oldcpu

Which airline is that (allowing a cancellation for only 100 THB) ? For example for a Fully Flex ticket with Thai Airlines, it typically costs 2,000 THB to cancel (and obtain a refund of the remaining amount paid for the ticket).

My wife says we used VM Translation services in Bangkok: http://vm-translation.com/ Contact: Mr.Sutthirat Yimyong. Phone numbers: 087-017-3329 and 089-515-2505 Good luck to the OP in their efforts.

I researched last year, and I could not find such a 'fully refundable ticket' - so I am curious to learn more.

There is no question in my mind that https://onwardticket.com/ is an inexpensive approach. If for any reason you feel worried about using such an approach, you could also buy a real ticket for an inexpensive price. Just pick an international airport in Thailand that has short flights outside of the country. For example, if one searches different dates on Krabi to Kuala Lumpur, there are one way Air Asia flights at present that cost only about 1,000 THB (again - try different dates to get the best price). That's about $29 US$ ... No where near as good as the $12 noted from onwardticket ... but it is a different approach. And its a real ticket (you could even use it if you wanted to go to Krabi to catch the flight). That is what I did last year (buying such a ticket). I threw the ticket out afterwards.

I used a translation service in Bangkok to do this during COVID times (my wife and I live in Phuket so we couriered the needed documents to Bangkok translation company). I can't recall the name right now ... but my Thai wife has it on record and I hope to obtain such off of her later this evening to share. If you google " bangkok translation marriage certificate " you will find some companies that offer this service. For example: sawadeetranslations is one such company ... I can't recall if this is the company that we used ... I will have to reply with this information later.

I suspect every issue of Thai government bonds can be different. In my case, the Thai government bonds I purchased in December-2022 had a 7-year term, at a 3% interest rate per annum. Frankly , given my financial situation, I could not have cared less as to the interest rate (it could have been 0% for all I cared), as the amount of bonds I needed to purchase was very small from my perspective. My own view, is if one needs to pay close attention to the interest rate of such a small amount but can qualify for the LTR visa, then well done in qualifying for the LTR visa, ... but ... possibly the LTR visa is not the correct visa for one. The 1-year non-O immigrant visa also has its advantages. ... and if I was under 50-years of age, I likely would have gone for the Elite Visa. We are fortunate, I believe, that Thailand offers many different possibilities for expats to stay in Thailand.

Thanks for that image of the entry/exit stamps. My understanding is on an LTR visa, each time one re-enters Thailand their date for an annual report is restarted, starting from the date of their re-entry ... so based on that image, if you were still in Thailand, you wouldn't need to do an annual report until 15-April-2024. But I note you left Thailand on 15-June-2023 with no corresponding (yet) re-entry stamp. That has me puzzling a bit - are you then required to enter Thailand again by 15-April-2024 to do an annual report (or possibly enter Thailand again by 15-June-2024 to do an annual report ? ) I assume not (as I assume one does not have to live in Thailand to keep the LTR visa) , but I am curious to confirm my assumption is correct.

I also found the Canadian embassy visit strange - but I think it was more for the embassy to verify that my Canadian marriage certificate (of both my wife and myself) was 'legit'. < unsure > ... I also now recollect that the Translator had to translate both my passport and the Canadian marriage certificate, for the Thai foreign affairs. It was also bizarre (for me) that a translation of my passport was needed. A Canadian friend, recently went through the same in Bangkok last year, where they had to have both his Canadian marriage certificate (to his Thai wife) and have his passport translated Thai. He had to go to the Canadian embassy with his marriage certificate and obtain some sort of certified copy (?) from them. I can no longer recall the details. Again - my understanding is the embassy visit was for the marriage certificate certification - not for the passport.

This mostly matches what I remember we were told by the Translator who did this for myself and my Thai wife (where translator had limited Power of Attorney (PoA) to do this on my wife and my behalf), ... except that I don't recall having to send a copy of my Birth Certificate. Rather a copy of my passport (as proof of my identity/citizenship) was required. Edit: According to the translator, Translation of my Passport was needed for Thai foreign affairs office in Bangkok, so that was included as part of the translator's services. I also had a Canadian friend (with a Thai wife) do this themselves last year (ie go to translator, Canadian embassy, and Thai foreign affairs office) in Bangkok, and a translation of the Canadian passport (to Thai language) was needed.

