Are retirees welcome in Thailand?

[MeePeeMai]

36 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Thai people like some retirees is we were in the military together and they help when one of us dies and want our ashes spread at U-Tapao. 

 

You don't have the money to retire in Thailand using the 800k method.  Why argue? 

 

It's like trying to right all the wrongs of the IRS.  No one cares.  It's just a waste of life's good times and brings you down.  Find some place more attuned to your situation. 

 

Wow.  You are luckily one of the special "some retirees" that you refer to which are actually "liked" by The Thai people.  Just a wee bit of a narcissist aren't you?

 

It's obvious by your posts that you would like ALL retirees to pack up and leave Thailand so that you could be left here alone and be revered by all the Thai people for your outstanding contributions and personal qualities till the day you die (and get your much deserved royal funeral).

 

I would say that you have some serious issues, one being a huge fetish for trolling and I seriously doubt that you are well liked (by anyone) which is obvious by your never ending trolling and belittling of others on this forum. 

 

Most of your posts stink of me, me, me ... I'm better than you, I know more than you, just leave if you don't like it  etc.

 

I will not waste anymore of my time satisfying your dark desires to attempt to prove that you are so much better than others posting on this forum and living here in Thailand.  Good luck with your miserable life and ....

 

Look in the mirror if you dare, but be forewarned... if not blind, you might not like what you see!

[marcusarelus]

18 minutes ago, MeePeeMai said:

Wow.  You are luckily one of the special "some retirees" that you refer to which are actually "liked" by The Thai people.  Just a wee bit of a narcissist aren't you?

 

It's obvious by your posts that you would like ALL retirees to pack up and leave Thailand so that you could be left here alone and be revered by all the Thai people for your outstanding contributions and personal qualities till the day you die (and get your much deserved royal funeral).

 

I would say that you have some serious issues, one being a huge fetish for trolling and I seriously doubt that you are well liked (by anyone) which is obvious by your never ending trolling and belittling of others on this forum. 

 

Most of your posts stink of me, me, me ... I'm better than you, I know more than you, just leave if you don't like it  etc.

 

I will not waste anymore of my time satisfying your dark desires to attempt to prove that you are so much better than others posting on this forum and living here in Thailand.  Good luck with your miserable life and ....

 

Look in the mirror if you dare, but be forewarned... if not blind, you might not like what you see!

Don't take it out on me. 

 

The rules are posted and have changed very little in 20 years.  Immigration officers can make their own interpretation of the rules. 

 

It is my understanding that the cash amounts will get higher next month. 

 

I've never belittled anyone.  If you don't have the 800k to put in a Thai bank that's not my fault now is it?  Thailand makes the rules.  Why complain?  Try to understand them as they apply to you or go someplace else. 

 

Why would I care if you or anyone stayed or left? 

 

The topic is are retirees welcome in Thailand.  The answer is - if they conform to the Thai rules and regulations yes.  Judgmental or ethnocentric people are never welcomed by a foreign culture.  That's a fact anywhere. 

 

I used to live in a retirement area of the USA - Florida.  Brits and Canadians came by the thousands.  They dressed funny and ate in an unusual way and didn't shower as much as the natives and mostly stayed to themselves but we tolerated them.  The Europeans came and wore black socks with sandals on the beach and changed clothes in front of our children but we covered their eyes and tried to understand the foreigners.  We wrote songs, funny songs about them and made fun of the way they talked but nothing really serious.  We called them snowbirds.

 

 

I take that experience to help me understand how Thais feel about us and if they like the old guys here.

 

 

 

 

[thailandwasssgreat]

