@Joseph ********

Wherever they tell you to send it then send it there. Read the instructions. Don’t assume it is Manila.

They send you the form to the address you gave them. They will tell you where to send it and if I recall it wasn’t Manila. I recall sending it EMS to the US

@Michael ******

Also a helmet

@Andreas ********

I can see that there are some people that live in Thailand part time. They are in the US anyway so that really isn’t a cost. That’s not me but I am aware that some people just keep getting OA visas.

Often the issue is dissatisfaction with Thai banks. They don’t trust them or they believe that the higher earnings outside Thailand are a preferable choice. That’s rational but also not me.

@Graham *****

Which is exactly what I did. Deposit 800,000 plus my monthly operating funds. I have no problems with my Thai bank but most of my savings remain in the US.

Going back to the US to apply for another OA would be expensive and a major PIA but if that banking feature of an OA is important to you then you have that option.

I assume you mean the 800,000 required to extend your stay for 1 year. You have already been on this visa or permission to stay for 1-2 years.

I move my money from my US bank to my Thai bank with wire transfers. I got my first extension of stay 18 months after I first entered Thailand on my OA visa. I moved the 800k during that 18 months. I don’t recall anyone asking about where it came from. I gave them a bank statement and I am pretty certain none of the wire transfers were coded as from a foreign source because typically they were coded as from a domestic source presumably having been routed through another Thai bank.

@Andreas ********

Then let's call it a 1 year extension of stay which is what I usually call it depending on the structure of the sentence. TM7 form.

Of course, there is no need to leave/re-enter during that first year so what is it that you are extending?

@Wayne ********

I got a 10 year pensioner LTR in Jan 2023. I do not have any money in the bank requirements. I do have to show a passive income of $80,000 USD though. My work and Social Security pensions qualified me.

@Wayne ********

The money in your home country bank is a separate issue. If that is important to you then stay with an OX or OA. One year extensions of an OA or O inside Thailand requires money in a Thai bank.

@Wayne ********

during the first year of the OA, each time you leave and re-enter you can get stamped with a one year permission to stay stamp. The OA visa expires at the end of the first year.

I entered Thailand with an OA visa in Feb 2017. I went to Cambodia in Nov 2017. I was given a 1 year permission to stay stamp when I returned to Thailand in Nov 2017. I got 1 year extensions of my OA visa starting with Nov 2018 and every Nov after that.

Extensions of the OA and O visas are the same except for the insurance requirement for the OA.

You can return to your home country to get a new OA and some people do that. You could also leave Thailand and start the process of getting an O visa again. Or you can just stay and get 1 year extensions of stay