@Nick ******

This is where talking to a tax attorney makes sense.

One strategy in the first year of living here is to move to Thailand after July 1 and bring the 800,000 in during that final 6 months. Less than 180 days and you are not a tax resident for that year.

Money you earned in 2023 is not taxable so if you could show you had the money then you would be OK for a while.

If you have $80,000/year passive income then look into the pensioner LTR. Money brought in under a pensioner LTR is not taxed.

I had one account for everything

I had an OA visa (2017-2022) and I have insurance from Pacific Cross. I bought the policy in 2018 when I was 62 years old. I have a 40,000 baht deductible to keep the price down and because routine care in Thailand is so affordable I would prefer to pay out of pocket. I have never made a claim so I can’t report on that but I am getting a substantial no claim discount. As a result the price of the policy not changed much in 8 years. I currently have a 10 year pensioner LTR visa and I am using the Pacific Cross policy to qualify for the LTR.

If you intend to keep your money out of Thai banks you are going to have to do a border run at the end of the first year. You will have to return to your home country after 2 years to apply for a new OA visa. If you travel to your home country frequently then that will be manageable but otherwise it sounds like a lot of trouble and expense.

@Laurie **************

Thanks. That is good to hear.

Even if you are fit accidents do happen here. I originally came here on an OA in 2017. I got Pacific Cross insurance. I’ve never made a claim with them so I can’t say anything about that. I am also using PC insurance for my LTR visa.

I also recommend you come here with an O visa. Insurance though is still a good idea.

I have a Thai insurance policy, Pacific Cross, and at one time they adjusted my coverage by a few months to synchronize my insurance with my OA visa. Pacific Cross also has yearly premiums. You should talk to your insurance company about your needs. You never know . . .

I now have a pensioner LTR.

@Andrew ******

When you buy an Elite visa you pay a fair amount of cash and it is gone. The pensioner LTR requires a passive income of $80,000/yr which admittedly is a high hurdle for most people. The LTR visa is 50,000 baht which is much cheaper than all categories of Elite visa. The LTR doe not require any money in the bank except . . . The LTR does require insurance or can be satisfied by $100,000 in a bank anywhere. Tax benefits - money brought into Thailand is not taxed.

I meet the LTR financial requirement with my work pension. There are some passive investments that qualify as well and you can use Social Security as well.

Since I was using passive income to qualify for the LTR it was incredibly easy to apply myself online. If you are using passive investment income then the process may be more difficult.

There are other LTR categories that require investments.

In my opinion, the Elite only makes sense for people under 50 years old that have fewer options. The DTV satisfied the needs for many people under 50 years old.

@Susan ********

in my opinion the Elite visas, if you can afford it, best serve those under 50 years old. The typical retirement visa is the O visa.

I have a 10 year pensioner LTR visa which is another little known option.