Retirement Non O-A Health Insurance Visa Questions

[HarryW]

I have spent several hours reading previous posts about non-O visas and extensions of stay and have several questions. (One of the downsides of getting old is that the more I think I undersand all of this, the more questions I have. lol) I entered Thailand on a non O-A “retirement” visa in 2022. My current extension of stay expires Jan 22. I am considering letting it expire and am exploring options for staying in Thailand without having to have the health insurance required by the O-A visa extension of stay.

So I am thinking about switching to a non-O visa based on “marriage to a Thai national” at Savannakhet. (I have also applied for a 20-year Elilte Superiority Extension visa as a last-resort “plan C” but would prefer to NOT hand over one million baht for it. However, based on the answers to the following questions, the Elite visa may be the least-hassle long-term option.)

Question 1: It sounds like I can get a non-O visa that allows either 90-days or one-year stay in the country. Is that correct? (I understand that careful planning can get you up to 17 months stay in-country on a non-O visa.)

Question 2: Can a 90-day non-O visa be extended for one year, or do you need to apply for a one-year multi-entry non-O visa in order to able to extend it for one year?

Question 3: My understanding is that non-O visas require you to “bounce” out and into the country every 90 days. Is that also true after you extend the visa before it expires? Do you still have to bounce out and into the country when you are in “extension” status?

Question 4: Since I am over 50 years old, I could apply for a non-O visa based on being over 50. (I already have 800K baht in a fixed deposit account at Bangkok Bank for most of the past two years.) I assume the answers to the above questions also apply to a non-O “over 50” visa.