Effective start date for o-a visa?

[ChiangMai123]

I obtained my 1 year O-A visa in Canada in July 2021 and actually entered Thailand in November 2021. I understood that my O-A visa is good for 1 year from date of entry but there is a stamp in my passport that has an expiry date 12 months from the date I obtained the visa.

Am I correct in thinking that my O-A visa is good for 1 year from date of entry into Thailand?

I am sure I am not the first to ask this question. I did do a search on the forum before creating the topic.:)

Thank you in advance for your replies.

[DwizzleyMatthews]

Your OA visa is valid for 1 year ( minus 1 day ) from the date it was issued .

Every time you enter Thailand during this 1 year validity you will get a stamp 1 year in advance, so by doing a border run just before it expires you will get 2 years from an OA visa.

NOTE: 1st year is a multi entry visa and you are free to come and go as you please.

2nd year is permission to stay ( as your visa has expired ) and you will need a re-entry permit to keep your permission alive.

After this you apply for a yearly extension to your permission to stay ( based on an OA visa ) .

Mandatory health insurance is required on an OA visa and subsequent extensions.

[DwizzleyMatthews]

 

“ I obtained my 1 year O-A visa in Canada in July 2021 and actually entered Thailand in November 2021. I understood that my O-A visa is good for 1 year from date of entry but there is a stamp in my passport that has an expiry date 12 months from the date I obtained the visa. “
 

Your actual OA visa sticker should have an expiration date of July 2022, the stamp you received on entry should state “ admitted until Nov 2022”

 

[ChiangMai123]

5 minutes ago, DwizzleyMatthews said:

“ I obtained my 1 year O-A visa in Canada in July 2021 and actually entered Thailand in November 2021. I understood that my O-A visa is good for 1 year from date of entry but there is a stamp in my passport that has an expiry date 12 months from the date I obtained the visa. “
 

Your actual OA visa sticker should have an expiration date of July 2022, the stamp you received on entry should state “ admitted until Nov 2022”

You are almost right. The admission stamp shows a stamped entry date of 02 Nov 2021 and a hand written expiry date of 29/09/2022. Looks like the admission officer miscalculated by around 1 month. Nevertheless I feel confident that my visa is good to at least 28 September 2022 so I do not need to go into panic mode for awhile yet.:) Thank you.                                       

[ChiangMai123]

32 minutes ago, DwizzleyMatthews said:

Your OA visa is valid for 1 year ( minus 1 day ) from the date it was issued .

Every time you enter Thailand during this 1 year validity you will get a stamp 1 year in advance, so by doing a border run just before it expires you will get 2 years from an OA visa.

NOTE: 1st year is a multi entry visa and you are free to come and go as you please.

2nd year is permission to stay ( as your visa has expired ) and you will need a re-entry permit to keep your permission alive.

After this you apply for a yearly extension to your permission to stay ( based on an OA visa ) .

Mandatory health insurance is required on an OA visa and subsequent extensions.

You have got me thinking,

"Every time you enter Thailand during this 1 year validity you will get a stamp 1 year in advance, so by doing a border run just before it expires you will get 2 years from an OA visa."

If I understand you correctly you are saying that if I re-enter Thailand before my O-A expirs I automatically get a 1 year extension to my O-A visa.

If so 2 questions come to mind upon re-entry.

1- Do I still need to provide proof of income and health insurance?

2- Can this 1 year extension include the "re-entry" provision?

[DwizzleyMatthews]

37 minutes ago, ChiangMai123 said:

You have got me thinking,

"Every time you enter Thailand during this 1 year validity you will get a stamp 1 year in advance, so by doing a border run just before it expires you will get 2 years from an OA visa."

If I understand you correctly you are saying that if I re-enter Thailand before my O-A expirs I automatically get a 1 year extension to my O-A visa.

If so 2 questions come to mind upon re-entry.

1- Do I still need to provide proof of income and health insurance?

2- Can this 1 year extension include the "re-entry" provision?

Yes and no, it’s not an extension of your visa but an extension of your permission to stay generated from your visa ( may seem pedantic but important to get the terminology correct as visa and extension are different ).

 

1). No income necessary for the 2nd year permission to stay but health insurance required. For future extensions financial requirements necessary ( retirement: 800k baht or 65k monthly in Thai bank, married to Thai: 400k baht or 40k monthly in Thai bank).

2). Yes, the extension continues your 2nd year requirements, i.e financial and health insurance, re-entry permit required for maintaining your permission alive.

 

My OA experience:

Issued 17th Oct 2016 valid until 16th Oct 2017

Entered 24th Oct 2016

Did a border run 26th Sept 2017, stamped “ admitted until 25th Sept 2018, ( in effect getting 23 months stay from my O visa ), did retirement extension Sept 2018 and every Sept since , my extension date remains Sept 25th.

Why your entry stamp was not “ admitted until Nov 1st 2022” I do not know.

