Retirement visa for a newbie

[Brian Mc]

Retirement visa for a newbie

 

This is my first post on your form and I’m planning on moving to Thailand in a year can I buy tell me about the new thai government and its Position and giving retirement visa Americans that are over 50?

 

I have also been hearing something about the cost of living going up there can anybody tell me About this

[johnmell]

Look at information in getting an OA visa from a thai consulate in the USA. You can get 2 years out of it, and dont need to put money in a thai bank.

[Martyp]

I am an American who moved here in 2017. I came here on an O-A visa from the Los Angeles Thai Consulate. The requirements for visas are clearly stated on their website. That is where you should start.

 

 You should also become familiar with the requirements for getting a 1 year extension after your visa expires (in the case of an O-A that could be as long as 2 years). If you are going to be here for a long time you don’t want to be surprised about those requirements. Personally I’ve chosen the method of maintaining 800,000 baht in a Thai bank as being an easy method if you can afford it. I mention this because you asked about the costs for living here. There are several other methods of remaining here long term that are cheaper in some ways.

 

The cost of living has increased in the last couple of years (5%?) because of changes in the exchange rates. Assuming you’ve been here before then this is something you should keep track of but, like inflation, it’s not something you have much control over. Thailand remains much cheaper to live in than the US but how much cheaper depends on where you are coming from and your own personal circumstances. Also costs of living here are low but not if you insist on transplanting your US lifestyle to Thailand. Imported merchandise is expensive and fancy restaurants are expensive too. Of course living in cities is more expensive than living in the countryside. Bangkok is more expensive than everywhere else. If you’ve been here before you should be somewhat familiar with your options.

 

As you research this you will come across a lot of social media comments where Expats are complaining about recent changes to the Immigration rules. There are substantive changes and some Expats are genuinely harmed by them financially, logistically, and psychologically. I don’t know enough about you to know whether the Immigration environment is one that might deter you. I’ve been here almost three years and I still love it here.

 

 

 

[lamyai3]

6 hours ago, Brian Mc said:

This is my first post on your form and I’m planning on moving to Thailand in a year can I buy tell me about the new thai government and its Position and giving retirement visa Americans that are over 50?

 

I have also been hearing something about the cost of living going up there can anybody tell me About this

The requirements are the same as they have been in the past - financial statements, along with a police and medical report. Details will be on your local embassy website. The US currently isn't subject to the e-visa system so applications should be straightforward. If you're applying next year several things could change, including the mandatory insurance they're trying to introduce for Non O-A visas.

 

As far as cost of living goes you'll find it much cheaper here than the US, even given the fact that the baht is the strongest currency in the region right now. Britain, Europe, Australia and others have had a rough time this year, the US has fared a bit better but most currencies are down against the baht. Although there's some truth in reports of increased costs of living, it's mostly to do with bad exchange rates. 

[statman78]

Last year I retired and moved to Thailand from the US.  As described above you can get the O-A visa in the US.  The Thai consulate web sites describe what is needed. I went a different route which I considered easier. I got a single entry tourist visa in the US. A lot less paperwork. Durning the last 30 days I went to the local immigration office and applied for a Non-Imm O visa.  No medial exam, no police report nothing except the fee and the application.  After 2 months I applied for an extension of stay based on retirement and received it without any issues.

 

I already had a Thai bank account so all I had to do was transfer the 800,000 baht before applying for my extension.

[Percy P]

Living here is cheap if you. have a job earning Thai Baht. Living here drawing money from your own countries currency is expensive. Eg in 2008 I was having 178Baht/£ The rate now at the moment 05/09 is 37.4, so now I'm paying twice as much in my countries currency  for the same item and items I buy have gone up negligible.

[AAArdvark]

49 minutes ago, Percy P said:

Living here is cheap if you. have a job earning Thai Baht. Living here drawing money from your own countries currency is expensive. Eg in 2008 I was having 178Baht/£ The rate now at the moment 05/09 is 37.4, so now I'm paying twice as much in my countries currency  for the same item and items I buy have gone up negligible.

Of course no working with an O-A visa.  And the USD, although down, has held up much better.

Edited September 5, 2019 by AAArdvark

[Ozziepat]

Please be sure you go to the proper Embassy/Consulate website in the US. There are several that service different states.

 

The cost of living regularly goes up in Thailand, and elsewhere; and the relative cheapness will depend upon where you come from in the US and your lifestyle there. It's a moving target. Your actual cost of living in Thailand will be significantly affected by lifestyle and location in Thailand along with other factors mentioned. Bangkok is potentially much more expensive, generally speaking, than some village in the hinterlands.

 

Numbeo and Expatistan can provide some information on the topic of relative living costs.

[khunPer]

16 hours ago, Brian Mc said:

I have also been hearing something about the cost of living going up there can anybody tell me About this

Welcome to Thaivisa forum.

 

You can find the Thai consumer price index here, it's around 103 points (102.8) now, 2014-2016 was in the area of 100 points; i.e. consumer prices in average has increased about 3 percent in 5 years. The major reason to higher living costs is the bath currency exchange rate, as the value of foreign currency generally has decreased, some currencies quite a lot like 25 percent.

