@Mario ********

See the answer from Dorothy

@Dorothy *****

Yes I did the tourist visa... I was addressing your inquiry about long-term visa.

@Stuart **********

Where did I say that I'm giving advice? The poster asked the question "did you wait until you got to Thailand" and my answer was yes I did. People can choose to do it any way they want specific to their situation.

I arrived into Thailand first, then got my retirement Visa. I didn't do anything ahead of getting here other than preparing my documents.

@Nick ***********

What would make the difference between me doing it and my agent doing it? Care to elaborate on what I'm missing?

@Nick ***********

It's great advice backed by experience...I use my agent for everything immigration related and it works perfectly.

@Todd *******

Lol...daunting? The time it took me to get accustomed to retirement was about 30 seconds! I do agree with you 100%... I keep my expat friends circle pretty small and tight. Why do I want to hang out with a lot of people that I used to live next door to who are always going to be complaining about 2 things: visas and landlords! I prefer to meet up with Thai people (females!) and learn more about the country.

The best start to the process is to get a consultation from a Visa agent. That way the agent can lay out a plan of action specific to your situation so you will know what to expect and prepare accordingly. No need to get frustrated when it can be outsourced to ensure a stress-free and time efficient process. Speaking from experience!

@Troels *****

My agent and her husband are friends. They live in the same building as me.

With such questions it sounds like a good time to get a Visa agent involved to lay out a course of action.