Mr 5 Bank Accounts As I already expected you really are incapable of understanding this. When somebody for 5 years want to live in Thailand, only leaving a month and a few weeks each year, the non-o, LTR and elite visa are designed for this and the most suitable. With precise planning of moments you leave each year you mught be able to use DTV for this purpose. The fact that you have to make a very exact planning for leaving each year should be an indication for clever people that they do not make the best choice. But up to you as they say in Thailand when you still want to do so. You even might still be able to do with visa exemptions and paied fast lane entrance. But you should not expect banks to adapt this special use of a visa, while there are a number of better visa available for that purpose.

@Arto ***************

it is not for daily cost of living but for unexpected expenses

@Nick ******

Indeed no need to scare people, but informing about differences between a long term visa and DTV is also necessary. Because there are currently no regular checks for visa requirements, that does not mean those requirements do not exist anymore. As long as you comply to all existing requirements, and you accept things as no 5 year drivers license and no bank account and the obligation to leave the country regularly, you can use DTV almost as a long term visa until they might change requirements in a way the loophole of the borderrun does not work anymore. That change I do not see happen anytime soon, but without changing any rule or law, they can intensify checks on current requirements.

Mr 5 Bank Accounts When you do not see a border run as a loophole or trick but as something which is intended, I expect your intellectual capabilities are too low too understand why DTV is not meant to live in Thailand full time. They could have restricted the visa in such a way that the stubborn people who don't want to apply for a real long term visa could not use DTV for this unintended use anymore, but that would also restrict the correct use for some people.

Mr 5 Bank Accounts DTV is not long term, the stay is 180 days which can be extended till 360 days, which still is less than 1 year. Long term visa have stays of 1 year and longer without need to leave, what is so hard to understand about that?

Mr 5 Bank Accounts I know about the validity of 5 years, and I know about the loophole to get a new 180 stay immediately when you left, but that just does not make it a long stay visa officially, the trick makes it look like a long stay visa, but why should banks cooperate with this trick?

@Wannikea ********

mine was approved without explicitly mentioning Thailand

@Nick ******

I asked immigration about this, and they told me it is just a visa requirement and therefore valid during the whole period, and that does make sense.

Nowhere is mentioned it is only a requirement at moment of approval, it is only mentioned how you might supply proof at the moment of approval for this requirement.

And immigration offices have list how you can supply proof at the moment you apply for extension.

Immigration offices cannot add additional requirements officially, they only can specify how they want you to proof you comply to the requirements.

Everybody should understand why this requirement is, and then it would not make sense it is only needed at moment of approval.

It is meant to check DTV holders have financial reserves to pay for unexpected expenses.

That unexpected expenses can occur during the whole 5 years and not even at moment of approval and also not specifically at moment of extension.

The timescale for retirement is because there the requirement is lowered during certain periods, I never really understood why, but it just is.

@Nick ******

Since nowhere is stated you can lower the amount during the visa validity period, like mentioned at non-o marriage and retirement, the 500K is just the requirement at any time. It only will be checked now at approval and extension time, but it can be checked anytime.

@Nick ******

The 500K funds just is a visa requirement. How it will be enforced can change without changing any law, so it can be done fast.