Hello all! Thank you for having this group, all of you are very knowledgeable and I learnt so much, which is great for our preparation (my husband and I) to move to Thailand for long stay (retirement), however, I still get confusion on some areas, wish you can shed some light , thank you in advance!
1) We are in Hong Kong, and I got to know that my husband can either (a) go to Thailand visa-exempt, open bank account and international fund transfer of THB800k, then apply a non O 90 days visa, let the fund to season, then apply a 1 yr entension, this method he doesn’t need to buy insurance; or (b) apply non OA in our home country, this method he needs to buy insurance.
However, in regarding my husband’s long stay visa application, I saw same messages saying that they can apply non O in their home country, I am therefore confused, as I always thought we can only apply non OA in home country (need insurance) but not non O, or I misunderstood something ? or the requirement varies for different home country?
2) After my husband successfully gets his long stay visa, I know I can apply the dependent visa based on his long stay (retirement), he is 50 and I am 49, but I cannot apply that in Thailand, instead I need to go back to my home country or a nearby country (e.g. Loas, I saw some messages mentioned that) to apply, is my understanding correct ?
3) If my husband uses method (a) above, get the bank account, 90days non O, 1yr extension all in Bangkok, and I get the dependent visa, then we start to live in Bangkok. What if we move to Chiang Mai by the end of the 1st year, could we do the next year extension in Chiang Mai instead (for both my husband’s long stay and my dependent visa)? Or we need to go back to Bangkok every year for the extension?
sorry for the long message, and thank you for sharing your thought!
TLDR : Answer Summary
The post discusses the steps and options for obtaining a long-stay retirement visa (Non-O or Non-OA) for a couple moving from Hong Kong to Thailand. Key points include the option for the husband to apply for a Non-O visa either in Hong Kong or Thailand, depending on the embassy's rules, the correct process for the wife to obtain a dependent visa, and the possibility of applying for visa extensions in Chiang Mai instead of returning to Bangkok after moving.
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.
