oldcpu

Along those lines (of your post), so to make a post for others to read and to take into their decision making process about LTR: Please note that - if one's finances are aleady appropriately structured, and if one already has excellent health insurance, the LTR is a GREAT visa. The LTR is about MORE than just taxation contrary to what some appear focussed upon. - the LTR is no more expensive than a Type-O/OA with multiple re-entries, and it is arguably LESS expensive. It also has some great perks (no more 90-day reports, no more 1-year treks to immigration to renew one's permission to stay, no more (for some) paying an agent every year to obtain one's 1-year permission to stay). - despite the LTR not being only about tax benefits, some (not all) of us may benefit from the LTR visas tax benefits. - many of us on the LTR are very happy with this Visa. - I have not read of one on the LTR visa, who obtained the visa, who is massively unhappy with the LTR visa (contary to reading about many on the Type-O and Type-OA where reading of complaints on those visas is common). But maybe some (on LTR) will now post why they wish they were on a different visa? Who knows? On thing for certain, I think everyone agrees, the LTR visa suits the financial position of some very well, and does not suit such of others. This is not a one-size fits all visa. The LTR visa is obviously only one of a number of Thai visas. Fortunately the Type-O is a decent visa IMHO.

Yes. I think for anyone who worked in Germany, that the German health care system (with its mix of private and public) adds a new dimension with additional considerations, when it comes to considering health insurance and in turn, the LTR-Visa requirements for Health Insurance. My hope is all participating in this thread, and for that matter, all expats in Thailand, find the best (and safest) health care approach that suits their financial and health situation.

That is unfortunate. One would hope that having the amount assured in 3 savings accounts would be ok. Banks have a limit on how much they will insure, and not everyone has the money, nor even if they have the money, want to put too much money in any one given bank. I still have vivid memory of 2008 ... I was living in Germany then, and I had an inkling as to what was happening, BEFORE it became public, strictly based on watching the news and me having a bit of a paranoid perspective. I quickly liquidated some of my stocks (to cash) and made several trips to different ATMs, and at one point had ~15,000 euros in cash hidden away in our small apartment in Germany in various spots. My wife thought i had lost my mind (she was probably right), but i did not have total faith in the governments reacting as quick as they did to bail out the banks. I recall then the day before the big announcement went public (about the 2008 financial crisis), at Frankfurt airport, on a business trip, being bussed (in a crowded bus) from the aircraft to the terminal. The bus was full of people in suits, and it was noisy at first. I was ranting in an average tone (not loud) to my colleague at what I thought was about to happen (re; ATMs possibly drying up for funds, or restrictions on withdrawals being put in place) , and how I thought the behaviour of the bankers to allow this to come about was criminal. The bus suddenly got quiet, and I realized many were straining to listen to me. I promptly shut up at that point, suspecting most of those 'in suits' were all bankers. I could tell more stories about this, but I am very far off topic. Fortunately, the governments did step in to rescue the banks, and year 2008 is just now a memory. As soon as bailouts became known, i deposited the money back in the banks. And I no longer keep money in cash in my place. Its just too damned risky. Rather i diversify into different banks and brokerage companies. So - yes, i fully appreciate keeping $100k US equivalent in one bank, is just not something many wish to do.

I think everyone (?) agrees there - that one can read edocuments on many devices, such as phones, and tablets. ... We start next to get into the more 'subjective' aspects, as to weight and appearance and file formats, battery life, robustness, etc .... An image/size/weight of a reader that is superb for many, might not be so great for a person with a bit of an outlier viewpoint. Fortunately, there are MANY great ways to go about this. .

BoI asked me for statements proving the money in cash had been in the account for at least 2 years. Because I went through a few iterations of different accounts, having to show the 2 years, that number is sort of stuck in my mind. ... Of course that was when I applied (and obtained) the LTR-WP. This being Thailand, things can change.

