watcharacters

On 11/3/2018 at 1:02 PM, Thaidream said:

1971-  entry was 15 days max for Americans and UK Citizens-  If one wanted to extend and stay in Thailand- a $1,000 Bond was required to be placed in a Thai Bank- No Embassy Involvement. The 30 day entry started about 1987 when Thailand officially opened for mass tourism.

 

60s- don't know the exact year but Thai Government wanted foreigners to stay in Thailand and offered Permanent Residency  at no cost as well as lifetime Work Permit-  I know 1 person still alive and still has it. but I can't remember the exact year. There were few  foreigners in Thailand that wanted to stay and Thailand was looking for  people with certain technical skills.

 

80s or 90s-  The Embassy letter that one sees today  is not the original Letter- The original letter was an affidavit where you wrote in the income and it has evolved into a separate letter addressed to Thai Imm. I can't remember the date - but I have to believe it evolved as more and more people were coming to Thailand to retire.

 

Just as an aside- hardly anyone came to Thailand to retire  before the 70s and  the only foreigners  one saw were military  on leave for  7 -15 days.  All entered on military orders via the Military airports or Don Muang- most didn't carry passports and were stamped in on their orders for 15 days- max.

Thank you Thaidream.

I certainly didn't find that kind of information on my Google search so without your offering it, we'd all be left in the dark.

On 11/3/2018 at 1:05 PM, GroveHillWanderer said:

I'm sorry watcharacters - irony doesn't come across very well in writing, but are you seriously saying that you don't know what year 9/11 occurred? Or alternatively, that you don't know how to subtract 18 from 2018?

I get what you're saying GroveHillWander.  On the surface it looks pretty idiotic of me or a poor attempt at humor.     I even questioned myself at the time of posting.    A few words  for clarification.   

Sept. 1, 2001 was a benchmark  event that  most people will and do remember.  When I asked HAKAPALITA if his reference  to 18 years was before or after 9/11,  I was really asking if he "arrived here" as he suggested before or after that tragic event.    I should have formulated the question differently.

19 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Probably not on retirement extensions however.  ????

I was here in 68 and there are many others that go back further, but most of us were temporary at that time.

As in TDY?     555

But back on topic..

3 minutes ago, PoorSucker said:

I remember when nobody went to immigration.

Your passport just went on holiday in Malaysia once per month.

Again, PoorSucker, can you put a date on that time?    Do you remember any  immigration requirements whatsoever?

You left the country each 30 days to renew a 30 day visa?

5 minutes ago, HAKAPALITA said:

18 years ago.

Do you  recall if that was before or after 9/11?

11 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

I cannot remember what I did last week,so no help at all,sorry

regards Worgeordie

I understand what your saying,  Worgeordie.      I have some memory issues as well.     But  there is a difference at times for some of us between long term and short term memory.    I forget  what or even if I ate breakfast some times.   But I can speak  about with a fair degree of certainty  events that happened decades ago.

Maybe you'll wake up in two or three days and remember something about immigration.     If that happens members of this forum and especially me would appreciate if you would post it on this thread as a part of history.   Whatever comes to your mind would be highly welcomed.

6 minutes ago, HAKAPALITA said:

When i came here it was 200/400K now 400/800.


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Can you tell us  what year that was, please?    Thank you.

10 minutes ago, HAKAPALITA said:

Basically over the 27 years retirement/married , nothing worth a mention.


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I'm sorry you're unable to contribute at this time, HAKAPALITA.      You must have a wealth of experience and memories but  choose to remain   ?    Too bad..

I'd like to hear what you have to say about how your "permission to stay" process  in Thailand has changed over the last 27 years.

I look forward to hearing  back from you.

2 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

No he was probably at the 600k baht level then. 

They raised it to 800k baht in 2003.

 Thank you, ubonjoe.   Exactly the kind of thing  I was hoping to learn.     

We all can be certain the requirements to remain in Thailand have changed over the years and I'd for one like to know exactly how and what happened.  

Some members of this forum have posted they were here in the early 70's and some have even gone so far back as the 60's.

How have things changed as far as immigration requirements is what I'd love to know.

1 minute ago, owl sees all said:

You are right WW. My post was inappropriate and misplaced.

 

When I get the pics ready I'll post in the correct section.

I wouldn't say your post was misplaced but  I will look forward to the day you are able to contribute photos to the forum to share with others about  history regarding Thailand.     This is all about historical records.

