@Craig *******

Yes it is

@John ********

Correct. This is a super-visa. You get 5+5 years. Sydney is the only consulate in the world which allows money in Australia to be used to meet the criteria. It is by far the best visa for Thailand. Better even than Elite

@John *********

Australia has a fantastic Superannuation set-up. Other nationalities are sometimes perplexed at how good it is. The only drawback is once you have withdrawn funds from a Super account, you cannot put that money back in. It then becomes normal "savings" which are subject to crap interest rates and taxation, which is why I advise Aussies not to use their Super funds to pay the ridiculous 800,000 baht process, but to get the OA visa and build the 65k/month process.

@John *********

It's up to the Fund member how they take it. I take mine at six month intervals. My 65,000 transfer I fund from a separate super fund which is a defined benefit pension. I'm an ex-government employee so I have a healthy pension scheme. This pension is also tax-free

@John *********

Exactly my point. We've got an Australian OP and I'm giving advice from the Aussie perspective. For me to transfer $33,000 into a useless Thai bank account is financial lunacy, as it would be for any Aussie accessing Super funds to finance their Thailand retirement. The only way to avoid the $33,000 transfer is to get the OA visa for two years with no requirement of transferring the lump sum, and to then start the process of transferring 65k baht each month, and after 12 months of transfers go to a neighbouring embassy and get an O visa, come back and get the extension using the 12 X 65k transfers. And remember the 65k does not have to be kept in the bank.

@John *********

I can only assume you're not Australian? So you wouldn't understand. Aussie Super Funds pay on average around 7-8% interest per annum. In Australia once you reach 60, any interest from Super is tax-free. Your viewpoint might be relevant for UK and USA, but the OP in this case is Australian, so my advice is being given from the Aussie perspective. To withdraw $33,000 from my Super would lose me around $2,500 tax free in interest per annum. If you can't pick up a decent insurance policy for half that, you're doing something wrong. If I put that amount in a Thai bank account, it would gross me $165 per annum, which would be taxed.

@Brook *******

Australian Super pays 7-8% interest tax free. You'd have to be brain dead to put 800,000 for the rest of your life into a Thai bank account paying 0.5% interest!

@Brook *******

One year insurance to avoid transferring 800,000? If I transferred 800,000 I would lose $2,500 Australian Dollars in tax-free interest. I can pick up an insurance policy for around $1000. It's a no-brainer

@Brook *******

Not really. The OA gives you two years without having to transfer the ridiculous 800,000 into a Thai bank account which you effectively kiss goodbye to, as it has to stay there forever. The OA gives the opportunity to build the k/month process. Once you've got the 12 months up, you leave the country and come back on an O visa. Makes perfect sense

@Stuart ********

True, but someone planning for retirement (which in Aus is usually around the 60-65 mark in order to get full benefits from any Super Scheme they may be in) I'd wager would be 50 or over