Tougher immigration rules sees large number of Nordic expats leave Thailand

[Leo Sattler]

Correct me if I am wrong, but mandatory insurance does not apply to "extension of stay"? Expats must not leave the country for that reason. If I understood the requirements, it applied only to the application for OA Visa. Extension is not a Visa!
It has previously been mentioned that they would come up with suggestions on how older expats would hold a sum locked for healthcare. There are a large number of 70+ living in Th. and for them it is virtually impossible to take out insurance. It would be extremely strange to force out all 70+ expats.

[MartiniMan]

Tiny numbers and pretty much a non story to try and push a narrative that thailand is bad

Truth is we will get digital immigration before too long and all these fakers are screwed then we see how many really have the cash in the account and are not on some odd dodge

I have met very few legit holder here - generally they are all on some scam hoping not to be found out

Legit business owners and spouses will have no problem just fill in the form and be done with it

My friends have no issues and welcome the wash out of all these wannabe dreamers

[ttrd]

5 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

???? Touche!! To be fair i am at work!!

… without responsibility and work tasks .. 

[Bad boy 561]

Hi ho,hi ho it’s back to snow you go

[Thaiwrath]

30 minutes ago, Icedoctor said:

Well I am one of the Danes back in Denmark. Even though I have a very good pension well over 150.000 baht monthly , due to new policy about income letters I cannot stay. I dont want to put a lot of money in a Thai bank.

Furthermore my embassy denied visa for my Thai gf so now I am in Denmark and she is left behind.

Yes, I am grateful to the Danish embassy for tresting me this way NOT

 

In other words, you left her here because of your stubbornness.

I am sure if you loved her, and it was a strong relationship, putting 800k in the bank, or even paying an agent 20k would both be decent options to stay together.

[Leo Sattler]

Some of my older Swedish friends are no longer able to meet the demands of income and they are now about to leave LOS to return to Sweden, the country which despite the world's highest tax pressure cannot even offer basic health care to their foreign residents.
The pension is in SEK about the same as five years ago, but the value of the krona has fallen by 35% and prices in Thailand have also risen.
2014 when I moved here you got over 5 Baht / crown, today 3.28 ????

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, Thaiwrath said:

I am not trapped here at all.

I'm not trapped here either, but I am exiled from my home country by housing costs.

[Awinkl]

4 hours ago, Lucius verus said:

There are plenty of Indians and Africans filling the void.

Nothing to see here!!

 

...... Unforunately .....

[Icedoctor]

To Thaiwrath.

 I am working on another solution.

moving to Germany soon and will go back to Thailand to marry her and then move her to Germany with me.

after 3 months I can revoke my EU- citizenship and bring her to Denmark without any problems

[spermwhale]

Nice editorializing by ThaiVisa in the headline : "Tougher immigration rules sees large number of Nordic expats leave Thailand"

 

Nowhere in the article does it give a reason for the decline. It just cites statistics. So that headline is just a guess at best or someone's opinion. I would think the real reason is the decining quality of life in Thailand, particularly in Bangkok, which has turned into a traffic hell and a public transport system that forces people to wait in queues for 6 or more trains on the BTS when trying to commute to and from work. 

 

[PerkinsCuthbert]

Ah, those Nords!

[yogi100]

43 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

To get clicks and website hits from bored farang with nothing better to do than whinge and bitch to get them through the day.

Too true!

[yogi100]

3 hours ago, Snuller21 said:

I expect it is mostly because Thailand Visa are money-regulated as the only in SE Asia. Nobody have an income for a retirement visa anymore. Cambodia you pay just 125 USD, and you have 5 years. Laos you pay 150 USD for the same, and Philipines about the same, and Thailand you need to have 65000 Baht per month. That make a huge difference for a lot of people who only have their home countrys OAP. One huge mistake from Thailand.

Unless of course they don't want us in their country, which seems to be the case.

 

Many of us have substantial saving in our own countries but for various reasons will not put it in a Thai bank.

[DrTuner]

45 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

Are you from one of them?

Oz and Nz seem extremely hard, i tried the entrepreneurship viss in NZ. Got declined, not for monetary reasons, they are extremely picky.

One of Nordics, yes I am. I'd be looking into the investor classes. Just scouting around for now.

[AlexRich]

1 hour ago, Icedoctor said:

Well I am one of the Danes back in Denmark. Even though I have a very good pension well over 150.000 baht monthly , due to new policy about income letters I cannot stay. I dont want to put a lot of money in a Thai bank.

Furthermore my embassy denied visa for my Thai gf so now I am in Denmark and she is left behind.

Yes, I am grateful to the Danish embassy for tresting me this way NOT

 

Re the Thai GF, think of all the money you will save.

[AlexRich]

41 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

I'm not trapped here either, but I am exiled from my home country by housing costs.

... and unpaid alimony?

[ballpoint]

These stories are all much the same, and seem to attract three types of response:

 

Those who have already left, yet remain so infatuated with Thailand that they feel the need to come onto a Thai forum to tell everyone about it.  I fail to see the point of such posts.  You know you've left, and we don't care that you have, so feel free to get on with your new life without worrying about us who still choose to stay here.

 

Those who threaten to leave, say they would leave, but...

 

Those, like myself, who just wish all those threatening to leave would hurry up and do so, and stop whinging about it.  I currently have no intention of leaving, but I know that things may change in the future.  If leaving ever becomes the simplest option to a problem, or I no longer enjoy living here, then I will do so, right away, without all this muttering about wanting to, or feeling the need to broadcast it to all and sundry, while telling everyone who still likes being here that they need to save themselves and get out now, like some sort of demented evangelist.

