Elite update

[Markus700]

I have two questions:

 

1) When you have a 5 year visa for 600K, when do i pay the additonal 400K to upgrade to the 20 year option?

2) How do i apply for the Thai Social Security card?

 

Thank you for your help.

 

Best regards 

Markus

[ukrules]

Edit - seems I'm wrong - I just looked at the official website

 

 

As a current member I'm surprised to be finding out about this new upgrade option on this website - you would really think they offer this kind of upgrade to existing members or at least make it known.

 

I also just read somewhere that the upgrade can be done inside the first 4 years of the 5 year membership.

 

Edited November 5, 2021 by ukrules

[ubonjoe]

You have to be working here to enroll in Social Security.

My understanding is that no longer issue a card but you can get proof you qualify for it after you stop working and are palsying for coverage.

[fusion58]

7 hours ago, ukrules said:

Edit - seems I'm wrong - I just looked at the official website

 

 

As a current member I'm surprised to be finding out about this new upgrade option on this website - you would really think they offer this kind of upgrade to existing members or at least make it known.

 

I also just read somewhere that the upgrade can be done inside the first 4 years of the 5 year membership.

 

Am I reading this (or the OP) right? For an additional 400K they will upgrade you to a 20-year membership?

[BMW Overlander]

1 hour ago, fusion58 said:

Am I reading this (or the OP) right? For an additional 400K they will upgrade you to a 20-year membership?

Doubt it, but would like to hear further clarification. I got my 5 years when was still 500k.

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, fusion58 said:

Am I reading this (or the OP) right? For an additional 400K they will upgrade you to a 20-year membership?

Yes, they will 'upgrade' it but it's not to the same class of membership - I doubt that will bother many people though as it's mainly about the visas as opposed to the services.

 

I looked into this a little deeper and it seems to be something that was announced late last year just before they increased the price to from 500k to 600k Baht.

 

So whether it can be classed as an upgrade is subjective I guess, however you can change from a TE Easy Access 5 year membership to the 20 year 'cheap option' named 'Elite Superiority Extension' by paying the difference, there's less benefits with the superiority extension but I don't think many people are using the limo transfers, etc right now anyway - maybe this is one of the reasons they're offering it....

 

I got my current membership in late 2019 for 500k with a bit of a discount as they had a promotion on at the time, my longer term plan has always been to consider buying one of the 20 year options when my current membership expires, 'upgrading' sounds worthwhile.

 

The surprising thing to me is that as an existing member who generally has no reason to ever go to the Thailand Elite website is that they haven't let me know this is an option - I wonder if it's something only available to new members on the 600k Baht rate, I will contact them at some point to see if it's also available to older members who paid the lower rate.

 

 

[wolf81]

I bought my Elite 5-year visa some years ago for 500.000 THB and I can remember I received one email notification that I am able to upgrade to the 20-year visa by paying a bit extra. I'll link part of the email here:

 

Edited November 6, 2021 by wolf81

[Boyn]

I would be interested to know if the Elite visa is worth the money for someone intending to retire to Thailand and not travel too much?

[ukrules]

4 hours ago, wolf81 said:

I bought my Elite 5-year visa some years ago for 500.000 THB and I can remember I received one email notification that I am able to upgrade to the 20-year visa by paying a bit extra. I'll link part of the email here:

 

It's possible I got this email but didn't notice it when it came in, they do have a tendency to send emails out which contain remote images hosted on their servers, my mail client doesn't load those at all as they're often used for 'tracking purposes' so I've always had them disabled.

 

Interesting to hear though, maybe I'll use this upgrade route and take my membership which expires in 3 years time + the 6 extra covid months by adding the 15 extra years for another 500k Baht.

 

This comes as a bit of a bonus as I was expecting to pay 1 Million for that at some point in a few years time...

 

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, Boyn said:

I would be interested to know if the Elite visa is worth the money for someone intending to retire to Thailand and not travel too much?

Well you can come to Thailand and stay for as long as you want, no restrictions. It's very useful for people under 50 which is me at the moment and it's been working well for the last 7 or 8 years that I've been using it.

 

You do have to do some things which are the 90 day reports, yearly extensions and you will need to go and get a new visa inserted into your passport whenever one expires and / or when you get a new passport, they're very inflexible when you have a new passport issued

 

I got a new passport this year and had a new visa inserted, for me as I live in Hua Hin they insisted I go to Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok to get the visa inserted - that's quite a journey for something that takes about 15 minutes to complete.

