Is Vietnam the winner in Thailand's visa game?

[Roy Baht]

13 minutes ago, Letseng said:

And you can't marry or invest in Thailand? You can't work in Thailand? You wouldn't need paperwork to work in Vietnam? How would you stay in Vietnam longterm as a non-American retiree?

With these new visa rules (to come into effect 1 July), requiring people on tourist visas to leave country every 30 days, even Americans won't find it a good place for retirement.

[Roy Baht]

2 minutes ago, Salerno said:

If you like one can it be the same wife in 5 years time?

I'm sure that depends on the wife  ????

[Inn Between]

9 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

"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"

I'd like to see the source of your quotation because it doesn't make any sense that Vietnam would grant visas longer than 30 days but only allow 30 days of it. Wouldn't they either just stop issuing visa for stays longer than 30 days rather than continue to offer longer visas that are only honored for 30? 

 

So, from where did you copy the quoted law? I'd like to see all of the wording before and after the part you have extracted verbatim. 

[Salerno]

5 minutes ago, Roy Baht said:

I'm sure that depends on the wife  ????

Which begs another question, does it have to be your wife or can you borrow someone elses? 

[Letseng]

22 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Too many prohibited jobs in Thailand.

It appears you can do any work in Vietnam if you paid for the business.

Lots of foreigners running guesthouses, backpacker places, and bars and not needing to hide.

 

Getting a marriage extension in Thailand way hard, and you need $10,000 in the bank every year.

In Vietnam all you need is $50 and a wife every 5 years.

You don't need 10.000$ in Vietnam. Are you living on fresh air? If you can't afford 10.000, you should not be in TH or in Vietnam. Or is the motto: my wife is healthy and can work...

Edited January 17, 2020 by Letseng

[BritManToo]

10 minutes ago, Letseng said:

You don't need 10.000$ in Vietnam. Are you living on fresh air? If you can't afford 10.000, you should not be in TH or in Vietnam. Or is the motto: my wife is healthy and can work...

I don't like to keep more money than I immediately need in 3rd world banks.

My money stays in the UK, with a few thousand in Transferwise in case I need extra in a hurry.

 

$10,000 is worth killing you for.

 

When I was on holiday in Vietnam earlier this week, I got 2Mvnd out the bank machine with my BKB ATM card, and had 5,000bht in notes with me for backup. Came back with 3,000bht. That worked out at 5,000bht/week so in a month I would have needed 20,000bht ($670).

Edited January 17, 2020 by BritManToo

[Dumbastheycome]

9 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

Cambodia is talking about clamping down too!

https://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/kingdom-drafting-new-law-strengthen-immigration

 

I think the doors of SE Asia are closing

Not closing perhaps. But in recognition of the fact they are no longer insignificant participants  in the global arena are now establishing a far less  subservient attitude to  the less desirable elements of western squatters?

Who can genuinely be critical of that?

[Roy Baht]

29 minutes ago, Inn Between said:

I'd like to see the source of your quotation because it doesn't make any sense that Vietnam would grant visas longer than 30 days but only allow 30 days of it. Wouldn't they either just stop issuing visa for stays longer than 30 days rather than continue to offer longer visas that are only honored for 30? 

 

So, from where did you copy the quoted law? I'd like to see all of the wording before and after the part you have extracted verbatim. 

Here is the link to the article quoted: https://vietnamnet.vn/en/society/police-profile-foreign-criminals-entering-vietnam-601182.html

 

Here is the link to the new law (in Vietnamese): https://luatvietnam.vn/xuat-nhap-canh/luat-nhap-canh-xuat-canh-qua-canh-cu-tru-cua-nguoi-nuoc-ngoai-tai-viet-nam-sua-doi-179053-d1.html

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Roy Baht

[Roy Baht]

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Roy Baht

[StayinThailand2much]

10 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

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

Meaning? Three border bounces if you procure a 3-month visa?

[Roy Baht]

Not a great translation, but that's the passage. (DL means tourist)
 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Roy Baht

[Roy Baht]

1 minute ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Meaning? Three border bounces if you procure a 3-month visa?

Just two. Then you leave.

[herwin1234]

Immigration rules might be a bitch here but i aint leaving Thailand. Its too a special place with wonderful and nice ppl, wouldnt want to miss that. 

