Plan to arrive back in Thailand early next year.

 

I already have the 800,000 baht funds in my Thai Bank account and also have my yellow house book.

 

Can I arrive on a 'tourist visa' then apply for the retirement visa in Thailand?

You can apply for a 90 day non-o visa at immigration with a tourist visa entry. 

Requirements are here: https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/8-1.pdf

The during the last 30 days of the 90 days you can apply for a one year extension of stay (it is not a visa) based upon retirement.

As said, apply for a Non Imm O Visa at Immigration then apply for a 12 month extension.

OP, you can do exactly the same re obtain non O retirement at thai imm if you enter visa exempt. 

39 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

You can apply for a 90 day non-o visa at immigration with a tourist visa entry. 

Requirements are here: https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/8-1.pdf

The during the last 30 days of the 90 days you can apply for a one year extension of stay (it is not a visa) based upon retirement.

If I arrive on a 60 day tourist visa can I wait 30 days then apply for non-o visa? Thanks for any advice.

5 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, you can do exactly the same re obtain non O retirement at thai imm if you enter visa exempt. 

Visa exemption is just arriving at airport with proof of funds, return ticket and you get a 30 day stamp to enter Thailand?

You got to give it to ubonjoe who never get tiered from patiently repeating the same advice over and over again, somebody give this guy a medal...

12 minutes ago, kiwitezza said:

If I arrive on a 60 day tourist visa can I wait 30 days then apply for non-o visa? Thanks for any advice.

You can apply at any time during the 60 day up to the last 15 days of it at most office. Some want at least 21 days remaining. If you needed more time you could apply for the 30 day extension of the 60 days and apply for it.

 

8 minutes ago, kiwitezza said:

Visa exemption is just arriving at airport with proof of funds, return ticket and you get a 30 day stamp to enter Thailand?

At this time you would get a 45 day permit to stay. You can also apply for a 30 day extension of it to get more time to apply for the visa.

19 minutes ago, kiwitezza said:

Visa exemption is just arriving at airport with proof of funds, return ticket and you get a 30 day stamp to enter Thailand?

It does not need to be a return ticket. Any onward flight would be acceptable. You can buy the cheapest throw away flight or "rent a flight" from net companies.

Works fine.

BTW it's not for immigration it's required by the flight carrier to obtain boarding pass.

11 hours ago, ezzra said:

You got to give it to ubonjoe who never get tiered from patiently repeating the same advice over and over again, somebody give this guy a medal...

Indeed!

It doesn't matter that the funds in the bank have already been in Thailand a while? I assumed (incorrectly perhaps) that the 800k funds had to be remitted from abroad fairly recently and proof of this was required. Please correct if wrong.

1 hour ago, dastott said:

It doesn't matter that the funds in the bank have already been in Thailand a while? I assumed (incorrectly perhaps) that the 800k funds had to be remitted from abroad fairly recently and proof of this was required. Please correct if wrong.

There is a requirement that the funds have been remitted from abroad. However, if the money has been in a Thai bank account continuously over a long period, most immigration offices will allow use of these seasoned funds without the proof that the money originated in the dim and distant past from abroad. What the regulations are trying to prevent is someone borrowing the funds from someone for about 48 hours just in order to get the visa.