What steps should I take to retire in Pattaya, Thailand, regarding visas, banking, and housing?

Don’t feel you need to buy a property . Renting is so cheap in Thailand and gives you flexibility to move . Buy and you’re stuck in one place which , eventually , you might want to move from . Not easy to sell quickly

Start by making a testrun, ex. 60 days touristvisa + 30 day extension, with a budget similar to what you have to live for.

Everyday life can be much different from a short holiday.

Do not use agents, take control of your future life, by familiarize yourselves about the laws and rules relevant to the retirement.

1. Non O visa in UK.

2. Bank account in Thailand

3. Take your time, travel around and rent properties before buying

4. Apply for extension of stay based on retirement.

No need to use an agent or lawyers as it's really simple. Using an agent has big risks.

Out of interest, why Pattaya? There are much nicer places in Thailand (unless you want bar girls and you are already married).

Why retire with the wife in pattaya 🤔 Have you seen what's on offer at half the price 😉😝 Thank me later

Buy nothing for at least a year

Come and rent first. Decide where you want to be. Travel to different cities and go from there.

You've already visited Thailand a couple of times hopefully

Get a agent when you get here. They will sort everything for you. Might cost you something in the region of 35,000bht

Come to Pattaya with a carry on bag each and visit a few visa agents and get some pricing info. Make sure you can last a few months on a tourist visa with out getting bored

In my opinion get an OA visa from UK first this can last nearly two years and you can use your British bank account for this.

You will have plenty time then to settle set up bank account etc first. Only downside is you need buy insurance from one of the approved vendors but they are on about bringing amounts of that down soon.

There are different ways of doing it but I would suggest you each get a Non O on the basis of being over 50 from the Embassy in London before you travel. You apply online and you get an e-visa.

This will give you 90 days on arrival in Thailand.

If you’re not sure about accommodation just book hotel or short stay in condo to look around. Don’t commit to long term rent until you’ve tried different areas/buildings.

You can open a bank account each when you arrive. They’ve got more strict so you might need to use an agent just to get your accounts. It should cost just under 4000 baht each.

You’ll need to transfer at least 0 baht into each account in order to get your annual extension of stay.

It needs to stay above 800k for 3 months afterwards and can’t drop below 400k thereafter. It needs to be back up to 800k at least 2 months before the following year’s extension.

It might be easier just to leave the 800k in each account.

Ask imagration

Use an agent so much easier and no hassle for yourself