Due to the rise in mandatory health insurance for OA’s and extensions of in Sept 2022 from 40/400k to 3 million baht coverage I will travel outside of Thailand without a re-entry permit, therefore killing my permission to stay , and return visa exempt with a view to obtain an O visa based on retirement and subsequent extensions ( no health insurance requirements ).

[ChiangMai123]

Thank you DwizzleyMatthews for your advice and sharing your experience.

I have a much clearer understanding of what I need to do.

[Tod-Daniels]

1 hour ago, ChiangMai123 said:

The admission stamp shows a stamped entry date of 02 Nov 2021 and a hand written expiry date of 29/09/2022. Looks like the admission officer miscalculated by around 1 month.
Nevertheless I feel confident that my visa is good to at least 28 September 2022 so I do not need to go into panic mode for awhile yet.:) Thank you.   

I think you are confusing two completely different things

One is the validity of the VISA (the sticker or the eVisa PDF) and the other is how long you can stay IN thailand when you enter using it (the red entry stamp you got)

You said you ENTERED thailand on Nov 2, 2022 and said they wrote Sept 29, 2020. The reason you weren't stamped in for a whole year is an OA visa requires that mandatory 40/400 health insurance and when you enter you are stamped in for the validity of the insurance (up to a year) I believe your health insurance was only good until the 29th of Sept <- which is why you were only stamped in that long.    


That visa (sticker or PDF) has an issue date and a "valid until" or "enter before" and it's THAT date you need to pay attention to if you're going out and back to get the second year.

[ChiangMai123]

After taking a closer look at my passport I think you are absolutely correct. My insurance ends 29 July 2022, What I took to be a 9 must have been a 7. I remember discussing my insurance with the I.O. when I entered the country. At the time was planning on going to Europe for a few months and returning in time to extend my O-A before Nov, 2nd 20222 so I did not purchase a full year health insurance policy

Looks like I need to get a visa extension before July 29th with my proof of income and insurance documents in order. Thank you for your comment. Might have been a little awkward if I tried to extend my visa in September.:)

[Faz]

8 minutes ago, ChiangMai123 said:

Looks like I need to get a visa extension before July 29th with my proof of income and insurance documents in order. Thank you for your comment. Might have been a little awkward if I tried to extend my visa in September.:)

You can't extend the validity of your Visa, you extend your permission of stay.

 

7. Please note that the period of visa validity is different from the period of stay.  Visa validity is the period during which a visa can be used to enter Thailand.  In general, the validity of a visa is 3 months, but in some cases, visas may be issued to be valid for 6 months, 1 year or 3 years.  The validity of a visa is granted with discretion by the Royal Thai Embassy or Royal Thai Consulate-General and is displayed on the visa sticker. 

8. On the other hand, the period of stay is granted by an immigration officer upon arrival at the port of entry and in accordance with the type of visa.  For example, the period of stay for a transit visa is not exceeding 30 days, for a tourist visa is not exceeding 60 days and for a non-immigrant visa is not exceeding 90 days from the arrival date.  The period of stay granted by the immigration officer is displayed on the arrival stamp.  Travellers who wish to stay longer than such period may apply for extension of stay at offices of the Immigration Bureau
https://www.mfa.go.th/en/page/general-information?menu=5e1ff6d057b01e00a6391dc5

I wrote a document some time ago to explain how to use the Non Imm O-A Visa to its potential.
How - The Non Imm O-A Visa ..odt 

 

[ChiangMai123]

59 minutes ago, Faz said:

You can't extend the validity of your Visa, you extend your permission of stay.

7. Please note that the period of visa validity is different from the period of stay.  Visa validity is the period during which a visa can be used to enter Thailand.  In general, the validity of a visa is 3 months, but in some cases, visas may be issued to be valid for 6 months, 1 year or 3 years.  The validity of a visa is granted with discretion by the Royal Thai Embassy or Royal Thai Consulate-General and is displayed on the visa sticker. 

8. On the other hand, the period of stay is granted by an immigration officer upon arrival at the port of entry and in accordance with the type of visa.  For example, the period of stay for a transit visa is not exceeding 30 days, for a tourist visa is not exceeding 60 days and for a non-immigrant visa is not exceeding 90 days from the arrival date.  The period of stay granted by the immigration officer is displayed on the arrival stamp.  Travellers who wish to stay longer than such period may apply for extension of stay at offices of the Immigration Bureau
https://www.mfa.go.th/en/page/general-information?menu=5e1ff6d057b01e00a6391dc5

I wrote a document some time ago to explain how to use the Non Imm O-A Visa to its potential.
How - The Non Imm O-A Visa ..odt 21.54 kB · 1 download  

Thanks. I will take a close look at the information you have provided.

