oldcpu

As noted, this IS a hot topic. Its a lot of running around to get the "pink ID" and as others have pointed out, its utility can be questioned. I fully agree there. But .... The one time I found it VERY useful, when NOTHING else would work (at that time), was trying to buy Thai Government bonds to make up the last remaining portion of my investment in Thailand for an LTR-WP visa. I tried various banks (to either buy the bonds direct or via a 3rd market) (ie SCB, UOB, Krungsri, and some others) and ONLY Bankgok Bank in Central Festival of Phuket would let me buy such, but ONLY if I could show them a Pink ID (according to their bank manager). Don't shoot the messenger. I offered copies of my Thai drivers license. Not acceptable to the bank manager. I offered copies of my passport with the Type-O visa stamp (and 4 months left in type-O extension). Not acceptable to the bank manager. I offered proof of my condo purchase (copy of deed). Not acceptable to the bank manager. How about my Yellow Book? Nope. According to the bank manager, not without the Pink ID. I asked what else could I provide instead of the Pink-ID? The response? He would only accept a "pink-ID". Nothing else acceptable to him. I decided to stop trying to fight city hall at that point, so I pulled it out my Pink-ID on the spot , showed it, and he advised his bank tellers to process my application to buy the Thai government savings bonds. ... Now don't get me wrong - Thai savings bonds are NOT a great investment if one wants the interest. Just the contrary. But the interest on bonds was not the point of the exercise in buying these bonds. The point was to buy 'just enough' to put me over the amount needed to qualify for the LTR-WP visa. I suspect it is possible to buy Thai government bonds without showing a Pink-ID, but I can say unequivocally that the pink-ID was the only item that would work at a Thai Bank in Central Festival in Phuket. BUT to re-iterate what others have noted - its a lot of effort to get the 'pink-ID' where the utility can in the most part be questioned. However it is NOT useless all the time. Sometimes, this being Thailand, one can be surprised.

I am not convinced BoI know when a tax return should be available - at least NOT in my case. I suspect it depends on more than just one's stay in Thailand for I have been in Thailand since 2019 (and applied for LTR-WP in mid-Jan-2023). In the case of the Wealthy Pension LTR visa, I suspect the source of one's retirement income plays a factor. BoI know that for foreigners living in Thailand, that there will likely be withholding tax on one's pension, and then one might (or might not) have to file a tax return for that country. Case in point: I obtain a small German pension, and the German government sent me a letter asking me NOT to file a tax return to them, as that pension was too small for them to bother for a non-resident of Germany. However, on the other-hand, I also obtain a similar financial sized Canadian Old Age Security payment, but the Canadian government ALWAYS wants a tax return. The due date for the Canadian tax submission is end-April for income of the previous year. I applied for LTR-WP visa in mid-January-2023, while tax returns for Canada are not required until end-April-2023. I did not include my German pension in my proof of income, as I did not need to show that income to prove I met the financial requirements (as I exceeded such with Canadian Old Age Security + a European government organisation pension). I did include proof of my Canadian Old Age security as part of my income proof and I provided official government proof of that. I also included official proof of the European government organisation pension. I did not include any tax returns immediately as I provided government proof of the incomes. BoI immediately contacted me and asked for the previous two years of tax returns. I replied again with my proof of income, and they again insisted on a tax return. I had Canadian tax returns for year 2020, and 2021 (which "fortuitously" also note the amount of the total of all my global income - Revenue Canada demands one state their global income) , and I immediately sent Canadian government tax assessments from returns to BoI for 2020 and 2021 (within less than a few hours of BoI asking again for the tax returns). BoI within a couple of days then asked for a year 2022 tax return !! This was still mid January and that 2022 tax return was not even due until end-April 2023. ie not due for more than 3 months !! In the end (it took me time) to get the receipts to prepare and submit a year 2022 tax return to Canada (and get the official Canadian Revenue department official assessment notification) - and provide that to BoI, ... but frankly, I don't think BoI do know, like you state. Why would they insist if not due for > 3 months? BoI know some things, but I think they get the different details mixed up. After submitting my 2022 Canadian tax "official" return assessment notice of tax filed (from the Canadian government) proving to BoI I exceeded the global income requirement, BoI then asked for the Tax document for a Canadian Pension !! I had NEVER mentioned my getting a Canadian government pension and further, I did not YET get a Canadian government pension then (although I was eligible for such). Rather I had provided ALL the tax paperwork for Canadian Old Age Security. So I had to then had to write an explanation letter to BoI noting that even thou I was age-69, I had deferred receipt of my Canadian pension to age-70. I also (very very politely) noted again to BoI that I already exceeded the passive income necessary for the LTR-WP visa, and that proof of a Canadian pension should not be necessary. BoI finally then accepted my income proof. So I am not convinced the BoI know all about different countries and their tax returns - rather I think they have bits and pieces and they make a best guess ... and sometimes they guess wrong ... - although I do concede they are likely learning this very fast.

