Today my husband went to apply for the Thai retirement visa at Chiang Mai immigration office at Promenada. The office opened at 8.30 am but we saw many people get in the line when we arrived. We got the latest queue today. The officer told us to come back again at 3 pm. We came back to the immigration office at 2 pm and waited there until they called our number. The process is simple. The officer checked all documents, took a photo and we paid 1900 baht which is the Thai retirement visa fee. The visa is good for only 1 year. If you are planning to go outside of Thailand while you are holding the Thai retirement visa, you should apply for the re-entry permit as well.
Here is the document you need to apply for the Thai retirement visa.
Copy of every page from your passport1 photo 4×5 cm sizeThe bank statement (The date must be the date before you apply for the visa) – You can ask for the bank statement from your Thai bank. We use the Bangkok bank. The fee is 100 baht and we get it on the same day.Copy of every page from your bank bookYou need at least 800,000 baht in your bank book and the money must come from outside Thailand and stay in the bank for at least 3 months.1900 bath for the fee
(Update on 25 June 2019)
This is another year of the Thai retirement visa extension. Since the immigration office moved back from Promanada to the original one near the international ChiangMai airport. I like to update the process. In personal, I like to finish and get the passport back in the morning and I don’t like to be there on a busy day. So I choose Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday for getting a visa. I get there before 6 am in order to get in line for the queue. When I get there I see some people already sit on the right side waiting for the queue. Around 7 pm, the officer is starting to give you the queue. Then around 7:30 am, the officers start to work. I get the queue number 2. I get the service around 8:15 am. After applying for the visa, I have to wait for getting the passport back. I get the passport back around 9:15 am. Around 8:30 am, I start to see more people show up and get busy.
Here is the document you need and a new rule for the Thai retirement visa.
- Copy of every page from your bank book
- Copy of your passport – front page, visa page, last entry date page and departure card
- 1 photo – 4×5 cm size (You must sign your name on the photo back.)
- Certificate of funds in the account from the bank – I apply for Bangkok bank which is good for 7 days. The fee is 100 baht. You can get it right away.
- TM30 – Proof of Address
- 1900 baht for the fee
- TM7 form – (The renewal application form) – you can download from the immigration website or get the form at the immigration office.
- Prepare the pen
- You need at least 800,000 baht in your Thai bank and the money must come from outside Thailand and stay in the bank for at least 3 months.
- After getting the visa, 400,000 baht must remain in the Thai bank all year. This is a new rule in 2019.
What happens if your passport will expire during the visa period?
For example, your passport will expire on 20 May 2020 but your visa is valid from 17 July 2019 and it should be good until 17 July 2020. However, in this case, the immigration officer will stamp on 19 May 2020 on your visa. Then you must come back to the immigration after renewing the passport and go to the transfer counter. Of cause, you need to get the queue as normal. No fee for the visa transfer to the new passport. Once the transfer is done, your visa will be good until 17 July 2020 as it should be. It would be better if you check the passport expire and get the new one before applying for the visa. So you don’t go to immigration twice.
For more information or inquiry, you can contact the immigration with the phone number below. It is 24 hours service for both Thai and English.
Immigration inquiry call: 1178
