I know someone that did this but they had to get the letter & statements from each bank so it was more bother than it was worth. The rules might have changed but it used to be OK

You do realise that this is exactly what Immigration are clamping down on don't you. What are talking about doing is what is don but the people running scams and illegally working in Thailand which is why Immigration is trying to stop it. If you come in on a 90 day tourist visa and then extend it, leave for a few days and return for another 90 days then will probably not allow you the 30 day extension on the second visit and if you try it again you will probably be refused entry. This does not cause problems for people who are real tourists as they only come for a short time and then go home to work and even people like those working in the oil industry who come to Thailand for a couple of weeks then leave for say a month and keep repeating this as these are also not 'living' here but what you are talking about doing is 'living' here and that breaks all the rules. Even if you live half the time in Bali I would recommend that you keep you retirement visa.

You have to leave before the expiry date of your visa stamp, if in doubt go to an immigration office and check.

Best is to check with the Immigration office but second is to check with someone like the Pattaya Expat Club as they have a good set of guides and aren't trying to sell services (like agents). Here's a link for you

Them's the rules. Even though I am married to a Thai lady I decided I would rather get a retirement visa than a marriage visa as I just go to immigration with the right documents and I'm finished in about 10 minutes (on a busy day). Yes you do need either 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank or meet the monthly income requirements but as I'm able to do that I prefer this way as it's so much less hassle.

I'm from the UK and been living in Thailand for over 12 years without taking any trips back to UK and had never had any problems with my UK bank. This might have changed and your bank might be different but here's my situation. I have Lloyds and HSBC accounts, I opened the HSBC before leaving UK as it was the bank with the best international transfer services, I think I pay about £4 per transfer and do the exchange from UK pounds to Thai Baht over here so get similar if not the same rate as you would changing notes in the bank so much better that in UK. I have changed my address at the UK banks to my address in Thailand so they know I'm living here and that should stop any problems with 'excessive' international transfers. As I said, I've live here over 12 years and never had any issues or even a letter about closing or restricting my accounts. It would be worth going into your bank and taking to the manager about your move before you leave as they might need some declaration or something that my bank did not. Be aware that not all banks are able to do international transfers with internet banking, well they weren't when I left but that was a long time ago.

As already mentioned, it depends on what 'visa' or extension you have. If it's a non-immigrant O visa with a retirement extension then you will have needed to have the 800k in the bank for 3 months prior to applying plus have had 400k for the rest of the year, unless they have changed the rules. There had been instances of agents putting the 800k in the bank, getting the extension of stay and then immediately taking the money out and this is most likely why some banks are now locking accounts for 3 months after issuing the letter for immigration so if you previously used an agent you might not be able to do so in the future. I would check with immigration for your exact requirements.

You need to get a non-O visa before coming and then you can convert that to a retirement visa so long as you meet the requirements. The non-O visa will also let you open a bank account where as a tourist visa does not and you need the bank account plus either 800,000 Baht in it or money being transferred monthly for the retirement visa. I would recommend checking with the Thai embassy before leaving as it will save you a lot of trouble. Remember that the non-O visa is issued in the country that your passport is issued in and not in Thailand, I have heard of people getting it here but it cost them a lot of money (about 50,000 Baht I think) where as if you have the right visa when you get here it costs just 1,900 Baht for the retirement visa.

You asked about 'power showers' do you mean heated water or a 'power shower' which is a high pressure water shower. First for heated water it's normal to have an electric heater in the shower area and I would recommend that you get one with a earth leakage breaker as most houses in Thailand don't have one in the consumer unit. Next for water pressure (power shower) a lot of houses run directly off the mains (goevrnment) water and the pressure is not only low but varies and the water can even be turned off at various times of day during the dry season so you need to install a water tank with an electric pump. The pumps are rated for the height (number of floors) and the number of taps being used at the same time and there are 2 types, continuous pressure & continuous flow. I prefer the continuous pressure as the pump maintains a constant pressure but turns on & off more often, with the other you notice the pressure drop before the pump cuts back in.

Burkhard Herwig Be aware that the health insurance requirement will also apply to all renewals and it has to be with a Thai company so can work out to be a bigger problem/cost than keeping the money in a Thai bank.