@Colin ********************

I get 7 months from my home country every year…

I would advise you to apply for a Non O at the embassy in Canberra. Please contact them to find out all the requirements.

They will send you an email to confirm that you now have a Non O.

It is very easy to do do in Australia 🇦🇺. And cheap. No need to complicate things by coming in to Thailand 🇹🇭 on a different visa and use an agent.

Once you have your Non O you will be able to open a bank account and season your funds for the required time in order to apply for your 12 month extension. Absolutely no need to use an agent for that either!

Just go to your local Immi Office as soon as you arrive and they will tell you their requirements. All Immi Offices have different reqs…

I hope this helps 😃

@Glenn ****

as I said in my previous post, statements are not signed. The verification letter from the bank is.

You will need a 12 month printed statement from your bank - no signature needed.

Most Immigration Offices also require an up to date bank book AND a signed letter from your bank.

Please check with your Immigration Office what their requirements are,

I hope this helps 😃

@Tom ********

every immigration office is different (Samui is an absolute nightmare). I would recommend you to go to your local Immigration office asap and get a list of their requirements. That way, you will know exactly which documents 📃 you will need to bring, as well as the timelines for that particular office.

I hope this helps 😃

My advice would be to spend a lot more than 10 days here on your second visit.

It’s a big decision to make - to move to a new country. I feel that you may need to see a lot more of the country and get the feel of how things work around here.

Of course, Thailand 🇹🇭 is indeed wonderful, I love it and I’ve been coming here for 40 years.

I just feel that for such a big life decision, and you’ve only been here once, it would be better to explore more of the Kingdom. Living here, may be very different from your experience as tourists.

I hope this helps 😃

@Nongnuch *******

As always, I do appreciate your advice and your comments. But I realise that you did not read my first paragraph…

I am not sure how Immigration would react to a couple coming back year after year on a tourist visa, even if it is a METV?

It is all dependent on the Immigration Officer you stand before on the day. Please be aware, it’s more and more difficult to come and go on Tourist Visas…

It’s probably hard to find a precedent as there has been a big crack down this year…

Another option would be for you apply for a Non O visa each and then renew it for 12 months every year.

For the first extension (12 months) you will need to have 800,000B each in your own bank accounts. Seasoned for two months before the extension and 3 months after. However, the balance can never drop below 400,000B.

For your second and subsequent extensions, if you can prove that you have deposited 65,000B per month in the last 12 months, you should be able to get your second renewal based on that. b

Youcan then take your 800,000B out and invest it.

I hope this helps 😃

I would recommend applying for the non O in your home country before you leave. You will then get 90 days.

As soon as you get to Thailand 🇹🇭, go to your Local Immigration office and ask for a list of requirements to extend your non O for 12 months. The requirements vary from office to office. Also bring the TM 30 (last page - the PDF page) - ask your landlord to print it out for you as well as the Lease agreement (just to be safe - different offices require different things) With these documents you will be able to get a certificate of residence which you will need to open a bank account.

You will then need to season the 800,000B in each of your accounts for two months prior to applying for your extension.

I hope this helps 😃

You get the Certificate of Residence from Immigration. You will need to bring the third page of the TM 30 (the PDF Document) and a copy of the rental agreement.

This is the requirement from my Immigration office but they all have different rules.

Ask your landlord to print out the 3rd page of the TM 30 for you