A correction to the above (or perhaps a clarification). The number on the Pink-ID that Bangkok Bank used for my Tax number, is also listed in my Yellow Book as a number (and it is different number from the House-ID number which is on a separate page). The location on the Pink-ID of this 'Pink-ID' number (that I used at Bangkok Bank for a tax number and which originates from the yellow book) is in the exact same location/style as the number on a typical Thai person's ID, which is their tax number. So in truth, to get this 'tax number' (?) I did not need the Pink-ID as the number is also on the Yellow Book. There is a thread on Thai Visa where it is speculated that this Pink-ID number (which is the same number in the Yellow Book) are indeed the official Thai tax numbers for the foreigner - but I honestly can not confirm that is accurate.

I provided a Power of Attorney (POA) to an 'official/certified' translator office in Bangkok to do most of the paperwork/effort to have my Thai wife and my foreign marriage registered in Thailand. This had to be done in Bangkok, and my wife and I were in Phuket. I needed my marriage registered (some years back) for an upcoming Type-OA visa extension (where I wanted to avoid the requirement for health insurance from a Thai branch of an insurance company - as my superior European health insurance was not accepted by immigration). My wife and I live in Phuket, so we couriered our Canadian marriage certificate, copies of our passport, copies of my Thai wife's ID, and a carefully 'restricted' Power of Attourny (POA) to that Translator office in Bangkok. The office took the POA and Canadian marriage certificate to the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok and had the marriage certificate certified (?) as legit. The Translator translated the marriage certificate, and took that to the Thai Foreign Affairs office in Bangkok, to have the marriage certified (or registered? ) there - and the Translator office person was then given the appropriate paperwork. That was then couriered back to me (in Phuket) and my Thai wife and I were able to take the Thai Foreign affairs produced document, and translations of our marriage certificate, to obtain a Kor-22, which I needed for my Type-OA extension. This was a lot cheaper and easier to do, than my wife and I flying to Bangkok to have this done. So I think POA (restricted in scope) can be useful at times in Thailand. .... I have friends who (in Pattaya) use an agent all the time for their Visa extensions. They meet the Thai requirements, but they are not young and they can't be bothered to go to immigration office in Pattaya. So they simply go to see an Agent (or the Agent comes to see them) and they sign the appropriate documents for the Agent to obtain the Visa extension on their behalf. They have not told me exactly what documents they sign, but I would be very surprised if one of the documents is not a 'limited in scope' POA document.

Agreed mostly. ... I was thou able to use my Yellow Book last time I went for a one-year extension on a Type-O visa (Phuket immigration office). They asked for a copy of the Blue Book pages for the condo that I lived in, and instead I gave them copies of pages from my Yellow Book. Was the Yellow Book required? No. Also, when I applied for Thai government Bonds at Bangkok bank (where I have had an account for years) they still insisted to have copies of my passport, and the Bank Manager of that branch stated he would only allow me to proceed with that Thai government bond purchase IF I could show him both a Yellow Book and a Pink ID !! My view is that is not a Thailand requirement but rather it is a local branch manager policy for that branch, but regardless, having the Yellow Book on that occasion did come in handy. Perhaps there was a way around such an individual's 'policy' but given I had such why fight "city hall" just to make a point that something is not needed? Further, when the bank went to apply for the Thai government bonds (for me) they wanted my tax ID, as it had to be filled in. Well - I don't have a tax ID. From what I have been told, the ID number on Thai citizen's ID cards, is also their Tax #. So to satisfy Bangkok Bank (for the Thai government bond application) I simply passed them my pink ID, they used the ID # from my pink-ID, and they proceeded (successfully) to order the Thai government bonds (I needed those bond purchase for my later obtaining an LTR Visa). And of course, as you note, to get the Pink ID I first needed the Yellow Book. This is all (in my case) rather obscure and IMHO neither a Yellow Book nor a Pink-ID is nominally required for the average foreigner - BUT I can not deny that there may be times when such can be very useful in Thailand - at least that is my experience as I have documented above.

