@Alessandro ********

I don't like to waste money, sorry for being cheap. If wasting money wasn't an issue, I'd go for the Thai Elite visa, so I must assume most people in this DTV group are somewhat conscious about spending.

So far it's very foggy which embassy I need to work with. Maybe Argentina (doesn't answer) or some embassy near Thailand that is friendly, maybe Cambodia.

PS: I'm successfully 'living abroad' since 2020, mostly in Latin America, so don't worry.

@Al**

I'm sure there are many financially illiterate people who do it voluntarily, some may earl barely any interest at all. And it's kind of what Thai govt. is pushing for since they probably want to help the poor banks a little. For the LTR you have to hold a lot of cash in low yielding Thai govt. bonds. DTV requirement is very moderate.

Your sources are correct. Have some emergency fund in cash, the rest in a brokerage account and real estate (better not in Thailand), that's a good strategy for growing your money.

@Kool ******

seems not so much an issue with this visa. I only have to keep it in the account until I get the DTV, then I can do whatever I want with the money. 3-6 Months isn't much compared to the hassle and time wasted doing 5 years of visa runs, IMO.

But thank you for sharing your perspective. I guess you are on the other end of the scale, where

@Alessandro ********

is concerned if I can support myself at all abroad when I worry about 40 bucks, you seem to enjoy spending several working days per year in some crammed bus on visa runs to save visa expenses.

@Deepak ******

wrong advice since not all countries have DTAs to avoid that. There is a DTA between Thailand and USA but he might very well end up paying taxes in both only that the tax in one country can be deducted from the tax in the other (requires earnigs well above $100k). Very likely he will need to pay in Thailand if he wants to be legally correct and not infringe taxes. The poor Thai government probably has issues tracking everything but remissions to Thai Bank accounts, so if you just spend with your foreign CC you might be fine for a few more years, but no guarantees for how long and if they ever come after you when AI has evolved enough...

@Kevin *******

I think this is a wrong answer. The only issue I see with medical or soft power is that they might get picky when you go for an extension.

But a 5 year multi entry visa for 180 days is exactly that. So if you can live with a visa run every 180 days I see no issue. Is the border agent supposed to check your dental appointment??