[wreckingcountry]

To get clicks and website hits from bored farang with nothing better to do than whinge and bitch to get them through the day.

Not me Mr Smutface oops typo, Cake


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Mikisteel]

10% drop on these figures is not significant. This websites stats could provide broader more significant results. Maybe the new londoninspire website is a good indication.

 

 

[wreckingcountry]

Tiny numbers and pretty much a non story to try and push a narrative that thailand is bad

Truth is we will get digital immigration before too long and all these fakers are screwed then we see how many really have the cash in the account and are not on some odd dodge

I have met very few legit holder here - generally they are all on some scam hoping not to be found out

Legit business owners and spouses will have no problem just fill in the form and be done with it

My friends have no issues and welcome the wash out of all these wannabe dreamers

Keep downing your Martinis at the bar


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Chelseafan]

5 hours ago, KiChakayan said:

The numbers provided are statistically insignificant...Bad journalism.

Yes small numbers but what they are showing is a trend. These are the people that Thailand should be courting to bring investment into Thailand and if they had any sense would be encouraging them but to see a downward spiral in all visa categories is a worry

[khunPer]

Apart from the decline in exchange rate for bath – where we Danes could get 6+ baht for each of our "krone" a few years ago, and now get less than 4.70 baht – makes life little more hard for many of us, it's especially the stop for income guarantee letters, or affidavit, from the embassy that makes living in Thailand impossible for some, especially when mainly dependent of a small government retirement pension.

 

Those of us having a higher income or retirement pension, or savings enough for a cash deposit in a Thai bank, might be able to survive by cutting a bit here-and-there in the budget – if one is not that filthy rich, so it doesn't matter at all – whilst those with a small monthly income or pension only, seems to run into difficulties.

 

The basic monthly amount of government retirement pension (Danish: "Folkepension") of around 5,400 DKK after tax deduction equals about 25,000 baht now. Before the embassy would state the full amount before income tax deduction in the affidavit, and with the former currency exchange rate that would end up in the area of 35,000+ baht a month. Just a bit extra work pension – most of us Danes have at least some little kind of "social security" supplement (called ATP) that would add the total up to more than 40,000 baht a month before income tax, but that is also less now, especially after almost 40 % income withholding tax on the extra income.

 

People, mainly retired, from the other countries where gurantee letter, or affidavit, from their embassy has stopped – should be Australia, Canada, UK, and US – might face similar problem...????

[yogi100]

2 hours ago, FredGallaher said:

Some of those on limited budgets will be effected most. If your contribution is to warm a bar stool you wont be missed. 

But the bar staff and those who employ them will miss you.

 

There must be hundreds of thousands of Thais' family dependents who rely on Joe Bloggs parking his arse on bar stools for a few weeks holiday.

 

There are certainly more fellows on 'limited budgets' than there are on unlimited budgets. Some of 'em like to be the two week millionaires we see so often in the GGBs of BKK and Pattaya.

[the guest]

Europeans are on the bottom of the list, I doubt Thailand even acknowledges Farangs these days given the country is now blitzed with their new found (richer) ATM's (Chinese and Russians).

 

My advise is go to another country like Vietnam or Cambodia, same climate, same race of people and a hell lot cheaper !

[ianezy0]

Well I watched the Vikings series on Netflix and these chaps are not too friendly at the best of times. From what I saw, rather than shake hands, they would greet you with axe buried in your skull ????

 

They do dress better nowadays though ????

 

[finnishmen]

6 hours ago, Denim said:

A trend that seems likely to continue and not just Scandinavians.

 

 

i hope ALL busines visa peoples stop all busines and living in thailand sort time, then thai coverment see and understand how idiot him have and all visa idiot law have, because lot thai peoples and many million bath end to come thailand. money stop and thailand have big problem if tourism and expat busines work not make thailand money, idiot goverment can understand how important expat and busines have at thailand and make better normal human system visa and all expat and normal better human who has marry thai wife can stay automatic and no visa idiot hassle in home.

[Plus Esse Quam Simultatur]

My guess is that especially the Danish expats who had stayed here for several years got caught with their pants down when the Danish Embassy without any notice in the middle of November last year stopped issue income letters with immediate effect. Many had for years been depended of the income letter and therefor didn't had the required 400.000 or 800.000 in an Thai bank. If you dont follow e.g. ThaiVisa you have no idea of the changes made until the day you contact the Embassy or Immigration. Then there is only a few ways to solve it and that's out of the country, transfer money to here or starting using an agent. That might be the reason so many Danes the first 5 months seems to leave. And btw Denmark is not that bad to return too.

[yogi100]

1 hour ago, Leo Sattler said:

Some of my older Swedish friends are no longer able to meet the demands of income and they are now about to leave LOS to return to Sweden, the country which despite the world's highest tax pressure cannot even offer basic health care to their foreign residents.
The pension is in SEK about the same as five years ago, but the value of the krona has fallen by 35% and prices in Thailand have also risen.
2014 when I moved here you got over 5 Baht / crown, today 3.28 ????

 

We're led to believe Sweden gives very good health care and everything else to its foreign residents. Which is why it's the destination of choice for immigrants and asylum seekers from around the world.

 

A wonderful liberal country famous for it benevolence to those less well off than themselves.

[Teddy3943]

After 9 years of: being cheated, regarded as a criminal by immigration, greedy medical system, no rights as a citizen, severe corruption by several government officers, horrendus traffic, bad air and contaminated food, etc., I moved back to a real developed country. It is really a big relieve.

[ThaiBunny]

50 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

Those, like myself, who just wish all those threatening to leave would hurry up and do so, and stop whinging about it.

My view about Scots who want independence from the UK