 

While I was in Chaeng Wattana they did get me to use one of the fingerprint scanning machines like they have at the airport so perhaps that's why they made me go to Chaeng Wattana, maybe they don't have these fingerprint machines in Hua Hin immigration.

I'm not sure what the situation is at the other more major provincial offices so this might depend on where you live (worth checking) - this hassle doesn't exist with the regular retirement options and they can be extended over the years and across new passports without a problem but for the Elite visa it's a pain, especially if you don't live near to one of the places where they issue new visas which for me meant a trip to Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok.

 

So every 5 years I will need to go and get a new visa inserted (making sure to have at least 5 years remaining on the passports validity) as the issued visa expires on the same day your passport expires and once you have a new passport they absolutely refuse to do any extensions of stay until you have a new visa inserted into your new passport - even if the visa in the old passport is still valid - this is an important distinction to make - if you get a new passport one of the first things you then need to do is make a pilgrimage to Chaeng Wattana to get a new visa inserted because the old one is no longer useable and I have been told that I wouldn't even be able to do a 90 day report once my entrance stamps have been moved to the new passport - I didn't test that, they gave me a new 90 day report when I did the entry stamp transfer into my new passport.

 

I still think it's less hassle than gathering bank details every year and maintaining a balance, etc so I will likely continue down this Thailand Elite route after I pass the retirement age by way of upgrading my membership which should then last me until I'm about 66 or 67 years old.

[elgenon]

5 hours ago, ukrules said:

Well you can come to Thailand and stay for as long as you want, no restrictions. It's very useful for people under 50 which is me at the moment and it's been working well for the last 7 or 8 years that I've been using it.

 

You do have to do some things which are the 90 day reports, yearly extensions and you will need to go and get a new visa inserted into your passport whenever one expires and / or when you get a new passport, they're very inflexible when you have a new passport issued

 

I got a new passport this year and had a new visa inserted, for me as I live in Hua Hin they insisted I go to Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok to get the visa inserted - that's quite a journey for something that takes about 15 minutes to complete.

 

While I was in Chaeng Wattana they did get me to use one of the fingerprint scanning machines like they have at the airport so perhaps that's why they made me go to Chaeng Wattana, maybe they don't have these fingerprint machines in Hua Hin immigration.

I'm not sure what the situation is at the other more major provincial offices so this might depend on where you live (worth checking) - this hassle doesn't exist with the regular retirement options and they can be extended over the years and across new passports without a problem but for the Elite visa it's a pain, especially if you don't live near to one of the places where they issue new visas which for me meant a trip to Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok.

 

So every 5 years I will need to go and get a new visa inserted (making sure to have at least 5 years remaining on the passports validity) as the issued visa expires on the same day your passport expires and once you have a new passport they absolutely refuse to do any extensions of stay until you have a new visa inserted into your new passport - even if the visa in the old passport is still valid - this is an important distinction to make - if you get a new passport one of the first things you then need to do is make a pilgrimage to Chaeng Wattana to get a new visa inserted because the old one is no longer useable and I have been told that I wouldn't even be able to do a 90 day report once my entrance stamps have been moved to the new passport - I didn't test that, they gave me a new 90 day report when I did the entry stamp transfer into my new passport.

 

I still think it's less hassle than gathering bank details every year and maintaining a balance, etc so I will likely continue down this Thailand Elite route after I pass the retirement age by way of upgrading my membership which should then last me until I'm about 66 or 67 years old.

Great to hear someone say they prefer to keep the Elite visa after retirement age.. I was wondering.

[zoltannyc]

============Quote

I would be interested to know if the Elite visa is worth the money for someone intending to retire to Thailand and not travel too much?

============End Quote

 

I got Elite 20 years although I could go on retirement too, however with ever changing requirements esp. health insurance I decided to limit stress and go the easy way.

Regarding economies or price,  it's like arguing what is better business class or economy class on a plane whatever suits  your needs and budget that's the best option for you.

Before Covid I really enjoyed to be greeted at the Passenger Boarding Bridge (PBB) and taken to and passing immigration in a very efficient manner.

Edited November 7, 2021 by zoltannyc

[bev38]

Anyone know what happens if you forget to do your 90 day report.

If you try to leave the country will you get a fine at the airport?

Would that affect your visa in any way when you try to come back again or its simply pay a fine and nothing more?

