Retirement visa holders largest group of foreigners to enter Thailand in October

[khunjeff]

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

By comparison, just 331 tourists entered Thailand using the Special Tourist Visa (STV), although a further 1,000 people have applied for the STV, Ms Thapanee said. 

 

Other foreigners to enter Thailand in October included Elite Card holders (296), those with Non Imm B (113) and Tourist Visa holders (84).

I don't get it. If over 400 people on various types of tourist visas really did enter last month, why haven't the tourism authorities been crowing about it? All we keep hearing about is the 30+ "tourists" from Shanghai.

[Scouse123]

4 minutes ago, khunjeff said:

I don't get it. If over 400 people on various types of tourist visas really did enter last month, why haven't the tourism authorities been crowing about it? All we keep hearing about is the 30+ "tourists" from Shanghai.

 

 

Answered your own question, they were not Chinese!

[Venom]

It seems retirement visa holders are their bread and butter when the <deleted> hits the fan. 

[brucec64]

17 minutes ago, Scouse123 said:

I have some important business to take care of in Cambodia.

 

I gained retirement extensions years ago via Non-O method and I have multi entry permit through to July 2021.

 

Now, I have to do a Covid19 test within 72 hours of flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penn.

 

Whether I go via Seoul or Singapore it is a 23-24 layover for next flight. Cambodia is no longer allowing a solo businessperson to self isolate after the first day if all on the plane are clear which means 14 day isolation in a Phnom Penn hotel at your own expense. Also, there is the further Covid19 checks at the airport and the $3000 deposit.

 

Then a taxi from Phnom Penn to Siem Reap and then after completing my business, we start all over again coming back to Thailand with Covid tests, fit to fly docs, COE, ASQ hotels, 14 day quarantine, I would not stay anywhere but a good class hotel if I am to be locked for 14 days in either country, so you are at 60,000 baht x2 at least for hotels.

 

A one way flight via Seoul is 22,000 baht, and about 14,000 via Singapore.

 

I estimated this trip would cost around at least 7,000 GBP and more, taking all things into account such as tests, flights, good hotels, taxis.

 

I think my business will have to wait.

 

It is just ridiculous. It normally would be around 400 GBP all in.

 

 

 

 

 

What is ridiculous? Its the reality of the world we live in right now. Europe decided to throw open its borders to save the summer holiday period and now is in almost complete lockdown. Should Thailand go into another lockdown in order to facilitate your business trip?

[smew]

Trying to contact Tai embassy in Canada to obtain COE to no avail.

Not even an answer.   

[xylophone]

28 minutes ago, jimn said:

Yes they have allowed it since last week. Previously people on current retirement extensions with a re entry were only allowed back if they were married or a parent to a Thai

All this talk of O and OA visas and re-entry stuff has me completely confused, so I have looked at my passport to see exactly what I've got (probably a sign of old age).

 

According to the stamps in my passport I have a "NON-IMM" and sometimes written as a "NON-O" and I do have a retirement extension which I renew every year along with a re-entry permit. 

 

So what exactly have I got and what does that entail if I went overseas and wanted to come back?

 

Thanks in advance.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

By comparison, just 331 tourists entered Thailand using the Special Tourist Visa (STV),

Stunning success.

[malibukid]

2 hours ago, Guderian said:

These people must be really desperate to come back with all the hurdles and expense, is life in their own countries truly that awful? My two best mates are stuck in the UK and Canada but they've both said they won't be returning until the quarantine period is done away with. They've both got their own property out here with loads of money in the bank, but the idea of paying through the nose to be locked in a grotty hotel room for a fortnight just so they can drink some overpriced Thai beer doesn't appeal to them.

the States suck now

[sandrew33]

2 hours ago, Guderian said:

These people must be really desperate to come back with all the hurdles and expense, is life in their own countries truly that awful? My two best mates are stuck in the UK and Canada but they've both said they won't be returning until the quarantine period is done away with. They've both got their own property out here with loads of money in the bank, but the idea of paying through the nose to be locked in a grotty hotel room for a fortnight just so they can drink some overpriced Thai beer doesn't appeal to them.

Well if they are retirement visas they may well live in Thailand and have returned to their former homeland for a short stay and been stuck and probably quite happy to get back home now. 
 

Plus you can choose your hotel on return now if you choose to pay for it and some of them are decent. 
 

But it wouldn’t be TV without someone being a negative Nancy would it ????????‍♂️

[judokrab]

1 hour ago, mjakob007 said:

Even if one decides to stomach the price of quarantine, few concerns would be:

 

- probability of being infected during the journey.

 

- what one may have to go through should you be tested positive in quarantine. 
 

- uncertainty of events should the family be split up due to positive test for not all in the family.

