SURVEY: Will the new financial requirements force you to leave?

[NanLaew]

14 minutes ago, mokwit said:

I have a feeling I will end up spending as little as possible just to thwart them.

And thus the fake cheap charlie was spawned.

 

Conversation overheard at a balloon chase on Soi 6, "But this isn't my typical dress, demeanor and dining habit you understand. No no, I am quite well off actually. I'm only doing this to thwart those ne'erdowells at Immigration."

[crees]

1 minute ago, overherebc said:

Don't think that's an option for someone 65/70 plus.

Wouldn't think that spending their life in safron robes and getting up with the sun every morning is part of their plans.

Point taken, I was 55 at that time

[sawadee1947]

3 hours ago, Hans Rayong said:

I am glad that I come from a country with an embassy in Bangkok who cares for its citizens living in Thailand.

Which country is it? Let me guess it's not UK? 

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, logres212 said:

Sorry, actually what I meant was residing as a full time retiree in Thailand. 

Yes, for one year at a time.

[dcnx]

11 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

What "No" ?  Of course "Yes".  Big Joke said it himself. Too many people staying illegally here using agents.

Don’t be fooled. Agents have NOTHING to do with this. They could ban agents with a pen stroke if they were really a problem. 

 

Agents wouldn't even exist without corrupt immigration officers at every level.

[Pattaya46]

4 minutes ago, Nowisee said:

24 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

// The main people to blame now are those who were using these agents, main reason of this strengthening of laws...

Nonsense.  The people to blame are the agents and corrupt I/O. 

There would be no Agents doing this illegal activity

if there were not a big enough number of foreigners asking for it.

Supply follows demand...

[bkk6060]

19 minutes ago, Khaeng Mak said:

No.  I have been here for decades and done everyone of my extensions legal and in person. These current changes may well tear me from my family. My family is under siege and we are not "illegal people" to use your vernacular.

Then who are you?

In reality there is no change to the monetary requirements. 

If you qualified before it should be no problem now. 

So, why is your family under siege??

[NoshowJones]

2 hours ago, ozmeldo said:

Not really sorry to see the single men down in Pattaya, Jomtien be forced to move on.

 

Married, married with children I'd hope Thailand could sort it out.

 

Can't believe PR is not afforded to married men by now. At least 10 year visas.

 

They need to create a special account within all banks to pay us more money on 1yr time deposits.

 

We will go back to USA when required to purchase expensive insurance that will be utterly worthless. That's my line in the sand.

 

Anyone that can't park 400k in the bank really shouldn't be abroad anyway.

 

Governments have every right to set criteria. If you don't like Thailand's there are 219 other countries...bye bye

"Anyone that can't park 400k in the bank really shouldn't be abroad anyway".  What a load of nonsense.

[mngmn]

Actually I have pretty much decided to leave because of the current air pollution in Thailand. No amount of money in (or out of) Thailand can compensate you for loss of your health.

 

And before everyone chimes in about not living in Bangkok, it is a nationwide problem. Today there are many provinces more polluted than Bangkok.

 

[george11]

1 hour ago, natway09 said:

You want to adopt this country as your retirement home,,,, yet are not prepared to put 800,000 Bht in a bank in Thailand,,,,, maybe you should go back to your safe haven where they 

will coddle you for the rest of your life.

What safe haven? Trump's tax laws put me in the highest tax bracket I have ever been in my life and I'm retired with a part-time job. Plus, my healthcare increased 400%, due to trump. 

[BritManToo]

No financials required for Cambodian Retiremant VISA, $300 for 1 year multi-entry, no supporting documents for those over 55 years old. And that's through a local agent.

[HLover]

2 minutes ago, mngmn said:

Actually I have pretty much decided to leave because of the current air pollution in Thailand

Good thing the bird flu scare didn't run you off a few years ago.

[Retiredandhappyhere]

2 hours ago, Aforek said:

You speak of 800000 bahts on a fixed account ?; I  have one like this and I wonder if it works for the new requirements ; for me, it would logically work because money is before, after extension and always more than 400000 bahts all year around 

It will work as long as you are able to withdraw money at any time, with just loss of interest.

[HLover]

2 minutes ago, george11 said:

What safe haven? Tump's tax laws put me in the highest tax bracket I have ever been in my life and I'm retired with a part-time job. Plus, my healthcare increased 400%, due to trump. 

When you wrote 'Tump' it made your post seem less credible.

[BritManToo]

44 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

First Direct is FREE and last Friday £1650 took 3 hours to be in my Bkk Bank as an FTT at the correct rate, over 65000THB.

