There's no such thing as a 5 month extension.

What visa are you trying to extend? That will determine what extensions are available to you.

Just wanting to stay does not mean you can. You must qualify for an extension. Wanting to be in Thailand is not a reason for a long-term extension.

You shouldn't need that for DTV application. That's generally for applications inside of Thailand with an immigration office and a Thai bank account.

Each embassy sets their own requirements. I've read reports that Madrid might not be very user friendly. You may want to get clarification from them if they in fact require the money to be in Europe or even Spain specifically.

You can apply for an extension when you have 30 days or less left at most immigration offices, and 45 days or less left at some offices (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, etc).

Specifically for tourist extension, there are a handful of offices that only allow you to apply during your last week. These include Pattaya, Koh Samui, and Koh Phangan.

Best visa hands down. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the locations of Fast Track for departures and arrivals at Suvarnabhumi. I always find they get confused when I tell them DTV, so I just say BOI with the page opened in my passport (if you're getting the stamp in your passport).

Also account for an extra 10-15 minutes if entering any border other than BKK, DMK or HKT airport. The officers will look at the visa and scratch their head before calling over a superior.

Finally, if you don't already have a Thai bank account, make sure you go onto the BOI LTR website as they have assistance for opening bank accounts.

@Sean *********

I assumed when the op stated "not worried about tm30" means they already have getting that done figured out.

Should be acceptable, and preferable, to most banks.

@Paul *******

True. I guess the disclaimer is "power" trumps even money. Mostly because of future monetary benefits of that power. And certain factions are milking the border for every ounce of power they can at the moment.

You finished the first step.

Arrive, get settled into where you'll be staying, then go to immigration and order a certificate of residence. Then go to Kasikorn or a bank of your choice (NOT Bangkok Bank) and try to open a bank account. You might need to hit a couple of branches, as the branch managers determines the rules for each branch, so some are better than others).

Once you have the account, it's pretty straightforward from there. Just make sure you can get that done within the first 30 days with your money transferred into your new account for your extension.

Can't do much until you're 50. But once you reach that point, it's just a matter of paying an agent if you don't want to deal with it yourself. Around $2k to get started. Subsequent years significantly cheaper (~$400-500)