bkkcanuck8

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I didn't see on any of the forms a question about intent. 

You are applying for a non-immigrant visa... and you have intent of immigration... wrong visa (so it should be voided).  If you enter on a tourist visa, and they find your intent is to work... they will void that visa (even if you have not worked illegally yet).  BTW, Thai laws are written in Thai not English...

33 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

If you are on overstay, you are classed as an illegal immigrant, not an illegal non-immigrant. 

If you overstay, you are classed as an illegal ALIEN.  They also assume you are illegally trying to stay here permanently.

8 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

The US has one of the craziest, outdated immigration systems in the world. Not much is going to change however with they woke society, unless Trump runs again.

Until the US selects a president that understands that they may be voted in as a republican or democratic president, they are president of all Americans not just one a subset of supporters from one party (core belief of that person)... Donald Trump was not that man.  Reagan I believe understood, and I believe Bill Clinton understood (even If I did not really like him).   This century, the US has had a set of presidents that even in the best of times -- has been driving the US faster and faster to bankruptcy.  Now even the fabric of the US is so destroyed, that you have the people divided believing in completely different realities (rather than the same reality but different viewpoints on policies)... The US empire is quickly coming to an end.  I doubt the US will even survive as a single country to reach the average lifespan of an empire (around 500 years). 

1 hour ago, Sir Anthony Rumbold said:

There's no difficulty, the definition could not be clearer, more understood or deliberate. 

 

Thailand defines our status, not the other way round.

 

We do not become immigrants in a country because we wish it to be so. 

 

If you wish to emigrate to Thailand you have to plan to get permanent residency, which for a man of suitable age, means working for three years and paying tax (among other requirements). The visa system is such that until we get permanent residency we remain transient.

 

Our visa status is what we are, to wit, 'temporary visitors for purposes other than tourism' is the definition of the non-immigrant visa type encapsulating retirement, marriage and other reasons for visiting here. 

Until you are granted permanent residency status you are temporary.   Depending on the immigration system and the immigration interpretation of what you can do on a visa, but none of those interpretations do not change the classification of the visa you have or what you are under the law.   For example, I worked in the US for a few years (before becoming VP of the UK office), I was working on a TN1 (NAFTA - temporary visa).  If I wanted to get a green card to the US, I would have to start the process and only one visa (also temporary) allowed for transition... but it did not mean it was permanent.  I would have had to change my visa from TN1 to H1B which allows for dual purpose (I told the company I would stay on a TN1).  Dual purpose meant I could have intentions to apply and start the process to become an immigrant, while staying on a temporary visa... but I would still be a temporary employee (any other visa if you did that - you basically told the immigration office you were staying on a visa that was intended only for temporary and your intentions were permanent -- and they would deport you.  In fact the company had many ex-students working on H1B at the company while in the process of getting permanent residency....  Shortly after the dot-com bust happened and the company downsized to less than half it's employees.... anyone that had an H1B but became unemployment had 10 days to leave the country since H1B is a work visa... and the process of applying for permanent residency was voided.  Those that had permanent residency had the legal right to stay since they were recognized by the immigration system as immigrants.

54 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Nothing remotely racist about what I've posted. Not sure what kind of game you think you're playing now but it is not cool.

People on retirement extensions started with an O or OA NON IMMIGRANT visa. That includes people of any race or nationality.

Later, if they wish to continue living in Thailand, they apply for annual retirement extensions.

People with this status are simply not immigrants.

Immigrants are not on conditional one year leashes. 

Yes, they indeed can continue to live in Thailand as long as they are able to get annual extensions, but their status is never immigrant and it can't ever be immigrant based on such extensions. 

Correct, it is nothing more than an equivalent to a tourist visa for one year based on the lack of need to work since they are retired.   Immigrant is someone with Permanent Resident status.  No matter how long you are on  temporary visa (Non-Immigrant, Tourist, temporary work permit), you gain no more status than someone entering on the equivalent visa today... you have to prove that you CURRENTLY meet the requirements to get another visa of the same type.  If you no longer meet those requirements - you have to find another requirement you meet or you have to go back home (i.e. temporary).

On 9/15/2021 at 3:54 AM, EricTh said:

 

Likewise, retirement visa is more difficult to extend than education visa (in 'learn Thai' classes) with no financial requirements and no attendance requirement, go figure.

 

 

 

BS.  My first 'long term' visa was an educational visa taking Thai language lessons before they cracked down on the visa.  At that time, it was easy to extend (but then the first extension was after less than a full year (forget if it was 3 or 6 months).  They cracked down on the educational visa and then many of those moved to using visa-waivers repeatedly until those were cracked down on, then they moved onto tourist visas... 

Any pensioner who is receiving a regular pension payment from a western country to Thailand, should be able to live a much better life locally than they would be back home and if they have not gone crazy spending every night out at a gogo/beer bar, living on all western food at restaurants, living in a western oriented condo in 'downtown' Bangkok... should be receiving more money than they spend and within a short time should have no problem qualifying based on a bank balance here.   Personally, I prefer having a buffer in a Thai bank for emergencies anyway.   I find it much much easier to qualify for extensions based on retirement... walk in, fill in a few forms, they look at the bank statement (sometimes with a surprise look at the size of the float).... stamped and out the door for another year.  Educational visa's on the other hand they view with great suspicion and are more likely to be refused extension at anytime.

