garyk

Wow, if that is true that is insane! I am from the states but that is not right in any sense or shape!

That is a rip off to the nth degree!

1 minute ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

They want to see proof that the money comes into Thailand. That is the whole point of these visas; to make money for Thailand.

Just doesn't make sense to me. But, I never understand this place. I refuse to bring money into this country. Big Joke is going to have a field day after the first of next year. haha

How do i show proof of 65K baht / mo. income. Can I just show my bank statements showing monthly deposits of at least that much?

12 hours ago, Naam said:

yes, temporary heart failure october 3, 2015 01.00 night - pacemaker cum defibrillator implanted october 4, cost 1.2 mm Baht.

Was that at a private hospital or government hospital?

On 10/4/2018 at 6:17 AM, chrisandsu said:

I know it’s not possible in all situations but if I was an old timer and I needed medical treatment surely it would be cheaper and wiser to just jump on a plane home ? You will get much better treatment and will not bankrupt you .

That just happened to me. I was diagnosed with a life threatening disease. I had it checked out here in Thailand and it would of cost me about 12,000 dollars to get treatment. I keep a place in America and went home to get treatment. I asked the doctor there how much it would of cost without insurance in America, 100,000K up. Didn't cost me anything but it was a wake up call for me. It is cheaper for me to keep my place in America than to buy 3rd party insurance here.

But, if I sold my home in America I could invest, and fund just about any stay in a Thai hospital (government hospital). Private hospitals here are just as expensive as the States for what I have seen. Kind of a catch 22.

So, after years of keeping my place in the states I will definitely hang on to it. I didn't realize how truly important it was to NOT break ties with your home country.  Research paid off for me before I retired.

9 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

That would always be helpful . Am I right in thinking that the American Medicare insurance would continue if you decide to upsticks and move to Thailand ? I know my general health plan here covers me when I go to Thailand just the same as it would do in America .

Medicare is pretty much only in America. 

I keep a place in my home town just because of that. I don't want to be stuck here with out other options.

8 hours ago, JackThompson said:

If it were a matter of simply "having the money, or income," a retirement-based option would be the obvious choice.  But, the "start up" process for the Retirement-based extension - the initial Non-O, can be a PITA, depending on which Immigration office.  So, you have to "move to Bangkok" for awhile to use Chang Wattana or, you have to go to Savannakhet with an embassy-letter (even if using money in-the-bank), etc.  And after jumping through those hoops, one must always be in Thailand when it's time to renew, or you have to start over. 

 

The Non-OA Visa is a better solution for "in and out" folks who may not be in the country around their renewal-date - but even that is a PITA, due to needing to return to one's home-country to get it (since it is not sensibly offered nearby), and then meet the documentation-requirements (police-report, medical, etc). 

 

I can certainly see why a person who does not stay in Thailand all the time, even if over 50, would want to avoid all this hassle, and simply use Tourist Visas, since there is no legal limit on how many one can use.  Unfortunately, certain immigration-checkpoint personnel believe other restrictions should apply to TR Visas, and are not prevented by the chain-of-command from enforcing policy-agendas which are unauthorized by the Minister.

I guess everyone has their own definition of a PITA. I did what you are talking about for a coupe of years and it was a huge PITA for me.. haha

7 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Unfortunately, persons who stay even less have been under suspicion - though not of any legal violation.  One visitor from Europe reported they come every year, stay 5-6 mo, then go home the rest of the year.  Upon their last entry, they were grilled and threatened with rejected-entry for "staying too long" after having been "home" for 6 months, each time, between these annual visits.

When there are no set rules beyond "what I say goes," anything can happen - and that is the only consistent rule at Bangkok airports, these days.

Thailand has always been kinda doggy IMO. Personally when I am hassled which has happened I just smile and try to get threw it the best I can.

I had one lady at immigration a few years ago threaten to have me locked up!

She hated the fact I was coming and going into Thailand for some reason. I finally got tired of it, and got rude with her and she hit the ceiling. I just got up and left, she followed me out and was yelling at me. 

The next week I went back and all was fine. Crazy, but i learned just to smile and go on. 

On 9/21/2018 at 5:57 PM, TSF said:

You're 61, you have money in the bank, why aren't you on annual retirement extensions, then you don't have to go through all this crap. I'm on retirement extensions for the past decade or longer, I don't stay in Thailand all the time, I have a multi-re-entry stamp, so come and go like a Thai, every few months I'm traveling to Cambodia or Vietnam or Australia and returning to Thailand when I want with no issues at all.

Same here, I travel in and out of Thailand at will. 

A retirement extension is the only way to go. 

I flew in a week ago on a one way ticket with a Visa stamp. 

The airlines asked me for my return ticket, I said I had a Visa stamp. She said ok no problem as long as you have a visa.

Don't worry about it.

6 hours ago, HauptmannUK said:

Its all well and good to talk about living here on 40k a month (which I agree is entirely possible) but what happens when bad luck intervenes?  We are all getting older and some are already relatively old when they relocate here in Thailand.  Everybody is going to suffer from medical problems as they get older - life is terminal. Good medical care in Thailand is expensive (maybe not compared to the US, but for most of us Europeans). And accidents happen - a lot.