 

some of the quarantine venues are spacious and pleasant, but being locked up for 14-15 days is a deterrent.

Actually, air travel is very safe, due to the airplane's air filtration system, and other measures. The biggest risk is the time spent at the airport.
 

[Pedrogaz]

3 hours ago, Whale said:

LOTs of O-As coming back in November, Facebook full of their stories of the application process and flights.

I wonder what Covid insurance costs them....and whether they get in without the 400/40K mandated medical insurance for non OA holders. My retirement visa is a simple Non O with a once yearly extension. I have never been asked about insurance. I was under the impression that nonO was much more common that non-OA.

[Billy Bloggs]

2 hours ago, Guderian said:

These people must be really desperate to come back with all the hurdles and expense, is life in their own countries truly that awful? My two best mates are stuck in the UK and Canada but they've both said they won't be returning until the quarantine period is done away with. They've both got their own property out here with loads of money in the bank, but the idea of paying through the nose to be locked in a grotty hotel room for a fortnight just so they can drink some overpriced Thai beer doesn't appeal to them.

 

Hope ya UK mate is having a super time in Lock Down, which I believe is a month now, so gee 2 weeks quarantine doesnt look that bad to me. I guess the fact that they rent companionship might have give a different slant on their thoughts.

[judokrab]

13 minutes ago, smew said:

Trying to contact Tai embassy in Canada to obtain COE to no avail.

Not even an answer.   

Try contacting them via Facebook. Thais love Facebook!
 

[Billy Bloggs]

4 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

I wonder what Covid insurance costs them....and whether they get in without the 400/40K mandated medical insurance for non OA holders. My retirement visa is a simple Non O with a once yearly extension. I have never been asked about insurance. I was under the impression that nonO was much more common that non-OA.

My 40/400 insurance will run to 7700 baht with a 200k deductible(doubt I will ever use it unless a major thing happens), Im 68 also means my money isnt tied up in the bank all year, well at least 400k all year and the other 400 for 5 months of the year.

[judokrab]

15 minutes ago, xylophone said:

All this talk of O and OA visas and re-entry stuff has me completely confused, so I have looked at my passport to see exactly what I've got (probably a sign of old age).

 

According to the stamps in my passport I have a "NON-IMM" and sometimes written as a "NON-O" and I do have a retirement extension which I renew every year along with a re-entry permit. 

 

So what exactly have I got and what does that entail if I went overseas and wanted to come back?

 

Thanks in advance.

You have a Non-Immigrant O visa obtained in Thailand (not the quite similar Non-Immigrant OA visa obtained in your home country).  Since the mandatory health insurance requirement was added, that is now the best one to have.

[Salerno]

26 minutes ago, smew said:

Trying to contact Tai embassy in Canada to obtain COE to no avail.

Not even an answer.   

 

Do it online: https://coethailand.mfa.go.th/

[wayne07836]

I can see a window of opportunity here that might allow me to get back to Thailand but could do with some advice if anyone can help me please;

 

I have a Non O Visa with extension of stay valid until 8-Feb-21, I also have a Multi Entry permit valid to the same date. I am currently working in Afghanistan but my plan would be to go back home to the UK and renew my passport as I only have 5 blank pages left and not sure if they would renew my extension with so few pages left (maybe someone could advise).

After applying for the COE on the website I will need to arrange the medical insurance cover, can anyone suggest an insurance company that has been successfully accepted by Thai Immigration and some idea of cost and would I only need cover for the duration of my extension i.e. end of February 2021, presumably it would not be a requirement to renew my existing extension based on retirement with a Non O?

Also, is the COE process completed and issued completely online or does it require a visit to the Thai Embassy in the UK, if it does not require a visit back to the UK and the 5 blank pages I have left in my passport would be acceptable for a renewal of my current extension of stay, then presumably I would not have to go back to the UK at all and I could could simply fly from Afghanistan to Dubai and onto Thailand? 

 

Any constructive advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance. 

 

Sorry if I am asking these questions in the wrong forum but I am obviously getting excited at the possibility of seeing an opening.

[Salerno]

26 minutes ago, xylophone said:

So what exactly have I got and what does that entail if I went overseas and wanted to come back?

 

Extension of stay based on Non-O which means you can get back in if you leave (with reentry permit of course and your extension valid).

[denmark1982]

5 hours ago, KannikaP said:

I wonder what the photo is supposed to depict.

that photo is from India.. not thailand

[gamini]

2 hours ago, IamNoone88 said:

A dismal failure if you wish to revive tourism. A huge success if you do not.

So you would prefer for Thailand to be like the USA with tens of thousands of people dying

[DefaultName]

Why would expats do this?

Nicer place to live.

Cheaper.

Warm.

