New retirement extension rules forces expat, 90, to leave Thailand

[Fred31]

11 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

It's never been the people that's welcome; only the money !

That is totally untrue and a crap thing to say

[Mister Fixit]

11 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

A 90 year old doesnt have a pension to live on ??????

 

I would suggest if a 90 year old is drawing down savings to live, it was going to run out at some stage.

When he retired 25 years ago on what then seemed a reasonable pension, he would be able to live on it.

 

Flash forward that time and factor in inflation and it could well be a pittance now.

[Mister Fixit]

5 minutes ago, Fred31 said:

That is totally untrue and a crap thing to say

Not at all.  It may be cynical but it's accurate.  

[ginjag]

1 hour ago, Nong Khai Man said:

No Mate, The Letter actually stated " It Does NOT Matter where in the World you Reside "

Wrong---google it   for starters Phil, European,   and more have reciprocal agreements.  If you want increment increases you have to live in the UK and all the countries with the agreement.

[ttrd]

6 minutes ago, Fred31 said:

That is totally untrue and a crap thing to say

Is it - when its all about the money to be able to stay...??...

[malibukid]

1 hour ago, Nong Khai Man said:

He is AMERICAN..................

same thing, he would cost health and human services, ER visits quite a bit.  save the tax payers a lot of money.  if he where to end up in a retirement home in the States the cost would be 100k USD. per year.

the States, UK ect. should subsidize it's expats here.  they are doing them a favor.  as i have posted before, Medicare should be valid here. last year i flew home for a 

$70k surgery that could have been done here for 200k.  i think the doctors here are world class, but the savings paid for the trip.  our  Social Security Administration does not provide a real world benefit for most of it's retires. the annual COLA or cost of living adjustment is only a few percent a year and does not reflect the cost of inflation. meanwhile my country spends billions on stupid wars and policing the world. a county should be judged on how it cares for it's elderly and disabled, not on it's military strength. 

Edited February 6, 2019 by malibukid

[kensisaket]

11 hours ago, Soupdragon said:

Has anyone here actually been made to feel they are welcome in Thailand by Immigration Officials ???

I doubt it is in their job description to make you feel welcome.  Having said that the people who have been getting "back door extensions" certainly are being made to feel welcome.....for a price.  

[crazykopite]

They call it the Land of smiles because they want your money and the latest ruling by the immigration burea verifies this by tying your money up for months on end I to will be following Don I have the money but I am sick and tired that year in year out immigration changes the requirements for us retirees who help the Thai economy by spending our money within the local community it is those Thai businesses that will feel the loss of income not those in Government. ☹️

[DJ54]

1 hour ago, indepth said:

We all know what the rules were, thousands of people found loop holes. You must be well aware of that. And you dont know why he cant stay here anymore. I sincerely hope that you and all those that liked your post have a long life, live to be 90, and find you have no where to  call home. Hope you enjoyed the laughs you got from some . Pathetic. He has fought in a war, a  wife for 30 years, 3 children and 5 grandchildren that he has nurtured all their lives here, he deserves respect , not your type of remarks. 

Thank you for being a supporter .... I agree with everything you’ve said..... I hope he can find a way to stay. He’s done his time and deserves more respect...

[Russell17au]

1 minute ago, DJ54 said:

Thank you for being a supporter .... I agree with everything you’ve said..... I hope he can find a way to stay. He’s done his time and deserves more respect...

He can stay, it is just that he prefers to leave than to change his way of doing the income system now that he cannot get the income letter. This was reported on about page 4 when he contacted a friend who released this information

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

What have you got to offer?  You.  No one else.  I can read so you don't have to tell me about others. 

 

Me?  1.  Fought with Thai troops in the army.  2.  Educated and taught Army and Navy schools Thailand.  3.  Pay taxes every year for 20 years.  4.  Have medical insurance.  5.  Help support wife and family 10 years.  6.  Spend 30 million in Thailand. 

All good, but that was yesterday except the insurance, if you don't have the cash today, goodbye and thanks for all the fish.

 

A good way to look at it is to check your bank balance and determine the day you need to leave.

[White Christmas13]

53 minutes ago, kwak250 said:

Must admit if i was 90 i would just keep my head down and stay here .

