howard251

I would not try it and see no reason to try it. If you apply for retirement extension of stay you will not do so until 60-70 days after your return and you will be over age 50 at that time.

I really don't want Mai Sae Immigration to issue me a 30 day tourist visa because I entered Thailand on the Enter Before date in my visa. I will not be 50 years old before September 28th. I want to be issued a final 90 day entry stamp but am un-clear about the expiration date on my Non-Immigrate O. Getting a tourist visa and having to make 3 more visa runs is not something I like to do. I'd rather be clear on the law and know for a fact I can get a final 90 day stamp by following the law.

I have a 1 year, “Non-Immigrant O”, multiple entry visa for Thailand. The visa sticker in my passport reads,

Date of Issue: 3 Jul 2006 and Enter Before 2 Jul 2007.

I live in Chiang Mai and plan to make a one day border run on, 2 Jul 2007, by crossing the bridge at Mai Sae into Myanmar.

My question is, can I re-enter Thailand and get my final 90 day entry stamp on the 2nd of July 2007 when it clearly reads on the visa sticker in my passport, Enter Before 2 Jul 2007?

It’s important that I perform this visa run on July 2nd because the day my new 90 day entry stamp expires, I’ll be 50 years old and eligible for a retirement visa. I already have the money requirements in a Thai bank for the past two years and all necessary documents.

I did visit the local Chiang Mai Immigration center and they told me no problem to re-enter on July 2nd, but I’m afraid the Immigration office in Mai Sae may have a different interpretation of the law and say, sorry it clearly states in your passport, Enter Before 2 Jul 2007.

Does anyone have experience on being issued a final 90 day stamp if you re-enter Thailand on the day your Non-Immigrant Visa expires, or must it be a day before the, Enter Before Date, printed on my Non-Immigrant O visa?

Thought I would give an update to my BKK airport customs experience. I walked through customs without any problems. I didn't even see any customs officers as I passed into the general arrival area and meeting hall. The only problem I had is with JFK New York customs. They informed me they had to remove my cans of Endust from my checked baggage as they didn't feel comfortable letting it fly on the plane. All this time I was worried about BKK but it turned out be New York that was my only problem, go figure.

Hi all, I am looking for some feedback and advice on the topic of Suvarnabhumi Airport Customs and Duties for arriving passengers.

I have searched this forum and have found several cases in which arriving passengers have been caught with more then the allowed amount of cigarettes or liquor which contained more then 40% alcohol. I know the penalties are high as they consider it smuggling.

Let me share that I have visited Thailand many times over the past 12 years and not once have I been stopped walking out the, “Nothing To Declare”, exit of the airports in Bangkok.

I am now retired and living in my Chiang Mai house for about two years.

I am currently in Connecticut, USA, visiting with my mom and will be returning in a few weeks. I am a little paranoid about returning this time because I know they have scanners and a lot of customs employees at the, “Nothing To Declare”, exit of Suvarnabhumi. I was thinking my luck is going to run out someday and this might be the time my luggage is scanned.

This return trip both my suitcases are filled with personal effects items and the value is at least $1,200 US Dollars, which is more then the 10,000 baht of personal effect items I am allowed to bring into the country duty free. I have also bought a lot of new items while I was here visiting, but have made sure to take everything out of the original packaging and make it appear as used. I have no sales receipts with me and have read the Customs people will value the worth of the item themselves.

Am I supposed to make a list and itemize everything and pass through the “Something To Declare”, line? Does anyone know what the taxes will be?

I do not smoke or drink and I am not bringing in anything like that, mostly multi-voltage electronics, old notebook and digital camera, gifts for my relatives, and Items I have not had the chance to move to my Chiang Mai home.

I could have been a transit passenger and cleared customs in Chiang Mai, but I already know from experience they are the worst for checking. I think this is due to the fact that there are usually less then 8 International passengers arriving on domestic flights and plenty of customs officers so bored with nothing better to do then lift everyone’s luggage and say, “What is in here, feels heavy, let me check”.

That is why I am clearing customs in Suvarnabhumi, a lot more arrivals and not as many customs people to check everyone.

Can someone please share their customs and duties experience that became a problem, other then cigarettes or liquor?

