penbat

Thanks for useful info but i think we are getting a little bogged down. I was given the impression from other threads that around £12,000 English pounds per year was roughly enough in places like Bkk and Pattaya and that other places like Chiang Mai work out significantly cheaper on a like for like basis.

Regardless of my exact lifestyle do you think that Chaing Mai has a lower cost of living than Bkk and Pattaya and if so by roughly what percentage ?

That's roughly 70 to 75,000 baht per month.  Are you not including trips abroad?  How many naughty nights per week.  How big of an apartment - air conditioned?  Do you eat Thai or Western food, at home or at nice restaurants?  What about your transport?

Your post was good for starters, but we need to know how long this piece of string will be.

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Thanks. I'll try to elaborate best i can. I am anticipating very few trips abroad - maybe back to the UK once a year. Maybe 3 naughty nights a weeks and that may just be a naughty massage. Apartment must be air conditioned and modern western style with TV and internet access but could be quite modest in size. I would eat a mixture of Thai and western food - a mixture of at home or at a nice restaurant. I hope to manage without my own transport - possibly get a motor bike but hope to avoid it and use public transport. Generally i expect to not travel much - maybe occasional trips to Bkk or Pattaya.

If I needed £12,000 English pounds per year to live on in Bkk or Pattaya, roughly how much would i need to live on for the same quality of life in Chiang Mai ?

I am single male. I would require my own apartment with internet access. I don't drink and am not particularly into "in your face" entertainment but may indulge in a certain amount of naughty stuff - massages etc.

How westernised is Chiangmai ?

Could I easily get a westernised apartment with broadband access ?

Are there Western Style stores available that sell computers and other electrical goods ?

Is there a McDonalds in Chiangmai ?

Is there an airport in Chiangmai ?

Do you need a car to live in Chiang Mai ?

Tell me then which areas of Thailand have the least oppresive temperatures.

Is it basically true that the weather in Thailand is hotter as you go south ? If I found the weather oppressive in Southern Thailand, would i find somewhere like Chiang Mai more pleasant ?

I am a single male thinking of living maybe in Pattaya or Bangkok on a retirement visa. Very roughly how much money would I need to spend per year to live comfortably - the Thai equivalent of £5,000 English pounds maybe ?

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£11,000 (= 800,000 baht) is more like it.

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£11,000 per year is similar to the sort of money I would spend per year if I stayed in the UK !

There is some sort of contradiction here. I was under the impression that the Thai cost of living is about a third of the UK. So is the contradiction explained by the fact i could get much more entertainment and travel for the same money than the UK ?

I am a single male thinking of living maybe in Pattaya or Bangkok on a retirement visa. Very roughly how much money would I need to spend per year to live comfortably - the Thai equivalent of £5,000 English pounds maybe ?

As i understand it, you get the UK state pension in Thailand but it is not indexed for any rises. You normally get the UK state pension at 65 but you can defer it to a later age to get more money.

What does this no-indexing mean ? Does it mean that at whatever rate you first get the state pension, you just got no annual increases from that time while you are in Thailand ? Presumably if I went back to the UK at some point I would get the indexed increases from then onwards.

David - I think you're currently at the stage that I was at about 8 months ago i.e. "Thailand seems like a good idea for retirement but will it work for me?" (except that I'd already been to Thailand 7 times by then).

Thanks Steve for very useful info. Me moving to Thailand is a long term objective and is something i want to focus on for the future. I would be unlikely actually emigrate to Thailand for a year at least. In the meantime I want to soak up as much information as possible before then so that when I have a definate commitment I will be clued up. Quite a few things annoy me like ###### about the UK - particularly insane house prices, insanely expensive dentists and endless government spin. My bottom line is that I refuse to spend mega bucks on buying a "broom cupboard" in a rundown part of the UK - on the same money I could live for many years in somewhere like Thailand.

I understand how useful it would be for me to holiday in Thailand to help me learn about it but surely if I actually went to live in Thailand on a retirement visa and after 2 months, say, i realised that Thailand wasn't for me, i would just leave Thailand and go somewhere else.

It sounds likely that my criminal conviction is unlikely to be a bar for retiring in Thailand but i really ought to check it out quite soon to be sure. It would be pointless, for example, to spend a lot of money on a Thai fact-finding holiday If I could not be 100% certain if i could be allowed to retire there.

Obviously that might depend on what the conviction is for. Drugs or violent crime would probably be far different from failure to pay a bar bill. (Although drugs, you probably wouldn't have to worry about being deported unless you make it to 90 or so...)

