What is the difference between a retirement visa (O-A) and an extension of stay in Thailand?

@Tod ********

You are correct. Extension Retirement Visa 1900 + Multiple Reentry 3800.(this was Nov 2017...wrote the wrong year😂😂) Personaly I need the reentry because I go to Europe once a Year (+ want to travel around SEA.)

@Cecilia *****

, you're quoting the price for a multiple re-entry permit and they could also get a single for 1000baht

And optional: a reentry Permit (Nov.2018: 3800,-- THB in Laem Ngop)

thanks Robert

Extension of Stay cost 1.900 Thb

@Liss *******

, I didn't read correctly what you wrote, You CAN'T be out of the country when your current extension expires without having applied for a new one OR you start all over from zero. Robert is right, you either apply BEFORE you leave (anytime after August) OR if you come back after Sept 9th 2019 without having applied you start ALL over from nothing.

@Li**

then something's wrong because you don't need them inside the country to get a yearly extension of stay.

Did they specifically ask for them OR did you provide them to them?

Be that as it may, you WON'T need to provide them next year when you apply for your new yearly extension of stay.

To get a yearly extension of stay you don't need a medical certificate or a police back ground check.

You take your proof of funds (either 800K baht banked in a thai bank for 3 months prior to your application OR a letter from your consulate stating you get 65K baht a month in income from abroad OR a combination of the two that totals 800K baht) and you go apply for a new yearly extension for 1900baht and then after that you get a re-entry permit for either 1000baht for a single or 3800baht for a multiple

NO, you are confusing getting an O-A visa in your country before you come here (which requires those things) with getting a yearly extension of stay from the immigration office after you're here.

You didn't provide a back ground check or a medical certificate when you went to the Trat immigration office on the 20th of August to get this yearly extension did you?

You need to be IN thailand to apply for your new extension and you can apply from 30 days before right on down to the very last day you're allowed to be here on your current stamp.

So you can apply anytime AFTER about August 10 next year.

You don't lose any days by applying early because they ADD the year extension to your current expiration date.

It's up to you to decide what is better for you; a year-long, multi-entry Non-O-A visa from the thai consulate in your country before you come here

OR

A year long extension of stay from the thai immigration office after you're here.

Read this; it goes over the things commonly referred to as a retirement visa; Then decide what road you wanna go down

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there is no such thing as an O-B :/

An O-A visa can ONLY be gotten from a thai consulate in your country before you come here.

A yearly extension is gotten inside the country at the immigration office