[Roy Baht]

5 minutes ago, herwin1234 said:

Immigration rules might be a bitch here but i aint leaving Thailand. Its too a special place with wonderful and nice ppl, wouldnt want to miss that. 

I feel the same way. So does my Thai wife.

[Ireland32]

I want to know , what are some of the Cons on living there???

[Fairynuff]

3 hours ago, Letseng said:

If you can't afford 10.000, you should not be in TH or in Vietnam.

Many people in all of our home countries don’t have the equivalent of $10k. By your logic they shouldn’t be living in their own country. So long as they’re not asking the Thai government for a handout (and good luck to anyone trying that) you shouldn’t be condemning them for not being financially secure.

[Ron jeremy]

12 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've been to Vietnam 4x in the past year, met plenty of tourists and expats while I was there.

His "significant" claim, doesn't appear unreasonable to me.

I've had 3 guys in the last few months PM me for info on Danang, they have gone checked it out and loved the place. And are now living there. If they are happy in their new home, why bash them?

[Inn Between]

3 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

 

Thanks for the video and the links provided in a previous post.

 

I see at the Vietnam Visa web site (https://www.vietnamvisa.com/?msclkid=994ba45919c711a41edafa78cc29fa1f) that there are options for for 3, 6 and 12 month business visas with the 6 and 12-month options available only to US citizens. The new law only effects tourist (DL) visas, so I wonder if I (as a Canadian) and other non-US citizens can realistically apply for a 3-month business visa as easily as a 3-month tourist visa.

 

Here's what I found: 

How to apply

There are two options for you to get a business visa to Vietnam, that may include:

• Visa on arrival (no sponsorship letter is required)  - Business visa approval letter can be obtained on VietnamVisa.com (a specialized business visa provider)
• E-visa (Not available for business visa)
• Visa at Vietnamese embassy abroad (you will need to present the sponsorship letter from your business partner in Vietnam)

 

Does anybody have experience with these visas? I don't see why not going to the embassy would remove the requirement for a sponsorship letter? What am I missing? 

 

Also, the chap in the video sounds like he's on the ball with first-hand info, and he mentioned that there was some speculation that the 30-day re-entry stamp may be actually accommodated within the country, even though there was no official word on that. His and other's logic was along the line that other countries do it, so why shouldn't they?   

 

Edited January 17, 2020 by Inn Between

[Roy Baht]

33 minutes ago, Fairynuff said:

Many people in all of our home countries don’t have the equivalent of $10k. By your logic they shouldn’t be living in their own country. So long as they’re not asking the Thai government for a handout (and good luck to anyone trying that) you shouldn’t be condemning them for not being financially secure

I don't see how the logic of requiring people to have the equivalent of $10k to live in a foreign country means that they shouldn't be living in their own countries. If your own country doesn't take care of you, that's the problem of your country. There are probably foreign countries where $10K (a year?) is enough. I just wouldn't want to live in any of them. As for Thailand, I think you do have to have (or earn) more than $10K a year to live here and some of the visa categories (marriage, retirement) require more than that. As for Vietnam, I think that you can work or marry on less than $10K a year but why would you want to? As for retirement, that no longer looks like an option in Vietnam.

Edited January 17, 2020 by Roy Baht

[Roy Baht]

11 minutes ago, Inn Between said:

I see at the Vietnam Visa web site (https://www.vietnamvisa.com/?msclkid=994ba45919c711a41edafa78cc29fa1f) that there are options for for 3, 6 and 12 month business visas with the 6 and 12-month options available only to US citizens. The new law only effects tourist (DL) visas, so I wonder if I (as a Canadian) and other non-US citizens can realistically apply for a 3-month business visa as easily as a 3-month tourist visa.

You can't apply for a Vietnam business visa as easily as you can apply for a tourist visa. There are agents who can get you a business visa illegally (just as there are agents in Thailand who can get you visas illegally). If you don't mind breaking the law and don't care if you are caught and deported and banned from ever returning, you can try that. Otherwise, if you want a legitimate business visa, you need to set up a legitimate business.

[Inn Between]

5 minutes ago, Roy Baht said:

You can't apply for a Vietnam business visa as easily as you can apply for a tourist visa. There are agents who can get you a business visa illegally (just as there are agents in Thailand who can get you visas illegally). If you don't mind breaking the law and don't care if you are caught and deported and banned from ever returning, you can try that. Otherwise, if you want a legitimate business visa, you need to set up a legitimate business.

