Questioner: Don Ramon
On July 17th I will settle in Thailand. Now, when booking my ticket, they tell me the following: upon arrival in Thailand you will receive a free visa for max. 30 days, but for a longer stay you must contact the Embassy of Thailand for a visa application.
Do you need a return ticket or onward ticket if you do not have a visa for more than 30 days? Now my question is: can I also obtain this visa at the immigration office in Buriram where I will live?
Reaction RonnyLatYa
- You do not say on what basis you will stay in Thailand for a longer period of time. I assume that this will be based on “Retired”. If not I will hear it.
- To be able to stay in Thailand for a longer period of time, you must have a Non-immigrant status as a basis. In your case, then a Non-immigrant O Retired. This gives you a residence period of 90 days upon arrival. You can extend those 90 days by a year at immigration, provided you meet the conditions. You can then repeat this extension annually.
- You can get a Non-immigrant O in 2 ways:
- You immediately apply for a Non-immigrant O Single entry visa through the embassy
You can find the conditions here
CATEGORY 1 : Tourism and recreation related visit
.....
- Longer stay for retired persons (pensioner aged 50 or above)
VISA TYPE: Non-immigrant O (retirement) Visa (90 days stay)
https://hague.thaiembassy.org/th/publicservice/e-visa-categories-fee-and-required-documents
of
- You depart on the basis of Visa Exemption and request a change from Visa Exemption to Non-immigrant O in Thailand.
In that case (departure on Visa Exemption) you will have to take into account that your airline may request proof that you intend to leave Thailand within 30 days. That is then a return or onward flight ticket. However, there are also companies that are satisfied with a statement from you and there are companies that ask nothing at all. So check with your airline.
You will then enter Thailand on the basis of Visa Exemption and you will have a residence period of 30 days. You can possibly extend this by 30 days (1900 Baht) at immigration.
However, Visa Exemption is a Tourist status and you cannot extend a Tourist status by one year.
If you want to stay in Thailand for a longer period of time, you will first have to change your status from Tourist to Non-immigrant.
This is possible at immigration and costs 2000 Baht. Make sure you have at least 15 days of stay left when submitting the application.
Everything you need to go from Tourist to Non-immigrant can be found here
https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022C1_09.pdf
If allowed, you will receive a Non-immigrant O and immediately a residence period of 90 days. Just as if you would have entered with a Non-immigrant O. You can then extend those 90 days by a year and also repeat that year extension annually.
- To obtain a year extension as Retired, you must of course meet the requirements of that year extension (1900 Baht).
As a Retired, it is mainly the financial requirements that are most important.
– At least 800 000 Baht in a bank account in Thailand. Be on the account at least 2 months before application and must remain on the account for at least 3 months after approval. Then you can drop to a minimum of 400 Baht for the remaining period
Of
– An income of at least 65 Baht. Must be demonstrated with, among other things, a visa support letter.
Of
– A combination of income and bank account that must be at least 800 000 Baht on an annual basis.
- Also not to be forgotten
– make sure you have been reported to immigration with your residence address. Can be used by a TM30.
– confirm your address with immigration every 90 days of continuous stay. Can be used by a TM47.
– when you leave Thailand, first ask for a re-entry. Can with a TM8.
All types of forms can be found here
https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/downloads_en/
– Do you have a visa question for Ronny? Use it contact form.! -