Mike Teavee

Why should Agents be declared illegal? I use them (for convenience) for all of my immigration needs despite keeping the 800K in the Bank. The next 10 days are going to be interesting as I need to Extend my Non-IMM O Visa Get a Multi Re-Entry Permit Do a TM30 change of address 90 Day Report (Despite doing a TM30 which obviously reports my address to immigration ) You can bet your bottom dollar that I will legally be using an Agent to do all of the above (8K for the extension, 4K for the Multi-Rentry Permit, unknown for the TM30 & they normally do a new 90 Day report for me as part of the Extension). PS. I also have Health Insurance (Visa Friendly Policy with Pacific Cross) which I got when they made it mandatory for Non-IMM OA holders as I thought there was a possibility that this would be extended to Non-IMM O holders but I wouldn't want to see this made mandatory as there are lots of guys that have lived her for decades who are too old to get it. Make this kind of stuff mandatory for New Visas by all means, but retrospectively making changes for existing holders that they cannot meet is simply unfair.

If you think Hong Kong would be a nightmare, Singapore would be worse as they only issues them to Citizens & PRs . I'd be royally screwed if Thailand insisted on a Police Report for the 12 years prior to retiring to Thailand that I spent working there!

Pretty sure it was “Aliens” who had been on unbroken Non-IMM O/OA visas for 4 years that were Grandfathered.

I would go for the LTR if I qualified (hold my hands up, I don't on income grounds as I'm living on rental/dividend income & due to Covid, 2000/2001 were bad dividend years for my main holdings) and if I was already planning on purchasing a >8.5Million THB property (Which I am).... I wouldn't bring in $250,000 for any other reason than to purchase property. I would have gone for the Non-Imm OX if it had been available when I was getting my 1st (Non-IMM O) visa hence me creating the topic, but have more or less decided now to wait out the next 2.5 years until I can show a guaranteed > $40K income from my private pensions and go for the LTR As an aside I really am hoping that any changes to Retirement Visa will introduce a new 1/2 way "house" between LTR/Non-IMM OX and current Non-IMM O/OA giving a 5 year visa for higher financial limits... But I know i should be careful what I wish for!

Barclays will allow you to pay money into your investment/ISA account via a Debit card so I don't see why a Wise (MasterCard) Debit Card wouldn't work. Unfortunately I can't try it as I've just dug out my Wise Debit Card & found out it has expired ???? https://www.barclays.co.uk/smart-investor/video/how-to-videos/debit-card-payment-isa-gia/

An oldy (2008/2009) but a goody if you're a fan of the gritty British crime dramas.... Criminal Justice... https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1188927/ Drama series following people accused of crimes and their journey through the British Criminal Justice System.

I don't "need" to change, I was just mulling over my options for long term stay in Thailand [I should have added in my OP that the upcoming changes to the Thailand Elite Visa also prompted my question as I've also been considering the 20 year 1 Million THB visa before the changes coming on 15th September] As things stand I have decided to stick with my Non-IMM O (I do keep 800K in the Bank + have Health Insurance anyway) and do nothing for the next couple of years until my pensions start to pay out & then will go for the LTR visa. Thanks to all for your replies & here's hoping any changes to the Non-IMM O include Grandfathering for existing holders

The current discussions about possible changes to "Retirement" Visas & potential increase in how much money you need to keep in the bank got me to thinking.... Is it possible to convert from a Non-IMM O to a Non-IMM OX without leaving Thailand? I know you would need... - 3Million in the Bank (or 1.5 Million and 100K pm income) - Health Insurance - Criminal Records Check But assuming you had all these & were happy with keeping a minimum balance of 1.5 Million in the bank (& ignoring the 1Million deposit protection limit) would it be possible to convert to the 10 year visa or would you have to "Exit" your current visa and get a new Non-IMM OX outside of Thailand?

World on Fire https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8001092/ A story of World War II through the lives of ordinary people from all sides of this global conflict. The first series of seven episodes tells the story of the first year of the war, starting with the German invasion of Poland in September 1939 and ending with the Battle of Britain. For those who have seen Season 1, Season 2 was released last month

I seem to remember somebody saying the Embassy had updated their site to include higher finance requirements then quickly took it down... The above is still there today on the Sydney Embassy site... https://sydney.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-immigrant-visa-type-o-a But on the same site to get a Non-IMM O you only need A$2,000 in your bank account! Proof of adequate finance - A bank statement in the past six months showing a deposit account with the minimum fund of AUD 2,000 https://sydney.thaiembassy.org/en/publicservice/non-immigrant-visa-type-o-retirement?cate=60a49cffd5987e330c3424e2

Another video from Integrity Legal... More "Inspection Of Bank Statements" For Thai Retirement Visas? Key point is that Big Joke specifically mentioned that the lack of inspection of bank statements by Immigration Bureau officers is allowing some Foreigners to "Window Dress" their Bank Accounts.