Let me see, 1650 pounds got you 65000bht = exchange rate of 39.4,

Transferwise charge 15 pounds and XE.com says 41bht/pound for Friday (give or take a little) so 1635*41 = 67,035

 

So your 'free' First Direct transfer actually cost you 2,035Bht more than the same via Transferwise. 

 

[mngmn]

11 minutes ago, HLover said:

Good thing the bird flu scare didn't run you off a few years ago.

Not sure what point you are making?

[Retiredandhappyhere]

15 minutes ago, dcnx said:

That’s the thing. Even those who meet today’s requirements might not be able to 5 years from now when it’s raised without warning to 2 million or whatever number they pull from their bum.

 

The goal post is ever changing and while it might be easy to relocate today, how about when you’re 70 or 80? 

 

I dont think most people are thinking mong term about any of this. The rules will continue to change and not in your favor. It doesn’t make sense to continue betting on something that you can’t win.

I am 77 and currently meet all the requirements, but I do feel uneasy about all the constant changes, which do not always seem to have been thought through carefully by the Authorities.  They often announce changes in such a way that confusion reigns for weeks, if not months, before the regulations are either clarified bit by bit, or substantially amended. 

 

Retirement is supposed to be a time in one's life for peace and quiet after around 50 years of working life, but although many things in Thailand are just great compared to our own countries, these constant badly announced changes mainly by Immigration are worrying, particularly to oldies like me, for whom alternative options are fading fast.

 

It does just seem that Thailand prefers short-stay tourists to long-stay ex-pats who spend money everyday of the year while here and not for a few weeks. In addition to that, they want substantial deposits in Thai bank accounts all year round and reports every 90 days.  Why not just say that we have to report a change of address within (say) 48 hours, under penalty of perhaps 10000 bahts for non-compliance.  Surely that would achieve the same objective without creating work for Immigration and inconvenience for us?

 

Do we feel welcome nowadays .....not at all!

[mlmcleod]

The issue that causes the most anguish for retirees in Thailand who come from the 4 countries who decided to unilaterally dispense with income letters is how they can demonstrate income in Thailand.  With each immigration office and officer using his own interpretation of the rules the confusion will be overwhelming.  I can easily demonstrate that I have qualifying income using my USA resources and documentation that I originally used to get a Visa.  The requirement that we must demonstrate funds transfers from our home countries to Thai banks is the paramount issue.  So far there has been no indication that the banks will accommodate retirees in this matter.  The additional costs to demonstrate this will not be welcome either.

 

I am thinking that perhaps I should go to Vientienne and get a new Visa instead of trying to finagle with local immigration officers and their moods and whims for an extension every year.  The only issue as I see it is will Vientienne accept the same documents I used to get my original Visa in the USA or do I have to return to the USA and go to the Thai embassy in Washington DC?

 

My big beef is with the US Embassy!  They can affirm my documentation easily but they refuse to do so even though they do so in certain Latin American countries.

[wgdanson]

18 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Let me see, 1650 pounds got you 65000bht = exchange rate of 39.4,

Transferwise charge 15 pounds and XE.com says 41bht/pound for Friday (give or take a little) so 1635*41 = 67,035

 

So your 'free' First Direct transfer actually cost you 2,035Bht more than the same via Transferwise. 

 

Am I bad. I got 67109.625 for £1650, so not too bad.

[Aforek]

30 minutes ago, Retiredandhappyhere said:

It will work as long as you are able to withdraw money at any time, with just loss of interest.

I don't need to withdraw money from it, I have a saving account for every day expenses; this fixed deposit is just for the annual extension

[marcusarelus]

47 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

"will just make the crooked police and visa agents richer".  Is that not what it is all about?

 

I thought it was about, "Will the new financial requirements force you to leave?"  Although seems there is a plethora of posters who think it is about how bad Thailand is.  Or how good other countries are.

[NanLaew]

34 minutes ago, Pattaya46 said:

There would be no Agents doing this illegal activity

if there were not a big enough number of foreigners asking for it.

Supply follows demand...

I will take a stab at what the poll stats reveal.

 

Yes, I will almost certainly have to leave = 7.72%. These are the guys without a pot to p!ss in regardless of what fiscal providence is required. It was only a matter of time anyway and at least they have the sense to know when their time is up and withdraw with grace.

 

No, I will not have to leave = 69.49%. Have enough of a financial cushion to handle this minor storm. Whether through smart savings, savvy investments or just common sense. Bring it on!

 

My future for staying in Thailand is seriously jeopardized = 22.79%. These are the ones that have been using agents. Their magic carpet has crashed and burned horribly and the pigeons of their early-retirement, ATM-to-mouth, visa-exempt, fools paradise are coming home to roost.

