To qualify for a retirement visa in Hua Hin as from 1st March 2019 you must be 50 years of age or older.

The application for a retirement visa can be made from either your home country of residency or once you have arrived in Hua Hin.

To apply for a retirement visa from your home country of residency you would need to contact your local Thai consulate. The visa type is known as a Non-OA visa.

To apply for a retirement visa in Hua Hin, it is advisable that you first get a 90-day, non-O visa from your local Thai consulate in your home country of residency before travelling.

If this is not possible for whatever reason, it is possible to arrange at some Thai immigration office, but the process can be complicated & expensive.

The next requirement for the one-year retirement visa is that you either have 800,000 Baht in a Thai Bank account in Hua Hin in your personal name for 3 months before applying then once the visa is granted you will need to keep the 800,000 Baht in your account for another 3 months, thereafter you can reduce the balance to 400,000 Baht for the following 7 months, before having to top the account up again to 800,000 Baht 2 months before reapplying. If you don’t follow these terms and conditions immigration won’t extend your visa when you next apply. You can use a Foreign Deposit Account at a local Thai bank in Hua Hin holding any currency equivalent to 800,000 Baht.

The alternative is to use a combination of both deposit and income. You then can show bank states of your local Thai bank account in Hua Hin showing an income equal too, or greater than 65,000 Baht per month. This income must be monthly, If you miss a month, immigration won’t extend your visa in the future regardless to value of the income over 12 months. Immigration might also ask you to prove where the money came from.

The next requirement is proof of residency in the Hua Hin area. For that you must have at least a 6-month rent contract, supported by copies of the property owners ID card & house book or if you own or lease a property the supporting paperwork will be required.

The basic retirement visa for Thailand is only valid for one year. The 5-year retirement has different financial requirements. For the 5-year retirement visa you must have 3 million Baht in a local Thai bank account in Hua Hin for 1 year before applying and at no time during the validity of the visa can you have less than 1.5 million baht in your bank account.

With either of these visas you must report to immigration every 90 days in Hua Hin. The basic 1-year retirement visa is extendable. With the 5-year retirement visa you must report to immigration in person, once a year to confirm your status meets the requirements. So, when you look at the requirements for both visas there is little difference in the requirements, except you have to deposit more money for a longer period of time for the 5-year visa.

If you wish to leave Thailand, whilst holding a retirement visa. You must get a re-entry-stamp, this can be done at any immigration office before travelling. Otherwise your visa will be cancelled on your departure from Thailand. It is also possible to get a multiple entry stamp, allowing you to travel in and out of the Thailand, freely as often as you wish during the validity of your visa.

Visa rules & regulations may vary slightly by location. The terms and conditions of all visas for Thailand can change without notice. So, it is advisable to contact your local Thai consulate or visa agent before making an application.

Don’t forget that consular & immigration officers reserve the right to request additional documents when they are deemed necessary.

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