Non-Immigrant O-A (Long Stay) Visa Thailand Services

Yes. However, the foreign insurer must issue a signed "Foreign Insurance Certificate" that clearly states the coverage amount in Thai baht or US dollars in line with the Thai government's requirements, for upload to the E-Visa system.

You must choose a plan from an insurer approved by the Thai General Insurance Association (TGIA) for Long Stay visas only. The system will then issue an Insurance Certificate in the standard Thai government format, which you can upload immediately and which is accepted 100%.

This is a major problem for expats. If health or age conditions make insurance impossible to obtain, we recommend dropping the Non-O-A application from abroad and instead entering Thailand on a tourist visa. ethaivisa can then take you through a change to the standard Non-O retirement visa within Thailand, as the standard Non-O criteria do not require health insurance.

For the initial application from abroad, you can use a bank statement from your home country. It must show a steady balance over the most recent 3 months, equivalent to no less than 800,000 THB after conversion.

Yes. You need a Pension Certificate from a government agency or embassy confirming that you receive a pension paid directly to you of no less than 65,000 THB per month (780,000 THB per year).

It must be obtained from the police or central government authority of your home country (or your country of permanent residence), be no more than 3 months old, and be properly legalised (Apostille or Notary Public) in accordance with international law before you apply online.

A doctor in your home country must examine you and sign a certificate confirming that you are free of the 5 diseases prohibited under Thai law (such as tuberculosis, third-stage syphilis and drug addiction). This document must also be legalised, together with your criminal record certificate.

The E-Visa system is now almost 100% digital, so you do not need to send your original passport. You simply scan and upload your documents. Once approved, the embassy will email you the visa file; just print it out and carry it with you when you travel to Thailand.

On average, the Thai Embassy takes around 10 - 15 working days to review an application, counted from the date the system receives the documents and the fee payment is successfully processed. We recommend applying at least 1 month before your flight.

It is evidence confirming that you are actually in the country where you are applying at the time you submit the application — for example, a copy of your foreign driving licence, a rental agreement, or a water or electricity bill in that country. This prevents people from applying through another country under false pretences.

Yes. The immigration officer at the airport checkpoint will stamp a temporary stay (Period of Stay) of a full 1 year right from your first day of entry.

Yes, as required by law. Foreign nationals holding any type of retirement visa, including the O-A, who stay in Thailand continuously for more than 90 days must report their address to the immigration office every 90 days.

Yes. About 30-45 days before your current visa expires, you can prepare your financial and health insurance documents and submit an application for an annual extension of stay (TM.7) at an immigration office within Thailand, without having to fly back and reapply abroad.

For extensions in Thailand, only a bank account in Thailand may be used. It must show a deposit of no less than 800,000 THB, and there is a strict rule that this sum must have been held untouched for a full 3 months before the extension application date, and the balance must not be withdrawn below 400,000 THB during the year.

Yes, it is still strictly checked, 100% of the time. When applying for the annual extension at Chaengwattana Immigration or your local immigration office, you must attach a new health insurance policy with 3 million THB of coverage that remains in force for another full year, without a gap of even a single day.

• Within the first year (per the visa validity in your passport): no Re-entry Permit is needed — you can travel in and out freely and your 1-year stay remains intact. • After the annual extension with Thai immigration: the stamp becomes a standard annual extension, so you must obtain a Re-entry Permit before every departure. Otherwise, your visa will be cancelled as soon as you pass through the immigration checkpoint.

If your wife is over 50 and meets the savings requirement, we recommend that you each apply separately as main applicants. If she does not have the required funds, she can apply for a family Dependent Visa (Non-O Dependent) linked to her husband's Non-O-A visa, submitting the online application from abroad at the same time.

Yes, this is possible and is one of ethaivisa's most popular services. Since 3 million THB health insurance premiums keep rising with age, when your annual extension falls due in Thailand we can arrange to "cancel the existing Non-O-A status and change it to a standard Non-O retirement visa within Thailand instead". Under these criteria, immigration only checks the 800,000 THB deposit in a Thai bank account and does not require health insurance — a huge saving for our expat clients.

Most rejections occur because the criminal record or foreign medical certificate lacks legalisation (Apostille), the account balance falls below 800,000 THB after conversion due to exchange rate fluctuations, or the insurer's Certificate does not clearly state Thai coverage meeting the 3 million THB requirement.

The Non-O-A visa involves international document legalisation, the 3 million THB insurance rules and complex cross-border bank account management. If documents are prepared incorrectly or the deposit holding period is miscounted, the online system will reject the application immediately, and the applicant loses fees running into tens of thousands of baht. The ethaivisa team of specialists screens and checks your documents, verifies insurance that immigration will accept, and offers options for changing your visa type to save you insurance premiums — turning stressful paperwork into something simple, convenient and as safe as possible throughout your retirement in Thailand.