LOS alternative

[cleverman]

With the Hoha over visas here, the Malasian MM2H,or even the one year visa,is looking more and more attractive. Maby go there and start up malasianvisa.com.Can work there and buy a house. 

[JackThompson]

In the region, there are three nations that are Very Happy to have you spend your foreign-sourced capital in their country, so make it easy to do so.  No issues going out/back same-day in any of these, since they don't play silly power-trip games - pretending you came from wealthier-nation to "work illegally" at some under-the-table job, or are otherwise "not worthy" of staying there.

 

Cambodia - 1-year ME Visa is about $360/yr with no financials.  To get started, just need to enter and pay $35 instead of $30 for your VOA, then apply for the longer-stays inside the country.  These longer-stay visas can also be purchased in 3-mo (not ME) or 6-mo (ME) increments.  Add approximately $25 for agent-service. 

 

Vietnam - varies by passport-country.  Americans can get 1-year TR Visas.  Others shorter, and some free.  Out/ins no problem, to continue indefinitely.

 

PI - several options for putting money in a frozen-account for a long-stay, or just extend you TR Visa On Arrival in-country (up to 14 mo last I was there - maybe longer now), then doing a same-day out/in to re-start the clock.  Immigration office personnel are friendly and helpful, with "no fixers" allowed, so they don't try to block your application to extort money.

 

Cambodia and Vietnam: Also not hard to get a job teaching English, since they want their citizens to be ready for the future, more than they want to make the process difficult.

[sqwakvfr]

Agree with JackThompson about the PI.  PI immigration appears to be straight forward.  For the PI Retirement Visa options the money required is stated in Dollars.   As for Vietnam the US State Department on Nov 7 put out this advisory:

Security Alert-U.S. Embassy Hanoi

U.S. Consulate Ho Chi Minh City

 

Location:  Throughout Vietnam

 

Event:  The U.S. Mission to Vietnam advises U.S. citizens of the High Crime rating for Vietnam.  Recent reports of criminal activities include unwanted sexual advances, targeting children in public places for potential kidnapping, and reports of wrongdoing by taxis and ride-sharing services, including sexual harassment and theft of personal items.  

 

Actions to Take:

·        Maintain situational awareness and be aware of your surroundings.

·        Do not display signs of wealth, such as wearing expensive jewelry or watches and keep the amount of valuables on your person to a minimum.

·        Do not physically resist if confronted by an armed or unarmed robber as robbers may resort to violence.

·        Use caution when walking or driving at night.

·        Stay alert in locations frequented by tourists.

 

Assistance:

·        U.S. Embassy Hanoi - Consular Annex
     From outside Vietnam: +84-24-3850-5000
     From the U.S.: 011-84-24-3850-5000
     From landline within Hanoi: 3850-5000
     From mobile or landline within Vietnam: 024-3850-5000
      [email protected]

·         U.S. Consulate Ho Chi Minh City

   From outside Vietnam: +84-28-3520-4200
   From the U.S.: 011-84-28-3520-4200
   From landline within Ho Chi Minh City: 3520-4200
   From mobile or landline within Vietnam: 028-3520-4200S

   [email protected]   

·        State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs - 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444

·        Vietnam Country Information

·        Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

·        Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.  

 

Normally State Department Travel Advisories are for more serious matters?  “Wrong Doing by Taxi’s”?  That’s like everyday in some places.  

[watcharacters]

 

This thread may be very disconcerting to some members of TVF.

[from the home of CC]

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

 

This thread may be very disconcerting to some members of TVF.

Nice to know the options though. And maybe someone with juice takes note.

[taxout]

I suppose it depends on how you define "Asia," but Americans at least can get a 10-year multiple-entry visa for India permitting a half-year stay per entry, and they can stay in Georgia for up to a year -- yes, a year -- without a visa.

[JackThompson]

22 hours ago, taxout said:

I suppose it depends on how you define "Asia," but Americans at least can get a 10-year multiple-entry visa for India permitting a half-year stay per entry, and they can stay in Georgia for up to a year -- yes, a year -- without a visa.

The 1/2 year per-year thing with India had changed, last I checked.  You can now "border run" out and back without having to stay-out 6 mo. 

 

That "6 mo wait-out" was one reason I didn't check it out as a possible long-stay option, years back.  Then, after I get settled in here, India realized they were just shooting themselves in the foot, and stopped blocking foreign-spending that way.

 

Nepal used to have a 180-day limit as well - not sure now.

[taxout]

As I said, India permits Americans with those visas to stay six months per entry. But since the weather in India is worse than miserable 4/5 months a year, I think a long break over the hot and monsoon seasons would be very welcome.

 

Tbilisi has a lot of character and seems quite welcoming to foreigners.

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Canada. 

