The easiest way based on what you said is to get a non O visa (not OA) from the Thai Embassy in the USA before travelling to Thailand. You should then be able to open a bank account to deposit the 800,000 baht for the first 12 month extension. The option of using monthly funds is only available for the second extension, when you can show 12 monthly deposits of at least 65,000 baht. Good luck.

I think there will be UK and France visa Facebook groups to help you with this. I personally would not ask someone in Thailand for help completing the process for a different country (I have seen many complaints from people making that mistake). There's no way of bribing an official to get the outcome that you want, it's a case of reading the instructions and providing the evidence requested in the order they list. If your girlfriend cannot provide the evidence, she will not get the visa. Good luck.

I would begin by deciding if Thailand is actually the place you want to spend your retirement. Understanding the visa process/requirements is a bit pointless until you have made your decision. Suffice to say you can get a visa to retire in Thailand easily and it's not expensive. I would make a list of potential countries and list everything that is important to you, then compare.

@Ralphy ****

for the first extension (unless your Embassy will provide the letter confirming your income and I don't think Australia will) you need to deposit 800,000 baht in your Thai account and wait 2 months before applying for the extension. If you transfer 65,000 per month for 12 months, for the second extension you can change to the monthly method and withdraw the 800,000 baht.

Excellent, yes that's the way to do it. The online process was a bit clunky from the UK, but with a bit of patience it's not difficult and similarly in Thailand, there's a lot of photocopying and a couple of A4 forms to complete, but it's not difficult. Good luck.

Are you already in Thailand? If not get the non O visa before coming to Thailand as that makes it much easier. No need to use an agent to extend the visa, it's easy and takes less than an hour.

I think your day of arrival is counted as your first day, so it's more like 89 days to be on the safe side. It also depends which country you are from, but I am presuming you're from a country that gets 60 days visa exempt.

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

that must be correct then🤔

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

where did you get this information? When I have rented from reputable letting agents a copy of the blue house book is always supplied. How do you know the property belongs to them otherwise?

The rental agreement should have a copy of the owners ID, the condo blue house book, as well as yours and the owners signature.