Hello,We arrive in Thailand in December on tourist visas and wish to change to long stay 1 year visas,

what is the best way of doing this?

We are both over 50.

Thanks.

There is an infinite number of posting about this, you can search "retirement extension".

Simply go to immigration shortly after arriving and apply for a non-immO visa based on retirement. Meet the qualifications for a retirement visa and the non-immO given to you is good for 90 days. Shortly before the end of the 90 days apply for the one year extension of your non-immO based on retirement using the same documents you used to get the non-immO and your done.

Will do.

Thanks.

Simply go to immigration shortly after arriving and apply for a non-immO visa based on retirement. Meet the qualifications for a retirement visa and the non-immO given to you is good for 90 days. Shortly before the end of the 90 days apply for the one year extension of your non-immO based on retirement using the same documents you used to get the non-immO and your done.

"Shortly before the end of the 90 days apply for the one year extension of your non-immO based on retirement"

Some office will allow applicants to do both the transfer from a tourist visa to a non-imm O entry stamp and the extension of stay based on retirement at the same time. Some offices will not do the change from tourist visa to non-imm O entry at all, but will send you to Bangkok to do that ... assuming you're not in Bangkok.

"apply for the one year extension of your non-immO based on retirement "

Not an extension of the non-imm O,which is a visa, but an application for an extension of stay, which is not a visa. Visas are never extended. Permissions to stay in the country may be extended. Once you get your extension of stay, since is not a visa, if you wish to go out of the country and return, you will also need to get a re-entry permit.

If you are both over 50 you should apply for single entry Non-O visas instead of tourist visas. You must have a Non-O to extend for retirement purposes and it will make the process easier once here. If you both apply for retirement extensions you both must meet the financial requirements, either 800k in a Thai baht, 65k/month income from outside of Thailand or a combination of both. The most economical thing would be for one of you to apply for an retirement extension and the other to apply for a dependant extension if you are married.

As said this information has been restated over and over again in many threads, but trying to find info that fits your situation is somethings like trying to find a needle in a pile of pig shit. And that's what forums are for to ASK QUESTIONS! Good luck!

THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATED INFO

I will be turning 50 in November and will be moving from the tourist visa to the Non O . Si Racha immigration told me I had to do this 15 days before my Tourist visa expires. I will turn 50 and have about 4 days left on visa. I will still try to get Non O but may have to go to Jomtein.

Any feed back welcome.

You could get a 30 day extension for your 60 day tourist visa entry in order to have the 15 days needed. You could probably do the extension and the change of visa status during the same trip to immigration.

Not sure that Jomtien would do it with only 4 days remaining and you must have a local address to do it there.