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What are the visa options and requirements for a couple planning to live in Thailand for a year, especially regarding the OA and O visas?
Thailand VisaRetirement VisaNon-O VisaNon-OA VisaVisa RequirementsJoint Bank AccountImmigrationDependent VisaEntry and Extension Rules
Apr 14, 2022
4 years ago
Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTERHi folks new member to the group , my wife and I are looking to stay in Thailand for at least a year in 2023 once she hits 50 ,I’m 53 , looking at the OA one year multiple entry visa on the uk embassy site it states I can apply for the retirement visa and my wife would only be issued an O visa but strange they don’t mirror the hubby,s , I don’t plan to send her home after 90days 😂 I take it she would have to apply for her own OA visa , as far as funds go showing the same 800k In a uk bank would we technically have to show double or would they accept the 800k in a joint account , would be easier if they just did the same as the 5 year and stamped the wife’s the same as the hubby,s ,there is of course the elite visas which is a doddle to get and a lot less hassle but £18500 for a couple one is ridiculously expensive
TLDR : Answer Summary
A couple plans to live in Thailand for at least a year starting in 2023, considering the Non-OA retirement visa for one and a Non-O visa for the wife. It's suggested that after turning 50, both can apply for long-term visas, with potential requirements including a bank balance of 800,000 THB. The wife can initially obtain a Non-O visa as the spouse, later extending her stay without financial demands. Legalizing marriage certificates in the UK before coming to Thailand is necessary for her to receive matching extensions. The discussions also touch on re-entry permits and handling joint accounts.
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.
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Wannikea *********
Your wife will also need to buy a re-entry permit single or multiple once she has her extension in Thailand if she wishes to leave the country at any time before the extension stamp expires to keep the extension alive. You will need the same when you are on your final entry before your visa expires in the second year if you milk the timing.
Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTER@Wannikea ********
cheers can you explain a bit more on the last part , wouldn’t I just renew for the second year with a multi entry OA , what’s the final entry ?Tod *********
@Tom ******
you're getting the cart WAY before the horse right delving down that 'rabbit hole'.BUT
IT is a valid question about how an OA visa works so I will explain how people get 2 years of stay out of a Non-OA visa that has a single year validity. 🙂
The OA visa is a year-long, multi-entry one. Meaning you can exit/enter thailand as many times as you want during the validity and you'll get stamped in for up to a year (as long as your health insurance is valid for)
SO
If you were to exit/re-enter the country just before the visa itself expired you'd get stamped in for a whole new year (again or as long as your health insurance was valid for) That in essence gives you two years of stay out of a visa that has a validity of a single year.
I'd say concentrate on watching the news, seeing if any of the visa requirements change between now and when you're thinking of coming here.
Get the year-multi OA, have your wife get the 90 day-single Non-O and you'll both be okay for a while once you hit the ground here.
Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTER@Tod ********
thank you Tod appreciate you taking the time to explain all this,I have a better understanding of things now, we may be able to come over long term this year depending if certain stars align but our long term aim is to stay for several years and make Thailand our home if the initial year goes wellWannikea *********
@Tod ********
thx for burning through that dissection on your morning cup of java.Reply to
Wannikea *********
Reply
Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTER@Lyndon ***********
the only issue I can see with that is having multi entry and both the wife and I would have to the 800k each showing in a Thai bank where as getting the 1 year multi here in the uk she automatically gets an o visa on submission of marriage certificate and as Robert states she can get a 9 month extension to match mine if I understand it correctlyTod *********
The way it works IF you both get the visas in your country (You the year-long, Non-OA and your wife the 90 day Non-O is
YOU would apply for the OA visa online at the thai consulate in your country before you wing your way here and your wife would apply for a 90 day non-O visa (based on being the spouse of someone on a long stay visa)
When you guys enter you'll get stamped in for a year (or as long as your mandatory health insurance is good for) and your wife will get stamped in for 90 days. When that 90 days runs down to 30 days or less you go to the immigration office where you live and apply for a yearly extension based on "trailing spouse" (a foreigner married to someone on a long stay visa/extension).
She will get an extension that matches how long you were stamped into the country on when you entered on your OA visa. There is no financial requirements for her to get that.
BUT
There is a requirement that you need to have the marriage certificate "legalized" in the UK before you come here if you want her to get a matching extension (it is NOT a service the UK Embassy here in thailand does so it has to be done before you come here OR you mail everything back to get it done)
You get the certificate legalized in Milton Keynes and then you get it stamped at the thai embassy in London.
YOU would apply for the OA visa online at the thai consulate in your country before you wing your way here and your wife would apply for a 90 day non-O visa (based on being the spouse of someone on a long stay visa)
When you guys enter you'll get stamped in for a year (or as long as your mandatory health insurance is good for) and your wife will get stamped in for 90 days. When that 90 days runs down to 30 days or less you go to the immigration office where you live and apply for a yearly extension based on "trailing spouse" (a foreigner married to someone on a long stay visa/extension).
She will get an extension that matches how long you were stamped into the country on when you entered on your OA visa. There is no financial requirements for her to get that.
BUT
There is a requirement that you need to have the marriage certificate "legalized" in the UK before you come here if you want her to get a matching extension (it is NOT a service the UK Embassy here in thailand does so it has to be done before you come here OR you mail everything back to get it done)
You get the certificate legalized in Milton Keynes and then you get it stamped at the thai embassy in London.
Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTER@Tod ********
thanks that useful info , I take it her initial o visa would be single entry but would her extension be multi entry the same as mineGeorge *************
@Tom ******
I think you may be unnecessarily worried about your wife's ability to re-enter Thailand after acquiring her extension as spouse of someone on a long term visa/extension. Once she has her extension of stay granted she would be eligible to apply for a re-entry permit (1,000 baht for single entry or 3,800 baht for multi-entry). With that she could come and go from Thailand (with the multi-entry one) up until her permission to stay.Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTER@George ************
thanks for that George that’s pretty clear , what happens in the first 3 months , let’s say we arrive and after a month we decide to go to seam reap for a week can she buy an entry on her 0 visaTod *********
@Tom ******
right and it would be valid for the 90 days she got when she stamped in SO you'd need to be back before that 90 days ran out to get the year extensionReply to
Tod *********
Reply
Biff *******
@Tod ********
tricky, if not impossible, getting it done by mail from abroad unless there’s someone in the U.K. willing to help. Some of the steps involved require cash payments. The last step, a stamp from the Thai embassy, needs payment in either cash, or a postal order which can only be obtained from a U.K. post office.Tod *********
This is how you legalize a UK marriage certificate
Sorry it's a photo of a copy that was on the wall at a translation center here
Sorry it's a photo of a copy that was on the wall at a translation center here
Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTER@Tod ********
ok that’s not too bad , we have time on our hand and by the looks of it it can be done courier service except step 3 which I presume would require a trip to the Bangkok office on arrival to get that stamped by thenReply to
Tom *******
Reply
James ******
as already stated the non oa will need insurance .
do you have a Thai account with the 800k in it?
makes everything much easier
do you have a Thai account with the 800k in it?
makes everything much easier
Tod *********
@James *****
they wouldn't need that to get the OA visa in their country from the thai consulate they could show proof of funds in their bank account there.Reply to
Tod *********
Reply
Lyndon ************
The major benefit of the non-o vs over the non-oa is you don't need to have insurance cover (that meets Thai requirements) throughout your stay and for extensions. The non-o is much cheaper in the long run. Most long staying people over 50 find it easier to arrive on a 60 day tourist visa (NOT the Special Tourist Visa) then transfer that to a 90 day Non-o in country and meeting the requirements of depositing 800k into a Thai bank. You also don't have to leave every 90 days and you can draw that 800k down to 400k after you have a 12-month extension.
London *****
David Broadfoot My experience of Thai London embassy is that it's very easy. It's all online - fill out the form pay £60. They email you any queries, and a couple of days later get visa emailed to you.
Certainly much better than queuing at the Immigration in Jtiem.
Certainly much better than queuing at the Immigration in Jtiem.
George *************
@Lyndon ***********
i understood that the trailing spouse CANNOT get a non-o in thailand but must enter on one. The primary yes, but not the trailing.Lyndon ************
@George ************
trailing spouse visa (on a retirement non-o) needs to be obtained outside Thailand, yes you are correctGeorge *************
@Lyndon ***********
but if you are advising the primary to enter on tourist visa how does the secondary apply for non-o outside thailand. On whst basis?Lyndon ************
@George ************
same basis as the primary, two independent applications, over 50 or they come here, primary get's a non-o and then the wife goes to wherever to get hers, as trailing spouseGeorge *************
@Lyndon ***********
so wife would need to make visa run after entering Thailand to get her non-o after primary gets his non-o in thailand.George *************
Is this strategy necessary because the primary cannot get non-o in UK? Only non-OA or tourist available in UK.
Reply to
George *************
Reply
Daniel *****
@Lyndon ***********
hello when you transfer to 90 days non O do you already need the 800.000 bahts ? Or is it after 150 days ?London *****
@Daniel ****
surely it makes more sense to get the 3 month non o in UK and then extend that in Thailand.James ********
@London ****
yesReply to
James ********
Reply
Lyndon ************
@Daniel ****
you would need to submit your application to change to a non-o 90 day visa with more than 15 days remaining on your entry stamp and having transferred 800k into a Thai bank account. The fee is 2000thb for the 90 day non-o and then 1900thb for the year extension. If you are running short on time, you could buy a 30 day extension to your 60 day tourist visa first, 1900thbEllie *******
@Daniel ****
, It's not 'transfer'. You have to NEWLY apply for an in-country Non-O visa based on being over 50 meeting all requirements including proof of funds.<- means you need to have funds in Thailand before you apply for a new retirement visa inside Thailand if using the banked money method.
Lyndon ************
@Ellie ******
fair point, although immigration describe it as 'Change Visa'Reply to
Lyndon ************
Reply
Robert *******
After your wife gets 50 years of age, you both can apply for the Non Immigrant O-A visa but both of you need to meet the requirements.
There are less requirements for your wife to apply for the Non Immigrant O visa based on being your dependent and get 90 days of stay on arrival which can be extended with another 9 months at a Thai Immigration Office after 45 days of arrival, this to match your stay you got on entry.
There are less requirements for your wife to apply for the Non Immigrant O visa based on being your dependent and get 90 days of stay on arrival which can be extended with another 9 months at a Thai Immigration Office after 45 days of arrival, this to match your stay you got on entry.
Tom *******
ORIGINAL POSTER@Robert ******
so if I apply in the uk for a multi entry OA visa and show the 800k in uk bank , submit the marriage license and the wife automatically gets the o visa as my dependent, will her o visa be multi entry the same as mine , and after 45 days in Thailand get hers stamped with the extra 9 months to match mine assume there will be a cost , and will she still be classed as my dependent so will that also be a multi entry , if after 12 months we decide to extend would it be a case of extending mine and getting a new o visa for her then same again after 45 days get hers stamped with the extra 9 months , I realise at that point I would probably have to transfer the 800k to a Thai bankReply to
Tom *******
Reply
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