So you have decided to leave the UAE and retire to the Land of Smiles, Thailand? You have been dreaming of the beautiful Thai beaches, a more relaxed pace of life, the amazing sunsets, the stunning golf courses and the tasty Thai cuisine, and now it’s time to leave the UAE and head off on new adventures.
This blog post will take you through the process that I went through to apply for my Non-Immigrant O-A Visa for Thailand, commonly known as the one-year visa or the retirement visa. I will also highlight the costs that I incurred in order to get my documents together in order to complete the application process. Suffice to say that the process was relatively easy. You really do not need to be scared of the process or the magnitude of the documentation requested.
I went through the process in April 2023 through the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi. The application process at the Royal Thai Consulate General in Dubai may differ slightly from the one that I followed in Abu Dhabi. Also, the process outside of the United Arab Emirates may differ slightly from what I describe in this blog post. This blog post is aimed at covering the process as it was in April 2023 at the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
I strongly suggest that in addition to reading what I did on this blog post, and using it as a guideline in preparing your own application, that you read the detailed information on the website on the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi, especially as the process may change over the months / years ahead. In addition, the links that I have included in this blog post may change in future and may no longer work.
The Process that I followed:
I started off by visiting the website of the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi, as linked here. I identified the Checklist of Requirements for the O-A visa, as linked from their website here and found that the requirements are as specified here. There are 12 specific items that need to be submitted, for each of which I provide specific information below.
What I suggest you do is create folders for each section of the 12 documents that you will be required to submit, as shown in the graphic below.
If you would like more detailed information than what is included below, I am willing to offer a 30-minute telephone consultation for the price of USD 150, payable in advance to my PayPal account. Please contact me by clicking here. I am also willing to share the documents that I submitted, with confidential information redacted, so that you can see exactly what is required by the Thai Embassy. The charge will also be USD 150. For both a 30-minute consultation and for me to share my documents with you, I will charge the amount of USD 260, payable in advance to my PayPal account.
General Requirements
It is better to make all copies in color on a high-quality printer. When I was at the Thai Embassy, one of the visitors was questioned as to why his copies were not in color, so it’s best to avoid this hassle by making sure that all your documents are printed in color upon submission.
Number 1: The Application Form
Click on this link here to find the Non-Immigrant / O-A (Long Stay Retirement) checklist. Once you have found the checklist, you should find a form that has various hyperlinks to the documents that need to be completed. Under ‘Required Documents’ in box number 1 you will find a hyperlink to the Application Form that needs to be completed. Download the Application Form, in PDF format, to your computer and prepare to complete it. What I suggest you do is download the file and then copy the same file to your computer so that you have a backup copy. On the second copy of the file, you can start filling in the information that is required for purposes of the visa application.
Completion of the form is reasonably self-explanatory, though you are welcome to contact me by clicking here if you require any assistance. Remember that you are required to submit TWO copies of the Application Form, each with one photograph, as detailed in Number 2 below.
Number 2: Photographs
You should attach to the Application Form, by means of stapling the photos to the form, two photographs per Application Form. What I suggest is staple one photo in the space provided on each Application Form and then just attach the other one by means of a paperclip at the top of the form as it may not be required.
As specified in the requirements, the photos should be 3.5cm by 4.5cm on a white background and taken within six months of the visa application being submitted. I had my photos taken at Grand Stores in Yas Mall, close to the Carrefour on the ground floor. They charged me AED 45 for eight ID photos.
Number 3: Passport
Make sure that you take your original passport so that the Thai Embassy may insert your visa into your passport once approved. They will also require one photocopy of your passport so that they can retain this for their records. You do NOT need to copy the entire passport – just take a photocopy of the photo page and that should be sufficient. Since I have two passports, i.e. a South African and a UK passport, it was recommended to me by one of the persons on a Facebook group that I follow that the visa should be entered into my UK passport, and I specifically requested that this be done by the Thai Embassy. I took a copy of both my South African passport and my UK passport for completeness.
When I submitted the Application Form, the lady asked me why I had two passports. She also asked me why I requested to have the visa in my UK passport when my Police Clearance Certificate (See Number 10 below) was issued under my South African passport. I explained to her that my residence visa for the United Arab Emirates is in my South African passport but that I preferred to have my O-A visa in my UK passport since it is likely that I will be able to renew my UK passport much easier in future once living in Thailand.
