However, why would you? . . . . . . .

A border run will give you another 1-year stay permit within the old conditions, except that you won't have a multi re-entry permit included any more. . . . . . .

If you apply for the extension inside Thailand, you need a Thai tgia-listed private health insurance and either 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account or the income affidavit of your embassy (if they still issue it) and if you are a citizen of a country whose embassy don't issue one, a 12-months bank statement over 12 transfers from abroad over a minimum of 65,000 THB is offered as a possible way of doing the financial proof.

You have the OPTION - you can do the border run and get another 12-months stay permit, OR you apply for the extension prematurely - not going into the second year (by fulfilling the requirements)
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Nongnuch ********
Well, there is a way for citizens of countries whose embassies in Bangkok do not issue income affidavits anymore, to get around the requirement to deposit 800,000 THB into a Thai bank account for the first year extension of stay.

But you have to read the following very carefully, and if you don’t understand, it is okay to ask the group.

Imagine a path that lets you keep the 800,000 THB in your home bank account earning a good interest, and never have to park this kind of money in a Thai bank account.

By following my advice, you fully legally can use the 12-months of 65,000 THB transfers method, to apply for the 1-year extension of stay out of a Non-Imm-O Visa.

HOWEVER, you must FIRST start out on a Non-O/A Longstay Visa, which you apply through the online E-Visa system of the Thai embassy in your home country.

People who first start out on a Non-Imm-O/A, leaving their 800,000 THB equivalent in their home bank account earning interest, will enter Thailand, get a Thai bank account opened and then they must start to transfer 65,000 THB minimum, every month, month for month, not missing out a single month.

Before your stamped stay permit expires (this would be a date outside of the 365-days visa validity of the Non-Imm-O/A Visa), you must exit Thailand.

You could fly back home but also have the theoretical option to complete the next process in a neighboring country, if you use the 800,000 THB equivalent in your home bank account as proof of finances for the coming visa application. Remember, applying outside of Thailand, your original income documents will not be accepted.

Check your recent entry stamp. Look at the date in blue ink. You must wait until after this date, to be able to apply for another visa. You now apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa, re-enter Thailand, and all the while you must keep going on with the monthly transfers of a minimum of 65,000 THB.

Now, for the application to the 1-year Extension, you can use the 12-months bank statement of continuous transfers of 65,000 THB every month.

There are so many people who wish to get off the O/A Visa to escape the mandatory insurance AND simultaneously avoid to park 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account for the first year extension of stay. For them, this is a viable option.

By this way, US, UK, CDN and AUS citizens NEVER have to park 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account

But keep in mind, you would have to start out on a 365-days multi entry Non-Imm-O/A Longstay Visa, which requires a police check, a medical check, and an approved mandatory health insurance, and of course the equivalent of 800,000 THB in your home bank account, OR use your original (!!) income source as the financial proof for the application to the O/A Visa
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John **********
You can't just change status from a Non-OA visa to a Non-O, it's not possible. What you could do is leave Thailand a day or so before your Non-OA visa expires and make your way to a nearby country. Once the Non-OA has actually expired apply for 90 day Non-O visa at the consulate that serves your location and once you have the visa return to Thailand. Once that visa is down to the last 30 days or so apply for a 12 month extension of stay, keeping your 65k baht transfers going the entire time. Now this is where your plan gets tricky and whether it will work or not will be entirely down to your local immigration office, many simply won't accept 12 months worth of 65k transfers for the 1st extension of a Non-O visa and require to see 800k baht in a Thai bank account for 2 full calendar months prior to applying for the extension. In short your plan might or might not work depending on your immigration office
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Jan ******************
Not possible, you’ll need to end your stay based on a Non O-A visa, leave the country and apply for a Non O from scratch or enter on a visa exemption and apply for a Non O in country.
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Jan ******************
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