Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Retirement Visas; a pretty popular Visa category amongst the retiree community out here in Thailand, a number of expats. For those who are unaware, generally speaking the main criteria for obtaining a Thai Retirement Visa is being 50 years old or over. There are certain financial requirements most notably 800,000 Baht in a Thai Bank Account maintained over a long period of time can be used as a financial or a piece of financial evidence for maintaining long-term retirement status. Another option is the pension option showing at least 65,000 Baht a month coming into one's Bank Account from overseas pensions is another way of maintaining Retirement Visa status here in Thailand. Now another thing to bear in mind, this is a video that will pertain to both O and O-A Retirement Visas. This isn't O Retirement Visa specific or O-A Retirement Visa specific, we are talking about both because the financial requirements apply to both Visa categories for retirees in Thailand. 

I thought of making this video after reading a recent comment on one of our videos, quoting directly: "I can't confirm this, at Rayong Immigration a week ago I went in for my 6th extension on my Retirement Visa and was denied because I did not have documentation showing the source of my pension. It is the first time I have ever been asked for this and I did not have it as I left my previous employer 8 years ago." Yeah not a position you really want to find yourself in. Unfortunately there is heightened scrutiny yet again on Thai Retirement Visas. I told folks when we saw the Emergency Decree repealed that we were going to go back to kind of a status quo ante, so kind of back to what we were looking at in March of 2020. Well this is kind of the stuff we were looking at back in March of 2020; heightened scrutiny on things like Retirement Visas. Now yet again it looks like they are really looking at financials associated with Retirement Visas, that kind of takes us even a little further back in time, nostalgically if you want to look at it like that, back into 2019 when that was again it was a major issue maintaining and proving up financial documentation associated with Thai Retirement Visas. It looks like that is an issue yet again. 

So I think this is something if you are using a pension, probably something to be aware of, probably something to get on top of. If you don't have to deal with renewal for a number of months maybe just get on top of it; start looking at your financial situation; make sure you are going to be able to readily prove up one's finances when getting into the issue of extending one's Retirement status here in the Kingdom of Thailand.