Retirement Visa for Thailand

[synthia]

Heed oddball's warning. I spent seven months listening to people who came to Penang on visa runs, telling tales about visas of all types that weren't renewed.

Also, those income and investment limits are those that are in effect now. They were lower, and when they were raised they were raised for everyone. So if you barely qualify now, the time may come when they are raised again and you will be forced to leave.

[oddball]

With all of this info , some people still make it sound like a walk in the park , yes it can be , but when it is NOT , it can be very traumatic and expensive for what you stand to lose . people have refered to people like myself as fools , i do not mind one bit because i have been called worse in my long life time . Pease take off those rose tinted spectacles and try to remember "He who laughs last , laughs longest "

[synthia]

I know people who have knowingly taken such risks, but they could easily afford to lose the money invested, and were willing to move on if need be. A lot of people, however, are in situations where moving after settling in or losing the money invested in a condo or business would put them in dire straits. If you can't afford to walk away, you shouldn't do i.

[OJAS]

Consistent with earlier advice in this thread, I am planning to seek a 1-year O-A retirement visa from my home Royal Thai Embassy in London. However, what does a verification/guarantee/reference letter from one's bank (in support of bank statements confirming a minimum balance equal to THB 800k) need to say in order to satisfy the Thai authorities? Sorry if this sounds a daft question, but I have not been able to track down any guidance on this point.

Also, has anyone had any experiences (good or bad) of obtaining an O-A retirement visa from the Royal Thai Embassy in London?

[oddball]

I Think you will find there is no such thing as a retirement visa in Thailand,there is however a continuation visa that needs to be renewed(or revoked)every year.Log on to ThaiVisa and you will get all the answers you need from some very experienced people,the visa situation is not easy at the best(?) of times , rather a complication of compilations by whomsoever you may be dealing with at any given time . Colin

[KhwaamLap]

First advise, is don't go to the Thai Embassy London! Use the Hull Consulate. They will do all by post and will give friendly, helpful service (unlike the Thai Embassy in London). There website has a wealth of info on it: The Royal Thai Consulate of Hull
In particulare look at this doc: http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/pdfs/Af...pplication.pdf

..and as Oddball said, ThaiVisa.com (but check what you are told as there are a lot of red herrings thrown around.

Good luck

[OJAS]

The problem with using the Hull consulate, it seems to me, is that they will only issue you with a 90-day "O" visa, leaving you then with the potential hassle of converting it to a year's "O-A" retirement visa once in Thailand (with no guarantee of a successful outcome or that the Immigration Bureau people you'll be dealing with will be anywhere near as friendly or helpful as the Hull consulate). My preference would be to get everything sorted out as far as possible beforehand, and, since I live in SW London, the Thai Embassy is easy for me to get to in person. Indeed, I note from earlier posts in this string that Bren was contemplating getting an "O-A" retirement visa from the London Embassy and that Chicowoodduck successfully obtained such a visa on home soil in the USA. I would particularly be interested in knowing what the Bank of America statement verification letter which Chicowoodduck obtained at a cost of $10 might have said.