financial requirements of the three retirement routes<\/a> compares the Non-Immigrant O extension, the O-A and the O-X on how much money each one locks up and for how long. That comparison is the decision most people get wrong before they ever reach this page.<\/p>\n1. Applying for Non-Immigrant O-A (long stay) your home-country<\/strong><\/p>\nFrom your home country or where you live, you can apply for a Non-Immigrant O-A visa. This visa allows you to stay in Thailand for one year. You need to show proof that you are 50 years old or older. You also need to meet the financial eligibility criteria.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The rules for extending an OA Visa for retirement and an O-retirement Visa are the same. The only difference is the new health insurance requirement.<\/p>\n
An OA Visa is valid for a full year (Visa validity date). When you enter Thailand on an OA Visa you will be stamped in for a full year.\u00a0\u00a0Each time you re-enter Thailand before your visa expires, you will get a new stamp. This stamp allows you to stay for a full year.\u00a0\u00a0It is therefore recommended to exit and re-enter Thailand just before your Visa validity expires.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the second year after your Visa expires, you need a re-entry permit. This permit is required when you leave and come back to Thailand. It helps keep your permission to stay valid until your current date. And it is only at the end of the permission to stay, that you need to apply for an extension of stay.<\/p>\n
What Documents Do You Need for a Retirement Extension in Thailand (TM7 Form)?<\/h2>\n What is mentioned below is typically required, but requirements differ dependent on country of application. Be careful: many people talk about \u201cretirement visa Thailand\u201d. In Thailand, you will need to \u201cextend your visa\u201d every year, extend the first visa or permission you had when you entered. The following documents are required:<\/p>\n
1. Passport with at least 18 months\u2019 validity\u00a0<\/p>\n
2. Three copies of the completed visa application form\u00a0(TM 7 form)<\/p>\n
3. Three passport-sized photos (4x6cm) taken within the past 6 months\u00a0<\/p>\n
4. Personal information form (Curriculum Vitea or resume, I never seen that in the rules but immigration can ask you any \u201crelevent\u201d document)<\/p>\n
5. Copy of your bank statement showing an amount of 800,000THB or more, OR a certificate proving that you have a monthly income<\/p>\n
You need a pension of 65,000 THB or more. Alternatively, you can show a mix of bank deposits and monthly income. This total must be at least 800,000 THB. Certain consulates or embassies can ask to notarize your bank account again verify with them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
6. Letter of guarantee from your bank (to guarantee bank statement accuracy)\u00a0<\/p>\n
IMPORTANT: The letter of guarantee for the funds deposited and relevant bank statements must be certified by a commercial bank in Thailand and should be recent (normally few days old only) This is not necessary everywhere, and would actually be difficult when applying from abroad for the OA Visa.<\/p>\n
7. Notarized letter from your home country (or official country of residence) stating that you have no criminal record.\u00a0<\/p>\n
8. Medical certificate from a hospital in the country where you submit your application<\/p>\n
it should show that you have no prohibitive diseases. The certificate should be recent (valid for not more than 3 months) and might have to be notarized. A letter or statement signed by your doctor is also acceptable in some countries.<\/p>\n
9. Insurance<\/p>\n
Health insurance is mandatory for the Non-Immigrant O-A visa. It is not a statutory requirement for a retirement extension based on a Non-Immigrant O entry, though we recommend cover regardless. The requirement runs on two tracks: at issuance abroad the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accepted Thai or non-Thai insurers since 31 October 2019, with the 3,000,000 THB \/ USD 100,000 COVID layer added from 1 October 2021; at extension inside Thailand, Order of the Royal Thai Police No. 654\/2564, signed on 27 December 2021 and published in the Government Gazette at volume 139, special part 17 Ngor, page 16, on 24 January 2022, permits Thai or non-Thai cover of not less than USD 100,000 or 3,000,000 THB, with a foreign policy certified through your own Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The order sets its own commencement, and it applies from 1 October 2022. Approved Thai insurers are listed at:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/longstay.tgia.org\/<\/p>\n
The policy must cover the entire stay in Thailand. It must provide total coverage of at least 3,000,000 THB, or USD 100,000. This replaced the old split requirement of 40,000 THB outpatient and 400,000 THB inpatient, for new applications from 1 October 2021 and, at extension inside Thailand, from 1 October 2022 under Order of the Royal Thai Police No. 654\/2564.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Who the O-A insurance requirement applies to<\/h3>\n This only applies to people who have a 1-year Non-Immigrant O-A visa. \u00a0You will be permitted to stay only for the length of the insurance coverage and not exceeding one year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Overseas insurance is accepted. However, your insurer must give you a filled-in and signed Foreign Insurance Certificate. \u00a0This visa is granted for 1 year.<\/p>\n
