I may be misunderstanding you, but are you saying that one doesn't have to prove the funds for the marriage visa are from overseas, whereas they do with the retirement visa?
As for the documents required, I'm aware that immigration offices in the different provinces have some slight variations, depending on what you need to get done. I have seen mention by expats that some of the documents that are exactly the same each year and don't need to be dated and signed each year or things that Stephen mentioned, they just use again, or make copies and use again the next year. I've not seen mention of the specific documents though.
I can understand that proof of being still married is required, which is things that you mentioned, but I got the impression that there's a few other documents that have to be provided and can use the same ones as last year.
Still, without having gone through it yet, I would think that the 'money in the bank' requirement differences would make it worth the marriage option rather than retirement. At least the marriage option only requires half the funds in the bank and doesn't require a minimum amount in the account where the retirement option requires half the funds to remain untouched for 5 months of the year.
I've read on more than one occasion that much of the paperwork for the Non-O based on marriage can be the same as from the year before, or copies anyway, saving much of the work. Is that right, or not? I plan, all going well, to be doing a Non-O based on marriage in the near future.
I have no idea what you're saying about the pension and "stay 6 months plus a little". Maybe you would like to explain further. As I've only lived in Australia since I was 13 years old, portability isn't an issue if that's what you're referring to.
thanks, but my question was the sentence with a question mark at the end of it... about the weather in the area of Thailand that I mentioned, not about pensions.
I'm assuming that you didn't watch that video. The guy being interviewed is a Bangkok Lawyer and supposedly deals with quite a few Expats, helping them with their Tax affairs. I will agree with you though about the guy who owns the YouTube channel and his hair, but then mines not great unfortunately... we're not all blessed with a perfect head of hair.