 

One you apply for a settlement visa you can stay forever and get a free healthcare to boot.

 

 

[BritManToo]

20 minutes ago, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Canada. 

One you apply for a settlement visa you can stay forever and get a free healthcare to boot.

1

And as much cannabis as you can smoke.

[robsamui]

I've been living in Thailand full-time since 1997 but for the last 12 months have been looking closely at alternatives - the Thai admin has become positively hostile lately.

The requirements: good climate, tolerable monsoon/rainy season, cheaper than Thailand, and benign immigration policy. Plus a coastal region with beaches. I'm looking for somewhere to retire now and run down my days, so I'm not interested in travelling at all.

I looked VERY closely at Mexico for several months, joining a number of local forums and interacting with people on the spot. But all sorts of problems, including the same  kind of insane red tape with visas etc as Thailand. (And I'm not American or Canadian.)

 

Goa was another possibility - but 5 or 6 months of rain. Philippines? In the middle of the earthquake/hurricane/belt.

 

Cambodia - possible, and the visa rules are the easiest anywhere - go there and (if over 50) you can get unlimited 1-year repeats without having to show any income.  But not that much cheaper than Thailand and the coast around Sihanoukville not only has a long rainy season but is now over-run with Chinese investors and tourists.

Vietnam on the other hand is most attractive. Americans get a whole separate visa deal with this country. But for Commonwealth citizens it works like this. Before you come you hook up online with one of the many agents and they will authorise the letter of introduction that you need.

 

This letter essentially is a heads-up to the Immigration department, and requests that you be granted one of the various visa types. You pay the agent a fee that relates to the type of visa - only maybe $35 for a 90-day multi entry tourist visa or as much as $500 for a 6-month ME business visa (for which you don't need permits or documents, just cash in hand). You then pay extra for the actual stamp in your passport from Immigration ($25? I forget.) And that's it. People staying here long-term simply do border runs every several months - the repeats are unlimited.

 

The cost of living is effectively half that of beachside Thailand, even in nice little holiday towns like Nha Trang. Unfortunately that area is condo-crazy, but you only need to go 3 or 4 Km inland to find a big 2-bed semi/furnished house in its own grounds for around $300 US a month.

Motorbikes (scooters) are easy, too, requiring no registration or paperwork (as we know it) although it's advisable to buy your own insurance. Honda Click, Yam Nouveau or Airblade = $200 - $500 depending on age/condition - just hand the money over and drive away.

 

The roads are generally pretty poor, and most expats seem to fly in and out to renew visas (booking in advance to find cheap fares) and arrange with their agent to have their intro letter ready for immigration on the way back. It is possible to extend your visa without leaving the country, but it's a very silly price, so it seems that nobody does that.

The only downside that I can see is that the immigration officer is not obliged to give you the visa that you want, even though you have paid the agent's fee in advance. Reputable agents will advise you of the current visa climate, and what is safe to apply for - ie I've read reports of optimists going for a second end-to-end 6-month business visa and being given a 3-month stamp instead.

 

Overall I'm thinking this is going to be preferable to Thailand - but we'll have to wait and see how the new visa regs end up panning out over the next 4 or 5 months!

 

Edited November 15, 2018 by robsamui

[Mike Teavee]

On 11/12/2018 at 2:47 PM, JackThompson said:

In the region, there are three nations that are Very Happy to have you spend your foreign-sourced capital in their country, so make it easy to do so.  No issues going out/back same-day in any of these, since they don't play silly power-trip games - pretending you came from wealthier-nation to "work illegally" at some under-the-table job, or are otherwise "not worthy" of staying there.

 

Cambodia - 1-year ME Visa is about $360/yr with no financials.  To get started, just need to enter and pay $35 instead of $30 for your VOA, then apply for the longer-stays inside the country.  These longer-stay visas can also be purchased in 3-mo (not ME) or 6-mo (ME) increments.  Add approximately $25 for agent-service. 

 

Vietnam - varies by passport-country.  Americans can get 1-year TR Visas.  Others shorter, and some free.  Out/ins no problem, to continue indefinitely.

 

PI - several options for putting money in a frozen-account for a long-stay, or just extend you TR Visa On Arrival in-country (up to 14 mo last I was there - maybe longer now), then doing a same-day out/in to re-start the clock.  Immigration office personnel are friendly and helpful, with "no fixers" allowed, so they don't try to block your application to extort money.

 

Cambodia and Vietnam: Also not hard to get a job teaching English, since they want their citizens to be ready for the future, more than they want to make the process difficult.

Great summary, just update that you can extend your initial Visa exempt entry into Philippines up to 3 years (You're allowed 2x6 month extensions & the remainder are 3 months) then "Turnaround" & start the 3 years again with no hassles from immigration.