Ouch... With that + a 100K pm income you could get the 10 Year Non-IMM OX visa. Speaking of which it's the 10 Year Non-IMM OX & new(ish) 10 year LTR visas that make me think they will introduce a new multi (5) year visa targeted at guys who can put more money in the bank. Funny enough, 1.5Million would be my guess for it or an income of 100-125K pm.

My post was what I think they will do... I believe they will Grandfather in existing holders (save for more scrutiny on Extensions) & create a new 5-year Class of Retirement Visa. Time will tell... Edit: Why don't you share your number, as I posted if they do increase existing limits I expect it to be 1Million/80K pm.

Maybe somebody should start a Poll... I would select an option that said no increases to existing O/OA Visa Holders (except maybe greater scrutiny on people having the money in the bank and/or income) & the creation of a completely new retirement visa based more on the OX... Not unlike what they are (rumoured to be) doing with the Thailand Elite visa, i.e. leaving the existing Visas as-is & creating a new class of PE visa. If I had to select an increase I would go with 1Million/80K pm...

It's well known that THB was pegged to USD for a longtime & I'm pretty sure it was UbonJoe (RIP) who shared that fact but I can't find the post as it was several years ago.

I seem to recall somebody saying that the 800K/65K pm was set to match on approx. $2K pm so at current rates that would be 70K pm /840K.

@mrblonde If you do decide to go down the 5 year 600K PE route then do it quickly as the current PE offerings are changing from 15th September & current rumours are that the 5 year visa will cost 900K from 1st October.

Clean Sweep https://m.imdb.com/title/tt8270482/

And would existing Non-IMM O/OA holders who are under 60 be Grandfathered in or kicked out? Probably the best approach would be to leave existing Non-IMM O/OA as they are and create a new visa type that matches what they want to see in Retirees, then let the old Non-IMM O/OA fade away naturally. You never know, If they made the new Visa attractive enough (e.g. 1.5Million on deposit gets you a 5 year multi-entry visa) then some existing O/OA holders may switch.

They've just posted a new video on it... But basically saying the same thing... 1. Nothing has change yet & it will take time before anything does. 2. Big Joke is no joke when it comes to Immigration changes so keep an eye out for updates in the news. 3. Good possibility of Grandfathering but don't solely base your plans on them doing so...

Presumably they get a 1 year Multi (90 day) Entry Non-IMM O (would need to show the 400/800K in some bank or some proof of income to get) & do a border bounce towards the end of it to get the extra 3 months. Very easy for Marriage visa holders, not so easy for Retirees nowadays though that's the Visa I started on (got it in Penang when I was working in Singapore, used the 800K in my Thai bank, Singapore pay slips & a letter from the British Embassy confirming income - unfortunately the British & American/Australian Embassies no longer provide these ).

Fingers crossed, but as pointed out to me on another thread, they didn't Grandfather in existing Non-IMM OA holders when they introduced the Health Insurance requirement or existing Non-IMM O/OA holders when they made the 800K mandatory for 5 months & 400K for 7 months so who knows what the new government will do. I just hope whatever happens, consideration is given to guys who have lived here for years & simply don't have "a Home" to go back to anymore.

They can’t, the Banks would never allow it but they do accompany you to help you get it (& helped me get additional statements one year when I had amalgamated entries in my bank book). There is no need to attend immigration at Jomtien, you can sign a form authorising the agent to do the extension on your behalf. CW insists you attend except in Medical situations where you can’t attend & again sign a form authorising somebody to do it on your behalf

Hey it’s all speculation & I hope we’re all wasting our time discussing something that amounts to nothing. But if the money in the bank requirement does go up, then I think it’s a Probability that the monthly income requirement will go up as the 2 things have always been more or less in step with each other.

Yes at CW but the Agent makes an appointment & prior to the appointment system they knew exactly when to turn up to get seen more or less straightaway, in & out each year in 30-40 mins including getting the bank letter. Don't need to attend at Jomtien.