 

However, if your lifestyle is mainly Western, using many imported products that has increased more then the average consumer price index – and you smoke and drink, which has been higher taxed in recent years – your personal consumer price index might be different, i.e. you feel living costs has gone up.

 

With a non-immigrant "O" visa you can extend it one year at the time based on retirement, when you are 50 years or older. The easiest way to do that is with a deposit of 800,000 baht in a fixed term Thai bank account, and just leave it, if you can afford it; on a 12-month fixed term account your can gain in the area of 10,000 baht a year in interest after withholding tax. You can withdraw the interest every year. An extension of stay will cost you 1,900 baht a year, and you might need a re-entry permission, if you wish to travel abroad, which would be 1,000 baht for a single re-entry, or 3,900 baht for multiple (unlimited) re-entry.

 

Not much has changed inside Thailand, but the authorities are more strict by keeping the rules – like documentation for extension of stay, and address reporting, i.e. the TM30 debate – however some embassies, including the US, stopped issuing income affidavits, which has become a problem for those using the monthly income-method for extension of stay; now one need to prove a fairly steady monthly from abroad transferred income of 65,000 baht, i.e. all together not less than 780,000 baht a year.

 

I'm not from US, I'm Scandinavian, but I've been living here on extension based on retirement for almost 14 years now, using the bank deposit-method, and with just a bit of planning it's fairly easy. Major concern one shall have is, not coming with a too tight budget from the beginning, as even small changes might result in major lifestyle changes; then rather wait a few years more, and arrive with a reasonable financial buffer.

 

Yes, I also had to cut of few corners in the later years, even I had a buffer. Part of my income is retirement pension that has dropped little over 25 percent from when the currency exchange rate was at it's highest, and another part of my income is outcome from my savings, which was mainly placed in safe home-country mortgage bonds giving 6 percent tax-free interest 10-year ago, but that has changed to that one is extremely happy now on days with 1 percent bonds – the actual rate is 0.5 percent, and 0,0 percent might come in a few weeks – so I had to change to dividend paying stock that performs around 3 percent after dividend withholding tax; i.e. I lost half of my ongoing saving's income, and what I get is even 10-25 percent less when exchanged to baht. 10 percent lower than the average exchange rate I budgeted with, 25 percent lower than during the good happy years. Of course, I can always begin to use of my savings, but that may force me to change my longevity plans...

 

What I'm saying is, don't plan a retirement on to tight a budget, rather wait a little more, and have some "air" in the budget.

 

Hope you'll get a happy time in Land of Smile...????

[essox essox]

2 hours ago, Percy P said:

Living here is cheap if you. have a job earning Thai Baht. Living here drawing money from your own countries currency is expensive. Eg in 2008 I was having 178Baht/£ The rate now at the moment 05/09 is 37.4, so now I'm paying twice as much in my countries currency  for the same item and items I buy have gone up negligible.

you were never getting 178 baht to the pound....highest i know of was 93 in the late 90's !!!

[HampiK]

1 hour ago, essox essox said:

you were never getting 178 baht to the pound....highest i know of was 93 in the late 90's !!!

he accidently wrote 178 instead of 78! as he also wrote paying twice.... an unfortunate mistake!

[1FinickyOne]

prices of groceries have risen a fair amount and prices of imported goods as well, due to exchange rates...

 

 

 

That said, services are still quite reasonable and have mostly not risen. Temple massage is still 100 baht an hour as it has been for many years... storefronts, maybe 200-250. 

 

Accommodations can be found for quite reasonable pricing and rates can vary according to landlord and length of time... 

 

I am assuming you have been here before. If not consider a visit, vacation before making the jump. 

Edited September 5, 2019 by kenk24

[lamyai3]

9 hours ago, HampiK said:

he accidently wrote 178 instead of 78! as he also wrote paying twice.... an unfortunate mistake!

78 was a mistake too, it never reached that during the whole decade. It did get to the mid 70's in 2004, and the highest rate in 2008 was mid 60's. But due to the global financial crisis, 2 years later it had resettled into the 40's. Even those days look good right now. 

[lanng khao]

First time I came to Thailand in 2007 I remember changing £100 on the bangla Road and getting 7200 baht, bring a tear to a glass eye now at what you would get..

78 was a mistake too, it never reached that during the whole decade. It did get to the mid 70's in 2004, and the highest rate in 2008 was mid 60's. But due to the global financial crisis, 2 years later it had resettled into the 40's. Even those days look good right now. 

Sent from my SHT-W09 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[brianthainess]

16 hours ago, Percy P said:

Living here is cheap if you. have a job earning Thai Baht. Living here drawing money from your own countries currency is expensive. Eg in 2008 I was having 178Baht/£ The rate now at the moment 05/09 is 37.4, so now I'm paying twice as much in my countries currency  for the same item and items I buy have gone up negligible.

178/Pound really ??