Are retirees welcome in Thailand?

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

It is not off topic at all. Of course all countries with retirement visa programs have financial requirements. But countries that offer permanent residence based on that are acknowledging that many of these older foreigners are making a massive commitment to living in their country and they don't want them to feel insecure in that decision as they age. That's a matter of GIVING something in return for the financial benefit of people bringing in capital and spending it. I can't take anyone seriously that doesn't understand why older people don't want to live in FEAR of being EVICTED from a country they may have made their new home for 10, 20, 30 years. It comes off as completely DISINGENUOUS to act like you don't understand. 
Cheers.

My question was and is, " What country wants the retiree and not his money?"   Answer or say, "I don't know."

[Jingthing]

9 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Honestly I don’t understand it either but it is a reality.

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. If we can see and feel that they are making things much harder, then the cigar theory is that they want to make Thailand less attractive to foreign retirees. Meaning they want FEWER of them. The first step towards wanting NONE of them? If you're asking for predictions, sure, eventually, but not anytime very soon. 

 

Most countries don't have retirement visa programs and never will. There is no rule that a country that does isn't allowed to phase them out or change policies to reduce their popularity. I think the latter is happening in Thailand and they aren't the only country that has done that. Another example is Costa Rica. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Jingthing

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

My question was and is, " What country wants the retiree and not his money?"   Answer or say, "I don't know."

You think you can bark orders at people and they must obey? You make me laugh. My replies were totally on point and I explained why but you don't like what I'm saying so you deflect with hostile noise. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Jingthing

[Destiny1990]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. If we can see and feel that they are making things much harder, then the cigar theory is that they want to make Thailand less attractive to foreigner retirees. Meaning they want FEWER of them. The first step towards wanting NONE of them? If you're asking for predictions, sure, eventually, but not anytime very soon. 

Whats their advantage exactly of having fewer of foreigner retirees?

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, Destiny1990 said:

Whats their advantage exactly of having fewer of foreigner retirees?

We can only guess. There are clues. For example fear of sicker retirees becoming a burden and embarrassing international PR issues around their stories. Favoring two week millionaires as being more profitable. They don't really NEED reasons though. 

[Destiny1990]

6 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

It's because his post is not realistic.  I have none of his problems and have lived here for 20 years.  If I had problems I'd leave but I don't.  I don't do 90 day reports and only spend 20 minutes a year at immigration.  I have a 12 year old family member who has started a business telling Farang how to stay in Thailand with no problems.  She figured it out all by herself.  Not really that difficult. 

Glad it all works out smoothly on ur side visa wise.

weird that it didn’t work out for so many other expats retirees who have left dissatisfied already.  

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

You think you can bark orders at people and they must obey? You make me laugh. My replies were totally on point and I explained why but you don't like what I'm saying so you deflect with hostile noise. 

Obfuscation.  My question was and is, " What country wants the retiree and not his money?"   Answer or say, "I don't know." If you don't want to answer my question the procedure is simple, don't  answer.

[MeePeeMai]

3 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

I understand your post perfectly, but believe it or not, there are quite a few deluded Thaivisa members who will not agree with you.

Thanks for reading my post and for your reply.

 

I agree that some posters here do not experience many of these problems (yet) but they might have a change of heart in the near future when the ball gets rolling it is starts to affect them.  

 

I guess a lot of it boils down to which IO you report to, your living arrangements (rent/own/house/condo), how close you live to the nearest immigration office as well as how well you deal with unnecessary and redundant headaches and hassles.

 

Moving to an area where TM30 rule is not enforced is very tempting but as soon as I got there I would probably soon find myself in the same boat once again (since it seems that they are starting to enforce this rule in more areas now).

 

Cheers

[Jingthing]

Just now, marcusarelus said:

Obfuscation.  My question was and is, " What country wants the retiree and not his money?"   Answer or say, "I don't know." If you don't want to answer my question the procedure is simple, don't  answer.

