Dave Anthony . . I am doing this since I turned 50 years old 16 years ago. 6 months Europe and 6 months Thailand

*** On an October 5, I entered Thailand on a 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement visa and got stamped in for 90 days, until January 4th

*** I opened a Thai bank account and transferred 850.000 THB onto it

*** As soon as the money had been seasoned for 2 months, and there were still 2 weeks left on my 90-days stay permit, I went to my bank and had the bank statement issued

*** I took the bank letter, my passport, the required copies and a filled out TM47, and 2900.- THB to Immigration and applied for the “1-year extension of stay permit based on retirement” (EOS) plus a single re-entry permit for this extended stay permit.

*** the fee for the EOS is 1900.- THB, and the re-entry permit costs 1000.- THB

*** the EOS got issued for one year, and I need to apply for a renewed EOS every other year, since. The expiry date of each EOS is always on a January 4th, ensuing that I will be in Thailand on this date

*** the careful choice of the dates has the following advantage:

I can get the bank letter, make the application for the next EOS, a single re-entry permit and make my 90 days report ON THE SAME DAY

*** No headache no worries, no agent needed.

This means one single visit on Immigration (upcountry) which is done & dusted within 20 – 25 minutes!

I will have left Thailand headed to Europe, before the next 90-days report becomes due

It couldn’t be much easier

I don’t care when people say that putting 800.000 THB into a Thai bank account is stupid. I don’t care about the interest I could theoretically earn in my home country.

I look at this deposit as being a kind of “parking fee” for amazing Thailand and also serving as a quickly accessible emergency fund, if needed.

And by the way, my Thai Savings account is earning a 1.25% interest, which is better than nothing

@Andrew ******

oka,y I have reworded my response

The reason is the Thai bank account you are sending your salary to, this could have been the red flag.

The DTV is a tourist visa class, and you can't even open a bank account on a DTV (only when going through an agent).

You should have said that you withdraw living expenses on a Thai ATM using your foreign credit card. And the 500.000.- THB should have been on a foreign bank account

@Paul ********

exactly. That was the reason. He shouldn't have show them that he already has a Thai bank account, and worse even that he already remitted money onto it. A DTV is a tourist visa class, and you can't even open a bank account on a DTV (only when going through an agent). He can theoretically withdraw living expenses on a Thai ATM using a foreign credit card.

What a question! The Muay Thai schools do not issue DTV visa. For this, you have to apply outside of Thailand on a Thai embassy or consulate. Some still allow personal visits, but most others use the E-visa online system, and post 10 to 15 days processing time

@Jamie ********

that's a steal. I would go for it!

the printout DTV clearly says "valid from" and "valid until". There is no text that says "visa must be used by"

between 7 and 15 days, depending they do not need to ask for more documentation

@Will ***********

you are spot on! This is the most obvious explanation

@Christopher **********

a DTV is a tourist visa type. It is almost impossible to find a bank willing to open an account to somebody on a tourist visa. You will succeed quicker if you go through an agent. It costs 5000.- THB for an agent's service in Pattaya to open a bank account