What are some recommended agents for obtaining a Thai visa after receiving incorrect advice from immigration?

Aug 18, 2024
3 months ago
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
Can anyone recommend an agent for getting into the right visa ... I tried doing it myself but got the wrong advice from the Thai immigration office themselves & I'm more than over it with queuing for endless hours only to fill out more forms and pay fees that don't get the thing they said it would get.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The user is seeking recommendations for reliable visa agents in Thailand after experiencing frustration and receiving incorrect guidance from the Thai immigration office regarding their visa application process. Various commenters provide suggestions, including specific agents (e.g., Thai Visa Center, Siam Legal International), and discuss strategies for obtaining visas while highlighting the complexities of the process, including bank account requirements and the importance of knowing the correct visa type.
NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
  • Go to the 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 Non-O 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.
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
To all the helpful people, thank you ... but to those who offered unsolicited advice about my personality, I don't care what you think of me, it's neither my concern nor my business nor would I care if it were ... whatever stick you have inserted up your clackers, it's your problem not mine
Eric ******
@Trevor *****
I asked the MyThaiVisa how much it was? Did you find out yet who you are using? They don't make it very easy, buts lots of people on here seem to have done it. The only bad thing I've heard about agents, is people claiming that you are stuck with them everytime you renew. Then if you do get the retirement visa, now the new tax issues come in to play. It does frustrating. And having to leave $20+K (basically losing $83/mo in interest back home) sitting in an account collecting dust. Wondering if it isn't better to get a visa + extension a few times a year and not have to jump through all the hoops. Post a follow up or message me what you end up doing. Good luck.
Lloyd *********
Vague questions get vague answers.

You need to state:

1, your age

2, are you married to a Thai citizen

3, where are you residing

4, your passport country (may or may not be important)

These will determine what type of visa you require, and the best place to acquire one, legitimately, or through an agency. (Still legitimate, some will say otherwise)
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Lloyd ********
it wasn't vague it was specific, I only asked if people could recommend an agent, there's nothing vague about that
Michael ********
You aint going to last long. Chill out
Johnny ********
I want to do the right thing I want to talk to the right person so you know waste no time and less paperwork. Do you know what I mean?
Terary **********
It depends where are you?

In Pattaya there are a couple of places and I know a lady who has helped me in a couple of difficult visa situations.
Nongnuch ********
Trevor Rose . . .First off, leave your negative attitude at home!

Second off:

*** move to Pattaya, visit F.S. Consulting Co. and pay 5000.- THB. They will open a Bangkok Bank account in your sole name ON ANY VISA, even on a visa-exempt entry.

I said, on any visa. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ?

Use a WISE transfer to wire a minimum of 800.000.- THB onto your Thai bank account from your bank in your home country.

*** do a “border run” to a land border of Thailand with a neighbouring country, enter Thailand “visa-exempt”. You will get stamped in for 60 days “admitted stay”.

Now you got the 15 days left on a stay permit, which arer required to be able to apply for the “change of visa type”

*** visit F.S. Consulting Co., again, and let them apply for the “change of visa type” from an “exempt visa entry” to a “90-days Non-imm-O Retirement visa”

You will need a minimum of 800.000 THB on your bank account by the time you apply for the visa. NO SEASONING needed at this point

*** as soon as the money has seasoned in your account for two months, from up to 30 days left on your 90-days stamp, you can apply for the “1-year Extension of Stay Permit based on Retirement”

(which some people call “retirement visa”)

And there you are, you got your “retirement visa” for one year.

*** every year, you will have to repeat applying for the next “1-year extension of stay permit” using the 800.000.- THB deposit in your bank account as a financial proof

If you don’t have this kind of money, you got two options:

