What is the best long-term visa option for a 63-year-old US citizen married to a Thai citizen?

the least restrictive is the LTR

If you qualify, there is no doubt that LTR visa is the best way to go

There is some great advice for you on your visa here. Be aware that if you’re out of the USA for over 183 days in a calendar year your wife’s green card is forfeited.

If you qualify LTR, in my opinion, @ 50,000 Bhat for 10 years which includes muti exit/ entry. I'm an American who has been in Thailand a couple decades and switched over. I qualify for and have had both the marriage and retirement visa but feel the LTR is best for my me.

Feel free to message me.

Please check LTR-P Visa, no 90 days check-in.

Official government website from which you may apply.

Do speak with the Royal Thai consulate in your area. If you're in California, there's one in LA.

Your wife can also gain insight from speaking to other Thai spouses in LA; she/you may be aware of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in LA and, of course, little Bangkok. 😉

Do forget about the elite visa entirely. It's a waste of money for you.

You're old enough to get a non-immigrant O based on retirement or marriage... though is your marriage registered in your wife's local Amphur?

Read up on the government website please; search this forum a bit more; this issue has been covered many times, mate.

As for travel in and out, you'll need a "multiple re entry permit; which is completely separate from any visa.

I reckon things will also depend on your American laws concerning your wife wanting to keep her green card or not...

check from that angle as well.

Good luck

Non O for Retirement.

Retirement with multi reentry.

Retirement or spouse visa is pretty easy.

Spouse is less money but a little bit more annoying with paperwork.

Retirement is basically a bank statement.

Both can be as cheap as 1900 baht per year if you do all the leg work.

Easiest and least restrictive will be the OA visa you get from the US before going to Thailand.

This is a 1 year multi-entry visa. You are required to show the funds in your account in the US, and not required to transfer any money to Thailand. The biggest "restriction" to this visa is you are required to show $100,000 in insurance coverage for the entire year you have the visa in order to get it.

Most people use this visa for 2 reasons, the primary one is they are not required to send money to Thailand and lock it in an account, and the 2nd is you can get about 2 years out of it.

Because it's multi-entry, every time you leave and re-enter within the 1 year of the visa, you are stamped in for another full year (or as long as your insurance is valid for). So what most people do is leave right before the visa expires and re-enter, and then get a 2nd year. If you want to leave Thailand during this second year, you need to get a re-entry permit since your visa has expired. Most people go back to their home country near the 2nd of year 2 and apply for another OA and start the cycle again. You never have to deal with immigration in Thailand for an extension, you'll only be dealing with them for 90 day reports (if you travel a lot not relevant), TM30 reports, and re-entry permit for your 2nd year.

Next would be a standard non-O based on retirement. You can get the 90 day non-O in the US before you go to Thailand, and then put in 800,000 in a Thai bank account and apply for the 1 year extension after you've had the money in your Thai bank account for 2 full months. This one requires you leave the money in the bank account all the time (technically you can let it drop down to 400,000 for about half the year, but not worth playing this game if you can keep it at 800,000 because you risk mis-timing it and losing your next extension. This one also requires a re-entry permit for you to leave Thailand.

The reason I say this one for 2nd is you specifically say the least restrictive, and the retirement non-O is much easier to get than the marriage non-O. Yes the marriage non-O has a lower financial requirements, but it requires a LOT more paperwork, your wise has to go with you to apply, and you also have to return again to get your stamp after about a month. The marriage one is very inconvenient.