What is the best retirement visa for an Australian citizen moving to Jomtien, Thailand: O, O-A, or O-X?

@Ian ******

yes the idea is to get the 800k out of the bank and you can only do that by 12 months of transfers then on your second year extension you use the 12 months and you can withdraw your 800k

@Bob *********

I have every intention of staying on the 800k option. I came to Thailand to relax and have a good time in this wonderful country. I only have to worry about my visa when the annual anniversary comes around for the extension. The bank statement is a breeze because the 800k sits in a separate account, and the only transactions are the interest and the withholding tax entries. They produce the required letter in probably 5 to 10 minutes.

@Ian ******

up to you I prefer to have my money working for me so my pension is more than enough for monthly transfers been doing it 15 years and in that time I’ve made about 1.2 million in interest

@Bob *********

Hello Bob : ) New to this and have a few questions to ask please.

After depositing 800K in a Thai bank,

(1) How soon can I take that money out, eg. after /12 months

(a) and is there a safe limit on the withdrawal amount eg. 400k, or all 800k;

(2) When do I need to redeposit back in, eg. anytime before 1 year renewal date

(a) and how much eg. 800k in balance or get be anu amount?

(3) Steps 1 and 2 can be repeated year after year.

(4)Renewal once a year for 1,900b?

It makes more sense to do your way to earn interest and to use that money for good purpose.

Thank you for time and assistance.

@Koolies ********

you can withdraw 409k after 3 months then top back up a full 2 months before you apply for your next extension not 2 months before the expiration date 2 months before the day you apply

@Bob *********

Thank you for your prompt reply.

So if the expiry date was 20 August 2026:

(1) If renewal is (a) 19 August 2026, the money has to be deposited before 19 June 2026 (2months requirement).

(b) renewal is 7 July 2026, deposit before 7 May 2026.

Correct?

@Bob *********

so you are getting a compound interest rate of around 26.9%. Where are you getting that from?

@Ian ******

19%

@Simon ******

Siam Commercial Bank

@Melanie ****************

using an agent is fine, the questionable part is the advice to enter Thailand as a tourist. A few years ago is was easy for a tourist to open a Thai bank account but recently there's been a lot of commotion about that being disallowed now.

@John ******

, yes, I understand that as I live in Thailand. An individual can still enter Thailand as a tourist & readily obtain a visa through the right agency. You have to obtain the agent as soon as you arrive in Thailand & start the visa process. Obviously you’ll have to make a border bounce, but you can enter Thailand approximately 3 to 5 days later (some agencies will take longer) with a Non O. The agency will then make the appointment with the bank to deposit the ฿800,000. I know of 2 individuals personally that did this exact process, both having arrived at the end of May of this year & now they have their Certificate of Residence. More expensive than doing it yourself, of course, again the stress & time saved is worth the money for some people.

@Graeme ******

opening a bank account is not so difficult if he arrives with the 90 day Non-O visa.

@John *********

K-Bank