Years ago I bought the 5,000 baht insurance policy. It is accident insurance and it is not at all useless. Two months after getting the bank account insurance I had an emergency room visit and Kasikorn paid the 5,000 baht claim. The next year I bought 50,000 baht to cover the deductible on my comprehensive Thai health insurance. Kasikorn didn't allow me to continue buying the accident insurance once I turned 65.

Of course, it is up to you if you don't want to do this but 5,000 baht isn't all that much money.

@Gary ******

I did not use an agency (there weren't any agencies doing this in October 2022). It was incredibly easy to do it myself using the BOI LTR website but then my finances are incredibly simple. I can't really be of much help if you don't qualify with a straight forward pension. I never asked the questions regarding anything more complicated. Sorry.

@Gary ******

My tax returns. They may ask for two years. I qualify with just my work pension so everything they need to know as on my tax returns.

I got my OA in 2017 before the insurance requirement. I do have Thai insurance. I'll just add that you can extend you OA inside Thailand yearly. You will have to meet the same financial requirements as the O visa (money in a Thai bank) + show proof of acceptable insurance.

Actually, I am past that now. I have a pensioner LTR which also requires insurance but no money deposit requirement.

@Fra ****

The US, UK, and Australia embassies do not provide income verification. Citizens of those countries can only extend using money in Thai bank accounts.

If you bring cash be sure to bring new unblemished bank notes. You should be able to order them ahead of time at your bank.

I use direct bank transfers from my US bank to my Thai bank account. My US bank doesn’t charge for international transfers but I’m sure I’m probably not getting the best exchange rate.

A couple of years after I got here I tried to set up a Wise account. It was a disaster and I don’t use Wise. I know others love Wise. What I am suggesting is that you make sure you have a back up plan by using a US bank that allows you to do international wire transfers.

You should also have two US bank accounts each with a credit card. If one credit card get hacked or frozen then you have a source of funds from the other credit card. I have a US Credit Union account that doesn’t do international wire transfers but I have access to that money through the credit card.

@Jack ******

Send the extra 800k and use it for living expenses for however long it lasts. I used to keep an extra 400k on top of the 800k for emergency expenses and then added living expenses on top of that.

I’ve got a pensioner LTR now which doesn’t have a bank deposit requirement so I am done with all that.

@Jack ******

Yes. After you get the extension then it must remain at 800k for 3 months, then can go down to 400k, but needs to be brought back up to 800k 2 months before the next extension. I just left it at 800k all year long.

Later when you apply for a one year extension inside Thailand then the money must be in a Thai bank.

@Dave *******

Same with me at the US Citizen Services office