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, bev38 said:

Anyone know what happens if you forget to do your 90 day report.

If you try to leave the country will you get a fine at the airport?

Would that affect your visa in any way when you try to come back again or its simply pay a fine and nothing more?

No fine or anything else at a airport. They have nothing to do with 90 day reports.

When return from a trip out of the country your 90 day report is due 90 days from the day you enter the country.

The will not fine you for a report not done before leaving the country.

[bev38]

9 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

No fine or anything else at a airport. They have nothing to do with 90 day reports.

When return from a trip out of the country your 90 day report is due 90 days from the day you enter the country.

The will not fine you for a report not done before leaving the country.

Thanks.

Would there be a fine or problem when doing the next 90 days report at immigration following having missed one previously?

 

Another question.

I watched the vdo on thaielite website, they say you are not allowed to study in Thailand on this visa?  Does that mean you are not allowed to study at a university or does this include study at a language school?

[ubonjoe]

10 minutes ago, bev38 said:

Would there be a fine or problem when doing the next 90 days report at immigration following having missed one previously?

No

 

11 minutes ago, bev38 said:

I watched the vdo on thaielite website, they say you are not allowed to study in Thailand on this visa?  Does that mean you are not allowed to study at a university or does this include study at a language school?

That is incorrect info.

You can attend any school or university with any type of visa entry. There is no requirement to have a specific visa to to do it.

[bev38]

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

No

 

That is incorrect info.

You can attend any school or university with any type of visa entry. There is no requirement to have a specific visa to to do it.

Thanks for your help

[vibration]

20 hours ago, ukrules said:

It's possible I got this email but didn't notice it when it came in, they do have a tendency to send emails out which contain remote images hosted on their servers, my mail client doesn't load those at all as they're often used for 'tracking purposes' so I've always had them disabled.

 

Interesting to hear though, maybe I'll use this upgrade route and take my membership which expires in 3 years time + the 6 extra covid months by adding the 15 extra years for another 500k Baht.

 

This comes as a bit of a bonus as I was expecting to pay 1 Million for that at some point in a few years time...

 

Many thanks for sharing this. 

 

I have the 5 year membership that I paid 500,000 THB for and I have just sent them an email requesting further clarification about upgrading to a 20 years membetship for an additional 500,000 THB.

 

We live in Udonthani and the immigration office here does not require TM30 applications so we do not have a copy and this has always been a headache as according to Thai Elite this is a requirement for getting the 5 year sticker put in the passport at Chang Wattana. 

 

Does anybody know if this is still a Chang Wattana requirement.

 

Because of this I got my first 5 year sticker put in my passport at Suvarnabhumi Airport and I sincerely hope that I can do this again in 2025.

 

When I paid the 500,000 THB there was a legal clause in my agreement that if for what ever reason immigration refused to approve and issue the 5 year sticker then the money paid would be reimbursed in full within 30 days of Thai Elite receiving the payment.

 

Just wondering if this is still the case with new applications or upgrades.

 

I will update this Post when I get a clear reply from Thai Elite.

[ukrules]

7 minutes ago, vibration said:

We live in Udonthani and the immigration office here does not require TM30 applications so we do not have a copy and this has always been a headache as according to Thai Elite this is a requirement for getting the 5 year sticker put in the passport at Chang Wattana. 

 

Does anybody know if this is still a Chang Wattana requirement.

I went to Chaeng Wattana very recently and met a TE rep there to have a new visa inserted into my recently renewed passport, the TM30 paper which is stapled in the passport was one of the things required.

 

Here's a snippet from their email :

 

Quote

List of required documents

1. Your old and new Passport

2. TM.6 (The departure card) 

3. The receipt of notification of 90-days reporting (if any) 

4. The receipt for Notification of Residence (TM. 30)

Also before they would book the appointment to meet me at Chaeng Wattana they sent this :

 

Quote

 

Therefore, please kindly provide us the required documents as below then we can check them before we can proceed the arrangement and schedule EPL to transfer Elite Visa.

 

 

-Photocopy of new passport.

-Photocopy of transferred arrival stamp in new passport.

 

-TM.6 (Departure Card).

-TM.30 (Notification of Residence).

-The notification of the 90 days report.

So it looks like they most definitely do insist on having a TM30.

