I am Done With Thai Retirement Extensions - Relocating to Ecuador or Mexico on Permanent Residency

[Jingthing]

8 minutes ago, cmarshall said:

I don't believe this is true.  If the Thai government wanted to boot out us Westerner immigrants (more appropriate term than "expats" especially for those complaining about the lack of residency status), they would just do so.  Unlike when the military government fresh from the 2014 coup summarily tossed out several hundred thousand workers from Myanmar and Cambodia and then had to back down when the Thai business owners complained that they had lost their workforce, if they tossed us out no one would scream but some wives who would have a lot less influence with the military than the business owners.  

 

Thailand doesn't need us.  Our contribution to the Thai economy is infinitesimal.  But they do tolerate us, if only grudgingly, because some Thai people do get some economic benefit from us.  It's been like that for decades and is likely to continue.  If not, we'll move on just as we always knew we might have to.  No one lied to us that future Thai governments would feel honor bound to accommodate our needs here as we age uninvited in their country.

 

This is just more white people's sense of entitlement.  

 

I didn't say all.

[NanaSomchai]

If Thai visas really such a major issue to you;

 

If you're not married and are under 50 there's also another option:

 

Cambodia.

 

One can ask for the Cambodian citizenship only after 3 years of marriage/romance with a Cambodian citizen and living together.

 

Once you get naturalized you get a Cambodian passport which allows you roaming to the entire ASEAN region with an easy unlimited access to Thailand.

 

Laos is another option but it's 5 years of marriage, which is why I would recommend a Cambodian bride instead.

[Mike Teavee]

45 minutes ago, Catoni said:

“NB”…does that mean Note Bene?    “TBH”…… does that mean To be honest? 
 Acronyms …………

Actually it's Nota Bene & think more people would recognise what it means than would know what it's an acronym of but I take your point on the TBH one, was a bit of lazy typing ???? 

 

[Gandtee]

15 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

List the changes.

Skip the change to money in bank requirement. Not huge hurdle.

And the others are? 

I did annual extension this week.

Keep 800k in Thai bank all year.

Bank letter. 

Few photocopies of passport pages.

Pretty much all I needed to provide. Walk in the park.

But then you haven't mentioned insurance which has nothing to do with extensions, but is unobtainable for those over 75 and means they will be unable to return to Thailand should they venture out to visit relatives, maybe. In effect, kept captive.

[amexpat]

5 hours ago, rott said:

No wonder newbies know nothing and continue to call it a retirement visa.

Please inform the newbies at Chiang Mai immigration so they can take down the Retirement Visa signs and quit stamping Retirement in my passport when I renew. 

[BE88]

7 minutes ago, amexpat said:

Please inform the newbies at Chiang Mai immigration so they can take down the Retirement Visa signs and quit stamping Retirement in my passport when I renew. 

This the point, but I discovered that it is also written on my retirement passport, definitely a mistake

Edited November 6, 2021 by BE88

[chilly07]

The only main changes that have taken place over the last 8 yrs I have resided in Thailand have been:

UK embassy reneging on income letters and:

OA visas requiring insurance.

Other than that nothing major has changed.

The basic extension requirements have not changed.

Ecuador and Mexico have other major problems- drugs, crime, poor health care etc. All countries have positives and negatives. All I know is that as a retiree I am priced out of my home country!

Edited November 6, 2021 by chilly07

[Jingthing]

6 minutes ago, chilly07 said:

The only main changes that have taken place over the last 8 yrs I have resided in Thailand have been:

UK embassy reneging on income letters and:

OA visas requiring insurance.

Other than that nothing major has changed.

The basic extension requirements have otherwise not changed.

Ecuador and Mexico have other major problems- drugs, crime, poor health care etc. 

You forget the MASSIVE change to money seasoning for 800K method.

Before -- three months before. Then you could spend to one baht.

Now two months before at 800K. Three months after at 800K. Then you can spend down to 400K. Not one baht. 400K. Some offices including major retirement haven of Pattaya require check in after three months to prove the three months after 800K.

 

ALSO -- now combo method applications are harder to do and not even accepted at all in some offices.

Edited November 6, 2021 by Jingthing

[RafPinto]

1 hour ago, NanaSomchai said:

If Thai visas really such a major issue to you;

 

If you're not married and are under 50 there's also another option:

 

Cambodia.

 

One can ask for the Cambodian citizenship only after 3 years of marriage/romance with a Cambodian citizen and living together.

 

Once you get naturalized you get a Cambodian passport which allows you roaming to the entire ASEAN region with an easy unlimited access to Thailand.

 

Laos is another option but it's 5 years of marriage, which is why I would recommend a Cambodian bride instead.

