Some of you might remember I was told by imigration some months ago to go to Loes to renew My retirment visa when it was due for renewal . Well this month it was due for renewal so thinking Loes big red herring and mental abberation on imigrations behalf I did as everyone else and got all the neccesary evidence etc including letters from British embassy and this morning drove down to NJK. Well blow me down if the sgt there does not go through all I have , says yes thats fine . puts triple copies of everything back in envelope and gives me envelope back and then says to G/f ok all very good Now do as I told you before and go to Loes . The whole business of transferring money and gettting prove etc has cost me a few bob so Im rather like a geriatric hanibal lector when i say you mean you dont want all this lot ? Then finally comes an explantion that g/f can translate to me. It went like this , Sir you spent a lot of money in England gettibng your visa ,9it is a multi entry visa .so if you want to get value for your money then you leave the country near the time for renewal and come back two days before , the authorities at Loes will restamp your visa for another year. He then asked why I had got a multi entry visa and said that when Loes restamp visa it would not be multi entry but If I left the country then I just asked at bangkok for permision to re enter the country and that would be given without havint to get new visa. So here ends a long saga , there is actuely four weeks left untill visa expires so shall go to Loas then and see what happens . Oh yes apparantly all the documentation I have is fine and will be acceptable next year when I have to renew at NK except for medical certificate. Yep I cant keep going to NK and getting it renewed ,sad to say . However we now know that a multi entry visa issued from country of origin is actualy good for two years , Also and this I find a little strange it goes from the date of entry into the country and not date of issue .

I remember your earlier post.

If you have a multiple entry visa, I cannot see how it would be a retirement visa. Is it actually a multiple entery tourist visa?

If it is a retirement visa, then you should be able to renew it inisde Thailand. At least I have done so twice in Bangkok, and I see that they have the proper forms on had at the AEK Udon office.

What kind of visa do you have, based on what it says on the visa stamp?

Indeed you can have a multi entry retirment visa . The forms you fill in in the uk are very clear about it being a retirment visa and you are given a choice as to if you want a multi entry or not. The visa is called an OA retiment visa . Your right it is renewable in Thailand but with all the trimmings needed . Ie money in bank , income , medical etc.. whereas none of this is needed if you leave country and come back in before visa is up , you then get another year for free from tyhe date of re entry.
The voisa I have was issued by Thai embassy in london . cost just for the visa 98 pound . Now there seems to be some question as to if this can be issued in thailand again as when I went to NK yesterday and asked for renewal I asked for multi entryvisa again and was told no need just ask fpor permission at bangkok to come back into country . an extra year
without medical and cash proof seems pretty fair to me as getting this visa at thai embassy in london in total cost me way over 400 pound however as I have allready got it all this time I have gained nothing reallly . I think a couple of people on the forum have seen my visa and to be fair they have not seen anything like it .

aj,

It seems I got tripped up by terminology. I think of the retirement visa and the reentery permits as being seprate items, since I had to pay for them separately.

If I understand the advice you received from Nong Khai Immigration, it was to try and get your visa renewed from outside the country, and this way, you could avoid having to produce all of the documentation and fees.

My guess is that if you are qualified to renew inside the country, it will cost about the same. The bank letter might cost about 100 baht. The medical certificate probably between 500 and 800 baht (Bangkok prices). The major expense for me was the fee for the visa (1900 baht) and the multiple reentry permit (3800 baht).

If going to Laos allows you to beat this fee, this would be really, REALLY interesting. (But hard to undestand.)

It looks like you aren't going to be able to renew in Nong Khai without some loss of face (yours, the immigration officer, or both.)

It seems that if you were in Bangkok a week before you visa expired, you could obtain a 1 year visa with multiple reentry permit for total direct expenses of less than 6,000 baht.

Just opinions. Its what the immigration officers say that counts.

When I got my Retirement visa, in Thailand, I got that first - cost 1900 baht. Then later I got a re-entry permit. The first time I got a single re-entry (cost 1000 baht) and then subsequently I got a multiple re-entry permit (cost 3800 baht). The re-entry permit is valid until the expiry of the Retirement visa.