I split my time between Thailand and the UK. I recently needed a high-resolution MRI scan and was surprised to find the cost in Bangkok about the same as in a private facility in the UK (I could also have opted for a free scan on the NHS in the UK, of course). 

About 10 years ago I was diagnosed with a very serious neurological condition - potentially very unpleasant and terminal.  Within a week of seeing a consultant at my local hospital in the UK I had been sent to meet one of the top guys in the world, in London, and had diagnostics done on some amazing neuroimaging equipment.  All done quickly and free (yes, we pay for it via tax, but free at the point of delivery) on the NHS.  Subsequent treatment, again free, meant I eventually made an almost full recovery and undoubtedly saved my life.  I shudder to think of the outcome had I been in Thailand (both in terms of costs and available expertise). Or in the USA (cost).

An acquaintance of mine has recently had to relocate back to the UK after about 12 years in Thailand.  He is not particularly old (about 62 IIRC) but has suffered serious stomach problems for the past couple of years.  The cost of medication, hospital bills, plus the fall in the GBP, meant that he could no longer afford to live in Thailand.  Sadly he has returned to the UK to live in a bedsit in a rather grim midlands town (to be near his sister).  He's had to leave his Thai partner behind in Thailand.  I've not actually spoken to him since he returned, but his sister has told me he's very depressed.

 

I am lucky enough to have pension income quite some way above 40k but the thought of ill-health in Thailand really scares me and for that reason I doubt we'll ever move here permanently.

I keep a place in my home country just for that.  When I decided to retire I sold my home and bought a small house for retirement. It is fairly easy to keep up, and comfortable for me when I go back. After a few years into roaming around I was diagnosed with a terminal illness if not treated properly. I hot footed it back home and got the treatment (free). And, now I am back running around. Although at a much slower pace. I thank god everyday I  set up a backup plan.

I checked on the treatment here in Thailand and it was about one tenth the cost of treatment in America if I had to pay out of pocket! So, medical care here is still extremely cheap compared to my country if you have to pay out of pocket. It was doable for me but I went home and got it for free. 

All the best.

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I'm hearing some noise about recent issues in Colombia. The old war not entirely over. Refugees from Venezuela. Drug violence on the up against again. Of course it's still probably way safer than Baltimore.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Haha, I was there about a year ago. It was ok, but not as safe as Thailand. 

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

40K per month will NOT get you permanent retirement residency in Mexico. 

 

Colombia and Ecuador -- yes.

 

https://www.mexperience.com/financial-criteria-for-residency-in-mexico/

 

Ok, thanks for the update I did not know that. I am from Texas and don't have to worry about Mexico. I drive down all the time. I stop at the crossing and pay about a 300 dollar refundable fee for my pickup and get a 180 day visa. For me it is so easy I wonder why I don't just call Mexico my second home. I was down in Merida Yucatan two years ago and it is so safe and a very nice place to live. I have a retirement visa here but the last two years I have not spent much time here.

Hope the OP has things sorted out, sounded like he was a bit stressed.

This whole region is one of the cheapest places in the world to live period.

Quality of life is very good, food is very good, so many advantages it is unbelievable.

Health care is very good and very cheap, just too many pluses to comprehend, if you are on a budget you cannot go wrong living here. Just keep your senses about you and 40K will be more than enough to live a very enjoyable life in Thailand. IMO the 65K retirement visa is way too much for this region.

To the OP,  South America is very doable. About the same cost of living. Head to Ecuador, Colombia, even Mexico, 40K will get you a retirement visa there with no problems at all. I think about 800-1000 a month is all you need. Head to Medellin, nice and cool and a great place to spend your life. You can buy land and build a small home. Health care is IMO a cut above Thailand, and very cheap.If you cannot land a retirement visa here there are many other places that you can live a comfortable life on 40K. Don't give up just because Thailand is giving you problems. 

7 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

How can you abandon a Visa?... 

 

The only way I could see this as being possible is that someone purchases the T.E. Visa for their first entry and never returns to Thailand.... 10-1 you didn't really think your comment though. 

 

 

In other words you don't have a clue!

6000 x 30,000 US dollars is 180,000,000. Immigration is laughing all the way to the bank. 

On 9/8/2018 at 6:08 PM, galt67 said:

'Over 6,000 members', in June 2018, I was told by a TE rep at BKK.

To tell you the truth I would be very interested in how many people buy this service and abandon it. 10-1 I bet hundreds of theses type of Visa's are bought and people abandon them in a few years.

2 hours ago, Ratt Thai said:

If you check the prices for a decent car and a good pickup, both new... then the difference for a decent visa...

I can live with a normal pickup... a car looses more value then the visa imo

That is one way to think about it I guess.

Have fun in Thailand.

Must be a nice feeling to be able to fork over 30K US for a visa.  Since i am not wealthy it is hard for me to understand. 

If I forked over 30K for a Visa here I would not be about to sleep for the next 20 years haha. I guess wealthy people have no worries about it.

I have a question on dividends? If I have to prove my income can I just show bank statements showing the monthly dividend checks being deposited into my account? Is that all that is needed? Or do I need a letter from the Investment company?

800 baht for a taxi to Sim Reap, wow that is super cheap. I didn't know you could hire a taxi and get to Sim Reap for 800 baht!! Amazing value.

If I had to go back to Sim Reap no problem for me. I love that place.. ?