Lou Kirk I don’t know a lot about social security since I don’t receive it, but I would think you could download your statements off of the social security website. And/Or is there a letter they send you that shows how much you’ll be receiving? (And because I overdo things, you might include bank statements that show the deposits.)

By the way, my visa was approved the next day.

I applied for my 90-day Non-O Retirement visa about two weeks ago from my home country—USA. I applied online at my nearest Thai embassy’s website (for me—Los Angeles).

The website laid out all of the requirements for what paperwork I needed to submit. This included one of two options regarding the money I have here in the USA.

I chose the option of proving that I have had a pension paid to me of at least the equivalent of 65,000THB here in the USA for three months prior to submitting the application. (And it had to be monthly PENSION income; not salary income.)

I uploaded a signed verification letter from my pension provider that stated what my monthly pension is, statements from their end that showed they have paid me that amount for the last three months, as well as my bank account statements that showed the required amount deposited for the last three months. I think the verification letter from my pension provider would have been sufficient, but my application was rejected when I only updated my bank statements, so I wanted to overdo it the 2nd time to cover my bases.

The other option would have been to have proof that I have had 800,000THB in a USA bank account for the three months before submitting the application. You can find out what counts as evidence for that on the website.

Either of these requirements had to prove the income/savings for the three months BEFORE submitting the application in order for the initial 90-day non-o retirement visa to be granted.

This part of the application had nothing to do with the money amount required for the non-o retirement extension once I am in Thailand.

I don’t really know or care what the reason is that they require the proof of money in my home country. It was just one of the requirements to be approved for the initial 90-day visa, so I followed those instructions.

I am not a visa agent, lawyer, or immigration officer. This was my personal experience. Yours may vary.

@Brandon ***********

Thanks for your response. I sent mine to the Los Angeles embassy (I live in Colorado) with copies of 3 months’ bank statements that show my monthly pension (above the required amount). The application was rejected saying “Insufficient amount of funds.” Maybe I needed to show 12 mos. I’ll recheck.

@Phil *****

I guess I’m most worried about opening the acct and the fact that my fiancé doesn’t believe anything I say. Lol (there’s a reason he’s still just a fiancé)

@Kool ******

ahhh…so I would basically get there first and do my part, and then once I have the extension in hand, he could come later after me? Or I would have to go get him to come back together?

Sorry to belabor the topic, and send a novel of a message, but as I’ve read all of the comments, researched the current Thai visas, and see that so much has changed since we were there in February, it leads me to more wonders…

We are both American citizens, sadly currently dliving in the US, but wanting to retire for at least a year in Thailand. We can meet the financial requirements of the Non-OA visa, but we really hate to tie that money up for so long, and only I will have a monthly pension (although it’s enough that I could have it split between us in the US to show that he also has income coming in). We really want to have a multi-entry visa because we have elderly parents and want to be able to fly home as needed.

Has anyone used an elite visa? Has that been a good alternative option for you?

And yes, we will talk to an agent, but sometimes it’s just good to hear from someone who has gone through something similar.

If we want to make the move at the end of February/early March, how soon do we need to start this process? (This also helps determine when to put my house on the market in the USA, etc. It’s such a domino effect….)

At what point do we need to have the open bank account, and at what point can we sign a 12-month lease to rent a condo? It all feels like chicken and egg.

Phew! Thanks if you read all that and have the energy or desire to provide guidance on any of it.

@Ally ***********

We're both US citizens. Thanks for that advice.

@John *********

Thanks!

@Stuart **********

Thank you for that advice!