A d**n sight safer than most western countries in the pandemic.

Friends and/or family here already.

Many have pretty much burnt their bridges at home, their lives are here.

........................?

[Salerno]

7 minutes ago, wayne07836 said:

I only have 5 blank pages left and not sure if they would renew my extension with so few pages left (maybe someone could advise).

 

Not an issue as far as I'm aware.

 

8 minutes ago, wayne07836 said:

After applying for the COE on the website I will need to arrange the medical insurance cover, can anyone suggest an insurance company that has been successfully accepted by Thai Immigration and some idea of cost and would I only need cover for the duration of my extension i.e. end of February 2021, presumably it would not be a requirement to renew my existing extension based on retirement with a Non O?

 

Have a read of this post https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1187777-covid-19-insurance-for-certificate-of-entry/?do=findComment&comment=15922391. Currently no insurance required for your renewal.

 

15 minutes ago, wayne07836 said:

Also, is the COE process completed and issued completely online or does it require a visit to the Thai Embassy in the UK, if it does not require a visit back to the UK and the 5 blank pages I have left in my passport would be acceptable for a renewal of my current extension of stay, then presumably I would not have to go back to the UK at all and I could could simply fly from Afghanistan to Dubai and onto Thailand? 

 

 

Online, have a read through the COE process here. No need to go back to UK with one caveat - not sure what the deal would be coming from Afghanistan to be honest.

[verticalift]

I arrived in BKK on 23 October on my O-X Visa. No problems.

Edited November 15, 2020 by verticalift

[Thomas Hannah]

3 hours ago, MasterBaker said:

this makes it 84 tourists a month, i can hear all bar girls are cheering 

The few people that have come into thailand are not sex tourists.

[Dumbastheycome]

47 minutes ago, xylophone said:

All this talk of O and OA visas and re-entry stuff has me completely confused, so I have looked at my passport to see exactly what I've got (probably a sign of old age).

 

According to the stamps in my passport I have a "NON-IMM" and sometimes written as a "NON-O" and I do have a retirement extension which I renew every year along with a re-entry permit. 

 

So what exactly have I got and what does that entail if I went overseas and wanted to come back?

 

Thanks in advance.

I would say that equates to a Non Imm O  extension based on retirement for which  the Thai insurance is  not required for renewal . Non Imm OA needs the insurance.

But if you were to exit the re entry would require the  US$ 100, 000 covid Insurance coverage anyway.

[JohnHans]

8 hours ago, Guderian said:

These people must be really desperate to come back with all the hurdles and expense, is life in their own countries truly that awful? My two best mates are stuck in the UK and Canada but they've both said they won't be returning until the quarantine period is done away with. They've both got their own property out here with loads of money in the bank, but the idea of paying through the nose to be locked in a grotty hotel room for a fortnight just so they can drink some overpriced Thai beer doesn't appeal to them.

Exactly, I want to go on an exploratory (might move there) holiday to Vietnam but I won't leave Thailand whilst the quarantine conditions are in place, I have a perfectly good enough home here where I could lockdown, why would I go and stay at an overpriced uncomfortable hotel where i would probably catch covid-19?!!!

[Bvor]

28 minutes ago, wayne07836 said:

obviously getting excited at the possibility of seeing an opening.

more than a possibility in soi 6 - sorry couldn't resist

[paddyfield7]

3 hours ago, hangusthemonkey said:

Shame they won’t allow those with O retirement visas back in !!! OA only which means if you are outside Thailand with your multi entry O retirement visa you have to apply for a new one ???????????????? Yet again demonstrating exactly what this government thinks of you .

squeeze till the pips pop . What’s wrong with O retirement visa ? And why isn’t it being mentioned by Thai Visa or Richard Barrow

 

1605096343_instructions-coe-o-retirement---11nov2020.pdf

[wayne07836]

22 minutes ago, Salerno said:

 

Not an issue as far as I'm aware.

 

 

Have a read of this post https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1187777-covid-19-insurance-for-certificate-of-entry/?do=findComment&comment=15922391. Currently no insurance required for your renewal.

 

 

 

Online, have a read through the COE process here. No need to go back to UK with one caveat - not sure what the deal would be coming from Afghanistan to be honest.

Salerno,

Some very good constructive advice, thank you very much, I will continue my research ????

[bbbbooboo]

3 hours ago, Guderian said:

These people must be really desperate to come back with all the hurdles and expense, is life in their own countries truly that awful? My two best mates are stuck in the UK and Canada but they've both said they won't be returning until the quarantine period is done away with. They've both got their own property out here with loads of money in the bank, but the idea of paying through the nose to be locked in a grotty hotel room for a fortnight just so they can drink some overpriced Thai beer doesn't appeal to them.

+1