What options do Australian retirees over 50 have for obtaining a visa to live in Thailand?

@Phill *****

I’m curious why you think that’s the way to go. I’ve looked at it and I’ve seen some advantages but also some disadvantages.

@Rollo ***********************

Cambodia is completely closed, but I have to ask…why are you trolling on a Thai visa page?

@Ric **********

Were you asking the OP (who has not yet responded) or others? I certainly have my reasons.

@Chris *******

hi. Did you need to get your marriage certificate certified? Husband and I were married in Hong Kong and we are British passport holder. Immigration in Hua Hin said marriage certificate needs to be certified. But UK embassy won't do it.

Try this site as it may explain it best for you.

Thailand Retirement Visa - Guidelines for Category O-A and O-X

Things were easier pre-covid in terms of being able to leave and return to countries without travel restrictions like quarantine. If the OP ultimately wants to end up where you ended up on a Non-O visa (which I think is the best place to be), starting with a Non-OA might not be the easiest way to proceed. Making a trip out of Thailand to reset from a Non-OA to a Non-O is not as easy as it was three years ago.

Do you not need to move 3 million into Thailand? I see Sydney makes no mention of this being necessary. That would be very advantageous if possible.

My general recommendation assuming you cannot get a Non-O (not non-OA) is that you arrive in Thailand on either a visa-exempt (45-day permission to stay) or Tourist Visa (60-day permission to stay). That you then apply for Non-O visas INSIDE Thailand for purpose of retirement (actually one of you for purpose of retirement, the other of you as a dependent of the primary). Then you can apply for a year-long extension of stay by meeting the financial requirements (others have explained already).

The purpose of doing it this way (Non-O in Thailand rather than Non-OA in Australia) is that one way (Non-OA) requires health insurance purchased from a list of approved by immigration insurance companies. This requirement continues every time you renew your extension of stay in Thailand. It is burdensome, it restricts your ability to have insurance that makes sense to you, it requires ridiculous coverage amounts ($400,000 for inpatient, $40,000 for outpatient -- no one would actually want to purchase the expensive outpatient coverage and the inpatient is probably way too low coverage). If you go down the Non-O route you do not have to deal with this insurance requirement. Of course, it is a good idea to have health insurance but to have the health insurance you want with the coverage limits you want from a company you want to deal with whether from Thailand or Australia or wherever. I'm not anti-health insurance I'm anti-health insurance that immigration dictates.

It seems daunting because there are a lot of options, but once you decide where you want to end up it's actually not that hard. Do this, then do that, then do that, etc. In my opinion, it's well within the capabilities of one to do on their own without needing an agent. Understand your options, pick the one that works for you best, and doggedly pursue that goal.

@Janin *****

They CANT get an OA visa in Thailand.

They know, but it’s not retirement visa, it’s non immigrant based on retirement. Our country doesn’t call it retirement visa…they say it don’t exist!

Janin Ackx. It's technicallyy a visa based on being over 50, but that's too much of a mouthful. Even immigration stamp or write "retired" or "RET" in your passport. But we know what the OP is looking for.

@Ja***

It's a retirement visa, don't be pedantic.

Janin Ackx. Everyone entering needs covid insurance

A dependent spouse can be of any age. The marriage relationship is the important thing not the age. The age is important for the primary spouse (must be 50 or over) in order to meet the qualifications for a non-O visa for purpose of retirement.

and now we see why she said it's confusing :-)

@Kool ******

no you don’t. One of them needs to meet the requirements. Then the other can trail, or piggyback off the other.

@Steve ******

O A is the long term retirement visa

Gwen Coathanger. I have OA as the insurance doesn't bother me. Many people already have insurance which is not accepted by immigration for extensions. These people prefer the O(50+) as it means they don't have to double-up on insurance cover. For Australians the only avenue is to enter on a tourist or exempt and to obtain the O(50+) in-country, as an OA cannot be changed to an O(50+)

Gwen you will need to move money into Thailand also, for an extension. If you can leave and come back, you can keep the money outside.

Gwen the point is though you don't have to do this on the O. If you have existing insurance from your home country, you are better off getting the O so you don't need to buy a Thai policy you don't need just to get the extension. As you get older, this could get expensive or even impossible, you could be in a situation where you have perfectly good insurance from your home country but you have to spend as much as 250,000/year buying Thai insurance to qualify for the extension.

O-A can still make sense for someone, depending on their situation and what they plan. It has advantages as well, particularly if borders are open- in normal times if you plan to take a holiday home once every two years, you can just get a new one then and never deal with an extension in country at all, and this way you can keep your money outside and never need to deal with the Thai insurance requirement either.

It's just a matter of knowing the differences and the implication.

Gwen it's worth understanding the differences between O and O-A and picking the one that fits. Key with the O-A is the specifically Thai insurance requirement for extensions, that doesn't exist on the O.

Pre-Covid O-A had the advantage you could effectively get 2 years out of it and just get another at the end but that may not be so easy now. If you are getting an extension, O has lower requirements.

Gwen Coathanger. Perhaps read Stuart Cumming's initial comment. There are big differences between O(50+) and OA, especially when it comes to the bottom line of money and value. There's nothing "fine" about it!

David Broadfoot does this depend on the office?

Stuart Cumming. Non-O for 50+ is not available in Australia. They would need to enter on tourist or exempt and convert in-country, which is easy enough if they meet the financial requirements.