Robin

The more sinking old truck ae taken off the road, the better for everyone

Take away every illegal m/c, those not registered, not insured, riders with no license. Return them when the fine is paid. Crush every m/c if the fine is not paid in 3 days. Give the arresting officer a bous of 500B for every m/c he stops.

Every day a new idea for more Tourists. Is there any thought or planning for these schemes? of course Thailand wants tourism back to pre-Covid levels, so why not go back to pre-Covid entry requirements. The world will soon be wanting to travel again, but will want easy to visi destinations, not a Thailand Pass or whatever will be in force then,

As OP, it is aa bi late to qualify my posing, but I m well capable of paying the insurance now required for me to visit my home country, but I really do not want to. So for now, I am staying in Thailand and waiting to see what comes of this. If the bank deposit for Retirement vis goes up to 2 MIll. then I can cope with this, but I would rather have my money earning some interest , not sitting in a Thai bank at 1% yesterday i saw some information that Gov.is now thinking of offering a 1 year visa, but after reading the qualifications needed to get this, I do not see a rush of applicants. More like another Gov. official dreaming of the hordes of people who are clamoring to live in Thailand. Only interested persons i could think of would be rich criminals wanting a base for their activities where the local plod will not bother them. Is this who Thailand nw want;- A country run by criminals for the benefit of criminals? Somebody suggested coming in on a non-visa entry and then extending . how long for? another month? Then what? Overstay? I

Will the current entry requirements for Thailand spell the end of the country as a retirement destination.? When i retired here I intended to spend some time each year in my home country, (UK) and have done for many years. Last year I had to visit UK for some personal business and was caught there waiting for Thailand to open up again. Finally I gave up and paid for a CoE and all the insurance and quarantine. Something like $2000 on top of the flight back. So far, this year, there has been no relaxation of entry requirements. Even the 'new' Thailand Pass is ridiculously restrictive, and checking the price of the insurance required, I cannot find anywhere under $2700. ( 1year for a 77yr old.) So effectively, if you want to retire to Thailand and still travel during the time here, the cost of a Retirement visa has increased by 90,000baht, and now I see rumours that the RV is going to need 2,000,000 in the Bank. How many ''retirees' will be able to afford this sort o cost? Suddenly Thailand is no longer the cheap retirement destination is was. Is this another misguided Government ploy to get more of the mythical 'high net worth' visitors. Will all these extra costs bring more money to Thailand, and particularly the general Thai population? I really need to visit UK again this year, but i am holding off, in the hope that there will be a change of policy to something more sensible, but begin to wonder if the current lot in charge have the imagination to think of anything.

probably a dumb question on the wrong part of the Forum, but I have had the 'standard' Thai Vaccin of Sinovac, first shot, and Astra, second shot. Will that be acceptable to UK?

I endorse this question. AS a 77yr old retiree, I too am looking for insurance that will allow me to travel freely to and from Thailand.

For me, here on a retirement visa for some years, these new insurance requirements for Thailand Pass, mean the end of Thailand as a retirement country. I want to retire to somewhere that I can travel from as I want, and Thailand has ceased to be this place. I am here on a Non"O" visa, so for the moment I can stay with no Insurance required, but for how long? Will the Junta, having closed Thailand for new retirees, soon start closing the loopholes like Non O for excising retirees? Looking elsewhere on this Forum, I have seen a recommended health insurance policy (from WR) which quotes me $2277 annually for the cover that Thailand now wants. So basically this is added to the cost of living, retired, in Thailand. Throw in the suggested 1.2M Baht in the bank, and thsi will be the end of Thailand as a retirement destination. If I cannot travel back to my home country (UK) at least once a year, i do not really want to be here.. Am I the only person who feels like this?

PM has ordered... Typical of military thinking; just give the order and it will happen Many here have identified tha answer; simply get rid of the pass, and go back to the old Thailand where entry was free and easy, and one of the attractions of the country. If i can live here, with Thai standard double Vacc. then why cannot I leave the country for a visit to home land and return with only a Covid test on arrival? For many of my friends back in UK one attraction of Thailand was that they could come here for a holiday without any fuss. Just find a cheap ticket on the ne and fly. Now they will not bother with all this 'Thailand pass' nonsense, but look elsewhere. Of course, like me, they were jsut ordinary people, not 'High net worth' people, so Thailand does not want us any more.