For certain a Pink ID is nominally no where as useful as one's passport. But my having a Pink ID, I have been able to use it on occasion (when I did not have my passport handy). I have on occasion used it for a hotel check-in (and on other occasions it was not accepted for a hotel check-in - they insisted on seeing my passport). I have on occasion used it to gain park entrance at the Thai rate (and not the falang rate). I was even able to use it for some activities in Canada ( !! ) where the Canadian organization wanted to see multiple documents/ID with my Thai address on it (and not just one document), and I was able to give them my Pink ID (together with a Google translation of the ID) which they accepted (as the pink ID has my address). The above is NOT to say its worthwhile to go through the effort to get a Pink ID - but to say the Pink ID is useless is simply wrong. .

There is no lie ... or least if done properly with an agent, there should be no lie. My understanding is in order to use an agent (to open a bank account, or help one with a visa), one needs to provide them temporary power of attorney to conduct the activity you wish them to do on your behalf. One can clearly ensure that the 'power of attorney' document that one signs has wording that limits the scope of the power of attorney, in both 'the activity to be done' and in the 'timeframe' in which the power of attorney is valid. While I have not needed to go the agent route, nominally if one meets all the requirements, using an agent is 100%/perfectly legal. My view is just IMHO be careful in what sort of 'power of attorney' one gives to the agent.

This is a good point, that being " the rule is you must get at least the FIRST extension on a visa for the rule it was issued". I arrived in Thailand in 2019 on a Type-OA visa based on retirement. When the time came a couple of years later to go for my first one year extension, the new Health Insurance requirements on Type-OA visas were already in place. My European Health insurance was not on the Thai list (and hence not accepted by immigration) so I attempted to obtain a one-year extension (which was my 1st extension) for reason of marriage. Phuket immigration refused. They advised I had to go for the one year extension based on retirement (per my Type-OA visa reason). They told me only when I went for my 2nd extension (in a years time) on my Type-OA would they allow me to switch to using 'marriage' as a justification for my 1 year extension. I ended up for the very first extension on my Type-OA, obtaining an extension based on retirement (and I ended paying for DOUBLE health insurance as I did not want to get rid of my superior European Health insurance). So that (not being able to switch from 'retirement' to 'marriage' on one's 1st Type-OA extension) is a consideration to take into account, when deciding if one should instead switch to a Type-O Visa (ie leave the country on a Type-OA without a re-entry permit to invalid the Type-OA Visa and then re-entering to get a Type-O). Thanks Tod Daniels for pointing that out.

The advice given to you in this thread already is very good. I started on a Type-OA visa, followed by a one year extension (on that Type-O) based on retirement, then when the Health Insurance requirements from a Thai branch of an Insurance company became not appropriate for myself I then switched on my next extension (on that same underlying Type-OA visa) to a one-year extension based on marriage to a Thai woman. When forum members note the paper work required (for an extension based on marriage) is extensive, they are not IMHO exaggerating. There is a lot more paperwork for an extension based on marriage than there is on retirement. Plus for some immigration offices (most offices?) its a lot quicker to get the extension based on retirement than it is based on marriage. I eventually left the country (without a re-entry permit) to invalidate my type-OA, and after returning (visa exempt) I applied for and obtained a 90-day Type-O visa. My first one year extension on the Type-O for retirement was very quick to obtain. My recommendation, is if you don't plan to leave Thailand before your current 'retirement' extension expires, is to switch to a one year extension (on your Type-OA) based on marriage to a Thai person. But WELL IN ADVANCE research the paperwork requirements - for if you married your Thai wife outside of Thailand you will have a lot more paperwork needed to register your marriage here in Thailand. If you are thou, planning to leave Thailand for some travels, consider do so with out a re-entry permit, (so to invalidate your Type-OA visa) and then come back Visa exempt (your nationality might play a factor as to whether this is even feasible) and immediately upon arrival in Thailand at your local immigration office apply for a 90-day Type-O visa (ensuring prior you have the appropriate money in a Thai bank). Then after about 45 to 60 days (dependent on your immigration office) apply for a 1 year extension on the Type-O based on retirement. That requires no proof of Health Insurance. That is what I did. You may thou, wish to check if the immigration office you plan to use, will allow you to adopt the above. My understanding is most Thai Immigration offices do allow such but I have read stores on this forum by some who claim the immigration office that they go to, do not allow such an approach. I think such offices are in the minority but I believe it is good to check.