What is your advice to me, should I Declare everything or nothing? What are the fines if caught walking out the,” Nothing To Declare”? I would think they are mostly looking for contraband?

P.S. My computer notebook & digital camera have been in and out of Thailand many times before. I am afraid if I list the dutiable items and walk out the, ‘Something To Declare” line, it could be inviting corruption and they will tax me on everything that is over 10,000 baht value, like my used computer notebook and digital camera.

The air quality Index for Chiang Mai has gone down hill over the past few days. Anything over 100 is unhealthy.

As reported from the Pollution Control Department of Thailand. http://www.pcd.go.th/AirQuality/Regional/G...fm?task=default

Chiang Mai - TOT Gold Cyber - tested Aug 27, 2006 at 09:15pm.

Last Result:

Download Speed: 815 kbps (101.9 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 360 kbps (45 KB/sec transfer rate)

I would love to see these speeds all the time when connecting to web sites back in the USA.

I would appreciate some feedback about the maintenance of my new Honda City ZX car.

I was taught the most important thing one could do to extend the life of your car engine, is to change the oil every 3,000 miles, (4,828 kilometers).

In Thailand, the car dealer mechanics recommend the oil be changed every 6,214 miles, (10,000 kilometers).

Do the car engines in Thailand have a special oil filter or use a special synthetic oil which doubles the normal miles driven before the oil needs to be changed?

I would be interested in some feedback from other Thailand drivers as to how often you change your car oil?

Thanks,

Howard

As I understand it, the standard Investor visa requires you to invest 10 million baht in a Thai goverment bond for 10 years. It does not see logical to charge someone another 3 million baht after 1 year just to extend that type of visa. As I understand it a 10 million investment would let you keep extending year after year for a nonimal visa extension fee.

Maybe the rules have changed and there is now a visa which allows someone under the age of 50 to obtain a one year visa so long as they can show 3 million baht in a Thai bank? They mention nothing about Visa extensions in the Chaing Mai Law website when they refer to this new 1 year Visa for someone under 50?

Has anyone herd about this and could it be true?

From this website.

http://www.chiangmailaw.com/nonimmigrant.htm

In their web site they make a statement which is highlighted in RED below. Do you think it is poor English or is this a new Thai law for someone like me under the age of 50 who wants to retire early in Thailand? Pay attention to their words very carefully as they talk about the two different types of retirement visas. They talk about the one everyone knows about which states you need to keep 800,000 baht in a Thai bank and be over the age of 50. The highlighted statement below in RED states there is now a retirement visa for someone under the age of 50 so long as they can prove the savings of 3 million baht in a Thai bank.

RETIRED CRITERIA FOR ONE YEAR VISA:

1 year visas are now available for foreign persons under the age of 50 years who can show 3m baht in the Bank. Can be made in one day allowing you a 1 year visa.

Initially you must apply for a nonimmigrant visa before you enter the country from a Thai Embassy abroad. You go to any Thai Embassy abroad with bank account showing 800,000 baht min or 65,000 baht per month coming into your account with proof of and that you intend to go to Thailand to retire. This then enables you to hold a non immigrant O visa which we then can submit on your behalf for a year Retirement Visa. We charge 10,000 baht (takes 21 days) or express service is 15,000 baht (approx 2 days), to lodge once you are in Thailand. You cannot apply on a Tourist Visa.

Requirements: 1/. Application form T.M.. Copy of passport 3/. One 4 x 6 cm photo. 4/. 1900 baht fee. 5/. Proof of financial status or pension.5/. Applicant must be 50 years old overseas & proof of money of 800,000 baht in a Thai bank OR an income of not less than 65,000 baht per month must be presented. I

Pensioners arriving before Oct 1998 with unbroken records while living here only need 200,000 baht in a Thai Bank when they apply for an extension.

I am from the Northeastern part of the United States and the only good thing I can say about winter is being free of every little mosquito, Nat, bug and creepy thing which crawls along the ground at night.

I have a brand new two story house which I love except for the windows. I know Chiang Mai is not the United States, but it seems no matter where I visit in Thailand I see the same type of poorly designed wooden window. You know the one where both halves come together in the middle and never make a tight seal, actually you can see a gap in the middle in which all those outdoor little pests have no problem fitting through.

