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What are the different types of retirement visas in Thailand and what should I know about them?

ThailandVisa RulesRetirement VisaNon-Immigrant VisaO VisaO-A VisaO-X VisaLTR VisaImmigration PolicyExpat Advice
Dec 5, 2023
a year ago
Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Just a post about the confusion that some may have over the term “retirement visa”. There is actually no such thing - even though it’s referred to by immigration and physical stamps say as such.

There are 4 different types of “retirement” visas. None are based on the fact that you are actually retired. I don’t recall the actual literal Thai wording for it but it’s something along the lines of “Visa for waiting out the term of your life”. Probably the reason they use the term “retirement” as that’s way more politically correct.

The visas are based on you being over 50. Whether you’re working overseas or not is irrelevant. If you’re over 50 you can get a retirement visa. You can’t work in Thailand off of one.

When using the term “retirement visa” it’s critical that you actually state what visa you have or what visa you came in on if you already have an extension for us to give you accurate answers. Do you have (or came in on) an LTR, a Non O, a Non OA or a Non OX? Most answers would be specific to which one you have or had.

Some require health insurance, some require 90 day reports some don’t. Without knowing the original visa entry it’s impossible to give correct advice.
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TLDR : Answer Summary
The term "retirement visa" in Thailand can be misleading. There is no official retirement visa; rather, there are four visa types related to retirement: Non-O, Non-OA, Non-OX, and LTR. These visas are available to individuals over 50, irrespective of their actual employment status. It's important to clarify which specific visa one holds when seeking advice, as requirements vary significantly among the types. Some visas may necessitate health insurance and periodic reporting, while others might not.
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.
Russell *******
Hi Stuart. I will be returning to Thailand from New Zealand. I hold a UK passport. If it's possible to obtain a OX in New Zealand without being a resident, would that be an advantage. I can't remember the pros of the OX I only remember they are only issued in New Zealand.

I was previously in Thailand for 18 months and the last year of that was on Non O retirement.

Thanks 😃
a year ago
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Graham ******
@Russell ******
 Only the website of the Thai Embassy in New Zealand can answer that definitively given your personal circumstances
a year ago
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Russell *******
@Graham *****
 ok thanks Graham.
a year ago
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Russell *******
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Russell ******
 I believe you can only get from your home country or country of residence.
a year ago
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Russell *******
@Stuart ********
 OK. Thanks for the reply.
a year ago
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Russell *******
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Patrick *********
You can get a work permit on LTR. It’s not ‘retirement’ but ‘wealthy pensioner’. Confirmed in bkk office last Thursday.
a year ago
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Patrick *********
Multiple entry for 10 years (after 5 year check of qualifications). 5 year check based on same criteria - US80 k in 12 months prior to application. + insurance. In the meantime…😊😊😊
a year ago
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Patrick *********
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Eric *****
Since all the recipients are waiting to die, imagine how great it would be to have a required form for the annual renewals stating what the recipient wants done with his body, stuff, and monetary assets.
a year ago
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Jacob ********
@Eric ****
 You are using logic. Besides being your idea not theirs.
a year ago
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Jacob ********
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Richard ********
Probably need to mention the LTR Wealthy Pensioner visa, which actually is a retirement visa. Still need to be 50 years old to get one, but you can get a work permit with it, if desired.
a year ago
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Terary **********
"waiting to die" visa - I like it.

Also - just for fun, you may want to mention what the "non" part of of the visa name means. I found that to be quite confusing.

For those who are reading this and not familiar with it. "Non OA" status for Non Immigration Visa Type-OA (or similar ). The "Non" is useless in the context of visa as almost all long term visas are "non immigration".
a year ago
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Sam ********
"You can’t work in Thailand off of one." - does this mean you cannot work for a Thai company (or take Thai jobs) but you can work remotely for an offshore company while in Thailand?

I've gotten some scolding from grumpy foreign retirees in groups like this when I simply asked if it is a grey area or actually allowed to work remotely (work is based outside Thailand) and some have insisted that I'm a criminal lawbreaker who will be caught and rightfully punished by authorities 😂 others have said it's OK as long as Thai jobs aren't taken while others say it's a gray area and not really checked.

