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Is it better to use multiple METVs rather than applying for a retirement visa in Thailand?

Dec 19, 2025

15 hours ago

If 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

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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)?

12 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

That money sitting in your account isn’t really your money if you have to leave it in your account

10 hours ago

Graham ******

@Alan ****

but you don't have to if you plan it

10 hours ago

Reply to

Graham ******

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.

12 hours ago

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 many

11 hours ago

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

@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.

11 hours ago

Reply to

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

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.

14 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

Stalking me are you 😆. If I wanted to go to nam I’d go to nam 🙄

13 hours ago

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?

13 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

I’ve got one. 😏

11 hours ago

Wayne *******

@Alan ****

Another tit blocked

10 hours ago

Reply to

Wayne *******

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).

14 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

I wouldn’t want to stay more than 90 days

13 hours ago

Reply to

Alan *****

Farang *********

Oh great now they will clamp down on this. One every two years I guess.

14 hours ago

Tony **********

You'd still have to exit/enter several times a year. All good until one IO decides it's not.

15 hours ago

Bob **********

Not sure they’ll even issue back to back METV god luck with that

15 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

The Thais are only interested in money, as long as your paying for a visa & leaving the country what’s the problem

15 hours ago

Michael ********

@Alan ****

get a dtv easier

15 hours ago

Reply to

Michael ********

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

15 hours ago

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.

15 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

Surely if you have bought a visa you’re guaranteed to get in. 🙄

15 hours ago

Charmae *******

You don't BUY visas

5 hours ago

Steve *******

@Alan ****

A visa doesn't guarantee entry.

11 hours ago

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.

14 hours ago

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.

14 hours ago

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 visa

14 hours ago

Greg ***********

@Alan ****

this is a misconception. Even on a valid visa, you can be denied entry

14 hours ago

Will ************

@Alan ****

not a chance it’s down to the immigration officer who stamps you in or detains you

14 hours ago

Gordon *******

@Will ***********

I've heard this before so does anyone know anybody that has been refused entry with a visa as it seems very odd!

13 hours ago

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 access

12 hours ago

Reply to

Greg ***********

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

I thought with an metv you can come & go as many times as you want in the 6month period otherwise what’s the point

15 hours ago

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 it

14 hours ago

Jared **********

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

15 hours ago

Pertti *************

@Alan ****

yes that is true👍

15 hours ago

Reply to

Pertti *************

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

I don’t want to live in Thailand

15 hours ago

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 tourist

13 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

Of 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

13 hours ago

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

5 hours ago

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 🤣

5 hours ago

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.

12 hours ago

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 GI

12 hours ago

Reply to

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 METV

14 hours ago

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

@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.

14 hours ago

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 😂

14 hours ago

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.

13 hours ago

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 😅

12 hours ago

Alan *****

ORIGINAL POSTER

I wouldn’t want to stay more than 180 days. But if I did it would be broken up over the

Year

10 hours ago

Charmae *******

If U don't want to stay more than 180 days U don't need a metv ffs

5 hours ago

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.

12 hours ago

Greg ***********

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

you are right, this travel pattern is absolutely possible

12 hours ago

Reply to

Greg ***********

Stephen *******

You can't be a permanent tourist obviously 🙄

15 hours ago

Pertti *************

@Stephen ******