How can I obtain a retirement visa for Thailand?

Send an application!

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”. Misunderstandings happen because a “retirement visa” can mean 7 different visas and stay permits

The best way is to show up in Thailand on a 90-days single entry Non-Imm-O Retirement/over 50 visa” as it will get you a 90-days stay permit stamped. Within this period you have plenty of time to arrange for the application to the “1-year extended stay permit”

If you have arrived on this 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa, you can get a bank account opened on it. You should do this immediately really soon after you have arrived. If you meet incompetent bank staff, don’t keep trying but get the help of an agent. It costs around 5000 THB for the service to get a bank account opened.

You will need the account when you change to the 1-year extension of the stay permit. I have explained it a bit further down

You can theoretically fly on a one-way ticket because this visa allows you to receive a long-term stay in Thailand. Some airlines might not accept this explanation and will ask you for an onward travel proof out of Thailand within these 90 days, that’s why you should contact them by email and see what they say

In order to apply for the “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O retirement visa” through the online E-visa system at the Royal Thai Embassy of your home country, you can use the proof of income of a monthly minimum of the equivalent of 65,000 THB, by using your original pension or other income documentation,

Or

You show 3 months of account statements over deposit of a minimum of 800,000 THB or the equivalent in your home country currency, or on your home bank account, or on a Thai bank, or just anywhere in the World – as long as the account is in your sole name

However, for the later application inside Thailand, for the “1-year extension of stay permit” out of the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa, if you are a citizen of a country whose embassy in Thailand does not issue the “income affidavit” any more (these are the embassies of USA, UK, Canada, Norway and Australia) you would need 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, consecutively month for month, never missing a single month.

If your embassy still issues an affidavit of income, you can use this method for the financial proof, which needs a monthly income or pension of a minimum of 65,000 THB

For all above mentioned citizens, in the first year there is no other way around, than depositing a minimum of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account. They will have to use this deposit for the financial proof which is required for the application to the “1-year extension of stay permit based on being over 50/retired”, at least in the first year.

The alternative would be, if you don’t have that kind of money or are not willing to deposit 800,000 THB in a Thai Bank account, paying an agent to “arrange” the requirements and get around the law, which I do not recommend because you will get caught in the agent hamster wheel.

As soon as you have accumulated the 12 consecutive months of 65,000 THB transfers, month for month, you can apply for the next 1-year extension of the stay permit, using the 12-months bank statement, in the second year. After being issued the next extension, you can theoretically take the 800,000 THB out of your bank account.

This application to a 1-Year Extension costs a 1900 THB fee and you can theoretically do it all by yourself, or accept the help of an agent for the simplified legal service.

NOTE: It is income OR deposit.

On the day of application to the 1-year extension, 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). This is why I said in the beginning that it is important to get the bank account opened and the money transferred really soon right after you have entered Thailand, so you can fulfill the 2 months seasoning requirement.

After been issued the “1-year Extension of the Stay Permit based on Retirement”, the 800K need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After these 3 months, the deposit shall never go under 400,000 THB. Before your application to the next “1-year Extension of Stay”, a minimum of 800,000 THB must have seasoned in the account for two months, again.

On the day you get issued the “1-year extension of stay permit”, you should buy a re-entry permit for it.

A re-entry permit will keep your stay permit alive in case you exit Thailand before the expiry of the 1-year stay permit.

A single re-entry permit is 1000 THB on Immigration. A multi re-entry is 3800 THB. With a multi re-entry permit, you could exit and re-enter as many times as you wish during the whole stay permit period.

Good Luck and a great time in Thailand

We went to Thai Consulate in Vancouver, the counter personnel said apply one-year while we're in Vancouver but there's too much paperwork that we can't provide e.g. Insurance plan. After reading some comments here, we are going to apply for 90 days here.

Get our draft, bank statement before we leave, upon arrival, apply for one year visa; Thai bank account, insurance, a permanent address and yellow/green book.

Ask AI and you will probably get right answer.

Visa Information - สถานเอกอัครราชทูต ณ กรุงวอชิงตัน

Ask your Embassy for right answer

You don’t need a visa. Just come in and chill.

Google.

The Embassy will tell you everything. Research! Easy!

everybody has another opinion. I got my retirement visa 3 week ago. So believe me, I know the rules. I informed myself a lot.

Unless my experience is 3 weeks young, many many people here still go in discussion that I am wrong. So better go to immigration site or an office. But you can do it yourself.

I plan to do it too, researching the docs required, also an immigration not that busy & can help

Request doing easily to THAI VISA CENTRE they’r very efficient and not expensive fees !

Check youtube man… it’s literally 100s of videos

Go to travel-pilot.com under visas. FREE to sign up!

Go to thai immigration. Get the papers. Easy to todo.

Not so easy if you had a Thai wife who passed away best get a agent then,good luck

First turn 50. Second Google how to retire in Thailand

I use a Visa agent for anything related to immigration. Save a lot of time and stress, and not expensive.

Suck lady boy off they’d tell ya.

Get non imm o in your country come thai and use an agent ..

The Thai Visa Centre

555

Better to obtain very accurate advice. He offers free initial consultation.

Contact a visa agent

I’m quite surprised how harsh many of the responders are. Everyone says Thai people are so kind. But not the foreigners living there. My advice: attorney Mark Friedman in Bangkok.

You lazy F. Tried doing some research on your own before you ask everyone in the world on this group to help you.

Apply for it, very straightforward.

Be over 50 years old have 0 baht in a bank account or a income of baht each month. Then you will be alright

Check your messenger acct.

Wayne Julian it’s only a good way if you can’t legally meet the criteria to get one yourself, going to immigration the people that issue them is the best way

Retire

Love xox

7 11

Agent is for the lazy

You still have to provide all the information you’re self all they do is deliver it to the embassy

They will tell you they know people

But all they are doing is stealing your money

Do you have a Thai Bank account?

Thai elite visa

For a more helpful answer, you’ll need to include a bit more detail.

Also, just a heads up: if you put little to no effort into your question, you’ll usually get the same level of effort back in the replies.

To get useful guidance, please share:

- Are you currently in Thailand? If yes, what visa are you on right now, and how many days do you have left?

- Do you already have a Thai bank account?

If you are not in thailand the best option is to apply for your 3 month non-o BEFORE arriving in Thailand.

Ask for Grace

Use an agent

By obtaining the information at your Thai Embassy ;-)

Google search like the rest of us. Good luck

Hire Thai Visa Center, the best in the business

Fake

I doubt even thai agents can tell you.

Thai visa policicy, unclarity and constantt talk of change is utter utter madness.

What a strange country

What country do you live in ,how old are you ,are you already in Thailand, have you got a bank account these question need to be answered before an accurate answer can be given, you are basically asking how long is a pieces of string

Retire. Hire someone

Are you in Thailand ?

Yes go to your local immigration office.

Ask a stupid question,get a stupid answer.

Even using an agent you still have to do stuff yourself .

Apply online at the Thai Embassy in your country. Here are the requirements...

You apply using the Thai evisa website through the consulate that serves your physical location

Yes

Lazy question, at least bother to research online then ask some additional info

When outside of Thailand you can ONLY apply here

Easy look at immigration web site, has all the information :-)

Sounds like you need any agent, otherwise do your homework its very easy!

Ask an agent is your best bet . They keep up with best way to do things without wasting time