Mike Teavee

No Tim, as long as you have a Visa you should be fine with a return ticket outside of the 90 days.

Are you sure you didn't have a Non-OA visa which gives you up to 1 year (or to the end of the visa/extension) on entry? Non-Imm O Visas come in Multi (which gives you unlimited 90 day entries for 1 year) & single (Which gives you a single 90 day entry) but they only give a 90 day permission to stay. Trust me, I have approx 20 stamps in my passport for 2018 & 2019, each of them giving me 90 days to stay on my Non-Imm O (Multi) as I used to visit Bangkok from Singapore every other weekend.

You have an extension based on a Non-Imm O visa with re-entry permit that's valid until 30th April 2022 so if you enter on 12th December 2021 you will be given a permission to stay of 90 days which will take you to 12th March 2022 & that's when your insurance policy needs to be valid to. If you want to stay beyond 12th March then you will need to either leave Thailand & re-enter or extend (I'm not sure this is possible in normal times but am sure there are COVID options in place to do an extension). NB if you were to leave Thailand on (say) 10th March & come back the next day, you will only get a permission to stay until the end of your extension/re-entry permit (same date), obviously if you come back after 30th April you'll need a new visa or enter Visa Exempt.

Maybe check out the crime rates between Davao & say Pattaya https://www.numbeo.com/crime/compare_cities.jsp?country1=Thailand&country2=Philippines&city1=Pattaya&city2=Davao

I'm glad I'm not planning to apply for one of these until next year as it's confusing as hell (doesn't even seem to be a consensus as to whether the insurance is $50K or $100K as I read both numbers in multiple threads). As I understand it:- - All arrivees in Thailand have to have $50K (0r $100k) Insurance that covers the duration of the permission to stay given on arrival, assuming new Visas this would mean Visa Exempt needs 30 days Non-Imm O needs 90 days Non-Imm OA need 1 year - Unsure as to whether their insurance also has to cover the general Non-Imm OA requirements of 400K inpatients & 40K outpatients. Thailand Elite need 1 year - The Insurnance must explicitly state that it covers COVID so best to get a separate certificate for this or at least get the insurance company to highlight it - There is no requirement to have any Out-Patient insurance (again, Non-Imm OA holders may need this as part of their general visa/extension requirements).

If I were to move to the Philippines (& it was a close call between moving there over Thailand) then I would move probably move to Davao City, one thing the OP got right was that Davao City is considered one of the safest cities in Asia due to the extreme methods that D30 used to stamp out crime there - In 30+ visits I'm yet to witness/hear of any crimes there, I used to comment that you rarely even see people smoking on the street.... It had changed a lot since I 1st went though (1st trip I saw 5 non-filippinos in 2 weeks & 4 of them were 2 white couples) & in particular I noticed that the Old(er than Typically found in Thailand) White "Monger" has found their way to Davao... In terms of food, I'm not a fan (though Adobe, Calderada & Kare Kare are pretty decent) but there are masses of Korean & Japanese restaurants there so you won't exactly go hungry. I did find the selection of fesh veggies & meat in the supermarkets a bit dire. Oh & for me, the Southern Philippines girls (especially ones from Cebu) are much hotter on average than a Thai girl (Lol, I guess I'm one of the guys who really didn't move to Thailand for the ladies). For guys who are looking for long term visa options, marry a Fillipina (No such thing as divorce in PI) & you get easy 1 year extensions (1 year stamp on entry) & access to the Public Health Care system.... For confirmed batchelors the SRRV is cheap & easy to get.

Did you find a decent school for your GF to learn English?

I thought Embassies had been insisting Non-Os needed the 400K/40K Health Insurance to get a CoE. Is the $100K insurance Covid specific or general Health Insurance? Edit: I'd also read that the Covid Insurance had gone down to $50K but am unsurprised to learn that this has changed, again...

Isn't this "Only" the $50K Covid Insurance now or do returning Non-Imm O's still need to have the 400K/40K Health Insurance that was part of getting a CoE.

The point is these guys did have it on paper according to the rules at that time, now they're being asked to meet a different set of rules - That's a change in the rules as far as they are concerned. No, the rule was you needed to be able to show a gross income of 65K, now you need a nett (of taxes & expenses) income of 65K - Again, this is different than what it was.

Hopefully my post did not come across the wrong way. I'm well aware of how ill health can impact any of us at a moment's notice irrespective of how healthy we think we are or what healthy lifestyles we live. I'm sure we all have an Aunt/Uncle who lived to be 100 despite smoking a pack of ciggies a day & at the same time went to school with some kid who was very athletic but was struck down with a heart attack, brain tumour, cancer etc... before they'd graduated. Hope your health improves when you move to Europe (I'm sure parts of places like Portugal would be more healthy for me than Bangkok, but I've recently moved out to Wongamat so at least the air is healthier here) . Take care ????

But you can see that there is a difference between getting a legitimate income certificate that says you have 65K pm income Gross & being able to transfer 65K pm Nett don't you? Added to that people are now forced to transfer at least 65k pm over to Thailand whereas they may only need 1/2 of that to live on (granted they can send it back but you cannot say that things haven't changed if you're forced to do that). Again, I'm not affected by any of these rule changes but I can see how some guys may have been. Edit "If using the seasoning 800k lump sum, 3 month (first time) 2 months (ext), and can withdrawal all after visa approval. For non -O- ret" You are very mistaken if you believe that you can spend the 800K below 400K at any point during the year...

