I'll be moving to Thailand in early 2008 and was curious how ex pats that are too young to acquire a retirement visa are living in Thailand legally. I was planning on teaching English for extra income and the work permit. Now I'm leaning towards not working for at least a year. Following the break I'll either teach English or work remotely for a US based company. The industry I'm in doesn't require a US office. All I need is an Internet connection and a renewed desire to jump back in the rat race.

I'm concerned about the first year or two that I won't have a work permit or verifiable income. I have little investment income. Most of my investment gains are unrealized, because I hold stock for the long-term.

My situation

age: 40

Citizenship: US

Thai wife/ US marriage license - just had our 5 year anniversary

Savings: 16,000,000 bt ( I don't think this helps in regards to visa issues)

This topic should be moved to the visa section.But why you do not consider the 1 million baht special what was its name card.You certainly will apply for that cause the money you have on your bank account is much much higher then the average farang living as an expat.

Non-Imm-O ... you may have to set up a payment schedue from the US of 40k baht a month.

a consult with SunbeltAsia might be in order

yeah, it seems pretty straightforward to me. Your marriage would qualify you for a non-immi O visa based on a legal marriage to a Thai national. All you would need is to demonstrate that you have the equivalent of 40,000 a month income which you can easily do.

Not an issue.