As noted to you already, the $100k US$ equivalent, need not be in Thailand. However, it must be in a bank account (savings, or chequing). I don't know if term deposit accepted, I suspect not. It can not be in an account capable of trading equities. I went through a couple different accounts (where i can trade equities) and BoI rejected them both. Also, if the account is in a foreign country, with statements not in English language, I suspect the statements will need to be officially translated to English language. That was important to me, as I did not want to use my bank accounts in Germany to show the $100k US$ equivalent, as I believed official certified translation to English language would be needed, which I considered a PIA, given I could point to funds elsewhere.

I had 'fun' (ok - I can be a masochist at times with computer scripts 😅 ) updating the script for my GNU/Linux PC to convert from one e-reader format to another. It uses a flatpak version of calibre on my Lenovo X1 carbon gen-9 laptop that has openSUSE LEAP GNU/Linux running. I deliberately limited the conversion types. Basically I had the script look at the file extensions, and if PDF extension detected it creates both an ezw3 format and a separate ePub format file, and if lit, epub, or mobi extension detected, it creates both an ezw3 format and PDF format fle, and if ezw3 extension detected it creates both an epub and a PDF format if a different valid format from PDF, epub, mobi, PDF or ezw3 format is detected, it should save the file to PDF, ePub and ezw3 formats (I have not tested this yet) at end before exiting it describes the conversion it made (ie from which format to which format) if the file format can not be determined, the script exits, providing an explanation as to why (and giving an example of command line format needed for script to work). Then, I updated to put in some error correction logic, such that if an epub file is mislabeled as an ezw3, the script's error detection code will detect that, note format (of the file extension) is wrong and it will prompt the user, asking to be given the correct extension type. When given the correct extension, it will (a) correct the original file extension, and (b) do the conversion per steps (1) to (6) above. I tested it best I could with file formats I had on my GNU/Linux PC. I have not yet (obviously) tested the ezw3 files created in a kindle ebook reader, but I am reasonably optimistic they will be fine. So I believe that means I need not worry about proprietary formats, albeit yes, I will need to have to convert files one at a time to ezw3, if not already in ezw3. I did not bother to make the script convert an entire directory at once, but I guess I could have. However I only have a few dozen ebook files at present, so I did not see the point to make that effort (to modify the GNU/Linux bash shell script) to convert an entire directory. If I had hundreds of ebook files I would have made the effort to have the script convert hundreds of files. Obviously, this only works on my PC (with GNU/Linux and with a flatpak version of Calibre). .

OK - its past my bed time. But I just completed figuring out the bash shell command to convert a azw3 file (which I found on the web) to a pdf file, in a nice format (using a flatpak version of calibre in GNU/Linux). i am going to stop for the night, but in next few days I will likely update my script to be more flexible to change azw3 to PDF or ePUB, in addition to its current functionality in going from lit/pdf/mobi/epub to azw3. I think (hope ?? ) I have convinced myself that these 'proprietary' format aspects are not a concern. .

Interesting. Are you 'chrome casting' from tablet (or PC) to TV ? or using some other technique? Edit : of course a TV may not fit in my airline carry on. 😂 ... but could be useful at home.

I think i will change from the $100k US$ equivalent in the bank to self health insurance (as I have had my health insurance for over a decade with Cigna). But I will wait a couple of months before doing so, as i am about to head off for ~5 to 6 weeks of global travel. When I get back, I will likely ask my health insurance company (Cigna) to write me a letter (and tell them precisely what I want in the letter) and see what they say. One forum user (with Cigna, albeit from different branch) succeeded doing such, so I may give that approach whirl. Then I will send the letter to BoI. Based on reading your reply, likely i will send to BOI : 1. A copy of my relevant passport pages with my signature 2. A letter specifying the details of what I want to change in my approved LTR-visa 3. Documents of health insurance (ie the letter from Cigna IF I obtain such), and 4. bank statement of 100,000 USD equivalent proving I have maintained such since getting my LTR-WP visa. I don't need to switch (from cash in the bank to Health Insurance), but it does give me more flexibility not having to keep the $100k US equivalent in a bank (gaining ~3.5% interest). The market is still going strong, but if the market were to correct, having a "free" $100k US extra to jump in case of some market low, is a nice thing to have in one's back pocket.

lol ... well at age-71 i am not there yet (needing a TV sized device) -- but --- but ... that may be in the future for me yet. Hopefully my eyesight lasts.

