Can I apply for a Retirement visa in Thailand now or do I need to wait until I move there?

Mark Jacobs why I actually try to lecture and correct somebody who has no f...g clue how the Thai Visa system works, is beyond my understanding.

I do not recommend a 365-days Non-Imm-O/A Longstay visa, because it comes with a mandatory health insurance requirement and a few other obligations. When you go from this visa to the 1-year Extension, Immigration will enforce you having a Thai private health insurance contract. . . . . You should prefer to start with a 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa, apply for the 1-year Extension of Stay inside Thailand, and thus keep your free choice of having a health insurance

***you should apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa in your home country, before you come to Thailand, because you will need to have entered on this visa to be able to open a Thai bank account

***the 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa is valid for use within three months from the date of issue. It doesn’t make sense to apply for it earlier then three months before your planned date of departure

***each of you will need to apply for the Non-O Visa, because most embassies have discontinued to issue “dependent” visa based on retirement. You need to ask the Thai embassy in your home country if they are willing to issue a “dependent” (or “trailing spouse”) visa and what the conditions and requirements are

*** in Thailand, if you are a citizen of UK, USA or Australia, your embassy does not issue an income affidavit any more. So, you cannot use any income for proof of finances, at least in the first year, for the application to the “Extension of Stay Permit based on Retirement”. You will each (!!) need a minimum of 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account in your sole name, to fulfill the requirements for an application to the “1-year Extended Stay Permit based on Retirement”

*** there is no minimum stay requirement once you have been issued the “1-year Extension of Temporary Stay Permit”. You however must be inside the country for the application on Immigration to the next “1-year Extension of Stay Permit” before the previous one expires

***once issued the “1-year Extension of Stay Permit”, if you plan to exit Thailand or plan to travel abroad, you need to buy a “re-entry permit” on Immigration or at the airport, in order to keep your most recent stamped extended stay permit alive.

Best to apply in your own country at the Thai consulate. You’ll get a non immigrant OA visa that can work for almost two years. I think it’s better to wait until at least three months before you plan on traveling. If you come into Thailand on a tourist visa you’ll have to covert it and jump through a bunch of hoops. Also you can’t open a thai bank account unless you have a retirement or work visa. They stopped giving accounts to foreigners with tourist visas.

Best option is to apply for a Non O e-visa based on retirement online before you leave for Thailand. Can be applied for up to three months before you plan to leave.

Pointless to hold a visa before you are leaving. And there’s no mandatory time you’ll need to stay in Thailand to maintain your permission to stay.