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Is it better to use multiple METVs rather than applying for a retirement visa in Thailand?
Dec 19, 2025
4 months ago
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERIf you got 2 metv per year costing £300,wouldn’t it be better than jumping thru hoops trying to get a retirement visa probably work out cheaper & you wouldn’t have to leave 800,000 baht in your account
What’s the advantage & disadvantage over this
What’s the advantage & disadvantage over this
TLDR : Answer Summary
The discussion explores the pros and cons of using two Multiple Entry Tourist Visas (METVs) versus obtaining a retirement visa for living in Thailand. Some participants argue that relying on METVs may initially seem cheaper due to lower costs and avoiding a substantial bank balance requirement. However, the consensus highlights significant risks and drawbacks of this approach, emphasizing that living in Thailand as a tourist presents challenges, such as frequent exits and potential scrutiny from immigration officials. Alternatives like the Non-O visa and the Soft Power Digital Nomad Visa are mentioned as potentially more stable options.
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Graham ******
How does it work out cheaper than entering with a Non-O and getting an extension for 1900B each year (and, with careful planning, the 800k is only needed for just over 5 months then 400k for the rest of the first year but, if your Embassy does the income affidavit, there is no minimum bank balance)?
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERThat money sitting in your account isn’t really your money if you have to leave it in your account
Graham ******
@Alan ****
but you don't have to if you plan itReply to
Graham ******
Reply
Ivan ************
@Gra***
because 800k is 80k/year on average invested in the S&P500. There is an opportunity cost locking that up in a Thai bank account. If you live here, it's a cost of doing business. If you *don't* live here but just want to visit more than twice a year, it's a bit much. If someone does have the embassy option, sure, but most anglophones don't.Graham ******
@Ivan ***********
so factor in all the travelling then, every 3 months plus getting the new METV every 8-9 months may require a return flight "home" so not cheap for manyIvan ************
@Gra***
some people want to do that anyway and just come to Thailand for holidays.You're thinking about it from the mindset of someone who does want to retire here and spend most of their life here. For that person, retirement visa is a good choice.
Not everyone wants to do that, some just want to come for holidays, but more than two per year, and want to not take the risk of being hassled and possibly denied with the new rules.
Reply to
Ivan ************
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Wayne *******
Your posts are becoming a weekly game show where we have to guess what visa you're gonna bring up next and ask why this why that!
Next week on why do I need 800,000 in a bank account............
Try Vietnam. 90 days, fly out, fly back in. You can even pay for future visas while out of Nam.
Next week on why do I need 800,000 in a bank account............
Try Vietnam. 90 days, fly out, fly back in. You can even pay for future visas while out of Nam.
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERStalking me are you 😆. If I wanted to go to nam I’d go to nam 🙄
Wayne *******
@Alan ****
Realy? You want a visa for Thailand and still havent got one 😂How am I stalking you when you're on here all day every day?
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERI’ve got one. 😏
Wayne *******
@Alan ****
Another tit blockedReply to
Wayne *******
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Ian **********
The disadvantages are you must leave every 90 days and every 2 months you pay 1900 to extend. It is far cheaper to get a soft power DTV. It costs 10,000 baht for 5 years, it's multi-entry, can stay 6 months, no need for extensions (although you can extend once a year), minimal dealing with immigration, and no need for money in Thai bank (once it is issued there is no requirement for money in any bank).
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERI wouldn’t want to stay more than 90 days
Reply to
Alan *****
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Farang *********
Oh great now they will clamp down on this. One every two years I guess.
Tony **********
You'd still have to exit/enter several times a year. All good until one IO decides it's not.
Bob **********
Not sure they’ll even issue back to back METV god luck with that
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERThe Thais are only interested in money, as long as your paying for a visa & leaving the country what’s the problem
Michael ********
@Alan ****
get a dtv easierReply to
Michael ********
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Jeremy ********
It’s a good plan until it isn’t
You can probably get away with it for 3-4 years before an I/O flags you
You can probably get away with it for 3-4 years before an I/O flags you
Brandon ************
This isn't even a question. You CANNOT live in Thailand as a tourist. People are getting interrogated at the airport after leaving and returning 2 times back to back with an METV. Try it with 2 METV in a row and good luck on your flight back home after you are denied entry. This plan is simply not possible.