I agree that things haven't changed for me, but you cannot deny that they haven't changed for other guys in the past 3-5 years:- No Income Certificates for guys from Aus, US & UK - Makes it harder for people to prove they meet the 65K pm income threshold. (For guys using the Income pm method) Need to transfer 65K pm into Thailand every month (NB the difference here in the fact that the income certificates were done on gross income so any tax or expensies in your home country could be ignored, the fact that you have to transfer over 65K every month means these now affect how much "Income" you have for extension purposes). The 800K now needs to stay in your bank account for at least 3 months after the extension, cannot drop below 400K during the year & needs to be back at 800K for 2 months (slight relief here as it used to be 3 months) before your next extension. [The real Biggie] Non-Imm OA Visa Holders (irrespective of how long they;ve had the visa) now need Health Insurance of at least 400K outpatients & 40K inpatients. ... Again none of these changes impact me (I'm on a Non-Imm O so don't need the insurance & always planned to tie the 800K up all year round) but you can't say they haven't chnged & as such impacted some people (especially the Non-Imm OA Insurance requirements). Edit: Sorry, Posted same time as @Jingthingbut I think our posts align.

I can see why you & a lot of other guys (especially us UK/EU guys who get "Free" health care) return to our home countries as we get older & develop medical issues, but the OP was saying he was moving back because of Immigrations issues so I was suggesting a couple of options that can help make those issues a lot easier to deal with. I'm 55 & (touch wood) have no medical issues so if I'm in the same situation when I'm 65 I can see a 1 Million THB 20 year visa taking me to 85 at which point if I still live in Thailand (or am alive even) I'd worry about it then, but the chances are that I will also have chosen to return back to the UK before then due to medical concerns. I understand what you're saying about paying 1 Million for a 20 year "Visa" at 65 and then having to return back at 69 but if you did not know then that you would have these problems you would have enjoyed 4 years of the Visa + you'd have another 16 years to enjoy any future trips to Thailand if you can (Appreciate regular dialysis treatment would make this very difficult if not impossible but in the cases of guys who have gone back for heart operations of cancer treatment, there is always an option to come back after a couple of years).

Agreed, but if you were planning on going down the 20 year 1 million THB route anyway, paying 600K, getting 4 years of perks & then paying the extra 400K is better than paying the whole 1 Million upfront & not getting any perks.

Actually it's Nota Bene & think more people would recognise what it means than would know what it's an acronym of but I take your point on the TBH one, was a bit of lazy typing ????

Yep, it makes no sense to shell out the 1 Million upfront when you can pay 600K now & the other 400K in 5 years AND get 5 years of additional perks (airport transfers etc...).

Can get it directly for 1Million Baht or as @BritTimhas mentioned, you can get a 5 year visa for 600K then pay the additional 400K to upgrade to the 20 year option.

The Markets (FX & LSE) reacted strongly (UK Banks were down 2-4+%) when it was announced interest rates were staying at 0.1% so I think they'll raise it to the expected 0.25% at December's meeting. I also think we'll see gradual increases every 2-3 months for 2022.

I take it this was a typo & you meant annual extensions... I'm only in my 3rd year of doing extensions but I don't find them (or TM30/90 day reports) onerous as I just pay an agent to do it for me:- Annual Extension - 7,000 (Bangkok) - 8,000 (Pattaya) - NB If you don't meet the financial requirements it's 12,500 + an extra 2,500 if you're on a Non-Imm OA & don't meet the health insurance requirements either TM30 - Free, my Estate Agent did it for me 90 Day Report - Normally free (online) but have problems this year so 200 THB with an agent. I get that these requirements may change but in the past decade+ since I've been planning my retirement in Thailand, the only examples I can think of are the tightening up around the financial requirements (limits stayed the same) & the addition of Health Insurance for Non-Imm OA - (Which I acknowledge is a huge deal for some guys) TBH If I was 65 & sick of dealing with annual extensions, I would get the 20 year Thai Elite Visa (1 Million) before I would up-sticks & move 1/2 way across the world (though I get that it's a lot closer to the US for you).

Apologies for taking this thread down the “Teeth” track, my intention was to point out (the obvious) that we all have different ideas in our minds when thinking about “Living Comfortably” & put different values on things. At the risk of starting another diversion was chatting with my mate last night who was taking the p155 out of me for paying 7K to an agent to do my annual extension… You smoke right - Yes How Many - About a pack a day How Much - about 150 THB a pack… So about 54k pa & I’m the idiot? (NB I’m not anti-smoker, just another example of how we all choose to spend our money on different things).

Here’s hoping you buck the trend… even if it’s only to call me out when I make a crappy post ????????

Do you have any missing teeth (Wisdom ones aside & that’s not a dig but we all lose them in our 20/30s). if not, try chewing on 1 side of your mouth for the next few years & tell me it doesn’t matter.

Good point, at 55 I still think it's a worthwhile investment maybe me at 70 would choose more Chang or a new TV ????

Lol, I'm hoping you mean the hot Thai lady I had once.... in about 40 visits ????