"The Stranded": Highlighting the plight of expats unable to return to Thailand; #2 Retirees

[Peter Denis]

8 minutes ago, American robert said:

Hi and Yes...And just before it expired Oct 2 the consulate gave me a new one... apparently that is not too hard if you are not in the UK...I was in Italy. I got back because I was married, and I was on Emirates...the flight was important because of favorable airline policies and TH government approval for them to operate flights to here. The catch is that the new visa is a 90 day thing that I can renew 3 times- not my usual one year thing. Complicating this is that after 10 months away my wife has moved on and is forcing me into a divorce... no happy return to the LoS 

Some confusion going on here.

A Thai Embassy/Consulate abroad cannot issue/renew extensions of stay.  They can only provide you with a new Visa.

It seems from what you write that you got a 1-year MulitpleEntry Non Imm O marriage Visa, which will provide you with a 90-day permission to stay on entry (and it can provides multiple of those entries during the 1-year validity of the Visa).  At the end of those 90 days you need to exit Thailand (simply crossing the border and then return will do) OR apply for a 60-day or 1-year extension of stay  based on that Non Imm O Visa.

 

[Peterphuket]

16 minutes ago, American robert said:

Hi and Yes...And just before it expired Oct 2 the consulate gave me a new one... apparently that is not too hard if you are not in the UK...I was in Italy. I got back because I was married, and I was on Emirates...the flight was important because of favorable airline policies and TH government approval for them to operate flights to here. The catch is that the new visa is a 90 day thing that I can renew 3 times- not my usual one year thing. Complicating this is that after 10 months away my wife has moved on and is forcing me into a divorce... no happy return to the LoS 

Unbelievable, then you CAN go back.....and then she left you, terrible.

[Bangkok Basha]

4 hours ago, SomchaiCNX said:

It is time that our embassies en governments impose the same restriction on all Thai people. If they don't meet the same requirements, kick them out and send them back to Thailand.

Ask any ordinary Thai not from a hi-so background what their experience has been applying for a U.S. or U.K. visa before you talk about the "same restrictions" as on Thai people. Furthermore, no visitors to the U.S. not on a student visa can remain longer than six months a time. There are no "retirement" visas in the U.S.- even for wealthy EU or Canadian citizens who live part of the year in Florida. I feel we've been lucky that Thailand has allowed foreigners to retire here for as long as they have, but like other posters, I think those days are drawing to an end. 

[nickmondo]

14 minutes ago, TERMINATOR3AB said:

Sorry   but cut your losses and run

Thailand  is the last place on earth  you will want to be at  soon

Do all you can to get  your  family  out  sorry  but   Thailand is not Thailand now  is  soon to be Communist  China 

Good  Luck Thailand 

what a ridiculous thing to say

absolute rubbish

[expat1010]

It is really sad what is happening for those retirees whose lives have been so badly disrupted. I wish Thailand would be a little more compassionate towards retirees given their large numbers in Thailand and their often extensive family and financial ties. I let my non Immigrant O-A visa lapse a while back and now split my time 6 months home country and 6 months Thailand on a multiple entry Tourist visa. With Covid this approach has been a god send for me. Still keep a place in Thailand but my expenses to do so are minimal. GF would prefer I stay Thailand year round but I just won't take the risk. The last straw for me was the health insurance requirement; who wants to be 75 or 80 and denied insurance and forced to leave Thailand. 

 

This winter I may be forced to winter in Mexico or god forbid Florida if I can't get to Thailand due to visa or flight availability or insurance or whatever roadblock the Thai government decides to throw up. 

 

I will be back to Thailand this winter, if I can get my tourist visa and a reasonably priced flight. Any extra unreasonable restrictions and my money and time will be spent elsewhere.

[fangless]

32 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Me too. 

 

Foreign business owner with PR and I will apply for Thai citizenship in the future.

 

I have no intention of leaving and I made plans to amend my residency status to remain here permanently over 12 years ago after 18 years here.

As I have said earlier this topic is regarding retirees and has gone on to discuss their money and the rules and regulations pertaining to them and their "retiree" banking funds.

These requirements are totally different to what those with WP and Business/BOI accounts have. How your account works is totally different to what we are allowed to do.  Please stop interfering with misleading info on what you can do with YOUR account.  It is not relevant to us or this discussion.

[nickmondo]

4 hours ago, fangless said:

Yes.

i do not agree.

Should have no problem with online banking.

the only problem could be receiving an OTP to a thai phone if you do not have the phone with you and roaming activated.

