Quoted 25000 baht for an OA retirement Visa

[Tigers2017]

Englishman quoted me 25000 baht to secure a retirement visa. The money is not a problem but is this the end of it with myself able to do the 90 day report. If I do it, how hard is it.  I am familiar with government procedure here in Australia I'd like to hear from both sides of visa application. Those who did it alone and those who used an agent. Thank you for your comments in advance. 

[worldpunter]

naughty Englishman trying to rip off an Aussie   ,

[GlobalTraveler]

if you do a retirement Visa first time her in Thailand they charge 25K baht.Renewals ,are 16K thats with Re entry (4900) and they provide the 800K in bank. Remember they need to set you up with a banker initially to provide the 800K  in your account. which cost money. Without it its about 10K for renewals. They do the 90 Day for you for 500 Baht. But its easy to do yourself. Should be able to do online soon.

I always use an agent to lazy to keep track of all the changes . I am using Maneraat In soi 13/2 ,can only say good things about them.

If its your first O_A visa its easy to do in your country. I did it in Canada ,takes 7 days But you need a criminal record and Medical certificate .

So if i applied for it from Canada I would use Canadian Thai Consulate if in Thailand Maneraat. I assume Australia is similar to canada

[Cerberus]

Providing you meet all the criteria it is easy to do yourself. If you do not, or merely want someone to save you the leg work there are many businesses around that will offer you a such a service.

Regards the 90 day reporting you can do that yourself again it is simple and fast nowadays, many guys have a motorcycle taxi they trust do it for them. Though with all the changes taking place at present in that department things may change.

[Oukiva]

1 hour ago, Tigers2017 said:

Quoted 25000 baht for an OA retirement Visa

Please use the correct vocabulary when talking about Visa. 

You cannot get an Non O-A Visa in Thailand, but only in your home country, or in you country of residence (if not Thailand). What you are talking about is a yearly Extension for reason off Retirement.

As said above, you can easily do it yourself. Better though to arrive here with a Non O or O-A visa, because the change from a Tourist Visa (or Exemption) to a Non O is not easy anymore at Jomtien, with one lady officer insisting for a big "tip"... 

[worldpunter]

2 hours ago, GlobalTraveler said:

t you need a criminal record and Medical certificate .

The Aussie has a criminal record , that's why we sent them there in the first place. , 

Sorry ,nice to be nice , I know , I know 

[Atlas]

Hey mate,

Not sure where you are from but as others have said you need to do the OA in your home country. Once that is done I use an agent, so much easier. 

Get in touch with Paul @Thaivisaexpress he will sort it out for you.  

[davidge]

So much confusion, mainly caused by widespread use of wrong terminology!

Anyway, OP, if you use an agent in your situation they will arrange a Non-immigrant O Visa which lasts 3 months plus an Extension of Stay on the basis of retirement which gives another 12 months. So, the 25000 baht gets you 15 months in Thailand. You have to do 90-day reports which may be included in the price so the agent may do it, or may not.

As the end of the 15 months approaches, you will then have to pay the agent again to get a further Extension of Stay for 12 months and do this each year. They’ll charge less for this (maybe 15000??).

In theory, you could just get the agent to do the initial 15 months then do each Extension yourself after that. The new rules make it easier for them to notice you’ve used an agent in the past so this is more risky now.

Lots of people use agents for this year in, year out but I wouldn’t risk it. Up to you if you want to take the chance.

If you can meet the criteria, by far the best option is to get a multiple entry Non-immigrant O-A Visa in Australia. This gives you a 12-month Stay each time you enter Thailand so, if you time your entries right, you can actually stay for almost 2 years on this visa. This gives you plenty of time to sort out the financial requirements to do your first Extension of Stay yourself.

My personal advice would be not to use an agent unless you can’t meet the requirements for some reason (not enough money, criminal record) so then have no choice.

[petermik]

Did my retirement renewal today 1,900 baht....the legit method......

[onehunglo]

11 hours ago, GlobalTraveler said:

But you need a criminal record and Medical certificate .

so are you saying you have to rob a bank or mug someone then apply

[GlobalTraveler]

if you do the visa in your own country you need  criminal record certificate and a medical certificate which covers 4 major diseases. Apply in thailand and it not needed

[usexpat46]

On ‎02‎/‎04‎/‎2019 at 18:18, petermik said:

Did my retirement renewal today 1,900 baht....the legit method......

Costs me 2000 baht, 100 baht to Bangkok Bank for the 800K in bank letter plus 1900 to immigration.  The savings of 23K baht goes towards 23 S/Ts.

[Scuba+]

 

 

 

change from a Tourist Visa (or Exemption) to a Non O is not easy anymore at Jomtien, with one lady officer insisting for a big "tip"... 

