Hua Hin Immigration

[barrys]

Yes, if it's income, then no need to leave it sitting in a bank. Also, a few thousand baht can cause people to not notice certain dates and etc.

I believe that can also apply to an entirely fictitious 800k

[wpcoe]

Thanks for the advice, only one more question, what kind of visa do you need to be on when you apply for a year visa.........

You need to have a Non-Immigrant "o" Visa

While that is indeed correct, you can arrive Thailand on another type of entry, e.g. 30-day visa exempt stamp, multiple-entry Tourist Visa, etc, and providing you have 21 days remaining on your permission to stay in Thailand, Thai Immigratoins can issue you a special Non-Immigrant O visa for B2,000 without you having to leave Thailand.

Once you have "converted to" that special Non-Immigrant O visa, you can apply for an extension for retirement, or marriage, or child support.

Now, since I'm new to Hua Hin, I don't know if Hua Hin Immigrations can/will issue that special Non-Immigrant O visa or not. Some upcountry Immimgrations offices send folks to Bangkok to get the visa. Some other upcountry stations, like Cholburi (Jomtien/Pattaya) will issue the visa locally.

Another variable is that sometimes the Immigrations Office will issue the special Non-Immigrant O visa and then process the extension that same visit, while others will tell you to leave and return when you are in the final 21 days of the Non-Immigrant O visa. There seems to be no common pattern on who gets the extension immediately, and who is told to return. There is no "penalty" if they do the extension the same day, since they start the 12-month calendar for the extension at the 90th day of the Non-Immigrant O visa.

Has anybody gone this route in Hua Hin? I'd be interested in hearing your experience.

FYI, I wrote a web page a few years ago, but think it is still current, about how to "convert" from a 30-day visa-exempt stamp to a retirement extension. It was initially written for my American colleagues living in Thailand, but applies to others who get visa-exempt entry as well.

[georgy]

Now, since I'm new to Hua Hin, I don't know if Hua Hin Immigrations can/will issue that special Non-Immigrant O visa or not. Some upcountry Immimgrations offices send folks to Bangkok to get the visa. Some other upcountry stations, like Cholburi (Jomtien/Pattaya) will issue the visa locally.

Has anybody gone this route in Hua Hin? I'd be interested in hearing your experience.

yes, I got it done at HH immigration, fast, efficient and friendly.
Thai embassy in Shanghai refused to issue a Non Immigrant visa, so I arrived with a tourist visa.
This was amended to NI and then extended to an extension of stay.
Getting the bank confirmation letter from bank took me longer then the visa procedure.

I heard that it will even be done starting from a visa excempt stamp.

[brianks]

I still don't understand why most would rather have 800,000 baht sitting in a Thai bank ( I think now only 650,000 baht) in order to get their retirement visa. Monthly income requirement is easier and safer than leaving that much money sitting around doing nothing for you. For us Americans its quite easy at Embassy as we just put down a number for income and get it notarized on form. For Brits I have heard quite the opposite. They go the full bureaucratic route and take weeks to actually verify amount. Monthly income method makes so much more sense financially, I can't understand why people cannot read past the first line on the financial requirements list for the retirement visa.

[lomuamart]

The amount for Thai saving for a retirement extension is 800K. I'm afraid they havn't reduced the amount. It's 400K for married extension.
The British Embassy do require original evidence of income before they'll issue the letter but they don't take weeks to verify. Last year it was a same day turnaround. Hand in paperwork in the morning and collect letter after 2pm the same day.
The US Embassy don't require any prrof of income, as you say. But Imm are catching on to that and some provincial offices are requiring further evidence of income in addition to the Embassy letter. Imm are always able to ask for further documents/evidence whenever they want.
I don't know if HH Imm is asking Americans for further evidence yet.

[Homer]

I still don't understand why most would rather have 800,000 baht sitting in a Thai bank ( I think now only 650,000 baht) in order to get their retirement visa. Monthly income requirement is easier and safer than leaving that much money sitting around doing nothing for you.

Money in a Thai baht denominated bank account is a buffer against exchange rate fluctuations and allows one to exchange from dollars at a time of one's choice and not of necessity.

For us Americans its quite easy at Embassy as we just put down a number for income and get it notarized on form.

Can anyone tell me what Immigration does if a Yank presents the embassy letter with 65k monthly equivalent, Immigration official asks for proof and Yank says "... uh ... my dog ate it."?

[TimandT]

I still don't understand why most would rather have 800,000 baht sitting in a Thai bank ( I think now only 650,000 baht) in order to get their retirement visa.

Where did you get the information for only 650,000 baht?

I can't understand why people cannot read past the first line on the financial requirements list for the retirement visa.

Not everyone has a regular income.

[PeteC]

Immigration have started asking for proof concerning the US Embassy letter, on a random basis. I have two retired US military friends here who were asked for it when renewing their retirement 1 year a few months ago. They told me friends of theirs were not asked during the same time frame and at the same Immigration HQ office in Bangkok. So it is random, at present. Pete

[lomuamart]

I still don't understand why most would rather have 800,000 baht sitting in a Thai bank ( I think now only 650,000 baht) in order to get their retirement visa.

Where did you get the information for only 650,000 baht?

I can't understand why people cannot read past the first line on the financial requirements list for the retirement visa.

Not everyone has a regular income.

Possibly mixing things up with the 65K a month minimum income for retirement?

[hhfarang]

Immigration have started asking for proof concerning the US Embassy letter, on a random basis. I have two retired US military friends here who were asked for it when renewing their retirement 1 year a few months ago.

Why would they do that Pete? Aside from Politicians and lawyers, I've never known an American to lie.

[PET]

For Brits I have heard quite the opposite. They go the full bureaucratic route and take weeks to actually verify amount. Monthly income method makes so much more sense financially, I can't understand why people cannot read past the first line on the financial requirements list for the retirement visa.

Then you must have heard wrong about it taking weeks. I sent my details plus fee, by EMS post from HH to the British Embassy Bangkok and it was returned back to HH within 5 days and the same for last year too.

[kalbow]

Now, since I'm new to Hua Hin, I don't know if Hua Hin Immigrations can/will issue that special Non-Immigrant O visa or not. Some upcountry Immimgrations offices send folks to Bangkok to get the visa.

Took this path and had no problem here in HH.

Well, actually that's not quite true, when I went to get my tourist visa "converted" to special Non-Imm O visa there was a bit of a hiccup when they told me I'd overstayed by 47 days and quickly calculated that I'd owed them a sum of money!

I pointed out the visa expiry date of the visa in my passport (still 22 days to go) and they suddenly realised that the immigration officer at the airport had mistakenly given me a 90 day tourist visa! They asked me if I remembered who it was...LOL... I said a man! They made all sorts of phone calls and took a magnifying glass to the stamp to try and work out who stamped my passport. In the end they said I should go to the immigration at the airport that day and sort it out. HH immigration also wrote a letter to say that the overstay was NOT my fault. I asked if it was easier to leave the country and come back, they said yes, so I did that instead as I was due to fly out in a few days anyway.

On my return they remembered my situation and quickly processed my visa extension. All in all they were actually quite helpful and some contribution to imbibing of tea was made on my part.