Percy Penguin

8 hours ago, Hal65 said:

I've been researching this extensively and have decided to move to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It will cost me $130 and then another $140 to rent a shuttle van to move all my stuff. From there costs will change in the following ways:

 

Visa related: $700 yearly savings

Rent: $600 yearly increase

Female company: $25 extra per night. The girls are more sweet and amateur though.

 

...

 

Overall I expect costs to go up about $2,500/year. But I'll also be saving about $16,000 per 5 years in Elite visa, which will return about $1,450 per year or $800 per year post inflation.

I'm amazed the cost of living would be higher in Cambodia than Thailand (whereabouts in Thailand?)

54 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The only advantage to Elite other than not having to deal with the paperwork etc of annual extensions of stay that I have been able to identify is fast track through airport immigration.  It is very poorly designed with no meaningful benefits other than ability to stay in Thailand. Even for people living in Bangkok there is no real 90 day reporting service as I would define it...as people have to travel in person to  Elite office to drop off passport and again to pick it up.

 

However, bear in mind in  your case that when you are eligible for retirement extension you may be required to purchase an expensive, low value local health insurance policy regardless of whether you have other insurance. (WILL be for sure if you enter on an O-A. Might be able to avoid that by entering on another visa and changing it to an O, or managing to get an O to begin with from a place that still issues them,  but I would not count on that loophole persisting). And this will cost you almost as much as Elite does per year. As much or more if you opt for a meaningful level of cover or grow older.

Hmm, another way of saying that is that the Elite may double in cost after you're committed. I'll pass and try and stay under the (nebulous) tourist visa threshold.

5 hours ago, MattDM said:

Didn't count really the days in 2018. Two SETV's with extension plus about 5 weeks of the start of the METV

6 hours ago, MattDM said:

I was in Thailand during 2019 for 6 months, less about 3 weeks for the trips to Singapore, Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam

With that history there was always a high risk they wouldn't let you in this time, especially coming in at BKK. There's obviously something pretty wrong with a system that takes money off you for a visa and then doesn't let you in. Did Hull give you any kind of warning that this might happen?

Way beyond a joke at this point...

5 hours ago, nailbrains8 said:

I've known him since he first came to Thailand and his only other history was a single entry tourist visa.

 

- Single Entry (back to England)

- METV (back to England)

- METV (DENIED)

 

That's his entire history.

Do you know how long he's spent in Thailand within the last 12 months?

I'm starting to wonder if an SETV is actually safer because it doesn't signal 'if you let me in now I'll be back again pretty soon'.

I do 5 - 6 mths a year in Thailand, and until recently I felt there was a good chance of being able go to on that way until I get to 50 and become eligible for a retirement visa. Plan B has been to stump up for an elite visa.

The 5-year elite visa effectively lasts for 6 years and at 43 I am only 7 years away from 50.

Recently there have been a few posters in a situation pretty similar to mine saying they have been refused entry, or had a very near miss. The situation is only getting more difficult, so I'm thinking there's a high chance of having to pay the 500k for the elite at some point in the next 7 years.

Imagine it happened when I was 48. That would be fairly irritating because I'd be paying for 6 years, but maybe only getting the benefit for 2. I would have been able to get a retirement visa for the other 4 anyway.

That is making me wonder if there are any advantages in having an elite visa once you're over 50. If not it might be better to go for it now.

BTS I am not mad about Bangkok so probably wouldn't get the 90 day reporting service, and I think the airport transfer service only applies to Bangkok as well. Other than those things, does the elite have any benefits over and above an ordinary SETV / METV?

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

The reason stamped in his passport actually translates to: Doesn't have basic needs. Or to simplify it: He is impoverished.

This reason is just abused by immigration to deny people who they suspect of working even though they have zero evidence.

3 hours ago, Mattd said:

Exactly, it is their way of saying we think you work here but cannot prove it.

As I said, you can see the reasoning, a young bloke who is spending large amounts of time in Thailand, how is he supporting himself etc. 

As far as immigration are concerned, the means to stay in Thailand in cases such as this is provided for by the Elite program, I am not saying this is right or wrong, but you can see the logic.

 

To add to this, the pattern of denials are mostly visitors who make serial visits to Thailand and are under the age of 50.

That's exactly it. I disagree when Jackdd says it's abuse though.

The OP says he was questioned for half an hour but doesn't say what they asked him or what chance he was given to say where his money was coming from, if not from some kind of work in Thailand. If he can't demonstrate a source of income outside Thailand, you can't blame them for drawing the obvious inference.

Having cash on you doesn't help show where it comes from- those are two different things.

OP also doesn't say how many months of the year he spends in Thailand, only how many entries over the life of the last passport. More than 6 months per year is asking for trouble IMO, and I don't think that's a new thing.

With the SETV, if you extend to 90 days I think you can get a re-entry permit at the same time, then re-enter after the original last entry date. Can you do the same with the METV e.g. if the Valid Until date on the visa itself is 10 November, can you enter 1 November, extend stay to 90 days and get permission to re-enter, leave 1 December, and re-enter 20 December?

I haven't done it with dtac but with other carriers the vouchers you get at convenience stores are valid for something like 2 years, so you can just pick up a few of the cheap ones and top up as and when. Works for my Malaysian SIM. FWIW I don't think you need to do it every 3 months - I was out of Thailand for something like 9 months and my dtac number was still active when I got back.

7 minutes ago, BritTim said:

You may want to correct the Thai Revenue Department who are helping to propagate this myth.

