I contact ato - they said as a citizen you never lose tax residency. He asked 2 other ppl he works with who also confirmed this. He said only way to lose it would be picking up citizenship in another country.

I'll apply for some kind of retirement visa for October 2024 so I need to know how many MONTHS of statements I have to show the required monthly income/combined with pension in my US bank account because I'm starting a new online business venture and it will take a while to build up.

And I have read so many sites, including government ones, that are vague or contradict each other about whether it's JUST the monthly income that would suffice or if depositing $20,000ish USD is required ALSO?

So essentially is it AND or OR?

I'm really not interested in putting that much in a Thai bank when I have my business in the US and pay all my bills through my US Bank and I've heard many times it's a real hassle to even open an account before you have the visa, so it's a catch 22.

Apparently there are new tax laws too which I'm also confused reading. I have a small social security and some $ from my online counseling business which already gets taxed by California State and Federal so I definitely don't want to pay another country too when I'm already financially challenged for many reasons (no insults or preaching about that please).

Many countries change rules quickly, so I'm checking for 2024. And the majority of countries are making it increasingly harder to retire there. I've lived in Mexico and other countries and Mexico's income requirements are insanely high now!!

Any site links that are extremely clear and reliable would be helpful too, so I can stay updated. Thanks much.

Can someone that actually knows the current situation verify you can use EITHER the 800k OR the 65,000 baht annual income for retirement visa? Thanks.