*** stay in your home country and forget to live in Thailand

*** pay an agent in Thailand to bribe an Immigration officer to accept your “retirement visa” without you need to show own money. Costs of this will be something like 32.000.- THB
Keith *******
If your in Pattaya I can recommend one.
Suman **********
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
... and to Kool Breeze whom I blocked, do not comment on my attitude, I didn't ask for your opinion on something about which you know nothing ... if someone makes ASSUMPTIONS which are neither helpful nor correct, it is THEY who have the attitude problem, NOT ME FOR RESPONDING TO IT ... and to say differently is to demonstrate hypocrisy, because I'll bet $50 right now that if someone does that to you, you don't like it either ... so please, keep your judgements to yourself, I do not ever intend to live by the advice of random people regarding how I should respond to someone offering useless advice which is based on nothing but assumptions/judgements, and just wastes my time ... I do not care if you think that means I have an attitude problem, to be frank, this is the polite version, and if you cannot handle this, you're very fragile indeed and really shouldn't interact with people like me, you're not cut out for it
John *******
Curious, what type of visa did you already apply for, that you received wrong information? Did you not qualify for that visa or didn’t have correct paperwork?
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@John ******
I got a reply from one friend that said I can get a bank account either by already being on a different visa (which doesn't help), OR IF I own property in Thailand ... so maybe I have to convert savings back to cash and buy an apartment (the only thing I can actually buy I think), and then use this to get a bank account so that I can then apply for a retirement visa ... because I couldn't yet find anyone to hire me to teach English & get a working visa, I couldn't find a course starting soon enough to learn thai language to get a student visa, I can't be on a retirement visa without already having a bank account, so maybe buying an apartment is the only option ..?
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@John ******
I asked them HOW do I apply for a bank account in order to get a retirement visa (since the requirement is to have money in a Thai bank account) if the bank won't let me open an account ... the guy at the government complex spoke good English and understood me perfectly (which I checked to be sure), and he said I had to register my residence to get a letter of permission to take to the bank, so I did all that, they finally sent me the letter, which didn't mention anything about permission to open a bank account, and the bank still wouldn't let me, so how do I open an account to switch to a retirement visa ... it doesn't make any sense at all ... SURELY they should have considered the possibility someone would arrive on a tourist visa or a visa free tourism stamp and subsequently decide they'd like to stay, but for some bizarre reason they excluded this category from being allowed to open an account, so it seems there's no way possible to switch from it to a retirement visa ... I'm just gobsmacked not only by being given false information by the government department itself, but also by the absurdity of the policy given that they seem to WANT foreigners to retire here and bring money with them
THAI ******************************
@Trevor *****
We have a VIP same day service where we obtain a bank account for you, convert you to a non-o retirement visa, and also obtain your yearly retirement extension.

This is all done in bangkok.

You can email us at
***********************
Eric ******
THAI ******************************
@Eric *****
Please send message to our staff for quote, we have
****
line support.

**********************


Price may varying depending on what exactly is needed, and the current situation for the applicant.
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@THAI *****************************
ok I have some things to do but I'll email you later ... can't say I'll go for it because it really depends on how much you charge for it & what risks involved, as I'm not a particularly trusting person when it comes to allowing others to handle my passport
Greg *******
@Trevor *****
I don’t have any connection to that group but what they are suggesting, would require you to go to the bank with them and be at immigration. You would still be with your passport.
THAI ******************************
@Greg ******
That is correct for our VIP bangkok service we do have a staff member assist you in person for the bank opening to ensure success, as well as the visa process.

You can come to our offices in person if you are concerned here:

*********************


We have non-rush services as well which can be more cost effective depending on your circumstances. In those cases our team can also collect your documents from your residence, and once completed drop them off.
John *******
@Trevor *****
I am not on that type of visa, so never opened a bank account, but I believe many others on here have and have written about the hit-or-miss difficulties is opening an account with this letter. I believe people are successful at certain branches/banks. Maybe look back through this page and find specific branches and go there? Problem is, as you mentioned, do you have enough time now left on your tourist visa to process the retirement visa? My understanding is it takes a lot of time, so have to do everything very quickly.
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@John ******
no they say it has to be 15 days before current expires, which ran out last week, so not enough time left
Marcus ************
MyThaiVisa - Som is very professional.
Frank **********
It's really not very hard to do. First you need to figure out what type of visa you are looking for. Retired over ,50? Married to a Thai? DTV, Etc.
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Frank *********
what exactly do you think I did? IF you're stating the bleeding obvious, you can safely assume I didnt need you to tell me that BUT IT DID NOT WORK ... please, only USEFUL ADVICE
Kool *******
@Trevor *****
with that kind of attitude no wonder it didn't work. What do you want to do, and what passport do you have, and how old are you? Without these details no one can help you. You want help then list your details, and what you want.
Frank **********
@Trevor *****
okay Mr. Writer, Inventor, Architect, Analyst
Henrik *****
Don’t go down the agent path, they will to a bigger extent, want to part you from your money.

