gearbox

4 minutes ago, moe666 said:

All I can say is moaning and groaning about what other people get will not help you get one day in Thailand. Worry about your self, get your own ducks in order and you should have no problem.

The purpose of public forums is to share knowledge and express opinions, which sometimes can look like moaning and groaning. I would say for myself that I learned a lot about Thailand on TVF. Arguably TVF is the best source of info about Thailand - google about some Thailand info and the TVF posts come first.

3 minutes ago, JohnnyBKK said:

By 55 it's easy to have 750K AUD saved up in assets... a single piece of real estate bought when you are 20 on mortgage and that's it. If you don't have that kind of money you shouldn't be retiring overseas, stay in your own country.

JohnnyBKK,  it would be much easier to have 800k bahts right? Why the 800k issue comes so often?

23 minutes ago, aqua4 said:

Yes, we are all on our way out one way or another. That welcome mat has been pulled out some time ago as Thailand has become very anti-Western. Some here hope that everything is going to go on forever but look how the TM30 just turned everyone sour. You might be a guy living on the fringes of the rules however I am under no illusion that we are all up for a kick out.  They dont want us here - period.

 

• The continual kick foreigners out raids (Correct but why advertise it unless to send a message?)
• Two well known expats in Thailand starting to complain about delays and that fallout (TV crowd - if you dont like it here ...)
• TM 30 craziness with some expats thinking they can change things (Thais will not lose face to expats)
• Retirement visa where it now looks like you will have to keep loads of your money in the bank permanently -- soon enough 

Its all going to pot in a handbag and you who wish to deny the fact that they are pushing people out slowly but surely. You will get the final solution to the problem soon enough. Your ticket is in the line no different to me.

 

Thailand is what it is. It is not a first world country, the enforcement of "rules" is somewhat "flexible", and the cost of living is adequate to what it is.

If you don't want TM30, etc you can get a retirement visa for Australia - have 750K AUD handy to invest, plus prove that you have an annual income more than 65K AUD, and approved private health insurance. Any takers?

 http://www.skillclear.co.uk/australia/retirementVisa.asp

4 minutes ago, moana said:

You don't need to actually exchange to THB. You can open a FCD account denominated in AUD with any bank. Immigration will accept such accounts, and the required bank document will show the THB value of the account on the day of issue.

 

 Very useful to know! Do you know which banks can do that? Do you need to transfer first in baht, then convert to AUD, and if you want to get the funds out need to convert to baht again? I have a foreign currency account with HSBC in Australia and works that way - in and out the path is through AUD.

9 minutes ago, madmen said:

This has all been discussed to death yet op puts up a big drama Post.

He doesn't appear to understand the system. There laws in place for
Long stay visas. If he wants to stay he needs to pay

All these border runs and running back and forth to Australia is going to cost more than the loss on exchange rate so where is the logic

It depends...I myself need to go to Australia twice an year anyway, so no extra cost. 

I'll be in his shoes after an year or so, and if there is a mandatory health insurance for O-A holders, then I would need to find another solution, most likely 800k baht in a Thai bank, at a lower exchange rate than today ????

2 minutes ago, Winston Smith said:

Sometimes you need a shock to make the right decision. For me constantly moving goal posts and whimsical behaviour of officials is getting a bit much. I think it would be preferable to live in Vietnam where there is more straighforward corruption, and one's journey can be  smoothed with a few hundred thousand Dong ????

You have to be in the right circumstances to make a decision like this easily - it means you most likely don't have a wife,gf,kids,property etc in Thailand. For other it could be much more difficult and tricky.

11 minutes ago, Winston Smith said:

Thanks for the tip ????

If you think you are getting a rough deal with the exchange rate, wait until you see how much a nearly useless mandatory Thai health insurance would cost you ????

If you are well organised, you can get a visa in Sydney or Canberra in a week. You would need a mail address in Australia to receive the required documents. You can apply and pay for AFP police check certificate online. If you have secure messaging facilities with your banks you can ask them to issue you printed statements (stamped even better) and send them to your address. I got statements from ING and took almost ten days to arrive, you don't want to get stuck just waiting for your statements.

And while you there have a look at the Orange Everyday Debit Visa if you don't have it already. This is the only card in Australia AFAIK which rebates the extortionate Thai ATM fees if you meet certain conditions.

 https://www.ing.com.au/everyday-banking.html

7 hours ago, fhickson said:

but your stay in thailand is not going to be at all the same at 62 as it would have been at 51.

 

at some point time becomes more valuable then money, and there always seems to be a next target financially just around the corner.

