We did it in Jan 2023 - may have changed now, things often change in Thailand, but you may need an agent to help you open the bank account required.

It might help to list the area you are in so people can recommend a trusted agent - that price is WAY too high but being an attorney you'd be paying for the knowledge and ease of getting through the process.

It does depend on a lot of things though - do you have the required 800,000 baht each to deposit in a Thai bank? If the agent has to do that for you the price is higher.

Do you both match the age requirements? For a non O if you tick all the boxes and have all the required documentation and meet all the criteria it only costs 1900 baht to do it yourself, so pricing is based on what they have to work around and fix.

I don't recall it even being a question nor having to get any police clearances for our non-O retirement visa. (They did need that when I immigrated to Australia - the process for Thailand was easier)

Because some westerners bring their drama with them and want everyone else to be as unhappy as they are. I normally just block the repeat offenders so I don't see their comments, it's the easiest way rather than allowing them to suck you into their unhappy ways.

My husband and I both use the 800K for ours. I believe it saves us money as the structure of it allows us to use some of the funds (You need it in there for the 3 months before and 3 month after application / 4 months before the end of your Visa I believe - could be wrong for your situation so check) at any rate it allows me 5 months to use half and transfer monies only when the AUD is up and allows that money to build interest in our home country while we wait - plus we are only paying the 1,900 each immigration charges when applying so that works well for us but you need to look at your own situation and see what will work best for you.

@Clint ********

no worries mate, it's pretty straightforward.

Once you get your new passport you will need to take it to immigration to transfer your visa into it. You keep the old passport the form just needs the number so take the old and new passport to immigration

It's pretty easy, download the form, print it our, sign it, send to the embassy with photos and return envelope

@Grant *******

it is per person. I highly recommend doing this rather than trailing spouse simply because if the main spouse has to leave or god forbid something happens - trailing spouses only have a short period to leave.