I am now pretty much ready to retire in Thailand. I have used it as a base to travel in Asia as a tourist on and off over the last couple of years and used the multiple entry visa as it was designed to.
I went to Udon Thani immigration to enquire about the possibility of changing to a 90 day visa and then a retirement visa. The lady said it is now very difficult to do. You need Thai witnesses, house visits, etc and takes a long time. She seemed genuine and suggested I get the 90 day visa back in the UK.
I checked with a visa agent in Udon Thani and they said they now charge 70,000 THB because it has become so complex with checks and witnesses, which backs up the IO's previous statement.
As I have come back to the UK for family reasons I am going to apply for the 90 day visa here for retirement here, and then seek to switch it to the one year retirement extension when back there. I already have a condo and the seasoned funds in BKK, does it matter that my current 6month multiple entry tourist visa is still valid until February? Anything else to look out for? The application online has been streamlined and looks extremely simple.