What type of visa should I apply for to live in Thailand with my Thai girlfriend and how can I manage my UK pension and bank account requirements?

@David ******

they would absolutely be refused for one of two reasons.

1) their previous stamp is from some immigration office in the middle of nowhere, hundreds of kilometers from where they live, and that office is known as one that agents take their customer's passports to get sketchy extensions. They will straight up be told by the immigration office that they cannot get their extension their and will also likely be told to use an agent again.

2) as part of using an agent they did not have the required funds in their Thai bank account. The requirements for an extension based on retirement are that you need to keep the 800,000 in your account for 3 full months after receiving the extension, cannot drop below 400,000 ever, and must be back at 800,000 for 2 full months before they apply for their new extension. As part of their extension application they must show 12 months of bank statements that show they met this requirement for last year's extension. If they used an agent to bypass that requirement, they won't be able to show that they met the requirements and they will be denied a new extension for failure to meet last year's requirements.

If your stamp is from your local office and you can show that you've had the required funds through the previous year then you should be okay to get your extension on your own.

@Brandon ***********

Yes, you’ve made similar posts several times at least. I repeat, I’ve yet to see any first hand accounts of anyone this has happened to.

Just to be clear, I am not saying there won’t be problems and I’m not recommending that people use agents. However, in 37 years of going to Thailand I am well aware that there are ways around most ‘problems’.

@David ******

yes. The way around the problem is to keep using an agent

@David ******

just because you've never seen it doesn't mean it hasn't been posted about many times. But most people that start with agents don't want to stop regardless. And there's nothing theoretical about what I've posted. Many posts of people accidentally dropping their account below 400,000 and bringing it back up in the same day and they still got denied their extension and had to start over. I don't know why you think showing 0 in your bank account after using an agent would be any different than 399,950.

@David ******

Ok, I thought RTE London only accepted £18k for the Non Imm O. You learn something new every day!

@Steve ******

They have changed the rules fairly recently, though a pension was always accepted. When I got it about 3 years ago I just needed to show £10k in my account for 3 months and, at that time, they just said getting a State pension was enough (which I wasn’t ).

Definitely avoid OA because of health insurance. I've recently crossed into Cambodia without re-entry to nullify my OA visa. I got 60 days visa exempt then after 2 weeks applied for in country O extension. Passport stamped for additional 90 days. Towards the end of the 90 days I apply for 1 year based on retirement. I have to say Rayong Immigration were so helpful. No agents or under the table needed. I'll admit though, after everything was done I gave the 2 helpful officers some Ferrero Rochas and the general office staff a tin of biscuits for coffee break! 😁

@Graham *****

yes right Graham

@Declan *********

a decade back