Peter Denis

Hi,

I did not get any replies yet on my post of last Tuesday.

And on re-reading maybe that's because I explicitly mentioned Belgium, being the country where I have my formal residence.

But I am convinced that, with exception of UK, the situation described in my post would be applicable for most SCHENGEN countries.

So please do ignore the 'belgian' outlook in above post.

Thanks in advance for any help/advice with the above.

 

Peter Denis

When I still lived in Belgium, I invited my thai girlfriend 3 times for a holiday in Europe, which was every time approved.  There was quite some paperwork involved from my side (invitation letter, salary slips, certificate of residence, etc.).  And she had to go to Belgian embassy in BKK for an interview and other necessary paperwork (return flight-ticket, insurance, etc.).

Although my residence is still in Belgium, I stopped working (am 60 years) and now live most of the year in Thailand with her.  And I do have to make the occasional border-run as I am in TH on a tourist visum.  This is the most convenient solution for me, as I need to travel 2-3 times a year to Europe anyway.

What I am wondering now, is what would be the best way of tackling the administration involved, when taking my girlfriend with me on my next Europe-bound trip.

There are 2 options:

1.      I could ask my brother or my parents, to invite my girlfriend.  And ask them to send over all the required and legalized documents (as I did in the past).  And with those papers as well as her own documents, my girlfriend could go to the Belgian embassy and once again be provided with a Schengen visum.

2.      Obviously it would be more easy, if I would invite her myself and accompany her to the Belgian embassy in BKK.  But I am not sure whether I would be able to get hold of the required documents while in Thailand as some of these documents are to be provided from the Belgian municipality where I have my residence (and I it is not certain that my family can get those documents on my behalf).

Therefore my QUESTION > Did anybody already had a similar situation at hand, and provide me with some advice on how to go about?  When I would go with my girlfriend to the Belgian embassy in BKK, I obviously want to be well prepared and have all the required paperwork ready, as it is quite a journey from where we live.

NOTE: I also read about the possibility of applying for a 2-5 year multiple-entry visum, and that would of course be a very good solution to avoid all the hassle every time that I want to go to Europe with my girlfriend joining me.  However, we are not married and my official residence is in Belgium, so I am not sure whether such a multiple-entry visum would be granted (but I could try and if not approved the application could be changed to a one time visum).

Thanks in advance for any help/advice with the above.

 

My apologies!

I presumed it would be possible to also send money out of Thailand to UK, as 'matching reverse operations' are the core of the TransferWise service.

But indeed, I do not see the Thai Bath in the - long - list of currencies from which you can transfer.

Strangely enough, it is possible to send money from elsewhere to a Thai bank account using the TransferWise service.

 

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.