Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing O-A Retirement Visas. A number of folks have contacted us, especially this past year, but here recently we have been getting a lot more inquiries, a lot more interest in the Retirement Visa to Thailand. 

People been asking me specifically in the context of the O-A Retirement Visa; this is for folks who are seeking this Visa abroad basically have been asking how do I deal with the financial criteria? I think people are getting confused and they think that they have to have the criteria that is necessary to extend a Retirement Visa via Thai Immigration here in Thailand. I am making another video contemporaneously with this one where we get into that more deeply and for those who are looking for that information, go ahead and check out that video. 

For this video, we are talking about the Embassies abroad and fortunately for folks looking for an O-A, for example in the US or the UK or Europe, Embassies have a little bit more discretion especially with respect to the type of evidence associated with finances. What are we talking about here? Well for example, here in Thailand for those unaware, if you want to get your extensions sorted out for an O or an O-A Retirement Visa, generally speaking they are going to want to see evidence of a pension coming into a bank account, or a lump sum amount in a bank account here in Thailand, with respect to an extension here. With respect to an O-A, Financial documentation, it may be possible to use in some cases different types of financial documentation. Money market accounts for example, I have even seen stock markets, IRAs have been scrutinized and been approved in the past that I have seen. Essentially the Embassy wants to be sure that the individual seeking the Retirement Visa has the resources to support themselves, from the Embassies perspective in somewhat of a narrow way for that year that they are issuing the visa for. So they have a little bit more latitude with respect to the financial documentation they are able to look at compared to Thai Immigration. As we discussed in the other video on Thai Immigration, they do have some discretion of their own but in my opinion, it is kind of qualitatively different. In a sense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, folks that are stationed at Thai Embassies, Consular officials that are dealing with visas, there is kind of a mentality of "Look, you are the guy on the ground. Make the decision as best you can." We understand the situation is fluid. Different countries have different documentation so in a sense their discretion is a little bit more baked in if you will compared to Thai Immigration's discretion with regard to Retirement Visas here in the Kingdom. So something to think about.

For those who are getting a little overwhelmed dealing with possibly getting an O-A Visa for retirement here in Thailand, it may not be a terrible idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.