Mike Teavee

Agree 100% Conversion to a Non Imm O-X is probably possible with enough money thrown at it but I'd be concerned (read wouldn't touch it with a barge pole ) if I wasn't sure that it was something that could legitimately be done in-country All indications are that it's not so I'm hoping Maneerat will confirm this. As a new Question? Does anybody know how long it takes to get a Non-Imm OX in their home country (Ideally UK)?

Would love to, but I don't currently meet the income requirements (am 2.5 years away from my pension) Having said that I apparently do, @Pib has kindly shown that Capital Gains can be included as income but my problem is, as a Non-UK Resident for Tax I don't need to report my (None Property) Capital gains so have no way of proving it Maybe in 2.5 years when I hit the big 60 ???? In the meantime I'm gonna stick with the Non-IMM O (Assuming they don't "Age me out")

I've seem to recall 1 guy saying an Immigration officer had offered him the opportunity to convert to a Non-IMM OX & I did stumble across a Website (I can't find it now) which suggested you could do the conversion but everything else I've read says you would need to get the Non-Imm OX from a "Royal Thai Embassy/Royal Thai Consulate-General in the country of their nationality or where they have permanent residence."... https://consular.mfa.go.th/th/content/80939-non-–-immigrant-visa-“o-x”-(long-stay-10-years)?page=5d68c88b15e39c160c0081e5&menu=5d68c88b15e39c160c0081e6 It doesn't cost anything to ask so will ask on Tuesday & report back but I am expecting a resounding NO...

Sorry @DrJack54I’m the OP & am more guilty of dragging this thread OT than most. Back to Topic I have read elsewhere that I can convert to OX in-country so will be visiting Maneerat on Tuesday to do my annual extension& will ask them if this is an option (I have the money in the bank + health insurance), but am expecting I’ll end up with another year on my Non-IMM O ????

To be honest the whole Capital Gains thing was an eye opener to me as I just assumed they would want to see a more “permanent” kind of income. Appreciate Dividends & Rental income aren’t “Permanent” or guaranteed & in reality only a solid pension could give you that kind of surety but Capital Gains are by definition a 1-off (you get it when you dispose of the asset) so I didn’t think it would be included. I appreciate you can re-invest the Capital Gains to get future income but assumed they were looking for income you can spend in country not recycle back at home. Anyway, thanks again for the heads up, I’m gonna stick with my plan of waiting 2.5 years for my guaranteed income to kick in in the meantime my Dividend/Rental Income are on track (famous last words) to meet the $40K pa threshold for the next 2 years & unlike Capital Gains, are (mostly*) evidenced on my Tax return. *in the UK we have ISAs “Investment Savings Accounts” which are not reportable on our Tax returns but I’m sure I can get something from my Broker to confirm income earned in there, hopefully I won’t need to ????

Cool, so in that case LTR guys should check your income every year to ensure you’re still meeting the income requirements as in no way are capital gains guaranteed every year (Even if you’re Warren B). By your measure I could just sell enough stock to generate £65K gains for 2 years in a row so I meet the LTR income requirements, then not worry about having any income (or investing anything in Thailand) for the next 5 years until the mid-visa check happens Makes no sense to me at all…But again, I’m not the one making the rules so “play where I’m put”

Yes… sorry I posted my reply before reading the image you’d provided (was on my phone) and saw that it specifically mentions Capital Gains as a valid income source. Makes absolutely no sense to me as Capital Gains are a “one off” whereas Income should be more or less consistent/guaranteed. But then again, it makes no sense to me to use an Income ”yardstick” for a “Wealth” Visa… the 2 things are not synonymous. Hey, TiT… we work within what we’re given ????

Wow! How do you prove you’ve made a gain on the sale of Shares? As a UK Non-Resident for Tax purposes I don’t need to report (Non Property) Gains on my Tax return so do I just send them a screen shot from my Excel spreadsheets? I could send them contract notes from Shares I bought 20 years ago but I’ve sold /re-bought these dozens of times since so would that be acceptable? Normally (for Tax purposes) Gains are treated on a “Last In / First Out” basis but how would they know that the proof of purchase I’m giving them wasn’t from a purchase I made years ago which I’ve sold/re bought many times since? Plus obviously Capital gains are a 1 time thing with no guarantee that you will do the same next year, appreciate Dividends, Bank interest & Rental income aren’t guaranteed but at least you still own the income generating asset so it’s more likely you’ll still be getting income from it (there is zero chance of getting income from an asset you no longer have). Makes no sense to me to have Capital Gains included as Income but as we all know, This is Thailand ???? As an aside, the LTR “Wealthy Pensioner” scheme based on Income is the only time I’ve seen a “Wealth” criteria be based on Income… All of the “Wealth”/HNW products I’ve ever had have been based on investable assets Citigold? $200,000 USD invested, Bangkok Bank Gold? 4Million Baht Invested, Barclays Premier account £100,000 GBP invested (though they recently changed it so you could qualify if you earn £75K pa).

I agree but I do think they would Grandfather in age requirement as unlike the money in the bank requirements & (for most) the insurance requirements your Age isn’t something that you can change to meet a change to the requirements Anyways this is an LTR thread so apologies for going off Topic… Will just say again that when you get your LTR all previous Visas are null & void so if you were to lose it you would be starting from scratch, nobody is going to blow the cobwebs off your previous Visa.

I'm by no means an expert but I believe income from Dividends & Interest would count but capital gains from the sale of shares/options wouldn't. Other Income streams that would count are salary from a job, Pension & Rental Income.

