Thaifan Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 Hi Everyone, I am here in Thailand on a Retirement Visa but I have been offered a job. They say they will arrange my Work Permit. I am just worried that having given up my home in Australia to retire here, if I take this job and everything is conducted legally, what happens when I once again wish to retire? Will I be able to once again obtain a Retirement Visa? Will this have to be obtained outside Thailand? Will I have problems no longer having a home country other than Thailand even though I have both a UK Passport and Australian Passport? A lot of questions I know but maybe somebody has some advice to offer? I know I can ask at the Immigration Office but I am always concerned about drawing attention to myself with them. Any Tips, Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I don't see why there'd be any problem with getting a retirement visa either in or outside of Thailand as long as you qualify (50 years of age and have the appropriate income or bank account amount. I don't know diddley about work permits but thought they were totally separate from visas (although maybe they can somehow be combined). But I do know your retirement visa gives you no right to be employed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Chang Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 I am here in Thailand on a Retirement Visa but I have been offered a job. That's a concern of mine too. All I know is you can't have both at the same time, getting one will invalidate the other. Congrats on your new job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted October 1, 2009 Report Share Posted October 1, 2009 The way it works is once your job ends, whether voluntarily or by being laid off or fired, you have to turn in your work permit. Upon turning it in, you are now eligible for the retirement visa again. You are also eligible to pay all the fees again. If your place of work is holding your work permit, they are supposed to turn it in within ten days of the termination of your employment, so I'm told. It is your responsibility to make sure they do or report them to the immigration authorities if they fail to turn it in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaifan Posted October 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Thanks for the advice!!I think I am going to bite the bullet and speak to Immigration. My worry is that I had no problem getting the original Retirement Visa and no worries getting it renewed, but since then I have invested in property here in Thailand to provide me with more income than I was getting in bank interest. So though I have the necessary cash in a bank account for renewal purposes, I don't have the cash (since converted to assets)which helped me apply in the first instance. I therefore worry that while I know I will enjoy the work, it might lead me to difficulties when I need to retire once more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prigas Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 I don't see why there'd be any problem with getting a retirement visa either in or outside of Thailand as long as you qualify (50 years of age and have the appropriate income or bank account amount. I don't know diddley about work permits but thought they were totally separate from visas (although maybe they can somehow be combined). But I do know your retirement visa gives you no right to be employed. I think 800,000 THB in a bank amount should guarantee you a retirement visa. Also as mentioned above, if you have a regular monthly income, you should have no problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 I think 800,000 THB in a bank amount should guarantee you a retirement visa.So there is no confusion, you have a choice. Yes you can get the retirement visa if you have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account. The money has to have been in the account for a minimum of three months.If you do not have 800,000 baht you can still get the retirement visa by getting a Proof of Income statement from your embassy. With that it will not matter how much you have in your Thai bank account, but you are required to have a valid Thai bank account. With both the 800,000 baht or the Proof of Income options you are also required to produce a letter from the bank, although I have heard that some immigration offices do not require the letter. Most banks charge 100 or 200 baht for the letter. You simply tell the bank you need the letter for immigration. The bank will know what you need. If your immigration office requires the letter it must be less than one week old. Also, you will have to show an updated passbook for your bank account. It is best to update the passbook on the same day you apply for the visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer Chang Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 So there is no confusion, you have a choice. Yes you can get the retirement visa if you have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account. The money has to have been in the account for a minimum of three months. If you do not have 800,000 baht you can still get the retirement visa by getting a Proof of Income statement from your embassy. With that it will not matter how much you have in your Thai bank account, but you are required to have a valid Thai bank account. With both the 800,000 baht or the Proof of Income options you are also required to produce a letter from the bank, although I have heard that some immigration offices do not require the letter. Most banks charge 100 or 200 baht for the letter. You simply tell the bank