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Do American citizens need to deposit 800,000 THB for a Thai retirement visa instead of showing monthly income?

Visa Rules Thai Non-O Visa Immigration Expats in Thailand Visa Application Process

Sep 22, 2025

4 days ago

Kevin **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Can someone confirm whether or not the following email that I recieved from a Thai visa agent is true:?

*"It is an option whether you choose to show your savings of 800,000 THB or a monthly income of 65,000 THB. You only need to meet one of these requirements, not both."*

*"For American citizens, the only option is to deposit 800,000 THB, as the Royal Thai Embassy in your country no longer provides income certification, and the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok does not verify income either."*

So, they're saying the monthly deposit of 65,000 THB does not apply to American citizens.

Thank you.

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TLDR : Answer Summary

The information provided by the Thai visa agent is mostly accurate. For American citizens applying for the initial Non-O visa, the only viable option is to show a deposit of 800,000 THB in a Thai bank account, since the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok does not provide income verification. However, for the second yearly extension, if the applicant has consistently transferred 65,000 THB monthly into their Thai bank account for the past 12 months, they may then switch to using this income method. It's important to maintain the required amount in the account to avoid any issues with visa validity.

NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES

Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
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Ian ********

No.

They are saying it may be difficult to prove that the 65k monthly option is an overseas transfer.

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Reinhard ********

My Immi doesn't accept any self sended income .Only by Embassy certificated Pension income is accepted.(Marriage Visa).

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Reinhard ********

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Andy ********

I'm applying for my first one year retirement visa, I deposited the 800,000 baht. To start the 65,000 option means starting from day one i assum. Am I right in thinking you can actually spend the 65,000. Each month after it's transferred also it seems a very expensive way of transferring small amounts multiple times. Hope you can advise me

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Anna *********

You can’t use monthly method for the first yearly extension but you can for 2 nd and subsequent extensions

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Floyd ******

thank you I'm just trying to work out the logistics of the whole thing I'm sending over 66,000 baht but for some reason less than 64,000 is being deposited and I guess I'm going to have to go contact the bank and find out what's going on

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Floyd ******

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Floyd ******

My question is if you send $65,000 baht but by the time the bank puts it in your account it is dropped below 65,000 baht is it still counted as 65,000

I have sent over 65,000 baht but my deposit is less than 65,000

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Anna *********

it does see odd

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Floyd ******

Thank you all just seem strange I have to spend $200 to put money in the bank my bank didn't charge anything to send it

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Ivan ************

do you mean 200 baht rather than $200? There is a standard 200-500B receiving fee on the Thai bank end for international transfers.

If you are sending THB with a US bank, they are probably not giving you a very good exchange rate either. They say "no fee" but then actually take the fee out of the exchange rate.

Generally, sending in USD and having the Thai bank convert it is preferable. The issue with this is you won't know exactly the THB amount but if you look up the exchange rate and just send a reasonable margin over, you can be sure it will be at least 65,000. Also, some banks will charge you more if you send in USD, as they can't do you on the exchange rate any more. Some banks, and brokers in particular will do genuinely free international wires in USD.

Wise does allow you to specify exact THB amounts and you get the full amount, and a good exchange rate, although they can have issues with the transfers not appearing as international. You can work around this by getting a letter from the bank it went through but it's more hassle.

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Floyd ******

They show me how much I baht they're sending so I know how much my bank sent them

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Floyd ******

@Ivan ***********

I mean 2000baht on each transaction that's about $200

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Ivan ************

2000B isn't about $200 if you mean US dollars. It's $62. Thai fee is 0.25% min 200B, max 500B. There can be an intermediate bank fee but that is usually only going the other way and wouldn't typically be more than $20. It's strange if you are being charged 2000B but your account doesn't add up.

Your bank is almost certainly charging you to send it, they are just hiding the charges in the exchange rate. This is normal, it's not something peculiar to your bank. If they tell you a number in THB though the Thai bank should only take 200-500.

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Ivan ************

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Anna *********

then you need to send more to cover the bank taking out $100

The deposit into bank must be 65k or more not the original withdrawal from originating bank

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Anna *********

no it must be 65k or more every month

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Floyd ******

but what I'm saying is I'm sending the money in but by the time it gets deposited the bank is taken out over $100

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Gary ********

what i would do is add another 100 to what your depositing to makeup what's been taken for service charges.

Know what I mean?

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Duncan **********

if you used WISE to transfer then you can specify the amount to receive exactly. Also the fee for sending 65k baht would only be around 40 bucks

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Duncan **********

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Roberto *********

Rule 1: Never believe a visa agent!

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Garrett ***********

What did they say that was wrong?

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Roberto *********

@Garrett **********

The monthly 65k transfer doesn't apply to US citizens. Absolute nonsense

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Pete *******

@Roberto ********

for the initial Non O and the subsequent 1st year extension of stay it absolutely does.

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Roberto *********

Exactly. So the agent was wrong (as usual)

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Roberto *********

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Nongnuch ********

For the application to the initial 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa in the e-visa system inside the USA, you can use your original proofs of income.

However as the US embassy in Bangkok no longer issues an income affidavit, this means that for the application to the 1-year extension of the stay permit, your only option in the first year is to deposit a minimum of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account. On the day of the application to the 1-year extension, the 800,000 THB must have sat in your Thai bank account for a minimum of 2 months and you need to prove this with the bank letter that confirms it

When you apply for the second yearly extension, you can use the income method, as long as you have deposited a minimum of 65,000 THB into your Thai bank account for the last 12 consecutive months, month for month.

For this application, you will need to show a 12-months bank statement that also proves that the money was transferred from abroad, month for month

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Kevin **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

@Nongnuch *******

Thanks for the detailed info.

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Kevin **********

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Kevin **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thanks for the clarity.

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Darren *********

They are correct. If you can show the 65k/month transfers for 12 months solid, ie the second year, you may be able to convert to that method. As always depends on you immigration office and the mood of the person you are dealing with at that moment. Either way make sure to keep the necessary funds in your account until the conversion is complete. If you drop below the minimums they can and have said your visa was invalid so you have yo start over.

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Kevin **********

ORIGINAL POSTER

Thank you.

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Garrett ***********

This is for the initial Non-O. The US embassy (along with a lot of other embassies) no longer issue income affidavit's, meaning your only option is to deposit the 800k. For your 2nd yearly extension, if you'd deposited 65k baht into a thai bank account for the last 12 consecutive months, you can do the income method.

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Garrett ***********

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