I have the standard Thai screens which are made out of a soft aluminum which never seem to seat flatly against all sides of the window. There is also a plastic thing that’s screwed into the windows which holds the screen closed in one spot.

I find if I turn on the lights in the house at night and keep the windows open with only a screen between me and the outside, within one hour the room will fill up and look like a science project for flying bugs gone out of control. I have also tried to keep the windows shut but the critters got past that and the screens as well.

Maybe it’s just me, because I noticed every other house in the area has their lights on and they never seem to have that problem or maybe the mosquitoes don’t bother them?

The only room in my house which is bug free at night is the bedroom and that’s because I have wall to wall curtains with a heavy rubber backing. I also keep the air conditioning on with the fan set to high.

Does anyone know who sells western style windows and screens in the Chiang Mai area or ones that are better then I described? I admit western style windows are not perfect but they seem to do a much better job then the ones there putting on the houses in Thailand.

Does anyone have a secret to share which has worked to keep the pests to a minimum when watching TV at night with your house lights on and the windows open?

I do know the flying bugs are a lot less in the city area because of things like smoke but I live in the Hang Dong where it’s a breeding ground for those little

I just read this news story on the Internet and it touched on the question I was asking myself. Is this story the truth or have others found a way to live cheaper?

I have been visiting Thailand for 12 years now and pretty much fell in love with Chiang Mai. I already bought a new house there (paid cash), Just finished furnishing all the rooms including curtains. I will buy a new Honda City car, paying cash. I don't drink or smoke and try to watch where I spend my money. I had the belief that I could easily live on 25,000 baht a month, no kids and no family to support. I calculated my monthly bills to include UBC, electricity, food, medical insurance and gas for the car. After reading the story below I was a little nervous

Living for the moment <-- news story link

(THE STORY)

Somebody emailed me from the States recently. He'd read a couple of my articles about Bangkok. He'd been here before, liked Thailand, was in his early 50s and had something like 8 million baht in the bank.

How long would it last, he asked, if he lived carefully? He told me he was divorced, free of emotional entanglement, debt-free and looking for somewhere where he could live a happy life.

I admired his courage. I knew what he was thinking: "I've got 8 million baht in the bank; I'm over 50; life is passing me by; I'm unhappy where I am; I'm going to go to Thailand where life is cheap and fun; and I'm going to make every moment count".

I hated to spoil his dream, but a dream is all it is, I'm afraid, unless you are a very courageous person. Hard and unpleasant reality makes itself felt only too quickly and sharply when you examine his dream a little more closely.

Here's the first piece of gloom: To live happily here, you need to be free of anxiety, worry and stress. After two years, I told him, you will find that your capital sum, despite interest, is diminishing alarmingly fast. Then you will start to worry. Can you be happy if you worry every day?

Of course you will still have a decent sum in the bank, I told him. But you will also have realized that it's not going to last for ever, and sometime in your mid-60s you are going to find yourself in Thailand without enough income to live on. What are you going to do?

I did some mathematics for him. Eight million baht seems a lot of money, but with deposit rates low both here in Thailand and the States, the income it would bring in is insufficient to fund the lifestyle he wants, modest though that is.

I told him something else. Although it's true that he could live here and cover all his costs for 45,000 baht per month, including all necessary insurances, there were other factors he had to think about: The higher and higher cost of health insurance as you get older; the fact that capital goes down in real value as time goes by, which means you have to plough back some of the interest you make to support the value of the capital; emergency trips back home - one never knows!

In fact, I told him, 80,000 baht is a more realistic figure for necessary monthly income. Of course, he wouldn't spend all this but he'd need to reinvest what he didn't spend. He emailed back, he knew all this and had thought about it. He'd decided to invest the money as best he could and when it ran out he'd go back to the States and 'he'd find something'.

And he still wanted to know, how long would the money last, the 8 million? He'd take his chances about dealing with anxiety and stress. He said he wanted to live for the moment - have a good and happy time. He thought he had the inner mental resources to enjoy himself and not fall victim to self-pity when the money ran out just accept his penury as a fact of life and go home to the States and 'remember the happy times'.

I think he's wrong, completely wrong. But it's his life. But there are people who can live for the moment, enjoy their lives each day without worry for the future, and when disaster finally comes and the money is gone, accept their lot with courage.