The only thing they do, is to pass on the documents you give them, to the Immigration office.

Do it yourself, and save the money.
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Henrik ****
see my reply to
@John ******
below, this is exactly what I thought and what I tried to do, but it's just so damn time consuming to travel across town, have to get up at the crack of dawn to get there before it opens or face 10 hours queuing, and then explain everything only to be faced by more paperwork, and when you finally get it all done, it doesn't work anyway because they give the wrong advice ... nothing that happened makes any sense to me
Henrik *****
How long time have you stayed in Thailand ?

How long time do you intend to stay in Thailand ?

What visa are you on ?

How long have you stayed at the current adress in Thailand ?

Do you have a lease of your room ?

How long is your previous stays in Thailand ?

Are you married ti a Thai ?

How do you finance your stay in Thailand ?

Do you have a workpermit ?

How much money would you deposit at the bank ?

Do you have a health insurance ?

What is the source of the money, that you will put in the bank ?

Why do you need to have a Thai bank account ?

What will make you a good customer for the bank ?

These are a few of the questions the bank needs answers for, to evaluate if you are a good asset to the bank.

If you where a foreigner coming to your homecountry, how hard would it be for the foreigner to open an account there ? Propably it it be almost the same as we experience in Thailand.
Ter ******
@A&S *********
i highly recommend
Nongnuch ********
If you tell us what type of visa you intended to apply for, we in this group might be able to guide you through what is needed. Many processes which sound complicated to newcomers, actually turn out to be really easy to follow even without the help of an agent
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Nongnuch *******
see my reply to
@John ******
below
Nongnuch ********
@Trevor *****
First off, leave your negative attitude at home!

Second off:

*** move to Pattaya, visit F.S. Consulting Co. and pay 5000.- THB. They will open a Bangkok Bank account in your sole name ON ANY VISA, even on a visa-exempt entry.

I said, on any visa. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ?

Use a WISE transfer to wire a minimum of 800.000.- THB onto your Thai bank account from your bank in your home country.

*** do a “border run” to a land border of Thailand with a neighbouring country, enter Thailand “visa-exempt”. You will get stamped in for 60 days “admitted stay”.

Now you got the 15 days left on a stay permit, which are required to be able to apply for the “change of visa type”

*** visit F.S. Consulting Co., again, and let them apply for the “change of visa type” from an “exempt visa entry” to a “90-days Non-imm-O Retirement visa”

You will need a minimum of 800.000 THB on your bank account by the time you apply for the visa. NO SEASONING needed at this point

*** as soon as the money has seasoned in your account for two months, from up to 30 days left on your 90-days stamp, you can apply for the “1-year Extension of Stay Permit based on Retirement”

(which some people call “retirement visa”)

And there you are, you got your “retirement visa” for one year.

*** every year, you will have to repeat applying for the next “1-year extension of stay permit” using the 800.000.- THB deposit in your bank account as a financial proof

If you don’t have this kind of money, you got two options:

*** stay in your home country and forget to live in Thailand

*** pay an agent in Thailand to bribe an Immigration officer to accept your “retirement visa” without you need to show own money. Costs of this will be something like 32.000.- THB
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Nongnuch *******
No negative attitude, that is projection on your part
Lisa ********
Siam Legal International

They are sorting my sons visa
Denla *******
I just sent you a message with my agents info
Michael ********
Try the owner of this group Thai Visa Center based in Bangkok although you dont say where you are
Trevor ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Michael *******
I am in Bangkok, for now, but probably have to leave the country because of wasted time from bad advice from the immigration department ... I dont think I have enough time left to fix it
THAI ******************************
@Trevor *****
Send our team a message via LINE

**********************


We can let you know if/how we can help very quickly 🙏
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