I'm not too concerned about it all, really, but a tourist visa is obviously the easiest way to go initially. I taught for a long time in Thailand before being forced back home by a family situation and hope to get back into the classroom again, but I want to do it in Vietnam, or at least I think I do, so when the time comes, I'll be heading there on an exploration trip to see what my possibilities are. If nobody wants me in their classrooms, and the gov't doesn't want to make it easy for me to hang around, then I'll take the hint and look elsewhere. 

[Ron jeremy]

4 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

With these new visa rules (to come into effect 1 July), requiring people on tourist visas to leave country every 30 days, even Americans won't find it a good place for retirement.

Not true, I just phoned the Vietnam embassy, you can come for 90 days, and don't have to leave the country after 30 days. After July 1

you are mistaken.

[Roy Baht]

3 minutes ago, Inn Between said:

I'm not too concerned about it all, really, but a tourist visa is obviously the easiest way to go initially. I taught for a long time in Thailand before being forced back home by a family situation and hope to get back into the classroom again, but I want to do it in Vietnam, or at least I think I do, so when the time comes, I'll be heading there on an exploration trip to see what my possibilities are. If nobody wants me in their classrooms, and the gov't doesn't want to make it easy for me to hang around, then I'll take the hint and look elsewhere. 

If you get a work visa (teaching at a school), the 30 day rule does not apply. So if you're a teacher, that seems like the best path for you to pursue.

[Roy Baht]

2 minutes ago, Ron jeremy said:

Not true, I just phoned the Vietnam embassy, you can come for 90 days, and don't have to leave the country after 30 days. After July 1

you are mistaken.

That's great. Go for it.

[Ron jeremy]

2 minutes ago, Roy Baht said:

That's great. Go for it.

Thanks, leave next week, 4 th year in a row.

[murikamba]

4 hours ago, Inn Between said:

I'd like to see the source of your quotation because it doesn't make any sense that Vietnam would grant visas longer than 30 days but only allow 30 days of it. Wouldn't they either just stop issuing visa for stays longer than 30 days rather than continue to offer longer visas that are only honored for 30? 

US gives 10-year B-2 Visas but only allows 6-months to stay. India also the same. Parents of lots of my Indian friends in Silicon Valley have 10-year US B2 visa and Canadian visa. But they can only stay for 6-month maximum. And they use their Canadian visa to visit Vancouver. I have a 10-year India visa but allowed to stay in the country for 6-months maximum.

[secondtime]

8 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

Check this out:
 

 

 

That's a real bummer ????   I do like to travel every month or so, but I don't like being forced to do it.  And unless you line up your border runs to exactly 30 days, there's no way to get a full 3 months out of your visa.

 

[gk10002000]

I find the viet spoken language incredibly annoying and grating.  The meter and choppiness of it, just will never sound pleasant to me.  The descending tones of Thai ladies to me is very pleasant.  Thai food so much better and varied and tasty in my opine.   And the Viet government, well, not a populist democratically elected government.  Granted, Thailand government is, well, stick around and wait for the next coup.  All the countries will start looking at ways to grab money.  The cat is out of the bag. 

[simon43]

Cambodia and the Philippines are the easy places to retire for single men.

 

... and no-one seems to mention Laos.  I have a 12-month, multiple entry business visa and work permit for online teaching, and a local ID card, all for $600 a year with no documents required and no savings in the bank and no reporting to immigration. 

 

Here in Luang Prabang, I can hop on a short direct flight to Siem Reap, Hanoi or Bangkok for the weekend.

 

No hassles from the police (I rarely see them in town), no rip-offs from the friendly locals, easy language if you know some Thai.  Last year I would get 8,200 Kip for my $1, now it is 8,800 kip, which is great for my 8% interest savings account at the local Lao-French bank.

 

If I want to rent a woman for the night, there's plenty of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese girls available if you ask a taxi driver - no need to break the local law (no pre-marital sex with a Lao girl).

[mokwit]

9 hours ago, Ireland32 said:

I want to know , what are some of the Cons on living there???

There is a thread on here where people tell what it is really like - hint: not the new Thailand in the 90's/golden wonderland some on here are claiming.