UK Police report for retirement visa

[lomuamart]

OA visas come in two varieties - single entry and multi-entry. The single entry gives you a year's permitted to stay stamp on entry (as long as the visa's valid and it's validity will be a year from when it's granted). That's it then. Your visa is used on entry. You only need to report to Imm every 90 days and not have to leave the country until your permitted to stay stamp has expired (that date may go beyond the visa's validity - say you enter Thailand 2 months after the visa was granted, you'll still get a year's permitted to stay stamp). If you want to stay on after that, you can extend the OA visa annually by applying at a Thai Imm office within the last 30 days of your year's permitted to stay stamp. At that stage, the 800k will have to be in a Thai bank account and have been there for 2 months and not dropped below that figure during that time. For second and subsequent extensions, the 800k must be in the Thai bank account for 3 months before application.
A multi-entry OA will cost more (I've forgotten the amounts), but it allows you to leave and re-enter Thailand as many times as you want whilst the VISA is still valid. Each time you re-enter, you'll get another year's permitted to stay stamp. As Chaspul said, he exited just before the visa expired (regardless of whether the permitted to stay stamp ran for another 2 months) and on re-entry got another year here. So, the multi entry OA can last you approx 2 years if you time things right. Again, there's no need to tie money up here at any stage, until you go to extend internally.
I'm not sure about the deposit account. Imm will want to know that you can access your money immediately. So, if the account you're talking about ties your money up for a few months to get a better interest rate, I would suspect that they wouldn't like it.
Hope the above is clear.
PS: on a single entry OA, you'll need a re-entry permit to leave Thailand or your permitted to stay stamp will be cancelled on exit. They cost 1,000 THB for single re-entry or 3,800 THB for multi. With the multi-entry OA, there's no need for the re-entry permit in the first year, but there is for the second as your visa will have run out.

[chaspul]

Pagey

Just done some research on this and other forums before opening a fixed deposit with Bangkok bank this week.

Consensus says it is OK, I have not actually tried it yet.

To answer you question we moved 1 July 2009 I was NDI Supv on PC9.

Forgot to mention we had multi entry visa at a cost of 630 SR. Did not have time to complete the OA before traveling in December 2008 to take over the completed house, due to chasing around trying to re-arrange flights as Swampy was closed by the yellow shirts. Used 30 day entry stamp instead.

Still had to go ahead with the OA in January as could not face collecting all the paperwork again to make it current, first use was in July, Ranong run the following January gave us another 12 months and we have just extended for another year at local immigration.

My offer of advice by PM could be benificial when you leave the company.
Chas

[Pagey]

Thanks Lomu, I will have to digest all that and it tallies with what the guy who went to Phuket told me that he left before his visa expired and so got nearly 2 years stay from one visa.

Chas: The guy I was told who went to HH left here in Nov 2007 so looks like there's another ex BAE there. I was at a friends house on Soi 56 area and met someone who told me there are a few guys live that area that worked in Saudi or still do but not met them so don't know if BAE or not. There is one from Aramco in DHN whose wife is a friend of my friends. This advice by PM is beneficial only after I leave BAE and go to HH ? I am there for 2 weeks from 5th April if you want to meet up.

[Nereus]

You will not get a definite answer concerning a deposit account from Immigration. Hua Hin have insisted it must be a savings account, one of them went as far as claiming that it was also necessary to have an ATM card attached to it! They claim that you have to be able to show that you are living off the funds in the account, as ALL Farang are shifty bastards and some of them work without a permit. I kid you not!

[chaspul]

Pagey
I presume you intend to "retire" to Thailand, benefit include things like using Kanoo credits for shipping and how to get it through customs at this end, also travel on exit only to Thailand instead of UK can be upgrading if you ask the right questions of the right people. Not to wander too far off topic just put hotmail.com after my name, would be great to meet, on you visit.
Chas

[Dannie Boy]

This is slightly off topic, but I am due to retire to HH in a couple of months (unexpected but very welcome early retirement) and will be arriving with my Thai wife having spent the last few years working/living in the Middle East. The retirement immigration advice has been useful and I have read the advice on shipping personal effects (I intend to put it all in my wife's name as the safest option). The one thing I have not been able to find out is whether or not we are able to ship any food items - I am thinking of tinned foods and other items not opened, but cant find any advice on whether this is allowed - I suspect it may not be, but am sure you guys will know. Thanks in advance.