Is it possible to have both?

A cambodian and a Laotian? lol

[gearbox]

1 hour ago, NanaSomchai said:

Welcome to Portugal!

 

By the way the residency card is issued after 3 months and the full citizenship can be gotten with little as 2 years. Do your own research.

 

Also once you get your Portuguese citizenship, stay 1 year in Brazil and... look at my post in this thread at the top of page 4. You'll understand, it's all explained.

Your Portugal/Brazil post was quite interesting, thanks for that. However I have already Aussie and EU passports, two more passports and I'll get multiple personality disorder ???? I'll keep forgetting when my 4 passports are going to expire...

 

I keep hearing good things about Portugal, but they have 4 seasons,  I want 12 months in an year non stop shorts and thongs lifestyle.

 

I'm thinking as a plan B it could be fairly easy to split the calendar year between Malaysia/Thailand or India/Thailand, India has a good 5 years tourist visa now, can stay in places like Goa up to 180 days per year. 

[connda]

Keep us up to date on where you land and how things go.

[seedy]

5 minutes ago, gearbox said:

 India has a good 5 years tourist visa now, can stay in places like Goa up to 180 days per year. 

Never hear much about living as an Expat in India.

Did you do so ? Any comments ?

Thanks

[rott]

49 minutes ago, amexpat said:

Please inform the newbies at Chiang Mai immigration so they can take down the Retirement Visa signs and quit stamping Retirement in my passport when I renew. 

My passport gets stamped retirement too, but NOT visa. 

Because it is not a visa, nor an extension of a visa it is an extension of permission to stay based on Retirement. 

[RafPinto]

10 minutes ago, seedy said:

Never hear much about living as an Expat in India.

Did you do so ? Any comments ?

Thanks

Indian women look quite good.

[zzaa09]

15 minutes ago, connda said:

Keep us up to date on where you land and how things go.

Frankly, I don't understand the reasoning and essence behind OPs of this nature - many like it over the years. 

Has little to do with anything except bringing baffling attention to oneself and all the predictable silliness and commentary that follows threads of this nature.

 

Non-sequitur paradox.

Edited November 6, 2021 by zzaa09

[gearbox]

15 minutes ago, seedy said:

Never hear much about living as an Expat in India.

Did you do so ? Any comments ?

Thanks

I got my info from a German I met in Lombok who sold everything in Germany and was living 6 months per year in Goa, and travelling the rest of the time. Definitely doable, and cost can be lower than Thailand.

Last year I was stuck in Goa during the covid, I saw heaps of Brits there, apparently many stay months there during the northern winter. One guy told me he moved from Thailand to Goa years ago, cost of living is lower there according to him.  I didn't compare many things but alcohol is way cheaper.

Edited November 6, 2021 by gearbox

[chrissables]

16 hours ago, ChaiyaTH said:

The visa issue as well TM39 and 90 day reports are like resolved by simply paying a agent to do them, so this is a man made problem optionally only. In terms of some here that comment on doing so for a secure future or for the vulnerable years, not sure how this would be better in Ecuador or Mexico to be honest.

 

Generally speaking no place on earth can offer sustainability, safety or security in 1-2-3 decades from now, western countries are going downhill faster by the year too. I'd agree with Zikomat that is hard to find a place comparable to Thailand unless you just wanna live cheap and stay at home all the time.  

I've even tried Cambodia, Malaysia and Laos for a year, similar but not the same at all as it is here. Vietnam might come close by offering a very vibrant life but neither is anything close to Thailand. If there was such place many would go.

The 90 day stupidity can be a real pain, if i wish to travel i have to make sure i return to Chonburi to do. Great if in the north or south of the country, not!

Why on earth it is still demanded is beyond and logic at all.
I admit i have not tried the online app, but most of what i have read about it is negative.

[guzzi850m2]

35 minutes ago, gearbox said:

Your Portugal/Brazil post was quite interesting, thanks for that. However I have already Aussie and EU passports, two more passports and I'll get multiple personality disorder ???? I'll keep forgetting when my 4 passports are going to expire...

 

I keep hearing good things about Portugal, but they have 4 seasons,  I want 12 months in an year non stop shorts and thongs lifestyle.

 

I'm thinking as a plan B it could be fairly easy to split the calendar year between Malaysia/Thailand or India/Thailand, India has a good 5 years tourist visa now, can stay in places like Goa up to 180 days per year. 

Why not Portugal summer/Thailand winter?

 

I am thinking about doing something like that.

[NanaSomchai]

14 minutes ago, RafPinto said:

Is it possible to have both?

A cambodian and a Laotian? lol

I know your post was meant to be a joke but allow me to chime in,

 

Make sure you do the Cambodian first, not only it is a shorter wait, 3 years versus 5.