 

And going to pay the health insurance for him as well I guess

[smedly]

1 hour ago, malibukid said:

i know of an American veteran who went to a Thai doctor and got a letter certifying that he suffered PTSD. no he gets over 45K per month from the VA

the person mentioned (just1voice) claims that he was receiving more than double the 65k monthly income requirement which by my calculation amounts to over $65,000 a year (before tax) which is almost what I earned before I retired 16 years ago (I am still currently under 60yo), I don't know too much about US pensions but that sounds pretty good to me and far exceeds the average 

[The Theory]

If you truly have 800,000 

or 75000 monthly, you are ok

nothing new, just enforcing old rules. 

They are actually patching the holes. 

[Burma Man]

Does anyone ever think of having to extend your retirement visa at the age of for example 85 or 90 or 95 when you are most likely to lay bed-ridden ? Even after 10 years or 20 years living in Thailand you will not get permanent residency meaning you will have to renew it until the last day of your life , or , end up in immigration cells.  

[sawadee1947]

12 hours ago, Henryford said:

Would be interesting to follow some of these (sad) stories. What does a 90 (or 70 or 80) year old do returning to say the UK.  With limited funds can you rent a home? would any Council provide you with a home? Do you get off the plane homeless (in -9C weather).

Well, good thing in Europe : nobody has to starve and get get a home. 

[Khaeng Mak]

6 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Just keeping it real.

Many people already here are invested in Thailand either with assets, relationships, or both. So it's very hard for many of them to leave and disastrous if they're deported on short notice.

Others should be warned away before they make similar mistakes.

This is way beyond the writing on the wall category. It's happening. 

Long stay expats here are currently under siege. Unfortunately, the mass of them do not yet realize it.

[Khaeng Mak]

6 hours ago, high plane drifter said:

In a very near future Thailand will be begging us to come back to Thailand  ,That is within 4 years from now.

There wont be any flights do the the ongoing conflict in the south China sea.

[marcusarelus]

50 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

All good, but that was yesterday except the insurance, if you don't have the cash today, goodbye and thanks for all the fish.

 

A good way to look at it is to check your bank balance and determine the day you need to leave.

Ah no.  I still pay taxes every year and support the wife and family and spend a million baht every year.  What do you do? 

[MaxYakov]

13 hours ago, Henryford said:

Would be interesting to follow some of these (sad) stories. What does a 90 (or 70 or 80) year old do returning to say the UK.  With limited funds can you rent a home? would any Council provide you with a home? Do you get off the plane homeless (in -9C weather).

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan Sport minivan in a 20 ft storage locker. I developed it to be a Stealthy Motor Home (SMH) with some cool electronic and other upgrades and it's costing me monthly to maintain it for "just in case". I like neither landlords nor neighbors and I easily avoid -9C weather ????.

 

 

Edited February 6, 2019 by MaxYakov

[elliss]

9 hours ago, KneeDeep said:

 

Why react to such idiocy? It's clear that the kind of people who make these comments need the boost. Don't give them the satisfaction of feeling that they got to you.

Commune with the good people instead.

  Welcome  to  the  friendship  forum , for ex pats , 

   Every faralang for themselves , in LOS , sad but true.

 

Edited February 6, 2019 by elliss

[dontoearth]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

That's a gross distortion. The 400k lockup can't be spent not even one baht of it not even in a medical emergency. Go one back under spending your own money and you become an illegal alien. New retired expats should stop coming.

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

    It would require the honest release of visa numbers. Not sure they would ever do that.  I think this present system is going to lose them new retirement visa applicants, I would assume 100,000's will go and that would be in line with what TVF has been reporting the last few years.  The decline will be steeper when new people stop showing up. 

     The steep decline will be obvious in 1 or 2 years.  Right now the 'powers that be' will shrug their shoulders and say they have gotten bad guys out that were not following the rules.  They may not get good guys in however!  In the short term it is a win for them in terms of publicity.  Then it will be a crisis that Thai Tourism Authority needs to deal with when the complaints start from Thai businesses wondering why their retired foreign customers have disappeared. 

     The fact the deposit is not guaranteed and there are not any assurances of what would happen to the deposit when you die makes this high risk banking.  I am not interested.  I have told most thai friends at best I will come for a less than 30 day visa exempt holiday to get around and have dinners and visit.  I am not going to stay the winters anymore and not going to live here the 9 to 10 months of the year as i did for quite a few  years.  

