And then, there is another method to acquire a 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa and the subsequent “one-year extension” on Immigration inside Thailand.

It is called “Change of Visa Type” and it is the change from a 60-days Tourist Visa or a 30-days Visa-Exempt entry, to a 90-days Non-imm-O visa.

Here, again, you CANNOT use your income as a proof, because Immigration would only accept an affidavit of income from your embassy, which your embassy does not issue any more.

So, in order to be allowed to apply for the “change” from the Tourist Visa to a “90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa”, you need to have a minimum of 800.000.- THB sitting in your Thai bank account. No seasoning required at this point.

I won’t go into detail on how to open a Thai bank account on a tourist visa right after you arrived in Thailand, because any agent can do this for you for a circa 5000.- THB fee.

As soon as 30 days are left on the 90-days stay permit from the Non-Imm-O Visa, and when the 800.000.- have seasoned in your account for two months, you can apply for the “1-year extension of stay permit based on retirement” on Immigration. The fee is 1900.- THB, and I recommend buying a single re-entry permit for 1000.- THB, which will keep your stay permit alive should you exit Thailand for a trip abroad.

@Paul ***********

We are talking about the most common and persisting misunderstandings regarding the rules that come with applying for the “retirement visa” and the subsequent “one-year extension of stay permit based on retirement”

In order to apply for the “90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa” through the online E-visa system at the Royal Thai Embassy London,

You can use the proof of income of a monthly minimum of 65.000.- THB, by using your pension letters.

However, for the application inside Thailand, for the “1-year extension of stay permit” out of the 90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa,

you would need proof by a “12 months bank statement”, showing that for the past 12 months, you have been transferring from abroad to your Thai bank account a minimum of 65.000.- THB, month for month.

That’s why you CANNOT use the “income proof” in the first year.

Your embassy does NOT issue the “income affidavits” any more. Period.

So, for British citizens, there is no other way around, than depositing a minimum of 800.000.- THB in your Thai bank account and use this deposit for the financial proof which is required for the application to the “one year extension of stay permit”

On the day of application, the 800.000.- THB need to have “seasoned” in your account for two months, and this has to be proven with the “bank letter of guarantee” (rab roong thanakan).

After been issued the “Extension”, the 800K need to remain in the account for 3 more months. After the deposit shall never go under 400.000.- THB. And two months before your application for the next “one-year Extension of Stay”, the minimum of 800.000.- THB have to sit in the account, again

@Dan *******

thank you very much for this detailled reply! 🙂

@Brent ******

if you have been doing retirement extensions for many years, you will need to ask Immigration if they will allow your wife as a trailing spouse. But she has to start with a Non-Imm-O trailing spouse visa in her home country. And that's under the jurisdiction of the Embassy

@Nathan ********

so you paid this money for a border agent service? ok! But the price does not include the trip you needed to reach the Ranong pier?

as far as I know, a border bounce at Ranong costs the price for the longtailboat across and return, and 500.- THB visa-on-arrival on the Myanmar side. What exactly were the 2600.- THB for? Did you have to pay this sum to the "Great Andaman Grand Hotel and Casino" for their service?

@Jim *******

I do not doubt the legislation. I was talking about a wholly different topic. you should READ more carefully what I wrote. I wrote that we have no clue, yet, how Immigration will be involved in the process. Because they are the only institution that knows if you have spent more than 180 days inside Thailand in one calendar year. We have no clue if and how they are going implement a mandatory tax declaration into our yearly applications for extensions of stay. Maybe you wonb't be able to extend, if you can't prove that you had a TIN number and did your tax declaration until May 30 by next year

@Jim *******

"There is nothing in Thai tax laws to say that savings can be taxed." . . . . . . . . ???? What do you mean? There has nothing yet been published that says that the Thais will tax your savings and funds, that you already held before 2024. The directive they published mentioned "income from abroad" even when it has been sent to Thailand in the following year. It didn't even mention "pensions". We shall see what will happen in the first quarter of 2025, and how far will Immigration be involved. Who knows when an expat has spent more than 180 days in Thailand in the year 2024? Immigration is the only institution that knows. And we, at this moment, have absolutely no clue what they are going to do

@Lena ******

some embassies and Immigrations are willing to give your spouse a Non-Imm-O trailing spouse visa, if you as the main holder, has a 1-year Non-Imm-O/A visa. You must ask the embassy involved, and the Immigration involved. Only THEY decide

@Lena ******

yes it got dumped. I told you