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERSurely if you have bought a visa you’re guaranteed to get in. 🙄
Charmae *******
You don't BUY visas
Steve *******
@Alan ****
A visa doesn't guarantee entry.David *******
@Alan ****
the same as in Australia and New Zealand - the only 2 countries I can 100% conclusively refer to. You can arrive at the airport with any visa you like but the immigration officer makes the final decision if you can enter or not. You have no right to enter in a visa.Brandon ************
@Alan ****
visas are issued by the MFA. The people who decided if you get into Thailand or not are part of immigration, a completely different government agency with different rules. The only thing a visa does is determine how many days you'll receive in your passport if you're allowed in.Greg ***********
@Alan ****
you don't "buy" the visa. A visa gets "granted" to you. It is a "honour". You are absolutely not entitled to a visa, and you still have no right to be allowed entry, not even if you show up on a visaGreg ***********
@Alan ****
this is a misconception. Even on a valid visa, you can be denied entryWill ************
@Alan ****
not a chance it’s down to the immigration officer who stamps you in or detains youGordon *******
@Will ***********
I've heard this before so does anyone know anybody that has been refused entry with a visa as it seems very odd!Greg ***********
@Gordon ******
many people get refused entry every month, even on visas obtained outside of Thailand. It depends on your recent tourist stamp history, if extensive, you are hitting a dead end . . . It depends on your appearance, behaviour, if you appear intoxicated, come in shabby clothes or are unwashed . .This is NOT a joke. This is reality . .if you can't prove sufficient funds, even a visa will not get you accessReply to
Greg ***********
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Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERI thought with an metv you can come & go as many times as you want in the 6month period otherwise what’s the point
Greg ***********
@Alan ****
yes you can during the 6 months validity, but not on two consecutive METV. Even if the embassy in your home country will cash the application fee and issue the METV, your entry is NEVER guaranteed. Your profile in the Immigration computer will speak against itJared **********
Visas aren’t a guaranteed entry and the “point” is easy for anyone wanting to use and not abuse it
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes
Pertti *************
@Alan ****
yes that is true👍Reply to
Pertti *************
Reply
Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERI don’t want to live in Thailand
John **********
@Alan ****
that is a total misconception. Yes they are interested in making money from genuine tourism. You with your "scheme" would not be a genuine touristAlan *****
ORIGINAL POSTEROf course I’d be a tourist. I don’t want to live in Thailand I just want to visit & use it as a base to visit SE Asia
Charmae *******
Use it as a base.. no use your own home as a base
Your basically saying ..I want to live in Thailand come and go as I please and I don't want to fill in anything
Your basically saying ..I want to live in Thailand come and go as I please and I don't want to fill in anything
Charmae *******
If U don't want to live here why would you want 2 METV's ...So your kinda saying I want to stay almost permanently but not live here 🤣
Wayne *********
@Alan ****
2 x metv can as immigration knows give you nearly 9 months on each. Hence regardless you say you dont want to live in Thailand the 2 x metv makes it look like you do.Greg ***********
@Alan ****
"use it as a base" . . you were born 50 years late. During the Vietnam War you were able to make Thailand your base if you were a U.S. American GIReply to
Greg ***********
Reply
Greg ***********
@Alan ****
doesn't matter if you don't want to live in Thailand. You cannot get two METV issued consecutively. You will need to spend half a year outside of Thailand before you are allowed the next METVIvan ************
@Al**
if you genuinely don't want to live here, it could work. It would depend on how much time you spent in Thailand. If you came for a week or two several times per year, that would almost certainly be an acceptable use of it. There isn't a clear line as to where you go from frequent tourist to "living here" but that's the point at which it would cause issues.Greg ***********
@Ivan ***********
I guess from a 180-days count per one-year period seen clearly on the Central Computer Screen, an Immigration officer will start wonder why Farang tourists have so much time away on holidays 😂Ivan ************
@Gr**
where does he say he wants to spend longer than 180 days in Thailand. I'd consider that "want to live in Thailand". He says he doesn't want to live in Thailand.If his plan with this was that, sure that's not going to work. But there are people who just come to Thailand for holidays, but regularly, if that's his plan METVs could well be a better plan than exemptions, with the new "2 per year" issue.
Greg ***********
@Ivan ***********
he said "If you got 2 metv per year" . . that's his misconception. That's saying he wants to stay longer than 180 days per year in Thailand. That's where he said exactly that 😅Alan *****
ORIGINAL POSTERI wouldn’t want to stay more than 180 days. But if I did it would be broken up over the
Year
Year
Charmae *******
If U don't want to stay more than 180 days U don't need a metv ffs
Ivan ************
@Gr**
it's not saying that though. It's saying he wants the option to visit. If you visited for a week every month that would be 84 days but you'd have been here every month of the year.Greg ***********
@Ivan ***********
you are right, this travel pattern is absolutely possibleReply to
Greg ***********
Reply
Stephen *******
You can't be a permanent tourist obviously 🙄
Pertti *************
@Stephen ******
you still are visitor if you only have extension of staying in kingdom 12 months.. permanent residency isn't anymore temporary situation🙏Marty *********
@Pertti ************
The issue is whether they will let you in or not.Pertti *************
@Marty ********
if you have pr or citizenship you go how you like. Non immigrants too.Marty *********
@Pertti ************
You can play word games all you want. Feel free to tell Immigration officers what they can or cannot do. Come back and tell us about it.Reply to
Marty *********
Reply
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