 

But also recently a fairly recent law was promulgated which prevents foreigners older than 50 getting married to underage, very young girls in Cambodia.

 

From what I understood, a lot of middle aged or aged Chinese and Koreans males were travelling to Cambodia with the sole purpose and intent of marrying improverished very young villager Khmer women, said women were then brought back to China and South Korea and brought into modern slavery.

 

So the Cambodian government saw a pattern and cracked down on those "sham" marriages.

 

If you're older than 50 then the Laotian citizenship is the key with fast/unlimited/relatively easy access to Thailand. (Besides most of the girls you will find in Pattaya or other seedy places are actually of Khmer mixed decent, they speak Lao at home, not Thai).

 

So you could in theory, given you're extremely patient and no older than 49, first get married in Cambodia, wait 3 years, get naturalized by the age of 52'ish as a Cambodian citizen, divorce, head for Laos, get remarried, wait another 5 years, get naturalized by the age of 57'ish then divorced again, by that time you'd have the Cambodian and Laotian citizenships, you'd be "untouchable" by the boys in brown...

 

And if you get "connections", with the rampant corruption going in those two countries, corrupting the right officials you might even be able to shorten those respective 3 and 5 years.

 

But in Thailand, get married as much as you want, wait for the next 250 years if you could, they'll never grant you the Thai citizenships.

 

Pigs.

[NanaSomchai]

1 minute ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Why not Portugal summer/Thailand winter?

 

I am thinking about doing something like that.

I did that for a while, Portugal winter/UK Summer and then the DWP <deleted> me over and so did the Brexit.

 

"No benefits for you".

 

TL;DR: <deleted> the UK.

[RafPinto]

4 minutes ago, NanaSomchai said:

I know your post was meant to be a joke but allow me to chime in,

 

Make sure you do the Cambodian first, not only it is a shorter wait, 3 years versus 5.

 

But also recently a fairly recent law was promulgated which prevents foreigners older than 50 getting married to underage, very young girls in Cambodia.

 

From what I understood, a lot of middle aged or aged Chinese and Koreans males were travelling to Cambodia with the sole purpose and intent of marrying improverished very young villager Khmer women, said women were then brought back to China and South Korea and brought into modern slavery.

 

So the Cambodian government saw a pattern and cracked down on those "sham" marriages.

 

If you're older than 50 then the Laotian citizenship is the key with fast/unlimited/relatively easy access to Thailand. (Besides most of the girls you will find in Pattaya or other seedy places are actually of Khmer mixed decent, they speak Lao at home, not Thai).

 

So you could in theory, given you're extremely patient and no older than 49, first get married in Cambodia, wait 3 years, get naturalized by the age of 52'ish as a Cambodian citizen, divorce, head for Laos, get remarried, wait another 5 years, get naturalized by the age of 57'ish then divorced again, by that time you'd have the Cambodian and Laotian citizenships, you'd be "untouchable" by the boys in brown...

 

And if you get "connections", with the rampant corruption going in those two countries, corrupting the right officials you might even be able to shorten those respective 3 and 5 years.

 

But in Thailand, get married as much as you want, wait for the next 250 years if you could, they'll never grant you the Thai citizenships.

 

Pigs.

Sh..... I'm already over 50.

Never mind. Always fancied a trip to Cambodia and Laos as I have never been there.

[NanaSomchai]

Just now, RafPinto said:

Sh..... I'm already over 50.

Never mind. Always fancied a trip to Cambodia and Laos as I have never been there.

Laos get married (5 years) then OR Portugal first (2 years) followed then Brazil (1 year). ????

[BusyB]

9 minutes ago, NanaSomchai said:

I know your post was meant to be a joke but allow me to chime in,

 

Make sure you do the Cambodian first, not only it is a shorter wait, 3 years versus 5.

 

But also recently a fairly recent law was promulgated which prevents foreigners older than 50 getting married to underage, very young girls in Cambodia.

 

From what I understood, a lot of middle aged or aged Chinese and Koreans males were travelling to Cambodia with the sole purpose and intent of marrying improverished very young villager Khmer women, said women were then brought back to China and South Korea and brought into modern slavery.

 

So the Cambodian government saw a pattern and cracked down on those "sham" marriages.

 

If you're older than 50 then the Laotian citizenship is the key with fast/unlimited/relatively easy access to Thailand. (Besides most of the girls you will find in Pattaya or other seedy places are actually of Khmer mixed decent, they speak Lao at home, not Thai).