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I'm not planning on anything criminal but just like the conviction i picked up for a minor offence 26 years ago in the UK it was more a case of bad luck, being at the wrong place at the wrong time. So anyway a with minor indiscretion, say argument over a bar bill i am likely to be safe then !

By definition, living in Thailand with a retirement visa you are not allowed to earn income. So is anything at all liable to Thai taxation ? The only thing i can think of is interest if you have money saved in a Thai bank ? Do they have comparible rates of interest in Thai banks to UK banks ?

I would be living off a lump sum in my UK bank account and at sometime in the future a UK state pension and the annuity from a private pension which is I believe taxed at source. I don't think any of this would be liable for Thai taxation.

If for some strange reason you were told that you had to leave Thailand for good, but you were free to live in any other country, what would that country be ?

Your answer could either be, in your opinion, the next best country to Thailand or the country closest in character to Thailand.

When I got my retirement visa I asked about using ATM receipts and was told no.  I was told to use copies of the out of country bank account statement that listed ATM transfers to machines within Thailand and it would not be a  problem.

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I have a UK online bank account (Smile) although i am sure they would send me a printed bank statement on request. Anyway presumambly your out of country bank would have your Thailand address and send you bank statements as a mater of course.

Thanks for responses. Just looking at http://www.thaivisa.com/318.0.html it says that:

"Initially you must apply for a Non-Immigrant visa before you enter the country from a Thai Embassy abroad. Permission will be for 90 days. for the first permit (single entry) but you can apply for a multiple max one year stay in Thailand.

Requirements:

Application form T.M.7

Copy of passport or substitute document.

One 4 x 6 cm photo.

500 baht fee.

Proof of financial status or pension.

Letter from your embassy saying you wish to retire in Thailand"

How do you prove financial staus or pension ?

Also how do you get a letter from your embassy (presumably the UK embassy in Thailand) saying that you wish to retire in Thailand - what is the point of that ?

Just another thought, if i ever got convicted of a criminal offence in Thailand would I get deported or have problems renewing my retirment visa ?

I have picked up quite a lot of useful info but am still confused on some points. I am 51 and may apply for a retirement visa for Thailand in about a years time. I have enough savings to last years. I would have some limited pension income coming my way at some point ( I want to put it off as much as possible - maybe until i am 65 or 70).

1/ So surely the easiest thing for me to is stick 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank and just basically forget about it and use a bank statement form that bank to support my retirement visa and annual renewal. I coud just show ATM receipts from my UK bank account if required to demonstrate that i was not getting any income form working.

2/ I understand may well need a criminal record check certificate but do i need anything else to support my application ? Do I need anything at all from the British Embassy as i am using savings to support my application not income ?

3/ Do I get my retirement visa from the Thai Embassy in the UK by mail ?

4/As i understand it I could just initially get a 90 day tourist visa and then apply for retirement visa in Thailand.

5/ If I get to stay in Thailand that long surely by the time i am, say, 80 i will most likely have significant health problems. Need i worry about the annual medical to renew the retirement visa ? What if i was down with, say flu when i wanted to renew ?

6/ It seems to me that the hot temperatures in Thailand is one possible reason why I may not end up liking Thailand and it would be one good reason for having a holiday in Thailand first to see what to expect.

The NEE NAR,S  or your local magistrates court

Will have a copy

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Please clarify what "NEE NAR,S" is. At this stage I just need to establish whether a spent conviction would stop me from getting a retirement visa.

Thanks for very useful responses so far and thanks Mr Mod for moving this thread to the correct forum.

Incidentally, who do i approach in the UK for the criminal record check ?

I have done some reading up but it would be useful to me ito have the answers to some questions. I am 50 and have enough savings to apply for an annual retirement visa.

1/ I have a minor spent criminal conviction in the UK (criminal damage over 20 years ago). Need i worry that this could bar me from entry to Thailand ?

2/ I have a private UK pension. Do i have to pay tax on the annuity in the UK or Thailand ? Is the Thai tax rate lower than the UK ?

3/ Can i get the UK state pension and SERPS payments payed in Thailand OK and will I get annual indexed increases ?

4/ Any idea what type of medical conditions would bar granting of a retirement visa ?

5/ Is the cost of healthcare fairly cheap in Thailand ? Can i get some sort of health insurance ? How does the cost of dentistry in Thailand compare to the UK ?

6/ How does the general cost of living compare to the UK ?

Thanks

David