Thread: Will a criminal offence bar you from a retirees visa?

Got my retirement visa last week. Was not asked for a criminal record report. Had to produce copies of passport (name/ photo page, visa page, page with latest entry stamp, departure card), letter from UK Embassy confirming address and pension earnings > 65000 Baht/ month (= alternative to 800,000 Baht in Thai bank account), copies of house book. You first have to register with the Embassy. The UK Embassy letter did quote that they had "no information to the detriment of the applicant" - maybe that is the polite terminology for not having a criminal record. As pointed out above - if you're from the UK then most crimes are 'spent' after a certain period and need not be declared and are not disclosed - in the UK! However this is not UK - if you do not disclose on the application form then you have (technically) given false info and they can use that if they need an excuse to cancel your visa. (Bit like asking on the visa application form for the UK - are you/ have you been involved in terrorist activities? Noone's going to answer Yes so if you're caught out all they need do is throw you out of the country for making false application/ declaration. No need for messy stuff like deportation orders etc!!)

I had a 12 month Non Immigrant O visa from UK and the retirement visa is an application for extension to stay for a further 365 days. If I remember correctly you can only get a retirement visa here in Thailand. Visas other than Non Imm O are ok but application cannot be made with the 30 days on arrival visa.
Good luck! Oh - and check first with the office where you make application as to copy docs required. Some have their own ideas. Mine was obtained in Hua Hin (& very helpful they were too)

Originally Posted by thai-papa-jim

I had a 12 month Non Immigrant O visa from UK and the retirement visa is an application for extension to stay for a further 365 days. If I remember correctly you can only get a retirement visa here in Thailand.

You cannot get any kind of Thai visa in Thailand. Visas are issued by Thai consulates and there are no Thai consulates in Thailand. The OP needs to get a multiple non-Imm O visa in his home country. He then needs to move to Thailand and shift his 800,000bt into a Thai bank. It has to sit in that bank for a minimum of 3 months (which is why he needs a multiple visa). One border run will give him the three months he needs. He then needs to apply for an extension to his non Imm O on the grounds of retirement. The extension is granted without the need for a police check. After that he just applies for an extension every year - not forgetting that the 800,000bt has to be in the bank 3 months before he applies.

Hey Guys a little advice please , this is quite apart from this thread but reading it prompted me to ask a question here.
About 8 months ago my Thai GF of about 12 mths and I parted company because she was crazy jealous and I discovered had told me loads of "porky's".
After I gave her bye bye ( in as nice a way as I could think of) she did the Thai berserker bit and demanded 16000 bht for services rendered ( and hey she had 2 trips to Aus. all expenses plus etc , you know how ot goes) when I said no she threatened me and set about a slander campaign including stories that I had given her an infectious disease ( I did too , she got Thrush once ) even contacting friends in Australia as well . Anyway in trying to shut her up i told her i would send a few very personal pictures to her friends if she didn't back off - had no intention of actually doing this ). Didn't work , too k my email to the local Police who issued some sort of complaint order to the effect I should report to the Police station to reach a settlement ?
I had it translated , rang 5 Thia lawyers asking for help in sorting this out , no reply , rang the Police staion involved ( from Australia) 5 times cut off , transferred to oblivion , Tried to contact the Tourist Police by email ( now there's a real test) sent 3 emails no reply .
I am really uncomfortable about this because I would like to go back to Pattaya but don't want to finish up in Thai court and I don't want to pay this half hitch one lousy bht.
Any thoughts please.

Originally Posted by lysander

You cannot get any kind of Thai visa in Thailand. Visas are issued by Thai consulates and there are no Thai consulates in Thailand.

Whoopee. A post that is correct.
A lot of the "advice" given here is a load of twaddle.
I suggest some of you guys sort yourselves out and find out the difference between a visa and an extension

Originally Posted by buriramboy

I know people out here who have done double figure sentences for crimes such as murder and armed robbery, so they obviously don't do too much checking

Weren't they in the SAS though on assingment when they made the kills?

Originally Posted by mrsquirrel

Originally Posted by buriramboy

I know people out here who have done double figure sentences for crimes such as murder and armed robbery, so they obviously don't do too much checking

Weren't they in the SAS though on assingment when they made the kills?

Forget the Walter Mittys, I have met a guy on Scotland Yard's Most Wanted list in Bangkok.

Didn't know until I came across an article about him on the internet from the Grauniad.

If Thailand has immigration laws like 99.9% of other countries, then, you're not even allowed to enter Thailand if you have a criminal record.

If U R Uk Born U Need A Police Check Which Costs 10 Pounds, The Forms Are On The Net, It Takes Longer Than It Should To Receive The Reply And It Is Only Valid For Three Months. For More Details Read The Info Given By The Thai Consulate In Hull, Uk.

Originally Posted by Sir Burr

If Thailand has immigration laws like 99.9% of other countries, then, you're not even allowed to enter Thailand if you have a criminal record.

not close to being true.