21 minutes ago, bangon04 said:

So you feel that the wealthy Chinese, who have acquired their wealth by slightly "dubious" methods in the cutthroat Chinese economy, and are looking to park this wealth out of reach of the CCP tax collector/regulator, would not consider a country with "no rule of law" and a "pandemic of corruption" led by a huge population of Sino-Thais who will facilitate the evasion of justice????

Living here permanently is NOT a requirement.......

No, I do not... they would park it through a process of laundering... likely in Singapore ... along with many here and elsewhere.  A lot of money in Singpore is not looked at that closely and it is a more secure place to park it.

On 9/14/2021 at 10:59 PM, Pravda said:

It's the same like when you've been with a certain bank for 20 years and they give $300 to new customers who open a checking account with them and nothing to their old and loyal ones.

 

So, what about you? Nada. It's just business.

 

 

No, it is not like that... it is like the customers that have been with the bank for 20 years doing all their business... but generate less income than new customers that they attract with generous incentives... yet still worth more in one year than those customers that are complaining about being treated as if they are less important...  I just think their expectations are wildly out of proportion with reality through.

1 minute ago, MrJ2U said:

My wife won't touch Sinovac.

 

We're booked for Moderna for October.  But I am skeptical as they've ordered so few doses.

 

There offering Pfeizer for pregnant women but I had vasectomy.

 

 

Can't you find a doctor to give you a positive pregnancy cert ????

29 minutes ago, MrJ2U said:

I agree with a lot of your points.

Congrats on being vaccinated.  I'm trying to get my wife vaccinated for a trip to the US in December.  Finding it difficult.  Only Sinovac mixed with Astra.  

 

Heres an interesting site with data all about COVID-19 below:

 

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations?country=OWID_WRL

 

 

 

 

 

Can't you get the Sinovac and/or vaccine for now, travel to the US and get two more shots. 

You would have to get a PCR test before departure (1 - 3 days I believe), and upon arrival last I saw the CDC recommended self-quarantine for 7 days and another PCR test 3+ days after arrival (there is no differentiation between vaccinated and non is there??). 

Just now, wensiensheng said:

And only if vaccinated in Thailand?

So get some booster shots and you get your number .... win win...????

12 hours ago, connda said:

If the shoe was on the other foot, how would Thai immigration act?

There's your answer.

They would ask the mother for a contribution to their retirement fund... are you saying Denmark should do the same?

9 hours ago, coolcarer said:

No matter what I think of Prayut, at least he kicked out the convicted heroin dealer, now he needs to purge a few other top ministers including the billionaire TAT <deleted> and the Health Minister, they are both as bad as each other with their pie in the sky rants.

Yes, he kicked him out for personal reasons because he stabbed him in the back -- not for being an convicted criminal whose actions lead to people dying from their addiction.  (I doubt he was caught for the first violation).

4 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Logical for whom?

 

For Thais it is extremely logical to keep foreigners on temporary year long visa extensions and 90-day reports. Keeps track of where they are living, easy to remove criminals, no vast numbers of extended family automatically allowed entry, cannot claim benefits or free healthcare (unless paying tax on wp), not a burden on the society and can be removed at any moment at their own expense. 

 

Another added benefit is it keeps people that don't have an interest in Thai culture, assimilating or learning the Thai language (which is the majority) well at arms length from any sort of permanence here. Just as it should be.

 

Sounds like a winner to me, wish my home country would adopt similar rules tbh.

So in your world, criminals follow the rules and report their location.... but then don't follow the rules when they are committing crimes? 

How about this, if someone who is on a non-immigrant is arrested for committing a crime (of significance)... you hold them and either take them to trial first... then incarcerate/deport them... or just deport them...

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Yes, it can definitely be a house of cards. 

And yet @daveAustinis saying that Vietnam is the promise land for retirees... a country without a "retirement visa"....

2 hours ago, daveAustin said:

That’s an incidental and could have happened any time if the colonial powers that be had the inclination. 
 

Most are missing the point of the op. It is—loosely, with all the bs that has unfolded of late— ‘will it continue to be attractive’ to retirees not how is your staid life going lol. I think it will still attract escapees from dictatorships (Chinese) and folk from boring western nanny states, but, pandemic aside, Thailand is/will not do enough to win them over from burgeoning Vietnam etc. Glory days are over and way less bang (excuse pun) fit your buck in all areas. 
 

Yes, Thailand was not colonized because western states had no interest in them.... unlike Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia...  So if your theory of disinterest is true, what did all those countries have that Thailand did not?

On 9/2/2021 at 6:41 AM, bkkcanuck8 said:

OK, happy to report that I (under 60) between ages 55 and 60 who registered on Aug 1st @ expatvac.consular.go.th  and did not list any of the 7 qualified 'chronic diseases' (though I do qualify for the obesity category - I did not have a medical certificate saying I was fat) have received the vaccination appointment email for an appointment at Central Plaza (via Bangkok Hospital Khon Kaen) on September 5th, 2021.  (vaccine is Pfizer).  

Received first shot of pfizer today.