[nickmondo]

3 hours ago, fangless said:

 

From August 11, 2019 Thai Baht Deposits are protected under the Deposit Protection Agency Act up to a maximum of 5 million baht per one depositor per financial institution until August 10, 2021.

More information available at Deposit Protection Agency website www.dpa.or.th

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Tips-and-Insights/Save-and-Invest/Practical-advice-on-deposit-protection#:~:text=Deposit Protection From August 11%2C 2019 Thai Baht,information available at Deposit Protection Agency website www.dpa.or.th

 

There is no difference between Thai and non Thai!

thank you for this accurate information.

so many people write total <deleted> here.

its nice to see accurate info.

 

[fangless]

5 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

thank you for this accurate information.

so many people write total <deleted> here.

its nice to see accurate info.

 

  I agree.  

I find it very disturbing that I felt I had to produce that to disprove inaccurate  information from someone who now claims to be a business owner in Thailand misleadingly commenting on retiree financial affairs.

[fangless]

4 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

No problem sending funds overseas from Thailand with the K-Bank app. 

 

In fact, it literally couldn't get any easier. 

Maybe for you as a business owner but NOT for many retirees!

[ross163103]

1 hour ago, fangless said:

They also have appear to have no sympathy for those who HAD to travel for family/personal reasons.

Agree totally, several of the posters with "perfect" lives, that somehow can predict every twist and turn of the Thai govt, make comments criticizing other people's lives when they don't know anything about the situation. I didn't see many posts from these individuals in Nov/Dec last year saying, "better to stay in Thailand, restrictions on entry are coming," Easy to say after the fact; hindsight is 20/20 vision.

[Donga]

1 hour ago, PEE TEE said:

I know 2 people who have returned to thailand 1 16 days ago and 1 yesterday they do not have big money but have family here .1 has finished quarantine 1 is in a hotel in BKK doing quarantine. both from the Uk and had no big problems getting back  how they did it  im not sure but i do know they did not have the STV .both came from london heathrow via Dubai to BKK    so it is possible. i cannot state names on here but i can assure its true  

Very Interesting.

Be good if you could ask them how they went about their application, as wouldn't expect silly business in UK Thai Embassy.

Wonder if some embassies are able to quietly process applications objectively on humanitarian grounds based on past visa info, perhaps with property and/or loved ones?

[fangless]

26 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

i do not agree.

Should have no problem with online banking.

the only problem could be receiving an OTP to a thai phone if you do not have the phone with you and roaming activated.

Some banks may allow online banking with a "retiree" account but most do not.

Please see my comments regarding the various restrictions that the various banks have on their various types of bank accounts and the various types of visas the holders may or may not have to open those various accounts.  There is no one solution fits all in Thailand regarding banking, even branch to branch of the same bank.

 

I am trying to keep people focussed on the discussion to just the actions/restrictions on the retirees retirement bank account(s) rather than what others can and cannot do with their other types of accounts and their freedoms.

[metisdead]

An off topic post about Thaksin has been removed. 

[DJ54]

4 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

only protected for less than a million Baht in a Thai bank account

Last notice was in August 2019 from 10 mil to 5 mil to 1 mil

baht effective August 2020. It wasn’t a sudden announcement...

 

[Pravda]

47 minutes ago, nickmondo said:

i do not agree.

Should have no problem with online banking.

the only problem could be receiving an OTP to a thai phone if you do not have the phone with you and roaming activated.

 

You don't even need that. I regularly receive text messages in Canada on my AIS Sim even if I have no credits left... As long as your number is valid. 

 

I even set up my Canadian bank account with 2 step banking by adding AIS number. I get the text message code free of charge while logging in Canada. Canadian Sim charges me 30 cents. 

[fangless]

4 minutes ago, DJ54 said:

Last notice was in August 2019 from 10 mil to 5 mil to 1 mil

baht effective August 2020. It wasn’t a sudden announcement...

 

 

4 hours ago, fangless said:

 

From August 11, 2019 Thai Baht Deposits are protected under the Deposit Protection Agency Act up to a maximum of 5 million baht per one depositor per financial institution until August 10, 2021.

More information available at Deposit Protection Agency website www.dpa.or.th

https://www.bangkokbank.com/en/Personal/Tips-and-Insights/Save-and-Invest/Practical-advice-on-deposit-protection#:~:text=Deposit Protection From August 11%2C 2019 Thai Baht,information available at Deposit Protection Agency website www.dpa.or.th

 

There is no difference between Thai and non Thai!

 

[JohnHans]

It's not only Retirees who are barred from returning "home".