2. Non-Immigrant O for reason of retirement (if available in your country)<\/h3>\n The second option is to apply for a Non-Immigrant \u2018O\u2019 visa. You must apply online since 1st January 2025. There are many reasons to apply for a non-O visa. For example, being married to a Thai person can change your financial obligations. It can also affect the documents you need to submit.<\/p>\n
You must be over 50 years old. You also need bank statements that show an income of more than 65,000 THB per month. Alternatively, you can show a total account balance of 800,000 THB when you apply.<\/p>\n
If you are already in Thailand and want to stay, you can change your visa. You can apply to change your 30-day visa exemption or 60-day Tourist Visa. Just go to the Immigration Center in Bangkok. This can be done at any local immigration office in Thailand that provides the service.<\/p>\n
The same requirements will apply. When applying in Thailand, you also need to prove that the funds on your Thai bank-account originated from abroad ><\/p>\n
Be careful, changing a visa is not easy and must be done at least 15 days before your visa expires.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3. Extending Your Visa (see the immigration link below) or what we call extension based on retirement in Thailand<\/h4>\n It is advisable to apply for an extension one month before your visa expires. You should check with your local immigration office. They will tell you when to apply for an extension. Some offices (e.g. Chiang Wattana, government complex in Bangkok) allow up to 45 days.<\/p>\n
However, you can apply up to actual permission to stay expiry date.\u00a0\u00a0It is best to do this a few days before the expiry date. This way, if your application is incomplete, you can provide any extra documents needed.<\/p>\n
To do this, you need to file a TM7 Extension of Stay form just like you would for the Non-Immigrant O visa above. This time, you need to show 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account. You can also show this amount in your home country when you apply there. Alternatively, you can prove a monthly income of 65,000 THB. You can also use a mix of both to reach 800,000 THB or more.\u00a0This is what we call an \u201cExtension based on retirement in Thailand\u201d.<\/p>\n
You need to submit to extend your visa based on retirement:\u00a0<\/p>\n
1) TM7 application form\u00a0 with is the form for extension based on retirement in Thailand or any extension.<\/p>\n
2) Application fee of 1,900 THB\u00a0<\/p>\n
3) Original passport with signed photocopies of each page (2 copies outside of Bangkok)\u00a0<\/p>\n
4) 1 passport-sized photo (2 outside Bangkok)\u00a0<\/p>\n
5) Map to your residence (must be hand-drawn)\u00a0<\/p>\n
6) Financial proof (as discussed above)\u00a0<\/p>\n
Furthermore, when showing 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account, the funds must be seasoned before you file. The Immigration Bureau publishes that figure, and we have now read it.<\/strong> Its bilingual criteria sheet for clause 2.22, Criteria for Consideration of Granting an Alien’s Extension of Stay in the Kingdom for Retirement<\/em>, states at criterion (4) that the 800,000 THB must sit in a commercial bank account in Thailand for not less than 2 months before the filing date, and for not less than 3 months after permission is granted<\/strong>. The Thai text says the same: ก่อนยื่นคำขอไม่น้อยกว่า ๒ เดือน และหลังจากได้รับอนุญาตไม่น้อยกว่า ๓ เดือน<\/em>. After those three months you may draw on the account, provided the balance never falls below 400,000 THB.<\/p>\nSo the two-month figure is not a rumour; it is what the Bureau itself publishes. We previously told readers to plan on three months because we had not read the primary text, and that reason has gone. Two months before filing is the published requirement.<\/strong> Three months is still the safer margin where your dates allow it, because offices apply the criteria with some latitude and an older three-month-before-filing reading of Order No. 327\/2557 is still widely repeated.<\/p>\nSource note: this is not only an administrative sheet. The criteria for clause 2.22 were re-issued as the annex to Order of the Royal Thai Police No. 654\/2564, published in the Government Gazette at volume 139, special part 17 Ngor, page 16, on 24 January 2022, and criterion (4) of that annex sets the same 2 month and 3 month periods and the same 800,000 and 400,000 THB figures. The Immigration Bureau’s own bilingual sheet, document 7-6 NON-O, states it in Thai and English to the same effect; immigration.go.th refuses requests that arrive from other websites, so that sheet cannot be linked from here and we read it as archived on 4 August 2024. Confirm the current sheet at your own immigration office before you move money.<\/em><\/p>\nAfter 3 months, some money can be withdrawn. But you have to keep at least 400,000THB throughout the duration of permitted stay.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For a monthly income of 65,000THB, you must obtain a Letter for Proof of Income. Sadly, the embassies of the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and other countries no longer offer this service. You will need to obtain Proof of Income from your home country. Please consult your embassy as to whether or not they can provide you with a Proof of Income letter.\u00a0<\/p>\n