Mike Teavee

If you fancy a very nice holiday you could go Penang to Langkawi then enter Thailand via the boat over to Koh Lipe… Warning you might never look at Phuket the same way again after visiting either Langkawi or Koh Lipe ????

Correct... I re-entered 31st May & had a bit of a scare when the online system sent me a reminder saying my next return was 3rd July, but soon realised they were using my last reporting date & not my last date of entry so my correct date is 28th August. Your next reporting date should be due 21st August.

I paid my GF’s 100K loan off when I found out that she had paid 8K pm for 1 year & still owed 96K. Worked out well as she paid me the 8K pm & gave up Birthday/Xmas presents to clear the debt in 9 months. Since then she’s cut up all but 1 of her credit cards (had about 9 of them maxed out which was why she needed the loan) which she keeps in case of an emergency.

Depends on which Immigration Office you use but I found Jomtien & (IIRC) Bangkok require a TM30 for anything you need to do with them so at worse on your next visit to Immigration you'll be fined (Can't remember how much - 1,500b rings a bell). If you plan on travelling outside of the country anytime soon then just ignore it & do a TM30 when you get back, if not then probably best to visit your immigration office to file a new one/pay the fine. FWIW I'm moving Condo next month & asked the agent (Not really, it was the Condo Management Office who found the unit for me) about doing my TM30 as my last one did it automatically for me every time I returned to Thailand (even though I didn't need to file a new one).. She said cannot do but knows a lady that will do it for me for 500b... Turns out the Owner is registered for the TM30 online service so will do it for free.

One of my favourite CT sketches…

Agreed, figures of 15-25K are very high, it's normally around 12,500B if you don't have the 800K in the bank so an extra 10,600B on top of the 1900B immigration fee. If you do have the money in the bank it's 8000B so an extra 6,100B on top of the 1,900B immigration fee - Worth it to me, others don't see the value & do it themselves - To each his own.

As I said, the majority of Retirees on here do not meet the financial requirements of the LTR so it might as well not exist for them but you are right, the potential point about UK inheritance Tax aside then it really is not worth the hassle of going for it at 70. But then again, if I was 70 I'd just buy the 1 Million THB 20 year Visa & be done with it (am sorely tempted to do this now at 57, if I was 70 it would have been done 3-4 years ago).

Apologies if this is a stupid question (have never considered getting married so have never considered it before) but if I were to marry my long term (4.5 years) Thai girlfriend could I apply for PR without ever having worked here ?

I'd guesstimate < 5% of Retirees here have an income of > $80,000 or have an income > $40,000 & are willing to invest $250,000... in fact I'd guess that there are more Retirees that can't/don't want to invest the $25,000/800,000b for their annual extension than that. That aside the LTR is still a Non-Immigrant Visa whereas Permanent Residency is (as the name suggests) more permanent & can lead to Thai Citizenship with all the benefits (land ownership etc...) that comes with it. All things being equal I think most people would choose PR over LTR.

In February we got a Taxi from the kiosk at the Airport, cost 900B...

Interesting... 3Million THB doesn't sound like a lot of money to have to invest, especially if the investment could be a Condo purchase... Does anybody know of anyone that's managed to get PR via the Investment Route? In another thread I made a point that it was next to impossible for Retirees to get a PR & somebody suggested setting up your own business - Feels like a lot of hassle/expense but I guess it's an option for the determined. Edit: I've just found the 3Million THB Investment needs to be made in a "Limited or Public Company" Employment: You have held a Thailand Work Visa and Work Permit for at least three years, and: You have an Extension of Stay based on Employment at the time of application You have worked at your current company for at least one year at the time of application You had a monthly salary of at least 80,000 Baht for two consecutive years or you filed a tax return for an annual income of at least 100,000 Baht for two consecutive years Investment: You have invested at least 3 Million Baht in a limited or public company in Thailand Family: You are a close family member of a Thai citizen (parent, child or spouse) Expert: You have at least a BA Degree and are employed in a position in which you have to work in for at least three consecutive years. Other categories that the Immigration Department considers eligible. https://visaguide.world/asia/thailand-visa/residence-permit/

You can add The Palm to your list. Viewed a nice 2br 2bth unit there (35k PM, Block A, Level 37) with a very nice Sea / Sanctuary of Truth view but at 63sqm it was too small for the 2 of us. Can confirm Rivera Wongamat allows Cats & small Dogs, I would say it's mainly Dogs but I have seen a guy walking his cat (You need to keep them on a lead when in the public areas).

I have heard that Conversions are done up-country but had always assumed normal extensions were done locally. As mentioned I keep the 800K in the bank but use an agent for convenience sake so I couldn't say for sure, perhaps somebody who uses an Agent to "Provide" the 800K could comment.

Sorry I should have said that I’m staying in the same area (actually moving just across the road) so it will be same (Jomtien) IO. I do agree though that the best approach is probably to keep things as simple as possible by doing my 90 Day Report / Extension before the move then doing the TM30 address change the following week.