2 hours ago, JaiLai said:

I used to come get stamped in and stay as long as I felt like, just paid the overstay fine on the way out.

I’m sure it was only 200 baht a day though....may be wrong??


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When was that,  JaiLai?

49 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

I think the letter from the embassy was required when using the income option back then. Am I correct?

Thank you for your participation,  ubonjoe.

I'm hoping you have a lot of stored references in your memory  you can  share.

6 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

It is still listed in current retirement clause:

 

Are you saying in year 2000 a deposit of 800K ฿ was required in a Thai Bank  for a permission to stay extension?

Please explain.

1 hour ago, worgeordie said:

Well I came here 30 years ago,and have been here ever since,things changed

little by little until what we have today,which can only be called paranoid,

is it necessary ?, I don't know ,all you have to do is follow the rules they

keep coming up with,expect a lot of Expats will be packing up and leaving

now the requirements for actually having the money in the bank.

regards worgeordie

Thank you again for your reply, worgeordie.   Please understand this thread is meant to be a reporting (history) of requirements  and changes  of immigration policy  to Thailand over the decades.     I hope no one posts any criticism whatsoever.

I look at this as being similar to the "old photos of Thailand" section of ThaiVisa.

Since a 'google search has a dearth of information about the history of immigration policies for Thailand, I hope this is an opportunity for those who have experienced it to add their memory to  it.   Dates as in year would be great  along with specific requirements.

Maybe this will be added to a Google search and those contributors will be read in a future search by others.

Can you think of anything to add  from your  memory,  worgeordie?

Anything to share from 30 years experience?

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

Retirement was different lower sums depending on age (55/60).

There were no normal requirements for residency certificates and 90 day reporting only became common after 9/11 panic to keep track of people.

Thanks lop,

So is it fair to say in your recollection the serious changes happened as a result of the 9/11 event?     From that time on Thailand embarked on a "where are you" kind of approach?   Prior to that did  you move about freely without reporting to Immigration?

Do you have any  memories as to the amount of funds required to have  on deposit to retire in Thailand around the  year 2000  time?

38 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

There was no requirement to do 90 day reporting,but I believe

it was a law,they did not seem so paranoid where you were and

what you were doing, but before leaving the country you had to 

do a tax report,which was a joke,as all they required was 200 or

300 THB,

regards worgeordie

Can you reference any kind of date worgeordie?

Thanks.

15 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Only been doing 18 years but copies and bank letters have always been required.

Thanks all.

lopburi3 it helps to put things in perspective when you add a time frame as in 18 years.

Much appreciated.   Any recollection of the 800K requirement or Certificate of Residency?

The last few weeks there's been a  bunch of discussion  on TVF about immigration (Retirement permission to stay etc.) and it's corresponding requirements.

From memory I wonder if any of you old-timers can tell us about the history of things like the 3 month 800K baht seasoning and  Certificate of Residency.    When did the bank letter start being a requirement for instance?

Any recollection when the requirement for a mountain of photocopies began?   I'm guessing it was around the time printers became as cheep as chips.

My Google search on this topic came up empty with only information about current conditions.

What can you tell us about how it used to be in Thailand regarding  Immigration?

Oh OH..

On 10/31/2018 at 12:24 PM, KittenKong said:

ome things I dont like: Tax on worldwide income. Natural disasters. Poor infrastructure (largely due to the natural disasters). Rather boring local food. The Catholic church. Accommodation is often overpriced and often not very good. Less choice for international air travel.

Good summary..

7 minutes ago, namatjira said:

creepy old sex tourist

I don't disagree with you that he seems to fit this bill, but my other comments however hold as well.    His videos can give some insight  to life for an expat in the Philippines.   

If one doesn't like it there's the free choice option to totally ignore it.

I'd direct the OP to take a look at a few of the videos posted by this fellow.

I've not heard anyone gush more about the PI than he does.    He likes the simple life and focuses on what he sees as a low cost life style.

If nothing else a look at one or two of his videos offers some  degree of entertainment.

2 minutes ago, cedel said:

what you mention is NOT vodka, they call it "White Spirit"...not the same taste, and probably even more unhealthy... 

And if you try Lao Khao , it's even more dangerous...I heard u can become blind if u drink too much of it, probably contains a bit of methanol..

I heard it causes the growth of hair on one's palms.