I'm a 54 year old UK resident and intend retiring to Thailand but am unsure of what type of visa to apply for and when. I do not have a monthly income to show the authorities but do have a cash sum of 200,000 in a UK bank account.
Question: Is it likely I will be granted a retirement visa and, if so, should I enter the country on a 3 month visa and apply for the RV when in Thailand or apply for an RV while in UK?

Thank you sincerely for any and all useful advice!

If the 200k is in pounds and you want to keep it in the UK you should apply for an O/A visa in the UK. It will require that you get a criminal backgroung check and medical certificate. Another benefit If you use this option you can gat almost 2 years permission to saty with the one year visa if used properly.

If you come here on a tourist visa, you can conbert it to a Non-O (required for retirement extension) and then extend that for 1 year for retirement purposes. You would have to transfer at least 800k baht to a Thai bank. The money must be here for the conversion and must be seasoned for 2 months for the extension.

You used to be able to get a single entry Non-O at one of the honorary consulates in the UK but I don't know if that option is still available.

Theconversion here costs 2000 baht and the extension 1900 baht

You have a the choice of a applying of OA visa at the embassy in London or an extension of stay here at immigration.

A OA visa is a multiple entry visa that gives one year entries for one year from its date of issue. You can get almost 2 years of total stay from it. Requirements are here: http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/51

For an extension of stay you would need 800k baht in a Thai bank for 60 days. If you want to go the one year extension of stay route you should contact one the consulates in UK about getting single entry non-o visa. You would have to apply for the visa in person. Contact info here: http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/179

If you don't get the non-o visa you could get a tourist visa before traveling and then do a change to a non immigrant visa entry at immigration in Bangkok. You would need the 800k baht in the bank when you apply for the change of visa status.

I don't mean to assume anything, but assuming you really don't have the monthly income, then 200k pounds ~ 300K USD is not much for a long term retirement. You can read the stories about people that scrape by on $1,000 USD a month, but they aren't doing very much. 2k or 3k can make for a much fuller life. Maybe you will have more retirement income in a few years. If so, budget wisely. Maybe you have income but you just can't "show" it. Either way, take care and I hope you make it. Nothing wrong with trying to retire early if you can.

sounds like you took advantage of the new pension rules and converted it into cash, you have about 12 years until your state pension kicks in which gives you 16k GBP a year until the pot runs dry, not impossible and you may have other money coming your direction over time

You would be in a better position if interest rates in the UK started to rise which they will eventually, some careful planning and you could be fine

As for the visa, if you are wanting to stay in Thailand for an extended period then I would get a Single Type O and get a years extension once in Thailand 30 days before the visa expires - you will need to open a bank account and transfer at least 800k baht on the first month of your stay for 2x months seasoning

This is all great advice and sincere thanks for your contributions. Currently all funds are in UK. I have accommodation paid for in Thailand.
SMEDLY, am I right in understanding you recommend obtaining a 90 day visa in UK then immediately opening a Thai bank account and transferring the B800,000 across. That will mean that after 90 days the money would have been there for 3 months and I can then apply for a RV or 1 year extension?

For the first extension the money only has t be there for 2 months, every other extension will be 3 months.

OP - a couple of useful links to assist you in meeting Thai Embassy requirements should you decide to go down the OA visa route:

Obtaining a subject access disclosure request for the police criminal check - http://www.acro.police.uk/subject_access.asp

Finding a local notary public to notarise application docs - http://www.thenotariessociety.org.uk/

Edited January 23, 201511 yr by OJAS