All this because you dislike paying a small amount of money for a translation? Translation is not very expensive. If you can't afford the translation, then like you note, an LTR visa is likely not for you IMHO. Fortunately Thailand has many other Visa options for you, as LTR is not the only one. Although I caution you, given your dislike to pay for translations, not to go for a Visa (or permission to stay extension on a visa) for reason of marriage if you were married to a Thai spouse outside of Thailand. In that case (visa/extension for reason of marriage to a Thai spouse) you will need not only translations of your passport and translations of your foreign marriage certificate, but you will also need certification at your country's consulate/embassy in Thailand for the marriage certificate, and also need the Thai foreign affairs office in Bangkok to bless it all, and then you will need to have to register your foreign marriage (with this certified paperwork as proof) in a local Thai office. That translation effort is MASSIVELY greater than any LTR visa translation requirement. Not worth for it for you ONLY, given your dislike to spend even a small amount of money for a translation. For some of us it is a great improvement. No more 90 day reports. No more going to immigration once a year for an extension. Access to Fast Track line at the airport immigration for our multiple per year international travel. And its cost is approximately equal to a non-immigration Type-O or Type-OA (with multiple re-entry) when they are amortized over a 10 year period. Plus - the LTR has a tax "break" (by Royal Thai Decree) where money brought into Thailand from abroad will not be taxed by Thailand if on an LTR visa. One can not say the same about a tax break for other Thai Visa holders in cases where there is no Double Tax Agreement (DTA), or inadequate DTA, with the country in which their foreign income is sourced. LTR is definitely 'worth the game' for some of us.

I did not use an agent to get the LTR Visa. I did most my document submissions to BoI electronically, uploading via Internet, from my seafront condo balcony, with my feet up, sipping a glass of wine. It took me longer than most to get the LTR visa, as I more or less very slowly fed information to BoI on my finances, tooth and nail (as i didn't want to reveal my full financial state). The biggest delays for me was (1) BoI wanted government response/proof of my income from my latest foreign income tax return (which I had not yet submitted - and that took me time to put together, submit a tax return to the foreign government, and get the foreign government income confirmation response), and (2) BoI wanted a copy of a Thai Government bond certificate (which is not nominally issued any more, but rather one is provided a bond book by the banks). After a few weeks of no progress I finally was able to get the Thai bank to write a 'to whom it may concern' letter to BoI about the bond and also get the Thai bank to edit my bond book to add the detailed bond information BoI wanted to see (where that information is not nominally in a bond book, but it is in a bond certificate). Still pretty much most of the delays boiled down to me slowly feeding BoI the information they wanted, avoiding to provide a full reveal of my financial status. I don't think an agent will offer any advantages here - one still need to provide the financial proof to the agent.

There are different types of LTR Visa ... Not all of them require an investment of $250,000 US$ equivalent. For example, if one is applying for the LTR-WP (wealthy pensioner) and if one has a passive/pension income of $80k US/year, then one need not show such an investment in Thailand. As you point out, it is possible to purchase a foreign freehold condominium unit in Thailand, and that condo unit will be in the foreigners name - and such a condo is considered an investment for LTR visa purposes. If the purchase price of one's condo is not enough to meet the $250K US$ equivalent, then one came make up the difference with other investments in Thailand. For example, in my case I simply purchased 2-million THB in Thai government bonds to make up the difference (after my 50% ownership of a condo) to meet the $250K US$ equivalent investment in Thailand. ... Having typed that - I don't consider buying Thai government bonds a competitive investment, but it does meet the Thai LTR-WP investment requirements, and for some of us, such an amount is not a big thing. My view is in the case of the LTR-WP (wealthy pensioner) visa, it is called 'wealthy' for a reason. Possibly for you to get the best advice on an LTR visa, if the long thread is too much for you to wade through, it could help for you to point out exactly what LTR variant you are looking at. Else you could get replies that are not relevant to your situation.

