Thai elite card visa for family members , how to get and is it the same price , can embassy issue it?

[Sandman77]

Hi I thinking about to by the elite card visa this year , can I get that one only in thailand , or can the thai embassy also issue the card in my home country ? How is the pricess when my family members also want the card ?, if it include in the price ,of the main holder of the card or does everyone inside same family must apply and pay the main and yearly fee fully seperatly ?

How much a 2. Family member would coasts , same like the first one

 

 

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[ubonjoe]

You have to apply for the Thai Elite membership and visa directly to them. Embassies and consulate cannot do it.

There are individual and family memberships.

Info is here on their official website. https://www.thailandelite.com/?locate=en

You can apply for the membership by email, pay the fees and obtain your visa on entry to the country at certain airports. They will meet you at the gate and escort you through the process.

[BritTim]

I would just add to what @ubonjoe posted that Thailand Elite has appointed agents in certain countries. While you can always apply direct (and that is what I would probably do personally) you do have the option of using an agent. See the list of agents near the bottom of the page in @ubonjoe's link.

[aussieinphuket]

My wife and i both have the Thai Elite, we changed from retirement visa.

 

its not for everyone due to the expense but is a good fall back position for those that

cannot get the retirement visa due age (below 50) ...

 

there is a family option from memory and the cost is based on how long you want the cards for ie minimum 5 years upto max 20 years from memory.. ie 5yrs 500,000 thb and 20 yrs think its 2,000,000 thb ?? these are person costs.... but family gets a rebate...

 

their is a worldwide agent a law firm they use... likely you can find their name on the website of ThaiElite..

 

i did direct with Thai Elite so easy to deal with just completed forms, send emails with copies passport and photos etc and they pre-approved in less then 2 hours, then i think it was valid for 30 days to make the payment.

 

it runs so smooth .... the airport service in/out VIP is excellent and the Limo transfers to/from airport also excellent these are free of charge for the card but limited to about 20 per person per year..

 

you still need to do 90 days reporting but seems this can be done online now i read from others posts.. 

 

i have the 5 year card and even thou its 5 yrs at 12 months you will need Thai Elite to go to immigration for your for another year extension or if you leave the country it just resets for another year when you return.. but you dont need to go through all the paper work on a yearly basis..

 

oh and one more thing you dont need to have a deposit in bank at anytime with ThaiElite for my wife and i we must keep 1.6 mill thb and show its been there for 3 months prior to renewing retirement visa , with a family i am not sure how much they would expect you to keep as a deposit.. 

 

good luck.

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2018 by aussieinphuket

[wwest5829]

The idea of a 5 year Visa is attractive to many of us who have made Thailand our home in retirement. Like a large reason for my being here finances means I am priced out of this market. I use an “expensive” option of having my annual retirement extension and 90 day reports taken care of by an agency. So, 10,250 babt a year (1 re-entry stamp included) versus the Elite Card cost. Not cost effective for myself and many who are retired here because we can not afford the same level of living in our home countries.

[mike324]

Thai Elite Visa is a special program not directly related to the Thai Embassy. You have to apply directly with Thai Elite office, their email and phone can be easily found online via their website. Prices should be on their too.

[NoshowJones]

Save your money, you are getting nothing in return for such a large amount, and

you will still have to do the 90 day report, and maybe even leave the country every year.

[NoshowJones]

1 minute ago, disambiguated said:

You don't know what you're talking about.

 

It's a huge improvement not to have to deal with the retirement paperwork.  It's a huge benefit to be whisked through Immigration when exiting/entering Thailand.  It's a huge benefit to have the Thailand Elite staff take care of your 90-day reporting for you.

 

And, no, you don't have to leave the country every year - just renew at Chaeng Wattana with the assistance of the Thailand Elite staff, if you haven't flown out/into the country within a year's time.

 

Why post about something you know nothing about?

I do know what I'm talking about, there was a topic about this only last week, and depending on your circumstances do have to leave the country every year, and I did say "maybe".

 

So you do not have to do the 90 day report, the Elite Visa staff do it for you, is that part of the 500.000 cost for 5 years? Or do you pay extra for that? I think we all know the answer to that. This was not mentioned in the topic last week.

