Further to the instructions in the forum:

US citizen, will be 62 in April, retiring at that time. I have been in Thailand for 4 years as staff of an international organization.

I am seeking basic but definitive information on obtainment of a retirement visa, beginning with the basic steps and documents. I've been searching for a while, but many of the searches lead to horror stories or solicitations from "facilitators".

I have some specific questions:

1. Can I apply for the retirement visa while I'm still in Thailand, or do I have to go back to the US first?

2. I have two bank accounts at the Siam Commercial Bank, one is a US dollar account and the other is a Thai baht account. I move money between them (mostly from dollars to baht). The combined balance is always in excess of 1 million baht, though the bulk of it is usually in the dollar account. I have several passbooks dating back for four years that are filled with transactions. Will this suffice to meet the financial deposit criterion?

3. I have two vehicles in my name with up-to-date tabiyan rots. I have two driver's licenses (car and motorcycle) in the current trans-ASEAN format. Are these necessary or relevant for proof of identity?

4. What is the best way (and place) to start this process?

If I've missed the FAQ on this, I apologize.

There is no such thing as a Retirement Visa.

You can apply for a 12 month extension of stay at Immigration if you have 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank for a period of 2 months before application OR 65,000 Monthly income, OR a combination of the two.

They may or may not accept the Dollar account.

You do not say what you have at the moment but providing they accept the dollar acc. it should be pretty straight forward.

As proof of funds you need a letter from your bank and an up to date bank book.

If using the income method you need a letter from your Embassy verifying your income if from abroad.

From the Police Report that deals with extensions of stay.

2.22 In the case of a retiree: Permission will be granted for a period of not more

than 1 year at a time.

1) The alien has obtained a temporary visa (NON-IM);

(2) The applicant is 50 years of age or over;

(3) Proof of income of not less than Baht 65,000 per month; or

(4) Account deposit with a bank in Thailand of not less than

800,000 Baht as shown in the bank account for the past 3 months at the filing date of the application. For the first year, the applicant should have that amount in his bank account for not less than 60 days or

(5) Annual income plus bank account deposit totaling not less

than Baht 800,000 as of the filing date of application

I got my retirement extension in Bangkok in Oct 09, using my GBP fixed interest account, which is with Bangkok Bank.

3. I have two vehicles in my name with up-to-date tabiyan rots. I have two driver's licenses (car and motorcycle) in the current trans-ASEAN format. Are these necessary or relevant for proof of identity?

Not relevant.

4. What is the best way (and place) to start this process?

Go and see your friendly and designated Immigration Officer.

4. What is the best way (and place) to start this process?

Go and see your friendly and designated Immigration Officer.

What is a "designated Immigration Officer" and how do I find a friendly one?

There is a list of all the Immigration offices here

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Immigration-...-Des-t3139.html

Just choose the one closest to where you live.

IME they are all friendly if treated with respect.