(note: I don't have a "retirement visa" yet but planning to do so and also my name is altered here)

PS: I'm only interested in Stu's expert advice and not any other grumpy old men here 😁
a year ago
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John **********
@Sam *******
 work is very tightly defined in Thai law, it means expending energy so covers virtually everything. Remote work is not excluded from this, as a concept it didn't really exist at the time the law was written so strictly speaking it's illegal. Immigration officers have made statements that policing it isn't a priority for them and at least one visa type (LTR) which is specifically to allow remote work doesn't come with a work permit but it's difficult to meet it's requirements.
a year ago
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Sam ********
@John *********
 thank you for the informative response 🙂
a year ago
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Sam ********
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Ben *********
Interesting. Good info.
a year ago
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Shawn ********
Semantics.
a year ago
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Charles **********
I’m on an O-A visa until April and plan to renew it. Anyone here have recommendations for an agent in Hua Hin? I’ll need the best possible medical insurance coverage also. Thanks in advance.
a year ago
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Roberto *********
@Charles *********
 It's exactly how it works. It's multiple entry, so you can re-enter on the day it expires and get stamped in for another year. I should know. I've done it twice myself!
a year ago
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Charles **********
@Roberto ********
 cool. I’ll verify with my visa agent. Thanks for the tip.
a year ago
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Roberto *********
@Charles *********
 Just be careful because visa agents are well-known for spouting lies if they're not going to fleece money out of you! 😂
a year ago
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Roberto *********
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Roberto *********
@Charles *********
 If you're still on the original OA visa you don't need to extend. You just border bounce and get another year for free
a year ago
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Charles **********
@Roberto ********
 no, I don’t think that’s how it works. I’ll check to be 100% sure.
a year ago
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Graham ******
@Charles *********
 That is how it works as long as you have the necessary insurance and re-enter with the OA still valid to get up to 12 months (single-entry though once the OA passes it's expiry date)
a year ago
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Graham ******
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Charles *********
 You generally wouldn’t need an agent to extend your visa unless you can’t meet the requirements to do so. Have a chat with this forums owners
@THAI *****************************
 if you think you’d need help.
a year ago
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Kim *********
@Stuart ********
 hi Stuart - the Thai embassy in Denmark say that to get a non o (basic) you must be +50 AND retired. There are mistakes on their website - is this one of them?
a year ago
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Nongnuch ********
@Kim ********
*********************************************************************************************************
*******
/9.FOR-RETIREMENT-PURPOSES-50-YEARS-OLD-NON-O.pdf
a year ago
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Nongnuch ********
@Kim ********
 you can circumvent it. Read my comment above. Do the "change of visa type" in Thailand. Enter with a 60 days tourist visa. The requirements of your change are described under number 9 . . . .
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a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Kim ********
 each embassy can set their own requirements.

Never seen it before saying you must have a Non OA if not actually retired.
a year ago
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Nongnuch ********
@Stuart ********
 and
@Kim ********
 Thai Embassy of Vienna in Austria the same. If you are 50 but not yet retired, they ask you to apply for the Non-imm-O/A. . . . . however you can circumvent it! Just apply for the 60-days Tourist visa. Enter Thailand, visit Immigration and apply for the "change of visa type" from the tourist visa to the 90-days Non-Imm-O visa. No proof of retirement needed! However on the day you apply, you must EITHER have an income affidavit from your Danish embassy over an income of minimum of 65,000.- THB, OR have 800,000.- THB on your Thai bank account and proof that it came from overseas. And on the day you apply, there must be a minimum of 15 workdays left on the entry stay permit. 60 days are plenty of time to run this process. Once you have been issued the 90-days Non-Imm-O, wait until the 800,000.- THB have seasoned for 2 months, and then apply for the "1-year extension of stay"
a year ago
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Nongnuch ********
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Nongnuch ********
@Stuart ********
@Charles *********
 watch your language, please. Nobody is going to "extend your visa". Nobody is going to "renew my visa". All Immigration will do, is extending your stay permit. The "extension of stay permit" is NO visa! A visa can neither get extended nor renewed
a year ago
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Nongnuch ********
@Charles *********
 this has been an ongoing ballyhoo for decades.

Immigration in their sometimes insufficient English doesn't make a difference between a “stay permit” and a “visa”, regardless that these two are technically spoken, two completely different things.

A visa allows you to enter a country, and according to the visa-class, you will be granted a “stay permit” for a specific period of time. It clearly says on the entry stamp “admitted until” and a date the stay permit expires.

A stay permit is the period of time your stay inside the country is allowed.

Now, after entering, you are inside the country holding a stay permit. You are NOT inside the country on a visa, or with a visa.

You got a stay permit and not a visa. A single entry visa expires upon entry! It can’t be used for another entry anymore. It is “used” or “void”, and thus you can’t “renew” or “extend” it any more

Only multi entry visa-classes remain valid for use for the period of their visa validity. On each entry, you will receive a stay permit. Multi entry visa cannot be extended. Only stay permits can be extended.

So when you enter Thailand with a “90-days single entry Non-imm-O Retirement/over 50 visa”, this visa expires upon entry, and you will receive a 90-days stay permit.

