@Garrett **********

I believe it's once per entry rather than once per year.

I can't answer your question but is it really desirable to have a multi-entry visa versus a single entry in this time of quarantine? Wouldn't you have to re-enter Thailand every 90 days and go through whatever quarantine is in effect at that time to gain another 90-day permission to stay?

If you get a non-O visa you could extend that for one year permission to stay in Thailand if you meet the requirements to do so. In that case, you would not have to leave and re-enter Thailand and face whatever quarantine remains in effect at that time.

Yes, just recently the ability to purchase Covid-19 extensions of stay was extended to May 29, 2021. At the moment they seem to be giving them to anyone that applies (rather than insisting on evidence of hardship returning to your home country or an embassy letter), but no guarantee they will continue doing that.

You could get a visa-exempt entry and then a 30-day regular extension of stay and then, as long as before Mar 29, 2021, you could apply for a Covid-19 extension of stay for an additional 60 days.

Best wishes, whatever you decide!

@Michael *******

The OP said the following:

"Looking to stay maybe around 90 days."

I outlined a way for him to stay 75 days. I mentioned he could stay for 90 days if he were to get a Tourist Visa.

It seems to me that when someone says they want to stay "around 90 days" that they should be offered the choice between 75 and 90. Which he chooses is, of course, up to him. Mentioning the 75-day option, which by the way doesn't require getting a visa, is not a disservice.

@Michael *******

If the 45 days are reduced as you say, and no one knows when that will happen, it's more accurate to say that with an extension the total stay would be 70 days and 67. I'm not claiming that is equivalent to 90 days, but it's also not equivalent to 30 and 37. If the OP must have 90 days then a Tourist Visa and a 30-day extension are the way to go. If the OP can live with (currently) 75 days then a 45-day visa-exempt entry and 30-day extension would do the trick without requiring a visa from the embassy.

With visa-exempt wouldn't he currently be eligible for 45 days plus a 30-day extension = 75 days? Not 90, but better than 60. And not have to get a visa.

Yes, you can do without an agent, at least for the retirement extension. You don't say where in Thailand you will do this. Here are instructions for doing so in Phuket. You can expect other offices to be similar but not identical.



Your question really needs to be asked of the immigration office you plan to use.

@Wylie ******

Here's the procedure that Bangkok Bank is supposed to follow. There is a pathway for those without a work permit. So, in the case of Bangkok Bank you can actually make the case that you want them to follow their rules. I freely admit they don't always do that and they have been known to invent additional requirements including insisting on your buying an insurance product.

Required Documents

For Thai nationals

ID card or any government-issued photo ID card with 13-digit ID number

For foreigners

1. Foreigner with a work permit

Passport

Work Permit

2. Foreigner without work permit

Passport

A reference letter issued by one of the following institutes or organizations or required document

Embassy located in Thailand

An overseas bank where the customer holds an account sent via SWIFT

Trusted individuals such as a Bangkok Bank staff member or customer, director of a private company, permanent residence in Thailand, government or private educational institutes located in Thailand trusted by the Bank

Trusted companies, e.g., an employment letter from the company if the customer is in the process of applying for a work permit.

Document showing ownership of a fixed asset such as a condominium sale/purchase agreement (a condominium which is acceptable to Bangkok Bank) Or a property reservation agreement valued at 100,000 baht or more with a reference letter from the property developer that is acceptable to Bangkok Bank.

Notes: Contact addresses for both Thailand and overseas must be provided (hotel and P.O. Box addresses are not acceptable).

3. Foreigner with permanent residence in Thailand

Passport, Certificate of Residence, or Alien Certificate

House Registration document

-- above copied from

@Dave *********

Yes, having a yellow book is a definite plus because it indicates you are likely here for the long-term and thus not a sometimes here sometimes not customer. It can only help to show that and it may satisfy the letter from the embassy or from immigration attesting to your address requirement.

And you're right about the reporting the US imposes on its citizens, but FATCA and related law and policy also impose obligations on foreign banks to do reporting to the US Government about any US citizens and/or taxpayers that the bank may have. No other country in the world does this to my knowledge although I agree the EU seems to be moving in that direction.

I brought this up to indicate that there are negatives to opening an account for a foreigner (especially an American) as well as positives. Bank employees are risk-averse. In their minds, the benefits do not always outweigh the costs. There are things a customer can do to improve their chances of having an account opened and then there are things a customer can't change (for example, their citizenship).