oceanbreeze851

      Good morning from the USA. I am having a hard time understanding the different visas and the process to obtaining and keeping once in Thailand. Background: I am a 67 y/o male married to a my Thai wife who is a USA citizen. We will be relocating to Sattahip, Thailand in the March, April 2020 time frame. We still need to sell our home in Texas. I will either process my visa via mail or walk-in at the embassy in Washington D.C.. When I apply, I will have over $50,000 in my Charles Schwab account. I will also have my Social Security payment and my military retirement money sent to account. As retired USAF, I will have Tricare overseas for insurance for my wife and myself. 

      Now for my questions. What visa should I get (reading the embassy website is confusing)? I would like a multiple entry visa as I have family in USA and my mother is 95 y/o.  When in Thailand, what extension should I get, retirement or marriage? I would like everything to be smooth but I realize we are speaking about Thailand so things change.

I live in the USA now and for the next 6 months. I started medicare at 65 and my tricare prime was changed to tricare for life. Medicare part A is what you have been paying into for your whole working life. It is deducted from your paycheck just like social security and income tax. Part B is what you will pay monthly at $135. It covers office visits and out of hospital procedures. Supplements C, D, E, F all add to the coverage in different way at a cost. With tricare for life, I do not need any supplements but I need to continue paying for part B even when I am out of the country. The good thing about tricare for life is that it can change to tricare overseas which will pay at a 80/20 split. When I return to USA for visits it will return tricare for life.

In about 6 months, my Thai wife and I will be moving to Thailand. I will obtain a marriage visa before leaving the USA. The wife wants to move to Sattahip but I want to travel around Thailand before settling down in on place. My wife's family lives in Khorat and we do not want to live there. I have read a lot about Hua Hin and I would live to visit Chang Mai again. With everything I have read about TM30, how restricted is travel in Thailand for foreigners?

I still plan on moving to Thailand in about 6-9 months. Waiting for my stepson's US citizenship. I have Tricare-For-Life and I think it will satisfy the insurance problem. I pay $1400 for my mortgage and I am sure we can find housing for less than 43,000 baht. Right now my Thai wife is not planning on working but we may change that based on need. I will have about 110,000 baht a month coming in and plan on living on 90,000 baht a month. 

Thank you for starting this topic. I have been to Thailand many times but we have not moved to Thailand. We plan on moving next year. I have started my Charles Swab checking account and I will transfer my 401K to the brokerage account next year. My US address will be with my sister in Florida. I have not checked with Charles Swab about wire transfers but I can use my debit card with free atm fees. I will look at

Aspiration.com. Maybe transfer money from Charles Swab to Aspiration and then transfer to a bank in Thailand. I plan to get my marriage visa before leaving the USA and then deposit 400,000 baht to a bank when I meet the requirements needed to open said bank account. I will also look at USAA, Penfed, Navy FCU as I am retired military for funds transfer. Also, I have used XE Money Transfer in the past.  You fill out the request online, provide the starting bank account and ending bank account number and swift number. You have to call the company to verify you know where the money is going. This whole process takes about a week for the money to be removed from 1 account and to be deposited to the account in Thailand. The total cost is less than 1 baht per dollar sent. You can specify the starting dollar amount or the specific receiving baht amount. 

When he gets to Thailand, use his Thai passport to enter Thailand. When he leaves Thailand, use his USA passport. We went through the draft process and ended paying $2000 tea money to get him disqualified for the draft. 

Legally you can take out of the country $10k per person. There is an agreement that any money in a foreign account over $10k will be reported to the IRS and it needs to be report on income tax (interest).

I agree, enter with Thai passport. I want to complete the Thai visa as easy as possible. I know our marriage will need to be registered in Thailand. With the recent change to the verification of funds, I would rather not put the money in a Thai account because of it being reported to the IRS. The old verification letter from the embassy was much better.

I am a 66 y/o male collecting social security and 1/2 military pension. I am married to a Thai national who will have her US citizenship when we return to Thailand. We plan to travel both around Thailand and around the world so I will need a multi-entry visa. Should I procure a retirement visa or a marriage visa? I know the different monetary requirements. I would not like to trap my money in the Thai bank for a long term but I plan to have a house built after we find land and I will have money available from the sale of our house in the U.S. Which is easier? We plan on leaving the U.S. in Jun 2020. Can a visa be completed in the U.S. before leaving or does it have to be done after we get to Thailand? I have my social security and military retirement going in my Charles Swabb checking account? I can withdraw $700 a day and I am reimbursed all bank transaction fees monthly.  Would it better to start with a retirement visa then switch to marriage visa the next year? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.