MPoll

I agree. Simple is nice. I had one work pension that qualified plus my Social Security. When I applied in October 2022 I submitted 1 year of my US tax return. They never asked for anything else about my finances. For insurance I submitted the same insurance certificate I used for my previous OA visa

I got it about the same time the US embassy stopped giving residency affidavits. I used the yellow book to purchase a motorbike. I use the pink ID as my ID often instead of my passport. I have a Thai driver's license but I usually show them the pink ID. I opened a bank account recently using my passport, yellow book, and pink ID. As an American I was expecting resistance but they were actually very welcoming and it took less than an hour to set up the new account. I can only speculate that having all three ID's helped smooth the way. I was recently inquiring about getting a tax ID but, as someone else mentioned, my tax ID is my pink ID. I saved some money and effort not getting a tax ID. Slightly off topic - I needed to get a login to my US Social Security account. There was an identification process and the pink ID turned out to be the only photo ID with my current address.

For me, in Sisaket province, it was a process that took about a day and half over 5 days (there was a weekend in between). I had to get my passport translated and at the same time I was asked about my family tree which was also documented and translated. I had to drive an hour to the Sisaket immigration office to get a document. After the weekend we had an appointment to talk with a local official. I needed my wife, mother-in-law, and the village headman to vouch for me. They then approved the yellow book and I went across the hall to get my pink card. Recently I was talking to my previous Bangkok condo landlord about renting the condo again. I mentioned getting a yellow book and she nodded yes as if it was an easy thing to do. It was a bigger process than either my wife or I expected.

Yes. I was on my 5th OA extension when I switched to my pensioner LTR in January 2023. You don’t have to wait until the end of the extension.

There are so few people with an LTR I don’t see them bothering about changing our tax exempt status.

The official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who has been interviewed a couple of times said you can’t return same day. Someone is just going to have to test the system. That person just has to plan on an overnight stay and if they can’t return the same day then they return the next day and then . . . the mystery is over.

There are many examples of remote workers getting a DTV. Examples of using a class (soft power) or a medical appointment are few. I posted to point out that you don’t have to be getting brain surgery to use medical treatment to qualify for a DTV. A few dental appointments worked for in this particular instance.

There is a post on the Thai visa advice Facebook group of a guy who got his DTV using dentist appointments to get Invisalign teeth straightening. The bar for a medical DTV is pretty low at the UK Thai consulate.

I remember looking into this years ago. I figured it would be more time and trouble traveling to Bumrungrad 2 times than it would be traveling 1 time to CW.

I have a 10 year pensioner LTR visa. My passport was to expire 2 years later. They gave me the LTR visa but only stamped me in until the expiration date of my passport. When I got my new passport I went in to the BOI office and Immigration and they transferred my visa to my new passport and stamped me in for 5 years after the issuance of the LTR. I don’t have to carry my old passport. Immigration transfers visas to new passports every day. You have nothing to worry about.

In the podcast interview he specifically said that you don’t need a 6 month course and casually mentioned that 2-4 weeks would qualify. I would think it will depend on each consulate.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deeper-dive-thailand/id1656654945 Or access through whatever podcast app you use

I hope this hasn't been mentioned before but I just listened to a Bangkok Post interview with Naruchai Ninnad and it appears to clarify some of the questions that have remained after the RW4U YouTube interview. It is a 45 minute interview. It is a podcast. Richard Barrow posted about this on his Facebook page today (Aug 5) but to listen to the whole 45 minutes you have to listen to the podcast which I found by searching for "Deeper Dive Thailand".

Here is some clarification about the 180 day from an official in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

You can do what you are supposed to do or do whatever you want. Just be prepared to pay the fine if you get caught. They will be looking at your passport when you go for an extension.