When I got my Retirement visa, in Thailand, I got that first - cost 1900 baht. Then later I got a re-entry permit. The first time I got a single re-entry (cost 1000 baht) and then subsequently I got a multiple re-entry permit (cost 3800 baht). The re-entry permit is valid until the expiry of the Retirement visa.

yes your about right except for 1700 baht for letter from embassy confirming income for year. i got all of this so have saved nothing ,in fact by the time I go to Loes then will be out of pocket. but according to NK will get visa stamped for another year free. what interests me in what you say is that you have got multy entry from thailand I Think which is what Nk was somewhat evasive over. The loss of face worries me not at all as I have allready paid for everything for a normal renewal . I will however be bloody fuming if I go to Loes and dont get another year free. Watch this space . I.ll let you know what happens , thailand is after all one big adventure. If of course I dont get a year for free then the loss of face will be with imigration , hahahh ,have to deal with that gently I think , thank god for g/f. we shall see. I think had I understood what imigration where telling me months ago then in fact I would have been ahead and got free year from Loes, as it stands now I spent free year on getting new documentation , I think the point to be made is that if you get a multi entry retirment visa in uk then it does allow you to leave country and get a new years duration stamp when you re-enter to Thailand . The first time we went to imigration they spent ages telling g/f this , We just did not understand what they were saying .
Have not been to loes so not bothered , shall bring back some duty free , how much can you actuley bring ?? and how much cheaper is it. also is it ok to drive there ? g/f says it costs lots of money ?? any advice on loes very welcome and thanks for your interest.

Sorry about the double posting above.

Maybe they were just trying to avoid the extra work at that busy time. You can for sure get a re-entry permit at any Thai immigration office, assuming you have a suitable visa in the first place which allows re-entry permits, like a retirement visa, i.e not a tourist visa. I have a single (since used) and a multiple one in my passport each with the expiry date of the Retirement visa.

"then the loss of face will be with imigration , hahahh ,have to deal with that gently I think ," No question about that!


With respect to Laos (You write "Loes" I assume this is the same as "Laos"):

"How much can you actuley bring ?? "
10,000 Baht total value of everything you bring with you into Thailand, including the clothes on your back, from the signs posted in the immigration area in Bangkok. "Duty free" refers to the place where its sold, not the country you are entering with the goods.

"and how much cheaper is it.
Its mostly stuff I wouldn't otherwise buy, luxury items mostly, so I can't say.

"also is it ok to drive there ? g/f says it costs lots of money ??"

If you are in Nongkhai, you can just take a tuk-tuk to the Friendship Bridge, get a visa on the spot (take a passport size photo with you) for about US$20. If your girlfriend is Thai, she can get short term visa very cheaply. A bus acoss the bridge is very cheap, and a tuk-tuk or car to Vientaine should also be inexpensive ($US4 or so if memory serves). A nice hotel should cost somewhere in the area of US$20 to $US30.

If you are asking about taking your personal car into Laos, its probably not worth the customs hassle.

Once, a long time ago, I went into Vientaine from Nong Khai in a minibus hired for the day. Entered in the morning, saw a museum and a couple of temples, and was out by 17:00 that afternoon.

If you are planning to return in the afternoon, take note of the closing time for the currency exchange. Missing the currency exchange by a couple of minutes is why I had to visit the duty free shop the one time I did

any advice on loes very welcome and thanks for your interest.

I think that if you search this board, you will find a lot more useful information about visiting Laos.

Definitely let us know what happens next. I am on the edge of my chair.

While your in Nong Khai,you can pick up a med certificate at a clinic for 30-50 baht.

