Friend with Full (800k) Retirement Ext Stuck in EU

[pauleddy]

This is a true account and may have happened to a few hundred people.

 

A good friend who is retired here (and has done everything correctly, incl. 800,000b waiting in the bank) went to Italy for family reasons in April (ostensibly for two weeks).

 

A few days post-arrival, Italy and Thailand (i'm not sure of the dates) went into lockdown. He could not fly back, nor leave. This has continued until now., except that he is not sure whether he can come back AND whether he can quarantine in his private condo. Of course, he missed his Ret. renewal on June 30th, which to me means hoops to jump thru!

 

As I see it:

 

1. He cannot quarantine in his property, not allowed. He can pay for a Q-hotel $$$$ or he can be placed where the Immigration Dept place him. Although he does not need great luxury, he needs wi-fi and is too old for a Youth-Hostel setup. Is he allowed to choose a 3 star hotel and must he pay for whatever place he ends up?

 

2. How does he renew his retirement ext 3 or 4 months late? Does he need to come in on a Tourism Visa and then beg at CW? For the same family reasons, he would now prefer to come back in November (which may "look bad" at CW). Neither of us is sure whether he is allowed back in right now (is there some kind of quota thing?)

 

All messy! Any comments would help.

 

Eddy

[jackdd]

Thailand went into lock down in March, so if he flew in April he should already have known that he won't be able to come back in the foreseeable future.

If he doesn't have a Thai wife or children he can currently not enter Thailand.

Once they allow retirees back in (nobody knows when) we will have to see what the requirements are, but most likely quarantine in a hotel. He can choose how much luxury he needs, because he has to pay for it.

He will probably have to get a new visa in France.

[DrJack54]

Not married? 

Retirement means nothing. Also own condo means nothing. 

He will enter when tourists can. Most likely we'll into 2021

[mlkik]

If his extension of stay has expired he must apply for a new visa in his country or wait for a long long while to return as a tourist and convert to a non o in Thailand.

 

I visited my mother in the UK in early March and have been unable to return. My retirement extension expires in January and hope to return in time to extend.

 

I have a million Thai baht in Bangkok bank and can not access it as did not register for online banking !

[pontious]

8 minutes ago, mlkik said:

I have a million Thai baht in Bangkok bank and can not access it as did not register for online banking !

You can register online - no need to go to the bank.

[orchis]

14 minutes ago, jackdd said:

He will probably have to get a new visa in France.

Why in France?

[Max69xl]

10 minutes ago, mlkik said:

If his extension of stay has expired he must apply for a new visa in his country or wait for a long long while to return as a tourist and convert to a non o in Thailand.

 

I visited my mother in the UK in early March and have been unable to return. My retirement extension expires in January and hope to return in time to extend.

 

I have a million Thai baht in Bangkok bank and can not access it as did not register for online banking !

You can register online for internet banking at Bangkok Bank. See the screenshot.

https://ibanking.bangkokbank.com/Register/SignUp.aspx

[EricTh]

@pauleddy

 

1. He has to be quarantined in Phuket/or another quarantined island and not at the town he stayed in the past. The government hasn't opened to retirees to come back in yet so he has to wait, even then it is in certain islands.

 

2. He has to apply for the non-O visa all over again because that visa has expired.

[pauleddy]

4 minutes ago, EricTh said:

@pauleddy

 

1. He has to be quarantined in Phuket/or another quarantined island and not at the town he stayed in the past. The government hasn't opened to retirees to come back in yet so he has to wait, even then it is in certain islands.

 

2. He has to apply for the non-O visa all over again because that visa has expired.

Can he get a 60-90 day O/A in Italy and then convert back to his Retirement ONLY when he is allowed to return? He can't come in on a 30 day Tourist and then explain his bad luck at Immigration? Regarding Phuket, I know a UK lady from BKK who had to stay (and pay) in a Chatuchak hotel when she flew back from her mother's funeral. Who makes the choice? Are you given a list?

[ChouDoufu]

52 minutes ago, pauleddy said:

retired here (and has done everything correctly, incl. 800,000b waiting in the bank

 

52 minutes ago, pauleddy said:

How does he renew his retirement ext 3 or 4 months late? Does he need to come in on a Tourism Visa and then beg at CW?

 

nothing to worry about, assuming the borders eventually reopen to tourists.   without ministry intervention, expired extensions are expired, so he must start from scratch.  but he already has the money in the bank.  getting a bank account is the hard part.

 

no begging required.  really easy.  arrive on a 30-day waiver.  go to immigration the next day to convert from waiver to non-o visa.  that gives him a 90-day extension, then he goes back in 90-days for the annual extension.

 

piece of panforte!

 

ADD:  better to do the conversion in-country.  if he goes the o-a route in italy, he's gonna need the thai insurance coverage.

 

 

Edited August 29, 2020 by ChouDoufu

[lopburi3]

1.  Currently there is no provision for anyone on retirement to return to Thailand.  This will likely change shortly however.  But he no longer qualifies.