 

Being married to a Filipina you automatically get a 1 year visa on entry to the country, not sure of whether these could be extended as never been down this route.

 

I love the Philippines, used to visit 8 or so times a year & went 1/2s on a house in Davao with my Filipina gf of the time, but ironically enough we split up because I wanted to live in Thailand & she didn't.

 

My only downer with PI immigration is when you're taking your Filipina gf out of the country, I'd been with mine 8 years & we'd done dozens of visits/exits yet last time I took her to Singapore (Where she had a work permit) I had to sign an affidavit to say I "Wouldn't let her become a burden of the state" - I'm a reasonably young looking 52 year old and she's a very presentable 34 year old so it wasn't like we were that much of an "Odd Couple" 

 

If it's not Thailand, it would be Vietnam for me though I would love to hear more about places like Taiwan & Korea as they look amazing... Outside of SEA I would like to explore moving to Columbia/Venezuela etc... In Europe I think it would be Portugal or Malta.

Edited November 15, 2018 by Mike Teavee

[garyk]

Right now Venezuela is a no go zone. Colombia is not bad, I was there for a while.

Edited November 15, 2018 by garyk

[xylophone]

32 minutes ago, Mike Teavee said:

In Europe I think it would be Portugal or Malta.

I tried Malta before settling here, but couldn't settle on it for some reason...……..perhaps one reason was that the invasion of Brits over the years had resulted in a plethora of fast food type outlets, with little original food to be found.

 

And poor nightlife for older guys...……...

[mahjongguy]

Uruguay. Seriously. Check it out.

[Rig Pig]

Panama, on the Pacific coast, can be very nice. The immigration and visa issues are not a problem.

[1337markus]

On 11/12/2018 at 2:25 PM, watcharacters said:

 

This thread may be very disconcerting to some members of TVF.

It is. If you could sell your house as quick as you bought it I would be gone to one of those countries. I was in Indonesia a few years ago, they also opened the door for expats to live and buy property.

[rumak]

well, the biggest problem with moving is that when i spoke Thai nobody would understand me !  And i'll be damned if i want to spend my time talking to other expats.   FYI:  i use the word "expat" as all seem to understand that.  I just consider myself a  STAP  :  stateless person.   Living somewhere and not speaking/relating to the locals is IMO  ....boring and frustrating.  Starting all over again with " hong nom yuu nai"  ......well,  at my age i'd probably crap in my pants a few times.

Edited November 16, 2018 by rumak

[Destiny1990]

Best food options and overall prices still for me is Thailand but their over complicated and hassle style visa rules have many people made relocating a long time ago.

[Old Croc]

On ‎11‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 9:17 PM, theguyfromanotherforum said:

Canada. 

One you apply for a settlement visa you can stay forever and get a free healthcare to boot.

Accommodation supplied with free steam heating:

 

[Nyezhov]

14 minutes ago, Old Croc said:

Accommodation supplied with free steam heating:

 

They have steam heat in Yakustk too and the girls there loooove foreigners! All you need to do is tell them you live in California!

[Emster23]

" They have steam heat in Yakustk too and the girls there loooove foreigners! All you need to do is tell them you live in California! "

Always a good idea to start off a new relationship with a lie.... if going this route, just say you're burned out on/in California... could use that lie to explain why you have nothing

[Cryingdick]

Viet Nam seems like a very reasonable candidate. You don't have to go through much effort to get there to check it out. VN is seeing a lot of new expats coming in in recent times. If you are under 50 I would give it a good look.

[ryane66]

15 hours ago, robsamui said:

I've been living in Thailand full-time since 1997 but for the last 12 months have been looking closely at alternatives - the Thai admin has become positively hostile lately.

The requirements: good climate, tolerable monsoon/rainy season, cheaper than Thailand, and benign immigration policy. Plus a coastal region with beaches. I'm looking for somewhere to retire now and run down my days, so I'm not interested in travelling at all.

I looked VERY closely at Mexico for several months, joining a number of local forums and interacting with people on the spot. But all sorts of problems, including the same  kind of insane red tape with visas etc as Thailand. (And I'm not American or Canadian.)

 

Goa was another possibility - but 5 or 6 months of rain. Philippines? In the middle of the earthquake/hurricane/belt.

 

Cambodia - possible, and the visa rules are the easiest anywhere - go there and (if over 50) you can get unlimited 1-year repeats without having to show any income.  But not that much cheaper than Thailand and the coast around Sihanoukville not only has a long rainy season but is now over-run with Chinese investors and tourists.

Vietnam on the other hand is most attractive. Americans get a whole separate visa deal with this country. But for Commonwealth citizens it works like this. Before you come you hook up online with one of the many agents and they will authorise the letter of introduction that you need.

