Do not try the non-OA.

All other visas do not require any check.

@Victor ******

You get the nonO visa from the Thai embassy in your country.

You enter Thailand.

You open an account and send 800k THB (must say “foreign transfer” on the statement).

You go to the immigration and get a one year retirement extension near the end of your visa.

If one branch doesn’t let you open an account, Goto the next. You might need a proof of residence from the immigration. Best chances are Bangkok bank, then Kasikorn.

@Jessica *****

You just go.

Visa exemption is for almost all counties. No need to get a visa beforehand. Currently it’s good for 60 days - planning to reduce back to 30.

You can extend that for 1900 baht adding another 30 days.

And yes you should have a return ticket. Some airlines want to see that you’re leaving the country.

That’s what wanted to do, but it ended differently.

The first lady (damnit why is my phone capitalizing that?) accepted it and said “done”. But I wondered how I could prove that I “paid taxes” without paperwork!

An hour later the boss of the Buriram revenue office had compared the taxes I paid in Switzerland (on the full amount I get) and those for Thailand (only on what I transferred) and I had a paper in hand that stated 0 taxes, plus a good laugh for “you can try to get back the 38k taxes you overpaid in Switzerland”.

Why ask “dumb” people on FB when you have “knowledgeable” people in the embassy?

THEY will judge if you can get the visa, not us.

OA: forces you to pay for health insurance - probably another than you already have.

NonO retirement would be (and was) my way: forces you to have a Thai bank account for poof of 800k or 65k monthly.

After I deregistered from Switzerland I shopped around for a good international health insurance to cover Thailand and my travels.

If that really happens before you fly, AND the airline doesn’t let you check in without ticket leaving the country before 30 days, you stand aside and buy an onward ticket for about $10, then checkin.

Then you get an extension at the immigration in the 4th week of your stay, making it 60 days.

@Bea *********

If you’re thinking of the baby, you should plan for much longer than the few years of a DTV. The older a kid gets, the harder it will be to learn a new language, lose friends, and have a decent education.

Schools aren’t that good in Thailand and for a foreigner it hard to get a job (and work permit), plus a Thai degree is worthless outside Thailand. You better stay where your kid is a citizen (or in some western country, which got reputations for good education)

Get a proper visa. There’s a good chance that they won’t let you back in.

No regular tourist has plans like that - common sense.

Why do you want to make it hard.

You need papers from your bank. So do it where you’re living / where you have your bank.