How far in advance should I apply for a retirement visa in my home country before moving to Thailand?

I did mine 8 weeks before I planed to travel, it took 4 weeks from start to finish, that was during Son gran though, Thai 🇹🇭 embassy London

I stand corrected if l have it wrong, but l am only going by my own personal experience, which is as recent as 1 month.......

And yes, l have double checked my paperwork and l was approved on /25, arrived BKK /25 & passport stamped until /26 at airport....

Paul, you'll have to apply to the Canberra Thai consulate, mine was approved just over 48 hours after application. lf you apply too soon you will lose days, as once the visa is approved the 90 day period commences. l applied 7 days before travel and l believe was approved quickly because my departure date was close. Hope this helps.

You should lay the groundwork for your plan while still in your home country. Submit the online e-visa application for the "90-Day Single Entry Non-Retirement Visa/Over 50 Visa."

The normal processing period is from 5 to 15 workdays on most embassies. Some embassies but are warning you on their websites that the approval can take up to 4 weeks. You need to check the website of the embassy/consulate you will use. You should not apply any longer than three months before your intended flight to Thailand.

For this visa, you must upload proof of EITHER three months of bank statements showing a minimum balance of 800,000 THB (approximately €21,600) in your bank account,

OR proof of a monthly income, pension, or retirement income of at least 65,000 THB (approximately €1,760).

With a Non-Retirement Visa based on "over 50 years old/retirement," which you applied for and received in your home country through the online e-visa system of the Thai embassies and consulates, you will receive a 90-day stay permit stamped upon arrival.

The "O" stands for "other." Some of the reasons for issuing this visa are:

- Marriage to a Thai national

- Raising a half-Thai child

- Raising a foreign child

- Being a dependent spouse

- Being over 50 years old

All Non-Immigrant O visa categories include a 90-day stay permit stamped upon entry.

The 90-day Non-Immigrant O visa categories are issued as "90-day single entry," meaning they can only be used once for entry.

After entry, the visa expires and is invalid! You are then in Thailand not "with a visa," but with a "stay permit."

*** No health insurance is required for the "90-day Non-Immigrant O Retirement/Over 50 Visa." But it is in your own interest to have one.

*** To stay beyond 90 days, you must apply for a one-year extension of stay.

Within the last 30 days of your 90-day stay permit (45 days at some immigration offices), you can apply for a "1-year extension of stay permit based on retirement/over 50" (in English, "extension of stay permit" or EOS).

The requirements for this application vary slightly from one immigration office to another, so you should visit the immigration office as soon as possible, ideally immediately after arrival, and ask for the "information sheet," which lists the requirements for applying for a "retirement visa extension."

For the application for a "1-year extension of stay permit," you must, among other things, provide proof of sufficient funds.

This is

*** EITHER using the "deposit method"—at least 800,000 THB must have been held in a Thai bank account in your sole name for at least two months prior to the application date.

If you wish to provide this proof, you must register your residence with the immigration office immediately after arrival using form TM30, obtain a residence certificate, and get a Thai mobile phone number registered in your name. You must open a Thai bank account as soon as possible and transfer at least 800,000 THB into it to meet the two-month "maturation period" requirement for the balance on the day you apply for the one-year extension.

*** OR using the income method – you will need a certificate from your country’s embassy in Bangkok or from a honorary consul confirming a monthly income/pension of at least 65,000 THB.

ATTENTION: citizens of countries, whose embassies have discontinued issuing certified income affidavits, can only chose the 800,000 THB deposit method in the first year. These countries are U.K., Australia, Canada, U.S.A., Norway and a few others.

*** To prove your funds and financial status using the deposit method, you must first obtain a "bank letter of guarantee" (in Thai: rab roong thanakan) from your Thai bank and show on immigration.

This letter certifies that at least 800,000 THB has been in the account for two months prior to the application date. ATTENTION: Some immigration offices require a three-month waiting period (which will force you into the fangs of agents).

As soon as the 1-year extension is granted, the 800,000 THB must remain in the account for another three months. During the remainder of the year, the account balance must not fall below 400,000 THB.

Then, two months before applying for the next annual extension, at least 800,000 THB must again be in the account, and the application process for the next 1-year EOS begins anew.

*** It's also important to know: The "retirement visa," which must be reapplied for annually, is a residence permit, not a visa.

It's called an "extension of stay permit" (permit = permission), but even immigration officials unfortunately refer to it incorrectly as a "visa extension," even though they are not extending a visa, but only the residence permit.

*** For this reason, many people in Facebook groups believe that the EOS is a "retirement visa" or a "one-year visa," which it is not.

When applying for a "one-year extension of your residence permit," it's best to purchase a re-entry permit at immigration on the same day, as you might need to leave the country quickly.

A re-entry permit keeps your one-year residence permit active and valid if you leave the country. If you leave without a re-entry permit, your residence permit expires!

A single re-entry permit costs 1,000 Baht at immigration and is valid for one re-entry.

A multi-entry permit costs 3,800 Baht and allows for unlimited entries and exits.

You must bring two passport photos to immigration for your application. A re-entry permit is valid for the same duration as the residence permit for which it was issued.

If you have any further questions, please ask them here in the group in your thread.

Upto 3 months before

But at least 3 weeks before you are arriving - they say 7-10 working days- once submitted but have been a little longer recently

Up to 3 months before the visa becomes invalid