 

This letter essentially is a heads-up to the Immigration department, and requests that you be granted one of the various visa types. You pay the agent a fee that relates to the type of visa - only maybe $35 for a 90-day multi entry tourist visa or as much as $500 for a 6-month ME business visa (for which you don't need permits or documents, just cash in hand). You then pay extra for the actual stamp in your passport from Immigration ($25? I forget.) And that's it. People staying here long-term simply do border runs every several months - the repeats are unlimited.

 

The cost of living is effectively half that of beachside Thailand, even in nice little holiday towns like Nha Trang. Unfortunately that area is condo-crazy, but you only need to go 3 or 4 Km inland to find a big 2-bed semi/furnished house in its own grounds for around $300 US a month.

Motorbikes (scooters) are easy, too, requiring no registration or paperwork (as we know it) although it's advisable to buy your own insurance. Honda Click, Yam Nouveau or Airblade = $200 - $500 depending on age/condition - just hand the money over and drive away.

 

The roads are generally pretty poor, and most expats seem to fly in and out to renew visas (booking in advance to find cheap fares) and arrange with their agent to have their intro letter ready for immigration on the way back. It is possible to extend your visa without leaving the country, but it's a very silly price, so it seems that nobody does that.

The only downside that I can see is that the immigration officer is not obliged to give you the visa that you want, even though you have paid the agent's fee in advance. Reputable agents will advise you of the current visa climate, and what is safe to apply for - ie I've read reports of optimists going for a second end-to-end 6-month business visa and being given a 3-month stamp instead.

 

Overall I'm thinking this is going to be preferable to Thailand - but we'll have to wait and see how the new visa regs end up panning out over the next 4 or 5 months!

 

I recently (in the last month) visited Mexico. It has really changed. Very clean and friendly. No garbage laying everywhere like here. Very , very few street dogs. You can own land on a title as long as it is 50km from the seashore. You can own on the seashore with a 50 year renewable, sellable bank trust. Healthcare is equivalent to here, maybe even better. Very high on my alternative to here if things keeping getting worse.

On 11/6/2018 at 6:07 AM, HappyAndRich said:

That´s same like living long term on tourist visas here. We were talking retirement and requirements for doing that the right way.

 

 

 

[Tom89]

15 hours ago, garyk said:

Right now Venezuela is a no go zone. Colombia is not bad, I was there for a while.

What's the crime like in Colombia these days?

[JackThompson]

Brazil was very dangerous for a long time - kidnappings followed by "credit checks" and demands for the entire net-worth of your family for your life - but all that may be changing, with the new administration coming in.  Definitely a place to keep an eye on - though perhaps best to visit after the likely transition-turbulence.

 

Paraguay had the easiest PR and citizenship in Latin America, last I checked - was just $5K USD in the bank to qualify.  You can withdraw the money after obtaining PR.  Then, five years after obtaining PR, apply for citizenship - and you don't have to stay there in the interim.

[DavidB4]

I'm in Cambodia right now and would not recommend it. The food is at least 50% more than it was in Thailand and far less selection, minimal street food. If you have money to eat in a restaurant every night then you'd be OK. Also its getting more and more difficult to get longer visas here. I met a British pensioner who has a Cambodian wife, don't know about the legalities of the marriage...didn't ask, and he has to go home (which he does not want to do) after over 12 years here. 

[BritManToo]

15 hours ago, robsamui said:

This letter essentially is a heads-up to the Immigration department, and requests that you be granted one of the various visa types

Vietnam,

No letter required for most Europeans, you can just turn up and get a 14-day VISA waiver on entry, then progress from there.

[Cryingdick]

Yeah Cambodia is not as Barang friendly as it once was. Now that Sihanoukville has been destroyed i don't know why anybody would move there.

 

Also if  you don't like the leadership in Thailand you are going to  find Cambodia a real treat.

Edited November 16, 2018 by Cryingdick

[JackThompson]

7 minutes ago, DavidB4 said:

I'm in Cambodia right now and would not recommend it. The food is at least 50% more than it was in Thailand and far less selection, minimal street food. If you have money to eat in a restaurant every night then you'd be OK. Also its getting more and more difficult to get longer visas here. I met a British pensioner who has a Cambodian wife, don't know about the legalities of the marriage...didn't ask, and he has to go home (which he does not want to do) after over 12 years here. 

I'd like to know the particulars of that person's problem - paying an agent $25 for another 1-year ME Visa is standard.  I heard they started requiring work-permits also be purchased, in some cases, whether actually working or not - but those were approx ~$325 a year at that time.

 

Street food "drives by" on some streets regularly (PP), but not much flavor in most local food.  Funny thing, I would go there for Thai visas years ago, and visit a Thai restaurant to get something tasty to eat.  But, if staying longer in a place with a kitchen, you can find all the ingredients for good food (including Thai style) in the open-air markets.