 

The interesting thing is that I actually booked into a hotel the night before I went to Chaeng Wattana so I do have to wonder if the hotel also registered me as being resident at the hotel and would it show on the computer system, they didn't mention it if it did......

Edited November 7, 2021 by ukrules

[fusion58]

On 11/6/2021 at 2:16 PM, ukrules said:

Well you can come to Thailand and stay for as long as you want, no restrictions. It's very useful for people under 50 which is me at the moment and it's been working well for the last 7 or 8 years that I've been using it.

 

You do have to do some things which are the 90 day reports, yearly extensions and you will need to go and get a new visa inserted into your passport whenever one expires and / or when you get a new passport, they're very inflexible when you have a new passport issued

 

I got a new passport this year and had a new visa inserted, for me as I live in Hua Hin they insisted I go to Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok to get the visa inserted - that's quite a journey for something that takes about 15 minutes to complete.

 

While I was in Chaeng Wattana they did get me to use one of the fingerprint scanning machines like they have at the airport so perhaps that's why they made me go to Chaeng Wattana, maybe they don't have these fingerprint machines in Hua Hin immigration.

I'm not sure what the situation is at the other more major provincial offices so this might depend on where you live (worth checking) - this hassle doesn't exist with the regular retirement options and they can be extended over the years and across new passports without a problem but for the Elite visa it's a pain, especially if you don't live near to one of the places where they issue new visas which for me meant a trip to Chaeng Wattana in Bangkok.

 

So every 5 years I will need to go and get a new visa inserted (making sure to have at least 5 years remaining on the passports validity) as the issued visa expires on the same day your passport expires and once you have a new passport they absolutely refuse to do any extensions of stay until you have a new visa inserted into your new passport - even if the visa in the old passport is still valid - this is an important distinction to make - if you get a new passport one of the first things you then need to do is make a pilgrimage to Chaeng Wattana to get a new visa inserted because the old one is no longer useable and I have been told that I wouldn't even be able to do a 90 day report once my entrance stamps have been moved to the new passport - I didn't test that, they gave me a new 90 day report when I did the entry stamp transfer into my new passport.

 

I still think it's less hassle than gathering bank details every year and maintaining a balance, etc so I will likely continue down this Thailand Elite route after I pass the retirement age by way of upgrading my membership which should then last me until I'm about 66 or 67 years old.

Thanks for the info.

 

This raises another question I have:

 

When I arrive at BKK this Thursday, my passport will be valid for another 10 months.

 

Will I receive the usual 12 month permission to stay stamp, or will I only get a 10 month permission to stay stamp?

[fusion58]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

I went to Chaeng Wattana very recently and met a TE rep there to have a new visa inserted into my recently renewed passport, the TM30 paper which is stapled in the passport was one of the things required.

 

Here's a snippet from their email :

 

Also before they would book the appointment to meet me at Chaeng Wattana they sent this :

 

So it looks like they most definitely do insist on having a TM30.

 

The interesting thing is that I actually booked into a hotel the night before I went to Chaeng Wattana so I do have to wonder if the hotel also registered me as being resident at the hotel and would it show on the computer system, they didn't mention it if it did......

There seems to be much confusion on the part of the Thailand Elite staff re: the TM30:

 

As ubonjoe correctly pointed out, there was a new order in June of 2020 which stipulated that a new TM30 was only necessary if the foreigner changed addresses or entered with a new visa.

 

However, when I inquired about the aforementioned order, the TE rep didn't seem to have a clue about it - in spite of the fact that I attached a copy of the order (in Thai language) to my message.

 

I simply received the following standard/canned response:

 

Quote

Thank you very much for your email.

 

Regarding to your inquiry, please be informed that TM.30 (a residence notification) is a responsibility of a landlord/landlady or an owner of your residence or a hotel to report you, along with an address where you reside to the immigration. Without TM.30, the immigration would refuse to proceed with any immigration-related matters.  

 

How to obtain TM 30, it depends on where you stay as follows.  

- If member stay in hotel, get copy of TM30 from the hotel.  

- If member rent a house or condo, landlord or landlady must report to Immigration.  

- If member own a house or condo, member must report to Immigration.  

 

We humbly recommend you to obtain for TM.30 with your current address since the government aims to know where the foreigner is staying for your record in immigration system. 

 

 

Should you need further assistance, please feel free to contact us.

My question "will I need a new TM30 receipt after I enter this Thursday, or can I use the last one?" was completely ignored.