I am obviously still considering .. but is one really tied into Kindle with Amazon proprietary formats only? My understanding is that Kindle uses a GNU/Linux operating system (of which I am familiar as I have not used MS-Windows at home since 1998 - I only use GNU/Linux). I have used Calibre for years (albeit not until earlier today used it to convert file formats) as today I coded a script to do some conversions. I read Calibre can convert from pdf, mobi, lit, epub, others(?) to azw3 ... and now, as of today, I have now a script that does that. I also read Calibre can convert files back to the other formats (ie from azw3 to epub, for example) but i have not yet updated my script to do that. i don't see this as an issue - but I concede - i could be missing something. .

This was my thought at first - until I discovered how easy it was to convert files to the Amazon format. As noted, I simply on my desktop open a bash shell, cd to the directory where the epub, lit, mobi, or pdf file is located and type ereader-convert somefile.mobi and it creates somefile.azw3 in correct format. I created the script to handle pdf, mobi, lit, epub formats. I have not yet tested it against other formats. Ok - it took me almost an hour to create the script, but I had fun creating such. And now the script is in place and works great. No need to create again.

I hear you. When i was working (before retirement) I always carried a tablet around with me. More recently, as noted, I used my wife's Samsung tablet reading documents for a while recently (for travel from Thailand to Australia and back, with 6 weeks in Australia). I took the Indian Pacific train across the south of Australia and during those days on the train, read a book (paperback) and also read stories on the Tablet. It reminded me, why I prefer a real paperback book and not a tablet. The tablet was passable, but it is 2x to 3x the weight of an ebook reader and also much heavier than a paperback book. So while the concept seemed viable, the tablet is no longer for me. Similar to my knowing friends with ebook readers (with black text on white-ish grey backgrounds) , I found the tablet approach not for me (but for different reasons). Again i have friends who use still tablets (like I once did). They don't mind using it as a reader, and I did not mind too much then (as I also wanted it for other things). But today? Those other things are not needed. I believe I can do better with an ereader that has no other functionality and needs no other functionality. And that has a better (for me) background than the Kobo has. Its just me. I am certain others feel different. I am pretty familiar with Calibre. i have been using it on my desktop PC (running GNU/Linux) for more than a decade. I have a command line script that i run that works for PDFs, mobi, lit, and epub and converts them to azw3 format. I just type: ereader-convert somefile.epub and it creates somefile.azw3 in correct format. The script is very fast, although I concede with calibre GUI, such a command line script is likely not needed. So please, don't get me wrong. i think a tablet a great suggestion. If i was still routinely carrying a tablet around, i would not bother with an ebook reader. But I stopped using a tablet about 6 years ago after retiring from work (after having used tablets for over a dozen years). Yes. I use calibre on my GNU/Lnux desktop PC I think if i was still using a tablet for other things, i would consider more going with tablet approach ... I think others (not me) should seriously consider your suggestion.

That is scary. It suggests i need to stay with paper back books and chuck out the entire ebook reader idea.

I appreciate your view. My wife has a Samsung tablet. I borrowed her tablet for one 6 week trip, and have read many documents on it, but honestly, after reading many documents, I said never again - at least not as an ebook reader for me. The tablet was heavier, the contrast/text rendition to the background was a continual irritation. I kept going back to printed copies on real paper. The same I believe is true for books. Don't get me wrong, those who I know who use tablets as an e-reader agree with you - 100% agree. But it did not work for me. Which gets back to why I am considering the Kindle. I think thou, many others should seriously consider what you suggest re; the Android tablet approach, and/or the Kobo Clare BW approach. It just doesn't work for me, unfortunately for me. Many thanks thou, for the suggestion.