The “reason” for this stay permit is “retirement”, so the officer will put a small stamp or handwritten note into the upper right corner of the entry stamp, to inform other officers about the reason you have been granted entry into Thailand. This small note will either say “Non-O” or “Non Re”

This 90 days stay permit can be extended for one year. Immigration wrongly calls this extension a “visa extension”, although you do not hold a valid visa any more.

They should know better. At least the stamp you will receive tells everybody that you now are on a “one year extension of stay permitted until” and the date. NOWHERE this stamp says that it is a “visa”. All immigration did was extending your stay permit.

And again, only the “reason” this extension was handed out will be stamped alongside the “extension of stay” stamp. It either says “Retirement” or “Thai wife” or “support Thai child”

I don’t want to change the fairy World of Thai Immigration. Let them have it.

I tolerate them for using wrong descriptions of what they are actually doing.

However I do not so easily tolerate it when the educated westerner is confusing these two terms, that are called “stay permit” and “visa”
a year ago
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Charles **********
@Nongnuch *******
 cool thanks 🙏🏻
a year ago
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Charles **********
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Charles **********
@Stuart ********
 ah right. I certainly meet all the requirements. Thanks for the recommendation, it is much appreciated.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Charles *********
 If you have all the requirements then you can do an extension yourself. 1,900 baht and you’re good to go. Some don’t have the means to meet the requirements and rely on agents to help.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
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Jody *******
Good stuff, Stu..! :)

They should have a 'Waiting to Die Visa'. 😂

You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave...
a year ago
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Neal *******
Thanks for your clarification!
a year ago
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Moadi ******
someone can explain: There are 4 different types of “retirement” visas
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Moadi *****
 Yes. An LTR, Non O, a non OA and a Non OX.
a year ago
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David ********
@Stuart ********
 LTR is multiple entry also. And you only have to report once a year instead of 90 day. Information is from BOI website.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@David *******
 Sorry. Missed that one off the list. My bad.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
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Darrell ********
@Stu***
, are any of these multiple entry?
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Darrell *******
 The Non OA and Non OX are multiple entry visas. One is for a year the other is for 5 years.
a year ago
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Darrell ********
@Stu***
, thank you!
a year ago
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Darrell ********
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
They are all generally referred to as a retirement visa. So clarification is needed.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
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Nongnuch ********
and let's not forget the sad fact, that Immigration does not make a difference between a "visa" and a "stay permit". Immigration will talk and write about "extending a visa" regardless of the fact that a single entry Non-imm-O Visa will expire the moment you enter Thailand. All they actually extend, is your "stay permit" (which is technically speaking no visa)
a year ago
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Nick **********
" I don’t recall the actual literal Thai wording for it but it’s something along the lines of “Visa for waiting out the term of your life”

The correct wording is วีซ่าใช้ชีวิตบั้นปลาย

I don't think the English translation "retirement" is for PC reasons, but rather that it is short and easy to use. English translations have no legal binding whatsoever anyway.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
Nick MuayPlam Ok. As I said I dont recall the actual wording but that says “later life”. Perhaps that is the actual wording but I thought it was different.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
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Pat *****
non immi O based on retirement is a visa for 90 days and you can get a yearly extension for retirement.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Pat ****
 yes you can. It’s a Non O based on being over 50. It’s irrelevant whether you are “retired” or not.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
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John ********
You hit the nail on the head as long as you do as your told at immigration you can stay in Thailand, the minute you upset or disagree with the immigration you are out of the country
a year ago
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Peter *******
@John *******
 Yep, play by their rules and regulations.

It’s just like a football match, whether we are living here or simply just visiting we are playing away from home.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@John *******
 Not quite sure that’s the case, but getting a “retirement” visa or extension isn’t that difficult. Meet the requirements and you can get one. If you can’t meet the requirements then an agent may be able to smooth the way.
a year ago
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Stuart *********
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Iain *********
As most of these visas are for over 50s making long stays without work there can't be a high percentage of people eligible who aren't also retired
a year ago
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Stuart *********
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Iain ********
 Lots of people I know who are in their 50s and are still working. Certainly a high percentage of applicants will be “retired” and looking to spend their time in Thailand rather than their home country for whatever reason.
a year ago
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Iain *********
@Stuart ********
 yes I worked through my 50s but most of these visa are conditional on the holder not working in Thailand.
a year ago
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Iain *********
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Mark *********
Very informative. Thank you.
a year ago
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Michael *******
Great advice stuart!👍
a year ago
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Geoffrey ******
Well stated.
a year ago
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John *********
a year ago
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John *********
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