Once again, I left Phuket and then returned to Phuket, this time after a 6-week visit to New Zealand and Australia (myself having an LTR-WP visa). Again - I did not spot a 'Fast Track' line in Phuket airport immigration (at arrivals), but I was with my Thai wife, so we entered the Thai line area, which again had no one waiting in line. The foreigner line thou was not as bad this time, maybe only a 5 to 10 minute wait for any in the foreigner line. There were two booths side by side for the Thai line, and I went through one and my wife through the other booth. The IO looked at my LTR visa, looked again, and then looked again, then looked again. Then they knocked on the glass window to another adjacent IO booth (likely a more experienced IO in that booth) and showed them through the glass my LTR visa stamp. The IO in the other booth stated "LTR" plus some Thai, and that IO quickly came around to the booth where I was waiting, and gave the IO in my booth, what I believe to be some instructions. The IO in the booth where I was waiting then very carefully stamped my entry into Thailand, and hand filled in the 'permission to stay' date (which was the same date as my previous permission to stay date ... just 4 years from now). When I received my passport back, I took a quick look, confirmed the 'permission to stay date' was correct, and I gave the IO a polite wai, to which he wai'd back ... and I was through immigration. It was a bit slow for me to go through as it appears the Phuket IOs still are not all that familiar with the LTR visa. Still there was a very good level of politeness and effort to be professional. I am happy how the entry went. .

A few years back I was flying Thai Airways from Frankfurt to Bangkok. I did an online checkin. My Type-OA Visa had been previously (deliberately) invalidated by me leaving without a re-entry permit, so I was planning to (and did) enter Thailand for a 45-day visa exempt stamp (this was when 45 day visa exempt possible). When I did the online checkin in Frankfurt (to fly to Bangkok), I did receive a popup stating an onward flight proof might be requested by Thai Airways in Frankfurt (for showing an eventual future departure from Thailand) After checking in my luggage, clearing security and immigration, at the Frankfurt departure gate (while waiting for boarding to be called), I was called to the counter and asked for my passport. The Thai airways representative spent a long time looking at the page with my Type-OA visa (which had been invalidated by me leaving without a re-entry permit), and eventually passed me my passport back without saying anything - they did NOT ask for an onward flight ticket. I think my departing early (before a stamped date of type-OA permission to stay date associated with Type-OA visa) to invalidate the Type-OA visa confused them (and so they did not ask) ?? I did have an inexpensive (Krabi to KL) onward ticket, but I was never asked for that. My view is this is all very highly airline and departure city dependent. More often than not, I think one will not be asked for an onward ticket, but it can (legally) happen at times. So its best to be prepared.

Each person's situation is different. I am age-70 and I obtain subsidized health insurance (as part of my pension) from Europe, that while it exceeds the LTR Health Insurance requirements, the Insurance company does not provide their information in a format that the BoI folks want to see. So I have gone with the $100K US$ in the bank equivalent as 'self health insurance proof'. Still, I have no intention of giving up my superior health insurance from Europe. As you note if at our age one's health insurance policy is discontinued, it be very difficult to get appropriate health insurance again. Keeping $100k US cash equivalent (and keeping my superior health insurance) is not an issue for me. My recommendation, if it is not a big financial issue to maintain the $100k US$ equivalent cash, and not an issue to keep separate health insurance, then keep both. But it reads to me this is a financial issue for you - so you need to choose which you wish to go with. Your guess is likely just as good as anyone else's guess.

When obtaining my LTR Visa, I first submitted my pension paperwork proof, and BoI still asked for my tax returns. So I would say it is normal. .

No. I tried and it wasn't accepted.