      I am very well off but not a millionaire but close!  I do feel sorry for the little hotel I used to stay at in bkk.  They had 20 rooms of their 66 rooms long term rented for retirees.  Now they have none.  When i lived there last year it was down to me and an australian and he was being given fits by immigration. He went to Melbourne since he is well off and got the consulate to renew everything after several different day long hassles at Cheng Wattna.  He had lived here 22 years.  He also bought a nice retirement condo and business in Melbourne.  So he was planning to end his living in Thailand because of the immigration hassle.  Every year more people have left and just not returned.  And new ones did not seem to be coming.  It seems most of this is directed at the poor and working thai who will find it harder to make a living if they worked in a service industry that had lots of retiree customers.  No smirks!  I am talking restaurants and legit bars and tour companies small boutique hotels.   And I think the govt wants  it that way.

      The dream of the govt to have RICH RICH tourist just throwing money in the air seems to be a recurring theme with the govt. here.  HIgh Quality Tourist.  And they do have some but not enough to power the tourist economy. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

26 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Ah no.  I still pay taxes every year and support the wife and family and spend a million baht every year.  What do you do? 

 

You're our GOD!!!  Everyone here wants to be you!!!  If we only could.... 

[dontoearth]

40 minutes ago, Burma Man said:

Does anyone ever think of having to extend your retirement visa at the age of for example 85 or 90 or 95 when you are most likely to lay bed-ridden ? Even after 10 years or 20 years living in Thailand you will not get permanent residency meaning you will have to renew it until the last day of your life , or , end up in immigration cells.  

    Was just in this situation with a friend that lived to be almost 90.  The hospital/care facility got an emergency medical extension and he died before we needed to think about it again.  Others will not be so lucky.

[DaRoadrunner]

11 hours ago, madmen said:

His health insurance would have been $ 1 million
Best thing for the old boy was to head home

He probably does not have a home. 90 and homeless, where do you think he's going to go? We could all end up like him, think before you post.

[Jingthing]

4 hours ago, utalkin2me said:

What did Thailand owe him? Because if you are on his side, you necessarily mist believe Thailand owed him something. And they don't owe foreigners anything. I can't just show up in a country and expect things.

 

The other point is, "Thailand is losing a 90 year old retiree". I am sure they are sobbing their brains out. 90 year old retirees need things like their asses wiped and are taxing on the health system. Thailand is very gracious but all anybody does is complain because for some reason they feel they are owed something. 

Oh, the humanity!

 

 

Edited February 6, 2019 by Jingthing

[Khaeng Mak]

1 hour ago, MaxYakov said:

I have a Dodge Grand Caravan Sport minivan in a 20 ft storage locker. I developed it to be a Stealthy Motor Home (SMH) with some cool electronic and other upgrades and it's costing me monthly to maintain it for "just in case". I like neither landlords nor neighbors and I easily avoid -9C weather ????.

 

 

Will you still be able to drive when you are 90?

[marqus12]

These permanent ethnic cleansing are tiring but they are also a good reason to move a*s and make some changes in life for the better.
I have never been to Greece or Bulgaria, I did not visit my mother

last year.... and spring is coming !

 

How lucky it is to be able to at least take a long break from this

stuffy atmosphere....Thais must stay here :))

[The Theory]

1 hour ago, Burma Man said:

Does anyone ever think of having to extend your retirement visa at the age of for example 85 or 90 or 95 when you are most likely to lay bed-ridden ? Even after 10 years or 20 years living in Thailand you will not get permanent residency meaning you will have to renew it until the last day of your life , or , end up in immigration cells.  

 

There is no other country that welcome you cheaper, easier and safer without tricks. 

Of course if I had only $1M I would never come to Thailand. I would stay in the US with all good and bad and I did not have to go to immigration once in a while as an alien at this age. But unfortunately I do not have $1m and I have to deal with whatever it is in This country till rest of my life. 

[DrTuner]

1 hour ago, marcusarelus said:

Ah no.  I still pay taxes every year and support the wife and family and spend a million baht every year.  What do you do? 

I count the seconds until the kids have gotten papers from the international school so we can leave. About two years left. I spend about four times as much as you, yet both of of us are exactly at the same level of status as a Nigerian drug dealer at a sukhumvit corner. Temporary aliens. Says so right on the passport stamp.