@Dianne *********

the price is high because you didn't play by the book and didn't show up on a 90 days Non-Imm-O visa which you would have aquired in your home country before you flew to Thailand. In Bangkok, if you show up on a visa exempt entry at the Thai Visa Centre agent, he charges 55,000 THB for opening the bank account for you (which is against the rules and need to be greased) and for getting a 90-days Non-Imm-O visa for you (which also is against the rules and needs to be greased) and then the subsequent 12-months Extension of the Stay Permit (which, in case you don't have own funds of 800,000 THB, also must get heavily greased) . . . .If you have played everything by the book, though - entered on a Non-O visa, opened the bank account, transferred 800,000 THB onto it, and once the money has sat in the account for 2 months, apply for the 12-months extension - all this would only cost you 80 USD for the e-visa fee, and a 1900 THB fee for the application to the Extension, and 1000 THB for a single re-entry permit

@Dianne *********

if you play everything by the book, if you already have a Thai bank account, entered on a 90-days Non-Imm-O visa and use your own funds of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account, an agent only charges around 12,000 THB service fee for the application to the 12-months Extension of the Stay Permit, and that would include a 1000 THB single re-entry permit, the 200-500 THB fee for the bank letter, and the 1900 THB fee for the extension application. Not too bad a price. . . . . . . . However if you don't have own funds, and don't have a bank account and entered visa-exempt, the agent has to grease way too many palms, both those in the bank and some others on Immigration, in order to get your request through, and that explains the price

@Lee ************

Correct terminology is important! . . . . . People buy a re-entry permit for a current STAY PERMIT, not for a visa. The visa will expire when you enter Thailand. After your entry, you are in Thailand on a stay permit. For this stay permit you can buy a re-entry permit. It keeps the stay permit alive, should you exit Thailand. However, a re-entry permit is only valid for the duration of the stay permit it was bought for. So if he buys a re-entry permit for his 90-days stay permit, it will expire together with the 90-days stay permit on September 2. He will be out of the country by then anyways, and so, he needs a NEW 90-days visa

@Dianne *********

you being on a Thai visa or on a valid Thai stay permit doesn't cut any ice for an application to a Schengen visa - you are free to apply

@Dianne *********

I do not recommend to start the O/A Longstay visa.

Many people fall for it since you can leave your 800,000 THB equivalent bank deposit in your home bank account and get almost two years of stay in Thailand out of it.

After these initial two years, you must move the 800,000 THB equivalent deposit onto a Thai bank account in your sole name anyways! AND you will be forced to buy a private Thai health insurance (which are not very well rated).

However, the BIG downside is = you need an expensive 100,000 USD coverage health insurance, which must sign the F.I.C. form of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Many people after the two years finally have realized in what kind of s..t creek they landed, and they all try to get the O/A cancelled and restart with a Non-O visa

If you start out on the Non-O visa, enter Thailand on it, open a bank account (use an agent for speed) and apply for the 1year extension, then once it got issued you buy a multi re-entry permit for the 1-year stay permit, and you can still continue to travel on your less expensive travel insurance

@Dianne *********

*** you cannot apply for the Non-O/A Longstay visa from within Thailand, you need to apply for it in your home country.

***you might have a problem to do the “change of visa type” from a visa-exempt entry to a 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa, because you need money on a Thai bank account in your name.

The downside is, you cannot get a bank account opened on a tourist visa or on a visa exempt entry

This makes it necessary to travel back to your home country, apply for either the “O/A” Longstay or the “O” Retirement visa by the e-visa online system of the Thai embassy

You could theoretically apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O visa in Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia or any of the surrounding countries, but this will require you staying in these countries until the visa request has been processed – and this might take from 5 to 14 days, depending on how sufficient your uploaded documentation was

Note*** as a U.S. American citizen you can't use the income or the combination method in the first year because your U.S. embassy won't issue an affidavit of income

@Eric ******

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 with a 90-day 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 1, 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. 21,500 USD or Euro) in your bank account,

OR

a proof of income at least the equivalent of 65,000 THB (approx. 1840 Euros).

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 with 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 from 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 regarding this 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 gwt your income “legalized”, i.e. been issued an “affidavit of income” from your embassy in Bangkok or from one of the honorary consuls

NOTE: British, Australian and American embassies don’t issue this income affidavit any more, thus citizens of these countries will need to go by the 800.000.- THB deposit method (at least in the first year). After having collected 12 consecutive transfers, each month, month for month, of a minimum of equivalent of 65,000 THB having been transferred into your account from abroad, you can switch to the “income method” using the bank’s yearly statement.

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 Non-Imm-O retirement/over 50-visa, you do NOT need to provide proof of 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 with a list of the documents you need to bring with you. You need to visit them and ask for the handout before you apply)

Proof of meeting the financial requirements

EITHER

with 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 an amount of 400.000.- THB must not be less than 400,000 THB for the rest of the year. Then 2 months before the new application for the next “1-year extension”, a minimum of 800.000.- THB must be deposited again.

OR

with 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 at minimum of 65,000 THB

and the following documents:

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

***the pages with personal details.

***The page with the entry stamp.

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

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"

For example, a deposit of 420,000 THB and a monthly income of 1000.- Euros (35,440 THB) is sufficient for the combination method.

35,440 THB x 12 = 425.280.- THB

plus 420,000 THB

would be 845.280 THB

The 45.280.- THB are the exchange rate buffer. The higher the buffer, the safer you are.

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 how much they require for the deposit

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

Safe travels any time!

I suggest you join the DTV Facebook group . . you'll get more information

@Darin *******

you can't "extend the visa". You can only get your stay permit extended. The 90-days Non-Imm-O visa becomes invalid upon entering Thailand