Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing retiring in Thailand specifically Retirement Visa conversion. I want to be clear, we are talking about Retirement Visa conversion in the context of going from a B to an O Visa with work authorization, into retirement status. Analysis regarding conversion just generally, like coming in on a Tourist Visa and then converting to a Retirement Visa, that is not what we are discussing in this video. I am making another video contemporaneously with this one where I will discuss that at some length.  

With regard to Business Visa conversion into a Retirement Visa or I should say conversion from a Business Visa to a Retirement Visa or from an O Visa with workout authorization based on marriage to a Retirement Visa, I do know folks that like to do that because O Marriage Visas are so heavily scrutinized as we have discussed many, many times because they are constantly worried about sham marriages, this type of conversion is a very different animal than coming in on like a Tourist Visa and then trying to convert status partially because there's a number of different things - for example somebody may be on a Thai B Visa with a Work Permit here in Thailand, they may have Thai Social Security, they may have vested in Thai Social Security. That causes a different analysis for the conversion into retirement status. 

Meanwhile it's just kind of my observation that the Thai Immigration apparatus if you will, is more conducive to allowing a conversion over from a Work Visa to a Retirement Visa; they are more conducive to that than they would be from somebody who just hops into the country and wants to convert into status off of a Tourist Visa for example because that person has been working here. In a sort of a narrative sense in the mind of the Immigration Officer adjudicating that issue, they sort of look at it and say, "oh I see what you are doing. You were working here and now you want to retire here. Makes sense." That process is usually substantially smoother than dealing with conversion from just a standard Tourist Visa or some kind of Visa Exemption into retirement status which may or may not be possible depending on the Immigration Officer or the Immigration Office you are dealing with at a given time. Same can be said for going from Business Visa or work authorization into retirement status. That said it has been my observation over the years, Immigration is much more open to the notion of a conversion if you are coming off of a work authorized Business Visa or an O Visa here in the Kingdom of Thailand.