DrJack54

Certainly a will is a good idea. Also it's possible if married to have your wife as a silent signatory on the account. A will does not guarantee instant access to funds. In some cases that's necessary.

The OP mentioned "other half" . Did not specifically state wife. I mentioned that in my first post and OP did not clarify.

If living in Thailand why would tm30 be an issue. Basically not required unless you change address. 90 day reports take one minute on your phone.

The red stamp is just a VOID stamped on the sticker they place in your pp. It does not stop entry into the country visa exempt. You stated.... "To answer the question about age, I am 65 years old. I am trying to amass the funds needed for a longer term deal but still short of the amount needed to transition to another category of visa."... At 65 without funds to obtain a non O and subsequent extension then living in Thailand will be a tough gig. In your shoes I would ditch the idea of tourist visas etc. Enter Thailand visa exempt and use agent to obtain non O retirement and extension. Approx 30k or less. Ongoing extensions 15k. First step is to have a Thai bank account in your name only.

OP, you have available 2 visa exempt entries via land borders available. You can apply for a tourist visa at eg Savannakhet. If rejected you can still enter at border crossing visa exempt and be given 30 day stamp. You can then obtain a 30 day extension. Given your history your options are closing. How long do you hope to remain in Thailand? That question is about options. Clearly you are not 50+ as non O has not been mentioned.

This is a question for your particular immigration office. Some may accept joint account with double the money in bank for extension marriage. Some might for retirement. Personally doubt many/if any would allow that. OP, if by "other half" you mean wife....then be aware that it's possible to have her as a signatory on your account. In that situation she has access to the account but immigration are unaware of that.

Sriracha immigration office and Pattaya immigration office have geographical area (borders) If you live in Pattaya you cannot use Sriracha immigration office.

"Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do"

Given that you are flying back to passport country and your boarding pass indicates your destination think no issue at departure. Also no issue on arrival as you are Belgium citizen. If you had been asking about possibility of weekend trip to Saigon that would be a No. You mention "limit the risk" You could consider a trip to your immigration office for advice asap. After thought: Given that airline may also have a concern ....a trip to airport to check with airline and hopefully get to ask immigration at airport would give good peace of mind. Aside: Some countries are playing games with "condition of passport" in recent times Bali being a shocker..

I second that. As you pointed out for a 4 month stay many options. Regards immigration if the OP is dealing with Bangkok and entered visa exempt he would deal with Laksi immigration and that is handy to Red BTS line and it's possible to make an appointment. Which works very well.

Not required. Assume you mean visit another province and return back to your place of residence. Also not required for trips out of Thailand and back.

OP, being USA citizen you can enter visa exempt an stamped in for 30 days. Each entry visa exempt or tourist visa you can obtain 30 day extension. Cost 1900baht So 4 months stay is easy. 1. Enter visa exempt + extension. Do a border run for another visa exempt + extension. 2. Obtain tourist eVisa and stamped in for 60 days. Do a border run for visa exempt entry + extension. Both of which give 4 months. METV is overkill. From that visa you can obtain 9 months. Note: for the border bounce consider flight to Saigon and stay few nights. Ripper joint. eVisa for USA citizen $25 usd.

That is correct. Obviously you need to obtain the extension first then go and get another queue ticket for reentry permit desk. That's the system at CW.

For how long. Your previous 2 posts don't make much sense to me. Leave country for how long while under consideration period. Also would require reentry permit. The final stamp is a definite issue if travel is necessary.

Regards financial requirements the difference is not just just 400k vs 800k... It's ongoing requirements till the next extension. Very simplistic post.

You have annual extensions from a non O based on retirement. You do not have a valid visa. You state "many years" ... Surely you would be aware that to exit Thailand with a permission of stay (it's not a visa) you would need a reentry permit to protect that permission of stay and enable you to reenter. You can obtain reentry permit at immigration office or airport. TM8 form with photo and basic pp pages photocopies. 1000baht for single reentry permit. I assume it is your intention to apply for a new 12 month extension after you return.

Say what. Folk on extensions retirement using money in bank method does not mean that is the extent of their wealth. I find it an inconvenience having that amount of dead money. That does not mean it's prohibitive. BTW: Many don't have pensions. Too rich for that entitlement.

If I was married then 100% I would go for extensions based on marriage. 400k in bank for couple of months then can use it. ...sweet deal. I might even consider the ME Non O 12 month visa from places such a as Savannakhet. Don't really understand why Thai immigration make the paperwork difficult for extensions marriage. Personally the home visit and under consideration period would do my head in. Edit: just occurred to me another advantage of extension marriage. So using myself as one example. Not married but same partner 10 yrs and wanting any funds in Thai bank to go easily to her. I obviously use extension retirement and keep approx 1 mill locked up. In event of death those funds not easily available to her. Marriage extension with funds in bank for couple of months solves the problem

Just picked out this one point. The FD account .... This is a good idea for anyone on extensions based on retirement. Foolishly I use a FD and a Savings a/c. Fit the FD io just gives a glance, however the savings a/c now asking for 12 month bank statements. Can understand why you changed. If dosh is not an issue.

Anyone living in Thailand on extensions based on retirement are prohibited from working. That means by your definition .. "I understand retirement to mean you no longer work." That they are retired. Q.E.D Simple.

It's embarrassing that you picked out my last sentence skipping over the previous one ..which was .. "If the financial requirements were the same for marriage and retirement NO ONE would extend based on marriage from a non O". Sad you pick out my post from page 1 and take one sentence out of context. ON Ignore.

Not at all... It's based on MANY folk that had a non O-A and switch to based on marriage extensions to avoid insurance requirements. Not a difficult concept to understand.

No. You don't understand Thai meaning of "retirement" for immigration purposes. It's as simple as age 50+. Not a difficult concept.

It is clear. A credit card, bank book etc would not be accepted. In any event the OP will not require funds.

At departure airline may wish to see onward/return flight. On arrival just your passport. You will given a 30 day stamp. As for funds with you that will not be asked for on arrival. Some will suggest 20k baht or equivalent currency. It won't be asked for.