Elite Visa - Now vs Before Covid

[CrossBones]

Hi

I am thinking to either get the 5 year or 20 year Elite visa (500k vs 1m baht)

 

Before Covid was it possible to stay the full length of the visa (5 or 20 years) without leaving the country? 

 

Or is it only since Covid that you could stay more than on year per entry?

 

To be honest i want to delay getting the vaccine as long as possible as i am worried about the safety of the first vaccines that come out.

 

I think i it goes without saying that we will need proof of vaccination to enter Thailand, in the same way you need yellow fever certificates to enter back into western countries after visiting parts of south america and other places.

 

So really i want a visa that lets me stay as long as possible I am assuming foreigners already in Thailand wont be pushed forward too quickly to get vaccinated.

[ubonjoe]

You can stay in the country for as long as you want to on a Elite Visa. If you do not leave and re-enter for a year you can apply for a one year extension at a immigration office near the end of your existing permit to stay.

[Travelanimal]

If you planning for 5 year elite visa do it quickly . Because starting Jan 1 they are going to hike the price of this category of elite visa . It's going to be 600k baht starting next year

[jak2002003]

14 minutes ago, Travelanimal said:

If you planning for 5 year elite visa do it quickly . Because starting Jan 1 they are going to hike the price of this category of elite visa . It's going to be 600k baht starting next year

Thanks interesting. Have you a link to that information please? 

[Salerno]

5 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

Thanks interesting. Have you a link to that information please? 

 

https://www.thai-elite.com/ about a third of the way down.

 

 

[ukrules]

The official website of Thailand Elite is https://www.thailandelite.com

[jak2002003]

11 hours ago, Salerno said:

 

https://www.thai-elite.com/ about a third of the way down.

 

 

Wow. That is a big price increase. 

 

Seema they really don't want to get more ,'guests' to this country. Really at this time they are supposed to be encouraging people to come. Crazy 

[Travelanimal]

Read that company is facing loss and demand for elite access is high hence the price hike . I think it will drop back down in couple of years

[jacko45k]

54 minutes ago, Travelanimal said:

Read that company is facing loss and demand for elite access is high hence the price hike . I think it will drop back down in couple of years

Naah..... 

[AlfHuy]

No takers, others would reduce the price.

Thailand is different. Things don't go well, they increase the price.????

[ukrules]

3 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

No takers, others would reduce the price.

Thailand is different. Things don't go well, they increase the price.????

There's been a massive surge in membership applications, things are going well for them since they closed the country

 

With this visa there is a way in....

[3STTW]

There has been a huge rise in demand this year, I got caught up in this back in July and the process took 4 months. I was told demand was from China but more particularly Hong Kong.

 

My advice is to evaluate all the different options and pick the visa which best suits your requirements. For example, the family 10 year is comparatively great value for money - if you have a partner.

 

However it is not a fast-track to entry; under the current COVID restrictions you still have to jump through the same hoops as everyone else.

 

Yes, it’s expensive but the peace of mind is priceless. Other than that, don’t use an agent - go through Thailand Elite directly.

[DrJack54]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

With this visa there is a way in....

In similar way to SETV.

Non O retirement.

Non O-A, O-X 

Along with other options.

I won't include STV as that's a rubbish option for one country.

 

 

 

 

[Salerno]

8 hours ago, AlfHuy said:

No takers, others would reduce the price.

 

BANGKOK -- Thailand plans to raise the price of its bestselling five-year residency permit by 20% in January, after the program dubbed "elite" visas drew record new memberships this year as people sought to stay in the largely coronavirus-free country.

 

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1194864-thailand-hikes-price-of-5-year-visa-as-foreigners-seek-covid-haven/

 

[Dexxter]

6 hours ago, ukrules said:

There's been a massive surge in membership applications, things are going well for them since they closed the country

 

With this visa there is a way in....

 

The surge is from Chinese tourists.

[shy coconut]

18 hours ago, jak2002003 said:

Wow. That is a big price increase. 

 

Seema they really don't want to get more ,'guests' to this country. Really at this time they are supposed to be encouraging people to come. Crazy 

I'm guessing that there has been a significant increase in applications as this is one of 

only a few ways of gaining entry to the kingdom at the moment.

 

The greater the demand the more sense it would be to put the price up.

 

 

 

[Thaindrew]

Just discovered an issue with the thai elite visa, so you can enter with this visa, after jumping through a few hoops, but you need 12 months medical cover. So if you come 1st Jan for 3 months, you have to pay for 12 months cover, expensive. Worse still, say you leave and come back a few months later, then you cannot use the previous insurance policy as it doesn’t have 12 months left on it !!

[ubonjoe]

17 minutes ago, Thaindrew said:

Just discovered an issue with the thai elite visa, so you can enter with this visa, after jumping through a few hoops, but you need 12 months medical cover. So if you come 1st Jan for 3 months, you have to pay for 12 months cover, expensive. Worse still, say you leave and come back a few months later, then you cannot use the previous insurance policy as it doesn’t have 12 months left on it !!

You only have to get the $100,000 covid 19 insurance. Not that expensive dependent upon what country you are from. See: https://covid19.tgia.org/

It may be possible to only need it for a shorter period of stay if you can show a confirmed ticket out of the country.

[xeniv23]

I applied for and was approved for an Elite Visa.  They give 90 days to pay and I sat on the approval letter while I applied for an O-A based on retirement.  Certificate of Entry received yesterday.  Won't be going the Elite route.  It's always an option even after the price increase.  I'll just see how it goes.  

[aldriglikvid]

What's the average processing time from "deciding" to get it approved and done?