# 'O' visas



## Thumper (Mar 12, 2016)

Could anyone please confirm, from actual experience would be good, that it is possible to convert a 30/60 day tourist visa to the year long Non-Immigration 'O' visa whilst actually in Thailand? We have seen on the Thai Embassy site in the UK that it can be applied for there either in person or by post but, as we are living full-time in Qatar at the moment, neither of these options initially appeals. If it is possible to do 'in country' that would make life so much easier as it is a daunting task to send passports through the post, arrange payment by _postal order_, and make sure it all arrives back here safely.

Any thoughts or observations would be most appreciated

B&C


----------



## Mweiga (Sep 24, 2010)

Thumper said:


> Could anyone please confirm, from actual experience would be good, that it is possible to convert a 30/60 day tourist visa to the year long Non-Immigration 'O' visa whilst actually in Thailand? We have seen on the Thai Embassy site in the UK that it can be applied for there either in person or by post but, as we are living full-time in Qatar at the moment, neither of these options initially appeals. If it is possible to do 'in country' that would make life so much easier as it is a daunting task to send passports through the post, arrange payment by _postal order_, and make sure it all arrives back here safely.
> 
> Any thoughts or observations would be most appreciated
> 
> B&C


Ten years ago I did exactly this - was in Thailand on the 30 day "permission to stay" and made the one-year non-immigrant visa application in person at the local immigration office. You need to have held the required amount of funds in your local bank account for two months (was three months when I did it) prior to making the application.


----------



## Thumper (Mar 12, 2016)

Thanks for your reply. I had read elsewhere that it was possible, and it will make it so much easier than posting passports and arranging postal orders.

Regards
Thumper


----------



## tod-daniels (Dec 1, 2013)

I posted a while back about going from either a 30 day visa exempt stamp or a 60 day tourist visa to a single entry 90 day Non-Immigrant Type-O visa and then a yearly extension of stay on this thread. You may find it of value. Oh and BTW, there are no year long, multi-entry Non-Immigrant Type-O visas issued inside thailand..
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/basement-lounge/185161-retirement-visa-2.html#post2996505


----------



## Thumper (Mar 12, 2016)

Thanks tod-daniels
Still slightly confused but knowing that it can be done makes things slightly easier.

Regards 
Thumper


----------



## tod-daniels (Dec 1, 2013)

Hmm, I tried to spell it out exactly like it works at the Thai Immigration office in Bangkok as clearly as I could. As I said, it reads a LOT more complicated than it really is in practice.

How about telling me what you don't understand and I'll see if I can be clearer?


----------



## Thumper (Mar 12, 2016)

tod-Daniels
I think it all seems a bit daunting at a distance. I'm sure it will be 'easier' when the time comes. 

To gain the year long visa I assume we are we still bound by the over 50, married and money in the bank qualifiers? If we have possession of original documents (birth/marriage certificates) and statements from a local bank will this be sufficient? Do these documents need to be Notorised (officially verified)? Do we need 'police check' documents from our current country of residence (Qatar) and/or our home country (UK)? 

May main concern, which may be unfounded, is that we arrive in Thailand unable to produce documents that we are not able to, either financially or logistically, return and collect. We might effectively be in limbo and have to 'visa run' every month which is not what we want at all.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.


----------



## tod-daniels (Dec 1, 2013)

You are confusing visas you get from a thai embassy abroad with visas and extensions you get inside the country. Specifically you're mixing up a year-long, multi-entry, Non-Immigrant Type-O/A (long stay) which takes the health certificate and police back groud check, with comin' in on a visa exempt stamp, applying for a single entry 90 day Non-Immigrant Type-O then a yearly extension after that.

You still have to meet the financial qualifications, no matter what visa extension you'd be doing. If you're getting an extension based on being over 50 AND you're foreign wife is going to "piggy-back" onto your extension you'd need the marriage certificate. All the notarization and translation is done inside thailand.

As far as thailand is concerned you're from the UK, no matter where you're living now.. 

Good Luck


----------



## Thumper (Mar 12, 2016)

Thanks for clarifying the inside/outside visa. Is it worth it, and will it make any difference, if my wife (also from UK) and I apply for tourist visas at the Thai embassy here in Qatar? Or will it just muddy the waters? 

It's not our intention to leave Thailand during our time there but how does the year extension work in terms of leaving the country? If, for instance, we needed to go back to the UK for some emergency would the existing one year extension be cancelled upon departure and a new visa process begin again upon re-entry? 

Thanks so much for your help and patience with this avalanche of questions.

BB


----------



## tod-daniels (Dec 1, 2013)

Thanx for the thanx

What I would suggest is; see if both you and your wife can get a "90 day, single entry, Non-Immigrant Type-O" visa before you come here. 

Tell the people at the embassy that is what Thai Immigration told you to do so you can get a yearly extension inside the country based on being over 50.

Use the exact terminology I used in quotes. You DON'T want a year long, mulit-entry Non-0, nor do you want a year long, multi entry Non-O/A.

If that doesn't work, certainly a 60 day tourist visa would be preferable to you showing up and getting a 30 day visa exempt stamp, because it'd give you more time to sort things out.

As far as exiting/re-entering thailand. ONCE you have your yearly extensions of stay you buy a "re-entry permit" which lets you keep your extension alive while you travel in/out of thailand. They are sold as a single re-entry permit for 1000baht or a multiple re-entry permit for 3800baht. Obviously the single lets you leave and re-enter the country once. The multiple lets you leave and re-enter the country as many times as you want for the duration of your extension.


----------



## Thumper (Mar 12, 2016)

Thanks again tod-daniels. It's slowly taking shape...


----------

