Thread: Questions about Tourist / Retirement Visa

Hi, all.

I have a few visa questions - hopefully one of you kind souls has some definitive answers.

Re: a 60/90 day tourist visa (now that out/in visa runs are out of the mix). I'm a U.S. citizen. Can I get a 60-day, extend to 90, then leave the country for 90 days (say, live in Laos or Vietnam for 3 months), then do another 60/90 in Thailand? Sort of a visa run but with a 3 month hiatus instead of 24 hours? Could that be done indefinitely?

If I understand correctly, a person applying for the 1-year Retirement Visa needs to show annual income + bank deposit in any combination totaling 800,000 baht (US$25,000).

Is the retirement visa unlimited/multiple entry/exit?

Does the cash you put in the Thai bank have to stay there throughout the entire year you have the visa, or can it be removed and then replenished when you go back to renew the visa after one year?

I get about 20k/yr in guaranteed retirement income. Are the rules ever "flexible" enough to permit the retirement visa on that basis, without another 5-grand cash deposit?

Thanks.

Thank you both for your replies and information - sorry for the delay in my responding.

I was really surprised last month, when coming into Thailand for a two-week vacation on my way back to the States that I was given a 90-day (yes, 90-day) tourist visa.

I had to blink twice and wipe my eyes to be sure I was reading the passport correctly. But that's what it said.

It MIGHT be that I have an extremely thick passport, including several former non-immigrant "B" multi-entry visas. Go figure.

Originally Posted by reispr01

I was really surprised last month, when coming into Thailand for a two-week vacation on my way back to the States that I was given a 90-day (yes, 90-day) tourist visa.

There is NO WAY you got a 90 day "tourist visa" as there is no such animal, no matter what the permission to stay until stamp says. Plain and simple, you were stamped in with the wrong stamp.

There is an entire window out at Chaengwattana Immigrations which does nothing but correct erroneous entry stamps. I'd bet dollars to durian if they have to dedicate a section to fixing them, they happen ALL the time..

You certainly would run amuck if you stayed the entire 90 days, of that fact I am sure, no matter what your permission to stay stamp said. The burden is on the passport holder. You are correct thinkin' they probably stamped you in based on a Non-Immigrant visa of some sort.

You said, you're only here for 2 weeks, so I imagine that means you came into the country without ANY visa in your passport before you showed up here and should have gotten a 30 day visa exempt stamp.

The officer at passport control just picked up the wrong stamp from the "pile 'o stamps" scattered around their desks. Now, in theory you're supposed to go get it corrected at your local immigrations office, however I doubt anything untoward happened to you when you left as scheduled two weeks later.

Interesting...thanks Tod.

Originally Posted by reispr01

Thank you both for your replies and information - sorry for the delay in my responding.

I was really surprised last month, when coming into Thailand for a two-week vacation on my way back to the States that I was given a 90-day (yes, 90-day) tourist visa.

I had to blink twice and wipe my eyes to be sure I was reading the passport correctly. But that's what it said.

It MIGHT be that I have an extremely thick passport, including several former non-immigrant "B" multi-entry visas. Go figure.

Did you have a tourist visa, if so that is valid for ENTRY within 90 days but only valid to remain for 60 days.
than u can extend it for 30 days for 1,900 baht

Otherwise they gave ya the wrong stamp as Todd states