Gaybutton wrote: ↑Thu Feb 15, 2024 3:10 pm
Am I following you correctly? The O visa has been available outside of Thailand all along? Why didn't we know this? All this time and all these years it has been my understanding that the O visa is issued only within Thailand. Until your post, no one has ever said anything different. Are you saying the O visa was always available at the Thai embassies and consulates in some countries, but not in others? In which countries could people have gotten the O visa instead of the O-A.
Are you also saying that now the O visa is now available in all the Thai embassies and consulates regardless of their previous policy?
This is all news to me.
As I mentioned and as shown on the link to the Thai Embassy in Washington, DC, the category "O" visa is not just for the purpose of retirement. It can be for many different purposes with married to a Thai or related to a Thai being probably the most common reason.
As for getting one for purpose of retirement, that will depend on the Embassy/Consulate where one applies for the Visa. As I noted, some 20+ years ago when I inquired at the DC Thai Embassy, they would not issue it and insisted I use the apply for a category O-A - because of time constraints I had at the time, I decided to get a Tourist Visa and applied at the "Honorary" Consul in Dallas, TX (I lived in neighboring Fort Worth at the time) - However, I received a Non-Immigrant "O" Visa, multiple entry. How that came about is another story, I will not go into that unless someone asks me to tell it (a few years later, the authority for Honorary Thai Consuls to issue Non-Immigrant Visas (of any category as I recall was revoked by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MofFA)).
As to availability at all Thai Embassies/Consulates, I can't say, e.g., for some countries, not sure which, their citizens can't even get a Tourist Visa - I believe the MofFA has info available regarding what countries can apply for what category of Visas. However, I know that at that time as well as now, one can get the Category "O" Visa from neighboring countries (Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia) - many married/related to a Thai do this. Retirees can also obtain an "O" Visa by showing they meet the age and financial requirements that is necessary for retirees to get one year extensions.
Although it will not apply to gay folks, the spouse of foreign retirees in Thailand can "piggy back" on their spouses retirement extension (whether using O or O-A or other category) - that is apply for extension based on their spouse having one (includes retirees)- the ending date for the extension they get will coincide with that of their spouse. But, unlike retirees, they cannot apply for the category O Visa in Thailand. They have to get it from a Thai Embassy or Consulate. They then get a 90 day permission to stay upon arrival, then apply to extend based on their spouse already having an extension.
As to E Visas, it could well be the case they don't offer an "O" visa for retirement purposes, preferring that applicants go for the "O-A" or O-X" category. Also, that countries where to obtain a Visa, the applicant has to use the E Visa, it would preclude them getting it in those countries. However, where the Embassy/Consulate does not use the E Visa system, it would still be available for those going to the Embassy/Consulate to get the Visa.
