Globe Trotter Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 I'm no stranger to the rules and red tape of this part of the world. Going back 10 years I've performed 90 day border runs to Ranong and other areas, I've created education visas in Laos several times (and yes I can speak Thai and read fairly well after my education, and haven't abused the system) I've done a fair but of travelling around Asia in general too. This week however I encountered a hellish situation. To put a long story short, a simple border run to get a 30day tourist visa turned into a 4 day slog through 3 countries, and hardly any sleep, something that tested me in nearly every way imaginable. Can some people who either have the elite visa (the 500k version) or people who understand the process please shed some light on it, thanks!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 It is easy to apply for online. Link to official site. https://www.thailandelite.com/join-thailand-elite?locate=en The 5 year membership for 500k baht is the "Elite Easy Access". After submitting the application, getting approval and paying the fee you can get the visa on entry to the country or at Chaeng Wattana immigration in Bangkok, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globe Trotter Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said: It is to easty apply for online. Link to official site. https://www.thailandelite.com/join-thailand-elite?locate=en The 5 year membership for 500k baht is the "Elite Easy Access". After submitting the application, getting approval and paying the fee you can get the visa on entry to the country or at Chaeng Wattana immigration in Bangkok, Thanks a bunch Joe. What is the 'approval' based on though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 7 minutes ago, Globe Trotter said: What is the 'approval' based on though? The approval is done by immigration after the they check your records. A overstay can cause problems dependent upon the length and how long ago it was. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Anythingleft? Posted September 10, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted September 10, 2019 Good service Now running at about 7000 members so they say, they want more but need to expand their staff to keep up with daily service demandsNo complaints from me so far.....Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wgdanson Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, ubonjoe said: It is easy to apply for online. ?????? It is easy to apply for it online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 17 minutes ago, wgdanson said: ?????? Obvious typo corrected. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globe Trotter Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 2 hours ago, ubonjoe said: The approval is done by immigration after the they check your records. A overstay can cause problems dependent upon the length and how long ago it was. I've not had a single day of overstay ???? so I do hope that I qualify for it. I did look into actually becoming a dual citizen as I can speak Thai fairly well and to a lesser extent read and write, however I that process seems gruelling and uncertain, not to mention you'd lose a fair bit of money if it fails Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globe Trotter Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Anythingleft? said: Good service Now running at about 7000 members so they say, they want more but need to expand their staff to keep up with daily service demands No complaints from me so far..... Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk Thanks for the input, how long did it take in your instance, from application to the actual visa in your passport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anythingleft? Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 Thanks for the input, how long did it take in your instance, from application to the actual visa in your passport? Application to acceptance was 5 weeks if I remember correctly, possibly 6 (British passport) Got the visa on re-entry back from abroad which took less than 15 minutes On the whole very happy so far. If I was eligible for retirement then possibly a different option but I'm not so this covers my needsHad two marriage visas and with the timing, headaches and paperwork just knocked them on the head To be fair when this expires I may consider the 1M 20 year but thats a ways away yet..... Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galt67 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 3 hours ago, Anythingleft? said: Good service Now running at about 7000 members so they say, they want more but need to expand their staff to keep up with daily service demands No complaints from me so far..... Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk +1 The 'service is consistently excellent. And NOW over 8300 members a TE rep told me at BKK last week. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CygnusX1 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 If you have no overstays and enough money, you shouldn’t have any problems. Immigration took 1 month to approve mine, after that the Thai Elite people finalised everything very quickly. You have the choice between 5 years for 0.5 million baht, 20 years with no limo transfers or golfing for 1 million baht, or 20 years with limos, golfing etc for 2 million baht - I think almost nobody applies for the latter. The 20 year visas are actually 4 lots of 5 year visas, don’t know yet what happens when renewal of the the first 5 year one is due. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gk10002000 Posted September 10, 2019 Share Posted September 10, 2019 1 minute ago, CygnusX1 said: If you have no overstays and enough money, you shouldn’t have any problems. Immigration took 1 month to approve mine, after that the Thai Elite people finalised everything very quickly. You have the choice between 5 years for 0.5 million baht, 20 years with no limo transfers or golfing for 1 million baht, or 20 years with limos, golfing etc for 2 million baht - I think almost nobody applies for the latter. The 20 year visas are actually 4 lots of 5 year visas, don’t know yet what happens when renewal of the the first 5 year one is due. There is another often overlooked choice of 800k baht for 10 years. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globe Trotter Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 7 hours ago, CygnusX1 said: If you have no overstays and enough money, you shouldn’t have any problems. Immigration took 1 month to approve mine, after that the Thai Elite people finalised everything very quickly. You have the choice between 5 years for 0.5 million baht, 20 years with no limo transfers or golfing for 1 million baht, or 20 years with limos, golfing etc for 2 million baht - I think almost nobody applies for the latter. The 20 year visas are actually 4 lots of 5 year visas, don’t know yet what happens when renewal of the the first 5 year one is due. By 'enough money' do you mean the lump sum of 500k Thai Baht for the 5year Elite visa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 15 hours ago, Globe Trotter said: I'm no stranger to the rules 15 hours ago, Globe Trotter said: I've created education visas in Laos several times 15 hours ago, Globe Trotter said: haven't abused the system Yet you still believe you are a tourist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globe Trotter Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 4 minutes ago, jacko45k said: Yet you still believe you are a tourist? tour·ist /ˈto͝orəst/ noun 1. a person who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure. yes I do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko45k Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 1 minute ago, Globe Trotter said: tour·ist /ˈto͝orəst/ noun 1. a person who is traveling or visiting a place for pleasure. yes I do But you are not traveling nor visiting, you are living in Thailand. Anyhow, it is immigration's definition that we have to watch out for. I hope the Elite works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Globe Trotter Posted September 11, 2019 Author Share Posted September 11, 2019 2 minutes ago, jacko45k said: But you are not traveling nor visiting, you are living in Thailand. Anyhow, it is immigration's definition that we have to watch out for. I hope the Elite works out for you. ok thanks for that. I have not been living solely in Thailand for the entirety of the last 5 years, but the majority of my time has been travelling and remaining around Thailand yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anythingleft? Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 By 'enough money' do you mean the lump sum of 500k Thai Baht for the 5year Elite visa? Yes enough money for the visa, they do not ask for any other financial recordsAs another member quoted you can't really expect immigration to let somebody that spends so much time in place to be repetitively admitted as a touristPaperwork is being scrutinised more now, all immigration is requesting is that you get the correct application of visa for your stayOr the closest to it.......Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieinphuket Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 my wife and i both took the Thai Elite Visa, for one reason or another we had a similar issue with my wife retirement visa and they wanted her to leave the country reapply and then return when it was no fault of hers. so stuff this i called Thai Elite, they sent us the form in 5 minutes and we filled and completed and returned whatever documentation they required which was basic and minimal they gave approval in 60 mins and said she would become a member once funds were paid, we did this in the next hour thb 500k to and a reply email an hour later confirming all inorder here membership number and when she comes to Bangkok they will issue to her which my wife did the next day as we live in Phuket. solved a lot of heart ache and stress, after seeing how easy it was for her and certain benefits when my retirement came up for renewal and hearing about all the stuffing around by immigration and changes and moving the goal posts when you get their i did the same and the process took the same amount of time a few hours, this was about 2 years ago. but i have read somewhere it can take sometime now to process my recommendation to you is go to their office in Bangkok its easy to find on the main road of Sukhumvit they very friendly nice and easy to work with... good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussieinphuket Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 i should also have mentioned alot of my mates who are offshore workers now have Thai Elite and also some other mates of mine who don't live here but have villas and travel here regularly to play golf or relax from HKG or Singapore have been having problems coming regularly now and were red flagged so they just took the Thai Elite and solved all their issues no more questions asked. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunpa Posted September 11, 2019 Share Posted September 11, 2019 (edited) I think, it took me under a week to be approved. Was really easy. Just apply, get approved and pay. For me, it has been the best thing I ever did, in relation to visas. The fact that I do not need to worry about yearly renewals, is in my view worth it all. Besides that, it is damn nice to get picked up by a "Gold-girl" at the airport ???? and rushed through immigration. Edited September 11, 2019 by khunpa 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justin case Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 On 9/10/2019 at 9:02 PM, Globe Trotter said: I've not had a single day of overstay ???? so I do hope that I qualify for it. I did look into actually becoming a dual citizen as I can speak Thai fairly well and to a lesser extent read and write, however I that process seems gruelling and uncertain, not to mention you'd lose a fair bit of money if it fails hahaha dual ... thailand does not recognize that and hardly any farang gets that anyway ... have to work and pay taxes for many years just spending millions is not enough Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 23 minutes ago, justin case said: dual ... thailand does not recognize that Not correct info. There is nothing in the nationality act that prohibits a Thai from having more than one nationality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acenase Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 (edited) Random question about Thai Elite.... Say I was denied entry at Suvarnabhumi Airport based on Section 12 (2). Does this disqualify me from getting a Thai Elite visa now? Even if I get a new passport and apply, they already have my name in the system as being denied entry at Suvarnabhumi Airport even though I re-entered at Nong Khai using my Tourist visa without any issues? Edited September 12, 2019 by acenase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubonjoe Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 5 minutes ago, acenase said: Say I was denied entry at Suvarnabhumi Airport based on Section 12 (2). Does this disqualify me from getting a Thai Elite visa now? No it would not. I think the officers that do the application approval are aware that could be a bogus denial of entry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuvoc Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 On 9/10/2019 at 3:11 PM, Anythingleft? said: To be fair when this expires I may consider the 1M 20 year but thats a ways away yet..... Assuming that it still exists in 5 years time. I expect it will but is something to think about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gk10002000 Posted September 12, 2019 Share Posted September 12, 2019 On 9/11/2019 at 1:23 AM, aussieinphuket said: my wife and i both took the Thai Elite Visa, for one reason or another we had a similar issue with my wife retirement visa and they wanted her to leave the country reapply and then return when it was no fault of hers. so stuff this i called Thai Elite, they sent us the form in 5 minutes and we filled and completed and returned whatever documentation they required which was basic and minimal they gave approval in 60 mins and said she would become a member once funds were paid, we did this in the next hour thb 500k to and a reply email an hour later confirming all inorder here membership number and when she comes to Bangkok they will issue to her which my wife did the next day as we live in Phuket. solved a lot of heart ache and stress, after seeing how easy it was for her and certain benefits when my retirement came up for renewal and hearing about all the stuffing around by immigration and changes and moving the goal posts when you get their i did the same and the process took the same amount of time a few hours, this was about 2 years ago. but i have read somewhere it can take sometime now to process my recommendation to you is go to their office in Bangkok its easy to find on the main road of Sukhumvit they very friendly nice and easy to work with... good luck. Please confirm that they approve the application, and then only then do you have to send the funds? Do you get some sort of record of the approval? I just hate the idea of sending in funds with an application and then for whatever reason they reject the application and keep the funds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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