WHAT ARE THE RETIREMENT VISA REQUIREMENTS?
- Published: 15th May, 2019
There are three key requirements, as follows: You must be over 50 years old You must have a monthly income of 65,000 Thai Baht or more Or, ฿800,000 in a Thai bank account for 60 days+ before applying for the extension. And ฿800,000 remaining for 3 months after the extension, and ฿400,000 thereafter. The ฿800,000 must be in the bank for at least 2 months before your visa application. As of 1st March, 2019, the ฿800,000 must also remain in your bank for 3 months after the extension, and, after those 3 months, you must keep ฿400,000 in there indefinitely. You also need a letter from your Thai bank to confirm the ฿800,000 is there and has been there for the required time frame. For consecutive visas (so the second and third year) the ฿800,000 has to be in the bank 3 months before you apply for the visa, and the other rules remain the same. Note that you need a letter from your bank verifying the balance and a copy of your bank book. Note that you can also use foreign currency, but the money must be the equivalent of ฿800,000 Baht. There are a number of banks offering foreign currency accounts, but you must make sure that the amount you have in there equals the requirement for the extension of stay: exchange rates fluctuate throughout the year, and this may leave you short if you don't monitor it. Instead of having ฿800,000 in a bank account, you can show an income of ฿65,000 per month, without having to bring the money into Thailand. For those who don't want to tie up such a large amount of money in what essentially will be a zero interest account, it may be preferable to use this requirement, particularly if you have a steady pension income, or income from investments. You will need to provide details of this income over a three-month period, by way of bank statements and through a notarized letter from your embassy that verifies the monthly income.
