What is the most suitable visa for retiring and traveling frequently to Thailand?

@Susan *******

pm

@Susan *******

you can easily sign up for one of the soft power categories. On your first visit to Thailand sign up for a cooking class, or even Muay Thai (you can 'sign up and pay' but it's up to you if you actually attend) Then when you leave Thailand, you can apply via E-visa. There's a forum just for DTV on Facebook and there's a lot of examples of how to do it.

@Susan *******

pity

@Stuart **********

I’ve heard that some people do that. I didn’t do that because I live in Thailand full time. I would never be in the US long enough to complete the OA application process which is a bit of a pain. It’s a peculiar visa and some people benefit from the peculiarities.

It also benefits people that don’t want to open a Thai bank account because you can keep applying using funds in your home country bank.

I did get 18 months on my OA visa because of a trip to Cambodia but I really didn’t care about the extra months. Yearly extensions is where most people want to be.

@Marty ********

yes I made the same decision for the same reasons Marty, but some people seem to prefer the OA and to not put 800k in an account in Thailand.

@Stuart **********

Mostly what I’ve heard is that they are getting a better rate of return on the $23,700 in their home accounts and that they don’t trust Thai banks. Everyone has their wants and needs.

@Susan *******

That is what I did. I kept 800,000฿ in the bank + a couple of 100,000฿ emergency buffer and then topped off the account with my monthly expense money. The buffer keeps you from accidentally dipping into the 800,000฿. This way you can use just one bank account. Often people get a separate bank account for the 800,00฿ to protect it from monthly expense accidents. That’s OK but I sounds like it is a chore to get a bank account these days for new arrivals.

Note that yearly extensions for the O and OA are identical except for the OA insurance requirement. The 800,000฿ deposit is the same for both visas. As I recommended earlier, you might as well get an O and deal with insurance separately.

@Jan *****************

I got my OA in 2017 before the insurance requirement. It made more sense then.

@Marty ********

Yes because several people entering on a Non O-A visa and do extensions after a while decide to cancel their stay and re-enter from scratch on a regular Non O visa.

@Jan *****************

I switched from my OA to a 10 year pensioner LTR IN 2023. In my case my OA insurance could be used for the LTR.