I replied the way I replied and that stands. No need for anything further.

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Whats their advantage exactly of having fewer of foreigner retirees?

Thailand is sensitive to nationality.  They want retires of some nationalities but not others.  So the baby is being thrown out with the bathwater.  

[Destiny1990]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

We can only guess. There are clues. For example fear of sicker retirees becoming a burden and embarrassing international PR issues around their stories. Favoring two week millionaires as being more profitable. They don't really NEED reasons though. 

Still doesn’t make much sense and its poor economical thinking. 

[Destiny1990]

3 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Obfuscation.  My question was and is, " What country wants the retiree and not his money?"   Answer or say, "I don't know." If you don't want to answer my question the procedure is simple, don't  answer.

How can a retiree come anywhere without using money? Its a dumb question. 

[Jingthing]

2 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Thailand is sensitive to nationality.  They want retires of some nationalities but not others.  So the baby is being thrown out with the bathwater.  

I suspect that too. The relationship with China is deepening and the relationship with the west is fading. 

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

I replied the way I replied and that stands. No need for anything further.

They why would you reply?  I understand that you can't answer my question which is " What country wants the retiree and not his money?"  No reply is necessary if you can't answer the question.  

[Jingthing]

Just now, marcusarelus said:

They why would you reply?  I understand that you can't answer my question which is " What country wants the retiree and not his money?"  No reply is necessary if you can't answer the question.  

This has become tedious. 

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, Destiny1990 said:

How can a retiree come anywhere without using money? Its a dumb question. 

Possum wrote, "I say we are not welcome here, only our money." I was replying to that.  

 

What country wants us and not only our money?

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

This has become tedious. 

Then stop replying to my posts if you don't know the answer to my questions. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by marcusarelus

[Destiny1990]

7 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

Possum wrote, "I say we are not welcome here, only our money." I was replying to that.  

 

What country wants us and not only our money?

If they would want our money than it means they want us.. Now i am not sure about if they do????

a person that wants me and not my money is my dear mother but for countries it’s different. 

Edited April 28, 2019 by Destiny1990

[Jingthing]

Another thing that many retired expat nations do that Thailand doesn't is welcome foreigners to do VOLUNTEER work without legal hassles. That shows an interest in the people as people in addition to the obvious hoped for economic benefit. 

[MeePeeMai]

Just now, Jingthing said:

Another thing that many retired expat nations do that Thailand doesn't is welcome foreigners to do VOLUNTEER work without legal hassles. That shows an interest in the people as people in addition to the obvious hoped for economic benefit. 

 

That's another thing I don't get.  Why such a phobia about retirees volunteering to help a needy Thai family or organization?

Even if you are on a spousal visa (right to work) you still cannot legally volunteer without the "proper" visa or permit.  It's ridiculous.

[marcusarelus]

8 minutes ago, MeePeeMai said:

Thanks for reading my post and for your reply.

 

I agree that some posters here do not experience many of these problems (yet) but they might have a change of heart in the near future when the ball gets rolling it is starts to affect them.  

 

I guess a lot of it boils down to which IO you report to, your living arrangements (rent/own/house/condo), how close you live to the nearest immigration office as well as how well you deal with unnecessary and redundant headaches and hassles.

 

Moving to an area where TM30 rule is not enforced is very tempting but as soon as I got there I would probably soon find myself in the same boat once again (since it seems that they are starting to enforce this rule in more areas now).

 

Cheers

You have been victimized by "TVDS's "Thai Visa depression syndrome."  How many times a year to you leave Thailand?  Every time you leave it resets the 90 day clock and you don't have to do those reports in person - get familiar with a computer.  If you have enough money to purchase a condo on the beach you certainly have enough to buy a small FD account as you would in America.  Buy one and take out the interest every year.  I've done it for 20 years with nothing but profits.  Many people can help you with the TM30 reports.  I've never lived in an area that required them. 

