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

@Bob *********

the reason I posted was that there was an implications that he needed the 800k and the 65k. As you know, you only need to do one of these. I have heard of people dropping down to the 400k, but then struggling to get back up to the 800k. They treated the 400k they took out as free money and spent it. Personally I prefer to just leave the 800k, and wear the extra loss of interest. I never have to worry or even consider the 800k, it just sits in my visa account. Personal preference.

@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%

@Robert ****

scb ?

@Simon ******

Siam Commercial Bank

@Graeme ******

I think your advice of obtaining an agent is great advice. I understand individuals complaining about the money, but if you have the funding, agents can save you a great deal of time & stress. I think that is priceless, regardless of cost. 

@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.

@Robert ****

maybe, but people who opened bank accounts as a tourist might not be considered to be among the "good guys" and the strategy recommended above reqiures that be done.

@Robert ****

and your visa gets revoked once they crash down further. Better to follow the rules rather than sorry corruption.

@Tony *********

they'd have to revoke the entire country and start over again with modified DNA.

@Robert ****

can you recommend an agent that will do the above?

@Graeme ******

it's not hard if you have: passport copies, residence certificate, long term lease, etc. show up looking somewhat professional, smile and treat bank officers with respect. I'm surprised how many people i see showing up at a bank in a singlet and flip flops... Banks consider themselves professional, respect is important.

@Graeme ******

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

@John *********

K-Bank