I had a UK friend who married Thai girl with daughter. They lived in UK for some years. Daughter went to UK and lived with them. Friends wife then left him , but daughter stayed on with him. When friend retired he sold up and moved to Thailand, and later died there. Daughter stayed on in UK. ( she was at school/college there) and AFIK is till in UK. I do not know any legal details but thsi shows that it can be done

I am 77 yrs old, married to a Thai lady for over 30 yrs, and we just want to enjoy the rest of our lives together in Thailand. I have been here on Non "O" retirement extensions snice that was introduced. I have no problems with keeping the money required in my bank here, and in fact have made a point of keeping at least 2million Baht in the bank as a reserve for me or wife. Before Covid, I would travel to UK once or twice a year, as I still have property there and income from that. Now with Covid and the new rules on health insurance, I feel I am trapped in Thailand. At my age (77) and taking medication for high blood pressure, the health insurance requirement for re-entry is impossible or prohibitively expensive. Every policy I have looked at has a 75 yr age limit.. I am at a loss to know what to do, and I feel I am not alone in this position. I endorse the feeling of 'Eff12n..' -: " 1- |Despite claims to the contrary they really don't want any visitors to go to Thailand right now 2- They hired a bunch of idiots to set up the evisa application, maybe after a few bribes, and those idiots just made it harder to make it look like they actually deserve all that money." and further think that Covid is being used as an excuse to raise the bar fro all visitors to Thailand to keep out those thought by the HiSos as 'undesirable.' is there going to be any answers or concessions made about this, or will it become a case of finding an 'Agent' who, for fee, will provide a worthless bit of paper that will satisfy Immigration, or find an insurance policy as any cost, and this become another overhead of living in Thailand. I had been hoping for constructive suggestions to appear on this sit.

Might these new restrictions on retirement be something due to the initial retirement idea being from Taksin.? I only know of one Farang who defaulted on his hospital bills. That was because he died in Thai hospital, before he could pay his bill. Incidentally, he also left his Thai wife destitute. he "did not need" health insurance, because eh thought that as a Farang he as immune to Thai diseases. As is ofen said here. "you can't cure stupid.'

This level of insurance becomes prohibitive for any retiree, like me, over 75. Looks to me as if i am now trapped in Thailand for life, can go back to UK and stay there. if there any way of working round this? I want to retire to Thailand, with the option to travel back to UK, or anywhere else i want to/ can afford to. Now that seems o be taken away, Thailand becomes less attractive. How do Thailand Elite Visa holders fit into this? My impression is that this medical insurance is a way of Thailand screwing us for more money. Not only is this going to affect Retirees, but how many genuine tourists will want to pay for this insurance? Is this he end of Thailand as the free and easy travel destination? Is there any chance that this rule will be dropped if/when it is seen to reduce tourist numbers?

Pleased to know that I can still get Covid insurane a my age 77, but does the Thaland pass acept Covid only insurance or does it want a full medical insurance?

Seems requirement are getting stricter, not easier. I cam back when it was ASQ and simply bought the policy suggested with the CoE. Now I am in LoS on retirement visa , valid until July 2022, and extended to this date in July 2021. Visa is Non-IM O which does not require insurance, and never asked for a Immigration. Looking at insurance policy suggested in new Thailand Pass, I find an age limit of 75 yrs. No use to me as I am 77 yrs. is there any basic Covid policy for someone of my age? MY fear is that Thailand is going to use this as a way of getting more money from every entrant, by extending the cover required from Covid specific to general health insurance. Is this going to be the end of my time in Thailand?

I would like to know when the insurance requirement will be dropped. I have already paid for one insurance for 1 MIL$ from Jan. 21 2020, so if I make a trip back to UK, then I will have to pay for this allover again. Trying to get a quote for insurance for the new Thailand Pass, I find that there is now an age limit of 73 years. Thailand really does not want any visitors or returning expat, do they? It will be interesting to see how many of the 1000's of arrivals they are predicting tomorrow actually turn up

Has the rule changed for retirees. I am on a Non-IM O extension which has never required medical insurance. Hs the Junta realised that here is another a of squeezing money ou of long-term visa holders? Not surprised, as hi seems to be the way of things now.