Yes I will keep you posted ,will be going around middle of August as that is when visa expires . I to am on the edge of my chair , Im going to find out if you can understand , I have visions of it being a waste of time and coming back without a renewal but i just have to know , probably silly of me but by now Im as curious as everyone else Im sure. And yes Laos is exactly where I mean just cant spell .

well tomorrow is the day where no doubt all shall be revealed . mOne thing bothers me and that is if I do indeed get another years stay in Thailand stamped on my passport then that is not the same as having a valid visa. Nong Khai have told me I will get another years stay in Thailand not another years visa ?? ah well we shall see tomorrow.

with all going on today in the world then maybe this not of great interest however today I went to Loas to see what would happen over my visa.
Im pleased to say just ans NG said , I recieved a further 12 months stay in Thaialnd as from today, that means from one visa obtained iun the the Uk I have now been allowed to stay in Thailand for 2 years. This has not directly effected me as not knowing this would happen I did indeed get all my documents and money transfers done ready to apply for a new visa. I need not have bothered. The fact of te matter is this if you get a o and A multi entry visa from the UK , (it is only a Uk scource , not american Im told) then you get a further yeaR WHEN YOU EVENTUALLY LEAVE THE COUNTRY . That is without showing any prood of income or anything at all. AND THIS IS WHERE THE PLOT THICKENS .. I suggested to the imigration officer that next year I might as well go back to uk and get another similar visa. AHHH he said wait a minute and then hauled me and g/f off to see officer in charge of all imigration . WHen he was told my comment he said this . visa you now have finished however if you go to thai embassy in Loas next year then as you have allready got one of these they should give you a new one . if that is so then its possible to keep getting o and a retirment visa and YEARS REENTRY EVERY YEAR WITHOUT ANY DOCUMENTATION.

One final point . in front of me coming through imigration back into Thailand was an elderly American gent. we started talking and I told him I was waiting to see if I got an extra year . We compared visa s and we had exactly the same visa apart from country of origin , he had re entered the kingdom several times but had not recieved an extra year and he doubted that I would get one.
I said nothing to the imigration man and just waited to see what I would get and sure enough he gave me extra year . Then as I have said we talked about it and I went of to see his boss which then makes it look as though you canindeed get the same visa from another country again so long as it has been issued once from your own country of origin .

To sum it up , anyone leaving the uk and planning to retire in Thailand get a oand a muti entry visa from Thai embassy . if you do you get an extra year from date of first re entry without and documentation, money in Thai bank etc. Has to be worth the extra 50 quid ...

I visited to Immigration today to notify my address and also enquire about the renewal of my annual retirement visa.

I fulfill the requirements for the monthly pension income (i.e. over 65K baht per month) and when applying for last year's retirement visa, (not in Udon or Nong Khai) the only additional enquiry they made was in connection with how I accessed my pension income (from the UK) and if I had "spending" money in a Thai bank here. Both points I was able to satisfy, in that sometimes I withdraw from my UK bank a/c by ATM card, AND I also keep a float of cash here in a Thai bank a/c, at that time about 200K baht, (evidence of both shown).

When discussing the renewal of the retirement visa today, the Immigration officer threw me a wobbly. After I had told him that I had the required amount of pension income (suitably verified), he asked if I had 800K in a Thai bank, to which I replied no (as that isn't a necessary requirement, as long as you have over 65K a month pension income), and said I have about 200K in a Thai bank a/c. He then to my surprise went on to say that I would need to prove that I transfer here over the course of a year the equivalent of 800K (or 12 X 65K), pointing out the requirement in a list of copied guidelines he gave me.

As far as I am aware meeting the requirement of having the income of over 65K is sufficient in itself. Indeed when I later re-read the list he had given me, it did in fact list all three of the above requirements, each with an "OR" after it.

Can anyone re-assure me that he has got his wires crossed and not me, or in Nong Khai do they interpret it as meeting BOTH those requirements, i.e. having the required monthly income AND being seen to transfer at least 12 x 65K or 800K into a Thai bank a/c over the course of a year.

According to the list he gave me I am right in my thinking, but obviously if they have adopted their own policy or interpretation up here in NK/Udon, I need to take action to meet that extra requirement!

I dont think he has got his wires crossed . you do have to prove you have income coming into Thailand and drawing of ATM machoines does not counrt . I have now 10.00.000 bath in a thai bank so I can draw my income from an atm machine direct from uk , however customs did tell me that next year if I apply for a new visa then i will have to prove that my money has come from Thaialnd . Thatys why if I can I will get another visa from outside the country , that why I only have to prove moiney in an english acccount , two years oin country and no having tpo prove where you income comes from . ie thai bank.