Is Vietnam the winner in Thailand's visa game?

[roo860]

1 hour ago, MadMuhammad said:

I’ve been living here 2 years and still haven’t died so I had to get married to over come the visa issue ????????‍♂️ 
The roads aren’t anywhere near as bad as they’re made out to be. If you travel around with your head up your ass you will be risking your life every time you venture out. It just takes a bit of extra care and attention to play safe in traffic 

Nice Ducati!+

????

[Fairynuff]

On 1/19/2020 at 4:50 AM, mike787 said:

Vietnam food is way better

This is why our choices are so personal to us..... I find VN food very much lacking compared to Thai and it’s a major factor in why I wouldn’t live in Vietnam 

[ChipButty]

29 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

This is why our choices are so personal to us..... I find VN food very much lacking compared to Thai and it’s a major factor in why I wouldn’t live in Vietnam 

The food in the Philippines is even worse they ruin everything

[GeorgeCross]

On 1/17/2020 at 12:02 PM, Roy Baht said:

There are definitely fewer Westerners here now. Over the past few years, in my own experience, I have seen people leave--either moving to other countries or dying off.

 

Another metric that has been mentioned is there scarcity of Western goods that can be found in Thai supermarkets. Years ago, Tesco-Lotus had all sorts of things. Now, not so much.

 

yeah we can all blah blah about numbers but the markets know - they'll only restock what they sell so if the western products disappeared then the westerners _________ (fill in the blank!)

[Fairynuff]

30 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

yeah we can all blah blah about numbers but the markets know - they'll only restock what they sell so if the western products disappeared then the westerners _________ (fill in the blank!)

I think the reality is that Tesco can’t or doesn’t want to compete with Villa and Foodland for the foreign market.

[Roy Baht]

 

[RoadWarrior371]

5 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

 

Don't worry, you can still get a cheap big mac......  ????

[liddelljohn]

Some people I know living in Ho Chi Minh  that from june 1st Vietnam is  changing its Visa regulations options for retirees and expats for the worse ,, and that many may have to come back to LOS or head for  Phillipines ??? 

 

i dunno if its rumour or what but my friends are spooked

[Susco]

On 1/20/2020 at 9:16 AM, GeorgeCross said:

 

yeah we can all blah blah about numbers but the markets know - they'll only restock what they sell so if the western products disappeared then the westerners _________ (fill in the blank!)

Please allow me to correct that for you

 

they'll only restock what they sell so if the skint westerners disappeared then the westerner products _________ (fill in the blank!)

[5633572526]

On 1/17/2020 at 9:05 AM, Roy Baht said:

No, Vietnam is now clamping down on long-stay tourist visas--and they have nothing like the Non-O long stay. It's not looking for retirees.

New rules go into effect 20 July 2020:

"Accordingly, the amended law stipulates that a foreigner will be allowed to remain for only 30 days in Vietnam when granted a 30-day or longer tourist visa"

https://vietnamnet.vn/en/society/police-profile-foreign-criminals-entering-vietnam-601182.html

Just got my 1 year visa over the internet and as per my previous 3 will only need to see immigration at the airport when traveling in or out of the country 

[Jingthing]

2 hours ago, 5633572526 said:

Just got my 1 year visa over the internet and as per my previous 3 will only need to see immigration at the airport when traveling in or out of the country 

I don't know very much about Vietnam visas but could you provide more details? Business or tourist? Are you American? Do you need to leave the country every 90 days or not?

[Destiny1990]

I not yet been to Vietnam but i am very confident that the visa proces all together will be much more pleasant there.

[SteveK]

On 1/20/2020 at 2:32 PM, Roy Baht said:

 

If you produced that Roy, please get in touch. I want to employ you.

[mokwit]

On 1/20/2020 at 8:58 AM, ChipButty said:

The food in the Philippines is even worse they ruin everything

In fairness I once had a grilled swordfish steak that tasted good, but I imagine it was the limited ruination opportunity afforded by something that simple. I often wonder to myself when people post how good the Phils are : What do you eat?

[Destiny1990]

2 minutes ago, mokwit said:

In fairness I once had a grilled swordfish steak that tasted good, but I imagine it was the limited ruination opportunity afforded by something that simple. I often wonder to myself when people post how good the Phils are : What do you eat?

U can eat the same there as here and probably less salty less sugary and less pesticides and more affordable !

[BenBen23]

It's a shame. I too prefer Thailand but have moved my long-term visa to Vietnam. For US citizens anyway, its easy and cheap to get a one year multi entry visa with no requirement to leave at all. Cost me 250$. About $450 for non USA Passport holders. www.vietnamvisapro.com 

 

I think it's unwise for a country that depends on tourism for a fourth of their GPD to make expats feel unwelcome. A lot of people depend on the money we spend here. But I'll not stay somewhere I am not welcome. 

[Kaitangsou]

Philippines is by far the easiest country to retire in in Asia...Mindanao is particularly pleasant but then again it is not overrun by the unwashed crowd...

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

On 1/22/2020 at 3:08 PM, SteveK said:

If you produced that Roy, please get in touch. I want to employ you.

 

This hilarious video was made by Eli the Bike Guy, who has a YouTube channel featuring Da Nang. He rides a bicycle and narrates his tours around the city. He's very tuned in to things Vietnamese, and is married to a Viet girl. His vids are very informative. 

[liddelljohn]

Having spent a few years working all over the Phillipines ,, the only thing that  really put me off the place was the generally terrible food ,  only bangladesh and  Zaire was worse .  Mindanao was nice but dangerous   ,, I had armed escorts most of the time and had to carry a gun due to Insurgents , bandits and islamists .

[Roy Baht]

This just in. Clarification of Vietnam's new "30 day rule":

 

 

[Jingthing]

54 minutes ago, Roy Baht said:

This just in. Clarification of Vietnam's new "30 day rule":

 

 

Thanks for that. I've always been very skeptical about media that is promoting the idea of "retiring" in Vietnam because clearly they've never offered a formal visa option to actually do that without visa runs. Vietnam has even enjoyed placement on some famous top 10 expat retirement lists. I thought that was totally nuts too. So this news doesn't really surprise me. However I do know that many people are "retiring" there based on business visas without really being in business with Vietnamese businesses playing along for a fee. That's obviously a form of corruption and it's hard to believe the government there won't sooner or later crack down on that as well. So Vietnam can be a good place to hang out for awhile if you're not on something more real like marriage or work, now it seems with many more visa runs (yuck!) but as far as a place to commit to retirement, forget about it! 

 

For now, Cambodia and the Philippines still have their borders open for easier retirement. 

[Roy Baht]

UPDATE on Vietnam visa rules:
Rather than having to make a border run every 30 days, as previously announced, tourists will be given the option of reporting to their local immigration office (for a fee of US$10), or of hiring an agent to do so. That would mean, on a 90 day tourist visa, you would report to the local IO twice, and have to cross the border and return with a new visa (or in the case of Americans, with a one-year visa, cross the border and return, three times a year).
See new Eli the Bike Guy video. New Visa Rules discussion occur roughly 12:30- 21:00

 

[Roy Baht]

Fixed