Looks like it worked out OK for him. From his post he had intentions to work in Thailand too, not to spend his time drinking cocktails in the company of young women. 

I had a colleague who was going to retire at 60. He was dreaming about it,  wanted to do lots of things when retired. Retired as planned at 60, bought a shiny new car in a month, after 3 months was diagnosed with cancer and died before reaching 61.

It is all relative....

If you are employed at 50+ and the employer keeps coming with pay rises and promotions what would you do? Work until 80 because the deal is not to be missed out? If you do that, you may never be stuck in Thailand, you may die before coming here permanently. 

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

But Australia has the worst schools in the western world.

My daughter did fine in the Thai government school.

My son's doing fine too.

 

How are the high schools in inner city Detroit?

 

Australia has a few tiers of schools. In NSW most of the academically top schools are government selective schools. You have to sit entrance exam for these and the competition is fierce. The kids are very competitive, many also play well an instrument, and most of the students are from Asian background. At the No 1 NSW school for the last 20 years James Ruse Agricultural, probably 98% are from Asian/Indian background, and they won numerous medals from the international science competitions. A comparable Thai secondary school to James Ruse in the same league would be "Triam Udom Suksa School".  The students are admitted there after entrance exam too. If I had kids here, I would be aiming for this one.

3 hours ago, bowerboy said:

Thanks for this and yes completely agreed....

 

Plus I want my kids to be in a system where they get to enjoy life with a safety net and a society that truly values the young as the key to the country’s future...

 

Plus school fees as mentioned...not to mention insurance, possibility for wife to work part time, qualifying for Medicare and pensions etc

If your kids are academically gifted, the top 9 out of 10 secondary schools in NSW are government selective secondary schools. They supply the bulk of the future doctors, lawyers and engineers. You need to fork out around 1k per year there. Then if your kids do very well in the secondary school, they have a chance to get university scholarships, and graduate almost for free. Many university scholarships are not means tested like US.

14 minutes ago, SteveK said:

I wonder how many ex-pats can no longer meet the visa requirements because of the shocking changes in the exchange rates alone? I would have thought that this could have affected thousands.

That doesn't make you stuck. IMO the only way to get really stuck here is to have kids and have no viable options for them somewhere else. Everything else should be more or less fixable.

1 hour ago, observer90210 said:

This should serve as a brainstroming for those who want to live a fairy tale in Thailand. Remember the magic mantra, that applies for ladies and property in Thailand....never buy - only RENT !!!....and be sure to be worth more alive, then dead. And you will live happily ever after ! Be safe.

+1. If you don't want to be stuck here, don't accumulate baggage like wife, kids, properties. If you decide to do it, it is fine, your life, but don't complain.

To the OP...

If I were you I would move back to Australia unless you are paid well enough to cover 1 mil per year international schools in Thailand.  The main reason for going back would be the education of my kids. From what I've seen so far good education is not much valued here. 

1 hour ago, justin case said:

you want a real stuck story ?

 

recently divorced ... want to move back with my child

 

ex-wife is stopping this even she does not visit the child, does not care, apparently f. around, but don't have 10 min per day/week/month to call or visit daughter

 

but does not allow me going back

 

that is stuck in the prison of thailand

 

ah yes, let's not forget, she does everything for me to not obtain a valid visa

 

supposed to help with that by court divorce agreement, but off course she is thai and cannot be bothered but is ready to sue ME for sole custody if I do not pay a bill on time...

 

embassy is of no use, thai courts are for thai people only, ... 

Are you above 50? Nobody can prevent you to get a valid visa as long as you have enough cash...In fact even below 50 you can get Elite visa.

1 hour ago, madmen said:

And you could bump into the latest resident Yingluck in one of the hi so hotels on the Danube. Serbia is also very cheap , yes including renting a home or girl/boy and has  great food 

As long as you are ok with the cold for at least 6 months per year..

"With the exchange rate being so bad, and a wife and 4 kids, it is difficult to make ends meet so my daughter in the united states helps me out by depositing money into my Thai bank account each month.  If the baht continues to strengthen I may also have trouble qualifying for my visa, so I am wondering if the money she sends me monthly will be considered when assessing my monthly income to qualify for my visa?"

Looks like you are married and need only 400k in the bank. Why don't you ask your daughter to put 400k in your Thai account? Your visa issues will be sorted out.

6 hours ago, Assurancetourix said:

In a thai mathematics classroom ;

Yesterday I bought a pad thai for 35 baht ;

I gave a 50 baht note  and I said give me back  15 baht 

but he needed to use his calculator to check 

Looks like the Thais are good in addition and multiplication, not subtraction and division ????

