Carrbhoy

Can you obtain one of these volunteer visas whilst in the UK or do you need to be in Thailand to use these Agent services? Meeting the current UK 'essential' international travel criteria is a challenge and I don't think you could enter on a Tourist Visa simply saying I will be sorting the Volunteer visa via a local Visa Agent once I get out of ASQ will be suffice!

Best legit option appears to be the many volunteer options online with short 1/2 week stays for £1k (Elephant Conservation / Helphing Single Mother Foundations etc) & take the financial hit to get into Thailand. Sounds like a very rewarding experience too! 

If there are alternative options which don't require any actual volunteering, these would be of interest. The UK Gov have muted changes to international travel by 27th May but I won't hold my breath. Good to understand other options. 

5 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn on the Eastside perimeter road another reason for this solution was my Thai Air Flight was Sunday morning

Rooms are cheaper than I thought. Just checked online for May (Arrive Sat) - £76. So the taxis are from LHR to Hilton Garden Inn (Return) as the PCR tests are completed at the hotel. Got it.

Ideal for weekend flights and I like the idea of Thai Air direct rather than Emirates (GLASGOW>DUBAI>BKK). I might be able to fly to Chiang Mai with Thai Air and do quarantine there with this option too. Good to know.

5 minutes ago, 473geo said:

Holiday Inn M4/Wren healthcare package but the M4 one was commandeered by govt so ended up at the Hilton garden Inn cost was gbp 199 add another 40 for taxis but great to do it all on the job so to speak

Great - thanks. So £199 for the Wren Healthcare Express Test (By 5am next day), £40 for taxis (To & From your Hotel to Hilton return). Did you stay at the Holiday Inn / Hilton Garden Inn or are these only used for Gov / Wren Heatlhcare testing? Even with the additional hotel cost of £120-140, it is still a good option.

5 minutes ago, 473geo said:

I was near Manchester so arranged a morning flight to LHR booked all in overnight stay covid/ftf test at hotel shortly after I arrived around noon results by 5am next day. Test carried at hotel about 12:30, results arrived by email 5am hard copies printed by hotel. Caught my Thai air flight at 11:50am all neat and clean, chose to fly Thai so no stop over.

Thanks for the additional info. This is a good option and takes away the time pressures / hassle of sorting this pre travel.

Which hotel / company did you use? What are the costs?

Thanks again.

20 hours ago, stigar said:

Im in qarantene in bangkok now.In my country not possible to buy covid-incurance so i bougth it from a thai company.1800 bath for 30 days.

The hotel im staying in is wery good service and exelent food.Costs 31900 bath for quarantene.3 meals a day..free DTAC calls for the time here.We comunicate thru LINE app.If i need something they go an buy it for me in 7/11.After 5 days and my covidtest is ok im allowed to go outside 2 times a day in the hotelarea.I have to measure my temperature 2 times a day and send it to another app they installed in my phone.So far im wery satisfied aboutg my stay here.

31900 THB is a good price. Are you in BKK? Which hotel?

Looking at options for ASQ in a couple of months time.

21 hours ago, 473geo said:

Documentation all completed to obtain COE - boost to morale

Flight to LHR for overnight PCR test - negative - boost to morale

Board TG911 - major boost to morale

Arrive and processed at Suvarnabhumi - major boost to morale

In Thailand at quarantine hotel - major boost to morale

14 days quarantine phhhhhhht no problem

Day 9 now 5 days to go major boost to morale ????

Seriously considering taking the hit and getting into Thailand while it's open. Will wait until I get both vaccine jags before making a final decision.

One question re your schedule above. Why did you go to Heathrow for overnight PCR test? Could you not get this done locally? Was the PCR test completed at the airport? Did you stay overnight nearby? Would appreciate some further info on this.

I've looked at the options for Glasgow city and had landed on a local company who could do it for £150-175 and turn it around within 24-48 hours. Always going to be tight given the 72 hours requirement. Just wondering if I'm better / safer to go down the same overnight Heathrow route if this guarantees meeting the tight timescales.

5 minutes ago, 473geo said:

 

I used medical other compassionate reason and in comments put redundant returning to family, for my address I put our home in Thailand

Thanks for confirming. I don't have a valid reason so need the eligibility criteria to be relaxed or go down the volunteer route. I would prefer to enter on a Tourist visa & move to Non Imm O for Retirement once I reach 50 end of the year. Hopefully things change by Aug.

5 hours ago, 473geo said:

Get in while the door is open was my approach, as soon as the opportunity to do so presented itself.

Currently on day 4 quarantine of 14, not much different to 'working from home' for months in the UK, just have to look outside at the banana trees to confirm I am here, and feel good inside knowing I am on the last leg of quite a journey ???? another few days no problem

Good luck with lesser quarantine hopes, for me I have moved on from the uncertainty, anything that occurred after I landed in Thailand was simply something to be dealt with

To clarify, I'm not waiting / hoping on lesser quarantine - I'm waiting on my 2 doses of vaccine and for the 'essential travel' rules to be relaxed. I will be on the first plane to Thailand after that. Hopefully have the 2nd dose during July. If that means 15 days in ASQ - so be it.

