Thomas72

I'm American, so I needed to fill out a W4. The only other paperwork was a residence certificate, passport, and my American driver license. They didn't want my Thai license - they required a valid foreign license. Then for all the paperwork I filled out by hand they wanted my American address.

I have a DTV. It was pretty easy to get via the Los Angeles consulate in America. It just took a while. Total processing time was about 5 weeks. I landed in Thailand last week at BKK. 11am on a Tuesday. No immigration queue. I was through in under 5 minutes. My immigration official was very cheery... "Oh, DTV visa!" He stamped me in for 6 months with zero questions. Zero stress or drama. Regarding what will happen in 6 months - others have already exited and reentered Thailand and received a new 6 month stamp. I personally don't plan on doing extensions. I travel enough it will likely be all border runs for me. I also opened a new Bangkok Bank account in Pattaya on my first try with the DTV. No fees, save the annual debit card fee. They set up online banking on my phone. I already had a sim registered in my name with AIS. Taxes? That has to nothing to do with the DTV but with how long you stay. Everyone's personal situation will be different. All in all I am very happy. There has been zero stress or fuss. If things change in the future I'll just roll with it. I'm not going to worry about what "might happen" - TIT. Anything can happen.

So "thai quota" is the term when a foreigner can no longer buy in a building (except from another foreigner) I don't read listings targeted at foreigners. They're just real estate listings - on Facebook and elsewhere. Usually written in Thai. And yes, the price disparity between thai owned and foreigner owned property is quite apparent - another reason I have thus far chosen to rent.

Thanks everyone for the clarification. I always thought "foreigner quota" meant the quota for foreign ownership had been met (no more foreigner purchases, need to find a unit from another foreigner if you want a unit in that building). It is a bit unclear on first read. What term is used in listings when no more foreigners can buy?

It's not in Pattaya, but not far, and I personally wouldn't go anywhere else: Back in 2015 I had a pre-melanoma mole removed on my back. It was diagnosed in America, but since I was going to Thailand in a few weeks I decided to take care of it in Thailand. I went to the government university hospital, "The Institute of Dermatology" in Bangkok. Google map link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/3kwYb9wTV82KSSBK9 I arrived at 6:00 when they opened. I registered. I saw a doctor at 11:00. I was in surgery at 13:00 (after lunch). I paid and was out the door before 15:00. I was incredibly impressed with everything. The cost at the time: $12. And this included all the lab work to make sure they cut deep enough (they tested what they removed). This might sound like a long day, but had I taken care of this in America it would have been a half dozen appointments spread out over 6-8 weeks and hundreds of dollars in insurance copays. Today I expect the total cost would be under $50. Since this experience I've learned university hospitals are the way to go. They're government hospitals, so cheaper - yet in my experience a much better quality of care. I'm not in Thailand at the moment, but when I return next year I will go there for a full body skin exam. - Thomas P.S. Additionally, the "Thai Travel Clinic" is right next door. In my opinion it's the best place to get low cost vaccines in all of Thailand.

I like to travel. I spend a lot of time in Cambodia and Vietnam. I travel *at least* every 90 days, sometimes more. I also want to start travelling the Philippines more. Perpetual 90 day visas/entries are suitable for me - at least for now. If I slow down in the future I'll look at 1 year visa/extension options. And yes, another aim of mine is to not transfer B800k into a Thai bank - so this works out for me too.

This is a good option, now that I know 1 year non-O ME retirement visas are easy to get from Savannakhet without a Thai bank account. I went through the process on the Thai evisa website. All the steps were pretty straightforward. They wanted: 1. Passport upload 2. Picture upload 3. Arrival date, departure date, port of arrival 4. Flight number (don't have to upload a document) 5. Hotel staying at (name/city/zip only, no document upload) Then on the final screen, this: #1 and #2 are pre-populated from your previous steps. #3 is unclear and there's no guidelines or a help link. I guess I would upload a driver's license first and see what they come back with. #4 should just be a bank statement. And judging from this recent report, it needs to be over $30K. No indication of insurance required. This is the final screen. The button says "Done". I didn't go past this, as my travel dates are not set in stone yet.

Hmm. I've used my Pink card at hospitals and never had to input numbers. Maybe they did it for me and I didn't notice. But anyway, the effect is the same. For me, I had government insurance and the hospitals told me the *only* way I could use it was via a pink card, to interface with their systems. They said a passport number couldn't be linked to government insurance, and thus, no way to look up my eligibility unless I had a pink card. They also said I couldn't use a separate hospital card. It had to be a pink card.