[Damnas]

I was told it wasn't. Yet I've managed to go in and out of Thailand with foodstuff from South Africa, France, and even Australia several times for years now, and no one's ever asked me any questions about it.

Unless you're being blatantly obvious - as in bringing a bag filled to the brim with nothing but food - then I doubt you'll be faced with any complications. Especially if it's in your wife's name.

[Dannie Boy]

Thanks for the reply Damnas, but what will be different is that I will be shipping my personal effects through immigration/customs and suspect that they will check everything that we ship. I dare say that the shippers we use will know the regulations, but just hoping to find out in advance.

[Damnas]

In that case, can't really help. Gonna have to leave you in the shippers' good hands.

[Pagey]

Hello again visa experts

I now have my leaving date of 1/2/12 to leave Saudi and live in Thailand.

Yesterday I went to the Thai embassy in Riyadh to see if I could obtain a 12 month OA visa and if I had the correct paperwork to come back in January and obtain it then. The young Thai guy took all the paperwork away and came back 10 minutes later asking for the fee of 630 Saudi Riyals. Whilst he was away I saw a notice on the window stating the price would rise on 1/12/11 by 250 SR (about 2,000 Baht) because of the exchange rate. He said I must also bring a letter from my sponsor stating I live and work in Saudi and if I bring it tomorrow I could also collect my passport with the visa in. I didn't actual want the visa so soon but if he was offering it, despiting it being 2 months earlier than I wanted, I thought I would take up the offer rather than be declined in January or be asked for further paperwork.

So now I have 3 questions :

1. The visa states it is a Non immigrant, category O. Multi entry, issued 13/11/11 and enter before 12/11/12.
Is this an O or OA? (does the A mean annual ?).

2. So I can enter and leave Thailand as often as I like and obtain 12 months permission to stay on each return like Chas stated earlier in the topic up to 12/11/12 ?

3. As stated I obtained the visa earlier than I expected. I am due to travel to Thailand for a 10 day break over Xmas/New Year. Do I activate the visa for this trip or wait until I finally exit Saudi and enter Thailand to live around the 2/2/12 ?

Thanks all in advance.

[lomuamart]

If your visa states that's a multiple entry O, then you'll get 90 days on arrival and can exit and return as many times as you want, getting a further 90 days, up until 12/11/12.
I'm afraid it dosn't sound like an OA visa which would be clearly marked on the visa category. If it were you'd be given a year's permission to stay on arrival. If multi entry you'd get another year each time you re-enter up until the same date as above.
As far as activating it is concerned, that will be done when you enter here at Xmas. There is no advantage in asking for say a 30 day visa exempt stamp and therefore not activating the visa as it's on a finite validity date and multi-entry. That route can only help if you have a tourist visa with only 2 or 3 entries. You won't gain or lose anything at Xmas.

[littlebird]

I came here with an OA and was never asked for a police report

[Pagey]

Thats not what you said earlier in this thread Littlebird............

Quote Littlebird 14th March 'Pagey - you could be right, I came here 4 years ago with a 90 day originally. I then obtained an OA visa when I was here so maybe that is why I was never asked for a police reporh'

[littlebird]

Sorry I think there is a bit of confusion (on my part).
I got my OA issued at Hull in the UK. In the UK they never asked for a police report before they issued the visa

[lomuamart]

Well, I'm confused. Hull are not supposed to be able to issue OAs. Only Os. Applications for the OA should go through The Thai Embassy in London and at that stage you need to submit police and medical reports together with financial proof.
If no police or medical report were asked for and the application was made at Hull, it should have resulted in an O visa which would entitle the holder to 90 days on arrival.
That seems to tie in with Pagey's quote. An OA visa would have given one year's permitted to stay.
Furthermore, OA visas can't be granted in Thailand. Only at Thai Embassies which are outside the country. Perhaps you got an annual extension of stay from Imm here, littlebird? That would make sense and you get your year then. That's what most people, including myself, do.
Perhaps you can elaborate, littlebird. Were you given 90 days or a year permitted to stay when you arrived at the airport 4 years ago?