@Max ************

the Non-Imm-O is the "retirement visa". . . . The Non-Imm-O/A is the "Longstay" visa. Are you able to read? What do you see in the above post ?

@Robert ********

is what I am saying: 6 months, no problem. But if someone starts to squeeze the maximum of 9 months out of the METV every year, Immigration won't allow you to play

@Graham *****

he doesn't need any money in the bank for a first year stay on a 365-days Non-Imm-O/A visa. He can use his original pension documents for the application to the Non-O/A visa. Then get a Thai bank account opened ASAP after he entered, and start transferring the 65,000 THB every month. Before the 365-days stay permit expires, he must leave Thailand, fly back to Australia and apply for the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa. Then re-enter, and use the 12-months accumulated transfers for the application to the 1-year extension. No agent needed, a fully legal route, no 800,000 THB in the bank needed

@Nigel *************

he doesn't need an agent

Peter Merchant . . You can do EVERYTHING by yourself, you do not need an agent . . . . . You can use your original income documents of your home country over the 80,000 THB you are earning, for the application to a 365-days Non-Imm-O/A Visa, through the e-visa online system in your home country. You will need a police clearance, an international health insurance and a medical check.

There is no need for an embassy issued income affidavit - not for the visa itself.

However for the application to the Extension, you would need the 12-months bank statement. What I am trying to say is – you can start everything on a fully legal route: get a Thai bank account opened as soon as you have entered, on the Non-O/A visa, and start transferring the 65,000 THB every month.

Then just before the one-year stay permit expires, exit Thailand without a re-entry permit. The visa validity will already be expired. By this, you are free to apply for any other visa.

Now you can apply through the e-visa system of the Thai embassy in Australia for the 90-days Non-Imm-O visa, using your original income documents.

Then re-enter on this 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa, get stamped in for a 90-days stay permit, and up from 30 days before the 90-days stay permit expires, apply for the 1-year Extension with the 12-months statement

But you will have to find out if "your" Immigration allows the use of the 12-months bank statement for your FIRST extension (because AFAIK, not all Immigrations allow it!)

@Graham *****

but he can use original income documents of his home country over the 80,000 THB he earns, for the application to the 365-days Non-Imm-O/A Visa in his home country. No need for an embassy issued income affidavit - not for the visa itself. However for the application to the Extension, he would need the 12-months bank statement. He could get a Thai bank account opened on the Non-O/A visa, start transferring the 65,000 THB every month, then just before the visa validity expires, exit Thailand, invalidate the O/A visa. Then re-enter on a 90-days Non-Imm-O Retirement Visa and apply for the 1-year Extension with the 12-months statement (only if "his" Immigration allows him the use of the 12-months statement for his FIRST extension (not all Immigrations allow it!)

@Nev *******

"But you do need Thai health insurance." . . . . not true. For the first two years out of a Non-Imm-O/A Visa, you can use a foreign or international health insurance. Only when you move to the Extension of the Stay Permit, you need 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account, and a tgia-listed Thai private health insurance

@Bruce *********

the rules for a Non-O/A visa have never changed, what changed 6 years ago was the amount of coverage needed for the health insurance. You can get almost 2 years out of a 365-days Non-Imm-O/A visa. However if at the end of the last stamped stay permit, you want to switch to the 1-year Extension of Stay Permit, you need a minimum of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account, seasoned for 2 months on the day you apply, and you will need a tgia-listen Thai private health insurance. The only way to avoid it, is going back to your home country and apply for a 365-days Non-Imm-O/A visa, again

@Wannikea ********

only because it is referred as a "retirement visa" from barstools and pubs in Thailand, it doesn't make it more true. There are 6 different visa and extensions that can be referred to as "retirement visa" . . . . . with regards and thanks to Robert Lagas, who wrote this!

Once more, because people try to give advice based on what they think is a "Retirement Visa"

First of all, you DO not have to be retired to apply for this visa. You however need to be 50 years or older

Second is that all options have DIFFERENT rules, regulations and requirements.

So please read and try not to give incorrect advice by using the requirements for a different type of visa or extension of stay.

What is a retirement visa?

It is a phrase used by foreigners and Immigration and it could be 6 different types of visa or stay permits, with different rules, regulations and requirements

OR

it could even be an 1 year Extension of Stay based on being over 50 years of age and willing to sit out the rest of their life inside Thailand.

It is easy to type “retirement visa”, but very difficult to understand which option the person refers to

Options are:

1. Single Entry Non Immigrant O visa based on being over 50 years of age

2. Multiple Entry Non Immigrant O visa based on being over 50 years of age (it got discontinued by October 2023 and is not available any more)

3. Non Immigrant O visa based on being over 50 years of age without entry by conversion at local immigration office

4. Non Immigrant O-A visa (Long Stay)

5. Non Immigrant O-X visa

6. Long Term Residency (LTR) visa

7. Extension of Stay based on being over 50 years of age and willing to sit out the rest of their life inside Thailand (stamp from Immigration, which is not a visa)

ONLY for options 3, 5 and 7 the applicant needs a bank account in Thailand or a Certificate of Income from their Embassy.

Option 2 cannot be applied for any more, since all Thai Embassies and Consulates took it out of the E-visa program.

Option 3 is applied for by conversion of your Visa Exempt Entry or Tourist Visa at your local Immigration Office inside Thailand.

Option 6 is applied for with support of BOI Thailand

Option 7 is applied for at your local Immigration Office AFTER you used a Non-Immigrant visa.

Other options are applied for at a Thai Consulate OR for those countries who are legit, on-line.

Thanks for reading this long explanation.

@Robert ********

even these 9 months are not guaranteed. We hear reports that people on the METV have been pulled aside and warned when they tried a re-entry close to the expiry date of their visa