Thanks. I liked a lot about the Kobo, but every interent image I looked at in regards to its light-greyish background, turned me off. I have a couple of friend with an ebook reader (I don't know of Kobo) with similar and they loved it. But when they showed it to me ... well ... it was not for me. I think that would discourage me from reading. I don't think I could get used to it ... sadly .. I say sadly because otherwise it looks to be fabulous. So that is in a very large part why I am considering the Kindle.

I am thinking to buy an e-book reader. Why? At age-71, I might get back into reading books again more than recent past. The past 10 years, i have been reading maybe only 2 or 3 books a year (compared to when I was age 15 when i would read 3 or 4 books a week). This week, I re-read a couple of old (very basic) books that I had read years ago and I pleasantly surprised myself as to how much I enjoyed reading such. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed reading books. With an ebook reader i can take multiple books with me when travelling, and not have a bunch of separate books to carry with extra weight. I am heading to Canada for a month of travel very soon. Plus next year I have about 3 months of international travel planned. I checked prices , and I can typically obtain an ebook reader cheaper in price in Canada than I can in Thailand. That was a surprise, but given I depart in 2 week for Canada, I think I will order one and have it shipped to a Canadian address and pick it up there. After a bit of a search, I think I will go for the Black and White Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature (32 GB) 2024 edition (for $229 Cdn$ - which is about 5,285 Thai baht equivalent). Book electronic formats / conversion One disadvantage of the Kindle series of e-readers, is I read that they use Amazon's proprietary AZW3 format. The Amazon readers do thou read pdfs with no issue, but for ePub format (where I already have e-books in that ePub format), the ePub does need to be first converted to AZW3 format (which purportedly can be done for free with an Amazon website which does an 'ok' job). I read a computer GNU/Linux e-reader program called 'Calibre' purportedly does an even better job than Amazon's conversion. The disadvantage of 'Calibre' is one needs to be familiar with Linux and know how to install 'Calibre'. In my case, I have been using GNU/Linux for over 25 years, and I have been using 'Calibre' already for over 10 years, so that should not be an issue for me. Once converted, I can copy the book from my computer to the Kindle ebook reader. I also read the Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature (2024 edition) likely runs a Linux operating system. Amazon Kindles I considered I read a few reviews on ebook readers, and a Kindle reader was typically cost to being the 'best' pick, or close to the top. There are different versions of the Kindle e-readers, and I looked at: Kindle Paperwhite Signature - 32GB ($229 Cdn$ - ~5,285 THB equivalent) Kindle Paperwhite - 16GB ($185 Cdn$ - ~4,270 THB equivalent) Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition - 32GB ($309 Cdn$ - ~7,130 THB equivalent) I want a 32 GB version, and I also do NOT want the colorsoft version. The Colorsoft is great (they say) for reading comic books, but I stopped reading comic books at the age of 14 or 15. Kindle Paperwhite Signature (32GB) vs Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (16GB) I read the Kindle Paperwhite Signature display is a bit better than the 16GB Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, where the Signature has more memory, and it also does not come with Amazon adverts, where I read there are adverts on the 16GB Kindle Paperwhite. (I read one has to pay Amazon money extra, about ~800 THB to disable the 16GB version's Amazon adverts - that almost reads to be criminal ! I do not know if accurate ). Kindle Paperwhite Signature (32GB) vs Amazon Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (32GB) I also spotted a colour version of the 32 GB Kindle called the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition. I read the cheaper Kindle Paperwhite Signature (32 GB) has more sharp black and white text than the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition (32 GB) and I do not believe i need colour. . I like the idea of very sharp text, as over 2 decades ( 3 decades? ) ago, it was my (biased ? ) opinion of the relatively poor text presentation together with light background, that made me dislike e-book readers over books with real paper print. Cover for Ebook reader I am thinking to get a case for the ebook reader. Something light. I think i will avoid the heavier stand covers as I want to minimize weight. I am thinking to go for a PU 'leather like material' as opposed to the more rubbery (?) TPU. There are many colours of covers to choose from. And likely I will get a case with a magnetic closure to keep the front cover sealed. Hopefully I have not overlooked something obvious here. I am curious about any ebook reader experiences of our forum's experienced travelers or long time ebook reader users. .