Originally Posted by buriramboy

I know people out here who have done double figure sentences for crimes such as murder and armed robbery, so they obviously don't do too much checking.

You need new friends!

Get a non-O visa, multiple entries from abroad. They will not checked your criminal record (like Hull consulate in UK, Brisbane in Australia, Alabama in USA). That's a one-year multiple entries.

As you can see, in Hull, they checked the criminal record for retirement:
http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/pdfs/Af...pplication.pdf

But they do not checked for Non-O (visiting friends) as it doesn't look like it's a document required:
http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/pdfs/Ab...ion%20Pack.pdf


While in Thailand, CHANGE your visa (21 days earlier in some office) NON-O to a NON-OA (retirement extension) and in Thailand, they should NOT checked your criminal record but will have to meet the financial requirements. Outside Thailand, for retirement, they will probably checked your criminal (but not necessarely).

Good luck

Originally Posted by Sebastien

Get a non-O visa, multiple entries from abroad. They will not checked your criminal record (like Hull consulate in UK, Brisbane in Australia, Alabama in USA). That's a one-year multiple entries.

As you can see, in Hull, they checked the criminal record for retirement:
http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/pdfs/Af...pplication.pdf

But they do not checked for Non-O (visiting friends) as it doesn't look like it's a document required:
http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/pdfs/Ab...ion%20Pack.pdf


While in Thailand, CHANGE your visa (21 days earlier in some office) NON-O to a NON-OA (retirement extension) and in Thailand, they should NOT checked your criminal record but will have to meet the financial requirements. Outside Thailand, for retirement, they will probably checked your criminal (but not necessarely).

Good luck

Thanks for the sound advice.

Originally Posted by Reaper

Originally Posted by buriramboy

I know people out here who have done double figure sentences for crimes such as murder and armed robbery, so they obviously don't do too much checking.

You need new friends!

Never said they were friends.

25 years AGO, is what he says. O visa have to be out of LOS.

Originally Posted by Thaiguy

Hey Guys a little advice please , this is quite apart from this thread but reading it prompted me to ask a question here. About 8 months ago my Thai GF of about 12 mths and I parted company because she was crazy jealous and I discovered had told me loads of "porky's". After I gave her bye bye ( in as nice a way as I could think of) she did the Thai berserker bit and demanded 16000 bht for services rendered ( and hey she had 2 trips to Aus. all expenses plus etc , you know how ot goes) when I said no she threatened me and set about a slander campaign including stories that I had given her an infectious disease ( I did too , she got Thrush once ) even contacting friends in Australia as well . Anyway in trying to shut her up i told her i would send a few very personal pictures to her friends if she didn't back off - had no intention of actually doing this ). Didn't work , too k my email to the local Police who issued some sort of complaint order to the effect I should report to the Police station to reach a settlement ? I had it translated , rang 5 Thia lawyers asking for help in sorting this out , no reply , rang the Police staion involved ( from Australia) 5 times cut off , transferred to oblivion , Tried to contact the Tourist Police by email ( now there's a real test) sent 3 emails no reply . I am really uncomfortable about this because I would like to go back to Pattaya but don't want to finish up in Thai court and I don't want to pay this half hitch one lousy bht. Any thoughts please.

I fail to see how the police will know you're back in town. Reporting to a police station to sort out a dispute is a common thing in Thailand. Even then I don't think there's any legal obligations as the police just act like arbitors. Try send a message to Sebastian, he is a lawyer in Thailand. He posted on this thread and I'm suprised he didn't respond to your question.

Originally Posted by dennis3506

I had a criminal offence for which I did some jail time over 25 years ago.

If it was for murder you would be getting out right now .... better stick with the tourist visa for a bit

I want to protect the confidentiality of one client but can tell you a story.
You won't be able to recognize him, his country, etc.

Someone was arrested 10 years ago for possession/traffic of drug in Thailand and was charged. He got bail and left the country. It was a foreigner.

We were asked to verify some information for him. We called immigration but were unable to get anything from them. And we have good contact. However, if you apply for a visa OUTSIDE Thailand, they have no authority (or maybe I don't understand international law applying to embassies that are a special area) to arrest someone. You apply for a visa in a foreign country for Thailand...how can they arrest you and if you get the visa...I would be surprised that it is a trap! But I might be wrong and told the client.

We verified with the police in Thailand and they had NO RECORD of what happened 10 years ago. We gave the name, passport number, all information to a contact. NOTHING CAME OUT. Directly from the police system used in Thailand.

I would never say that this person is 100% safe to come back here...
But as you know, Thailand is not computerized everywhere, bureaucraty is heavy, and many people can get around laws.

Don't misunderstand me:
I WOULD NEVER ADVISE A CLIENT TO DO SOMETHING ILLEGAL.

End of the story and confidentiality of this person remains. If you ask me more questions about that case, I can't answer. That's what I know...