@Kev ********

After the first year of the OA visa you must leave Thailand without a reentry permit. Then reenter Thailand as a tourist and apply for a nonimmigrant O visa. Or you can get an O visa at a Thai consulate outside of Thailand.

I opened a Kasikorn account in Bangkok. Last year I moved to Sisaket province. The Kasikorn branch here just changed my mailing address. My branch is still in Bangkok. Fortunately I do little business inside any branch. If I withdraw money using cardless withdrawal I don’t get charged the 15 baht fee.

@David ***

No. You can’t convert an OA to an O inside Thailand. You have to leave Thailand to kill the OA and the enter and start the process to get an O and subsequent extensions of stay.

@Kenny *****************

If you have the right insurance then Immigration will process your extension off stay of an OA just like an O visa. Makes no difference to them.

There is a list of Thai insurance companies that qualify. I have Pacific Cross. In theory you can get a form that his insurance company can sign stating that their coverage satisfies the Thai requirements. I've heard that some (many?) insurance companies won't sign it but i have no experience with this. It is definitely worth a try. I still recommend going for the nonimmigrant O visa with subsequent 1 year extensions of stay. It just sounds easier to me

I asked about his country of origin because he should able to meet the financial requirements using an income affidavit from the French embassy. This is something he should ask the embassy about.

Are you aware of the 10-year pensioner LTR visa available from the Thailand Board of Investment? That is what I have now. It also needs insurance and has a financial requirement of a yearly income $80,000 USD/yr. It costs 50,000 baht for 10 years.

You can only apply for an OA visa from a Thai consulate in your home country. I had an OA for 6 years. It is an interesting visa but it comes with an insurance requirement for the visa and subsequent extensions of stay. I recommend that you pursue a 90 day O visa which can the be extended yearly without the insurance requirement.

It would help to know what country he is from. The requirements vary.

@Natalie *******

Yes I made an appointment and I went directly to the BOI office

Joe Leeds at Chaninat & Leeds is an American lawyer at a Bangkok law firm. I used them for my prenuptial agreement and marriage documents. I would use them again. Check their website for the areas of law that they practice. They are very near the Nana BTS station in the Trendy building.

@Ellie ******

Thanks. This is useful. I’m going in for my 1 year check-in in June.

Congratulations. I got my pensioner LTR January 2023. I transferred the visa to a new passport in June 2023 and the BOI staff took care of everything. Very easy. I will be going for my 1 year check-in in June.