Get the non O instead. No mandatory health insurance or criminal checks. Yes you need to deposit 800,000 in a Thai bank, but if you send 65,000 baht per month, you can withdraw the 800,000 when you get your second 12 month extension.

Excellent post, and good to see one that explains exactly how it is done and goes some way to 'myth busting' the usual comments that it takes a lot of time/work and requires agents etc 👌👏👍

@Sasha **********

2 or 3 months after you get your extension you can spend 400,000, but it must return to 800,000 2 or 3 months before your next extension. If you decide to leave Thailand you can withdraw it all.

@La'Vita ********

I have no idea how much it is in that currency, I live in Thailand and I am from England. Maybe list every currency in the world?

Yes, if you have (or can open) a Thai bank account to deposit the required 800,000 baht.

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.