What visa options do I have to live in Thailand for 6 months and return to Australia for 6 months?

@Paul *********

Not so, at least in UK. I just buy a non-O (single or multi-entry). Enter for 90 days. If multi-entry, repeat for up to one year. No insurance or deposit of funds required. Just need to show pension statements and be over 50. Easy, really.

@Geoff ******

SOME consulates will sell year-long, multi-entry Non-O's based on retirement, but not all of them will 😕 Certainly is worth looking into though

@Tod ********

It was certainly an option in UK, when I applied for mine last month. May be different in Oz though.

@Paul *********

just put you intend to travel to other S/E Asian countries while you're here and are using thailand as a base.

I do not for a second believe you're not very bright

@John ********

and I think it's more you're just not getting your head around how this visa works 🙂 which is common

To be completely honest you can actually get almost NINE months of stay out of a 6 month METV 😮

Works kinda like this

- you get the visa just before you come here because the 6 months starts running down the day they issue the visa

- you enter get 60 days

- when that runs out you exit/re-enter get another 60 days

- when that runs out you exit/re-enter get another 60 days

- JUST before the visa runs out you exit/re-enter one final time giving you 60 days (taking you to 240)

and

- you extend that by 30 days for 1900baht taking you to almost 270

You can cut the bouncing out and back by ONE trip if you get 30 day extensions after each enter,

BUT

to max out the time you get on that visa you're going to HAVE to exit/re-enter just before the visa (sticker) expires to get that last 60 days