RIP Joe. You will be missed by many. My condolences to his family.

Thanks for that info. I confess I do not know what Phuket's immigration's policy is on this. There have been a couple recent articles in the local english language press about Phuket immigration handing out 'yellow cards' to both foreigners and their Thai landlords for failing to send TM30s to immigration. After returning to Phuket, my wife and I went to the online Immigration database for TM30 and entered my return (address) to my condo. We checked the drop down menu (which lists various Visa types) and there is NO mention of the LTR Visa (ie that website has not been updated). However in the Thai database, to enter the Visa type as part of the online TM30 completion is an optional field. One does not have to fill in the Visa type - and so there being no LTR Visa field in that drop down menu is rather a mute point. Plus as you point out, dependent on the immigration office, the guidelines you point out suggest one may not need to do the TM30 for nominal domestic travel.

One 'perk' that I wish the LTR Visa had, which to the best of my knowledge it doesn't have, would be exemption from having to submit a TM30 every time I return home from traveling overnight outside of my condominium here in Thailand. I forgot to ask BoI (when I was in their office receiving my 10-Year LTR WP visa) if I would be TM30 exempt (even thou I (pessimistically suspect ) I know the answer). I return to Phuket soon from Bangkok, and its my plan to enter my return in the TM30 database. I am also curious to see if there is an entry in that TM30 database (for the LTR Visa) to select beside my name, when my wife and I register my return to my abode in that database.

Krungsri bank is pretty good at providing one all the required documents in one day (contrary to Bangkok Bank where it can take up to a week). I've had Krungsri bank provide me your item 5.1 and 5.2 on one day (I went as soon as they opened and I had same provided in less than 30-minutes). I did not need to obtain your item 5.3 from Krungsri so I can't verify that from experience.

Some of us go out of the country multiple times per year. For me, when I was on a non-immigrant type-OA (and later on a type-O) it was cheapest for me to also pay 3800 THB for a multiple re-entry permit so not to lose my visa each time I left Thailand for a short travel. So it was not 1,900 yer year I paid, No it was 5,700 thb per year that I paid. That is 57,000 THB for ten years - ie its about the same as the 50,000 THB for ten years of the LTR visa. Yes !! I absolutely agree. No one Visa is good for all of us. I find it most interesting to read of the views and the accounts of others.

Folks with that money consider a lot of things. South of France does not tick all boxes for all people. Some considerations ... Where does one's family live? How about one's partner's family? Do they live in the retirement location? What is the language spoken? What if the spoken language is one's second language (where one doesn't speak the second language well) or they and their partner don't speak that local language at all. What is the culture like where one plans to retire? Is this something one likes? What is the medical care quality? How about dental care? What is the cost for those? How safe is the retirement location? Where is the closest international airport (how far to go to the airport)? What is the standard of living compared to other places? How much money does one have to invest and/or earn to retire in said location I looked at many places in Europe, North America , in Asia and in New Zealand and Australia . For myself? Phuket Thailand was where I ended up - my wife has family here, hospitals are good, there is an international airport about 1-hour away, my wife speaks the local language and I can get by with English language, and our money goes incredibly far. I lived here for a couple of years a quarter of a century ago and I enjoyed myself then (which is when I met my wife). YES we could have retired in Europe, (we considered a couple spots in France, also Malta, also Germany, and also Ireland, and some in North America and some other locations ) but in the end, the spot for us, given our backgrounds, was that Thailand was the best place. I am certain EVERYONE has DIFFERENT criteria and hence I view it inaccurate to think that all folks with that kind of money would go to the south of France. Not at all. .... I like the south of France, but there are places I like better.

