@John ******

agencies will accept anything starting from 30,000.- THB to help you to a longstay permit without having to proof own money. And yes, this illegal method is all over the place

@Frank *********

correct, as an American citizen, his embassy does not issue an income affidavit. So he needs to accumulate 12 months of recurring transfers from abroad of minimum 65.000.- THB coming into his account month for month, and the letter summary of the bank confirming this. So for the first year he needs to do the financial proof with the 800.000.- THB deposit method

well, some Immigrations run their own scheme and may ask for a seasoning of the 800.000.- THB for 3 months instead of the requirement that is listed in the police order under 2 months. The only way to avoid this kind of harassment is, you move to a different province 🫤

to ENTER Thailand you need no proof of income. However to apply for a "retirement visa" and later for the STAY in Thailand, you need to begin with a "90-days Non-Imm-O retirement visa", and either the proof of income minimum 65.000.- THB monthly, or a deposit of minimum 800.000.- THB on a Thai bank account in your sole name.

@John ******

"narrow minded view" ?? Can you tell my how much the chief post of Chonburi immigration office is worth?

@John ******

Economy and Tourist spending, that's a whole different topic. I am talking about the revenue from tourist visa & tourist extension fees. This revenue goes into billions of Baht

@Marty ********

millions of tourists buy extensions every year, millions of Chinese and Indians buy VOA for 2000.- THB

@Nigel ********

let's wait, maybe he will out himself of having mixed up a few things

just run your figures, 15 to 25 million of people less who spend 1900.- Baht on extensions . . . .This means billions (!!) of Thai Baht LESS in revenue. It won't happen, because they are much too greedy for such a step

@Nicholas ***********

you should check that stamp in your passport. I take any bet they issued you a single entry Tourist Visa