2.  He will need a retirement visa to use retirement option for entry - currently that would be the one year non immigrant O-A which is only available in country one lives and requires special medical insurance.  Once retirement travelers allowed he could use that with Embassy paperwork/meeting requirements.

3.  There is talk of a new retirement visa allowing 90 day stay that can be extended 2 times to accommodate snowbirds.  Not yet available and no other details.

4.  Return with tourists may be a long wait but would allow change to retirement without the special O-A insurance issue.

[jackdd]

42 minutes ago, orchis said:

Why in France?

I've heard it's nice there. Somehow i had France in mind instead of Italy, obviously i wanted to write Italy ????

[pauleddy]

Speaking for myself here, I am on Ret Ext here for many years (just did it CW 4 weeks ago) but I need to go to the UK for sick parent, to Spain to look at property, to Malaysia for business and to Malta to see friends.

 

With all of these options I am looking at quarantine in each country (if it's open) plus 14 days when I come back. Correct?

 

I know that they recently said "no tourists for a long time", but once air travel starts (Qatar say they are already flying), can I do all these things? If I can do all of these things I am happy to pay for a Q-Hotel in BKK for 14 days. Or is it much wiser to wait and wait? As a long-time resident retiree, am I allowed out and back again? Or am I barred from returning until all borders are down?

 

Eddy

[onebir]

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Retirement means nothing. Also own condo means nothing. 

Both imply moving significant funds to Thailand... but yes apparently that does 'mean nothing'...

[Pottinger]

29 minutes ago, pauleddy said:

Speaking for myself here, I am on Ret Ext here for many years (just did it CW 4 weeks ago) but I need to go to the UK for sick parent, to Spain to look at property, to Malaysia for business and to Malta to see friends.

 

With all of these options I am looking at quarantine in each country (if it's open) plus 14 days when I come back. Correct?

 

I know that they recently said "no tourists for a long time", but once air travel starts (Qatar say they are already flying), can I do all these things? If I can do all of these things I am happy to pay for a Q-Hotel in BKK for 14 days. Or is it much wiser to wait and wait? As a long-time resident retiree, am I allowed out and back again? Or am I barred from returning until all borders are down?

 

Eddy

If you are in Thailand now on a retirement extension, once you leave there is currently no route by which you can return easily, unless you fall into one or more of the categories allowed to enter - for example, being married to a Thai national. Put simply, retirees without other ties are not on the current list of those allowed to enter Thailand. This may change at some point in coming months, so you need to pay attention to government announcements. In any case, for the foreseeable future, even when retirees are allowed to enter, the cost will be prohibitive in terms of air fare, quarantine, Covid tests, insurance and other costs - I've seen figures on the Facebook 'Farangs Stranded Abroad Due to lockdown in Thailand' page of people paying anything from $3000 to double and even triple that per person.

[BritTim]

2 hours ago, pontious said:

You can register online - no need to go to the bank.

If that is true, it is a new policy. When I wanted to add online banking to my Bangkok Bank account a couple of years ago, this was only possible with an in person visit to my branch.

 

It might be worth contacting the London branch of Bangkok Bank to see if there is any way of arranging a transfer from your account in Thailand with their assistance. I would not hold out much hope though. They mostly only provide some business services.

[pontious]

6 hours ago, BritTim said:

If that is true, it is a new policy. When I wanted to add online banking to my Bangkok Bank account a couple of years ago, this was only possible with an in person visit to my branch.

 

It might be worth contacting the London branch of Bangkok Bank to see if there is any way of arranging a transfer from your account in Thailand with their assistance. I would not hold out much hope though. They mostly only provide some business services.

See post 7.

[KeeTua]

10 hours ago, Max69xl said:

You can register online for internet banking at Bangkok Bank.

Even if it is possible to sign up online now I don't think there is much you could do with the account except view your balance. Most features like sending money to another account require an OTP sent to the Thai phone number on file at the bank.

[Pattaya Spotter]

11 hours ago, mlkik said:

If his extension of stay has expired he must apply for a new visa in his country or wait for a long long while to return as a tourist and convert to a non o in Thailand.

 

I visited my mother in the UK in early March and have been unable to return. My retirement extension expires in January and hope to return in time to extend.

 

I have a million Thai baht in Bangkok bank and can not access it as did not register for online banking !

Did you get an ATM card...if you selected an "international" one you could access these funds from many foreign ATM machines.

[Pattaya Spotter]

11 hours ago, Max69xl said:

You can register online for internet banking at Bangkok Bank. See the screenshot.

https://ibanking.bangkokbank.com/Register/SignUp.aspx

You would probably have to get a confirmation code on the Thai phone number used when opening the account...pretty hard to get unless using one's Thai SIM with roaming in UK.

