New2Chalong

Thank you for the great information!!! Good point and great info on the correct terminology! Thanks for that insight.

I will follow up with the Embassy. After that, I should be good to go!

Thanks again!

I will turn 50 in May and I am currently here on a non “O” visa.

I went to the Phuket Immigration office yesterday to make I sure understood the requirements for obtaining my first retirement visa (by converting my non “O” visa to a retirement visa). The Immigration Officer told me that if I want to use the monthly retirement income instead of having 800,000 THB in the bank; then I need to have a guarantee letter from the Embassy showing that I have a monthly income in excess of 65,000 THB per month. In addition, the Immigration Officer said that I cannot get this monthly income guarantee letter until I reach 50 years of age.

Here are my questions:

- Do I really need to wait until I reach 50 before I go to the Embassy to get the proof of monthly income letter? Can I get the Embassy guarantee letter a week or so before my 50th birthday or should I wait until I reach 50?

- Does it matter about the source of my monthly income? My monthly income comes from rental properties instead of a retirement account. The monthly rental proceeds are deposited to my bank accounts.

- Are copies of my monthly bank statements sufficient proof of the monthly income for both the Embassy and the Thai Immigration authorities?

Thanks for the help.

New2Chalong

I am curious to ask the smart financial/money folks if the slight retreat of the US Dollar strength against the Baht is just temporary. Previously, someone posted a neat graph which showed the trends predicting the exchange rate going as high as 38 THB to 1 USD by the first quarter of next year.

Any thoughts/comments are greatly appreciated.

New2Chalong

Thanks for the good information.

My young son has a couple of days off next week (from school) so I was thinking about taking him and my wife out on a boat in Chalong and/or Rawai.

In Pattaya, there are inexpensive water taxis between Pattaya and one of the nearby major islands. Do they have these water taxis here too or do I need to charter a long-tail boat on my own?

I just want to take my family on the boat for a short distance, have lunch and then return.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

New2Chalong

Thanks for the good advice.

I just need a border run to get a new stamp. I do not need a new visa, yet.

I am kindly soliciting advice/recommendations on Visa Run companies. Which ones are the good?

My idea of good include: (1) safe driving, (2) reasonably priced and (3) reliable.

Thanks.

New2Chalong

Thanks for the hotel recommendations!!

Hi,

I need to make a visa run to Ranong in a month and I want to take my family (wife and young son) with me so we can spend the night in Ranong. I am thinking about driving up from Phuket, spending the night in Ranong, getting up the next morning & doing the exit/re-entry procedure and then driving back to Phuket.

I am kindly soliciting advice/recommendations on reasonably priced hotels in Ranong. Any advice/recommendations is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

New2Chalong

Thanks for the good information.

Unclekleef: I will send you a separate message regarding the contact info for the HK agency. Thanks.

nothing but good things to say about bupa for now.

Hi Petit,

Thanks for this info. I have heard good things about Bupa also.

Thanks again. New2Chalong

I just brought my family back to Chalong from the States. I am looking for recommendations on what type of medical insurance (major medical only/hospitalization only) I should get for my wife, my young son and myself.

I kindly solicit your recommendations on which insurance company (e.g. Bupa) and what level of coverage (e.g. Ruby, Emerald, etc.) is appropriate for the better hospitals in Phuket and throughout Thailand.

Thanks.

New2Chalong

Thanks for the additional information.

LivinginKata: Thanks for the information. I will download GoogleEarth and study the roads.

Good info on the boats and the time estimates.

It sounds like dropping them off in town is the best approach.

Thanks for the good information!

LivinginKata: I am going to use your advice about driving my own car up. That sounds like the way to go. I do have a couple of quick questions for you and/or others with experience with these visa runs to the Andaman Club. Here are my questions:

After I take the bypass road north of Ranong, is the turn off road to the Andaman Club pier marked? I do not have a GPS unit. Is there any Andaman Club signs on the bypass road?

How long does it take to take for the whole process with the Andaman Club take (boat ride over, immigration process, waiting period for the boat back, boat ride back)?

What does my wife and son do while I am taking the boat to/from the Andaman Club? Should I drop them off in Ranong or should they wait for me at the pier?

Other than my passport and some money (both USD and Thai baht), is there any other documentation/paperwork I need to take to get another 90 day stamp in my passport?

Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the info, LivinginKata. I will check into the red plate advice. That sure makes it easier. Thanks again.

LivinginKata: I have a quick question for you since you seem quite knowledgable about the visa runs. I am back in Phuket after a long break from Thailand. I need to make a visa run around 7 July. We bought a new car but I guess we can not drive it to Ranong since it still has the red (temporary) plates on it. I am thinking that I probably should schedule myself on one of the visa run services around 6 or 7 July since I have never made the 90 day visa run to Ranong before. Any suggestions on which visa run company I should use and/or which ones to avoid? I live in the Chalong area. Thanks.