What options do I have to fix my visa situation in Thailand after using a 45-day exemption?

May 8, 2023
2 years ago
David ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
Hi all, American living on Koh Samui with plans to retire here.

I used the 45 day exemption on arrival and received the 30 day extension which expires May 20th.

I was told today by the immigration office that I cannot apply for a retirement Visa because I used to 45 exemption on arrival.

Any ideas on how to fix this? TIA

Stressed
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TLDR : Answer Summary
An American expat living in Koh Samui is facing difficulties in applying for a retirement visa after utilizing the 45-day exemption on arrival and a subsequent 30-day extension, which expires on May 20. Commenters suggest he needs to leave Thailand and re-enter to obtain a new 30-day visa exempt entry because he lacks sufficient days remaining on his current visa to apply for the initial NON-O retirement visa. Additionally, there are requirements regarding bank balance or income affidavits for the visa application that he must meet.
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Tod *********
Okay
@David *****
it appears you have several problems.

1 - it appears you didn't go to the immigration office before hand to get the hand out, talk to them or to find out that you needed a minimum number of days left on the current stamp to apply for the initial 90 day Non-O. 😕

2 - You come from a country whose embassy does not issue the income affidavit meaning you cannot use monthly income to get either the initial 90 day Non-O visa OR the first year extension using monthly income.

For the initial 90 day Non-O visa and the first yearly extension you can only use the banked money method by transferring in 800K baht in to a thai bank account in your name only.

Now the first step in getting this sorted out is getting you on a stamp that allows you to apply for the initial 90 day Non-O and then the year extension <- meaning BEFORE the 20th (which you say is your expiration date of your current extension stamp) you need to bounce out and back <- go to a border, stamp out of thailand, stamp in and out of another country and then stamp back IN to thailand to get a new 30 day visa exempt entry (which you can also extend for 30 more days at the immigration office if you need to)

Post on a group related to where you live asking about border bounce/visa run companies and use one to get you to the border and back to get on a NEW entry stamp.

You have some time before this stamp expires, so go to the immigration office, get the hand out talk to them about the requirements and see what you can do.
Ellie *******
@David *****
, Did you get the requirement handout from the Samui office? check it carefully, if you have already. If not, go there again to get a copy. Here is a general list of requirements for in-country Non-O retirement issued by Immigration Bureau HQ, but Samui has their own specific list if I remember right.

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/9.FOR-RETIREMENT-PURPOSES-50-YEARS-OLD-NON-O.pdf
John **********
You also need 800k baht transferred to a Thai bank from overseas before you can apply
David ******
ORIGINAL POSTER
John Stanners doesn't having the required guaranteed monthly income of more than 65,000 baht work instead of 800k in bank? I'm on government pension.
Wannikea *********
@David *****
can't do it in the first year without embassy letter, needs to show previous 12 months of deposits for an extension.
David ************
@David *****
You have to show that deposit for a solid year first. And that’s every single month from overseas to a bank account here in your name only
Ellie *******
@David *****
, Unfortunately, you cannot use it because US embassy doesn't issue affidavits..
John **********
@David *****
depends whether you can get an income affidavit from your embassy or not. If you can't then you need to use the 800k baht method for the initial application and the first extension. After that you can switch to monthly income
Robert *******
You need at least 15 or 21 days left on your current permitted to stay period. As you mention the last day is May 20th and today is May 8, the count is 12. Nothing to do with the way you entered Thailand. Leave Thailand, come back with new Visa Exempt Entry for 30 days and go the next morning to the Immigration Office for the conversion.
Ellie *******
It's because you don't have enough time left on your current stamp. Most offices (including Samui if I remember right) require you to have a minimum of 15 days remaining with your current stamp when you apply for an initial in-country Non-O visa. You say your stamp is until 20th May, so you got short of one weekend, unfortunately.

You already got a tourism extension, so you need to do a border-bounce so that you can apply for your visa, unless you are married to a Thai or have a Thai child which allows you to apply for 60 day visit family extension.

Or you can go to visa-run for an initial Non-O retirement visa.
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