I've been tempted to buy an electric bike, but the issue for me is storage. The luxury condo complex where I live is NOT luxury in one aspect, it has no elevator. Albeit from beach front to parking lot is only 6 flights of steps, and my condo is only 2 flights of steps from parking lot, but being in my 70s, I am not keen on hauling an electric bike up/down the steps. ... My Thai wife advised (and for once i am listening to her) that the bike is likely to be stolen within 1/2 a year time, if left in the parking lot. So I gave up on the electric bike idea. The Thailand private hospitals are IMHO notorious for over prescribing, and over diagnosing treatment. For anything major suggested by a Thai private hospital, I recommend getting a second opinion. A second medical option IMHO, preferably obtained not from another Thai hospital, but from a western hospital, is a good idea. While i lived in Germany, typically every year on vacation in Thailand, my Thai wife and I went to a Thai private hospital for my annual medical (paid for by my European Health Insurance). Since Health Insurance paid, we went to different hospitals each year, just out of our curiousity about the Thai hospitals. In the private Thai hospitals, had over 2x as many items checked about my health in the medical compared to what I would have checked in Germany (for the same price).. ie The Thai hospitals were a bargain there. However at the end, the Thai doctor (in the private hospital) would recommend all sorts of things, to which i would reply, i would think about it. When I returned to Germany, I would go see my German doctor, show him the medical results from the Thai hospital medical, and he would dismiss the Thai private hospital recommendations. The truth (IMHO) of this is that the Thai private hospitals are out to make money. ... Now that i am retired in Thailand (since 2019) and no longer go see my German doctor, I am very lucky both my nephew and niece (on Thai side of the family) are doctors. So both my wife and I pass our annual medical results to them, and they give us a truthful assessment (as being family, they, for us, are not out to make money for a Thai private hospital where they do not work). My nephew (the doctor) has changed private hospitals (where he worked) once, as he disliked the pressure he was under to over prescribe treatment (so to make $ for the hospital). Having typed that, the private hospitals do pay their doctors more money, so this was not easy for him to change hospitals. Food for thought - however my view is these hospital aspects in Thailand are relevant to all visas, and not just the LTR visa. Best wishes to all, in how you manage your medical aspects, as you get older when living in Thailand.

@JohnnyBD I forgot to ask. Next year is 2026 and hence not your 5 year reproof of finances point. Are you planning to contact BoI to ensure they have no issues with you switching how you are meeting the Health Insurance requirement ? I had (possibly mistakenly) assumed the switch needed to be done at the 5-year point (when finances are re-proven), ... but possibly by contacting BoI it can be done earlier. BoI on their web site do note criteria needs to be continuously maintained (if I understand that correctly). If anyone else on this forum has switched methods (for health insurance or proof of income) in between the times in which one has to prove the finances/insurance, I would be most curious to learn, if you contacted BoI to ensure they had no administrative issues with such a switch.

