visa

[Meat Pie 47]

So I don't know if I am in the right forum, mods move it if you like. I lived in LOS

for many years, and I moved back to my home country years ago so I can't

advice my friend who ask me questions about moving to Thailand. He is asking 

me about cost of deposit of money and monthly cost if you are on a

retirement visa.Can he get get health insurance and yes what cost?

He is 72 and what does he have to pay just to get a visa to stay.

So just a simple question how much does it cost to stay in Thailand (for a farang)

per months or year ? Need to have 800.000 baht in the bank and need a

65.000 income to prove every months??

 

[BritTim]

Financial proof is money in the bank or proof of income or  a combination. Easiest is to keep 800,000 baht in a bank account in Thailand. In theory, you can use some of this money for part of the year, but just leaving it intact is simplest and avoids potential errors with serious consequences. Alternatively, depending on nationality, it may be possible to get an embassy letter confirming income averaging over 65,000 baht per month. This is also a good option for the necessary financial proof. Using income without an embassy letter is messy, and I would not recommend it.

 

At the moment, your friend will be unable to enter Thailand, and (in my opinion) this will likely be the case until some time next year. When he can enter, just entering as a tourist initially may be simplest. He then needs to open a Thai bank account (much more difficult than in the past, but doable with persistence) and transfer the 800,000 baht into the account (ensuring it shows up as an overseas transfer). He can then apply for a Non Immigrant visa, immediately used (without leaving Thailand) which gives him an initial 90-day stay. Thereafter, he just applies for on-year extensions which is currently usually straightforward. Health insurance is not currently required.

 

The above is subject to change without notice.

 

A different approach, possibly appropriate for those who do not mind hits to their net worth, is to use the Thailand Elite program. This makes staying in Thailand very easy, with protection against immigration changes suddenly creating problems in the future. However, it comes at a cost.

 

If your friend currently has good health insurance that can be used while he is in Thailand, he should keep it. Getting a new health insurance policy in Thailand up to about age 75 is theoretically possible, but extremely poor value for money. 

[Meat Pie 47]

I do like your info