I just wanted to say a big thank you to Brandon and all the others who give so much of their time to help people in this forum. I joined about a year ago having decided to make the move to Thailand and have closely followed the replies to the many questions from people on various topics. I found the advice and information invaluable. I applied for my non-O in Madrid 4 weeks ago, arrived in Thailand on Friday, went to Immigration this morning and opened a bank account this afternoon. Everything was straightforward but only because of the support offered on this forum. Thanks guys, keep up the good work! PS Any idea where I can get hold of 800, 000 baht? (Only kidding😅)

Friend of mine arriving next month.

He’s applied for a 90 day non O visa.

No problem.

He’ll be staying at our property.

We’ll be helping him to open a bank account, using our address.

How do we register him as staying with us at immigration?

TIA. Charles.

So a 1 year ED visa is considered resident, but a 5 years DTV visa is considered tourist

Hi!

My husband and I were planning to spend at least a year in Thailand, hopefully more- could be > 5 years if it works out that way.

We are both over 50 and can meet the income requirement for the Non-O retirement visa. I should hopefully have no issues getting health insurance as I am about a decade younger (under 60) with no health issues, but my husband is > 65 (no major issues either except a touch overweight and mild HTN which I can see can lead to a possible denial).

We can certainly keep money aside to self insure. I see expats all the time saying they self insure, but this does not appear to be an option for any Visa except the Elite or the DTV. .

Should I get a non-O retirement and hubby the DTV or is there a better option IF insurance is prohibitive? Would like to be able to open a bank account, and that's iffy right now on DTV.

Working in Kazakhstan and returning to Thailand soon, so decided to finally apply for a non-O as a prelude to getting a retirement visa. Been on my agenda for a while. Wanted to be able to open a bank account next visit.

1. Submitted application online on Thursday night.

2. Received a request to send a copy of my Kazakh work visa on Friday and did so on Friday evening.

3. Received my non-O visa this evening (Monday) at 21:25!

Lots of very negative people on some of these Thailand forums. Perhaps it’s the price of living through daily hangovers that causes the negativity towards Thailand? A form of alcohol induced depression, maybe not helped by their lifestyle and continually trying to beat the system? Anyway, just a thought.

How quickly would foreign people wanting to visit the home country, of many of these tourists/retirees, have to wait to get a visa granted and how many hoops would they have to jump through?

Round of applause for the visa service of the Thai government!

Got my retirement visa extension valid until 30. September 2026. multiple entries.

I guess it kicks in after my current non-O 90 days visa expires.

Timeline:

4. July 2025. Friday: consultation, paperwork, copies at Thai Visa Center, payment (1 hour)

7. July Monday - opening bank account. TVC staff was at the bank branch to assist (TVC car picked me up, 40 minutes at the bank, brought me back home)

8. July Tuesday - processing

9. July Wednesday - my passport with 1 year retirement extension and multiple entries and my bank passbook in my hands( My ATM card was with me when I left the bank). A messenger delivered passport and bank passbook about noon.

It was very quick, possibly, I got lucky and was within a batch of other applicants that they process once a week or in 10 days

Absolutelly great service by Thai Visa Center.

Hello, has anyone had a negative experience with DTV visa? Delays at the airport and so on

I’ve got my DTV from Hanoi. I submitted on Dec 1 and get approved in Dec 6.

Now I want to know is

- Do I just need to show my DTV visa when I enter to Thailand? For visa sticker like other issues, what else I need to do?

- About bank opening.. I want to open Thai bank account. Any suggestion or recommendations please

Thanks in advance 😊

I’m close to my 2 year window to go to retire in Thailand. Question, my spouse who just went to LA to Thai consulate to renew her passport made me think about this. Should I apply for a retirement visa in the US before I go or get an agent once I’m there? No experience with any of this.

DTV is non immigration O visa ?

I heard to opening bank account, Thai driver license in Bangkok require Non immigration O.