As Tod said, if you already have a Thai bank account you should be okay. It's probably a bit easier to get the non-O before coming, but you can still apply for the non-O in Thailand if you have a bank account already. Go to immigration when you get here and ask for their list of requirements for the non-O and deposit 800k into your account. Good luck.

Ask AI?!! Lots of very knowledgeable and helpful people in this group. The important thing is to ask good questions with sufficient background. Then identity who the helpful/knowledgeable people are (start with the moderators, but there are several others too). Block the people that are unhelpful. This is then a great place to get advice.

Are you 50+

@Jonathan *******

I thought you wanted a long term visa? Why mess about with border runs and trying to stay without a valid visa? I think this is exactly the reason these rules have been tightened.

The easy and inexpensive way is to get the correct visa before you travel. The difficult and expensive way is to arrive without a visa, like a lamb to the slaughter. Unsure what recent changes you are talking about, there were some changes to visa exempt entries, but that doesn't seem to affect you. If you mean the stricter banking requirements and if so, that's the reason you definitely need a visa before travelling.

You can fly to one of the neighbouring countries and apply from there. Not ideal, but it would save you flying home.

Yes, many people did it this way in the past. Are you asking if it's a good idea to do it now? It might be better if you ask if they managed to do it in the past 6 months as the banking situation changed this year, making it virtually impossible without an existing bank account or using an agent.

@Floyd *****

if you've got the bank account etc already, you can enter Thailand visa exempt and apply for the non-O again inside Thailand, but I'm not sure that makes it any easier. Good luck.

If you have a 1 year extension and purchased a re-entry permit, as long as you come back to Thailand a couple of weeks before your extension ends you should be fine (allowing yourself enough time to apply for the next extension).

@Floyd *****

so it's a multi entry tourist visa? Or is it a 1 year extension based on retirement and you have multiple re-entry permit?