Retirement Questions

[windwalker]

I was curious as to the meaning of the OP's posting name, Xiphoid Process so did a google search on it.

I will give you a hint, it is part of the human anatomy and we all have one; mine is rather large.

[Xiphoid Process]

it is part of the human anatomy and we all have one; mine is rather large.

And it will get harder as you age!

[Xiphoid Process]

You have been given a wealth of information and other websites have been mentioned for you to explore and you had a long time to make some plans, would you care to share them with us?

I have researched Thaivisa as advised and determined that the OA visa is the way to go. No money needed in a Thai bank for maybe up to two years, no income letters, hit the ground all sorted with visa issues.

[Gaybutton]

Xiphoid Process so did a google search on it.

I was planning to stop by, to process my xiphoid, on the way to my holiday at the Islets of Langerhans . . .

[Up2u]

You have been given a wealth of information and other websites have been mentioned for you to explore and you had a long time to make some plans, would you care to share them with us?

I have researched Thaivisa as advised and determined that the OA visa is the way to go. No money needed in a Thai bank for maybe up to two years, no income letters, hit the ground all sorted with visa issues.

The OA visa you get before you come to Thailand from a Thai Embassy in USA. You will still need to prove your income if you don't have money in a Thai bank. Additionally, you need proof of no criminal record and a lengthy health questionnaire signed by your doctor. I found it easier to get a tourist visa before traveling and extend that visa (for retirement) annually.

[mahjongguy]

" I found it easier to get a tourist visa before traveling and extend that visa (for retirement) annually."

The process of getting a tourist visa entry, or a visa exempt entry, upgraded to a Non-Immigrant O from within Thailand is no longer as quick and easy as it used to be.

So, if someone wants to avoid the work of getting the police and medical clearances in their country, and doesn't mind missing out on the benefits of having an O-A visa, then the best advice is for them to obtain a single-entry Non O before arriving in Thailand. That will give them 90 days in which to arrange the income letter or have the 800,000 baht on deposit for the needed 60 days.

[windwalker]

As majongguy writes the Type O Non Immigrant is the easiest way to go but the Type OA is the best way if one can comply with the additional requirements. In addition I am not sure if all Thai Consulates in the USA will even issue an OA visa. At one time I asked the NYCity Consulate and they said they would only give a Type O visa. Don't know what that reason was.

In some US states it can be easy to get a criminal report. Just have to log into the State Police website, type in relevant info, pay a small fee and your report is emailed to you and hopefully it is clean!

Also I did go the route of entering with a Tourist Visa and converting that to a Type O when in Thailand.
A time consuming and expensive process since, at that time, one had to do that in Bangkok, not at Jomtien. Believe that has changed.

Oh, my Xiphoid Process has gotten larger over past 10 years mostly as a result of a sternotomy done during a heart bypass procedure. Never knew what that lump was named so a great relief.

[2lz2p]

" I found it easier to get a tourist visa before traveling and extend that visa (for retirement) annually."

The process of getting a tourist visa entry, or a visa exempt entry, upgraded to a Non-Immigrant O from within Thailand is no longer as quick and easy as it used to be.

So, if someone wants to avoid the work of getting the police and medical clearances in their country, and doesn't mind missing out on the benefits of having an O-A visa, then the best advice is for them to obtain a single-entry Non O before arriving in Thailand. That will give them 90 days in which to arrange the income letter or have the 800,000 baht on deposit for the needed 60 days.

Agree with mahjongguy - it used to be a simple process. As I am acquainted with Up2U, I know when he did his application for visa and extension of stay. At that time, it was done by Pattaya Immigration - usually done on the same day and the same paperwork for both (visa & extension). Back then, I used to recommend folks to come here on Visa Exempt or Tourist Visa and apply for the Non-Immigrant "O" Visa and one year extension of stay at Immigration.

However, that has all changed. A year or so ago, Bangkok took away the authority for Pattaya (and other) Immigration Office to issue the Non-Immigrant "O" Visa, which is necessary to have in order to apply for the one year retirement extension. They can still approve the extension, but must send paperwork to Bangkok for approval (2 week turn around time) of the Visa. When the Visa is approved, they provide for a 90 day permission to stay and tell you to come back after 60 days to apply for the extension. If using an Embassy income letter, you now need two originals; one for the visa application that goes to Bangkok and another one with the application for the one year extension.

Pattaya Immigration has now made it much more of a hassle to get the Non-Immigrant "O" Visa - the application is handled by a different "desk" than the one used for retirement extensions of stay. For example, if you are using an Embassy income letter, you must have it "stamped" by the Legal Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok (this is not required by the desk that does the initial and renewal of retirement extensions of stay). This desk also requires a hand drawn map to where you live (no, can't use a google map - must be hand drawn). This desk also closely scrutinize the paperwork and residence documentation looking for any minor little detail that they can require be corrected.

So, I now recommend to folks that they either get the Non-Immigrant "O-A" Visa in their own country OR if they wish to avoid the medical certificate/police report that Thai Embassies require, they travel to Laos or Malaysia to apply at the Thai Embassy for a Non-Immigrant "O" Visa - thus on reentering Thailand they get the 90 day permission to stay and after 60 days go to Thai Immigration and apply for the one year extension of stay based on retirement - thus avoiding the hassles of the visa application desk at Pattaya Immigration.

The "O-A" to some folks has its advantages - if using money in bank to qualify, it does not have to be in a Thai bank - the "O-A" Visa expires (enter Thailand before date on the Visa) one year after issuance and it is a multiple entry. Thus anytime during the one year validity, each entry into Thailand, you get a one year permission to stay stamp from the date of entry - so if you entered Thailand shortly after the visa was issued and leave Thailand and return just before the Visa expiration date, you will get another year stay - making it about two years without having to go to Thai Immigration to apply for the one year extension of stay.

For obtaining the visa in Laos or Malaysia, Thaivisa.com is the best source for the requirements of the Thai Embassy/Consulates to issue the Non-Immigrant "O" Visa.

[mahjongguy]

It's true that the O-A must be obtained through the DC Embassy or the LA Consulate. Unless you live nearby then you must apply by mail and allow three to four weeks.

As for the requirements:
- Financial. They don't really put your feet to the fire. I sent them a brokerage statement and a copy of my latest 1040, without any covering explanations. They didn't push back.
- Police clearance. I went to the main local police station, paid them something like $20, came back a few days later to pick it up.
- Medical. I submitted a medical form which I had gotten from a Bangkok doctor. LA rejected it, insisted that it be from a US doctor. I took a fresh copy of the form to my Chinese primary physician in San Francisco who understood what was really being asked for, that there was no apparent indication of elephantiasis, etc. Resubmitted the form and got my visa right back. If your doctor feels he must actually test you, somehow, then go elsewhere.

No one is exactly sure what the "A" in O-A stands for. I think of it as meaning pre-Approved for Long-Stay, that you are all set up for the annual extension program. You just need to make your 90-day reports if you don't travel, and make sure you have a Re-Entry Permit if you do travel after the O-A visa itself has expired.

[fountainhall]

I took the O-A route but from Hong Kong where I was based. I also got the medical certificate on an earlier trip to Bangkok from a tiny clinic off Suriwong - Bt. 500 then - and no actual tests done! No problem with the Hong Kong consulate. The police report was easy although it took about 2 weeks. Even though I had purchased a condo some years earlier, they were still quite strict going through my various financial records. Once you get the visa and the multiple re-entry permit, you effectively have 2 years before switching on to the one year retirement visa, as 2lz2p pointed out. All in all it was pretty painless and you avoid any hassle once you are here.