[ChiangMai123]

Ok I just read your Non Imm O-A Visa document. My understanding after reading it is that to continue my stay in Thailand with my first 1 year O-A visa that has a POS expiry date of July 29 I can either leave the country and return before the POS expiry date which will extend my POS for 1 year (provided I have health coverage for 1 year) from return date of entry or I can apply for a new O-A visa prior to July 29th at my local immigration office. In both scenarios I need to provide health insurance documentation and proof of income I think. Maybe not proof of income for POS extension if I do a border run?

If this is correct I am not sure what the advantage might be to doing a border run, at least for me. I can get a proof of income certificate from the Canadian Consul according to my Canadian friends here in Chiangmai. A bigger issue may be health insurance at age 75.

Am I understanding this correctly or am I missing something?

Much appreciate the comments and advice provided by you and the other respondents to my question on this topic.

[Faz]

4 minutes ago, ChiangMai123 said:

Ok I just read your Non Imm O-A Visa document. My understanding after reading it is that to continue my stay in Thailand with my first 1 year O-A visa that has a POS expiry date of July 29 I can either leave the country and return before the POS expiry date which will extend my POS for 1 year (provided I have health coverage for 1 year) from return date of entry or I can apply for a new O-A visa prior to July 29th at my local immigration office. In both scenarios I need to provide health insurance documentation and proof of income I think. Maybe not proof of income for POS extension if I do a border run?

If you leave and re-enter prior to the 'enter before' date on your Visa, you will be granted a further 1 year POS, subject to having valid Health Insurance for that 1-year period.
No proof of income required.

Alternatively, you can apply to extend your stay (a permit, not a Visa) at your local Immigration office, again subject to having valid Health Insurance and providing proof of meeting the financial requirements via an Embassy Income letter.

You cannot extend a Visa, it has an expiry date. You can only apply for a new Non O-A Visa at a Thai Embassy in your home Country or where you have permanent residency. When you originally entered Thailand, you were granted POS until July 29th (your words). You extend that POS year after year.
You need to purchase a re-entry permit to protect your POS if you intend to leave and re-enter Thailand during any period of POS.

Read this; https://thethaiger.com/talk/topic/1652-visa-or-extension-of-stay/#comment-5567

 

[DwizzleyMatthews]

@ChiangMai123

Following on from Faz’s post above your easiest solution ( to avoid leaving the country and as stated a new OA cannot be obtained here ) might be to apply for an extension of your POS at your local immigration office in July.

[ChiangMai123]

Thanks guys. Think I understand it now.:)

[DwizzleyMatthews]

Historically the advantages of the OA visa were:

A multi entry 1 year visa which, if planned correctly, would give 2 years without the requirement of depositing a lump sum or transferring monthly to a Thai bank, many expats would obtain a new OA visa every two years and keep their savings in higher interest options.

With the advent of mandatory health insurance in October 2019 , and increasingly with the upcoming requirement for 3million baht coverage in Sept 2022 ,many expats have killed their extensions from an original OA and opted for the O visa route and extensions there of.

If @ChiangMai123 you have money in a Thai bank > 800k baht or have regular incoming money > 65k baht a month then the border run/2nd year becomes unnecessary and you can go straight for extension.

Of course, there’s the agent route to avoid tying up funds in a Thai bank but that’s for another thread.

[M.O.]

49 minutes ago, DwizzleyMatthews said:

...

If @ChiangMai123 you have money in a Thai bank > 800k baht or have regular incoming money > 65k baht a month then the border run/2nd year becomes unnecessary and you can go straight for extension.

Of course, there’s the agent route to avoid tying up funds in a Thai bank but that’s for another thread.

I asked in another thread but got no replies. Perhaps you can comment...

My question is whether the 65k has to stay in the bank or it can be used immediately which would mean you avoid parking a large sum in the bank.

[DwizzleyMatthews]

27 minutes ago, M.O. said:

I asked in another thread but got no replies. Perhaps you can comment...

My question is whether the 65k has to stay in the bank or it can be used immediately which would mean you avoid parking a large sum in the bank.

The 65k can indeed be used and with the income method there is no sum required to be kept in the bank.

Indeed if the 65k far exceeds your lifestyle there’s nothing to stop you sending the excess back to your home country account on occasion to gain interest !!

[M.O.]

7 hours ago, DwizzleyMatthews said:

The 65k can indeed be used and with the income method there is no sum required to be kept in the bank.

Indeed if the 65k far exceeds your lifestyle there’s nothing to stop you sending the excess back to your home country account on occasion to gain interest !!

Thanks for your input!

It looks like you are not enamoured with interest rates in Thailand... Is there a big difference compared to elsewhere? Seems to me to be a worldwide problem with low returns from banks. It is only better with equities...

[DwizzleyMatthews]

46 minutes ago, M.O. said:

Thanks for your input!

It looks like you are not enamoured with interest rates in Thailand... Is there a big difference compared to elsewhere? Seems to me to be a worldwide problem with low returns from banks. It is only better with equities...

Yes, bank interest rates anywhere are not very favourable at the moment but an off shore account for example is a lot better than the pitiful exchange rate here.