The Retirement Visa in Thailand with a spouse (Dependent) is explained below. In cases where a foreign couple wants to retire in Thailand, there are two options in obtaining the proper visa: Each spouse can obtain a visa or one spouse obtains a retirement visa and have the other as dependent.
Retirement Visa in Thailand
The first option is for each of the spouse obtain a retirement visa by abiding with the financial requirements, which is to have a fixed deposit of 800,000 Thai Baht in a Thai bank account two months before visa application.
The second option for foreign couples who wish to retire in Thailand is for one of the spouse to obtain a retirement visa and have the other receive a visa as dependent – in this case the male party is usually the Retirement Visa holder or the other. Also, immigration requires the financial aspect of the visa extension to be provided by one party and not in a joint bank account. However, this approach is only applicable if the other party is less than the age of 50 years old. See also how to buy a condo in Thailand on this website.
Also, this is not very much recommended as when the visa holder would pass away then the dependent’s visa would be void. Another reason why the dependent visa has been avoided is because Thai immigration has made quick changes on this visa over the last decade, wherein they have reverted to back to the original rules causing confusion and complications.
For those seeking to obtain a dependent visa for their spouse who is not yet 50 years old, she will have to enter Thailand on a Non-Immigrant O Visa or perhaps do the conversion within Thailand provided timeline, visa validity and financial requirement are met.
One approach in obtaining the extension based on retirement is to acquire a Non-Immigrant O visa with 90 days validity from your home country prior to coming over to Thailand. However, it is still possible to obtain this Thai retirement visa in Thailand.