What are the steps to apply for a NON IMM O visa in Thailand on a tourist visa, and what considerations should be made regarding retirement or marriage as grounds for application?

I believe that the OP has the answers needed for his question. Thanks all for your helpful replies.

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If you go to the immigration office and get a detailed description of everything they require, the extension for marriage paperwork is not that bad - well worth the effort in my opinion.

Beyond the easier financial requirements, you also have the added potential benefit of being able to obtain a work permit.

I was able to pick up about 8 months of work commissioning a power plant because I had an extension based on marriage and not retirement.

Money need to be in the bank, potentially weird from abroad ,(retirement) before to apply to move to 90d non-o visa. And you need to have 15-20 (depends where) days left on your current legal stay when you apply.

I’ve been on both types you are talking about. I’ve been here 8 years and only had a home visit once. First two years retirement EofS then swapped to marriage only because of the new financial restrictions they brought in on the retirement EofS which were far more restrictive and I thought was taking the pi**

The basic differences between the two you are talking about are financial requirements are different the retirement is twice as much as the marriage and the restrictions on how the banked money on periods and amounts that must be adhered to during the year to expiry date

Marriage is definitely more tedious paperwork wise and process wise they are the two major differences

not a silly question at all 🙂

At most offices you can go from either a 30 day visa exempt entry, a 60 day tourist visa entry, OR a 30 day extension from one of those to an in country 90 day Non-O visa based on either being over 50 (retirement) or marriage to a thai national. you need so many days left on your current stamp to do the application because there is a review period after you apply (from 2 to 3 weeks depending on office) .

Depending on the entry stamp "visa exempt" vs "tourist visa" you use different forms

IF you are on a 60 day tourist visa entry stamp or the 30 day extension from that you would use form TM86 application for change of visa because you're here on a tourist visa and you want to change that to a Non-Immigrant type visa in country

IF you are on a free stamp entry or the 30 day extension from that you would use form TM87 application for visa because you're not here on any visa and are applying for one

You only use the TM7 application for extension form AFTER you have the Non-O visa and go for the year extension

You have to decide BEFORE you apply what one you're going for, either married to a thai national or 'retirement' because the requirements for each one are different.

Another reason you have to decide before you apply for the Non-O visa is that you have to get the FIRST yearly extension for the same reason you got the Non-O visa issued, so get it based on retirement you can only get a retirement extension that first year, and get it based on marriage to a thai you can only get a marriage extension that first year.