Can I obtain a Thai visa using military compensation as my income?

You might want to join this group btw:

All that being said there are ways for you to stay in country legally long-term (typically an ED visa) if you don't get the DTV and are willing to pay an agent. A bit risky though, especially if you want to travel internationally or change your visa status later to something more legitimate.

If you want to move here permanently I don't recommend it unless you are pulling in 3-4k USD a month, more would be better. You should have some substantial savings too to be safe. There are way too many punters here who are a motorbike crash away from being insolvent because they spend all their money out on the piss and on women.

The next 10-20 years is your prime income earning potential, don't piss it away here. If you are dead set on moving to Thailand retrain and work your way into a remote gig - you will make way more money doing that than pretty much anything you will find in Thailand.

I've been coming here on and off for 20+ years and it gets more expensive by the day. Yes you can live cheaply, potentially just on a retiree check but it will be a quiet/simple life, likely not something somebody in their 20s really wants (regardless of what you THINK you want).

If you are working on base in Japan think very hard before giving up the job - I guarantee you there are 10 people waiting in line for that position and it will be very difficult to find another one like it if you decide Thailand isn't for you long term. If it wasn't for visa issues with my baby mama I'd move back to Japan in a flash, especially if I could find a cushy GS job on base.

You could apply for the DTV using one of the soft power options. Other than that the Thai Privilege visa is probably your best bet but monthly income won't help. You need to show money in the bank

You can just start a company and show the registration document from the government. That’s all they wanted to see from me regarding work. Just have the required amount of $$ in your bank and you should be fine.