 

[MuuKondiao]

I checked the jeopardized box - rather than definitely leaving - because my current fall-back plan is to go to Vietnam on a visa run and probably remain there. Not 100% committed yet. But I can't see me trying to jump through more hoops when on my best days I have a hard time figuring things out and coping. Even renting a m.c. is a challenge - nobody has and 125's at the shop - one is due back in minutes - or they don't do insurance - or they will hold on to my passport (no way I am giving up my p.p.) or want 5,000 bt security deposit. 

Just looking for a quiet place to dose away and watch the sunsets or sunrises for the short time left to me and it seems I won't be able to make it in L.O.S. 

[Destiny1990]

I wish they put as much effort in their stray dogs situation as in visa regulations plans.

[ozmeldo]

3 hours ago, TheThai said:

The Philippines doesn't require ANY bank account or financial prove of income.  You just pay for visa extensions every 2 months for up to 3 years, at which time you do a visa run to a neighboring country and your 3 years eligibility starts all over again.

 

This is for a visitor cum tourist visa so again with all the angles.

 

Retirement visa requires much more commitment.

 

But it's the Philippines! Philippines isn't Asia, it's a broken South Pacific country always one catastrophe away from martial law. It hasn't been able to feed itself in decades. The corruption makes Thailand look like Singapore.

 

Then all the scans and cons. Not limited to Angeles. Manila and Cebu women work with police to extort life savings from foreigners.

 

Filipinos are the most cagey people I have ever met. They have three names. Their legal name, the nickname all their friend next level associates know them by then their 'public name'. All these are barriers to insulate them from troubles.

 

So really, go. Please. You'll be in Cambodia in 1-2 years.

 

Some of the absolute sketchiest farang I've ever met were in Philippines. Even the alcoholic servicemen will bum money from you and try to never pay it back.

 

The women also seem to fall apart physically before 25 or after first of many Bambinos. I suspect diet and water.

 

Worst cuisine on the planet

[marcusarelus]

13 minutes ago, mlmcleod said:

The issue that causes the most anguish for retirees in Thailand who come from the 4 countries who decided to unilaterally dispense with income letters is how they can demonstrate income in Thailand.  With each immigration office and officer using his own interpretation of the rules the confusion will be overwhelming.  I can easily demonstrate that I have qualifying income using my USA resources and documentation that I originally used to get a Visa.  The requirement that we must demonstrate funds transfers from our home countries to Thai banks is the paramount issue.  So far there has been no indication that the banks will accommodate retirees in this matter.  The additional costs to demonstrate this will not be welcome either.

 

I am thinking that perhaps I should go to Vientienne and get a new Visa instead of trying to finagle with local immigration officers and their moods and whims for an extension every year.  The only issue as I see it is will Vientienne accept the same documents I used to get my original Visa in the USA or do I have to return to the USA and go to the Thai embassy in Washington DC?

 

My big beef is with the US Embassy!  They can affirm my documentation easily but they refuse to do so even though they do so in certain Latin American countries.

While I'm on a roll this poster thinks the thread is about, 4 foreign embassies screwing their citizens which I didn't mention in the above post, so I thought I'd include it here. 

[puukao]

800,000!!!!!!!!!  WOW!!!!  That is saving 80k a YEAR for 10 YEARS!!!

 

let's be real, it should be at least 1 million, and ramp up.....

 

if you are struggling to find 800k to keep in savings all year, then I really hope you relaxed your entire life......if i worked part-time during my life, this would be super easy.  i hardly worked at all, and this is super easy (but i'm not retirement age).  

[Khaeng Mak]

2 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

I will take a stab at what the poll stats reveal.

 

Yes, I will almost certainly have to leave = 7.72%. These are the guys without a pot to p!ss in regardless of what fiscal providence is required. It was only a matter of time anyway and at least they have the sense to know when their time is up and withdraw with grace.

 

No, I will not have to leave = 69.49%. Have enough of a financial cushion to handle this minor storm. Whether through smart savings, savvy investments or just common sense. Bring it on!

 

My future for staying in Thailand is seriously jeopardized = 22.79%. These are the ones that have been using agents. Their magic carpet has crashed and burned horribly and the pigeons of their early-retirement, ATM-to-mouth, visa-exempt, fools paradise are coming home to roost.

 

No you are entirely misguided and rather self centered.  I have never used a magic carpet. Always done my extensions in person and according to the law. Sheryl (a moderator here) faces the same problem I do.

 

 

[Liverpudlian]

guys like myself living in the sticks for years know the score and my passport has just come back tooled up for another year. No JOKE ???? 

[Denim]

We will be staying although we would both be happy to leave. Unfortunately , can't go anywhere until the mother in law pops her clogs which does not look like it is going to happen soon.