I believe it’s the same (Jomtien) either way but have always used the 800K in the bank so don’t know for sure.

Maneerat (Pattaya) charge 8,000b (includes the 1,900b immigration fee) to do your extension if you have the 800K in the bank, 12,500 if you don’t. Add on another 4,000b if you want a multi re-entry permit at the same time.

Am moving Condo next month around about the same time as I would normally do my Extension / 90 day report & am unsure as to what the best order is to do things. Background:- Extension - Due 26th September would normally do around 45 Days early so 12th August 90 Day Report - Due 28th August would normally do around 12 days early so 16th August Moving - Get the keys to the new place on 17th August but my current lease expires on 25th August (Gave myself a week to do the move) I think my options are:- Do my Extension & 90 day report before 17th August at my current address & then move / do the TM30 address change the following week. Do the 90 day Report (online) then move & do the TM30 / Extension at my new address. Move do the TM30 then do the Extension / 90 Day Report a few days later at the new address. I'll be using an Agent to do all of the paperwork so will see what they say but would appreciate any thoughts on which is the best order to approach things. TIA MTV

Yes both Visas can continue to be extended for 1 year at a time for as long as you meet the requirements. The only difference between the 2 when it comes to extending is you will need Health Insurance for the Non-IMM OA which is why most people prefer the Non-IMM O.

As he doesn't have Permanent Resident status in Switzerland, he's not eligible to apply for a Non - OA Visa there so no surprise that the Embassy didn't recommend it. OP It sounds like you've got your Non O Visa sorted now but do note it is also possible to get one from a neighbouring country to Thailand (I believe Laos & Vietnam are currently the go-2 places) should you need to.

Can you name some of these countries, currently Greece seems to have the highest retirement age in the EU at 67 (but we all know that was because it was a basket case a few years back allowing people to retire on full pensions at 50) though other reports say it’s 62 & Germany has the highest age at 63.7. https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/04/06/pension-reform-in-france-which-countries-have-the-lowest-and-highest-retirement-ages-in-eu The Uk has one of the highest retirement ages in Europe & that’s 66 raising to 67 between 2026 - 2028 & then 68 between 2044 - 2046.

Went into Bangkok Bank yesterday to update my Bank Books & noticed that my Fixed Term Deposit that expired 1st July has been rolled over at 1.05%… Still not great but 50% more than the 0.7% I was getting ????????

Was in Bangkok Bank doing the Facial Recognition thing a couple of weeks back and the girl doing it was trying to sell me a 4.5 (might have even been 5)% long term deposit account but as "Long Term" seemed to be 12 years I passed. Currently getting 0.7% on my 6 month Fixed Deposit accounts with them so am going to look around for a new account once I get my Extension out of the way next month. Hmmm Seems their 10 & 14 month accounts are offering 1.45% interest Edit: Scratch that, these are only available to Thai Citizens/Corporates... The 10-Month and 14-Month Fixed Deposit Account are available for Thai individuals, corporates, government agencies, insurance companies, non-profit juristic persons, Financial Institution and Other Funds.

Go to see Maneerat (Soi Post Office / Soi 13/2) & they will handle it all for him for approx. 23,500THB at the end of which he'll have his initial 90 Day Non-IMM O Visa + next 12 months extension (so will be good for 15 months). I know a lot of people will say to do it himself (2,000THB) but at 74 & with (I'm assuming) little knowledge about how to get a Non-Imm O Visa I'd recommend just spending the money & taking all of the hassle/stress out of it.

"Retirement" Visas for Thailand are relatively easy to obtain/maintain but which one you go for depends mainly on your finances... If you have an income of > $80,000 per year or have > $40,000 and can invest $250,000 you can apply for the Long Term Resident "Wealthy Pensioner" Visa which will give you a 10 year Visa that can be extended for another 10 years assuming you still meet the criteria. If you have 800,000THB that you can leave in the bank or (as you are French, I believe your Embassy still provides Income Letters) can show an income of >65,000THB per month or a combination of the 2 (e.g. 400,000THB in the bank & income > 32,500THB per month) then you can get a Non-IMM O If you have no finances you can go see an Agent (approx 24,000THB for the initial Visa then 12,500THB each year to extend). In terms of obtaining your 1st Visa you have the choice of... Obtaining it in your home country (NB Unless you have a good Health Insurance policy or are planning to get one then I would recommend going for a Non-IMM O Visa rather than a Non-IMM OA) Obtaining a Non-IMM O Visa in a neighbouring country to Thailand (I believe Laos & maybe Vietnam are favourite places to do this, you will need to be able to show the equivelant of 800,000THB in a Bank Account somewhere. Enter Thailand on a Tourist Visa or Visa Exempt & convert in country (As mentioned approx. 24,000THB for an Agent to do this for you no proof of finances required - If you do it yourself you'll need the 800,000THB in a Bank Account & it will cost 2,000THB)

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