"Could also be that the individual amount of pension received by some folks is under the Thai personl tax threshhold."
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if lower tax limit is 150K baht a year then to qualify for a retirement visa you would have to bring in more than that on an annual basis.
But it could get even more complicated, say you transfer 800k for the visa application, which is taxed in HK at 15%, will they want to tax it again at the differential rate? Will they be purely looking at "transfer in" values to determine tax liabilities.
What if you transferred in 15m Baht to buy property and those funds were taxed in HK at 15%, will they want to tax you at the differential rate if you are living here over 180 days? Again, Will they be purely looking at "transfer in" values to determine tax liabilities. That could kill the property market.
One of the issues in Thailand is that there is never clarity in the law or its application.