I don't think it's actually a requirement, although I'd say it probably should be? As I'm not aware of any tourist travel insurance which would come close to covering that amount of time.

To the op, I'd certainly want a very large stash put away to cover potential medical costs,, could be hundreds and hundreds of thousends?

You can enter at any point from when the visa is issued, for the 5 years.

@Will *****

some are

@David *******

1 no one has extended a dtv yet, they've not been available long enough to have run out.

2 a dtv extension is a one only option of a further 180 days for 10,000 baht.

@Elías *******

yup, presume so. I'll find out soon enough, I'm about to pop back to London for a couple of weeks work.

@Elías *******

they aren't extending though. We're wondering what the added 180 days will be?

@Brandon ***********

yup, that's my understanding of it aswell.

I'm wondering if next month their might be an announcement for the exact criteria for extending.

@Colin *********

We are finding the banks here in phuket won't now pay out more than 10k to foreign cards in Phuket. It appears somethings changed recently.

You should be fine.

What no one is telling you and where your confusion is,,

The airlines have a legal responsibility for you to arrive in any country with the correct paperwork and they are legally required to return you, from where you came from, if that paperwork isn't correct on arrival.

When you fly in on a visa exemption to anywhere, you don't have an agreement with that country. The country are simply allowing you short access free. So in this situation the airline need proof of an onward ticket within whatever the free allowance might be.

If you have a visa, technically you have an agreement or contract with the country before departure.

@Tony *********

It's labelled correctly, for their target market, most wont want residency.

If you have a working visa, or a retirement visa, it doesn't make you a national, or necessarily a resident to the Thia government. But your own country may well class you as a resident.

Nomad, digital worker, remote worker, bla bla bla.

Call it what you like. It's basically a "have you got enough money visa" to stay here , isnt it?

As I said, the 180 days is likely about tax and 99.99 percent of people, or dtv holders will draw a greater amount of money from another country. So the tourist label would suit those who it's aimed at.

Id say, even the retired (uk) might not have their pension payments frozen under these guidelines?