Just did an extension in Sakon Nakhon today. For the last 3 or 4 years it has been no problem, except for the 3 hour drive to get there. The officer was always pleasant and helpful. Today was different. The small office was full of people, the one officer has been replaced by 3. Never had to wait more than 20 minutes, but today took hours. Arrived with all documentation in order for the retirement extension - money in the bank. No cue numbers are given, and instead an elderly officer came by to inspect the papers. After 10 minutes or so, my wife was called over. She was questioned about reporting me as someone staying at her house. I have a yellow book and Thai ID that were issued last December, but the officer said there was no records of me staying with her. We have a son that is 4 years old. She was fined 800 baht. The officers then told her we were done and could leave.......they did not even look at or do the paperwork for the extension. I objected, saying I needed to get the extension. The only Bangkok Bank branch in Sakon Nakhon doesn't open until 10:30 am, so we hadn't arrived at Immigration until 10:50, after getting the letter saying the funds had been in the bank (for 5 years). The issue with my wife lasted until almost noon, and after waiting until one of the officers was available, was told they had to go to lunch, and would be back at 13:30. We got back at 13:20, but a new group of people were waiting. The same agent came up and asked why I was there. I told him the same as before - TO GET MY EXTENSION DONE. One officer did call me over after 10 minutes or so, and started with the extension and reentry permit. It took about an hour, many copies of passport pages (everything duplicate), bank book, and a few forms I've never seen before.

The excuse was there is supposed to be an office open in Kalasin in May, but I've heard that before and will be too late for me anyway...........If it even happens at all, I will go for the marriage extension instead - its not possible from the Sakon Nakhon office, and it would mean I will NEVER have to go to Sakon Nakhon again. The same officer that was efficient, able to do the forms before in short order, and was friendly, now takes a looooooooong time, won't look you in the face, and seems to struggle with the computer - must have got a smack down.

[MeePeeMai]

Did you get your extension?

[mania]

12 hours ago, Jingthing said:

This is a good example of how the immigration new onerous financial rules fail to take the complexities of people's personal financial situations into account.

You do have the money.

There are probably hundreds of variations of situations like yours.

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IMHO....Not Really

 

Yes basically,,,,he says he has the money (to fund teh 800K route but tied up in IRA) but he will gladly pay Tuesday if need be

 

He may be the honest one but Thailand has suffered more than we likely know of dishonest

folks making similar claims....Next step Thailand...Tells Consulates/Embassies they need to guarantee the income claims

are true/honest.

Embassies answer we know.............Mai Dai ???? Not possible

 

This was coming for years & most living in Thailand knew it would end/loop would close

 

Now Thailand says "show us the money"

 

That aside.......The poster you are replying to has also said...........

Quote

I have a nice monthly pension for the rest of my life which is almost double the 65k baht minimum.  I transfer more than the minimum 65k baht every month for the income method.

 

So where's the beef? Why even bother whining about the IRA penalties for early withdrawal deal? He has already in his own words qualified easily for teh monthly income route

 

Not to be rude or condescending but as

marcusarelus

has said already........Those are the rules of Thailand immigration as they stand NOW

That is all........done dusted.

 

Anyone expecting to whine their way into some sort of Thailand reprieve is just pissing into the wind

 

[ravip]

13 hours ago, MeePeeMai said:

HUGE problem, no.  FOOLISH move, Yes!

 

The main reason for me is that most of my cash (other than my emergency fund) is tied up in a IRA account in the USA which requires a 10 percent IRS penalty for early withdrawal (if under 59 1/2 years of age).  I am only 58 y.o. now.

 

Would you be willing to GIFT the IRS 2500-3000 dollars just to take some cash out early?  Maybe you need a nap ravip.

Sorry Sir, now I understand your problem. If you have financial issues, you really should not leave home until you solve them. Relocating to another country with the minimum of finances can get you into a deep crisis.

[spidermike007]

From my point of view, we are welcome by a decent percentage of the population, but despised by the army and all of the government, who are beyond racist and xenophobic, and very fearful of the outside world. 

[keemapoot]

7 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

From my point of view, we are welcome by a decent percentage of the population, but despised by the army and all of the government, who are beyond racist and xenophobic, and very fearful of the outside world. 

Yes, that is the crux of it. Westerners, in particular, bring notions of democracy, critical thinking, and criticism and are to be discouraged by that group.

[Fairynuff]

18 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

Maybe I got it wrong but didn't you say money was no problem?  Now it seems money is the problem and that makes your other posts understandable.   Thailand like all countries only welcomes people with enough money to retire by honoring their retirement requirements.  Malaysia wants a whole lot more money as does any country with the same level of infrastructure development in South East Asia.

