Mike Teavee

When I was first planning my retirement in Thailand the exchange rate was approx 55:1 so I used 50:1 for my plans then BREXIT struck & it dipped below 39 so I changed to using 35:1 as my “Worse Case” scenario. When I finally pulled the trigger (Dec 2019) it was around 40:1 but I’d already “Feathered my Nest” (from SGD at around 22.5:1) for >3 years so didn’t need to bring much over from the UK (£6,000 pa exchanged with a mate who works here so he could top up his pensions in the UK). From another thread I read that 25:1 might be the “Sensible” number for USD.

Tour Buses...

You can extend up to 45 days in advance at most Immigration offices (certainly Bangkok & Pattaya) and a good agent can get your extension up to 3 months in advance.

That looks like the existing Non-IMM O-X Visa...

Sorry brain fart.... 25/09/25 (25th September 2025)...

Pure speculation but I could see a requirement to have 50K pm income & maintain a minimum balance in your Account (E.g. 800K but cannot go below this).

I knew I'd read somewhere that they were reducing from 17 to 7 & a quick Google suggests that they've already made the announcement... I've no choice this year as I've recently done my annual extension (am good to 25/12/25) but would happily pay more to only have to jump through the hoops once every 5 years... 1,900 for extension, 3,800 for multi re-entry then add on another 300 in bank letters, travel to immigration etc... & you're at 25K for the 5 years, in my case I pay an agent 12K to do the extension/Multi Re-Entry permit so am at > 60K for the 5 years & would be happy to pay that).

They also announced a reduction in the number of Non-IMM visas (IIRC from 17 to 7) so there should be another update coming (allegedly this month). Totally agree with treating any non-official sources with a pinch of salt until it's confirmed by Immigration, just thought this was interesting as it seems to be dated 17th September so is a relatively new thing & got me thinking about what possible changes they could make. It wouldn't surprise me if they did announce a new 5 year Retirement/Marriage Visa when you consider people can get a 5 year Visa for simply having a Dental appointment nowadays.

A 25Bps was already factored in but the larger 50Bps cut could have an impact on the rate today, it dropped to 33.06 when the cut was announced but seems to have more or less reverted back to where it started now. https://tradingeconomics.com/usdthb:cur (Look at the 1Day chart).

Lol, 21 year gap between posts, must be some kind of record 😄

When the changes to Visa Exempt and the new DTV were announced in June, they also said that they would announce changes to the "Long Term" & Non Immigration Visas in September (i.e. This month) so whilst doing a search for news on any changes I came across this website which claims to offer a 5 year Non-IMM "O-A" Retirement Visa... https://www.thailandimmigration.org/thailand-5-year-retirement-visa/ NB This is not a typo & being confused with the existing Non-IM "O-X" Visa as the requirements are very different & don't match any existing Visa type so if it's real it is a new kind of Visa... Eligibility Criteria To qualify for the 5-Year Retirement Visa, applicants must meet the following criteria: Age: Be at least 50 years old. Income: Demonstrate a monthly income of at least 50,000 Thai Baht (approximately $1,500 USD) or its equivalent from a reliable source, such as pensions, investments, or rental income. Proof of funds: Provide evidence of sufficient funds to support your stay in Thailand. This typically involves bank statements or other financial documents. Benefits of the 5-Year Retirement Visa Extended Stay: Enjoy a continuous stay of up to five years in Thailand without the need for frequent visa extensions. Multiple Entries: Benefit from multiple entries into the country, allowing for travel to neighboring countries and returns to Thailand without applying for a new visa. Easy Renewals: The renewal process for the 5-Year Retirement Visa is relatively straightforward, requiring you to submit the necessary documents and pay the renewal fee. Access to Healthcare: Enjoy access to Thailand’s affordable healthcare system, which offers a wide range of medical services and facilities. Quality of Life: Experience a high quality of life in Thailand, with its stunning beaches, vibrant culture, and friendly people. Have to say it looks very sensible to me (so probably won't happen) & would be a welcome change/addition to the current 1 year Non-IMM O/OA "Retirement" Visas...

The <43 was referring to GBP:THB rate (currently 44:1) not his age, It's more likely the guy in the OP is a retiree taking a triple whammy of a frozen pension, inflation driving prices up & the drop in exchange rate (from 46:1 to 43:1) 43:1 is not that bad if you look at the rate since BREXIT so I strongly suspect that the other factors have had more of an impact on him than the FX rate.

