Peter Denis

Hi Greenman,

See this link > https://www.thethailandlife.com/how-to-send-money-to-thailand-no-bank-fees

The title of the article is somewhat misleading because it is not limited to sending money to Thailand, but simply about how to transfer money to a bank-account in another county, and this WITHOUT any bank fees being withheld.

Super-fast (max 2 days and the money is there) and better than the official exchange rate!

Read the article to understand how it works (in short TransferWise looks for somebody who is simultaneously looking to do the reverse transaction, and you only pay a small fee for their connecting service).

By the way, TransferWise is a British company and backed by sir Richard Branson who sees an opportunity in eliminating the longlasting and costly 'normal' interbanking money-transfer services.

Cheers,

Peter

Every case is different, but after considering all options, I did not opt for a 'retirement visa'.

Note: I also considered changing my residence, but came to conclusion that keeping my residence in Europe (and all the associated social security rights) was the best option.

And so I am living in Thailand now on a Multiple Entry visa.

Such a visa must be arranged at the Thai embassy of consulate of your home country and takes approx 2 weeks to have it available.

It costs 150 Euro (approx 200 US $) and it is valid till 6 months after issue.  And during that period you are allowed multiple 2 months stays in Thailand. 

At the end of the 2 months stay you have 2 options:

- do a border run (just cross the border to one of the neighboring countries, and come back in - can be done same day) and then you can stay again for 2 months from date of re-entry;

- extend your visa for 1 month at a Thai Immigration office (every big city has one) - this costs 1900 Bath (equivalent of approx 60 US $)

> Note: the extension counts from the visa expiry date, so you do not have to wait till last days to extend it.

If you leave Thailand and re-enter one or a couple of days before the Multiple entry visa (6 month date) expires, the 2 month stay is provided and you have the possibility to extend once again for 1 month.

So this means that with a Multiple Entry visa you can stay 9 months in Thailand provided that you make at least

- 2 re-entries (so called border-run);

- 3 visa extensions.

If you have relatives/friends at home which you plan to visit occasionally, or if you also like to visit the neighboring countries during your retirement in Thailand, the Multiple Entry visa option is worth considering.

NOTE: On a Multiple Entry visa you are not allowed to do business in Thailand, but if you consider to do that you could of course do it via your Thai wife.

> hope this helps to clarify the options.