It's called a certificate of residence and some banks might require it. It certainly won't hurt to have it.

@Ivan *****

you don't do it yourself. You find an agent to do it.

That's correct. You need to find your own agent/translation company, who will then take the translation to the MFA to get it certified.

Any bank account as long as it's in your sole name.

@Heidi *******

the visa is used when you enter Thailand. There's no resetting of anything. It's a single entry visa and you get a single 90 days from it. 9 days isn't really enough to get anything done so I wouldn't worry about a visa that time.

Seems ludicrous to me. They're charging 10k just for the changing of tourist to non-O (this costs 2000 baht at immigration) but then ALSO charging 25k for "extra payment for changing visa in Thailand". So they're charging 35k for something that costs 2k. The total should be less than just what they're charging for the retirement visa which is 35k. Honestly this invoice doesn't even make sense because it feels like they're charging for the same thing 5 times.

@Doëlla ******

you have to be very careful in Japan. Many people have gotten a multiple entry tourist visa instead of DTV and no refund on payment. Make sure you do your research on other people who have applied from Japan and which consulate is best. I believe Tokyo offers a consultation before you apply to make sure everything is okay, but I've read that Osaka can be a better experience overall.

Suggest you join the DTV Facebook group and search for posts about Japan.

@Brian *******

no, you don't need to ever have even been to Thailand to apply. The whole application process is done by the BOI. You can find their LTR website by searching Google for "BOI LTR"

It's free to apply and you can find out if you're approved before even deciding some plans because your approval is good for 60 days.

@John *********

no. You already failed by having the agent front the money. You'll have to use an agent again next year because your 12 month bank statement will not show that you met the requirements. Your bank account would have to show it was at 800,000 for 3 months after your April extension and that it never dropped below 400,000 after that, which you clearly cannot show.

That means you'll need to bring your account up to 800,000 next year 2 months before you'll apply for your extension. Then you'll have to find an agent to do your extension. Then you'll need to keep it at 800,000 for an additional 3 months and never let it drop below 400,000. During this time you can send the monthly 65,000 international transfers, and in 2027 you can apply by yourself using the monthly transfers.

LTR is the best visa if you qualify, plain and simple. Don't even listen to anyone if they mention the cost because that's not a factor in any way.

The LTR is a 10 year multiple-entry visa, which means you won't have to apply for re-entry permits. And you also won't have to do 90-day reports, only report in annually and that's only if you don't leave Thailand at least once a year. And when you do travel, you can use the Fast Track lanes at the airport.

While it does have an insurance requirement , it's not a stringent one like the Non-OA which must be from a list of Thai companies, so you can use nearly any insurance, and you should have insurance anyways.

Non-O: Visa price is 2000 baht, and annual extensions are 1,900 baht. A multiple re-entry permit each year is 3,800 baht. That means over 10 years you would pay 53,300 baht.

Non-OA: Visa price is whatever your embassy charges. Annual extensions starting from year 3 would be 1900 baht, plus the price of mandatory insurance and re-entry permits each year. I can't tell you how much insurance will cost but you're going to be WAY over the price of 10 years of non-O, probably after only 2 years.

LTR: If you purchase in Bangkok, exactly 50,000 baht with all the listed benefits (including tax exempt on most categories). If you purchase from your embassy, you'll probably pay a few hundred dollars more.