Do I need to maintain 800,000 baht in my bank account for my wife to apply as my dependent when obtaining a Non-O retirement visa?

In the process of doing this through london, embassy advised , apply for oa visa, once granted can appply for dependent o visa , which is 90 days. In Thailand can apply local immigration for spouse permission to stay to be extended to match oa visa .

Many Thai embassies have discontinued handing out "trailing spouse" or “dependent” Non-Imm-O Visa.

Some embassies allow it if the main caretaker is on a 365-days Non-Imm-O/A Longstay Visa (the one which needs a mandatory health insurance, a health check and a police record).

A Non-Imm-O/A visa can only applied for in your home country of residence.

You need to ask your relevant Thai embassy if they are willing to issue a "dependent" Non-Imm O Visa and what the requirements would be.

The easiest way would be that each of you, applies for the 90-Days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa with proof of his/her own funds, each on his/her own.

Then in Thailand, set up a Thai Last Will which makes sure that the surviving partner can get access to the banked funds of the deceased partner.

Remember, a joint account is not accepted by every Immigration. If an Immigration accepts it, you would need double the required deposit in it, 1.6 million THB.

No, it is easier you set up a Thai Last Will so the surviving partner can inherit the other account with the 800,000 THB in it

Probably not, more then likely you'll both have to have 800k or 60k baht a month income to qualify for a non O since she's your wife and not a child 😞

If your wife if a thai national she won't need a visa

The very first thing you need to do is find out if the embassy or consulate you'll be using allows applications for a "trailing spouse" visa based on you having a retirement or longstay visa.

Many Thai embassies have discontinued issuing this visa.

If they do allow it then you would apply for a non-O or non-OA retirement visa, depending on where you want to show your proof of funds. You would also apply for your wife's non-O trailing spouse visa right after you got issued your O or O/A visa

If they do not allow it, then you're not going to be retiring in Thailand until your wife turns 50 as well.

This is because your wife will have to qualify for a visa on her own and she won't be able to qualify for retirement visa until she's 50.

She could stay in Thailand on another visa type, like a Non-Imm-ED studying Thai language or on a DTV, until she hits the age when she can get her own “retirement visa”.

You cannot get a trailing spouse visa inside Thailand, and no other embassy in SE Asia offers this any longer.

There are several roads leading to the 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa and to the subsequent “1-year Extension of Temporary Stay Permit based on retirement”, which is a long-term stay permit

MIND YOUR WORDING:

you do not apply for the “retirement visa” on Immigration after you have entered Thailand on the “90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa” you obtained through the E-Visa online system outside of Thailand.

When you enter Thailand on the 90-days “Non-Imm-O retirement visa”, you get stamped in for a 90-days stay permit. The visa itself will become invalid or “used”. It cannot get “extended”. This is technically just not possible. Don’t fall for the wrong wording used by Thai Immigration, for whom a visa and a stay permit erroneously are the same thing.

I am talking about the most common misunderstanding regarding the rules for applying for the “retirement visa” and the subsequent “one-year extension of stay permit based on retirement”. Misunderstandings happen because a “retirement visa” can mean seven (!) different visas and stay permits, but please let’s remain on topic. The most erroneous wording is from people who call the 1-year extended stay permit a “retirement visa” – a mistake that always makes me cringe.

*** The best way is to show up in Thailand on a “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O Retirement/over 50 visa”. It will get you stamped in for 90-days stay permit. Within this 90-days period, you have plenty of time to arrange for the application to the “1-year extended stay permit”.

The important fact is, that entering on this visa-type enables you to get a Thai bank account opened. If you enter on a tourist visa or visa-exempt, you cannot get a Thai bank account opened any more since February 2025. Only a handful of agents offer a service around the law, and it costs up from 60,000 Baht and I have already been quoted 90,000 Baht.

There is NO mandatory health insurance or a police record check or a medical checkup required for the Non-O visa-type. These are requirements only for the application to the 365-days Non-Imm-O/A Longstay Visa, which is a completely different visa-type.

You will need the Thai bank account in case you want to convert the 90-days stay permit into a “1-year extension of the stay permit”.

You can theoretically fly on a one-way ticket because this visa allows you to receive a long-term stay in Thailand. Some airlines might not accept this explanation and will ask you for an onward travel proof out of Thailand within these 90 days, that’s why you should communicate with them by email and see what they say.

