1 hour ago, evadgib said:

Thanks, but if I read the criteria correctly applicants also need Police clearance & GP cert. I'm not sure how easy that would be after a decade or two abroad & dropping off UK radar simply by not living there unless they have to.

Probably not hard.  Medical certificate - you may have to get it done privately if you lost your NHS.  Police clearance - if you have been there in a decade or so, you probably haven't committed any crimes. 

23 hours ago, GalaxyMan said:

Actually, I meant doing it right here in Thailand. I converted my original 90-day visa to a long-stay (retirement) visa without having to leave the country. I was only thinking about it to get around the stupid 'you have to prove you have enough money to be here, but you're not allowed to spend it' nonsense.

If if you were in the country on a non-Imm O entry, you could apply for an extension of stay (not a visa), but to get a non-Imm O-A long stay visa you'd have to apply in your home country or country of legal residence.

Can i hold money in home country bank to apply non-Imm O-A(Long Stay)? or money must be in the Thai bank?

1 minute ago, Dmitry2222 said:

Can i hold money in home country bank to apply non-Imm O-A(Long Stay)? or money must be in the Thai bank?

You can keep it in a bank in you home country.

Requirements here: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15385-Non-Immigrant-Visa-"O-A"-(Long-Stay).html

5 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

No, it will be quite simple.  No money in the bank at all.  When you go for an extension, you simply had over the 800K to the IO. 

And when you leave Thailand, they give you back 800,000 baht in cash at Swampy immigration ..... i can see that working!

On 5/8/2019 at 12:50 PM, ubonjoe said:

Not sure what you writing about doing.

You could go back to your home country and apply for a new OA long stay visa every year if you wanted to. But you can get a total stay of 2 years from a OA visa if used correctly.

As I return to my home country every year to visit friends and family this is my plan going forward. Especially after the mess of my recent retirement extension.