You would obviously need to revert to a New Visa so (currently) could get the Non-IMM O which (currently) doesn't require Health Insurance. For me one of the downsides in swapping my Non-IMM O Visa for a longer term Visa (& this is more the Thailand Elite than LTR) is I would give up any Grandfathering rights that might apply to existing Non-IMM O Holders... E.g. If somebody was 50 & they lost the LTR at 55 & during that time Thailand raised the Retirement Visa age to 60, they would be screwed... Whereas if they were on continuous Non-IMM O Extensions during those 5 years there is a high probability they would be "Grandfathered" in and allowed to keep extending that Visa. A lot of "If, Buts & Maybes" but just the thought process I've been going through when trying to decide whether to get a 20 year Thailand Elite Visa (I won't qualify for the LTR for a couple of years as I'm too young to draw my pension).

And now the latest thing to [not] "Worry" about with Retirement Visas is raising the age from 50 to 55 or 60... Personally don't see it happening & if it did, I believe they will Grandfather in existing Visa holders.... (bloody hope so as I'm 2.5 years away from being 60) but the main guy in the murder that started all this off with Big Joke was 52 so it wouldn't be a complete shocker if they threw the baby out with the bathwater. It would be nice if they could announce any changes before Sept 15th so, if I needed to, I could get my Thailand Elite Visa application in before that changes...

I'd go even further & say they were happy to open accounts for anybody, I opened mine in 2017 on a Visa Exempt & know guys who have done the same as recently as January this year. In March (might have been May) this year the Banking regulations changed & you now need at least 30 days remaining on your permission to stay to open an account which more or less rules out Visa Exempt holders though I do know of an agency in Jomtien that will take you to do an extension to your VE & then to open a Bank Account the same day.

So the only reason for being denied insurance is age? You Never heard of pre-existing conditions that make some people simply uninsurable. That aside most insurance companies have a maximum onboarding age of 75 so whilst mine will continue to insure me until I’m 99, I couldn’t get a new policy with them at 76. Please share the name of your Insurance company (mine is Pacific Cross) as I’m sure a lot of guys > 75 would be interested.

Your proposed criteria for PR was >70, been here 10 years & Thai ability didn’t matter. Mine was <60, has a few Million THB in the bank & speaks/reads Thai to at least a Basic level You then said you would meet that criteria anyway which was a lie as you’re > 70 Thats where the <60 came in. The irrelevant part of it was you making a stupid suggestion of who they should give PRs to.

So you don’t meet all the criteria I listed (I.e. you’re not under 60, the very 1st thing I listed) & I’m the one who needs to learn to Read/Comprehend! So yes, I was right to not believe you not that I give a Flying F.

First part you are the only person to have a Non-IMM OA who’s ever reported needing money in the bank except at Extension time. But you are Special. 2nd part youre making stupid assumptions, there were some guys who have more than enough money to Self Insure (the amount quoted for LTR is 3Million) but were unable to get Medical Insurance so switched to the Non-IMM O.

So you’re under 60, speak/read Thai & have a few Million in the Bank? Seeing as you advocated Over 70s with no Thai ability I simply don’t believe you…

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You mean it would solve problems for you Why should they give you PR if you’ve lived here for 10 years & are too lazy to bother to learn the language? . No country wants Old Foreigners who are likely to cause them problems with unpaid hospital bills / unclaimed bodies so instead why not give everybody <60 who has a few Million THB in the bank & speaks/reads Thai to at least a Basic level PR? Fun factoid, it’s more or less impossible to get a PR in Singapore after 50 unless you’re married to a Singaporean (or insanely wealthy)

Was that a Bank Statement (if so was it 3 months, 6 months or 1 year) or the normal letter from the Bank confirming the amount you have that day? Also when was this? only the rules seem to have changed in the past 4-5 months

I mainly eat at home & so was referring to the quality of the food that was available in the supermarkets there. Even in Davao City at the SMs/ Robinson it was pretty poor. I love Korean & Japanese food and have had some of the best I’ve ever tried in Cebu.

I was dating a Filipina (in SG) for 8 years (Went 1/2s on a house a couple of hours north of Davao City) so when it came to retirement obviously considered moving there & around about that time (just prior to Covid) there was talk that they were going to put an end to the seamless 3 years on Visa Exempt entry & make people leave after 6 months (Philippines isn't the easiest country to do a Border Hop from). No idea if this will come back on the table but the SRRV has to be amongst the cheapest Retirement Visas out there & if you go down the Marriage route, you get an automatic 1 year on arrival & just have to show "Proof of Finances" (I can't find specific amounts) if you go down the 13A route. Food sucks so I chose Thailand though the women are much hotter (especially in the Visayas) so it's clear where my priorities lay!

I'm planning on using a Fixed Deposit account for the 1st time next week so will report back on whether I needed a statement (hopefully not as it takes Bangkok Bank 1 week to produce a 12 month statement). NB. although I do keep the 800K in the Bank (have also maintained > 800K in my "Savings" account incase I have a problem with the FD account) I will be using an Agent to do all the paperwork/running around. So for any "None Lazy Farangs who are not helping to propagate the corrupt Visa System" out there YMMV.

That what the standard Insurance for the OA used to be but it changed to 3Milllion Outpatients cover from 1st October 2021 which I believe is the same for the newish LTR Visa So am guessing would be the standard for any future Insurance requirements... https://www.pacificcrosshealth.com/en/longstay-visa/