Number 4: UAE Residence Visa Permit
I provided the Embassy with a copy of my residence visa for the UAE as well as a copy of my Emirates ID. As stated in the List of Requirements, make sure that your documents have at least three months’ validity remaining on them. Also, make sure that these items are copied in color.
Number 5: Proof of Guarantee or No Objection Certificate for Travelling
Follow the instructions provided on the List of Requirements. If you are sponsored by a company in the UAE, ask your Human Resources Department to provide you with a Salary Certificate addressed to the Royal Thai Embassy, Abu Dhabi.
I was informed that the Salary Certificate should be dated no more than one month before the date that the Application Form is submitted though I could not find this information on the List of Requirements.
NOTE: If you, like me, are a Golden Visa holder within the UAE then technically you do not need a Salary Certificate from your employer. What I did was write a letter, addressed to the Thai Embassy, authorizing myself to apply for the O-A visa. I submitted both this letter and the Salary Certificate from my employer and they were accepted. You are welcome to contact me through this link here and I will send you a copy of the letter that I wrote to the Thai Embassy for this purpose. The charges specified earlier will apply.
Number 6: Insurance
Follow the instructions on the List of Requirements. It is recommended that you follow the link provided on the List of Instructions – also here – when considering which insurance for which you should apply. Since I have my vehicle insurance in the UAE with Axa, I decided to use them for my Thailand medical insurance requirements as well. I started my insurance application with Axa by clicking here and then filled in the relevant information.
You will be presented with three options for insurance purposes, i.e. a deductible of THB 100,000, THB 200,000 or THB 300,000. I selected the option with a deductible of THB 300,000 for the price of THB 8,096, equivalent to AED 896.85. I remitted payment online using my credit card. Within 30 minutes I had received the insurance policy in the format required by the Thai Embassy.
Number 7: Personal Data Form
Follow the instructions on the List of Requirements. When I clicked on the hyperlink provided in the List of Requirements, I received an error message. I sent an e-mail to the Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi, using [email protected], asking for the correct form to use, which they then sent to me by e-mail. Otherwise you are welcome to contact me through this link here and I will send you a copy of the Personal Data Form template that I received from the Thai Embassy by e-mail, on the understanding that the Thai Embassy may have changed the form subsequent to my application being submitted. The charges specified earlier will apply.
Once received by e-mail, I converted the PDF document received from the Thai Embassy into Word format and then completed the Personal Data Form with all the requested information.
Number 8: Medical Certificate
Follow the instructions on the List of Requirements. When I clicked on the hyperlink provided in the List of Requirements, I received an error message. I sent an e-mail to the Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi, using [email protected], asking for the correct form to use, which they then sent to me by e-mail. Otherwise you are welcome to contact me through this link here and I will send you a copy of the Non OA Visa Medical Certificate template that I received from the Thai Embassy by e-mail, on the understanding that the Thai Embassy may have changed the form subsequent to my application being submitted. The charges specified earlier will apply.
I was able to make an appointment for my medical exam and have the form completed with a minimal amount of difficulty. I will not name the clinic and / or the doctor with whom I worked on this public blog, due to confidentiality reasons. I was directed to this doctor by a lovely lady based in Dubai who proved most helpful, and generous with her time, in guiding me through the full application process. Suffice to say that the process was reasonably easy in obtaining the required medical certificate for the purpose of my O-A visa application.
You are welcome to contact me through this link here and I will provide you with details of the specific steps that I took to obtain the medical certificate for purposes of my O-A visa application. The charges specified earlier will apply.
Number 9: Proof of Finance
Follow the instructions on the List of Requirements. What I provided was three months’ worth of bank statements from my account in the UAE showing that I had a deposit of at least THB 800,000 for three consecutive months. All I did was print the statements, in color, from the website of HSBC where I have my bank account and included them with my Application Form.