Puzzled, I pressed Chamrong for more details of tis loan. It seem that he borrowed 1 MIl. with repayments over 30yrs., and this might be the problem.. Bank want him to reduce his repayment time. I an only ask why on earth he bank would offer a loan with the repayment so long. Chamrong will be 77 when or if he repays the loan, surely past the life expectancy of a rural Thai male? No ban in UK would offer a loan with repayments to such an age. Has someone in bank been overgenerous and now getting cold feet? I have been in Thailand long enough to know that many Thais have 'unrealistic' ides of their ability to repay loans, and I am sure the bank is well aware of this. Now I know more facts, (I should have asked more before starting this post,) I want nothing more to do with this. I have learned not to ever lend money to a Thai, as they do not consider any reason to repay a 'rich farang'. Up to him and the bank. If they think they will get their money back, good luck to them

I have no seen the loan contract, nor would it do me much good a it is in Thai. For what it is worth, I believe that my friend has been repaying his loan as the contract requires, and is not trying to scam me. My initial thoughts were that the bank manager or his friends wanted the land, and were trying to conjure up a situation where friend either has to sell in a hurry, cheaply, or the bank van re-possess the land and sell on. I am told that nobody is buying land now, so prices are low. These seems logical given the state of the Thai economy, so why would a bank want to re-possess a piece of land it might have trouble selling? To me nothing else makes sense, and TIT, e can't expect a bank manager to be honest can we? I don't bank with BKK Bank, but my experiences with my bank suggest that customer service is not part of Thai banking, nor i consumer protection. My advice to friend is that he keeps up his repayments and ignores any further 'threats ' from he manager One reason why I would NEVER borrow money from a Thai bank.. if i could live in Thailand without using a Thai bank, then I would

You don't get it do you. The point of all these restrictions is to make money for someone in Thailand. Insurance, testing, quarantine, are all <deleted> except that the tourist can be charged money for them. it thy also keep out 'undesirables ' like back-packers, single males, (who, Thais know, are only after cheap sex,) so much the better. Why don't the Thai government admit it, and say they don't want any tourists polluting their precious country? Why not avoid all this sham of CoE, and just charge an 'Entry Fee' ? Remember, it is not the Junta that benefit from tourists, but the Thai population, about whom the Junta care not a jot.

Asking this on behalf of a Thai friend. He borrowed 1 MIl. Baht from his local BKK Bank last year, nd has since kept up repayments as required. Las week the manager called him into the bank and asked him to reduce his loan, and repay asap., as the loan term was too long. Simply not possible for friend (C) to repay, as he told the manger. manger then suggested that he took the land papers to another bank and borrowed another 1 MIl. to repay BKK Bank. C assures me that he has kept up his repayments and never missed any, but cannot repay loan any quicker. Asked me to help him! No way do I have 1 Mil. spare to lend a friend. My question is; can BKK bank do this? Can the manager simply change the terms of a loan agreed and signed? I suspect that manger has overreached on his loans, and is trying to reduce his loan book before head office ask embarrassing questions, and is trying to put pressure of the most vulnerable clients. If this was my bank in UK I would simply tell the manager to get stuffed as i was keeping to the loan terms. If he protested I would go the bank complaints dept. or banking Ombudsman, but of course, TIT, and C is overawed by bank manager. if this sort of thing happens regularly, then I can see why nobody wants to do business in Thailand. Ny suggestion as to what C might do, as repaying the loan early is not n option, nor is selling the land, as values are down because of Covid. I am told hat nobody want s to buy land today.

Why isn't h suing CNN for defamation? Seems to be the standard Thai response to any riticism.

"The puritan Prayuth and his merry bunch of CCSA tea sippers are demolishing what is left of the Thai tourist industry brick by brick - why can they not see it" It could be because thy have never had to earn their salary by normal means. ( Doing an honest day's work and knowing what they are doing) and never had to suffer the consequences of being wrong.

Are there no Subaru Impreza's or Mitsubishi Evo's in Thailand? I have driven these in UK and the perfomance and road holding is stupendous. Being turbos, there is the option to increase power, but for normal road driving you might not want to.. Even the basic models are fast. Alternatively, Nissan GTR are said to be made with 400BHP and then de-tuned to the Japanese requirement of 276 BHP. Quote from Nissan; very little tuning is needed to get 400BHP. Some people have taken these cars to 100BHP. Nissan have admitted that they 'made a mistake' and designed the engine for this level of power.

So only SB deny a security breach. How many other Thai banks have been hacked and are keeping quiet about it?