Dodger wrote:Some good advice being offered here.
Jim, I will look into a Charles Schwab bank account as part of my pre-retirement planning. I've also heard that Capitol One offers a program using Bangkok Bank as the transfer point with 0% transfer fees.
Alex, I think you're wise using multiple banks in Thailand for the reasons you mentioned.
Rocket, back to the visa topic: If you own a condo in Thailand and are +50 as you stated, then you should strongly consider getting an O-A (retirement) visa. After 15 years of traveling to LOS on a tourist visa (60 days) and getting it extended for 30 days @ 1,900 baht, it's nice not having to do this any more, and the O-A visa is good for one year. It is easier getting this in Thailand only due to the fact that if you get this abroad you will have to take a medical exam and get a federal police report, both of which are time consuming and cost money. I obtained mine here in the U.S. just for the peace of mind. For a long time I just assumed that you actually had to be retired to qualify for this type of visa which is not the case.
To transfer from US Bank to Bangkok Bank account, the process is to transfer the funds through their NY Branch (using the Branch's ACH routing number). Although the US Bank may not charge a fee for ACH transfers, the process does include fees (but much less than sending an Int'l wire transfer) - the NY Branch has a scale of fees for the amount being transferred: less than USD 50 is free, from 50.01 to 100 is $3, from 100.01 to 2,000 is $5, from 2000.01 to 50,000 is $10 and any amount above 50,000 is $20. In addition, Bangkok Bank in Thailand will charge 0.25% with a minimum of charge 200 baht and maximum of 500 baht. See:
http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/ ... omUSA.aspx for more information.
I have been transferring funds from my Capitol 360 (was INGDirect until bought out by Capitol) account for several years - no fee charged by ING or Capitol. Prior to using NY branch for transfers, I was sending Int'l wire transfers at a cost of US$50. I now send over US$2,000 once a month, this incurs charges by Bangkok Bank of US$10 for NY Branch and between US$5 and US$10 by Bangkok bank here.
As to advice on Visa -- first, in your country of residence, you can apply for a Non-Immigrant "O-A" Visa - as mentioned, it does include a medical certificate and police report as part of the documentation required by the Thai Embassy/Consulate. They are usually multiple entry (at least those issued in USA are). Upon arrival, the holder receives a one-year permission to stay. If they leave Thailand and re-enter before the "Enter by" date shown on the O-A Visa, no Re-Entry Permit is needed and the holder will receive another one year permission to stay. But, a Re-Entry Permit is required if they leave and will not return to Thailand until after the "Enter by" date.
A person who qualifies to extend their stay in Thailand on the basis of retirement (which is the same for qualifying for an O-A Visa) and enters on a Visa Exempt (30 day stay) or Tourist Visa (60 day stay), they can apply for a Non-Immigrant "O" Visa from Thai Immigration. Upon issuance of the "O" Visa, Immigration gives a permission to stay for 90 days (this is normal period given when entering Thailand on any category Non-Immigrant Visa). After receiving the "O" Visa, the person then applies for an "Extension of Stay" based on retirement and will get a one year permission to stay from the end of the initial 90 days.
Getting the Non-Immigrant "O" Visa here used to be a fairly simple process - but not anymore - now they have to be approved in Bangkok (Pattaya Immigration takes the application and sends paperwork to Bangkok) - as mentioned in my previous post, there can be a lot of stumbling blocks when applying for the "O" Visa in Pattaya. To avoid the hassle, you can go to a Thai Embassy/Consulate in a neighboring country (Laos seems to be the easiest per reports on Thaivisa.com) and get the Non-Immigrant "O" Visa issued there. Upon return to Thailand, you will get a 90 day permission to stay stamp. You can then apply to Thai Immigration here for the one-year retirement extension - in Pattaya that is done by a different desk than the one that handles the Visa or Change in Visa applications and if documents are in order, the process takes about 10 minutes or less at desk #8 - but, the wait can be a while if there are many ahead of you in the queue).