I did the mathematics for him. Prices go up each year wherever you are. 50,000 baht a month is an amount you can live on here now. Ten years from now you'll need 100,000 baht.

All in all, I told him , taking inflation and emergencies, and insurance cover and all measurable factors into account, I didn't see his 8 million baht lasting much more than 10 years.

He might be lucky. Interest rates might go up. He might find a job. He might have a some luck. It might be 15 years, who knows?

I told him he would be better off living by the seaside, say in Pattaya. It's cheaper there. That is to say it's cheaper there now. But Phuket used to be cheap. Who's to say Pattaya will always stay cheap?

He thanked me and said he was planning the move. I admire him. He's going to have his fun now, while he can, spend his money, and face the uncertainties of the future with courage.

But I worry for him. I've seen too many people here spend all their money, or most of it, and then live a life of paralyzing anxiety and stress, with all happiness gone, and daily life a bottomless pit of agonizing depression. What's the point in that?

And too many of those people took dramatic measures to get out of the anxiety. Some are dead - suicide - and some are in homes for alcoholics. Some are in mental asylums. One told me that when he reached 70, he was going to kill himself. He kept his word. He hanged himself on his 70th birthday. Did this take courage? Yes, it did. But did he think about the horror it caused to the person who found his body?

I wish my correspondent good luck. I hope he has his happy 10 years here, with no worry for the future. But I can't help but think it is not going to be the carefree time he thinks it's going to be.

Bob Wilde is a freelance writer, teacher, translator, proofreader and report editor who has been living in and associated with Thailand for some 27 years. He welcomes comments on his articles and all aspects of living in the Kingdom.

If I don't meet their income standards, will I be able to take my money (over a million baht) home with me?

Who can authoritatively answer this question?  I can't bring any more money into the country with this kind of risk.

I can answer the question about moving money out of Thailand from my own experience. I have a saving account with Thai Farmers Bank, now called Kasikorn Bank. I got a Global ATM card when I opened the account. I was told the bank rules allow me to withdrawal $2,000 US dollars per day from any ATM in America.

   I am still living & working in America. My plans are to move to Thailand at the end of next year for an early retirement. To make a long story short I recently bought a desktop and a notebook which ran my credit cards up a little more then I expected. I decided this was a good time to test the Thai Farmers Bank rule using my Global ATM card. I went to the local Chase Bank where I have my US account. The Chase ATM had a max limit of dispensing 800 dollars per transaction. I did three withdrawals in a row, 800 dollars, 800 dollars and 400 dollars. So this proved to me it really works. I walked over to the Chase Bank teller counter and deposited the money which was credited as same day cash availability. To my surprise, the question which usually comes up on the ATM screen and say's "there will be a $1.50 surcharge" never came up. I asked the bank and they said we cannot charge an ATM fee for withdrawing from a foreign bank outside the United States. Even the Chase account holder rule which states a limit of $1,000 dollars per day can be withdrawn from your Chase account did not apply to me because I was taking the money from a foreign bank. After my transaction I checked my Kasikorn savings account balance to see what type of exchange rate I got. It was a little less then daily selling rate for TT, Draft & T/Cheques as posted on the Kasikorn Bank web site under daily Forex Rate.

    I could have been living in Thailand now except I had made the big mistake of investing in the stock market just before the crash. I use to read the stock market message boards like "Raging Bull". People on this Thai Visa Forum have been posting a lot of good information but some posts remind me of the Stock Market Investors Forum. It's easy for people to post a message from their own prospective and sometimes it causes other people, like myself instant fear and anxiety. IE: Sell the house, take your money out of the country and run for your lives.

   I have had a day to digest the news and everyone’s posts. I am still moving ahead with my plans to move at the end of next year to the LOS. I just closed last March on beautiful house I bought in Chiang Mai. It’s a very nice double gated community and yea I had to do the 30 year land lease which I’m comfortable with. I am not looking to sell it, in fact I’m returning to Thailand this October for 45 days to fill it with furniture.

    Maybe in a few years I'll look back and say it was a big mistake and I should have listed to those people on the Thai Forum, but for now I believe it's the right thing to do. I believe in my dream and none of the posts here are going to discourage me.

    Good luck to all, follow your dreams and do the best you can

Howard