A few observations

[TaoNow]

I started following the postings on this section of TV since the beginning of this year given the changes in the 4 embassies issuing income letters and the tightening of certain Immo regs.

I have been renewing my extension of permit to stay, first for work, then marriage, and now retirement, since 1971, all at Bangkok immigration.  I have also dealt with Phuket immigration for non-extension issues.

I was particularly interested in the first-hand trip reports this year since that removes all the rumors and theories about immigration (assuming it is not a troll post).

After reading those posts and the many responses, I think that it is important for the readers of this section of the TV forum to consider the following:

1)       The vast, vast majority of those who regularly post on this section of the TV forum are not representative of ex-pats in Thailand.  In fact, it seems that most of the posters are either misfits or newbies (mods excluded).  In other words, most of the ex-pats who have successfully adapted to life in Thailand have no need for this section of the TV forum and do not post.

2)      Thailand does not have and has never had a policy to promote retirement to Thailand by foreigners.  If they did, they would have a visa category that granted a 5 or 10-year stay given proof of financial viability.  But they don’t.

3)      The 800,000 baht amount for the retirement extension is a somewhat arbitrary amount intended to screen out those of lesser means (i.e., a deposit or bond).  Immo has allowed the 65K/month version which is simply 800K/12 to allow people with pensions to qualify without having to show 800K in Thailand for a given time period.  In other words, the 800K/65K/mo. is not about living expenses for an ex-pat year in Thailand.  It is simply a way to limit who can qualify.

4)      Observing the experience at CW is the closest approximation we have as to what national Thai Immigration policy is – even though it may not be followed by local offices, which is a problem of course.

[Puchaiyank]

     The vast, vast majority of those who regularly post on this section of the TV forum are not representative of ex-pats in Thailand.  In fact, it seems that most of the posters are either misfits or newbies (mods excluded).  In other words, most of the ex-pats who have successfully adapted to life in Thailand have no need for this section of the TV forum do not post.

 

Posters here are either misfits or newbies?  REAL expats would not lower themselves to post here?

 

This must make the owners of TV very proud of you...please do keep up the good work ole chap!

[WeekendRaider]

thank you for the compliment at (1).  however, I believe those kinds of generalizations are one of the dumbest things we all do and that the only generalization that works at all, for people, is that we are all not very intelligent.  all of us.  except maybe Noam Chomsky.

as for "Thailand" having a policy for this or that.... you don't mean the current government because all of these rules and stuff have been around for some time, a lot longer than a few years.  so you are speaking about Thai culture. 

reading your post I'm gonna do my own "mind reading" too,  and ask this:  how well do you believe you speak the local dialect conversationally (the lower diglossia, whatever it is) and as well mostly only hang out with regular Thai folks... as opposed to hanging mostly with 'farlang' or other kinds of foreigners...... notwithstanding how many decades you have been here.

 

agree on the obvious though.  800K is a good yardstick, probably even a few million short of what we need to stay here, but the visa extension is a yearly thing (only).

Edited May 3, 2019 by WeekendRaider

[onera1961]

1 hour ago, TaoNow said:

2)      Thailand does not have and has never had a policy to promote retirement to Thailand by foreigners.  If they did, they would have a visa category that granted a 5 or 10-year stay given proof of financial viability.  But they don’t.

I agree with this. Thailand just gives you a visa (O-A) or extension to stay long-term or one year if you financially qualify. I have never seen any ads promoting Thailand as a retirement destination but I have seen plenty of ads promoting Thailand as a tourist destination. 

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, TaoNow said:

it seems that most of the posters are either misfits or newbies

[NCC1701A]

1 hour ago, TaoNow said:

Thailand does not have and has never had a policy to promote retirement to Thailand by foreigners.  If they did, they would have a visa category that granted a 5 or 10-year stay given proof of financial viability.  But they don’t.

i don't see the word corruption anywhere in your topic. the more contact with immigration the more opportunities for corruption. And that also means agents. making you show up every 90 days and hoping you will forget, address reporting. all of it. just more cash flow.

