onera1961

26 minutes ago, terryofcrete said:

It's cold in Spain and colder in Portugal in the winter time.

I was in Benidorm and Albuferia in January and felt same as in San Francisco/Las Vegas. If it rains it can go down to 50. 

 

26 minutes ago, terryofcrete said:

Go out and eat in those countries as see what you pay as against Thailand,Vietnam or Cambodia... and as for the ladies ... well we won't discuss that here.  

Cheaper only if you eat street food in Thailand and Cambodia. My eating expenses were slightly more. Yes, it costs more to rent. 

7 minutes ago, Leaver said:

If the Thai's were smart, they would start a Government scheme where foreigners pay into for their "soon to be compulsory insurance" so they could get a visa. 

Why Government want to do that? They can push everybody to private insurance to enrich insurance company's coffers. They are smart and the talk in underway in various circles of Thai government.

8 minutes ago, pr9spk said:

There are plenty of other countries in the world, it's just unlucky that you are trying to get into one which is going all-out to deter Western visitors. If I could re-wind my life a few years, knowing what I know now, I would never have gone to Thailand.

In the last count nomadlist has 2,000 cities in the World. 

 

On 3/13/2019 at 2:04 AM, ubonjoe said:

A ticket out of the country is not required if you have a valid visa for entry.

Is there any published rule what is required to enter the country? Some embassies (including Washington, DC) do ask for flight ticket and IOs may be validating if he obtained the Visa on false pretext or not. I think the safe bet is to have an onward flight ticket and the 20K money. 

Working as a digital nomad or living on saved money and staying here on tourist visas will not work anymore. 
You are not breaking any laws , but they just don't want you here anymore.
 
So I would suggest Vietnam or Cambo instead, they still want you.
Around $300 for a 1 year visa. 
 
 
 

I think Vietnam or Cambo WiFi speed is not up to par Thailand for digital nomad to work efficiently. Portugal or Spain would be the best.

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

2 hours ago, fforest1 said:

Whats strange is with-out us they would be jobless....

30 million tourists/year will keep them busy, I guess

The problem is what is actually needed......Thats a HUGE AND MASSIVE problem here....Rules change from office to office from officer to officer from month to month.....Hell most banana republics are more stable than this.....No one in their right mind should be making any long term investments here in this environment...

Developers are saying long-term property investment is booming due to Chinese influx. Of course Chinese are never perpetual tourist. My land lady, a Chinese national, come twice a year and does not stay more than two weeks. She owns a half a dozen condos in Pattaya. May be Thai government likes people like that.

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

When was medical insurance a requirement for a tourist visa extension? Or any extension for that matter? I use to do loads of tourist visa extensions...I just filled out the forum payed 1900 and that was it.....No review no plane ticket...No questions..Nothing...As it should be.....

Those days are gone when Thailand needed foregin currency. Now they are flashed with foreign currency due to increased tourists from China and India. Baht is getting stronger and it is affecting export market. A one baht gain against a dollar reduces 10 billion baht of export there by destroying well paid jobs with pensions.

Sent from my JKM-LX2 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

If some body has attachment like family or children they cannot move to Philippines. But for new retirees, it may be an easy option. 

After the visa expires (or it is stamped USED for single entry), reentry permit allows you to enter Thailand till your Admitted Until date. It does not reset your Admitted Until date when you enter Thailand with a reentry permit. I have used reentry permits with Tourist Visas more than a dozen times in the last 10 years. 

However, I have a question. I have a ME O-A visa which expires March 28, 2019 and my Admitted Until stamp is Oct 20, 2019. If I get a Reentry permit, leave and come back on March 21, 2019, do I get Admitted Until reset to March 20, 2020 (using VISA) or Oct 20, 2019 (using reentry permit)?

8 minutes ago, thequietman said:

The very moment US embassy officials left that office ........... it was all forgotten. ????

They really don't care. Smile is a facade in Thailand. 

Meth is very dangerous I tell you guys. It can drive somebody to suicide. Small problems become huge and leads to depression and panic attack. The only thought comes to mind that if I die all my problems will go away. It one of the most dangerous drugs I think. 

Of course I was just putting this out there. Doesn't part of the liberty we're supposed to have include having the freedom to live abroad? The blatant denial of a service that we now know they can legally do seems to me to be a material roadblock to our liberty in that regard. It does not seem partisan to me at all.  
Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 
 
 

Unlike the Chinese government, the US government cannot deny you to move out of the country. That is the liberty one has. I doubt a constitutional violation to your liberty can be raised for embassy stoping their service.

However, a class action lawsuits may be raised for the violation of the classes' rights to obtain an income declaration from the embassy when the said income is obtained from the US government.