Are you still saying I am posting something I know nothing about?

 

[ubonjoe]

2 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Or do you pay extra for that?

No you don't.

[NoshowJones]

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

No you don't.

That's fine, but you wonder why Thai immigration bother even mentioning the 90 day report, or even having it at all, after paying out 500.000 baht to them.

[ubonjoe]

Some baiting and bickering posts have been removed. Time to end it.

[ubonjoe]

59 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

That's fine, but you wonder why Thai immigration bother even mentioning the 90 day report, or even having it at all, after paying out 500.000 baht to them.

Because it is required by section 37 of the immigration act. It is not possible to drop that requirement.

[ChiangMaiLightning2143]

That's fine, but you wonder why Thai immigration bother even mentioning the 90 day report, or even having it at all, after paying out 500.000 baht to them.

Because even the most elite Aliens, accredited Foreign diplomats, example "His Excellency the Ambassador of The People's Republic of China", have to submit 90 day reports if the remain in the Kingdom more then 90 days.

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[BritTim]

3 hours ago, possum1931 said:

I do know what I'm talking about, there was a topic about this only last week, and depending on your circumstances do have to leave the country every year, and I did say "maybe".

If you are saying that you need to leave the country and re-enter if you did not renew your permission to stay before it expired, then I guess you are correct. However, assuming you get the extension each year, there is never the requirement to leave while you have a Thailand Elite visa.

[NoshowJones]

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

If you are saying that you need to leave the country and re-enter if you did not renew your permission to stay before it expired, then I guess you are correct. However, assuming you get the extension each year, there is never the requirement to leave while you have a Thailand Elite visa.

Yes, that's right, that's why I said maybe. What I did not know was that the Elite people actually do the 90 day report for you, the poster I was replying to was a bit on the nasty side, but you and Ubon Joe went about things in the right way.

[HerbalEd]

14 hours ago, possum1931 said:

Save your money, you are getting nothing in return for such a large amount, and

you will still have to do the 90 day report, and maybe even leave the country every year.

You get nothing??? Why do you talk about something you obviously don't know anything about?

[KittenKong]

It's a huge improvement not to have to deal with the retirement paperwork. It's a huge benefit to be whisked through Immigration when exiting/entering Thailand. It's a huge benefit to have the Thailand Elite staff take care of your 90-day reporting for you.

I must admit that the "huge improvement" is not obvious to me.

My retirement extension takes me less than one hour to complete every year. The "paperwork" is some photocopies and photos, a print-out of a pre-completed form from my PC, and a letter from my bank which is free for me. Not exactly onerous, and at a total cost of under 2000B/year (plus any optional re-entry permits).

As for being whisked through immigration: I get that by flying business class. I get several other advantages also, none of which Thai Elite seems to offer (lie-flat seats, lounge access ....). Thai Elite does offer a free airport limo, as do some of the airlines I use, but neither the airline limo or the Thai Elite limo will actually take me anywhere I want to go to.

My 90-day reporting takes me under 45 minutes, including the two-way walk to the immigration office. On average I find that I do it two or three times a year. So in total I spend around 3 hours per year on all immigration procedures. As I'm retired, this time is easy to find.

So possibly the improvement you mention may be of interest to some people, but certainly not to me, and it certainly would not be good value for me.

[aussieinphuket]

the thai elite card if you buy the 5 years card....

 

even having the card you must still do a 12 month report or rollover or whatever you wish to call it but thai elite can do this for you. and 90 days reporting also thou thai elite can do for you but i find it just as easy to do myself if i have not

left the country and returned resetting the 90 days....

 

if you leave the country and return now this is the interesting point, you get an automatic 12 months extension in your passport. i know because when i had mine for 6 months thai elite 5 yr card i went to vietnam, when i returned it stated

visa expiry date so i looked at when my 5 yr thai elite card expires and put that date, the immigration officer was very nice

explained to me the visa is for 5 years but you only get a 12 month visa stay every time you return not the the maximum of 5 yrs remaining ... i hope this makes sense, if you do leave and return within the 12 month period thai elite we do the report/rollover/renewal for you...