Thailand visa Q&A: Why a visa run?

Dear editors,

I ask myself the question: Why a visa run? If everything is in order, you can still go to immigration every 89 days and a fourth time for a new year visa.

I hear several times that one should not have that 800.000 bt as a single person or couple. What is true here? And why are they doing it? In visa file I only read that it exists. I make sure there is enough money in the account three months before visa renewal.

With kind regards,

Daniel

Dear Daniel,

You apparently have a Non-Immigrant Visa O with an age-based one-year extension. With such a year extension, there is no question of a 'visa run' (= leaving the country for a while), but you do have to report to the local Immigration office every 90 days. For the annual renewal based on age (50 and above), the applicant must either have 800.000 Baht in a Thai bank account*, or have a net monthly income of 65.000 Baht, or a combination of both that together amount to 800.000 Baht on an annual basis.

Those who are legally married to a Thai, regardless of their age, can also apply for an annual extension of their Non-Immigrant Visa O. The income requirements for this are lower: the applicant must either have 400.000 Baht in a Thai bank account* or a net monthly income having 40.000 Baht; a combination of both is not possible.

Additional requirements apply to both categories; see dossier Visa Thailand. All requirements apply per person = only for the applicant; requests per 'couple' do not exist.

All the best,

Martin Brands (for Ronny Mergits)

*Minimum 2 months with the first application; 3 months for a follow-up application.