# Applying for Retirement Visa from Australia



## illinge (Jul 6, 2014)

There are many forum discussions regarding this topic but each has their own flavour of questioning. So needless to say I am still confused regarding the process to get the retirement visa. I understand the requirements to get a retirement visa it’s just the procedure/process I am unsure of.

1.	Do I apply for the Retirement visa whilst still in Australia or 
2.	do I apply for a 90 days (O visa (non-Immigrant?)? – but I am not visiting family in Thailand?) in Australia and then once in Thailand I go to a Thailand Immigration office and apply for a 1 year extension for a retirement visa?
3.	If option 1 above, how do I prove 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account if I don’t have a Thai bank account or do I need to prove finance in an Australia Bank account? ( I am not going the 65,000 baht monthly income route)
4.	If its option 2 above, I assume I open a Thai bank account when I get to Thailand and then transfer the 800,000 baht to that account and then after 2 months go to a Thai immigration to apply for the retirement extension?
5.	Do I do the medicals and police clearance whilst still in Australia for option 1 and/or option 2?

Any URL links for my questions I can explore further?


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## Wayward Wind (Aug 28, 2011)

You do not need to apply for a retirement visa in Australia - everything you need to do can be done here. My wife (Australian) and I followed this route and it worked fine. Caution - we live in Chon Buri province (Pattaya) so everything I write applies to our experience there.

We came in on ordinary tourist visas in mid-December and were given a 60 day stamp at Suvarnabhumi. While in Bangkok, we obtained my income verification affidavit from the US Embassy and her Statutory Declaration from the Aus Embassy on Sathorn Road. My income exceeded the necessary 800,000 baht but hers did not. We then went to Pattaya, and very quickly found a nice condo to rent, and signed a lease. 

In early January, we went to Bangkok Bank and opened a joint account, then transferred funds from abroad. On 14 January, we went to Immigration simply to change our tourist visas to non-immigrant O visas, thinking we would have to come back severl months later to file for the annual extension. The officer, seeing what we were doing, said she could do both the change to O visa and the annual extension at the same time, but would need a bank letter because of the slight deficiency in my wife's income. We went right to the bank, obtained the letter, and went back to Immigration on the 15th. We walked out with our non-immigrant O visas, and the annual extension which carried us through to April of the following year. We also applied for and got our re-entry permits.

One hint: if you have ANY recurring income at all, even a small amount, get the Statutory Declaration from the Australian Embassy. You will still have to show a bank letter for the deficiency, but it does not have to be seeded for 2 months.

An added bonus: going this route removes the need for medical and police certificates.


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## Wayward Wind (Aug 28, 2011)

I just noticed that you hail from South Africa.

If you are on an Australian passport, use the info that I provided above; if on a South African passport and will need an income verification, contact the South African embassy on Wireless Road:

South African Embassy Bangkok, Thailand


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