Apologies, I figured you hadn't seen the exchange I was referring to which happened several weeks back, I've sort of given up on this thread since then. Ironically we should all be on the same side and want to learn from each other.... 🙂

In fairness I wasn't referring to @anrcaccountwho whilst challenging in his views has made his points without reverting to name calling... I was referring to the earlier exchanges when we were talking about withheld tax on UK Dividends & I literally have to beat myself around the head to try understand why an Aussie paying Franking Tax wouldn't have been interested in that... But maybe that's why I'm delusional.

That's my point, in the UK HMRC has clear guidelines that if you use a Foreign Credit Card to purchase Goods or Services in the UK and then pay the resulting bill using money from a Foreign Bank Account you are remitting money into the UK. Very clear & if we're honest with ourselves, it makes perfect sense. And yes, this is how the UK taxes UK Tax Residents, citizens or Non-Citizens doesn't matter as long as they're Tax Resident. But then again, maybe I'm delusional because some Aussie wants to try to school me on how Remittance based Taxation works...

Tell that to your fellow countryman who called me "Delusional" when I was trying to explain why we were spending a lot of time talking about UK Taxes... The UK actually has Tax Laws based on remitted income, so maybe that might be worth looking to when it comes to the way Thailand approach taxes... Irony being the example was on "Withheld" (Franked) Dividends... Clearly he stopped at the word "Dividend" or he would have known better.... Zero benefit for UK, AUS should be good. Question? Does Australia have the concept of "Remittance Based" Tax for non-citizens bringing money into the country? Example question, how does AUS Tax authority treat Credit Card spend for Non AUS Tax Residents? UK (HMRC) has a clear set of guidelines & in the absence of any steer from TRD, it's those that I'll use when it comes to me using my UK credit cards in Thailand).

Deleted...

When you install the App it should prompt you to enter the PIN that you want to use to access the APP which you'll then need to re-enter to confirm. Might be worth deleting & reinstalling it if you've already set a PIN up but don't know what you set.

I use the PEA app to check what my bill is & see how many units I've used that month (Also used to use it to see if anybody had moved into my old Condo yet 🙂 ) but if you have a Kasikorn account (maybe others but not Bangkok Bank as they don't recognise PEA as a valid billing org) you don't need it, just go into the K Plus app:- Click on Payments Click on Utilities Click on PEA Enter the 12 digit C.A/Ref No from a recent bill Save as a favourite App will automatically tell you how much you need to pay on the 1st/2nd of each month.

That's weird as I do have a freckle in exactly that place but no idea where it came from (It wasn't from any vaccination jabs or anything like that).

And if you use the 65K pm Income method or are from a country where your Embassy still issues income certificates you don't even get that advantage. One other advantage of staying on the Non-IMM O (& the reason I wouldn't consider moving to a DTV) is if/when they change the requirements (E.g. increase the amount you need to keep in the bank or have as income) you have a chance of being "Grandfathered In" whereas if you have to move to one in the future you are going to have to meet whatever the new requirements are. As an aside, I wouldn't plan a >30 year retirement on being able to use "Agent Assisted Finances" forever, it's inevitable that they will clamp down on them at some point though again, there is a chance that if you were already on a Non-IMM O you might be able to somehow carry on doing it.

Yep, Irony being it was them that moved me to Singapore which lead to me living in Thailand.

Barclays, in fact they flagged the last one & ended up freezing my account when they couldn't contact me on my UK mobile number.... Their rationale was it was a large transfer (£6,300), made at 4am & I'd sent £4,500 a few weeks before. I explained that I was travelling around Asia so didn't have my UK mobile enabled, was in Thailand so made the transfer at 10am local time but not to worry about the Transfer as I'd made alternative arrangements from one of my other accounts.

For my Barclays account I have a card reader but mainly use "Mobile PINSentry" via their mobile App, in fact I can't remember the last time Barclays wanted to send me an OTP to my mobile.

If UK State Pension represents a large part of his Retirement Budget he could be feeling the impact of inflation more than FX changes as he might not (legally shouldn't) be getting any annual increases so could have missed out on a 10.1% uplift in 2023 & a 6.7% uplift this year. Edit: If he's lived here for many years he could have missed out on a lot of money from annual increases so every year sees his income stay flat (FX changes aside) while inflation continues to eat into his budget... https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/pensions/pension-increase-yearly-increase-table/ Quick calculation shows that if he's been here for 10 years & his State Pension is frozen it would be approx. 33.5% lower than if he lived somewhere (e.g. Philippines) where it wasn't frozen.