@Sean *********

there is no such thing as a "retirement" visa. What many refer to as the retirement visa is actually a non-o visa based on retirement. To apply for this inside of Thailand, and many other variations of the non-o including marriage one needs to have the money in the bank the day you apply. I have never heard of any office giving a 30 day grace period for this.

@Bob *********

I'm not referring to seasoning of funds. For the initial non-o the funds need to be in a thai bank account in your name only. It doesn't need to be seasoned, with the exception you mention, but it does need to be in the bank before you apply.

@Andy ***********

that was my point. Years ago it was easy to open a bank account on a tourist visa or visa exempt. There is no actual law against and it is a requirement to apply for the initial non-o in country.

Within the last year or two it has become a catch 22. You need the bank account to get the non-o, but banks also started requiring the non-o to open the account. That is exactly what this post, my comment and many posts in the past year are saying. Within the last year or so people had to start resortig to using an agent. Now it seems even that is not possible, leaving obtaining the non-o outside of thailand first as the only option. That or a letter confirming income from ones embassy, which many countries no longer offer. Again there is no current Thai law against a tourist opening an account and it is still a requirement to apply for the non-o in country.

@Andy ***********

that's not at all the way it has gone the last several years or how this post sounds. Once upon a time you could enter on a tourist visa, open a bank account and apply for the non-o. I did it 5 years ago and even then it had started to be a hassle. There have been a ton of posts in the last year of people trying to legitimately open an account to deposit the required funds and being denied. Even after trying a bunch of banks and branches. They had to use an agency, not to bypass the financial requirements. Just to open the account.

@Andy ***********

pretty hard to get one if you can't open a Thai bank account to meet the financial requirements though.

@Denice ******

I'd buy the phone in the US. Many phones here will have different components than the US version. For instance most of the Galaxy phones will have a different chip that doesn't perform as well. As far as the carrier it's WAY cheaper here. You can get a 30GB per month plan for less than $10.

@Neil ********

that's not inherent to esims, but rather the company and plan you got.

@James *******

thank you, I corrected it.

If and when the TM6 is re-implemented, and if it works as before just digital, it is filled out by all foreigners entering Thailand. Whether you have a visa or extension with or without a reentry permit was irrelevant. You had to fill one out every time you entered Thailand.

Banks used to let people on tourist and visa exempt open an account with a few documents. The last several years they've gotten less willing to. Unfortunately since there is no law that actually prevents them from doing it then immigration doesn't really care since legally you are allowed to, it's not their fault the banks won't do it.