 

[asiaexpat]

Observations or opinions? My first stay in Thailand was in 1967 and I have stayed many times since (not holidays), retired in BKK 2010. I wish I would have found ThaiVisa earlier than I did, would have prevented all the trial and error. Of course many viewers are newbies, that is what this forum is about. Glad you tuned in to view it.

Edited May 3, 2019 by asiaexpat

[JackThompson]

3 hours ago, TaoNow said:

2)      Thailand does not have and has never had a policy to promote retirement to Thailand by foreigners.  If they did, they would have a visa category that granted a 5 or 10-year stay given proof of financial viability.  But they don’t.

Actually, they do have those now - the O-X Visa - 5 or 10 year increments. 

 

But offering retirees a stay-option, renewable in-country, going back decades, is an "offer" - whether backed by slick-ads or not - all the same. 

 

Respect - in the form of grandfathering of the rules - to those who retired here, based on the availability of an annually-extendable "based on retirement" qualification, would be the decent thing to do.  If a foreigner was allowed to renew for X years by showing certain things, those things should be accepted for that person until they die or leave.  Similar is the case for those married here - what worked before, should continue to work in perpetuity. 

 

Any "new rules" or changes should only apply new new applicants, and with at least a year's notice before taking effect.

[rott]

Why are mods exempt from being misfits?

 

And no mention of gross inefficiency, abuse of office or corruption.

 

But the OP seems to know all about it.

[PoorSucker]

17 minutes ago, rott said:

Why are mods exempt from being misfits?

Because discussions about moderation is prohibited in the forum rules.????

[colinneil]

9 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

Fancy calling you a misfit....... Does the OP not know you are a walking sex machine.????????????

[Destiny1990]

Long boring story from OP but I didn’t see his question..

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

Long boring story from OP but I didn’t see his question..

We were being lectured and talked down to.

[Destiny1990]

11 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

We were being lectured and talked down to.

The brutality of such misfit daring to patronizing  us.

[Happystance]

6 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

Because discussions about moderation is prohibited in the forum rules.????

And yet, here we are...

[ttkeric]

Oh well as we like to say especially in the service industry - Only few people will bother to compliment out loud but when it comes to complaining, the whole neighbourhood will hear about it. 

 

I admit, I came here to vent my vex a few times. Guilty as charged. I did want to make a few "positive" contributions like writing up my motorcycling adventures and other stuff but just never got around to doing it. 

 

But complain I did....

[UKresonant]

14 hours ago, TaoNow said:

it seems that most of the posters are either misfits or newbies

Can I be a newbie then please ????.

14 hours ago, TaoNow said:

2)      Thailand does not have and has never had a policy to promote retirement to Thailand by foreigners.  If they did, they would have a visa category that granted a 5 or 10-year stay given proof of financial viability.  But they don’t.

That's a point, the 12 month extended stay for over 50s, having the word "retirement" in it's wording is misleading and may give some a false sense of security, and think the can invest money here...

 

15 hours ago, TaoNow said:

In other words, the 800K/65K/mo. is not about living expenses for an ex-pat year in Thailand.  It is simply a way to limit who can qualify

I would consider my self screened out of ever doing anything with the word "retirement" in it then, based on all the kind info provided by the misfits and newbies, (not because I could not meet the criteria).

 

You really deserve a Certificate for eating the whole whale of a fish supper, if you have managed to stay here since 1971????!

[mtls2005]

 

 

 

15 hours ago, TaoNow said:

In fact, it seems that most of the posters are either misfits or newbies (mods excluded). 

 

Interesting that you did not exclude yourself?

 

 

15 hours ago, TaoNow said:

In other words, most of the ex-pats who have successfully adapted to life in Thailand have no need for this section of the TV forum and do not post.

 

Yet that hasn't prevented you from posting.