I don’t care how much money I had, I wouldn’t want to lose any amount by way of a “penalty “

[Fairynuff]

17 hours ago, MeePeeMai said:

I don't have any money problems (as I said).  I have a nice monthly pension for the rest of my life which is almost double the 65k baht minimum.  I transfer more than the minimum 65k baht every month for the income method.  I also have savings in Hawaii which I keep in case of sudden emergencies at my home (which is now rented out).

 

I also have a healthy IRA which is invested doing well and I am not taking any of that money out until age 59 1/2 due to the mandated IRS early withdrawal penalty of 10 percent (plus state and fed taxes)

 

I also have enough in my Bangkok Bank account here here to qualify for a spousal extension (should I choose to go that route) without the need for them to even look at my monthly foreign transfers.  

 

Do I have 800k here now?  No.  Do I need to have 800k here now?  No.  Would it be wise for me to take money out of my IRA in the USA just to put 800k in my account now?  No.

 

Does it seem like I really have a money problem?  I don't feel that I do but if you are a Dubai sheik than maybe it would appear that I have money problems.

Do you really need to justify yourself to people in this forum? Absolutely NOT!

[Jingthing]

Do you really need to justify yourself to people in this forum? Absolutely NOT!

Nobody does. But there is a false narrative being widely broadcast that deserves aggressive pushback. That false narrative asserts that all or most expats with issues or complaints about the new onerous set of visa rule changes are broke ass or a liar to their embassy. So people explaining nope its not nearly that black and white serve to help rebut that false narrative.

 

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[marcusarelus]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

From my point of view, we are welcome by a decent percentage of the population, but despised by the army and all of the government, who are beyond racist and xenophobic, and very fearful of the outside world. 

The Army has always been very congenial to me, offering me a place to stay and admission to clubs and bases even asking troops to salute me.  I assume you mean a few Generals and not the majority of the armed forces.  

[marcusarelus]

1 hour ago, Fairynuff said:

I don’t care how much money I had, I wouldn’t want to lose any amount by way of a “penalty “

What penalty are you referring to? 

[marcusarelus]

12 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Nobody does. But there is a false narrative being widely broadcast that deserves aggressive pushback. That false narrative asserts that all or most expats with issues or complaints about the new onerous set of visa rule changes is broke ass or a liar to their embassy. So people explaining nope its not nearly that black and white serve to help rebut that false narrative.

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Wrong.  As far as I'm concerned.  Maybe you are talking about someone else.  I referenced one poster who messed up his extension by using an agent and another who does not have 800k to put in the bank.  The combination method is in a state of flux but as I understood it before part of your money would be in the bank and part in income.  Perhaps those who run afoul of that or other rogue immigration officers should have a back up plan or leave. 

 

I'd suggest to use a less argumentative vocabulary if you expect to discuss the issues with a level of civility.  I certainly have never used terms like, "broke ass or liar" to refer to any of our members who are having problems. 

[CharlieH]

Reported troll comments removed.

[spidermike007]

2 hours ago, marcusarelus said:

The Army has always been very congenial to me, offering me a place to stay and admission to clubs and bases even asking troops to salute me.  I assume you mean a few Generals and not the majority of the armed forces.  

I mean the clowns running the country. 

[Rimmer]

A post discussing another member also a reply has been removed.

[Uptooyoo]

I'm not keen on opening a Thai bank account and depositing 800K. It's not that I have a problem with the banking system here; it's that, as an American, it brings on more filing requirements during tax reporting that other nationalities do not have to endure. So I opted for the Non-Immigrant O-A Visa I applied for and received in the USA. I had to provide the Thai consulate with a criminal history check, medical certificate, certificate of funds from my U.S. bank. It's valid for one year and can be extended for another year by doing a border run just before it expires. At the end of the second year, I'll make a trip back to the USA, visit family, and get another Non-Im O-A Visa and repeat. Maybe this is an option for some to consider.

[Mike Teavee]

1 hour ago, Uptooyoo said:

I'm not keen on opening a Thai bank account and depositing 800K. It's not that I have a problem with the banking system here; it's that, as an American, it brings on more filing requirements during tax reporting that other nationalities do not have to endure. So I opted for the Non-Immigrant O-A Visa I applied for and received in the USA. I had to provide the Thai consulate with a criminal history check, medical certificate, certificate of funds from my U.S. bank. It's valid for one year and can be extended for another year by doing a border run just before it expires. At the end of the second year, I'll make a trip back to the USA, visit family, and get another Non-Im O-A Visa and repeat. Maybe this is an option for some to consider.

