Brickie

Quote from SMH

"As commanders appeared on television about 5pm Bangkok time (8pm AEST) to declare they had taken over, the leaders of both rival political parties in Thailand were taken away in a vans amid dramatic scenes at the Army Club in central Bangkok, where talks were being held to try to find a resolution to six months of sometimes violent unrest.

A military source said the leaders were told "we will keep you together until you understand and love each other"

Are you crazy, houses start at 1500bt a month for very basic but realisticly 8000bt a month is plenty, don't go through the net start a thread here state where you want to live and you will get plenty of info about property for rent. A word of warning don't mention that kind of cash around Thai landlords. A good night out will set ybu  back around 500bt, you are way over budget unless you only do champagne and caviar.

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OK..thanks Was basing prices around Phuket area.. And was allowing 3000b for broadband & 2000b for utilities like a/c etc. I didn't have time when last over there to do any foot slogging.

cheers

Thanks all for replying, it now gives me something to go on. Looking forward to living in the LOS for a time

BTW allowing approx 60-80k baht a month for expenses. Budgeting on a house & utililties costing around 30-35k. Realistic? I'm basing prices on what I've seen on the 'net.

There  are  a  couple  of  options  open  to  you,

Being  50+  you  could  apply  for  a  Non  Immigrant  O  visa  either  a  single  entry  or  multiple  depending  upon  what  road  you  want  to  take.

If  you  want  to  stay  in  Thailand  for  a  year  at  a  time  without  the  need  for  leaving  the  country  every  90  days  (known  as  a  border  or  visa  run) then  apply  for  a  single  entry  visa  based .....>

If  you  intend  to  depart  Thailand  during  the  years  stay  then  you  would  need  either a  single  or  multiple  re-entry  permit  this  protects  your  years  stay  stamp  upon  your  return  into  the  Kingdom.

Option  2  if  you  dont  fancy  bringing  800k  in  once  a  year  would  be  to  apply  in  Oz  for  a  Non  Imm  O  multiple  entry  this  allows  for  unlimited  entries  into  the  Kingdom  each  one  attracting  a  fresh  stay  of  90  days....

Either  of  the  above  would  allow  you  to  rent  a  condo.....

There  is  one  more  option  open  and  that  is  to  obtain  a  Non  Imm  O-A  (approved)  before  leaving  Oz  .....  you  must  show  a  clean  police  record  to  the  Thai  Consulate/Embassy  at  time  of  application...............no  such  record  is  asked  for  if  applying  for  the  extension  within  Thailand.................and  dont  worry  ancestors  police  records  are  not  taken  into  account  (only  joking)

Thanks for the reply TFlyer. Do you know if there are any difficulties in obtaining phone & ISP service on either of those visas? I only ask because as I stated earlier I *thought* I'd read somewhere it was difficult without residency.

cheers

as for ancestor records....I don't think I'd like to go there...lol...

Ok, the preliminaries:

I'm an Aussie, 52, live in Sydney. I would like to move to Thailand for a minimum of 12mths but less than 2yrs. As I make my living by online trading, what I'd ideally like to do is rent a residence either in Chiang Mai or Phuket area and set that up as a base. Would be returning to Oz at least once or twice a year.

What would be the best visa to shoot for bearing in mind I need to be able to:

a/ Rent a house/unit

b/ Be able to apply for broadband & other utilites. I've heard/read somewhere that it's difficult to do these things on some visa's

c/ Set up bank account so trading revenue is deposited directly into the account via the USA broker. Ability to transfer all monies to Oz account when I leave. ie. are there any restrictions on monies earned overseas & credited to Thai account

Anything else I may have missed?

cheers,

Brickie