For the OP, with regards to the $100K US$ equivalent in the bank for self health insurance, that was the approach that I adopted for the LTR self health insurance (even thou I have excellent health insurance from European Cigna). Initially I provided BoI proof exceeding the the $100K US$ cash equivalent for 1 year (in Cdn$ trading account) and BoI ejected that. I then provided proof exceeding the the $100K US$ cash equivalent in a Canadian 'Registered Retirement Savings Plan' (RRSP) (similar conceptually to a USA 401k) but since my RRSP was 'self directed' (and being 'self directed' it allowed me to trade equities with the account) that was also rejected (even thou its called a 'savings account' and even thou it is registered in Canada). In the end I pointed to $100K US$ cash equivalent in a Foreign Currency account (Euros) in a Thai bank (Krungsri), that had just recently exceeded the being present of 1-year requirement and that was accepted. For the Krungsri, I went to the bank in person, and they provided me a bank statement with an accompanying letter stating the money had been in their bank for > 1 year. The above took a few iterations with BoI (pointing to account after account), but for a LTR-WP (where the WP supposedly means wealthy) I don't consider the above too onerous. I guess it all boils down to one's definition of 'wealthy'. I could have done all this much quicker if I had adopted a different approach (providing more detail on all of my financial status) but I preferred then (and still prefer now) not to provide more detail to BoI than needed. That attitude of mine likely dragged things out much more than necessary.

Just over a week ago, I left Phuket for Singapore. The immigration line (for Phuket departures) was massive. Phuket has a very large dedicated immigration area - which was totally packed with foreigners. Outside of that dedicated immigration area, in the checkin/baggage deposit area, there was also a massive line up, just to get into the dedicated immigration line. I dare say the line could have been 45 minutes to an hour. My wife and I were flying Scoot airlines to Singapore. After we checked in our luggage (via the webcheckin line), the representative at the Scoot counter, seeing my LTR visa, directed me to go to a quicker immigration entry on the 'left' of where the foreigners were all lined up. I couldn't see what line he was referring to, but I went with my Thai wife into the immigration Thai citizen entrance (which had ZERO people in line) which brought us to the main very large dedicated immigration area. Most of that area was packed, shoulder to shoulder with foreigners except for two empty areas. One empty area being the Thai citizen immigration counters and the other empty area a priority immigration line counter. I went through that priority counter (only 1 person in front of me). Total time for me to enter/clear immigration had to be less than 5-minutes (most of which was walking at a fast pace). I am VERY happy not to have been forced to be in that very long foreigner line. The LTR visa does have its perks at times.

What do you mean by 'retirement' visa? Do you mean on a Type-O or a Type-OA for reason of retirement? In that case, you have been given great advise already. If you are in Thailand for > 180 days you could be taxed on that foreign money you bring into Thailand (dependent on a number of factors such as Double Tax Agreements (DTA) with the country where the money was earned). If "retired" (like myself and others" on a LTR-WP visa), then according to Thailand Royal Decree, there is to be no tax on foreign income brought into Thailand. I think many of us on an LTR visa are waiting to see if that will indeed be the case, but I think it looks promising. Note if you re-invest in Thailand, money brought into Thailand, and if you earn money off of that money in Thaliand, then you will likely be taxed on that money in Thailand (such as Thai bank withholding tax on interest), and dependent on the amount earned, I assume if large enough, you will need to submit a Thai tax return.

According to Phuket Immigration Volunteers web page, in the case of Phuket, the Kor-22 shall be a maximum of 180-days old (when applying in Phuket for an extension on one's permission to stay for reason of marriage).

According to the Phuket Immigration volunteers page (and consistent with my experience) in Phuket one can go to Phuket immigration (to obtain a 1 year extension on one's permission to stay in Thailand, for reason of retirement) 45 days before the current permission to stay in Thailand expires. As was noted previous by DrJack54, it really depends on one's provincial immigration office.

