How can my husband switch from an education visa to a retirement visa in Thailand?

Retirement Visa Education Visa Visa Extension Thai Immigration Chiang Mai

July 24, 2023

a year ago

ORIGINAL POSTER

Hello everyone

My husband is currently on education visa extension, expiring in November. He turns 50 in September and we want to switch him to retirement visa. I am getting a letter from his school to cancel the education visa and we have money in his bank account since early this month, so it will be 2 months seasoned by September.

What else is there to worry about? Is this easy enough to take care of on our own? when I contacted an agent, they are asking for a fee of 20k, which I thought was very expensive, but I could be missing something. We live in Chiang Mai.

Thanks in advance for any advise.

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The user is seeking advice on switching their husband's education visa (Non-ED) to a retirement visa (Non-O) as he turns 50 in September. They plan to provide a cancellation letter from the school and ensure the bank funds have been seasoned for two months. Comments provide insights on the process, noting potential difficulties in switching visas within Thailand without leaving the country, and suggest consulting the local immigration office about changing the reason for stay. There is debate on the costs involved, with mentions of both official fees and personal experiences.

NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES

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Michael *******

a year ago

George *************

I did what you are trying to do, change the reason for my extension from education (Non-ED) to retirement without leaving the country. This was in Phuket and about 8 years ago. My understanding that it is up to your immigration office whether to offer this service or not. After getting the reason changed to retirement, I was asked how much I wanted to pay. At this I understood there was no official price for this service, but offered 2,000 baht anyway, which was accepted. It was much cheaper to me than having to leave the country. Which is to say you should consult with your immigration office to see if they will do this for you.

a year ago

Henrik ****

@George ************

, the price of an extension on retirement is 1,900 THB. By asking you they got 100 THB more :-)

a year ago

George *************

@Henrik ***

this was out of schedule. The Non-ED was becoming burdensome and I had just turned 50.

a year ago

George *************

@Henrik ***

true, but they could have ended up with 0 baht, too. There's no official price for changing the reason for an extension. 2,000 seemed like an incredible value to me. To be clear, changing the reason for my extension didn't acrually extend my permission to stay. That was done subsequently at the appropriate time for 1,900 baht as usual. ;-)

a year ago

Henrik ****

@George ************

, I dont believe there is a fee for changing the reason unless it is out of schedule so to speak. You just apply based on a new reason and pay the standard 1,900 THB for the extension.

a year ago

Reply to

Henrik ****

In theory, it should be possible to get an extension of the ED visa on the ground of retirement. But you will have to ask your Immigration.

a year ago

Steve *******

He may be able to change the reason for his extention of stay from education to retirement, check with your local Immigration Office.

a year ago

Steve ********

Keep in mind it is agents who have caused the problems with the ED visas and why they are now being scrutinised. If you don't want to run into strife, stay away from agents and simply do the application for retirement yourself at an immigration office

a year ago

John **********

If he is on a genuine ED visa and has been fully attending classes he could try asking the school for a letter to immigration confirming this. If he's been skimping on class he could struggle. He may want to look into obtaining the initial retirement visa outside of Thailand and entering with that rather than a tourist visa or visa exempt.

a year ago

Brandon ************

Everything you've done sounds good. The only thing is I'm not sure you'll be able to switch from Non-ED to Non-O without leaving Thailand and coming back to start fresh. If that's the case your husband may encounter some issues getting back into Thailand without a long term visa as anyone with an ED visa in their passport trying to return as a tourist has been getting a lot of scrutiny lately.

a year ago

Toby *********

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

I recently came in easily with an IB Visa. First time not getting scrutinized. I had the education visa stamp in my passport. Had to leave the country first and apply at the embassy though.

a year ago

Reply to

Toby *********

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