Number 10: Police Clearance Certificate
The Police Clearance Certificate, as strange as it may sound, was one of the easiest documents to obtain. I started my application by clicking here. Once signed into the Ministry of Interior website I clicked on ‘Start Service’. I was asked to complete my Mobile Number, Email Address, Purpose of Use (I selected ‘Use inside the country’), Issuance Emirate (I chose ‘Abu Dhabi’), Reason (I selected ‘Residence’ using the drop-down box), Language (I selected ‘English’), Organization (I entered ‘Royal Thai Embassy Abu Dhabi UAE’) and Delivery Method (I selected ‘Courier’). I then clicked on ‘Next’.
A fee of AED 65.46 was charged for the issuance of the certificate plus the courier fee. Immediately after payment, I received an e-mail from the Ministry of Interior saying that the certificate was under process. I also received an SMS stating that Emirates Post would contact me within 24 hours to arrange delivery of the document. Within 90 minutes of applying for the Police Clearance Certificate I had received the document by e-mail to the e-mail address provided.
Unfortunately this is where I was confused by the process. I was under the impression that a physical copy with an original stamp would be required by the Thai Embassy so I waited for a week for the delivery of the document by courier. I was never contacted by Emirates Post. The document never arrived so I called the Ministry of Interior about the delay. They stated that the Police Clearance Certificate would have to be taken to a typing center and then submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to have it further authenticated.
I subsequently discovered that the original Police Clearance Certificate, as received by e-mail, would be sufficient in order to submit my application.
All I did was print the document received by e-mail, in color, and attach it to my Application Form. Had it not been for this confusion I would have been able to submit my application at least two weeks earlier.
Number 11: Flight Ticket
For the purpose of my application, I booked a return ticket to Thailand on Emirates, using the ‘full-flex’ option. This ticket is fully refundable if changes are made to your plans. I printed my flight confirmation and attached it to my Application Form.
Number 12: Accommodation
Given that I own a home in Thailand I was able to provide a copy of my long-term lease agreement for my condo at Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin. As an extra measure I attached a copy of my purchase agreement for the condo.
What I think you will have to do, unless you also own property in Thailand, is provide a copy of your confirmed accommodation booking, made either through booking.com, directly with the hotel or through another service provider.
Book your accommodation with booking.com by clicking here for Bangkok, here for Phuket, here for Krabi, here for Hua Hin, here for Pattaya or here for Chiang Mai. Once you have booked your accommodation using one of these links, print the confirmation in color and attach it to your Application Form.
Visa Application Submission
Once you have collected all the documents that you need for the application, make an appointment at the Thai Embassy in order to submit your application. I submitted my request for an appointment by clicking here.
On the day of your appointment, head to the Embassy which can be found on Google Maps here. There is parking right in front of the Embassy, in the street. Otherwise, there is a large open parking area to the side of the Embassy and you can park your car there. I arrived at 10AM for my scheduled appointment and was directed to the Consular Section, a smaller building to the left side of the main Embassy offices. The line was quite long, perhaps 10 people in front of me, but it moved quickly so my wait was only 15 minutes before I could speak to the lady behind the counter.
The lady reviewed my documents for approximately eight minutes and then asked me for the visa application fee of AED 1,500. This AED 1,500 fee for the multiple-entry visa fee must be paid in cash and for the exact amount of AED 1,500 as no change will be given.
I was informed that the visa would be ready for collection within two working days, and I was asked to return then to collect my passport with the O-A visa stamped into my passport.
Summary of Costs
I spent a total amount of AED 3,094 to obtain the required documents in support of my application, including the AED 1,500 application fee. These costs are shown below. These costs exclude the airfare to Thailand and any costs related to accommodation.
As stated earlier, if you would like more detailed information than what is included above, I am willing to offer a 30-minute telephone consultation for the price of USD 150, payable in advance to my PayPal account. Please contact me by clicking here. I am also willing to share the documents that I submitted, with confidential information redacted, so that you can see exactly what is required by the Thai Embassy. The charge will also be USD 150. For both a 30-minute consultation and for me to share my documents with you, I will charge the amount of USD 260, payable in advance to my PayPal account.
Now before you head to Thailand, how about reading some more of the country in which you plan to live for the foreseeable future by clicking here.
Best Wishes with your own Non-Immigrant O-A Visa application for Thailand. I trust that you found this blog post useful in preparing your own documents for submission to the Royal Thai Embassy in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. If so, it would ge great if you would consider following our Instagram account here or subscribing, for free, to our YouTube channel here.
(Visited April 2023)