I think you can get a retirement visa, marry her, she can get on with your retirement visa.. That or border bounce.

@Jeffrey ********

I just got a new US passport. Takes about 2 weeks. The passport is 52 pages. I hadn't realized that was 'extra pages' it doesn't feel that way. It's pretty easy process. One oddity is that you have to use 3 websites

1) The actually application

2) Pay for the passport (some other US government website)

3) Pay for postage for the return of your passport. That site is in Thai. You can use google translate but I would recommend getting help from a Thai friend who "understands" the language.

You'rem nationality effects your visa options.

For me (and most other western nationalities)

4 months = 1 METV or 1 SETV + 1 border bounce

I came when I was 40. I have been here 9 years I will be eligible for the retirement visa in a few months (yippie).

Basically to stay in Thailand long term you will need to

- get rich

- get married

- get a job

- get a kid

- be a volunteer

They've recently expanded the 'get a job' category to include technical people. I almost fit into the SMART category except the company work for is not publicly traded and it's unlikely they'll provide all the paperwork the Thai government requires.

So far I have had a few marriage visas (same wife 1.5 years), volunteer visa (1 year), work visa (1 year), a few covid extensions. The rest of the time (5.5 years) has been tourist visas.

You can only do two land border bounces per calendar year, but you can do as many by air as you like.

An immigration officer once told me an ED visa looks suspicious for a person 40+.. I think its a culture thing.

If I were in your shoes I would look at spending my time in Indonesia (Bali) and my time in Thailand. I am fond of Bali, but you may like any other city.

@Matt *******

Technically you can get as many as you want. Some claim there is a limit, that really depends on the embassy that you use. I would definitely shop embassy (get a visa from one, then another etc). The METV is your best bet. They are valid for 6 months, but if you stamp-in on the last day of it's validity, it can be extended 3 more months giving you a total of 9 months.

When I was shopping for METV from Australia I found Brisbane and Melbourne were the friendliest embassies.. I think post covid Brisbane Thai Embassy is gone, not sure about Brisbane. Point is, different embassies have different policies.

If you are showing that you leave Thailand every so often, the Thai authorities won't care too much about you coming. They are more concerned about people who don't ever leave.

You're first long trip here will be the most confusing.. After you experience how things work, the visa process will make more sense... Thai authorities are goofy.

@Matt *******

I have done back-to-back tourist visa for several years. In the past nine years I would estimate 60% of those are tourist visas. Many people in group say it's not possible but it seems to work for me.

@Matt *******

If you are 50+ you can get a retirement visa. Otherwise habitual tourist visas. You can get multiple entry for either, this will save you a little hassle and a few dollars.

I pay 3500 for a visa run from Pattaya. I don't recall the name of the visa service, maybe First Class Visa (not sure). They operate out of the Victorian on Soi 6 Pattaya Beach Road. I don't know if you're in/near Pattaya.

Someone in this group will have a recommendation for whatever area you're in. Time/Distance will effect the cost.

I got a mail box service in the US and pretend my legal home is the mailbox. So far it seems to work well, usually.

If you want to sleep in the temple and eat only rice you can probably get by on a dollar a day. If you want to live in a high rise building an drive luxury cars it will cost considerable more.

Recently someone asked a similar question.. If 2000thb/day is a enough to get by. That seemed like a pretty good number.

I transfer 65,000 every month, of that, 20,000 for rent, 5000 for bills, leaves 1300thb/day. That's enough to get by but not enough for the incidentals, traveling for visa runs, travelling for recreation, lost cell phone, etc.

Bahtsold.com is a pretty good site to find rentals, to give you an idea about what you can rent.