@Mike *******

you will have to apply for every next extension annually, fulfilling the requirements, again. It doesn't get renewed. This 1-year extension is, like every extension issued to foreigners in Thailand, only "temporary"

Mike Reeves . .correct wording is important: You entered on a 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa. This visa became invalid ("used") when you entered. You are inside Thailand on a 90-days stay permit. And you will apply on Immigration for a 1-year extension of this stay permit. You do NOT apply for any "retirement visa"

@Paul ******

a 90-days single entry Non-Immigrant-O Retirement Visa 🙂

How to get from the “single entry 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa” to the 1-year extension of the stay permit, which most people refer to as being the “retirement visa” (which actually is not a visa but a stay permit)

You apply to the “90 days single entry Non-Imm-O retirement visa” by the E-Visa online system of the Thai embassy /consulate in your home country. You will need to fulfill the requirements that are listed for this visa

The visa will be mailed to you as a .pdf document, which you need to print out, in order to show it to the Immigration officer when entering Thailand

When you enter Thailand on the 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa, you will receive a stamp that says “admitted stay until” and a date given in blue ink. This stamp is a 90-days stay permit.

Since November 1st, 2023, the financial proof for applying for a visa in the online e-visa system in most countries must either be evidence of a balance of the equivalent of 800,000 THB (approx. converted equivalent 21,500 in USD, Euros or GBP, or whichever currency applies) in your bank account,

OR

For the initial e-visa application in your home country, you can use your original income or pension documents.

For the application to the 1-year Extension of Stay Permit on Immigration, a certified by your embassy proof of income at least the equivalent of 65,000 THB (approx. 1760 Euros or equivalent in USD or GBP or whichever applies).

For the application to the initial 90-days Non-O retirement visa, it doesn’t matter where the account is located. The most important is that the documents you upload to the application show that the account is in your sole name.

You enter on the 90-day single entry Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa, and will receive a 90-days stay permit

As soon as 30 days (45 days in Bangkok and Chiang Mai) are left on the initial 90-days stay permit, you can apply for the “1-year extension of the stay permit based on retirement” (EOS)

Most people call the EOS a “retirement visa” and Immigration calls it a “visa extension”, although they do not extend any visa but just extend a stay permit. It can be a bit confusing for newcomers as it is a technically wrong terminology.

You will need to prove finances for this application on Immigration. The way to prove it on Immigration, differs a bit from what you needed to prove in the E-visa system in your home country

In case you seek to provide proof of finances for the application for the “1-year extension of stay” with a balance of at least THB 800,000 THB, you must open a Thai bank account in your sole name, ASAP (!!) after you have entered the country on a Non-Imm-O Visa

If you use a monthly income of at least 65,000 THB as financial proof, then you must have your income “legalized”, i.e. been issued an “affidavit of income” from your embassy in Bangkok

NOTE: British, Canadian, Norwegian, Australian and U.S. American embassies don’t issue income affidavits any more, this is why citizens of these countries will need to go by the 800,000 THB deposit method (at least in the first year)

You are free to use an agency for opening a Thai bank account for you, without much hassle. An agent can also assist you with your further application. Of course, you can also do this entirely on your own.

To apply for the 1-year extension of stay permit at immigration inside Thailand out of a former Non-Imm-O retirement/over 50-visa, you do NOT need to provide proof of a health insurance.

However, it is recommended in your own interest, to have a health insurance for the duration of your stay in Thailand.

The documents required to apply for the “1-year extension of stay permit based on retirement/over 50 years old” from a Non-Imm-O visa are:

(The exact documents may vary depending on the immigration office you are dealing with. Most immigration offices have a handout list of requirements and the documents you need to show. You need to visit them and ask for the handout before you apply)

Proof of meeting the financial requirements:

EITHER

by the “deposit method”:

A certificate from the bank that you got a balance of a minimum of 800,000 THB that have been in the account for at least 2 months on the day of application.

This must be proven with a same day (some immigrations accept up to 7 days) "bank letter of guarantee" (in Thai: "rab roong thanakan") as well as an updated bank book and a receipt for a withdrawal from the ATM on the same day.

The 800,000 THB must remain in the account for a further 3 months after the one-year Extension of Stay Permit has been issued, and there must not be less than 400,000 THB in the account for the rest of the year.

Then 2 months before the application for the next “1-year extension”, a minimum of 800,000 THB must be deposited again.