[CartagenaWarlock]

I bought a 20-year elite even though I qualified for a retirement. If I knew I could get a retirement through an agent for 15-20K, I would have bought the retirement extension instead and put the money in S&P 500 and the return will have paid for the agent fees many times more. Another issue I found with a retirement extension that I have to be time bound to be in Thailand on some specified time or else start over with the process. Elite give me freedom to not abide by any retirement extension at an expense. 

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, fusion58 said:

Thanks for the info.

 

This raises another question I have:

 

When I arrive at BKK this Thursday, my passport will be valid for another 10 months.

 

Will I receive the usual 12 month permission to stay stamp, or will I only get a 10 month permission to stay stamp?

That is anyones guess, do let us know the result please.

 

[vibration]

20 hours ago, vibration said:

Many thanks for sharing this. 

 

I have the 5 year membership that I paid 500,000 THB for and I have just sent them an email requesting further clarification about upgrading to a 20 years membetship for an additional 500,000 THB.

 

We live in Udonthani and the immigration office here does not require TM30 applications so we do not have a copy and this has always been a headache as according to Thai Elite this is a requirement for getting the 5 year sticker put in the passport at Chang Wattana. 

 

Does anybody know if this is still a Chang Wattana requirement.

 

Because of this I got my first 5 year sticker put in my passport at Suvarnabhumi Airport and I sincerely hope that I can do this again in 2025.

 

20 hours ago, vibration said:

 

When I paid the 500,000 THB there was a legal clause in my agreement that if for what ever reason immigration refused to approve and issue the 5 year sticker then the money paid would be reimbursed in full within 30 days of Thai Elite receiving the payment.

 

Just wondering if this is still the case with new applications or upgrades.

 

I will update this Post when I get a clear reply from Thai Elite.

Today I received a reply from Thai Elite (very good service) confirming that I can get my present membership upgraded for an additional 15 years for 500,000 THB including VAT.

 

The upgrading takes approximately 1 month for immigration to process and the only thing I lose is the Limo service which is not a problem for me.

 

Just wondering for those who have had the 5 year visa affixed in the passport at Chang Wattana is the TM30 that is required here the one confirming the reporting of ones permanent address which in my case was in 2005 and I dont have a copy.

 

If the affixing of the 5 year visa can not be done at Suvarnabhumi Airport (no TM30 required) then my wife will have to contact Udonthani Immigration and try and get a copy.

 

Many thanks in advance for any help.

[vibration]

On 11/7/2021 at 9:38 PM, ukrules said:

I went to Chaeng Wattana very recently and met a TE rep there to have a new visa inserted into my recently renewed passport, the TM30 paper which is stapled in the passport was one of the things required.

 

Here's a snippet from their email :

 

Also before they would book the appointment to meet me at Chaeng Wattana they sent this :

 

So it looks like they most definitely do insist on having a TM30.

 

The interesting thing is that I actually booked into a hotel the night before I went to Chaeng Wattana so I do have to wonder if the hotel also registered me as being resident at the hotel and would it show on the computer system, they didn't mention it if it did......

Just wondering if the TM30 required by Immigration at Chang Wattana is the original one confirming your place of permanent residence in Thailand (we moved into our home in 2005 and dont have a TM30 copy although I believe my wife did register) or the last return from abroad into Thailand.

 

In addition to this do they accept a screenshot copy from the TM30 App.

 

Manythanks in advance for any help.

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, vibration said:

Just wondering if the TM30 required by Immigration at Chang Wattana is the original one confirming your place of permanent residence in Thailand (we moved into our home in 2005 and dont have a TM30 copy although I believe my wife did register) or the last return from abroad into Thailand.

 

In addition to this do they accept a screenshot copy from the TM30 App.

 

Manythanks in advance for any help.

Yes, I needed the TM30 at Chaeng Wattana it was on the list of required documents to bring with me.

 

I don't know about the TM30 App as I have a paper one in my passport which I believe I got just after the last time I entered Thailand a few days after my old TE visa was inserted at the airport into my old passport, maybe they will accept the App but I would definitely check with them first.

 

When I moved this old visa over to the new passport they issued a new 90 day report for the new passport and transferred the TM30 over to the new passport as well so they do appear to place a bit of importance on this little TM30 document.

 

I'm sure your local immigration office can put one together for you if you tell them you need it for Chaeng Wattana, if not then perhaps TE can make it happen.