How to easily obtain a “Retirement” Visa for Thailand (2/2)

You have arrived in Thailand!
You have obtained your long-term O or OA visa.

If you have a non-immigrant O visa, you have 90 days to extend its validity by one year, that is 365 days for the OA visa.

Obtaining the initial O or OA visa in your country is described in the first article on the subject.

Ok, but how to extend the validity of your visa?

You do not have to renew your visa, you simply have to extend the validity of your initial visa.
To do this, you must go to the nearest immigration office with all the requested documents.
I advise you to start your procedures 1 month before your visa expires.
Some documents, such as a one-year bank statement, may require a week’s delay. Anyway even if you get an extension before the end of the current extension, the new one-year extension will start at the end of your current extension.

The important points

Before seeing the documents and the procedure necessary for the extension, a summary of the important points:

• Finance:
  • You must have a minimum amount of 800’00 THB in an account of a Thaibank, for at least 2 months for the 1st extension, 3 months for the following extensions.
    For the 2nd and subsequent extensions, you will also have to prove that the 800,000 THB were present 3 months after obtaining the previous extension;
  • OR be able to prove a retirement pension of at least THB 65,000 per month;
  • OR a mix of both as long as you can prove 800,000 THB per year in total. The additional capital to your pension must be in an account of a Thai bank.

♦ Proof of your income is the most important point taken into account during your extension!

Avoid staying in Thailand after the expiration of your visa. You risk a fine, expulsion or even a ban from the country.

If you already have a retirement pension

You’ve probably validated your pension income with an official document in your home country. This document should also be valid for the extension of your visa in Thailand.
In this case, the O and OA visas are almost identical when they are extended, except for compulsory health insurance for the OA visa.

If, like me, you don’t have a retirement pension yet

You will have to prove that you have 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account for 2 months at the first visa extension, 3 months at the following extensions.
If you have an O visa valid for 90 days, this is going to be very short. Possible but complicated, that’s why in my first article on the subject, I advised you rather the OA visa as an initial visa.

The necessary documents

Before going to the nearest immigration office, you must make sure that you have all the requested documents.

You can check the documents necessary for your extension on the immigration site.

◊ The immigration site https://www.immigration.go.th/ is partially translated into English. You will often need to use your browser for translation.

For information, the list of documents for the O visa

• Application Form TM.7 (Stay extension) – Tm.7 Stay Extension [LINK]
• Application Form TM.8 (re-entry permit) – TM.8 Re-entry Permit [LINK]
  • Re-Entry permit guide : [LINK]
• 2 passport photos, one for the extension and the other for the re-entry permit
• Original Bank Book – Updated the same day as your extension request
• Bank deposit certificate – Bank deposit certificate issued by your Thai bank, this document is only valid for 7 days after issuance.
• Bank book content copy – Photocopy of the contents of your bank book
• A bank statement that shows that the 800,000 THB was present 3 months after obtaining your previous extension. Allow a week to obtain this document for 12 months (200 THB).
• Optional: Apartment lease contract – Lease of your apartment. Not always requested, don’t present it, but have a copy just in case.
• Apartment situation map – A map of the location of your place of residence (by hand it’s OK but Google map is your friend)
• Passport Visa and TM. 6 copy (Two copies) – 2 copies of your passport:
  • Page with your photo
  • Page with current visa
  • Page with visa extension, if available
  • Page with Departure card TM.6

For the OA visa:

Same as the Visa O but you will need, in addition, a health insurance certificate from an insurance approved by the Thai administration and a corresponding insured amount.

Tips

Forms TM.7 and TM.8 can be loaded as a PDF from the immigration download page.
You will be able to fill them out, modify and print them before your visit, and even reuse them for your subsequent requests.
If you have a printer / scanner, you can prepare your complete file at home.
Note that all your photocopies must be signed.

Getting to immigration

You must go personally to the nearest immigration office.
You cannot delegate your visit, however you can be assisted by a translator or a lawyer for example.

I currently live in Bangkok, so I’m going to tell you about my experience at the immigration office of the Government Complex in Bangkok.