BritTim

That can be a good argument for getting the 20-year Elite membership. It protects you against the almost certain changes to the requirements over time for retirement extensions.

It depends. If you are a digital nomad, with only foreign clients, there is no issue working on an Elite visa.

If you are vaccinated, you can still get Covid (but it is less likely) and can still pass Covid on (but it is less likely) and can still get seriously ill and die from Covid (but it is FAR less likely). You use the same arguments as those who defend their heavy smoking habit by saying non smokers can still get lung cancer, heart disease and strokes (among other conditions) so why give up smoking? You can always be unlucky, whatever measures you take to protect yourself. That does not mean there is no point in taking sensible precautions.

That is reasonable, but only if you read the follow up reports on which of the potentially adverse reactions were (after careful investigation) caused by vaccines. When looking at databases that record every medical event that occurs following a medical procedure or treatment, unless you are a professional familiar with the characteristics of such databases, it is very easy to be misled. Look up death from all causes by those vaccinated and unvaccinated. Although correlation does not always imply causation, it is nevertheless an eye catching result that you are considerably less likely to die from all causes if vaccinated. The reasons are not fully understood, but one likely factor is that even asymptomatic Covid infections cause damage that can make you more vulnerable to other medical issues. The Database of Adverse Event Notifications is a useful resource, but only if you understand the concept of dependent versus independent events, and read the results of the individual follow-up investigations.

It has, indeed, always been better to pay in US$. I think I recall that the price of the Lao visa in US$ is now $40 for most nationalities.

There are certainly those who cannot be vaccinated because of their medical status. In virtually every such case, it would be folly for such persons to travel because of their medical status. To be honest, while I consider those who are unvaccinated by choice to be misguided, there is less reason for them to be discriminated against on entry than during delta and earlier waves. New variants will almost certainly arrive in Thailand through the vaccinated even if unvaccinated are excluded. Vaccination provides only limited protection against infection with recent variants. Sure, the unvaccinated are more likely to become seriously ill, but that is not a major overall public health consideration. Those who smoke tobacco are more likely to suffer strokes and heart attacks, but we do not exclude them from Thailand on that basis.

Unlimited double (sometimes triple) entry tourist visas were at one time easily available just for the asking at most embassies/consulates near Thailand. Indeed, I can remember when a few consulates would give you a one-year multiple entry Non O visa to visit Thai friends, based on nothing but a verbal statement on your part. The idea of an airport immigration official telling you "you have been here too long" and refusing to honour your tourist visa was unthinkable. Now, staying indefinitely on tourist entries might still be possible, but it requires considerable skill and luck to thread the needle. I doubt retirement Non O visas and extensions will be eliminated but, especially if tourism returns to pre Covid levels and the economic benefits of elderly expats becomes less important, it is likely that requirements for retirement visas and extensions will be increased. With luck, those already here will have their current requirements grandfathered, with increased requirements only for new applicants, but anything is possible.

Almost everything goes up if you buy and sell at the right time. There are plenty of people who end up forced into bankruptcy by misjudged real estate decisions.

I cannot see how (at least for nationalities that cannot get income letters from their embassies) any other solution than transferring $80,000 a year to Thailand could provide the necessary evidence. They are not just going to take your word for it.

I wonder if there will be any agents who can inveigle this visa without meeting all the requirements.

On accommodation, requirements vary depending on the immigration office you use. In Bangkok, they will accept the explanation that you are newly arrived, and still looking for a permanent address. In other provinces, you may find a helpful hotel manager who will agree a six month rental agreement with a handy cancellation clause.

Someone on here wrote that you cannot go from a Non Immigrant permission to stay to a Non Immigrant visa in country (specifically from an entry on a Non O-A visa to a 90-day Non O visa at immigration). This is simply not allowed. Converting from a tourist entry (including a visa exempt entry) is allowed in many cases, and intervening Covid extensions does not affect such a right. You can also change the reason for your permission to stay on a Non Immigrant entry. For instance, those on an entry from a Non O-A visa can change the reason for their permission to stay from retirement to staying with Thai spouse (in which case, the insurance problem goes away).

There are a handful of agents who can do it by sending your passport out and back into Thailand without you accompanying it. Possibly there may be agents who get the immigration database doctored to make in seem as though a border bounce has taken place without physical movement of your passport. Either way, it is expensive, and I seriously advise you not to do this. It is quite impossible without at least your passport doing a border bounce (or seeming to do it). No agent can get around that.

Many embassies have required flight bookings into and out of Thailand for a long time. It is not purely an artefact of the eVisa system. Requiring evidence of a flight into Thailand has always seemed particularly nonsensical to me. Who spends money paying for a visa with no intention of travelling there? If some nutcase wants to do so, why should the embassy particularly care?

What is your nationality? If you cannot get an embassy letter confirming your income, it seems very difficult to use the combination method to apply for a Non O visa for retirement at Immigration. The policy at your local office is typical.

The US is not unique. In most first world countries, a visa (in addition to being a requirement for entry) is also your permission to stay. By convention, it is placed in your passport, but is effectively an independent document.

So, what is the courier fee used for? Do the VFS instructions to the Indian manufacturers of UK passports have to be sent to India individually for each applicant? Further, is it really ethical for these Indian manufacturers of UK passports to pretend to be calling from the UK Passport Office when they contact me because of a problem with the application? On the plus side, their English was totally fluent, without a hint of an Indian accent.

I believe the US embassy in Bangkok will know the answer to your question, and would suggest talking with them. There is no harm, of course, in seeing whether anyone else here has been through the process of registering a US marriage.

Who was suggesting trying to get a one-year visa? I thought the visa option being discussed in this thread was for a single entry Non O through the eVisa system. The choice was between a re-entry permit and new visa. After that, the idea is to continue with annual extensions.

If it was "many years ago" as you stated, opening a personal bank account at the major banks was a breeze. I opened several very easily with just the minimum deposit. The only time you were typically refused was by the smaller banks, or if there was a language problem. It is now much more difficult. If they see you are a US citizen, it can be even harder. The banks hate the reporting requirements they must satisfy.

Bear in mind, if you decide to get an extension when you return, that November 12 is a Saturday. If not of a nervous disposition, this can work in your favor. You are allowed to apply for the extension without penalty on the first working day that follows the weekend (in this case, Monday November 14). If, as @ubonjoe suggests, you plan on requesting the 60-day extension, make sure you are entitled to one. If you ever used a 60-day extension since your most recent entry that did not use a re-entry permit, then you cannot get another one. That can then, possibly, tip the balance in favor of a fresh Non O visa rather than a re-entry permit. I would personally go for the 90-days on a fresh visa anyway. That would ensure you have the 60-day extension in your pocket for any possible future need. It can be very useful. One possible disadvantage of the new visa through the eVisa system is (IMHO unlikely in the UK) a chance of the visa application being rejected. As far as I can see, the document requirements are not onerous.

If you are on a regular tourist visa, or a standard visa exempt, your nationality should not matter. You cannot do it if on a visa-on-arrival, transit visa or special tourist visa. You probably cannot do it if on a visa exempt entry based on bilateral agreement.

These days, you get a Non O visa in the UK through the eVisa system. It does not involve travelling to the embassy, or sending anything there by post. Unless there is a problem meeting the requirements for the visa, I would normally suggest just starting again. The main exception is if you are working in Thailand, and want to maintain a continuous record with the hope of applying for Thai citizenship.