theoldgit

1 hour ago, JayBird said:

I believe at one time HSBC was making this feasible, but they did have a minimum deposit for this type of account.  

• hold a minimum of £50,000 (or currency equivalent) with us or
• have a sole salary of £100,000 (or currency equivalent) or
• have already qualified for HSBC Premier in another country

And you must currently reside or be situated in an eligible country or region.

1 hour ago, Siam Bruce said:

A British friend who had got Thai citizenship, Passport, ID etc used to get a Visa from the British Embassy easily done as he held dual nationality  and held a valid  Brit passport, he left Thailand on his THAI passport and entered UK on his Thai passport, if he went to another country from UK he left on his Brit passport and returned on his Brit passport.

( This was solely as it was much easier to travel around Europe USA using the Brit Passport)

 

Convoluted but he was always legal this way.

 

Save that if your friend was a British National, he doesn’t need a UK Visa and shouldn’t have been issued with one, so it was far from easily done, and not strictly legal.

You are correct in saying that he should leave Thailand showing his Thai passport when exiting Thai Immigration, and as Crossy has pointed out showing his British Passport at checking in for his flight to the UK, and on arrival at the UK Border, doing the reverse on the return trip.

Post in breach of Forum Rules removed, along with responses.

Bangkok Post.

I use the Kasikorn Virtual Card, but you need to be aware that some carriers specifically say that they cannot be used to purchase flight tickets, whilst others insist on sight of the card that was used to purchase the ticket at check-in.

Did your credit card provider know you were in Thailand, if not could the suspicious activity be its use here?

Most UK Credit Card providers will not send replacements cards here, do you have a friend or relative who could receive the replacement card and send it here?

A number of Thai banks will not issue credit cards to those with extensions based on retirement, but a number will if you lock up part of your funds on deposit as a guarantee for a credit limit.

Travelling to the UK simply to retrieve your card seems a bit cumbersome, but even in these difficult times, it's perfectly possible.  

I think this is a very interesting thread and, despite some of the barbed comments, probably one that many of us have considered over the years, I know I have.

I've only been here for forteen years, I don't own a property having managed to sell one about three years ago, happily married, well at least I am, and moved to the coast south of Bangkok some three years ago in nice rented accomodation.

Seven years ago I sufferred a heart whilst on a weekend break in Singapore, my wife got me to hospital, where I was resuscitaed and spent a month there before being able to return to Thailand, where I received further treatment and follow up checks to this day, I can't fault the care I received in Singapore and on my return to Thailand.

Out of the blue my wife suggested that we consider relocating to the UK, she was concerned that my health could deteriorate over the years and given my lack of insurance cover, the proceeds from my house sale remain my insurance cover, we might be better off in the UK where I would be covered by the NHS, and eventually we both would.

We went as far as visiting the UK, discussing our options with family and friends, looking for suitable areas, settling on the South Coast, and my wife even took an English Language test and we returned home fully intending to start the process, fully aware that she fully met the criteria.

It seems we were both having second thoughts which we had kept to ourselves, it was only after dinner one evening in a Wine Connection, that after the second bottle of wine we both confessed that we weren't sure, so put our plans on hold, deciding to move out of Bangkok instead.

To be quite honest I'm not sure that fast approaching my mid 70's I could cope with such a move, whilst the settlement application process for the UK wouldn't be too arduous for us, the finding of a suitable property would be, as would the actual move itself, and having to build our life all over again, credit references, no claim bonus etc, though my wife could get herself a nice new blue passport after five years, but it's value is somewhat diminshed since Brexit.

We have a pretty good life here, my pension goes a fairly long way, especially since the fall in the value of the Baht, but that may not last, we probably wouldn't have such a good life in the UK, on my demise my wife will receive 50% of my pension, index linked for life, and that would go further here than in the UK.

I don't have any feeling of being fully accepted here, I don't like the Government, but I'm not keen on the UK Government either, my feeling of not being accepted is reinforced every 90 days when I report that I'm still here, totally meaningless but their law, but more so when I renew my leave to remain ever year, am I going to get the very obnoxious and rude IO I had the misfortune of sitting in front of last year, I have to say it worried me for a week or so before my renewal, in the end I was processed by a very charming IO who couldn't have been more pleasant or efficient, but who will I get next year.

Who knows what the future holds, but whilst I'm content, I have no feeling of actually belonging here.   

There is an app you can complete on the day of travel, and it gives you a QR Code that you can show at any road blocks, we did so last week but there were no checks either to or from Bangkok.

https://covid-19.in.th/en?fbclid=IwAR3xLmKNyT-Xx-j-yfahPz6Gs6c9N3QgsaJ0WWQY0363bu69TiteODPKVLQ