How about the retirees and people with valid work permits virtually being held prisoner here as they can't dare to leave the country as they will be barred from returning home to Thailand or be charged very ridiculous quarantine and insurance costs if allowed back in.

Why do Thais continue to presume every farang is a millionaire cash cow?

[MRToMRT]

1 hour ago, alex8912 said:

Great post but very fake news.

In the UK the O-A is now being issued in less than a week (incl post) and CoEs in hours. I know quite a few people who are coming back now and next month. 

[Thaiophil]

56 minutes ago, Donga said:

Wonder if some embassies are able to quietly process applications objectively on humanitarian grounds based on past visa info, perhaps with property and/or loved ones?

No. Embassies have zero discretion either way. Rules set in Bkk, then Embassies apply them. If you meet the criteria you will get a CoE, if not not. Rumours about secret quotas, different approaches in different Embassies etc are just that - rumours.

[Thaiophil]

19 minutes ago, MRToMRT said:

In the UK the O-A is now being issued in less than a week (incl post) and CoEs in hours. I know quite a few people who are coming back now and next month. 

Hoping to do just that next Thurs

[EricTh]

It's really sad reading all these stories on the first post and I do sympathize with them. Why is the Thai government discriminating against them?

 

The Thai government kept on postponing the amnesty to short-term tourists, or allowing those people with no interest in studying to apply for 'education' visa just to stay in Thailand.
 

And yet the Thai govt denying those with valid retirement visa to return is being too harsh on them and being too lenient to the first group.

 

 

[praguecr]

10 hours ago, allane said:

If you are writing these stories to get my sympathy, it is not working.  I have a some sympathy for anyone who left in 2019, but it ends there. If you left this year, could you not have foreseen how this thing might have gone ? Even if you could not have seen the exact contours, you should have seen the possibilities.

I was invited in early March to accompany another foreigner who was planning a trip out of Thailand in early April. I "graciously declined". Actually, I did more than that; I successfully persuaded him not to leave. He is still thanking me, though he is in a category where he would have been able to return by now. However, he might have lost his job before he was able to get back.

I have lived in Thailand for 25 years, and never bought a condominium here. Now you know one of the reasons why.

Agree with this comment. I was working Philippines and decide to cut my trip short by 3 weeks as everyone there was talking about the Covid cases in Manila. In addition, all living in Thailand were of course well aware of covid spreading as it was February when it Thailand and the fast spread.

I am no defender of the Thai government but every government is doing its best in these unforeseen and unpredictable times and they have seen keep the country safe till now, albiet at the economic expense of SME's and it's people. While i do have empathy for people who do really stupid things in their life, dont blame your poor judgment on the Thai government. 

[Neeranam]

53 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Me too. 

 

Foreign business owner with PR and I will apply for Thai citizenship in the future.

 

I have no intention of leaving and I made plans to amend my residency status to remain here permanently over 12 years ago after 18 years here.

As all good immigrants should! 

Some long-term visitors don't realize how lucky they are being able to stay here permanently with easy requirements compared to other countries. 

[praguecr]

11 hours ago, rooster59 said:

I have held a legal Non-O Retirement Visa since 2016.

Not to be facetious, but is there such a thing as a not-legal Non-O Retirement Visa?

[Neeranam]

8 minutes ago, praguecr said:

Not to be facetious, but is there such a thing as a not-legal Non-O Retirement Visa?

I think he means not from an agency, which are probably illegal, yet seem to operate openly.

[fangless]

6 minutes ago, praguecr said:

Not to be facetious, but is there such a thing as a not-legal Non-O Retirement Visa?

Yes via "facilitating" agent "not-legal" visa where the rules are bent or broken by the agent as opposed to "assistance" agent legal visas where old fogies like me get the agent  to do the leg/paperwork for me while I sit in the bar.  

 

[SiSePuede419]

11 hours ago, rooster59 said:

There has got to be someone in the Thai Government that cares!", he concluded

Ironic, since he worked for a government department that has a long history of not caring to successfully audit their own budget. ????

[Pattaya Spotter]

It's curious all think they have "valid visa" when in fact they were canceled the moment they entered Thailand. If they don't understand the basic legalities of their presence in Thailand, I fear for them being able to negotiate a return. And why do people take the situation personally...they all chose to leave Thailand in the middle of a pandemic...and now are offended they can't return at their own whim.

[DJ54]

For all of you stick outside Thai I hope you can find a smoother way back if you choose. No need to crack anyones nut as to why it they got caught out...  I was fortunate was supposed to go to Singapore Airshow last minute the business I was visiting at show cancelled..  so I consider myself lucky...