@John-Paul *****

not true. You can apply for the non-O outside Thailand as well as the non-OA.

@Jay **********

unsure to be honest, I used bank statements.

@Tony *******

I have not seen any announcements about changes to these visa and this would be a significant change that would have been discussed endlessly, so I would question what your lawyer is telling you.

@Tony *******

maybe so, but they are different to the O visa.

@Tony *******

I tried looking online at the visa system for Aus and it still seems to give the option of a non-O without insurance, have you tried to do it yourself already without using a lawyer?

@Tony *******

it says these insurance companies are for the OX and OA visas not O, or did I miss something?

Apply for a non-O visa based on being over 50 (retirement) from one of the Thai Embassies in the USA online. You then fly to Thailand open a bank account and deposit 800,000 baht in the first couple of weeks. Get a list of requirements from the local immigration office to extend your stay for 12 months. After your money has been in your Thai account for 2 months take everything on the list to immigration and extend it for 1,900 baht. It's easy to do yourself. Good luck.

@Mic ****

i don't know what you are talking about, I presume 800,000 baht? I use the monthly income method, so I deposit more than 65,000 baht each month instead.