While my approach is different, I agree with all your points. As you note, "many do not have the luxury of being able to keep $100k in a bank, but for me, it's not a problem" ... I agree, for some of us, like you, it is not a problem. Having a certain % of investments in cash instruments is part of the successful trading strategy of some of us (who have larger portfolios). In my case I already had (and have) heavily subsidized super health insurance, which was not accepted when I was on a Type-OA visa (nor was my in the bank, "self health insurance" accepted for me when I was on a Type-OA visa) and further I could NOT immediately switch to an extension based on marriage when I went for my one-year extension on the Type-OA (as it was my first Type-OA extension). So I ended up (when on Type-OA), for one year, buying practically worthless massive deductible insurance from the Thai branch of a Health Insurance company (in essence double or triple insuring me) in order to meet immigration requirements. Triple insured ! ie I was 'triple insured' in essence, as when on the Type-OA ... my superb subsidized European global insurance meant I had double insurance (ie double as in addition to worthless Thai branch insurance) , and I was in essence triple insured given I had amounts in cash (as part of my portfolio) that could be considered 'self insurance' by some (and I know some expats who use such money as 'self insurance' on Type-O visas - and all the power to them if it works out). Later on I deliberately left Thailand with no re-entry permit, so i could invalidate my Type-OA and came back and obtaining a Type-O (retirement). I wanted 'retirement' as it has (in Phuket) less paperwork involved. When I obtained the LTR-WP (using self insurance of the $100k US$ equiv anywhere in the world), I did not know then what wording to put in a letter for BoI (ie letter from Cigna, my health insurance company) to have such a custom letter accepted by BoI for the LTR-WP visa, as proof of Health Insurance (I note that the standard Cigna letter of Health Insurance proof was not accepted - as it lacked the details BoI wanted to see). Now that I am on LTR-WP, an AseanNow forum member (who also uses Cigna) was subsequently kind enough to share the exact wording of his letter proving Health Insurance (for BoI satisfaction), and I plan to switch to use my Health Insurance (which I have had for over a decade) for my LTR-WP at the 5 year re-proof of finances point. That will free up my cash to deal with any stock market dips and also have available for any newly discovered investment opportunities. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Your 2,000 number was out of date. Simply admit it. I have no desire to 'pick a fight'. The point I am making is there are many foreigners of means in Thailand, not the tiny percentage that you are others are suggesting. That is not to say the majority are not 'of means' (as I believe the majority of foreigners in Thailand are NOT of means) but the % of foreigners of means is much larger than many admit.

i wish you luck. When I applied for the LTR visa, unlike the experience of some, I never received email replies. If you want a quick answer, I repeat, pick up the phone and call. It does not hurt to try. All in my opinion. Good luck.

First , your number is wrong for LTR_WP and further you are restricting this to only LTR Visa. You number makes ZERO sense. Lets start with LTR-WP. If you go to the BOI website you will see that # is 2,568. OK. Not 2036. Already, your Feb-2025 #s are wrong as they are BADLY out of date. The latest # for LTR visa are 7,121 (albeit that includes dependents). Not your 6,562. Your numbers are out of date. Second, why are you limiting the scope to only pensioners? That makes zero sense. Do you think the LTR-WGC are poor? Do you think the LTR-WFTP are poor? Do you thank the LTR-HSP are poor? But the LTR is not the be all and end all when it comes to those foreigners of means in Thailand. Why are you limiting to those of means to the LTR visa? Again, that makes zero sense. LTR visa holder are not the only foreigners in Thailand with money. As for your inexplicably restricting your #s to the LTR-WP, I want to point out that you need to add 370 LTR wealthy global citizens to the 2,568 LTR wealth pensioners. Those two groups alone mean close ~3,000. NOT your 2,000. Further if you add the Work from Thailand Professionals and High Skilled professionals, all of whom also wealthier than the average Thai and these foreigners are also persons of means , and that adds another 2,000. Add that 2,000 to the 3,000 and we are far above your outdated number 2,000. Then you need to add those of other Thai visas such as Elite. I don't have precise #s there, but I have read the Elite visa is over 1,000. Then consider the persons of means who decide to remain on the type-O because of no-health insurance requirements or because they refused to restructure their finances to BoIs requirements. So do you honestly believe there is no one on a Type-O or Type-OA visa who is not a person of means? Your 2,000 is simply both out of date and wrong.

If you are super nervous about this, pick up the phone and phone BoI. My experience is that they are very receptive to answering phone calls if one is polite on the phone. They have staff who speak English.