Been living in Thailand for over 5 years getting annual renewals of my retirement visa without any problems...had to recently leave the country due to illness and returned to USA. my annual renewal for the Thai visa comes up in June and i will not likely be able to retun until later in the year. i would like to not miss getting the continuious renewals....is it or would it be possible to that renewal at the Thai Embassy in Washington DC. always have met all the requirements and still maintain a residence there and all proper accounts...anyone know if i can and the pitfalls of losing the continuous renewals...thanks

No, you cannot do that outside Thailand.

You will have to start over. There are no major pitfalls except for the hassle, except for people who are grandfathered using OLD, lower financial requirements. Starting over will mean grandfathering is wiped out. Also, if they increased the financial requirements during your limbo period, you would be subject to the new ones.

You can't get your annual extension of stay outside the country, extensions are only available from immigration inside Thailand. You will have to start over again with a non-immigrant visa.

You can also start over with a tourist visa or even a 30 day stamp. You can do the "two step" process in Thailand, apply for a non-immigrant visa and a retirement extension at the same time assuming you have your qualifications in order. A tourist visa is better, because you need at least 21 days left on your current permission to stay to begin the two step process. Washington DC embassy will not give you a single entry O visa based on retirement, they will force you to apply for an O-A which is much more hassle. Unless you really want an O-A, I would suggest getting a tourist visa and doing the two step back in Thailand.

OK, I just thought of a pitfall. If you apply for a tourist visa at the DC embassy they will most probably ask for your air travel proof and then will expect to see a RT ticket. Perhaps they would accept a throwaway ticket to Malaysia before 60 days in Thailand, maybe not. Another good reason to go for a tourist visa vs. the 30 day stamp if you are going to do the two step process, having any kind of visa will make it easier to board the plane to Thailand from the US if you don't have a RT ticket.