I went to Soi Suanphlu this morning with what I thought was everything required to convert a tourist visa to an O for retirement only to be told that they will NOT accept a Stat Dec from the NZ embassy.

I now have to provide bank statements for my NZ accounts and details of any interest on term deposits I will get in the coming year.

Once I have answers to all the emails I have just sent out it will be back to BKK again.

Is this your first retirement visa? If so, some other OZ friends of mine hit the same wall. You might consider putting the 800,000 baht in a Thai bank (it must be seasoned for a few months) or see a local attorney. Good luck, and don't forget the stringent retirement laws in New Zealand. The bar is very high.

Actually he does do not need to change to 800k or see any attorney. Letter from Embassy is accepted but supporting documents should always be available if asked. In this case the applicant was asked but did not have them available so must return with them later. He will still obtain the extension of stay without paying any lawyer as long as he has some paperwork to support his income deceleration.