What's confusing about the link you posted Liquorice is it doesn't say "OR" between points 4 and 5. But I've seen the actual form you fill out and the form does say "OR".

The yellow book is basically a house book for foreigners. With it you don't need certificates of residency to buy cars, open bank accounts, etc. So it's a convenient thing to have. The pink card can be obtained after you have the yellow book. It's exactly like a Thai ID card, but for foreigners (and it's pink instead of white). It's a better ID than a Thai drivers license. If you have government benefits (like health insurance through a Thai spouse), you can swipe your pink card at hospitals just like Thais do. Another benefit of the pink card is it gets you into most places at the Thai rate (parks and other places that have dual pricing). The only place it's ever failed to get me a discount was Ayutthaya. Also, most hotels that ask for a passport will accept a pink card instead. I don't recall ever having to show my passport once I showed the pink card. The level of difficulty in getting each of these varies by province. If you are friendly with any government workers they can help facilitate it (that's how I got mine). Lawyers can also help. Getting the yellow book on your own after a condo purchase is pretty straightforward. Pink cards expire and have to be renewed every 5 years.

I wasn't aware of this. The Non Imm O ME retirement via Savannakhet can be done with a US bank account?

Well, that's definitely the way to go then. When I turn 63 (12 years from now) and I have some additional pensions that unlock I'll be able to do this (assuming it's still in place). Is this self-insure option of $100K available to O-A visa holders? If so, I could go that way now.

I thought Savannakhet and Saigon were popular choices for a 90 day O retirement visa... Just need to take copies of your bank book and perhaps a bank letter. I look for excuses to travel. I'd rather go somewhere and get a new 90 day O than spend a day at Chaengwattana.

Thank you for all the replies. First let me say I lived in Thailand for 7 years on various visas. I returned to the US and have been living here for the past 2 years. I'm returning to Thailand sometime in the next 3-6 months. I didn't pay much attention to the ins and outs of retirement visas before, as I was under 50. I am now 51. oldcpu - Thank you. You hit all of my questions, especially #2. Year 3, if still on an O-A, would require health insurance. Also, in my many travels around SE Asia in the past I have never been asked for an onward ticket from any airline (from say Phnom Penh to Bangkok, for example). It's only when I depart the US that I am asked for it. If I ever was asked in Asia, I would just immediately book an Expedia flight on my phone, at the counter. As I walked away from the counter I would cancel the flight. Expedia has free 24 hour cancellation. Andrew Dwyer - Yes. The cheapest health insurance for my age bracket is B5,080. Here's the source: https://checkdi.com/th/health/plans?gender=Male&age=51&ipd=1&opdf=1&leadid=502755&p=healthenvisa&lg=en&affid=AG1928 I won't comment on how "good" the insurance is, but the cost is $B5,080 per year. flexomike - Thank you for detailing your experience. That's exactly what I was looking for. I remember back when this insurance rolled out reading a lot of grief from O-A holders, which is why I started this thread. I have no problem doing an O-A to enter Thailand for the first 2 years. I just want to make sure I'm not causing myself any problems down the road. biervoormij - I currently have 5 year driving licenses (car and motorcycle). They expire in about a year. My plan is to enter on an O-A so I can easily renew them for another 5 years. I also have a yellow book and a pink card. oldcpu - I thought health insurance was required for the LTR-WP visa? Do they accept your European insurance instead? Thank you for clarifying this. I have savings and property rentals. This combination of financing would not qualify for the B65k method then. Another reason I'd like to keep money in the US is the huge interest rate I am earning right now. I'm getting 5.25% on my cash. Rates will of course change in the future, but for now - I want to keep as much money as I can in the US.

Liquorice, I like your suggestion best :) Except I'll probably milk the full 2 years out of the O-A. I live on B80k - B100k a month. Honestly I usually just do ATM withdraws because I have a killer account in the US that gives me spot exchange rate, no exchange fees, and refunds all my ATM fees. But I could instead send the money over each month via Wise. Then I guess the only consideration is to to pick a Wise-friendly bank such as Bangkok Bank? In the past I always thought the B65k a month method was for people who didn't have the B800,000. I never considered it for simply getting around that requirement. Also, there's the upcoming issue of income taxation and how that all shakes out. As I use ATMs I thought none of that would matter to me. But if they start taxing Wise transfers then it would require additional consideration...