I am a U.S. citizen, I will be marrying my Thai fiance sometime this year. Which should I do, retirement or marriage visa?

Good day! Tried to search Google first, so be kind …

Please help me with the confusion - retirement visa for Thailand at the age of 50. Do I need to have some monthly income (1850 USD per Google)? Obviously, at 50 years old I won’t be collecting my social security yet … is there a way to get retirement visa based on bank accounts balance or any trick around? Can I pay myself that darn 1850USD each month?

I have funds (sold all the assets in US) but not at retirement age yet

Thanks for your advice

Ps. Not 50 yet, not for a long while BUT already looking into my options outside of the US and EU

Hi. Topic: the 1-year extension to a Non-O 90-day visa. Assuming all eligibility and financial requirements can be met, which option of the two : the extension based on Retirement, or extension based on marriage to a Thai, which is easiest, less hassle ? ( I know about the Bt400,000 price difference.)

Hello, I want to retire in Thailand in the korat area at the end of this year, looking at the financial requirements for a retirement visa or I believe the other option is a non o visa for a year and then extend it for another year and in that time deposit 65,000 or more into a Thai bank account, would this work or do I have to stump up the 800,000 , no intention of getting married at the moment, have friends in Korat who have married and built their own houses, love the area and the friendly people

I don’t know whether to go and use an agent to simplify the process and I’m not sure if this is hundred percent legal, is there any comeback on using an agent, Thai government websites say that if you can prove from your pension provider that you have over 65,000 baht per month paid into a Thai bank account then this negate the need for the 800,000, I’m not sure what to believe because my friends are telling me that no bank or pension provider in the UK will certify this, confused

I'm near the end of my 1 year multi entry visa, I have to choose between going immigration and get and extension or do a border run and get one last 3 months stamp from this visa.

The question is, if I go immigration, will they give me a 1 year extension or only 2 months extension?

I have 400k in thai bank but it's in investing account not saving account.

Hi I’m trying to figure out if it’s best to apply for a retirement visa from US while in country or go to Thailand and apply there? It seems so confusing. Thanks!!

My friend arrived today from UK travelling with two others who are here for short holiday 21 days . He though has came back for a longer break, he was here at end of 2024 on a tourist 60 day visa and extended it from 60 to 90 days and then he went home to Uk early December, not sure exact date. He booked a return flight for another 90 day trip , no hassle at the departing airport not sure if Qatar or emirates but they just said will he be applying for a visa extension, no problem with airline to let him fly as his return flight was in 90 days. When he got to immigration in Bkk he was in his words grilled by immigration officer on what his intentions were. Where would he stay , where was he travelling. She told him not allowed to visit for 90 days and go away short time and come back for another 90 days , he must apply e visa online , at one point he thought she wasn’t going to give him entry it was really bad the other two friends got scared as they heard all this and thought he was going to be refused entry. The officer was very rude and direct , visa not for long visit only tourist for holiday, the more he tried to reason the more she said it.

He did not argue as he was on verge of being refused . Now immigration officer has put a note on his file to warn other officers. He’s panicking, she said ok you have holiday , go away for long time come back for holiday , it beggars belief they want tourist that they do this , this friend took early retirement and is loving visiting Thailand but this has put him off . He travels Europe a lot so he might return to that . I told him to get a multi entry retirement visa to last him 15 months but after this 3 months he is not coming back until September/ October , so should he risk return in September and do retirement visa then or get it on this trip even though he won’t use it again from when he leaves in April until he returns in September.

Has anyone else suffered at immigration? This guy is actually genuine lol he fell in love with the lifestyle but he’s genuinely just using the system to holiday nothing else. I told him to get an agent to do his extension at 60 days as he will never know what this officer put on his file and he might be refused. He is shaken by the experience

Sorry for long post I have literally just left these friends and this was the main topic of conversation

I’m a U.S. Citizen living in Khon Kaen on a retirement visa.

Current passport expires April, 6 2026.

Current visa expires November 21 2025.

Can I apply for a “new” 1 year retirement visa on November 1 2025 so that there’s at least 6 months on my passport?

Need some advice on my situation. I have been living in CNX for 10 years. The past 5 or so have been on a retirement visa. In late November I visited family in the USA and thought it would be a perfect time to switch to the new DTV. In the first week of Dec I submitted all of the "required" paperwork listed on the site and paid $400 to the Consulate in Washington DC. About a week later I was asked for another document. I think it was an employment verification letter, which I had to create since I am a self employed freelancer for more than 20 years. Another week goes by and they ask for a recent payment receipt, which as a self employed freelancer I don't really have, but I put something together and sent it to them. I explained my timeline and that I had a return ticket booked on Jan 3. Another week goes by and again I was asked for more info, this time they asked for my tax filings. The problem is that by this time we were into the Christmas holidays and my accountant was gone for a 2 week vacation and I could not get a copy of my tax return. The best I could do was a recent 1099, so I sent that.

Every time I sent new documents, I mentioned my departure date and asked if I could set an appointment for a phone call, but never received any responses. I mentioned that I was concerned about running out of time... which is exactly what happened.

I ran out of time and they kept my $400.

My question is.... is my application hopeless now that I have returned to CNX? btw I re-entered on a 60 tourist visa.

I did manage to reach someone on the phone in late December. They were surprisingly rude after I expressed my frustration of them stringing me along for a month without any communications while asking for new docs 3 or 4 times.

Their response was that when I submitted my original paperwork I had agreed to them being able to ask for new documents.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should do now? thanks

After the 5-year DTV expires, what are the options for staying in Thailand, excluding marriage or large investment?

Alsoo, Has any one heard reports of possible DTV extensions beyond 5 years?

(Yes, I realize Thailand visa requirements can be somewhat "fluid" 🤙)

Thanks