What visa should I apply for when moving to Thailand for retirement?

@Bill ********

Curious. What do agents charge for a consult? I'm always amazed when people say that all the information is out there, do it yourself it's easy! but when you research, you find a lot of misinformation. These groups are a great resource but for every useful comment, there are 10 useless/inaccurate/unclear comments.

@Paul *******

good thank you i am a bit of dinausor

@Dragan *********

Yes you "can" get an extension but do you know of anyone that has got one

@Graham *****

forgot to mention . If you don’t leave the country . You can extend another 180 days .

You need to pay for the extension at immigration.

@Dragan *********

yes, and my question?

@Mike ************

NON O does not require insurance before you arrive, That’s the OA and OX visa that requires health insurance your confused between them.

@Mike ************

It's difficult to find an agent to only open a bank account now. They all want you to do the full process with them, and if you do, then they will also open a bank account. So that makes the price MUCH higher.

The process of getting a non-O from your Thai embassy is infinitely easier than getting it from immigration. There is no health insurance required for either one. I'm not sure who told you health insurance was required if you did it through the embassy, because it's not.

It's only the non-OA visa that requires health insurance, and that's not the visa most people want.

@Rudi **********

that's a good price. For some reason NZ embassy is $800 NZ a out 400 euros for the three month single entry non o!!

@Steve *****

I didn’t have a rental agreement and still don’t because I booked an Airbnb for 5 months. I opened my bank account and have processed my 12 month extension of stay on my own.

When you arrive get and move into your temporary residence then ask the owner for a copy of the TM-30 and take it along with your passport, approved visa which an IO signed off on when you entered to immigration to get a Certificate of Residence. When you go to immigration you will need copies of everything- passport bio data page, entry stamp, visa approval etc.

@Chris *****

Listen to the good advice from some people on this site; there's only one good option. I applied for my Non-O retirement visa in Belgium, which only cost me 80 euros, and applying online is a breeze. A good week later, my visa was approved. Once I arrived in Thailand at the apartment complex where I signed a one-year rental contract, the building owner immediately submitted a TM30 form online to immigration. A day later, I went to immigration and received proof of residence. I immediately went to Kasikornbank nearby. After 30 minutes, my bank account was opened, the banking app was on my phone, and I had a Visa card. I immediately deposited more than enough money into my account to apply for a one-year extension after two months. I had previously asked the immigration office in this municipality what documents I needed to submit to apply for my extension. I carefully filled them out, and two months after depositing the necessary money, I went to immigration and received my extension an hour later. If you put in a little effort, you really don't need an agent to make this happen. Good luck!

@Chris *****

The guys channel is "Let's live in Thailand" retirement visa in minutes is the video.

@Chris *****

There is an excellent video on YouTube, applying for Non O visa and he walks you through everything including the online application. I will be doing mine soon. I just hope with the non O that I can open a bank account without a long term rental agreement