It is a fact that some people make poor choices in life, have difficulties and illnesses limiting their income, have other financial issues, but have the fortune or misfortune of wanting to marry a Thai person. Personally I think being married to a Thai gives somebody more commitment to the country than people who come on retirement visas. We have Thai families and networks, are more likely to be able to speak Thai and see a lot more of Thai culture than people. I doubt many retirees go to the Temples for tom boon. I think it is more p- poor that you come to a country, have no connection to it except spending money and criticize people who have made a commitment to leave their home country because of love, but sadly do not have the cash to leave 400, 000 in a bank account in Thailand for 3 months. I think it is also partly a policy of immigration to prevent 1000's of angry Thai wives bashing down their doors because their husband has been forced to leave the country because he does not have the cash. Personally my wife has more money than me and does not need me to provide over 30,000 a month to support her in a country where the average monthly wage is well under 20,000 and you can rent a room for a few 1000b a month. Ps. Thank you for all your advice in the past.