In order to apply for the “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O retirement visa” through the online E-visa system at the Royal Thai Embassy of your home country or any other country, you can

EITHER

use proof of income of a monthly minimum of 65.000.- THB, by using your original pension or other income documentation,

OR

you can use a deposit of a minimum of 800,000 THB or the equivalent in your home country currency, or on your home bank account, or on your Thai bank account (if you got one), or just anywhere in the World – as long as it is in your sole name.

Most Thai embassies will require 3 months of account statements. You need to check the website of the embassy you will use for the exact info.

ATTENTION! . . .For the application inside Thailand to the “1-year extension of the stay permit based on retirement”, the financial proof will be slightly different. You cannot use any original income/pension documents from your home country.

If you are a citizen of a country whose embassy in Bangkok does not issue a certified “income affidavit” any more –

(which are the embassies of USA, Canada, UK, Norway and Australia)

you would need a “12 months bank statement” showing that for the past 12 months, you have been transferring from abroad to your Thai bank account a minimum of 65,000 THB, consecutively month for month, not missing a single month.

If your embassy still issues a certified affidavit of income, you can use it for the financial proof. You would need a monthly income or pension of a minimum of 65,000 THB.

For British, Canadian, Norwegian, Australian and U.S. citizens, in the first year there is no other way around than depositing a minimum of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account - at least in the first year

The alternative would be, if you don’t have that kind of money or are not willing to deposit 24,000 Dollar in a Thai Bank account, is paying an agent to “arrange” the requirements to get around the law.

As soon as you have accumulated 12 consecutive months of 65,000 THB transfers, month for month, you can apply for the next 1-year extension of the stay permit, using the 12-months bank statement. After been issued the next extension, you can theoretically take your 800,000 THB out of your bank account.

There is a fee of 1900 THB for the application to a 1-year extension, and you can theoretically do it all by yourself. You are free to accept the help of an agent for the simplified legal service.

NOTE: It is income OR deposit.

There is a third method, called the “combination method”: A combination mix of income and deposit.

Some immigrations don’t allow the combination method in the first year.

And some Immigrations want the deposit part to exceed a minimum of 400,000 THB.

The combination method means that the sum of the deposit AND the monthly income exceeds 800,000 THB in one year.

But let’s continue with the “normal method” (visa issued in your home country, followed by the application to the 1-year extension inside Thailand):

On the day of application to the 1-year extension, the 800,000 THB must have “seasoned” in your account for two months, and this has to be confirmed with the “bank letter of guarantee” (in Thai: rab roong thanakan).

After been issued the “1-year Extension of the Stay Permit based on Retirement”, the 800K need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After these 3 months, the deposit shall never go under 400,000 THB. And before the application for the next “1-year Extension of Stay”, a minimum of 800,000 THB must have seasoned in the account for two months, again.

On the day you get issued the “1-year extension of stay permit”, you should buy a re-entry permit.

A re-entry permit will keep your 1-year stay permit alive and valid in case you want to travel around and exit Thailand before the expiry of the extension.

A single re-entry permit is 1000 THB on Immigration. A multi re-entry is 3800 THB. On a multi re-entry permit stamped, you can exit and re-enter as many times as you wish during the whole 1-year stay permit period.

Again, watch your wording, because many people fail in doing so: the re-entry permit is not a “re-entry visa”. It is just a permit.

Good Luck and a great time in Thailand

You get the visa before arriving. Open bank account. Deposit money. Then get 12 month extension of stay ( which isn't a visa)

yes

yes you will need, if you do the visa at the same time ;-) or a monthly income about 65,000 Baht each, the 800k must be the last 3 month at your account, so if you don´t have to do the visa at the same time, you could switch the money from account to the other account, just keep in mind that you put it back at the right time ;-)

As a dependent?

If she’s your child, sure. If she’s your spouse, she needs an equal and opposite visa from yours.

Here’s a suggestion, don’t try to take shortcuts.

You’re going to need two visas, one for you, one for your wife, and you will both need 800 K in the bank.

If she was Thai, then you can go under a Thai visa for marriage, which is different.

But yes, if you’re planning to relocate to Thailand, you need to do it properly, or jeopardize your future of staying there.

If your wife were to manage to get a Non-O visa as your dependant then there are no financial requirements for her. The problem is going to be her getting a Non-O as your dependant if you get a Non-O based retirement. Most consulates will no longer issue a dependant visa in these circumstances and certainly not simultaneously. It's much more likely to happen if you get a 12 month Non-OA visa but even then if your wife is over 50 some will insist she gets her own retirement visa