Agent for retirement visa required

[Jebb]

When I had Non Immi O I had to leave the country every 90 days and at the time it suited me to do that. My circumstances then changed and I am happy to spend long periods here now. The funny thing is I only went to Maneerat to ask what was required and luckily had my BKK bank book, Chanot and Passport with me the girl was wonderful and very helpful, quick visit to the bank to verify and three days later had the visa. I should add that it was 3 working days as there was a weekend squeezed in there.

[davidge]

30 minutes ago, Jebb said:

When I had Non Immi O I had to leave the country every 90 days and at the time it suited me to do that. My circumstances then changed and I am happy to spend long periods here now. The funny thing is I only went to Maneerat to ask what was required and luckily had my BKK bank book, Chanot and Passport with me the girl was wonderful and very helpful, quick visit to the bank to verify and three days later had the visa. I should add that it was 3 working days as there was a weekend squeezed in there.

Would have been easier just to change the extension reason to Retirement from Marriage, but no real matter in the end. Just avoids the insurance issue. No need to leave every 90 days with an Extension for Retirement on a Non O.

Are you sure this isn’t what Maneerat did for you? It’s not possible to get a Non O-A outside of your home country.

[davidge]

11 hours ago, gtf said:

Can you enter Thailand with no visa ( ie visa waiver 30 days) and convert to a tourist visa or non 0 ) ? Thanks in advance

As answered below 

This discussion is predicated on using an agent. If you plan on getting a Non O yourself then best to get a TR before travelling. I should also say that it’s pretty easy to get a non O from the London Embassy - it’s what I did - then you just get your annual Extension in Thailand. I applied online and got the visa in a few days.

7 hours ago, penboy said:

TV no, Non immigrant O yes. It's not a conversion, you apply for the non O and can then extend for 1 year, every year.

 

[davidge]

40 minutes ago, SlowlyMan said:

Aah gottcha. That's makes sense. What's the advantage of the OA

Once you are on the annual Extension there is no advantage to having a Non O-A. The big disadvantage is that it requires Health Insurance from one of the approved Thai companies. Agents can, obviously, get around this when getting an Extension BUT Immigration at the airport do still sometimes ask to see the insurance before stamping you in - they only stamp in to the end of the insurance. This is a lot less common now but can still happen.

The one advantage of Non O-A initially is that it’s a multiple entry visa with 12 months stay each time so you can stretch it out to nearly 2 years if your plans match suitable dates and you don’t plan to live in Thailand. It requires more paperwork though. As you probably know, you can only get one in your Home Country.

[AngelCty2Nit]

@davidge offers a lot of valuable and accurate insight.

As someone who was simply moving from my home country to Thailand for retirement a non-o Visa fit me like a glove.

I never ever considered the non 0A because of its additional requirements, The advantages that it offered for going in and out of Thailand were not applicable to me because I'm not going anywhere. 

And if I want to go in and out I can get a single entry permit either with my extension or buy one a la carte later.

Some guys want the option to go back and forth to their home country or on extended vacations. And some like me just wanted the easiest way to move here and retire.

You need to do your homework to figure out which Visa option suits you best. Whatever it is I'm sure Maneerat can work it out for you.