@Paul **********

You can apply for over 50 Non O at UK Thai Embassy. Just select Retirement from the list and it takes you to Non O application. You will get the 90 days and then you have to meet the requirements when in Thailand to get the 1 year extension (800k in bank).

Or

Apply for O-A but you get the full 1 year on entry and financial requirements are UK based.

We recently did O-A, AXA were cheapest for basic policy but we went with another. If you go AXA, you will need at least 2 weeks to get the policy, very slow compared to others.

Also, do the DBS check, quicker and cheaper than ACRO.

-non-immigrant-visas

HSBC was cheapest I could find last year for my 800k.

When transferring abroad, you use the TT rate. So check what they are. If your sending bank is converting to $, what $ will you receive? What would it be if you send baht to your US bank? Usually, the rate is better at the receiving bank.

Check AirAsia, you can add up to 40kg (60 with some flights), plus 2 x 7kg carry on.

Depending on your immigration office in Thailand where you decide to live, getting your own visas is probably advisable.

AXA do a cheap insurance that you can reduce further with deductibles, you can also cancel at any time for a prorata refund.

UK embassy said we could use joint account if it had double the amount in it. We each got a copy of our individual statement from the bank for the joint account (Online pdf copy is fine).

Insurance is now a requirement for Non O Retirement on UK Thai Embassy (scroll down)

-non-immigrant-visas

If your wife is applying as dependant, she would select Non-Immigrant Type O (Visiting or staying with applicant's family resided in Thailand (more than 60 days)

@John *********

The application is done online, you don't get an email until you receive the visa. Your friend will have to login to look.

@John *********

Where you see the application you made, to the right hand side is a box you can select to view your application, click that which takes you to a page where it shows all stages (pending document check, pending approval and so on). Pending document check is stage 1.

@John *********

Pending what? There are various stages, you need to click into the application to view status.

Me and my wife recently did ours and it took exactly 7.5 days. We applied Thursday morning before noon and it arrived 00:25 following Friday.

What does it say in status? If it's still pending document check, it could take longer but once it moves to pending approval it completed same day