Holloway

7 hours ago, DerbyDan said:

 

Why do you want to return for 6 months in the UK every year?

Multiple reasons really.

My wife likes the UK summer but not the winter

I like the Thailand "winter" but not the "summer"

We have established an excellent life here in the UK over 12 years so don't want to lose touch.

My wife has a VERY large family in Thailand ( What Thai hasn't?) and would like to spend more time with them.

Whilst "comfortable" we are not wealthy so my wife works in a job which is in greater demand during the summer.

To supplement my pensions I am a sports trader ( horse racing). To many people this is gambling ( not so) and I doubt very much that I would be able to do this in Thailand. I haven't had the chance to test this out yet.

So when in Thailand our only income would be my pensions and savings.

Again, thank you very much for all the input. Amazed at the number of possibilities. My original posting was the result of my concern about health insurance which has now been satisfied. Visa by way of marriage appears to be the obvious way.

Sorry, just noticed Ubonjoe comment that insurance needed for "retirement" visa.

So, I assume if I apply for "marriage" visa while in UK insurance will not be needed?

Thanks very much for the feed-back everyone. No, we don't intend to move for a while until this Covid thing settles down.

The visa exempt route seems to be a good idea but I see that I need a return ticket to show that I will be flying out of Thailand within the prescribed time.

Since health insurance would no longer be an issue would the best way be to apply for the 3 months retirement visa in the UK?

Thank you, Ubojoe, for clearing that up. I was under the impression that health insurance was obligatory.

I'm a wrinkly in my late 70's. Have been married to a Thai for 15 years and we have spent most of those years in the UK. Now we have a reasonable nest egg and looking into our options.

We have a house in the UK, and my wife's family, who are not strapped for cash, have an empty house in a gated community near Bangkok for our exclusive use.

Unless a lump sum cash will do the trick I doubt if I would ever get a visa since health insurance would likely be out of the question in view of my age.

However, a short while ago I read somewhere about a travellers visa for 6 months each year to cater for those who followed the sun. I haven't seen any reference to this since and wondered if anyone here can fill me in. 6 months summer in the UK and 6 months winter in Thailand would be ideal.

I welcome any help

Thank you