For some of us, with the retirement income between $40k to $80k US/year ... that is NOT our main source of wealth. Bringing in $250K US into Thailand is not a big thing for some of us, and it is NOT the bulk of our assets by any stretch. At the risk of irritating some (and my apologies to those if I do irritate) I have to say that this LTR Visa (for retirees) is referred to as a Wealthy Pensioner visa for a reason (relative to the Thai view) Most my finances are outside of Thailand and it would cost me money to try and bring too much of it into the country - where fortunately the LTR Visa does not require much money (where I guess this is all 'relative' ... or a niche group, as Pib noted). I don't by ANY stretch consider myself wealthy, but the LTR Visa (and also the Elite Visa requirements for that matter) are not big requirements for some of us who are not wealthy in our own minds ... but we have been diligent for years prior to retirement in managing our investments. I plan to go to Europe at least once per year, to North America at least once per year, and probably at least one (and maybe two) other visit(s) outside of the country, so for certain its not my intent to spend 100% of my time in Thailand. Still, the LTR Visa (for my situation) makes economic sense over the Type-O Retirement (and type-OA Retirement) visas that I held in the past - not to mention the LTR visa is now much more convenient. The only hurdle (for me) was to convince BoI that their criteria for what THEY considered wealthy was met.

Money is not everything - and honestly - for many of us who went for this Visa, we are not talking about a lot of money relatively speaking. I would not expect ANYONE to have to shine my shoes. I shine them myself and I show respect to all, regardless of their income level. Thailand is looking at ways to help its economy, and so they are trying to encourage those with the money and who like Thailand, to stay in the country, in the hope it helps the economy. There are different visas for those with less income, and I encourage those, who qualify for such different visas, and who wish to stay in Thailand, to apply under those different Visas.

Thanks ! I am happy now that I have the Visa. Hundreds of hours? No - not by any means. I did spend some time. I think I spent (a) just under 2 hours to obtain the documents I thought I would need, back before my initial application on 17-Jan-2023. (b) 1 hour for initial online application. (c) For buying the 2-million THB in Thailand government bonds I spent about 6 hours total: (1 hour visiting 4 different banks in Central Festival in Phuket, checking if any would sell me bonds + about 3 hours (mostly waiting @ bank) to order the bonds, and then 1 hour (mostly waiting at bank) to order bond certificate (which I didn't get) and then 1-hour (mostly waiting) at bank to get letter + amendment to bond book)). (d) Then for each of 11 information requests, about 30-minutes to 1-hour dependent on request (and whether I phoned BoI as a result). Say average of 45-minutes for about 8 hours total. Some other things I did didn't cost me any extra time - as I either had to do such anyway, or I did it while waiting for my wife. For example, for my Canadian taxes - I had to submit those anyway. Another example: I did have to go to a Thai bank to get a bank statement to prove the >$100K USA equivalent (in Euros in a foreign currency deposit - because the online did not work for me due to a lack of account activity), but I timed that with a shopping trip (that my wife wanted me to go with her) so while she shopped I was able to get that statement quickly (and I have a Exclusive status with that bank, which means I get to relax in their lounge while waiting for the paperwork). So in practice, total extra time, 2 + 1 + 6 + 8 = 17 hours. That's probably a massive over estimation. Definitely not hundreds. Note thou, 11 hours of this ~17 hours were spent on my condo balcony, over looking the sea with a fabulous view, with a laptop computer on a table, my feet up on a stool, sipping cool drinks. It was not bad at all. I can not complain one bit. I looked at the Elite Visa, but spending 1-million Thai baht that neither my wife nor myself would ever see again, didn't appeal to either of us. Also, I could be dead in 15 years ... much less than 20 years. Perhaps if I was under age-50 I might consider it, but not at age-69. So I rejected the Elite Visa, and possibly in 10 years time (in 2033) I might reject again going for the LTR Wealthy Pensioner visa. However some do like the Elite Visa - and my view is if they are happy with that approach, then all the more to them and all the best wishes. Many thanks. Being able to do the vast majority of the application and paper submission from the comfort of my condo made a truly MASSIVE difference. As noted - I am happy I now have the LTR Visa.