 

So you could in theory, given you're extremely patient and no older than 49, first get married in Cambodia, wait 3 years, get naturalized by the age of 52'ish as a Cambodian citizen, divorce, head for Laos, get remarried, wait another 5 years, get naturalized by the age of 57'ish then divorced again, by that time you'd have the Cambodian and Laotian citizenships, you'd be "untouchable" by the boys in brown...

 

And if you get "connections", with the rampant corruption going in those two countries, corrupting the right officials you might even be able to shorten those respective 3 and 5 years.

 

But in Thailand, get married as much as you want, wait for the next 250 years if you could, they'll never grant you the Thai citizenships.

 

Pigs.

That seems like a pretty complicated and convoluted way of simply finding a girlfriend ;D

Edited November 6, 2021 by BusyB

[gearbox]

4 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Why not Portugal summer/Thailand winter?

 

I am thinking about doing something like that.

Doable...but I would go for Greece summer, Thailand winter. The Greek beaches and islands are much better for kayaking.

I was in Greece last month and talking to a few Greeks there, one can put a caravan in commercial camping right on the beach for as little as 1K euro for all the summer months.

[RafPinto]

1 minute ago, NanaSomchai said:

Laos get married (5 years) then OR Portugal first (2 years) followed then Brazil (1 year). ????

I lived in Brazil 1 year and later 3 years in Lisboa.

Brasilian ladies are hot 555

[ChaiyaTH]

12 hours ago, Lemsta69 said:

this is my plan too for when I come over next month and convert to non-O. I just can't bear the thought of all that capital rotting away in a Thai bank. not when I can keep it invested in stonks and crypto and 5x or 10x it in a couple of years. ok maybe five to ten years. 

Exactly, been here 8 years and used that capital to make enough profit to pay the agent 30 years.

 

If i had deposited it 3 years ago, as my son was born, I would have lost over 15% already aside inflation and no use of the money for additional profits.

Edited November 6, 2021 by ChaiyaTH

[NanaSomchai]

Just now, BusyB said:

That seems like a pretty complicated and convoluted way of simply getting a girlfriend ;D

Why would you want to get "a girlfriend" when you can have nearly every other female at your feet... I just don't get it.

[BusyB]

16 hours ago, Zikomat said:

You will come back, sooner or later. There is no other place on Earth like this. Learn to accept its negatives as a part of its uniqueness. Other places may be 100 times better on the paper, but in reality…. there is no other place like this one. Magic in the air.

 

 

This is very true. Despite my despair about entry procedures (Thailand Ass) and considering not going through all the bother of retiring in LOS, the truth is I fell in love with the country 18 years ago. And I mean the country not the bar girls. I've had enough girlfriends in my life anyway and TBH I find that whole scene extremely boring. I did actually have a pleasant thing going with a cute and lovable gogo girl, but she overplayed her hand and started to get manipulative. She was absolutely stunned when I finished with her - she wasn't used to farangs doing that. I had warned her however that I wasn't her usual customer 555. 

 

I've been back many many times, for months at a time, really snowbirded it for nearly two decades till the pandemic arrived. Went back for things like people, food, beaches, scenery, yes - the temples, people, food, beaches, weather ... and so on and on. So many lovely times.

 

But when I first went there it was a young democracy going through the throes of change and learning how to be a democracy. Learning how to remove a PM who had done much good yet tore the corruption ring even by Thai standards. The establishment put a stop to that and have shown time and again they don't want change or democracy and are willing to kill as many as need be to prevent it. A kind of prosperous Burma Lite.

 

Now I'm asking myself - in particular looking at this shambolic Thailand Ass hoop set - whether or not I really want to spend my retirement in a place that lives under that kind of a shadow. In particular when it manifests the way it has during the pandemic.

 

At this moment in time I try to look at the good things. I have dear friends there after all this time, and miss them deeply. I hope I'll be out there early next year after two cancelled trips over the last 18 months. But it's no longer set in stone I have to say. There really are alternatives for me, and I want above all tranquility and stability over the next few months, as I transition from 50 years of work to a place where I know what I want to do with the rest of my time on this pebble in the sky.

 

[NanaSomchai]

2 minutes ago, RafPinto said:

I lived in Brazil 1 year and later 3 years in Lisboa.

Brasilian ladies are hot 555

They are hot as !@#$, man.

 

Brasileiras are serious pieces of asses, among the best bootys in the World, It's really hard not to fall "in love". ????

[RafPinto]

1 minute ago, NanaSomchai said:

They are hot as !@#$, man.

 

Brasileiras are serious pieces of asses, among the best bootys in the World, It's really hard not to fall "in love". ????

Tell me about.

After a while, I needed some peace as there was every evening another beauty, just around the corner.

White, choco, black, thing, big.

For each gusto.