What 'essential travel' reason did you use? If by August, International travel is still restricted, I may need to look at a volunteering option to get round it.

Hope the remainder of time in ASQ flies by. Enjoy your time in Thailand.

41 minutes ago, sirineou said:

Same here, I will not do 14 days, and i don't know why they keep saying 14 days when it is really 16? even though I am vaccinated, the wife is not yet, hopefully she will be by April, but even if she is not , I will do the 10 days with her. I suggest you also do the 10 days if nit able to do the 7 vaccinated days because once people start coming ,  covid cases might start rising and they might suspend the  7 and 10 day program.

Me and the wife we were just talking about this and decided we are going while the going is good.  

This is my thoughts too. Covid will seep through any weakness shown during quarantine (allowing travellers to mingle when staying at the ASQ hotel if vaccinated etc)/ reduced timescales & has zero respect for the current whack-a-mole RAG internal controls currently in place around Thyailand and soon to be relaxed. All of these things combined, there will be further waves of Covid and lockdowns within Thailand as a result. They are not ready or prepared to live with a certain number of infections / deaths within society. It is Covid elimination strategy and lockdown as soon as there is any meaningful numbers in the community.

Take the hit and get in while you can if it is essential for you do so.

10 hours ago, jij said:

when do you see this starting and i assume it will be in or near the old city. i'm very interested, but very un-savy. 

looks like there is enough interest to start

Near the Old City makes sense - leave those currently in CM to decide. Hopefully there is enough interest to get it started even with just a few involved - confident this would easily grow with word of mouth.

I'll monitor progress & hopefully join you later in the year.

22 hours ago, mr mr said:

is the op alive still ? 

 

 

Very much hope so! Maybe he just isn't as active on here now.

Looks like there is a few people interested to get it started & others will join when they arrive in Chiang Mai later in the year (me included) & through word of mouth over the coming months.

I'd be happy to throw my time and energy into this once I get to Thailand.

7 hours ago, beau thai said:

I think some people find ways of maintaining their uk residence even when living here, in part to continue using their familiar uk trading platforms/banks, and in part in case they need to access NHS later. If that is not an option for you I suggest opening an account with someone like Schwab/TD while still in uk which you can thern use from Thailand. More difficult to open from here I think.

Re finance / investing, I will be trying to keep my UK bank account & Vanguard UK / Interactive Investor accounts (similar to Schwab / TD) open for as long as possible. Just assumed not being resident in the UK would catch up at some point and I would need to find alternative solutions which I can use from Thailand. I'll need to see how it goes.

Re NHS, do you have any further information on how these people you refer to 'find ways'. I will own properties in the UK whilst living in Thailand but I'm going down the route of Buy To Let to increase my passive income. I will need to do more reading but if I'm living in Thailand, I think over time this would remove my access to NHS later. Any help / guidance on this would be appreciated.

On 12/12/2020 at 2:08 PM, Honah Lee said:

Hello All.

 

I am very interested in participating in an investment group.  I will be retiring to Chiang Mai in early 2022 and looking for other like mined individuals to discuss investment ideas relating to stocks.  Key companies other group members are following and quarterly review of 10-Ks etc.       Sectors of interest, dividend choices, growth companies, SAAS stocks etc.  

 

If this is the intent then please include me.  

 

Puff the Magic dragon

Hi all - I'm also retiring to Chiang Mai end of this year / early 2022 latest - all going well with receiving the vaccine! I would be very interested in participating in an investment group if there is enough interest to get this up and running.

Will check back nearer the time and see how things are progressing.

I'm a UK resident - currently use Vanguard UK & Interactive Investor to access All World low cost index funds (Equities / Bonds) & some Active investing funds (Scottish Mortgage / Monks etc). Once I'm no longer resident in the UK, what are the Low Cost Index Fund / ETF / Active Fund brokerage options in Thailand? If this has been covered before, if you can share a link to the thread that would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

CB 

2 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

well, let's see if thailand law enforcement is serious or not

Should the government official not be immediately removed from their role?

7 hours ago, ThLT said:

At the moment, you can't change visa in Thailand, so this basically means...

 

- 14-day quarantine in Thailand

- 30-day visa exemption (45 days if change is approved)

- 30-day extension

- 14-day quarantine in home country

 

Days in Thailand: 60/75 days

Days in quarantine ($$ hotel rooms): 28 days

 

Correct?

Lets say it is approved so 75 days max. Days in quarantine 15 days as not all countries require quarantine on your return - Thailand is Low risk so for Scotland no quarantine. New website launched last week allows you to book ASQ for 36000-40000 Baht to manage the costs.

If this change reduces the amount of hoops / paperwork & gives you a couple of months in Thailand, I'm sure it will be of interest to some but won't in any way increase the numbers significantly for this visa type when STV now looks like a better option.