Applying for a Non Immigrant O Retirement visa

[DHANA 102]

Hi all,

One of the requirements of a non immigrant O retirement visa is to have 800,000 baths security deposit in a Thai bank for at least two months before even applying for a visa. 

Couple of questions I have:

1) Can I just open an online account in Thailand and start wiring money? Anyone trustworthy that you recommend ? Seems difficult to do if one has no physical address in Thailand. 

2) I read that Bangkok Bank has a branch in NYC (and London). Can I open an account in the NYC branch and have it wired to a Thai account instead of the above? 

 

Thanks for any suggestions. 

[ARI23 2,885]

Are you member of the Pattaya Forum Dhana ?

There is a trove of information in the Pattaya forum - as it should be, many expats or would-be expats in this forum - about the process to retire in Thailand. 

Just type "retirement" or "visa" in the search function/button. Or take a deep look at the "Living in Thailand" topic or in the chit chat one.

https://www.ladyboyspattaya.com/forum/89-living-in-thailand/

[whiteshirt 4,379]

Bm Ari is spot on , this lady( pattaya based )  opened my bank account last year as a non resident for me , She does all the paperwork / legwork with the bank and immigration  etc etc , and is a mine of information …

 

[DHANA 102]

Thanks. I will take a look at the Pattaya forum.

[CJ-BLF 135]

On 12/4/2023 at 1:42 AM, DHANA said:

Hi all,

One of the requirements of a non immigrant O retirement visa is to have 800,000 baths security deposit in a Thai bank for at least two months before even applying for a visa. 

Couple of questions I have:

1) Can I just open an online account in Thailand and start wiring money? Anyone trustworthy that you recommend ? Seems difficult to do if one has no physical address in Thailand. 

2) I read that Bangkok Bank has a branch in NYC (and London). Can I open an account in the NYC branch and have it wired to a Thai account instead of the above? 

 

Thanks for any suggestions. 

Two months before your one year extension. When you apply for the initial 90 day you need to show about 60% of the money at home.

It can be hectic though. You need to book a place to live, then get a bank account in the first two weeks. Then let the money sit for two months, allowing two weeks to bet the bank statements and apply for the annual extension.

Look here for help: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thai.visa.forum/

You can fly in on a 30 day exemption or a 60 day TR to settle on a home, then apply for the O in country. but you will need the 90 day O to get the bank account. Some offices, I think Jomtien, want the 800k on deposit to apply for the original 90 day O. This can be a real Catch-22 because you can't get the bank account without the visa.

Avoid agents like the plague. They will get you into a sketchy visa that you cannot administer yourself and charge you for every document for years.

Bangkok Bank NY is a commercial only American bank. They do not do personal accounts and they cannot help with a mirrored account. It would break a bunch of money laundering laws.