you need the letter for immigration. The bank will know what you need. If your immigration office requires the letter it must be less than one week old. Also, you will have to show an updated passbook for your bank account. It is best to update the passbook on the same day you apply for the visa. Some people are saying that having the 800K in a bank account for 60 days "might" be OK. This really helps because if you arrive on a 90 day visa, it's jsut about impossible to have 800K baht in a new account for 90 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 This really helps because if you arrive on a 90 day visa, it's jsut about impossible to have 800K baht in a new account for 90 days.It really seems to be at the whim of the immigration officer with whom you speak. Some people were allowed to do it if they had just arrived in Thailand and some were not.If you get your retirement visa in your own country, before coming to Thailand, you can get the visa without even holding a Thai bank account. But you will be required to hold a Thai bank account before you renew the visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 I've been told that the 90-day requirement for the 800,000 baht in the account doesn't apply when getting your first long-term (some call it retirement) visa. But, like Thaimo said, you'd probably get a different answer from the same office on the next day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaifan Posted October 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Thanks again everybody!! I did obtain my Visa before leaving Australia and have renewed it twice with no problem. I have the 800,000 baht in a separate Thai Bank Account I keep just for immigration purposes. My worry was that I thought this was just for renewal purposes and for an initial application you needed more, so you have reassured me that I shouldn't have any problems if I do accept the job. Again from my experience the ease depends on which Immigration Officer looks after your application, some do it very quickly others need every i dotted and t crossed. Thaimo is also right about updating your passbook on the day you apply (I had the letter from the Bank only 24hours old and had updated my Passbook the day before but they still sent me back to the bank to update it on the day of my application). Another tip concerns the 90 Day reporting - I forgot once and was fined 2000 Baht for being 24 hours late. I was told that even when the Immigration Office is closed there is a Duty Officer working and so you can actually report 24/7. I have never actually checked this claim out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvdkeyes Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Whenever my 90 address reporting date falls on a day when immigration is closed I just go a couple of days early. It has never been a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 Whenever my 90 address reporting date falls on a day when immigration is closed I just go a couple of days early. It has never been a problem.That is correct. You can file the report up to a week in advance if you wish with no problems, so they're not going to accept the fact that their office was closed that day as an excuse. They will tell you it was your responsibility to file the report on time and if you did not, even though the office was closed on the due date, to them it is still your fault. Even if they agree with you that you had no way of knowing the office would be closed that day and you showed up on the date the form told you to show up, they'll still fine you if you're late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lvdkeyes Posted October 5, 2009 Report Share Posted October 5, 2009 I got very lucky one time. I was 2 days late to report my address. I went in prepared to pay the fine. It was just before lunchtime when I went in. I didn't say anything about being late and the officer was rushing to complete her work before lunchtime. She didn't notice that I was past due. I got my passport back with my notice when to report next and scrammed out of the office before anyone noticed. WHEW!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sangchai Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Hi Everyone, I am here in Thailand on a Retirement Visa but I have been offered a job. They say they will arrange my Work Permit. I am just worried that having given up my home in Australia to retire here, if I take this job and everything is conducted legally, what happens when I once again wish to retire? Will I be able to once again obtain a Retirement Visa? Will this have to be obtained outside Thailand? Will I have problems no longer having a home country other than Thailand even though I have both a UK Passport and Australian Passport? A lot of questions I know but maybe somebody has some advice to offer? I know I can ask at the Immigration Office but I am always concerned about drawing attention to myself with them. Any Tips, Anyone? Hello, I would like to tell you that you cannot apply for a work permit while you hold a Retirement Visa. You can only be a director of your own business in Thailand if you hold this visa type in Kingdom of Thailand. In this case, if you have been offered a job from a company in Thailand, you must obtain a Non Immigrant B or O Visa which will allow you apply for a work permit. However, about your concern in retiring in Thailand, this will not be any problem, you can still re apply for a Retirement Visa inside Thailand once you finished your this job. If you need additional informations about this, feel free to contact us via www.siamese-visa.com . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 Hello, I would like to tell you that you cannot apply for a work permit while you hold a Retirement Visa.To avoid confusion, you can change visa types within Thailand before applying for a work permit. You do not have to leave Thailand to obtain a different visa. Fees will be charged, but I know it can be done because I have personally seen it done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patong Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 To avoid confusion, you can change visa types within Thailand before applying for a work permit. You do not have to leave Thailand to obtain a different visa. Fees will be charged, but I know it can be done because I have personally seen it done.Yes, a friend changed from Retirement Visa (extensions) to a Non-Immigrant Visa without any trouble. Seems so long as you start with a Non-Immigrant visa type you can change from ® or (O) to ( and apply for your WP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sangchai Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Yes, a friend changed from Retirement Visa (extensions) to a Non-Immigrant Visa without any trouble. Seems so long as you start with a Non-Immigrant visa type you can change from ® or (O) to ( and apply for your WP. Yes, I know very well that you can apply for a work permit while you hold a Non Immigrant O Visa. But as our experiences, the Labor Deparment will not allow the O-A retirement visa holder to apply for the work permit. Also, as you told that your friend can convert from the Retirement visa to other types of non immigrant visa inside Thailand, please let me know which immigration (what province) your friend has received the another type of non immigrant visa from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sangchai Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 To avoid confusion, you can change visa types within Thailand before applying for a work permit. You do not have to leave Thailand to obtain a different visa. Fees will be charged, but I know it can be done because I have personally seen it done. If you meant that you can change from the O-A Retirement Visa to other types of non immigrant visa inside Thailand, please let me know which immigration (what province) is able to accept this converting application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patong Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 Yes, I know very well that you can apply for a work permit while you hold a Non Immigrant O Visa. But as our experiences, the Labor Deparment will not allow the O-A retirement visa holder to apply for the work permit. Also, as you told that your friend can convert from the Retirement visa to other types of non immigrant visa inside Thailand, please let me know which immigration (what province) your friend has received the another type of non immigrant visa from.In Phuket, but this is not my direct experience, only what I was told by a friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sangchai Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 In Phuket, but this is not my direct experience, only what I was told by a friend. Ah, I guessed so. The immigration office in Phuket, Hua Hin and Pattaya could accept this way of process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaimo Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 If you meant that you can change from the O-A Retirement Visa to other types of non immigrant visa inside Thailand, please let me know which immigration (what province) is able to accept this converting application.It was not the O-A. It was the standard retirement visa. He did it in the Pattaya immigration office. I was there with him and it didn't present any problem at all. He also had to go to the Bangkok immigration office for something related to the process, but I really don't recall why.I'm not totally clear on this, but what he had was a retirement visa. Then he got a job in a school. He and his employer had to go to go to the office in Chonburi to get his work permit. I can't remember which came first, but at some point I went with him to the Pattaya immigration office and the visa type was changed, for fees of course. We were in and out in fifteen minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sangchai Posted October 25, 2009 Report Share Posted October 25, 2009 It was not the O-A. It was the standard retirement visa. He did it in the Pattaya immigration office. I was there with him and it didn't present any problem at all. He also had to go to the Bangkok immigration office for something related to the process, but I really don't recall why. I'm not totally clear on this, but what he had was a retirement visa. Then he got a job in a school. He and his employer had to go to go to the office in Chonburi to get his work permit. I can't remember which came first, but at some point I went with him to the Pattaya immigration office and the visa type was changed, for fees of course. We were in and out in fifteen minutes. If your partner didn't pay any additional special fees, except the immigration fee to convert the visa and also able to apply for a work permit while he was holding the retirement visa. That's sound good, Thaimo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wino Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 I understand the application fee for work permits will increase soon. The present fee is 100 baht and it will increase to 600 baht. I guess in these difficult times, falangs can afford the higher fees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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