We are starting the process for a retirement visa in Thailand.
There is a lot to discuss here. I suspect there won’t be a ton of photos, but to appease the peeps that don’t read and just scroll thru and only look at the pics, I’ll throw some random non-sequiturs in here, then not say why. It will just be our little secret.
Our original plan from the beginning was to spend time in SE Asia, mostly Thailand and Vietnam. Then move on to Lisbon, Portugal sometime in April or May. Stay for a few weeks before heading down to the south of Italy and move in a northerly direction every week or so. This trip would put us somewhere in July where we would decide to either move back to the states or find a spot of our choosing and stay long-term.
As with many plans, they change with new information and knowledge. Thinking ahead to the summer, we knew that staying longer in Thailand is one of our 3 options. The other two being Italy and Portugal. We didn’t know all the details and timing, so we thought it best do a little digging. We contacted a company that helps people with Thai retirement visas and learned in order to apply for this visa we physically must be in the United States or be here in Thailand. And that was the moment the ship started a new tack.
When a foreign national wants to retire in the United States they have to jump through some hoops, and it is not guaranteed. It is no different here. We may fail at this and if so, we will simply continue on with our original plan, though I suspect it’s all gonna be fine.
This blog, quite honestly, is meant for the future me. I always write a journal when I travel. This records the time wherever I’m at, so I just don’t end up with pictures of old buildings and a bunch of selfies forgetting what occurred in some foreign country. So, I am going to get into the weeds on this post.
Before you do anything, one must have a Thai bank account. You can’t get one on the tourist visa we currently have.
We have learned where the most lenient place is to get the non-immigrant O visa we need … Guesses? Bueller? Bueller?
Yes, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Guess where we are going on February 11th? Yep, the Thai Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The flights are booked. Ya know, going to Cambodia just never crossed my mind.
I think I have gotten ahead of myself here. I am going to ‘tap the breaks’ now and get into the whys: why here, why now, why everything. It is a spectrum of reasons. First, Thailand is called the Land of a Thousand Smiles for a reason. Truly, people are nice here. There is a respect for elders, which as you know, we are. We are just comfortable and relaxed here.
We LOVE the food here. Thai food is simply the best. That along with all the other ethnic types and varieties. You want world class pizza, no prob. You want a burger and fries, no prob. It seems like every other business is selling food of some sort. Though it’s mostly Thai or some variation. In our current neighborhood I would guess 60 or so restaurants are within walking distance. I’d say its 12 square blocks (3 blocks by 4 blocks) This is not too unusual in Chiang Mai. This is not a ‘food court‘ area, it’s the ‘hood we live in. Condos, hotels, laundry services, houses, grocery stores, pharmacies, you name it. I realize this is hard to explain. We keep a hand drawn map of the ‘hood on the coffee table. This map marks restaurants we’ve been to in order to keep it all straight. Maybe in a future blog post I’ll address all this in detail.
And… money. I could write a whole blog on how crazy inexpensive it is here. As long as we stay here, we can comfortably live off our social security and never touch our 401Ks and IRAs. Think about that for a moment…
More on that later, but let’s get down to brass tacks. We need to gather information, fill out forms, get visa photos, bank statements, the whole ball of wax and hope it is enough when we walk into the Thai Embassy in Cambodia. We will be arriving at that office on a Monday morning and some days later we hope to have non-immigrant type O visas in our hands. This visa has a 90-day expiration. This will be important, so pay attention. There will be a test later.
It’s the 24th of January today. Diane and I went to have photos taken. We now have 350mm by 450mm reasonably attractive photos of us as required by the Thai Embassy in Cambodia. Being attractive wasn’t a requirement, it was the size.
Another requirement of receiving the 1-year extension on our non-immigrant type O visa is for us to have 800,000 baht in each of our Thai bank accounts as long as we reside in Thailand. That is about $23,000 each. It is a simple way to prove to the Thai government we can support ourselves here in Thailand. I sold some mutual funds today to accomplish this. Having money in hand when the time comes to open the elusive Thai bank account will be handy. As a reminder for those who are just skimming and would rather look at pictures of cats and food, the whole reason to go to Cambodia is to receive a long -term visa because it is a requirement to open a Thai bank account. A Thai bank account is required to get the 1-year extension. Wow, long sentence!
Are you still reading? Geez, you must be curious. Good for you, and buckle up. The reward will be a post about Penang, Indonesia with a bunch of pictures of food next week. You are welcome!
Ok, yep… I get it. This is hard to follow so I will show you a timeline of items for us to accomplish.
- Gather info for embassy in Cambodia Starting now!
- Go there and get a long term type O visa February 12th thru 15th
- 90 Day clock starts ticking (this visa is good for 90 days) February 15th ish to May 15th ish
- Return to Chiang Mai using this visa, not our current tourist one February 15th
- With the help our attorney group open a bank account February 16th
- Add $23k into each of our brand spanking new accounts February 16th
- Money must be in for 60 days before applying for the year extension This occurs April 17th
- So, start a 2nd clock.
- Start looking for a place to live with the required 1-year lease February 16 thru May 1st ish (most of March we are in Vietnam)
- With help from our peeps, waltz in and apply for the extension. May 1st ish
- Hopefully have our visa extension in hand and go out and get a pizza at Prova Cafe and Pizza with a glass of wine or two… May 2nd
Note to readers: We are headed to Penang and Singapore this coming Thursday. We will be gone for a week. Expect posts about those cities and their food soon after.
We will continue with the subject of Thailand retirement as information changes.
If you are reading this until the end, you are a trooper… thanks!! The next few posts will be more entertaining.
Lastly, if you are reading this blog with your phone. Please accept my apologies for not making it look as good as the computer version. My current skills don’t allow me to make them both look great. I’m working it. So, use a computer ForCryingOutLoud!