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What is the best visa plan for a U.S. couple seeking medical treatment and retirement in Thailand?
Visa TypesNon-Immigrant Visa Type OMedical Treatment VisaRetirement VisaDependent VisaExpats in ThailandVisas for US citizens in ThailandHua HinLong-term StayThailand Immigration Advice
Feb 28, 2025
a year ago
Henry ********
ORIGINAL POSTERRequest for advice: My wife (50+) and I (49, just turned) are US citizens and want to come to Thailand (Hua Hin) and stay for extended medical treatment and retirement after. I am confused about the best visa choice out of our consulate (Los Angeles, USA) and asking for advice and suggestions.
The Non-Immigrant Type “O” Medical Treatment visa for me with her a dependent seems like it would work well, but then I had another idea…
Instead of dealing with medical appointment letters, can my wife apply for a Non-O Retirement visa and have me as a dependent? One extension gets me to 50, opening up other possibilities (extend again, do two Non-O Retirement visas, other visa options like LTR, etc).
We have no issue with her showing an 800k baht bank balance here, and will transfer that to a Thai bank and then follow up with 65k baht into it each month to eliminate having to maintain a balance later.
My questions:
Is this a good plan, or would you recommend a different route?
The dependent visa is technically the “Non-Immigrant Visa Type O, To stay with non-Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days)”, right?
Do we apply for the dependent visa right after the retirement visa, or do we have to wait for the retirement visa to be approved then apply for the dependent one?
Thanks to this entire group, learned a lot searching and reading here and really appreciate the help!
The Non-Immigrant Type “O” Medical Treatment visa for me with her a dependent seems like it would work well, but then I had another idea…
Instead of dealing with medical appointment letters, can my wife apply for a Non-O Retirement visa and have me as a dependent? One extension gets me to 50, opening up other possibilities (extend again, do two Non-O Retirement visas, other visa options like LTR, etc).
We have no issue with her showing an 800k baht bank balance here, and will transfer that to a Thai bank and then follow up with 65k baht into it each month to eliminate having to maintain a balance later.
My questions:
Is this a good plan, or would you recommend a different route?
The dependent visa is technically the “Non-Immigrant Visa Type O, To stay with non-Thai family residing in Thailand (more than 60 days)”, right?
Do we apply for the dependent visa right after the retirement visa, or do we have to wait for the retirement visa to be approved then apply for the dependent one?
Thanks to this entire group, learned a lot searching and reading here and really appreciate the help!
TLDR : Answer Summary
A US couple is seeking advice on the best visa options for moving to Hua Hin, Thailand, for extended medical treatment and subsequent retirement. They are considering a Non-Immigrant Type O Medical Treatment visa for the husband and a potential Non-O Retirement visa for the wife, with questions about applying for dependent visas and alternative visa routes. Several comments recommend pursuing the DTV (Digital Nomad Visa) for both, while others mention the importance of confirming the eligibility of dependent visas based on their wife's retirement visa.
DTV VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
- Take the basic DTV Qualification Test to see if you're eligible for the Destination Thailand Visa (DTV).
- For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
- Explore recent discussions by using the DTV 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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Ko *****************
DTV is advisable for you both.
Nelly ******
Your tax liability bringing that cash here could get expensive....
Henry ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Nelly *****
Fortunately for me, the income that I will be bringing in is not taxable in Thailand (specifically excluded in the tax treaty), but that is a very good warning for most people bringing in retirement funds!Kool *******
@Henry *******
your best option is the DTV, destination Thailand Visa, under the soft power category, for medical treatment. It is a five year visa giving you a 180 entry stamp each time you enter. You can leave and return in a matter of hours at any border and get another 180 entry, and do this for five years. Once you get this visa your wife can get a spouse visa under the same thing. The main requirement is having the equivalent of bt500,000 in a bank account in your name only, and medical treatment plan letter from your Thai doctor. If you came in on a medical treatment visa it is only good for the time you are treated, and then when you are released to fly the visa ends. It is not open ended.Henry ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Kool ******
I commented to another reply, but we tried the DTV route, but the hospitals/doctors that I spoke to (including the one I consulted in November) all wanted to only set one appointment and then develop a treatment plan. We might end up having to do some combo of Retirement for my wife and tourist for me, then I get a treatment plan laid out and then I leave to apply for a DTV at a nearby consulate... but thank you for the warning, it looks like the medical treatment visa is a dead end for us.Kool *******
@Henry *******
just both enter on a tourist visa exempt entry first. This gives you a 60 day entry. In that time period meet your doctor, set up your treatment plan, get the letter, then simply go to a neighboring country and apply for the DTV. It is actually simple to do. With the retirement visa extension you can not get on it as a spouse until your wife gets her one year extension, which requires her having bt800,000 in a Thai bank account for at least two months before she could apply for the one year extension, then apply for the spouse type O out of Thailand. It can't all be done inside Thailand.Reply to
Kool *******
Reply
Nelly ******
@Henry *******
military/ gov pension?Henry ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Nelly *****
Not exactly, but something similar. I wouldn't want to be more specific than that, but it is excluded from taxation.Nelly ******
@Henry *******
understood.Reply to
Nelly ******
Reply
Lee-Ann *******
DTV visa for both of you, I've just got mine under medical for my menopause and my husband got the spouse one, we are in our mid 50's
Jack ********
Go with the DTV for both of you
Brandon ************
You need to find out from the embassy if they will issue your wife a non-O visa on retirement (they will) and if they will also issue you a non-O dependent (trailing spouse) visa based on her visa. Many embassies will no longer offer this visa for some reason, and it's not available in Thailand or any Thai embassy in the SE Asia region.
Oddly enough, some embassies and some immigration offices in Thailand will issue the trailing spouse if your wife has the non-OA visa though. I'm not sure why, but that might be something you could look into in order to get that extra year.
You could also look into your wife getting a retirement visa, and you getting a DTV for medical treatment. Much easier and more appropriate than a medical visa which you likely won't be able to extend in Thailand.
Oddly enough, some embassies and some immigration offices in Thailand will issue the trailing spouse if your wife has the non-OA visa though. I'm not sure why, but that might be something you could look into in order to get that extra year.
You could also look into your wife getting a retirement visa, and you getting a DTV for medical treatment. Much easier and more appropriate than a medical visa which you likely won't be able to extend in Thailand.
Brad *******
@Brandon ***********
insightful information as usual!Brandon ************
@Brad ******
there are immigration offices in Thailand that will let you do it with the OA. But it's difficult to know if you'll be able to without any issues. Best to come to with an alternate planBrad *******
@Brandon ***********
Thai needs to be standardized across the board.Matthew *********
@Brad ******
I am been say that. What an idea of a national standard say like Japan or Korea.Stephen ********
@Brad ******
good luck with that. Standardised within the same imm office would be a startReply to
Stephen ********
Reply
Henry ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Brandon ***********
So, reviewing the LA consulate's webpages on visas, the "Visiting non-Thai Family" page has a footnote: *Please note that the family of Non-O does not qualify for a Non-Immigrant Visa type O. They may instead apply for a Tourist visa or other types of visas they are qualified for.*. I think that means the dependent visa idea is a non-starter as well. If they offer this for the O-A they don't mention it anywhere in the webpage or in the evisa process. (sigh). Thanks for your feedback.Henry ********
ORIGINAL POSTER@Brandon ***********
We tried the DTV route, but the hospitals/doctors that I spoke to (including the one I consulted in November) all wanted to only set one appointment and then develop a treatment plan. I was under the impression that I would need to have a longer treatment plan to make the DTV fly and didn't want to waste time with getting denied.Reply to
Henry ********
Reply
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