OR

by the “Income method”:

An income certificate (affidavit of income) from the embassy or a honorary consul of the country which’s passport you hold, of a monthly income of a minimum of 65,000 THB

And the following documents:

*** a filled out TM7 form (can be had on Immigration)

*** have at least 2 (better 4) passport size photos at hand

*** copies of the relevant pages in your passport:

*** the pages with personal details.

*** The page with the entry stamp.

*** The printout copy of your TDAC digital arrival card

***A rental agreement (if available), the blue house book and the Thai ID card of the owner of the place that you are staying

NOTE: you must sign every copy in BLUE INK !

On some Immigration offices you can also provide proof of finances using a THIRD method: the combination method

A mixture of income and deposit.

NOTE: Most Immigration offices require a minimum deposit of 400,000 THB deposited.

Combined with the monthly proof of income, the total must be ABOVE the required 800,000 THB per year.

You have to be careful with the income part, as a sudden change in the exchange rate can ruin the calculation - if you fall below the income level, you would immediately be in "overstay". So you need a "buffer"

If you are planning to use the combination method, you will need to visit your Immigration and ask whether they will allow you to use the combination method in the first year, and how much they require for the deposit, if all

For the registration of a foreigner at a place in Thailand, you should visit immigration together with the landlord, because a landlord is required to register you by TM30 within 24 hours of your arrival at the place of accommodation.

The landlord can also TM30 you online, in case he already has registered the accommodation in the TM30 system.

NOTE: without a TM30 residence registration, you will most probably not get serviced on Immigration!

***A completed TM7 application form for extension of the stay permit (the form is available at immigration, but you can also download it from the internet)

***a handful of passport photos (most immigration offices now take the photos digitally, but it doesn't hurt to have a few current passport photos on hand)

*** all copies of the documents must be signed by you in blue ink (!)

***The 1-year extension itself costs a 1900 Baht fee

As soon as you got issued the 1-year extension of stay permit, you should buy a “re-entry permit”, because in the event that you suddenly have to leave the country or if you generally want to leave the country for a holiday elsewhere, the “re -entry permit” keeps the “1-year extended stay permit” alive.

A single re-entry permit is 1000 THB, and a multi re-entry permit is 3800 THB. . . . a multi re-entry permit allows you unlimited exits and re-entries during the whole year of the "extension of stay permit" it was bought for

We are talking about the most common and persisting misunderstandings regarding the rules that come with applying for the “retirement visa” and the subsequent “one-year extension of stay permit based on retirement”

The best way is to show up in Thailand on a 90-days single entry Non-Imm-O Retirement/over 50 visa” as it will give you a 90-days stay permit. Within this period you have plenty of time to arrange for the application to the “1-year extended stay permit”

In order to apply for the “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O retirement visa” through the online E-visa system at the Royal Thai Embassy of your home country,

you can use the proof of income of a monthly minimum of 65.000.- THB, by using your original pension or other income documentation.

Or you use a deposit of a minimum of 800.000.- THB or the equivalent in your home country currency, or on your home bank account, or on a Thai bank, or just anywhere in the World – as long as it is in your sole name

However, for the application inside Thailand, for the “1-year extension of stay permit” out of the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa, if you are a citizen of a country, whose embassy in Thailand does not issue the “income affidavit any more

(these are the embassies of USA, UK, Canada, Norway and Australia)

you would need proof by a “12 months bank statement”, showing that for the past 12 months, you have been transferring from abroad to your Thai bank account a minimum of 65.000.- THB, consecutively month for month

If your embassy still issues an affidavit of income, you can use this method for the financial proof, which needs a monthly income or pension of a minimum of 65.000.- THB

For British, Australian, Norwegian, Canadian and U.S. citizens, in the first year there is no other way around, than depositing a minimum of 800.000.- THB in your Thai bank account and use this deposit for the financial proof which is required for the application to the “one year extension of stay permit based on being over 50/retired”

The alternative would be, if you don’t have that kind of money or are not willing to deposit in a Thai Bank account is, paying an agent a hefty sum (mostly in the range of 30.000.- THB) to “arrange” the requirements (which means bribing an Immigration officer to look the other way)

The downside is, you will get stuck with the agent for a while. You will have to pay to get an agent to help with bank account.

Then you will need an agent to fix your 800k issue. You will be trapped in the agent’s hamster wheel.

To qualify you will need the 800k fronted by the agent the first year and simultaneously deposit 65k per month for 12 months without fail, to qualify the 2nd year for income method.