 

If they try that one on me when i apply for a conversion from tourist to a non imm O later this year, I'll head to Savannakhet Laos instead. PITA to get to but I'm not going the agency route unless i have no option

 

[talung66]

Not having done the 90 day report my self from reading other threads if you go early it's a five minute process from start to finish  arriving later your in a long que.

25k saves a lot of hassle  idoes that includes multiple reentries stam as well

or just get it done in australia. 

$275 and a lot of paperwork police reports etc.

Not sue if you can get the reentry permit with it in australia if you plan to leave the country this catches a lot out making the visa used without it.

the 800k others have said NO to me when posted  but equivalent in you aussie bank account is suffice.

My mate just went home to do it but couldn't wait for the police report that was 2 weeks.

Other say no on here i'll ring on monday and confirm for myself the wording of the money is the same for SETV and METV and i show aussie bank account statements.

[usexpat46]

2 hours ago, talung66 said:

Not having done the 90 day report my self from reading other threads if you go early it's a five minute process from start to finish  arriving later your in a long que.

 

When I do my 90 day report I go in the afternoon either Tues, Wed or Thurs avoiding weeks with a holiday.  Once you've done the initial report and get the computerized form stapled into your passport the process never takes me more than 5 minutes. It's such a stressful process one needs to stop at the Kinnerra on the way back to Pattaya for a stress reduction session.

[onehunglo]

On 2 April 2019 at 20:30, onehunglo said:

so are you saying you have to rob a bank or mug someone then apply

police clearance is the word your looking for

[talung66]

1 hour ago, usexpat46 said:

When I do my 90 day report I go in the afternoon either Tues, Wed or Thurs avoiding weeks with a holiday.  Once you've done the initial report and get the computerized form stapled into your passport the process never takes me more than 5 minutes. It's such a stressful process one needs to stop at the Kinnerra on the way back to Pattaya for a stress reduction session.

There's your issue having to go to kinnari after.

Got to bliss first (old rio ja) on the way 2 hrs for  500 baht unlimited drinks. you will be destress before you arrive 

 

[Sexyfarangman]

On 04/04/2019 at 00:20, usexpat46 said:

Costs me 2000 baht, 100 baht to Bangkok Bank for the 800K in bank letter plus 1900 to immigration.  The savings of 23K baht goes towards 23 S/Ts.

But you are tying up 800K.

[Sexyfarangman]

4 hours ago, talung66 said:

Not having done the 90 day report my self from reading other threads if you go early it's a five minute process from start to finish  arriving later your in a long que.

25k saves a lot of hassle  idoes that includes multiple reentries stam as well

or just get it done in australia. 

$275 and a lot of paperwork police reports etc.

Not sue if you can get the reentry permit with it in australia if you plan to leave the country this catches a lot out making the visa used without it.

the 800k others have said NO to me when posted  but equivalent in you aussie bank account is suffice.

My mate just went home to do it but couldn't wait for the police report that was 2 weeks.

Other say no on here i'll ring on monday and confirm for myself the wording of the money is the same for SETV and METV and i show aussie bank account statements.

I believe that the 800K equivalent in AUDs can be in an Australian bank account if you apply for the visa in Oz. This will avoid the problem of tying up the 800K in a Thai bank account.

[Atlas]

1 hour ago, Sexyfarangman said:

I believe that the 800K equivalent in AUDs can be in an Australian bank account if you apply for the visa in Oz. This will avoid the problem of tying up the 800K in a Thai bank account.

This is good to know. 

I loathe the idea of having 800K here in the bank... The rules change too often and what's to stop them taking it, really... 

[onehunglo]

it's good to be able to protect what you have , i'm pretty sure you can have the 800,000 in a aussie account as well

[Scuba+]

It's the O-A where you can use 800k baht equivalent in farangland, not O

[usexpat46]

3 hours ago, Sexyfarangman said:

But you are tying up 800K.

Yes but higher interest rate here in LOS than America and if I need it for an emergency it's here.

[Sexyfarangman]

2 hours ago, Atlas said:

This is good to know. 

I loathe the idea of having 800K here in the bank... The rules change too often and what's to stop them taking it, really... 

The information cited from the Thai government website in OZ suggests that this is the case,  but you should double check my statement When I got a 1 year visa in the US in 2017, I used my US bank account. However, the Thai Consulate required more information than if I had done it in LOS. Specifically, it wanted a police report showing that I didn't have a criminal record and a medical report from their website confirming that I didn't have any diseases specified on the form. It only cost me $200 USD to  submit all the paperwork, and it was approved the next day.  However, things may have changed since then.

[Sexyfarangman]

1 hour ago, usexpat46 said:

Yes but higher interest rate here in LOS than America and if I need it for an emergency it's here.

I have a Kasikorn account, but have never noticed this higher interest rate of which you speak.