 

 

15 hours ago, TaoNow said:

Observing the experience at CW is the closest approximation we have as to what national Thai Immigration policy is

 

How many folks from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia do you observe at CW? Any ethnic minorities (Karen, Hmong)?

 

 

 

For the most part, your "observations" are really "opinions", which probably reveal more about you than us "misfits".

[wgdanson]

15 hours ago, TaoNow said:

65K/mo. is not about living expenses for an ex-pat year in Thailand

It is for me!

[Happystance]

43 minutes ago, johnwf1963 said:

Can I be a newbie then please ????.

I call misfits!

[overherebc]

Can the OP suggest any penance that we misfits can do to possibly allow us to raise ourselves to a better standard of life and of course improve the posting standards?

[rott]

39 minutes ago, overherebc said:

Can the OP suggest any penance that we misfits can do to possibly allow us to raise ourselves to a better standard of life and of course improve the posting standards?

Yes it would help if he advised us of what other categories are available besides newbie, misfit and mod.

We could then read improving books and after sufficient time apply for an upgrade.

It is the not knowing that is the worst part.

[overherebc]

2 minutes ago, rott said:

Yes it would help if he advised us of what other categories are available besides newbie, misfit and mod.

We could then read improving books and after sufficient time apply for an upgrade.

It is the not knowing that is the worst part.

I'm a bit miffed as he missed mentioning me as a grumpy BOF.

[overherebc]

I'll go with the words from Fleetwood Mac

 

I can't help about the shape I'm in

I can't sing I aint pretty and my legs are thin

Don't ask me what I think of you

I might not give the answer that you want me too.

[smedly]

7 hours ago, jacko45k said:

We were being lectured and talked down to.

seemingly by the forum idiot

 

I wonder does this very sheltered condescending individual  ever actually interact with the people he is insulting - I think unlikely 

[TaoNow]

I guess all the flame posts in reaction to my neutral observations confirms my Point No. 1

[Jingthing]

3 minutes ago, TaoNow said:

I guess all the flame posts in reaction to my neutral observations confirms my Point No. 1

Pot kettle black. 

[Leaver]

22 hours ago, onera1961 said:

I agree with this. Thailand just gives you a visa (O-A) or extension to stay long-term or one year if you financially qualify. I have never seen any ads promoting Thailand as a retirement destination but I have seen plenty of ads promoting Thailand as a tourist destination. 

Good point.  It's true.  Thailand does not actual market itself as a retirement destination. 

 

That 1 year retirement visa may as well be a 1 year tourist visa, because it gives you nothing more than someone on a tourist visa.

 

I think they are too caught up in the quick baht from tourists to care about the steady and sustainable revenue flow from retired foreigners.    

[TaoNow]

I agree with Leaver

 

[lamyai3]

On 5/3/2019 at 6:42 PM, TaoNow said:

I started following the postings on this section of TV since the beginning of this year given the changes in the 4 embassies issuing income letters and the tightening of certain Immo regs.

I have been renewing my extension of permit to stay, first for work, then marriage, and now retirement, since 1971, all at Bangkok immigration.  I have also dealt with Phuket immigration for non-extension issues.

I was particularly interested in the first-hand trip reports this year since that removes all the rumors and theories about immigration (assuming it is not a troll post).

Your post started so well, but went rapidly downhill once you embarked on the bullet point critique of your fellow less experienced expats.

 

The very fact that you've been following threads here recently as a result of "changes" and "tightening" in immigration regulations is your own admission that they're occurring and that things are not the same as before. This forum has been second to none in documenting these changes, and the experienced advice on how to navigate the changing tides has been indispensable. 

 

If your definition of expats refers to people such as yourself who've been around for decades, no doubt you and your pals will all be benefitting from old rules on permanent residency, or grandfathered in on 200k a year pre 1998. I have great respect for longevity and experience, but you've just gone out of your way to prove this doesn't make for an intelligent argument.