As the others have said, O-A retirement visa would be the best option. I got mine from the Thai consulate in Sydney. You need proof of money, AFP police check cert, and medical certificate. My GP just signed the medical cert for me, you can download the form from the consulate web site. As far as I remember you need to enter within 3 months, so don't do it too early. The whole process was smooth and took 3 days to get the visa. 

There is quite a bit of info on the process, just search the forum. 

Want to report success in obtaining 1 year retirement O-A visa with the Thai Consulate in Sydney.

The process was smoother than I expected. One thing I didn't know was that the start of the visa is from the application date, not the supposed entry date in the application, so one month lost...

Another thing I haven't seen in the forum posts so far is that the lady at the consulate wanted only copies of the documents - I have prepared the originals, plus 3 copies certified by a JP, and handed over only 2 copies of each document.  The originals were as-is, no JP stamps on them.

Here are the details per each document required:

* Photos - selfie with a white wall as a background, then used online passport sizing app (8 photos on 4X6 paper format), then printed at Kmart - total cost 75 cents for 40 passport size photos. Not good for passports, but seem OK for visa purposes.

* Bank statements - rang ING and they sent me a printed and stamped statement for the last 4 months at no cost.  The statement arrived in around 10 days, 3 pages, so I had to certify 9 with the JP 9 pages.

* Police certificate - done online with AFP, took around 5 days to receive it via post.

* Medical certificate - my GP did it during a visit for other services, took her around 2-3 minutes to fill it in.

I also provided copies of flight tickets, they took them, but I don't think it was necessary.

It took 3 days for them to issue the visa. No issues raised whatsoever.

It is hard to say really without knowing what is important for your friend. For me it is access to a good beach (open water swimming), good cycling, good food,  good healthcare,  warm all year round,  good flight connections to travel around, reasonable cost of living.  Different places have different merits. I've chosen Thailand, but Vietnam gets a lot of ticks too. Penang was also a strong contender, I liked it a lot, but the beaches there are mostly unusable for swimming. Singapore is a nice clean place but not much Asian buzz there.

I also won't be able to pull $260k per year once I move to Thailand ?

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

interest rates are slowly going up and the reserve bank is going to have to act sooner than later in raising the offical rates or watch that dollar slide even further, we won't talk about the mortgage stress out there at the moment, some 1-3 mil I hear ?

Yes, there is a lot of accumulated debt and with the dollar going down the interest rates would go up as many things are imported and the inflation would be on the way up...

To live OK in Sydney ans save a bit of money a couple IMO needs at least 150K gross. In my opinion there is no reason for someone not working to stay in Sydney, except for medical reasons or staying close to their children.

Everyone is different, but for me Thailand have a lots of ticks for the things important to me. The OP may have different things in mind. Money wise I can do quite OK even here in Sydney, but will be bored to death. 

17 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Enough of me, I feel for you mate, but going back to Oz is going to be a real eye opener for you, rents are crazy in Sydney and Melbourne, have you thought of relocating here, I mean, if your in BKK or Phuket or Pattaya rents might be expensive, I don't know, but I know a bloke who moved about 90km further south of Hua Hin on the river and he pays like 5,000 baht a month, he eats as Thai's do and he copes just fine, personally I couldn't do it, need my meat and imports.

 

I'm planning to move to Thailand next month and writing this from Sydney now...the rent for oldish 2 bedroom apartment on the lower North Shore is 650-750 AUD per week. I'm  paying 12.5k baht per month for 2 bedroom resort style bungalow in Samui which has 15 meters swimming pool in the complex - that's more than 4 times cheaper for better quality accommodation.

I can't see anyone surviving only on OAP in Sydney unless they have their own place to live, and even then it would be quite a struggle..

The Aussie economy is built on houses and holes, and the houses are not doing well right now. The outlook for the AUD/THB in short term doesn't look promising unless something goes wrong on the Thailand side.

Hi,

I've read a longish thread in regards to getting 1 year O-A retirement visa in Australia. Most of the things were quite clear except proving enough funds with financial statements. I have the required funds in a bank, but it looks like I can only get electronic statements from my banks - haven't received a paper statement for years. How a JP can certify a printout of an electronic statement? I've used JPs before to certify copies of original documents, but I can print the bank statements myself..how a JP can certify my printout? Do I need to call the banks to get paper statements?  I used a single copy printed electronic bank statements for visas before (but not O-A), and never had an issue.  I have amounts exceeding the requirements in both Rabobank and ING.