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Nothing lasts forever. That's what Buddha said two and half millenniums ago. Thailand's economy is export based economy. It is not a consumer economy. What Thailand needs is to increase its consumer economy, educate its people and develop their skills Three decades of dependency on foreign tourists and retirements did not achieve it and unless Thai people gear up to participate in ASEAN market, they will be left behind. 
 

The is no shortage of tourists from India and China. China only has 9% passport holders. There is huge opportunity for its growth. The same goes for India also that is raking more than 7% growth per year. Thailand should focus on other 21st century economy not the decadent economy of the 20th century based on Tourism and retirement money only.

1 minute ago, cardinalblue said:

i have been doing it with ML using Bank of America to UOB for 20 years...

What is ML? I checked BofA for SWIFT but found it's expensive. I send 500USD every week to Bangkok Bank. 

30 million tourist per year. If they tag 100 baht per tourist to their departure tax (currently 700 baht, increase it to 800 or 1,000 BHT).that will collect 3 to 10 billion. This country needs intellectual people not bunch of crooks who only thinks how to maximize profits their own group. 

 

If you don't want to penalize every tourists, then break it down by groups and levy a tax based on that. What's so hard? When country lacks intellectualism, democracy is destroyed, and greedy people take over, it is certainly going to the ruins. 

1 hour ago, WalkingOrders said:

My VA pension is dropped directly into Bangkok bank via the NY routing number...eazy peazy

Good for you but everybody does not get VA pension.

10 hours ago, Thaidream said:

You have no evidence that anyone lied

I personally knew a few people who admitted they don't have the 65K monthly income. Their incomes were around 30-40K/month. But all lived in Thailand for at least decade on false affidavit. I don't know their whereabouts now. 

What are threads like this one for? To ask and reply questions and at its best, get suitable information? Or just to let the world know that you're still alive? But anyway thank you for your very helpful answer.

How do you think people would know the answer? You had the perfect opportunity to ask the IO and post the first hand answer here for others benefits. Anyway, I don't think anybody yet has the first hand knowledge of your question. If you want to leave during your reporting period, just leave. Why do you want to subject your life to the whims of Thai immigration. I am sure that they are not going to put you in Thai gulag.

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7 minutes ago, Dr Nirandorn said:

Thank you, guess will have to make a trip with the wife. But since I am a US citizen now, what bearing would that have, technically it could be stated that I gave up my Thai citizenship to become American.

Thailand allows dual citizenship, i.e. holding two active passports at the same time. Though US state department don't like Americans holding two active passports but legally they can't do anything. You're still liable for taxes on your world wide incomes unless you give up your American citizenship.

2 hours ago, TDCNINJA said:

I'm a military retiree that receives 3 monthly pensions from DFAS (CRSC), VA, and Social Security.  I'm going to the Royal Thai Consulate in Chicago in 2 weeks to apply for my Non-Immigrant/OA. Can you tell me what I do once I'm in Thailand? I don't currently have a Thai bank account. All I have are the downloadable letters from DFAS, SSA, and VA showing my pension. Also, I can download my bank statements from USAA showing those two pensions being deposited monthly. 

You do nothing once you're in Thailand. Just  live your life except
 

1. Rent a place to live. Before renting, harass the landlord to give you copy of his house book, ownership document (called chanote), his ID card. These are all written in Thai. So you must go to somebody who can read Thai and verify that the names match in all documents and your lease contract. Every time you rent a new place, you do the same. 

2. Open a bank account, preferably in Bangkok bank. You may need a residence certificate for that. You can get one by paying some agent BHT 1,000. If you have a Thai friend, it is easy and free. He can vouch for you to open a bank account.

3. Transfer 65K baht from US to Thai bank every month. Make sure it is coded as foreign transfer in your bank account. 

4. Your visa is good for one year and it can used to live here two years. Other posters have already explained you how to do so.

5. After two years, try to extend you stay inside Thailand with your monthly income (bank deposits only. They don't want to see anything else). 

6. If no 5 does not work, you can always go back to USA and get another O-A. 

 

If no. 5 and no. 6 don't work, you can hire an agent to ease your pain by bribing IOs. This option is little up in the air now. By the time you're ready for your extension in two years, it will be settled, we all hope. 

On 3/8/2019 at 2:29 AM, JustAnotherHun said:

So far ok.

But I have to go back to my country in May and will not be in Thailand before end of June. So I can't show them my savings as required.

Any idea what will happen? Will th "friendly" IOs at the airport refuse entry? I'm a bit concerned about as you can imagine.

Thanks for your kind replies.

Instead of asking this in the forum, you should have asked the IO who gave you the form and told you to come back on such an such date. How the people would know in this forum? You had the opportunity and you blew it and came here to announce that you would be out of the country during the said period. Utter lack of imagination.