NON-OA It's a great option for those who prefer to keep their monies in their own country and are happy/able to visit their home country every couple of years.

 

Can I ask how long you've lived in Thailand? My reason for asking is if you've lived (been resident) in Thailand for several years, did you also need a criminal history check from Thailand for the application?

[Thingamabob]

On 4/26/2019 at 11:20 AM, Johnny Rotten said:

It's a Joke. Where else in the world would you have to fill in all these forms and go though all the hoops?

Pretty much everywhere.

[Jingthing]

8 hours ago, Mike Teavee said:

NON-OA It's a great option for those who prefer to keep their monies in their own country and are happy/able to visit their home country every couple of years.

 

Can I ask how long you've lived in Thailand? My reason for asking is if you've lived (been resident) in Thailand for several years, did you also need a criminal history check from Thailand for the application?

As someone that's lived in Thailand well over a decade, the O-A with it's travel and waiting and getting police forms for a place I don't live in, and medical forms for a place I have no doctor in, sounds like an exceedingly PROBLEMATIC option. Yes it's better for earlier stage expats and you kind of expats that are still basically living in both places to some degree. 

[Felt 35]

On ‎4‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 8:36 AM, spidermike007 said:

government,

????

[Gecko123]

I used to argue that Thailand's higher financial requirement for retirement visas (800K) than for marriage visas (400K) was justified because people on retirement visas were older and more likely to incur medical expenses, and perhaps had less of a social support network than a person on a marriage visa. But now that Thailand has changed the retirement visa requirement so that the 800K has to be on deposit for 5 months and the remaining 400K be on permanent deposit, (which makes these funds largely unavailable for any medical emergency), it is hard to see the higher requirement for retirement visas as anything other than as a 'barrier to entry.' It should also be noted that the lower financial requirement for marriage visas ignores the fact that a foreigner on a marriage visa often has family support obligations which could logically be argued would require more money to meet than someone on a retirement visa would otherwise need. Based on all this, it's hard not to conclude that Thailand is probably not as welcoming of the retirement demographic as towards the marriage visa demographic.

[Jingthing]

Yeah it's a slow but steady shakeout.

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[keemapoot]

36 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Based on all this, it's hard not to conclude that Thailand is probably not as welcoming of the retirement demographic as towards the marriage visa demographic.

I think there is also evidence to conclude that Thailand is not as welcoming to foreigners married to Thais. Although the financial requirements are half, the restrictions on using the funds are the same, and more relevantly, the Marriage Extension is getting excessively burdensome to process, what with witnesses having to attend at immigration, home visits, 30 day+ waits for approvals, multiple trips to immigration and all the other annoying aspects. 

 

I think it's correct to conclude that Thailand is not as welcoming to long term foreigners generally, whether retirement demographic or as married to Thai demographic.

[marcusarelus]

We will all see if they grandfather the next rate increase like the last time.  I doubt they will. 

[keemapoot]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

We will all see if they grandfather the next rate increase like the last time.  I doubt they will. 

Grandfathering is a thing of the past. Forget it. Won't happen.

[Jingthing]

Grandfathering is a thing of the past. Forget it. Won't happen.

I'd be surprised if they even give ample warning. In other words raise the money and make it literally impossible for many people to have the time to pre season.

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[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

I'd be surprised if they even give ample warning. In other words raise the money and make it literally impossible for many people to have the time to pre season.

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Don't look to me like they have it together right now.  I doubt if anyone really has a plan.

[Pattaya46]

14 minutes ago, keemapoot said:

I think it's correct to conclude that Thailand is not as welcoming to long term foreigners generally, whether retirement demographic or as married to Thai demographic.

Not correct. Or maybe correct if you add that you limit this statement to people from UK, US & AU. Don't forget that the majority of retirees still just need a letter from their embassy for their extension, and so they must consider Thailand rather welcoming to them.