[wmlc]

14 hours ago, pauleddy said:

Can he get a 60-90 day O/A in Italy and then convert back to his Retirement ONLY when he is allowed to return? He can't come in on a 30 day Tourist and then explain his bad luck at Immigration? Regarding Phuket, I know a UK lady from BKK who had to stay (and pay) in a Chatuchak hotel when she flew back from her mother's funeral. Who makes the choice? Are you given a list?

With all due respect, the story you tell is not accurate. Thailand went into lockdown at the end of March. Therefore your friend knew when he was leaving he would not come back. Secondly, you are throwing out stories about you know a UK lady who came back. So is she a Thai National with a second passport from the UK? If not, then she falls under one of the eleven categories of people who qualify to return at the moment. If your friend does not fall under one of those categories, there is no use discussing place for him to ASQ Alternate State Quarantine. So the answer to your question of whether there is a list is “yes”.

 

Here is that list attached. 

Edited August 30, 2020 by wmlc

[wmlc]

13 hours ago, pauleddy said:

Speaking for myself here, I am on Ret Ext here for many years (just did it CW 4 weeks ago) but I need to go to the UK for sick parent, to Spain to look at property, to Malaysia for business and to Malta to see friends.

 

With all of these options I am looking at quarantine in each country (if it's open) plus 14 days when I come back. Correct?

 

I know that they recently said "no tourists for a long time", but once air travel starts (Qatar say they are already flying), can I do all these things? If I can do all of these things I am happy to pay for a Q-Hotel in BKK for 14 days. Or is it much wiser to wait and wait? As a long-time resident retiree, am I allowed out and back again? Or am I barred from returning until all borders are down?

 

Eddy

Boy you are all over the map here. Before it was for your friend and now the question is actually for you. The answer is no. If you leave, you won’t be allowed back anytime soon. What would make you different than your friend in the same situation. These are the people that can come back now. Please see attached. You are asking us questions that just like yourself, we don’t know because we have no idea of what the future holds and we are not working in the Thai government. If I was a fortune teller, maybe I might have a shot lol

[wmlc]

3 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

You would probably have to get a confirmation code on the Thai phone number used when opening the account...pretty hard to get unless using one's Thai SIM with roaming in UK.

They allow codes to be sent to email as well as phones 

[sometimewoodworker]

15 hours ago, pontious said:

15 hours ago, mlkik said:

I have a million Thai baht in Bangkok bank and can not access it as did not register for online banking !

You can register online - no need to go to the bank.

That depends on the bank. Some might allow you to have online banking by registering online. Some may allow registering but with very limited function until you visit a branch, others will not let you have online access without visiting you bank.
 

Just because there is a screen with the register option doesn’t mean anything specifically because you don’t have a Thai ID (pink numbers don’t count). I can show you a registration page for a credit card, doesn’t mean I can get one does it?

[Letseng]

16 hours ago, mlkik said:

If his extension of stay has expired he must apply for a new visa in his country or wait for a long long while to return as a tourist and convert to a non o in Thailand.

 

I visited my mother in the UK in early March and have been unable to return. My retirement extension expires in January and hope to return in time to extend.

 

I have a million Thai baht in Bangkok bank and can not access it as did not register for online banking !

You can use your credit card. I do. Just pay for purchases in UK.

[keithkarmann]

16 hours ago, mlkik said:

If his extension of stay has expired he must apply for a new visa in his country or wait for a long long while to return as a tourist and convert to a non o in Thailand.

 

I visited my mother in the UK in early March and have been unable to return. My retirement extension expires in January and hope to return in time to extend.

 

I have a million Thai baht in Bangkok bank and can not access it as did not register for online banking !

I am sure you can use your Bangkok Bank atm card in the UK as I used mine in Greece a few years ago. That is assuming your 1 million is not in a special savings.

 

[lopburi3]

21 minutes ago, keithkarmann said:

I am sure you can use your Bangkok Bank atm card in the UK as I used mine in Greece a few years ago. That is assuming your 1 million is not in a special savings.

 

Maybe not as BBL changed to UnionPay and you can't even use it in Thailand most places.  And there are two versions - one for Thailand only and another for use in China.  So may work or may not.  Add that in many cases there were no cards provided if used for direct transfer of government pension payments and you had to physically visit bank to have any access.

[PGSan]

16 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Maybe not as BBL changed to UnionPay and you can't even use it in Thailand . . . 

Off-topic, but: They later started issuing Visa ATM cards also, But the latest one I got is a MasterCard!

[PGSan]

Duplicate, please remove!

Edited August 30, 2020 by PGSan
Duplicate removed

[nickmondo]

17 hours ago, jackdd said:

Thailand went into lock down in March, so if he flew in April he should already have known that he won't be able to come back in the foreseeable future.

If he doesn't have a Thai wife or children he can currently not enter Thailand.

Once they allow retirees back in (nobody knows when) we will have to see what the requirements are, but most likely quarantine in a hotel. He can choose how much luxury he needs, because he has to pay for it.

He will probably have to get a new visa in France.

absolutely correct.

i arrived here on 20th March, which was the last possible date of arrival

he only has himself to blame for his predicament