Source: https://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

I stand corrected, thanks. I have heard something along these lines any number of times but have never had chapter and verse to back it up... or possibly I was mixing this up with the idea that you don't have to pay tax on foreign (non-Thai) income provided that you earned it in a previous year. Now that is a myth, surely? If not, it's elite visa and 9 months a year for me.

delete

I don't believe the Thai system really is a "territorial tax system" in that sense. I think it's just an expat myth. More than 6 months = tax resident = taxable on worldwide income subject to any double taxation treaty, AFAIC. Whether they actually come for you is another matter, obviously.

What makes it look expensive is the fact that you can get more or less the same thing for a lot less. Until recently you were just paying for peace of mind... but that is changing. If and when it really does come to 3 months a year or stump up for the elite, it will look cheap at today's prices... but will it be available at today's prices?

My worry is that if they limit people to one TV per year the price of the elite visa will go up, because it will be the only option for under 50s.

I got an METV from the UK a while back. One of the docs they ask for (unless you're employed) is your tax return. On the front of the tax return there is a box you have to tick if you were not resident in the UK for tax purposes. On my next return, I will have to tick that box. The return will show income from UK properties, so the fact that the box is ticked doesn't really imply that I am working abroad, but could still set alarm bells ringing.

I'm thinking it would be a bad idea to apply for an METV on the back of a return with the non-resident box ticked, but any thoughts / info would be good.

Also, if you spend X months in Thailand, I can't see immigration caring whether you do it on SETVs or on an METV. Is that fair to say?

Along the lines of "your balance must not have fallen below x in the last y months". I can't see one on the website but wanted to be sure - I may apply in the next year or two and wouldn't want to get tripped up. Cheers.

18 hours ago, elviajero said:

Immigration do not just look at the entry being made, but the cumulative total of stays in the country. There is an unofficial line of 180 days that often gets quoted which is clearly the point that IO's are ordered to scrutinise the history and intentions of the visitor more closely.

17 hours ago, JackThompson said:

They have gone back over a year to get to a total 180 days in some reported cases.

13 hours ago, edwardandtubs said:

 

How does this 180 day thing work exactly? Is it 180 days per calendar year or 180 out of the previous 365 days? Can they even see those numbers on their system or do they have to count it up themselves?

10 hours ago, BritTim said:

Since it is not an official rule, we really do not know. As I posted earlier, I suspect the immigration computer system, on entry, has been programmed to alert officials if the 180-day threshold has been breached (so increased scrutiny can take place) but exactly how the 180 days is counted is not known. It might not even be the most recent 12-month period. Conceivably, it might be 180 days in any 12-month period after some start date (similar to the visa exempt entry checks).

 

System generated notifications aside, the officials can decide to create their own threshold. For some of them, it might just be a general feeling that you have been here too long (as has happened according to at least one report where the 180 days was over an approximate 17 month period).

9 hours ago, elviajero said:

They seem to count based on the “previous 365 days”. But there is no officially published rule.

 

No they don’t have the number on the system, and would have to calculate it.

And I thought I was safe sticking to 179 days per 365-day period - is there just that one report of going back over 365 days, and does anyone remember anything about it that might help me find it on here?

I can see that one six-month trip is not the same as four trips of a month and a half each with time at home in between, so I guess the pattern counts for something as well as the total time.

On 12/5/2018 at 12:25 AM, steve187 said:

explain

 

i think you will find that is for a multi entry, the thread is about a double entry

Can you get an METV from a neighbouring country though? I thought you had to go back home (UK in my case). This does not work out that well for me because I don't go to Thailand for a good 3 months after leaving the UK, so if it turns out you can get an METV somewhere in the region that would be v. good news.

Course if the proposed changes actually happen then it might not matter. Still interested though.

Separately, can you get permission to re-enter when getting a SETV, or does that require a visit to immigration in LOS?

Thanks all. I don't wear T-shirts twice BTW - in fact it's not often I wear the same one all day. I move around a bit but am usually in a serviced apartment with its own washing machine. They're decent machines (current one is a Bosch no more than a couple of years old) but I have the same problem everywhere - fruity under the arms... Anyway, I'll make sure it's breeze next time and also try the baking soda trick. Cheers.

Yeah I know, but I have to wash my T-shirts 3 times to get them clean in LOS, unless I wash them at 60, which makes them shrink. I've tried pre-soaking, doesn't seem to make much difference. I've also tried an anti-bacterial detergent meant for nappies (diapers!) I'm on the point of shipping laundry liquid in from the west - any tips before I do that?

You still have to do 90 day reporting with the TE visa, right? Anyway I thought the hassle the OP had in mind was more that after a few years of doing 9 months out of 12 in Thailand, you're going to be getting the fear as soon as you hit the tarmac. That's what you buy your way out of with the TE card, I'd say.

I only do 180 days a year so think I can get away with tourist visas for a good few years, but at 9 months a year I can definitely see the point.

In the OP's situation I would go for the 5/6 year option and take the risk of the TE being withdrawn or the price being hiked in that time, but the real cost/benefit per year is close enough that I don't think the numbers will give you the answer. It comes down to personal preference IMO. I think you can justify either option, especially if you keep in mind that the equation changes when you hit 50.

OK thanks guys. I will get a proper flight ticket then. I can't be arsed going down there and waiting around only to be told I have to try again and come back the following week. I am in KL at the moment so it has to be KL really - cheaper to buy a ticket I'm not going to use than to go to Penang and back, and much quicker too.

Hi,

I am planning to get a single entry tourist visa from the embassy in KL at some point next week. There is a checklist of documents online and it includes a ticket back out of Thailand, but a) I am not sure where I will be going after that and b) it could be that I will want to extend the visa. I really don't know yet because it will be expiring right about the time it is getting too hot and I will just have to see what is going on.

Can I get away without the return ticket, and if not what is the cheapest "burner" ticket I can get away with (it would have to be from Chiang Mai really, and bookable online).

Thanks