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, MeePeeMai said:

 

That's another thing I don't get.  Why such a phobia about retirees volunteering to help a needy Thai family or organization?

Even if you are on a spousal visa (right to work) you still cannot legally volunteer without the "proper" visa or permit.  It's ridiculous.

What area of expertise did you want to volunteer in?  It's not a problem for anyone I know who has a skill that the local authorities deem necessary.  This may not be the case for people living in Pattaya because of the reputation of many of the foreigners in the area. 

[marcusarelus]

18 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I suspect that too. The relationship with China is deepening and the relationship with the west is fading. 

I would agree with that thought. 

[rumak]

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Thailand has entered another level of expatriate annoyances. The message is kind of clear

I was just wondering :  how many times on how many threads and in how many ways have you told

us the same thing ?   Surely if you try to "enjoy each miserable day"  then these annoyances you speak

about should help make your day .  I accept  that you are upset.   But you seem to have a problem with

others here that are not getting the same "clear message" that you are.  

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

What area of expertise did you want to volunteer in?  It's not a problem for anyone I know who has a skill that the local authorities deem necessary.  This may not be the case for people living in Pattaya because of the reputation of many of the foreigners in the area. 

When in doubt Pattaya bashing always works. 

[Jingthing]

1 minute ago, rumak said:

I was just wondering :  how many times on how many threads and in how many ways have you told

us the same thing ?   Surely if you try to "enjoy each miserable day"  then these annoyances you speak

about should help make your day .  I accept  that you are upset.   But you seem to have a problem with

others here that are not getting the same "clear message" that you are.  

You want an honest answer -- here goes. I have no problem with people that are not experiencing problems personally. I'm happy for them. I have a BIG problem with people that aggressively try to paint a totally fake picture to suggest that there haven't been major negative changes when objectively there have been. 

[rumak]

38 minutes ago, kevvy said:

I was not referring to the mayor of chiang rai , i was talking about someone who is not Thai nationally who thinks he is the mayor of chiang rai . With all his talking and putting people down

kevvy...i know exactly the person you are talking about   ????    he bugs me mak mak .  If you research enough you could find the great "debate" I had with the "mayor"    

[MeePeeMai]

"What area of expertise did you want to volunteer in?  It's not a problem for anyone I know who has a skill that the local authorities deem necessary.  This may not be the case for people living in Pattaya because of the reputation of many of the foreigners in the area. "

 

Sorry I forgot to click on quote:

 

 

The last time I visited the US Embassy in Bangkok I was asked by the female clerk there if I would like to do some volunteer work to help out my fellow US citizens... so I asked her what kind of volunteer work she was referring to.  She said that they needed expats (in my area) to assist elderly and disabled expats with regards to getting out and handling their Immigration paperwork or getting to a doctors appt etc.. and I said that I would be happy to assist.  She then took my e-mail address and I was on my way.

 

After getting home, I did a little research and found out that I would be violating the terms of my O-A visa if I did any volunteer work in Thailand while on a O-A visa or a retirement extension.  This was unexpected and made no sense to me at all but I am not about to put my stay here in jeopardy even if there are others in need.

Edited April 28, 2019 by MeePeeMai

[rumak]

2 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I have a BIG problem with people that aggressively try to paint a totally fake picture to suggest that there haven't been major negative changes when objectively there have been. 

No, the big problem is the people like YOU that think YOUR view of things is the objective one !

Sorry to give you some tough love.... but wish you and others would realize these are OPINIONS that are being shared.   Fact :  some requirements have changed.  OPINION:  these are major negative changes.

 

[Destiny1990]

2 minutes ago, rumak said:

No, the big problem is the people like YOU that think YOUR view of things is the objective one !

Sorry to give you some tough love.... but wish you and others would realize these are OPINIONS that are being shared.   Fact :  some requirements have changed.  OPINION:  these are major negative changes.

 

Fact is that besides for retirees its also specifically made much more complicated to long term stay for foreigners under 50 years of age.

would u know why?