What are the steps and costs involved in applying for a retirement visa in Thailand using an agent or on my own?

I did mine myself in Hua Hin ( main office, not Blueport ) and they could not have been more helpful. There is a lady at the desk downstairs who gave me a checklist to work with ( about 4 items as I remember) They have a separate office on-site who will take the necessary photos and photocopies for a small fee. If you have a little time and transport it’s not difficult. I suppose if you’re in Bkk or Pattaya with heavy traffic and no transport it could be a pain to do it yourself. Here’s a business card to get a bank account in Hua Hin , very helpful, I declined the “recommended “ insurance and they were fine. It was two trips to the bank but not difficult. Make sure it’s this branch, other Bangkok bank branches told me not possible to open an account for foreigner. Ask other expats where they opened an account

I didn’t know you ever had sun in the UK 😳

Getting a bank account

Don’t expect to get something for nothing. Each office is an independent business. Each office makes their own criteria.

You certainly will pay a fee for transferring USD from USA to Thailand. The amount depends on the bank and the transfer service.

Banking is an essential service if you plan to spend time here. It’s not FREE.

I prepared ahead of time by getting a bank account set up 6 months ago.

I treated this as an important business transaction, not just a casual activity.

My Thai friend made an appointment for me at the Bangkok Bank branch across from Astra in CM. He also translated for me.

I am a middle aged physician and dressed as such. Yes I did do the whole business card ceremony.

I told the banker that I plan to retire soon and buy a condominium at Astra.

I was asked to purchase a life insurance policy for about $100. Presumably the banker gets a commission. Whatever, it’s the price of doing business at the bank.

They wanted to copy my passport and see my credit card from Wells Fargo. I think I showed them how much was in my account also to make the point that I’m a serious customer.

I also showed them $500 in perfect $100 bills that was to be the initial deposit.

Nothing else was required.

Act like a serious customer and you will be treated as such.

Present yourself properly and you should be fine.

If not, thank them for their time and visit another office.

Best wishes on your adventure to Thailand!

I will only speak to the bank account issue.

I was fortunate to get a bank account near my home.

It is easy to replenish it from my home country.

Almost daily I use it when I’m abroad for purchases in Thailand.

Multiple times daily it is used for purchases when I am in Thailand. 99% of shops and small vendors have their own bank accounts for this purpose.

There are no atm fees, no need to carry about a lot of cash, no need for someone else to tend to my banking or purchase things for me, etc.

This has been a real game changer for me!

If your (equivalent) 800k baths in your bank in UK give you a yearly return of the price of an agent (equivalent of to baths), please give me the name of your bank ! 😄

Choose your agent carefully. I would advise using one that takes you to immigration so you see the stamp put in and sign all the documents. I used an agent first off and they opened a bank account, put in the money and got my 90 day and 12 month all at the same time. Cost was around baht. It does make some things back home difficult with local immigration. They would not put my extension stamp into my new passport so I had to fly to Bangkok. Residence certs are required for a lot of things and they are complicated to get if your stamp is not local.

To transfer to doing it yourself as I did you will need 0 baht in a thai bank account for 12 months but some offices might be different. Having done that it was not difficult to obtain my stamp myself for 1900 baht.

Looking back I would choose to do it myself from day one if it was possible. For me, during covid, it was not. Get a list if requirements from your LOCAL office and see what you can work out. Good luck.

I was quoted 35,000 Baht. This included opening a bank account.

I did it all myself for a fraction of the cost.

Opening the bank account is the tricky part, other than that it is just a case of following a simple process, filling in a few simple forms and providing the evidence immigration require.

It's your choice.

There are lots of helpful people in this group that will help with any questions.

Good luck.

If you use an agent in most cases you’ll need to show your face at immigration where you address is for the first 15 months non-o + 1 year should be between 25,000-30,000 baht depending if you want re entry permit you have to do this in person

First you'll need a Non-O Visa (90 days) then you'll apply for you're extension usually within the final 30 days. You need 800k in a Thai bank account and most Offices approve it on the day although there are some reports of an under consideration period being applied (maybe 14 days). Plenty of posts on this group listing the requirements but you need to go to your local Immigration Office to get their current list as things can vary and change.

The problem with using an agent if you are planning on living here, is all the small things become difficult as your visa has nothing to do with where you live and is getting done in some far away province.

So anything needing a resident cert is a pain, buying and registering car, ( a new car or bike you'll need two), motorcycle, getting a driving licence, opening bank accounts all become complicated and again when you sell cars bikes etc.

The cost of doing it yourself is an initial 90 day non-o 2000THB and then 1900THB each year with the required funds in the bank.

Agent costs are roughly the same with a zero on the end, perhaps some are more some are less. Not forgetting endless dodgy agents who are slow in getting your passport back to you etc... Once you are down that route it's a further pain to change away.

First you need to understand there isn't a 12 month retirement visa (at least not the way you're describing it). You must first get a 90 day non-O visa. From this you can apply for a 1 year extension (not a visa).

1) nothing can be done over the internet. At the bare minimum if using an agent they need your passport.

3) there are only 2 ways to break out of the agent cycle. You either leave Thailand which will cancel your extension then return and apply for a new non-O visa on your own using your funds, or you deposit the 800,000 in your own bank account 2 months before your agent will apply for your extension and then must keep it at 800,000 for 3 months after your extension then cannot let it drop below 400,000. Then 2 months before you'll apply for your own extension you'll bring it back up to 800,000. These are the requirements and you must show you met them for last year when you apply for the next extension.

5) you want a Thai bank account regardless if you'll be living in Thailand.