If you use an agent you will not qualify for the 2nd year as you did not have the money in the first year . . . . So will use an agent, again and again.

The only way to escape the agent’s wheel is:

As soon as you have accumulated the 12 consecutive months of 65.000.- THB transfers (and this will be some time during the second "agent-year") all you need to do is exit Thailand without a re-entry permit. This will kick the agent from the plate.

By this you will invalidate the current "1-year extended stay permit". And once you re-enter Thailand "visa-exempt", you will get stamped in for 60 days. You can then immediately apply for the "change of visa type" from the "exempt entry" to the "90-days Non-imm-O retirement visa" all by yourself, using the bank statement proof of income of 12 months transfers.

This application costs a 2000.- THB fee and you can theoretically do it all by yourself, or accept the help of an agent for the simplified legal service.

NOTE: It is income OR deposit. And there is a third method, called the “combination method”:

A combination mix of income and deposit. Some immigrations don’t allow the combination method in the first year. And some Immigration want the deposit part to exceed 400.000.- THB. The combination method means that the sum of the deposit AND the monthly income exceeds 800.000.- THB in one year.

But let’s continue with the “normal method” (visa issued in your home country, followed by the application to the Extension inside Thailand):

On the day of application to the 1-year extension, the 800.000.- THB need to have “seasoned” in your account for two months, and this has to be proven with the “bank letter of guarantee” (rab roong thanakan).

After been issued the “Extension”, the 800K need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After these 3 months, the deposit shall never go under 400.000.- THB. And before your application for the next “1-year Extension of Stay”, a minimum of 800.000.- THB must have seasoned in the account for two months, again

On the day you get issued the “1-year extension of stay permit”, you should buy a re-entry permit for it.

A re-entry permit will keep your stay permit alive in case you exit Thailand before the expiry of the 1-year stay permit.

A single re-entry permit is 1000.- THB on Immigration. A multi re-entry is 3800.- THB. With a multi re-entry permit, you could exit and re-enter as many times as you wish during the whole stay permit period.

ATTN:

There is another road to the “1-year ‘Extension of Stay based on retirement”

You can arrive visa-exempt or on a 60 days single-entry Tourist Visa, you will get stamped in for a 60 days stay permit.

You visit Immigration and show them a bankbook with proof you got 800.000.- THB in sitting in your bank account, and a proof that this money came from abroad.

This must have either been organized during a previous holiday, or a bank account needs to be opened ASAP, and the money transferred from your abroad account onto you Thai bank account ASAP

You apply for the “change of visa type” from the touristic entry to a “90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa”

To be allowed to apply you need a minimum of 15 days left on your entry stamp. And you need to show a rental contract, at least on most Immigrations

They will issue the visa for 14 days “under consideration”

After this period, you pick up the 90-days Non-Imm-O visa stay permit stamp

ATTENTION: if you plan to reside in Pattaya and use the Jomtien Immigration, you should be aware that they make up their own rule, which differs from the official police order.

Jomtien Immigration requires a 2-months seasoning for the application to the in-country initial 90-days Non-Imm-O visa!

That's why it is always better to apply for the Non-O visa in the e-visa online system in your home country before flying to Thailand

From up to 30 days (in some places 45 days) before the 90-days stay permit expires, you can apply to the “1-year extension of stay based on retirement”

The financial requirements for this application are the same as explained above.

You can find the requirements when you google for “change of visa type immigration Thailand” and click on the number 9 in the list

Good Luck and a great time in Thailand

@Michael *******

so if ONE person thinks I am wrong, while 72 readers decided to applaud me . . why would I care about the opinion of said one person? YOU are this person. Je me fiche complètement de ce que vous pensez ou écrivez. Vous n'en avez aucune idée.

@Michael *******

haven't you ever checked what I posted in visa advice groups? My recent advice in one thread, received 72 likes within 24 hours . . I am proud to be a "respected expert"

keep the account active by onlinebanking through the Banking App. I got a SCB account and I only need to be connected to the Internet in Europe in order to pay and keep my 1-2-Call AIS mobile SIM card topped up (199 Baht per month) or check the balance after transferring myself some cash using WISE. You do not need to go into roaming mode with your Thai SIM card. That's SCB, but I don't know if other Thai banks offer the same service

@Michael *******

you have absolutely no clue. For being somebody without a clue, you def write too much 😄 Nobody is laughing at my expert-expertises, you are the only one. Get a life

@Michael *******

you are a scammer, not a tourist