Lannathaijohn

No such thing as invest and forget about it for 20 years unfortunately.

Best advice is to go through a financial advisor that is registered with the financial authorities. They will assess your situation with you and point you in the right direction.

Personally I invest through tracker funds and income generating investment trusts. These are spread to cover the UK, Europe, US , Japan and Far East. Yes equity risk but generating 3+% per annum year in - year out. Funds specializing in debt , such as government and company bonds are also available with lower risk profiles.

Websites such as Morningstar , Hargreaves Lansdowne and AJ Bell are all useful sources of information.

I have read some posts in the last 2 months of long delays at CMI  - this is my experience yesterday for my annual extension for retirement.

Arrived at 08.15 and joined the queue for a ticket - documents checked at 09.15 and issued with ticket number 73.

As they were processing number 15 , I left and returned at 13.30. My number was called as I arrived back and the extension issued after normal examination of my documents - completed at 14.15.

The application was based on funds above Baht 800,000 supported by a 12 month bank statement. Other than that all the other documents were the same as in previous years.

Now that some of the services have been relocated to Promenada it seems much quieter again - same as March last year.

I also had an extension of stay at CM immigration in late March by the Baht 800,000 in bank option as usual.

HOWEVER they did give me a paper to sign as acknowledgment of the new requirements passed into law ( this was in Thai and English) . Note that it only referred to the new regulations , not the actual contents. 

In response to Jip99

I have my UK pension paid into a UK bank account which has been maintained over many years.

However when I applied for the pension it was very clear in the documentation that a false declaration is an illegal act - such as what you are proposing to state a UK address whilst living in Thailand.

the DWP also make it clear that it is your responsibility to notify of any changes , such as change of address. Also they request, from time to time, for a " Life Certificate" so as to ensure you are alive and payments should continue - note this has to be signed by designated persons who are also certifying the correctness of where you live -

my strong advice to all concerned is that it is better to provide the truth in all such matters, and not make a false declaration so as to secure a financial gain-  also note that you will be caught out sooner than you may be thinking with appropriate penalties imposed , irrespective of what Jip99 is suggesting

lannathaijohn

My son was born in Saudi Arabia and immediately became a UK citizen as he was born to a British father and a mother of Thai birth who had acquired UK citizenship due to marriage. My wife held both UK and Thai passports and also Thai ID until her death a few years ago.

Since then my son , at 29 years old, but with severe learning difficulties, was granted a Thai ID and passport on the basis of his having a Thai born mother. He did not have to relinquish his UK nationality during this process.

I was informed at both the Amphurs office and Immigration office that he had the right to hold both nationalities.

Under normal circumstances the answer to your question is no. The confusion lies in understanding what Dual Citizenship is and how it applies to a country you have your citizenship from. I think the best way to illustrate this is by example.

I am Canadian and one of my daughters was born in Poland. Canada accepts Dual Citizenship while at that time Poland did not. Since my daughter was born in Poland she was and is a Polish Citizen.

So even though Poland does not grant "Dual Citizenship" when I applied for citizenship to Canada for her (her second citizenship) she was granted citizenship and now also holds both a Polish and Canadian Passports.

Me on the other hand, if I wanted to do the same as my Daughter and hold 2 Citizenship's from Canada and Poland I could not. Since Poland does not accept Dual Citizenship and I am Canadian, I would first have to renounce my Canadian Citizenship before I could be granted a Polish one. Can you see the difference?

So if your son/daughter are Thai, and you are from the UK and want to give them Dual Citizenship with the UK, then no problem. If they have UK Citizenship and you want them to have Thai Citizenship then this as different and they would have to give up their UK Citizenship first.

Thanks to ukrules , gerry1011 and Ubonjoe for a clear update ,good information and insight

John

Reply to Nancyl

I am sure your first question will be answered by others

The second point is interesting. I am also on a extension to stay for retirement in Chiang Mai - I make the 90day reporting by mail and the annual extension by appointment at which time I also apply for a multiple exit visa - thus the overcrowding situation at the immigration office has a limited effect on me.

A lady friend has just applied for the Elite visa as she is not yet 50 - she has opted for this after spending 1 year on the Ed visa and is looking forward to the hassle free benefits- she will have to report every 90days( by mail) and if she does not exit in the next year then have an extension made in Bangkok ( Chiang Mai immig. Cannot do this). This is still much easier than the alternatives to her.

However , I am not applying as the baht 500,000 cost every 5 years is far higher than the extension of stay for retirement , even though you need baht 800,000 in a bank account.

John

The 3 developments by Quality Houses are very good Moo Bans. All 3 are on the Middle Ring Road - Laddarom and Elegance which are now completed and good for pre owned properties and the new development QH Elegance at the Mahidol road junction where detached properties are being released in phases.

All properties are over Baht 5M and even up to Baht20M, but offer good security, pools, greenery and space . Have lived in Laddarom since it was completed 10 years ago and now happily moved to the new QH development which is fantastic.