That was NOT a typing mistake. That was the selection of the WRONG description and it had me wondering if you knew the difference. There is a difference and what you posted could be confusing for any who have not read up and studied on the LTR, and who do not want to delve into every post of this 93 to 94 page thread. The effort to help is appreciated. Note thou, calling an "1-year report" a "Visa renewal" was not appreciated. Again, it could mislead some. If you make such a misleading mistake in the future, I may reply. Again - the effort to help and pass information was appreciated, but in doing so, it is important to at least attempt to be accurate. As it is, when such a big mistake is made, it makes others wonder how accurate was the remainder of the post?

No. I am correcting a mistake. Cavalierly mistyping (stating "visa renewal" instead of "1 year report") may be a trivial matter for you, but it is not for others. Its good to read that he was successful. Hopefully such 1 year reports for LTR visas become possible at all immigration offices in the future.

Were you able to get a Kor-22 BEFORE doing all of that ? For myself (my Thai wife and I were married in Canada) I could only get the Kor-22 AFTER first having my passport 'officially' translated to Thai, the marriage certificate 'officially' translated to Thai, have translations and copy of marriage certificate certified by Canadian Embassy in Bangkok, then taken to Thai MFA (ministry of foreign affairs) in Bangkok for certification, and only AFTER that taken to local city hall in Phuket, where marriage was registered and I was able to get the Kor-22. So if you were able to get a Kor-22 before doing all that, I clearly over did it in my approach. Fortunately, my no longer being on a Type-OA visa, I no longer need to go for extensions of my permission to stay based on marriage (and hence Kor-22 no longer needed). It would surprise me if an immigration office would reject an updated Kor-22 (where I think some immigration offices require the Kor-22 to be updated every year for extensions of a permission to stay based on marriage).

Visa renewal ? His permission to stay renewal would be after 5 years, not 1 year. And a renewal (?) for another LTR would be after 10 years and not 1 year. ... I assume you mean his 1 year report? Great news if he was able to do his 1 year report at CM without having to go to Bangkok (although I type that noting that for some of us Bangkok can be a fun visit at times - in particular my wife enjoys going there to shop and the 1-year report gives her a good excuse to arrange a Bangkok trip for the two of us - and a happy wife is a happy life 😄 ).

For the 800k (or 400k) in the bank approach, for proof of funds for a 1-year extension, the annoying slowness of Bangkok Bank to provide such a 12-month statement, is one reason why a number of us switched from Bangkok Bank to another Thai bank. In my case, when I was on a Type-OA visa, I switched from using Bangkok Bank to instead using Krungsri Bank, where Krungsri will issue the 12-month statement on the spot (here in Phuket). However if one is using the monthly deposit route of 65k THB/month instead , and if one needs to show the money coming into the bank from abroad on a monthly basis, and if one is also using Wise (formerly transfer wise) to transfer the money into Thailand, then IMHO in that case, Bangkok Bank may be best bank to use, as they tend to be more reliable than other banks, when flagging a 'Wise' transfer as coming from outside of Thailand. So if using Wise (for monthly transfers from outside of Thailand) I would recommend staying with Bangkok bank and accept the annoyance of the 3 day to 1 week delay to obtain the annual statement. But if using the 400k (married) or 800K amount in one's account, change banks from Bangkok bank to another bank. Of course, all in my humble opinion (IMHO).

Further to this, I should note the first time (or was it the first couple of times ? ) for my 90-day report in Phuket, I had my wife drop me off at immigration, ... and I went into the office to do my 90-day. This meant getting inline to talk to one of the Phuket volunteers, get a queue number' and wait for one's number to be called. This could take as long as 30-to-45 minutes. Then I had to wait for my wife to come and pick me up. But the last occasion I went into the office (to do the 90-day report) Phuket Volunteer shook his head at me, and advised me if I wished to do it quicker, I would simply use the drive through. Less than 5 minutes if NO cars in front of one. Having typed that, on my very last 90-day report in Phuket, before I switched to an LTR visa, there were a very large # of cars in the drive through, and that took just under an hour ... as people who didn't have a car, were on occasion cutting the car line, and at risk to their health standing in line between the cars, so to do their 90-day reports BEFORE the car (and not do the report in the office building). It was a total zoo on that day. I had to make sure I didn't run anyone over. I am now happy on the LTR visa, no more 90-day reports ... although every now and then I wake up in the morning, ask myself when is my 90-day report ? ... and then I remember I am on an LTR visa. 😄

