@Thomas ******
My knowledge starts with:
I have:
800,000 THB to deposit into my bank account if I could open one.
My own condo, yellow book, in Bangkok.
Thai wife, legal marriage.
Our Thai national daughter.
To apply from outside of Thai, I need health insurance (that may go into 100s of US$ per month), police clearance from my country of residence. I can do both but none of 2 above is needed when applying from within Thai.
Then, I have to be in Thai for 2 months, the money has to sit in Thai bank where I can not open an account without retirement visa for 2 months - for which I can apply only after 2 months and without Thai bank account - not possible.
Thais, simply, hate to see us there. Visa agencies found some loophole that we can not use without them.