Elite Card

[tonybuxton2]

The biggest hurdle to attract more retirees are the Visa regulations. Every year they have to spend a long time at the immigration department producing the same documents and letter from their bank and sometime their embassies. Some older retirees find this very frustrating in spite of the fact that the immigration staff are very helpful. In Chiangmai they have to wait outside the immigration offices in the heat and get attacked by mosquitoes, whilst waiting for thier visas. (It took me four hours to get my 8th visa renewal) Retirees go through a thorough check when they first apply for a retirement visa, so why do they have to do the same thing every year? They also have to report to immigration every 3 months. Other countries offer at least a 5 year visa and Malaysia a 10 year one. Many of us believe the reason for all of this is Elite Card whose main attraction is a five year visa. The government is trying to prop up the Elite Card scheme, and may believe that offering a five year visa to retirees will lessen the attraction of the card.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

There's not much interest in the Elite program now anyway.

[Hampstead]

Retirees in thailand get a good deal compared to malaysia 2nd home programme where guys have to put down in the region of 2-3 million baht equivelent in ringit in accounts or property(someone elese might have the exact amounts)

in thailand guys over 50 only have to prove they have 800k baht every year. Compared this to the UK where the national retirment age is 65

800k to a 50 year old guy who is retireeing from a first world country should be peanuts

you guys on retirement visas should think yourselves lucky thai immigration dont start increasing the amount of 800k a year to a far greater amount to reflect how much money guys retireeing early from 1st world countries are actually worth.

i mean if you retire early at 50, then the majority of time it means you have plenty of assets and income to afford a comfortable living for the rest of your life in any western country.

And do any of you guys pay income tax to the thai government on your pensions from abroad?

if you dont have plenty of money at 50, then why retire.

Edited July 26, 2007 by Hampstead

[paulsmithson]

Hampstead,

I presume that you are fairly well off and in good health.

A friend of mine has a Thai wife and lives with her in the uk.

Due to ill health he does not have bags of cash but he does have sufficient to live comfortabley in Thailand in the home he has paid for and built here. The his health will never improve and before anyone syas anything about healthcare in thailand---well lets be truthfull it is virtually non existant in the UK unless you are wealthy or an asylum seeker.

He would be better off here but the regulations do not permit that.Hundreds of thousands of burmese and others seem able to live here without being filthy rich. We are discriminated against.

[Hampstead]

I agree with you that the Thais are looking to gain higher income foreigners to thailand

but Retirement means NO LONGER HAVING TO WORK cause you have plenty of financial means to live a comfortable life, right

Isnt that the point to retire?

people retire after they have slaved away for many years earning and saving what they can

those who can retire at 50 have earned alot more in a short time to be able to afford to retire before many others who have to wait until they are 65 as is the case in the UK.

As for the Burmese, well if you have ever seen the camps on the border and how they are treated by the thais and even the burmese when they are detained then its hardly a enjoyable time for those people

just think about the 7000 hmong people who soon will be kicked back to laos to be enslaved in that regime as traitors to the laotion government.

western people in thailand get a far better deal

Edited July 26, 2007 by Hampstead