I do my immigration (visa applications and visa extensions and TM30s) business myself. It saves a small amount of money by doing this myself, but for me that is not the main reason. Basically I don't like passing my passport and documents to someone else to do on my behalf unless I have no other alternative. Maybe I am too much of a 'control' person ?? I do have friends thou (on in their late 70s, and the other in their early 80s), who both legitimately use an agent for their immigration business. In essence, they sign a document giving the agent 'power of attorney' to act on their behalf for the immigration process. They easily meet all the financial and administrative requirements, but waiting around in immigration office is too tiring for them, and their financial situation is such that they do not mind paying an agent if it makes things easier for them. They claim an agent makes the process much easier for them. But that is not for me (at least not yet - maybe in 10 more years if I should live that long, I might then use an agent). Each to their own is my view.

For the OP, as pointed out by others, your best approach is to obtain a permission to stay in Thailand that does not require the Health Insurance from a Thai TGIA-associated insurer. I pretty much followed all of the recommendations in this thread. Initially I had a Type-OA visa for a while (originally based on Retirement), and when the health insurance requirement came about, for my first renewal, I ended up: - 1st : keeping my superior European insurance (which was not accepted by Thai immigration) but instead buying double health insurance from a Thai TGIA-associated insurer for my 1st one-year extension of permission to stay (for reason of retirement) on my Type-OA visa. I actually tried to go for an extension for reason of marriage to a Thai woman at that time, but that was not allowed by Phuket immigration branch as it was my very first one-year extension of my permission to stay. Phuket Immigration told me only on my 2nd extension could I go for an extension based on marriage. - 2nd : a year later for my next extension on my permission to stay, I did not renew the Thai TGIA-associated insurer insurance, but instead I went for my one year extension on my permission to stay for reason of marriage to a Thai (instead of retirement) on my Type-OA Visa. For this second extension, it was allowed by Phuket immigration. Extensions based on marriage to a Thai do not require the Health Insurance. I did thou have to have my marriage registered in Thailand, which required a lot of paperwork to get the prerequisite Kor-22 document for immigration (and thats another long story that I won't post about here). Since the paperwork (and waiting time) for an extension of my permission to stay, based on marriage was much greater (with a longer time for approval) than one based on retirement ... , so I decided for the 3rd time around it was time for me to change my visa to one where I did not need to purchase double insurance from a Thai TGIA-associated insurer (note I kept my superior European health insurance the entire time). - 3rd : Hence, a bit less than a year later, I adopted the other approach recommended in this thread, which was to leave Thailand without a re-entry permit (which invalidated my Type-OA visa) and I returned to Thailand visa exempt. As soon as practical after I arrived, I went to the Phuket immigration office and applied for a 90-day type-O visa for reason of retirement. I recommend you apply for the 90-day Type-O visa ASAP if you adopt this approach - don't wait - as sometimes this can take a long time dependent on your immigration office (and its work load). Ensure you meet all the financial requirements when applying. After I obtained the 90-day type-O visa, when I had only 30-days left in its permission to stay, I then applied for a 1-year extension of the permission to stay, based on retirement, and there was no health insurance requirement. And the paperwork, for a 'retirement' extension was much less than that for a 'marriage' extension. Good luck.

I've been to that hospital, and when I passed them my pink-ID/yellow book, they rejected such pushed it back and demanded my passport instead (that was over a year ago). For certain I did not get a 20% to 25% discount off of any hospital fees nor charges. But then again, I never 'pressed the issue'. Maybe if I had 'stood my ground' and insisted they take the 'yellow book & pink-ID', I would have discovered such a discount. Something for me to try next time. I confess, my having superb subsidized Health Insurance (as part of my European pension) means I don't always look for the cheapest medical deals. This is something I need to try harder in the future.

Yes - I worded that badly - so is mine. I should have typed a " ... and a Thai driver's license (not only in English but with more text in Thai language) ... " .. The Thai font put off the rental car agent in both Northern Ireland (Derry) and in Canada (Vancouver Airport & also Whistler), and it took some patience on my part to point out the English language text. They all initially rejected the Thai driver's licence and asked for an IDP.