13 hours ago, sidneybear said:

Multiply all that O visa uncertainty and hassle twenty times over twenty years though. The carefree elite visa is still a good option for those who can afford it.

 

Strong point....  the Elite Visa is possibly the most convenient of them all.... 

However, its a fair old chunk of change. 1MB for lifetime seemed at good deal at the time (early 30's).

 

That said, the Non-Imm visa's as 'resident' visa's are more powerful (if that makes sense).

Example - under Thailands Emergency Degree (covid), I could not re-enter with the Thai Elite Visa and had to obtain a Non-Imm O Visa (based on Marriage) before entering... this was Aug 2020 as soon as the borders partially re-opened for non-Thai's (under certain conditions). 

 

 

20 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

The OP never mentioned PE visa.

Living in Thailand he would be well aware of that option.

That's an assumption, so it's always good to make sure that people are aware of all the available options. O visas plus re-entry permits (if extended) are more hassle than the elite visa, plus O visa rules can change each year. It all depends how much spare cash the OP has, and how much he values forgetting about visas for the next 20 years.

13 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

That said, the Non-Imm visa's as 'resident' visa's are more powerful (if that makes sense).

Example - under Thailands Emergency Degree (covid), I could not re-enter with the Thai Elite Visa and had to obtain a Non-Imm O Visa (based on Marriage) before entering... this was Aug 2020 as soon as the borders partially re-opened for non-Thai's (under certain conditions)

That's an interesting point. Hopefully.... there will not be another covid in our lifetime.