Cleareye

I'm planning on leaving as well. I would stay if it were easier, but I switched to using an agent the last couple of years because I was tired of going through all the hassle of filing for an extension. Plus, I didn't want to put 800,000 in a Thai bank and just let is sit there. This system doesn't make any sense to me. Why force retirees to keep 400,000 in the bank? You would think they would want you to spend the money and help the economy. You can't use it for emergencies either because the moment your balance dips below 400.000 you're technically in default of the visa rules. And tha'ts not even to mention the issue of how safe the money is. I have to say the agent was great. 14,000 for an extension and I didn't have to do a thing. Courier picked up my passport and it was returned by EMS a few days later. The agent also handled all of the 90 day reports, reminding me when they were due, filing the report, and sending the receipt by mail. It was well worth the price. Many will say that the extension is not a hassle but I just don't want to think about what my balance is every month, whether I might have fallen below the minimum inadvertantly, having to get banks reports for all my monthly statements, and then have to worry about an I/O telling me my application is refused because of some techinal violation. I don't wnat to have to think about filing a TM30 when I move, a residence report every 90 days, or wondering whether next year all foreigners are going to have to have an app on their phone that that allows immigration to track them at all times. However, all the agents are on hold now apparently because of the reshuffle of the top immigration officials, so i don't know if I'll be able to do another extension. And of course there's the risk involved in using an agent. So I'm planning on going to Mexico. It's hard because I've been here since 2004. At that time, getting the retirement extension as a breeze. It took 15 minutes at immigration, no questions asked, and no need for money in the bank. They didn't even care if you did the 90 day reports. I was never once asked for proof of a 90 day report when I did an extension for the first 14 years. But things change. Thailand isn't that cheap anymore and the value for the money isn't there anymore. I also feel like Westerners aren't really wanted anymore.