What are the best visa options for retired Canadians looking to stay in Thailand for 5.5 months without leaving?

Plus remember 180 days in Thailand you are considered a tax resident.

you ask for internet advice with a false name....odd

I'm sure you're going to consider this rude and/or sarcastic, but why did you include "My husband and I are both over 50 and both retired, Canadian" when it appears to be irrelevant ?

Or at least state up front you are NOT looking to retire in Thailand ? You can see all the "retirement" answers already right ?

Now, since the 60-day v-e hasn't YET been reduced to 30, AND your 5.5 months (not picked out of thin air, was it ?) is outside the "60+30ext, leave, and return for another 60+7(ext), even if it IS still available, would be shorter than you're looking for anyway,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The METV John Stanners referred to appears to be about the only way to stay that long without going back to Canada, or "retiring" in Thailand - BUT, that METV still requires you to leave after 90 days and come back in for the next 75(?).

JoyfulYuzu3571 We are now talking about the most common and persisting misunderstandings regarding the applications for the “retirement visa” and the subsequent “one-year extension of the stay permit based on retirement”

The best way to reach your goals is to show up in Thailand on a “90-days single entry Non-Imm-O Retirement/over 50 years visa” you have applied for in your home country in the E-Visa online system of the Thai embassy or consulate.

Normally, you can fly on a one-way ticket on this visa, as it is meant to get changed into a longterm permit. Email your airline to be rest assured that they follow this guideline.

On this visaclass, you will get stamped in on a 90-days stay permit upon entering Thailand. This visa enables you to get a Thai bank account opened in your name, which you will need for the first year.

After having entered Thailand, you need to get registered in your accommodation per TM30 within 24 hours of arrival in the premises. If you have booked a hotel stay, the hotel will automatically register you per TM30 in the System. If you rent or live in a friend’s accommodation, the landlord or the friend has to register you.

Right after you got properly registered, you can get a “certificate of residency” from Immigration and with this and your passport, you can open a Thai bank account.

Within this 90-days stay permit period, you have plenty of time to arrange for the application to the “1-year extended stay permit based on retirement” (which people wrongly refer to as a “retirement visa”) Actually this thing is not a visa. It is an extended stay permit

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 also in any other country that uses the e-visa system), you can use the proof of income of a monthly minimum equivalent of 65,000 THB using your original pension statements or another income documentation.

Or you 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 a Thai bank, or just anywhere in the World – as long as the account is in your sole name. Some embassies will require 3 months of account statements over this deposit. You need to check the website of the embassy you will use for what their requirement is.

However, for the application inside Thailand for the “1-year extension of the stay permit” out of the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa, if you are a citizen of a country, whose embassy in Thailand does not issue the “income affidavit” anymore (which are the embassies of the USA, UK and Australia, Sweden, Denmak, Norway and Canada - AFAIK) you would need proof by 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

If your embassy still issues a legalized affidavit of income, you can use this method for the financial proof, as long as you can show a monthly income or pension of a minimum of 65,000 THB

For above mentioned citizens, in the first year there is no other way around than depositing a minimum of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account and use this deposit for the financial proof. For the application to the “one year extension of stay permit based on being over 50/retired” you need to show a minimum of 800,000 THB in your account and the funds must have been sat there for a minimum of 2 months, and you got the “bank letter of guarantee” that confirms this.

The alternative would be, if you do not have that kind of money or are not willing to deposit 800,000 THB in your Thai Bank account, paying an agent - mostly in the range of 32-40,000 THB to “arrange” the requirements, this means they will open the bank account for you and place the required amount in it for 5 minutes.

The downside is, you will be stuck with the agent for a while. You will need an agent to fix your 800k issue. You will get caught in the agent’s hamster wheel.

To qualify you will need the 800k fronted by the agent the first year and simultaneously deposit 65k per month for 12 months without fail, to qualify the 2nd year for income method. Yet this is not enough to enable you to escape the hamster wheel.

If you use an agent, you will not qualify for the 2nd year as you did not have the money in the first year . . . . So you will need the agent grease the palms again

NOTE: It is income method OR deposit method.

There is a third method, called the “combination method”:

A combination, a 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 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 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 proven with the “bank letter of guarantee” (in Thai: rab roong thanakan). Immigration also wants to see an ATM receipt of a small withdrawal on the same day before you enter the bank to update your bankbook and ask for the letter.

Immigration will only service you if you got properly registered in your accommodation by the TM30.

Every landlord or hotel needs to register you within 24 hours of your arrival in the premises. While hotels do this automatically online, many landlords are not aware of this or haven’t registered their house or rooms in the system. It is your responsibility to ensure that you get properly TM30 registered.

After been issued the “1-year Extension of Stay”, the 800,000 THB 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 your 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

When you get issued the “1-year extension of stay”, you should always buy a re-entry permit for it.

A re-entry permit will keep your 1-year stay permit alive in case you exit Thailand before the expiry of the 1-year stay permit.

A single re-entry permit is 1000 THB on Immigration. A multi re-entry is 3800 THB.

With a multi re-entry permit, you can exit and re-enter as many times as you wish during the whole 1-year stay permit period.

JoyfulYuzu3571 Either you come to Thailand on the METV (easiest visa),

OR you buy the Elite PRIVILEGE Family Visa(expensive),

OR both of you apply INDIVIDUALLY for the 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa

Once in Thailand BOTH OF YOU extend it to the "1-year extension of the stay permit based on retirement".

The embassy of Canada does not issue any income affidavits, which means that BOTH OF YOU need a minimum of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account, at least for the first 1-year extension.

And just my five cents: this is not a good option.

The METV is the better and cheaper choice for a stay of 5.5 months. You will however not get around the minimum of ONE border run. You can’t always get what you want.

METV would be the best fit for your purpose. However, you would need to do one quick out and back. Perhaps u could do a couple days in Hanoi.

Its sad that you have to put the disclaimer about being rude, sarcastic... but that's what alot of these "helpful" groups have become 😪 Hope you get some good information 👍

To enter for 5 to 6 months without having to leave your going to be looking at one of the retirement visa options. If you get the 12 month Non-OA option you don't have to worry about putting funds in a Thai bank but you would need insurance, police checks and a medical certificate

Just come in 60 day visa free then extend by 30 then leave and re enter on 60 day visa free its easy really take no notice of all these people telling you to deposit 800k I'm sure you don't want to do that!

12 Month Non O-A from your home country. No Thai bank account needed.

The most popular choice is the 90 day non-O retirement visa. You get it from the Thai Embassy in your home country before coming to Thailand and then you can extend your stay for 12 months. You would need to deposit 800,000 baht each in a Thai bank account, but then you can stay indefinitely. If you deposit 65,000 baht each month for the 12 months of your extension, after the second annual extension, you can withdraw the 800,000 baht.

My advise is, to contact Thai embassy in your home country. Then You not get a lot of wrong answers.

Check the non-OA VISA, apply in your home country.

If you get a Non-O based on retirement BEFORE you arrive and put 800k Thai baht in a Thai bank you can stay without leaving. You get 90 days and within that 90 days you open a Thai bank account and transfer your money. Then you can get a 1 year extension.

With the METV you have to leave the country.

METV

Needs to be applied for from the Thai embassy in your home country well before you fly out

Before 60 days within Thailand

Go to immigration & extend for another 30

Before the 90 days is up ( 60+30 ) you need leave Thailand & re-enter to start the process again