Falling Dollar And Meeting Visa Requirements

[ttthailand]

The US dollar has hit a ten year low against the Thai Baht. I would guess this could cause visa problems for those Americans already on a tight budget. Will the Thai Gov. say hit the road you no longer can stay or is this visa issue grandfathered in ?

I for one have already had to make a few changes due to the weak dollar. Is it time to rethink this Thai adventure and head back to the states for a few years or until things turn around ?

Concerned with the current direction.

[dressedingreen]

The Dollar has been weak for some time, but the Baht has strengthened against many currencies over the last year. I'm a Brit, and Sterling has lost about 7% against the Baht since January 2007. I've done quite a lot of research on the internet on the subject, and the majority consensus appears to be that the Baht has been undervalued since the Asian economic crash in the 90's, and therefore is only slipping back up to a more realistic value.

I'd question if there WILL be a turnaround. The US economy, and western economies in general, have no magical right to be stronger than those of the Asian continent. And the past 2 - 3 years have shown a steady increase in the strength of the big economies in the area (China, India, Korea), often pulling the smaller economies with them to a lesser degree. I see a shift. I'd guess this part of the world will no longer be the cheap alternative to an expensive western lifestyle within the next 5 - 10 years. The average wage for Thais has increased some 4000% while this king has been on the throne.

I'd suggest some hedging with currency is in order to protect the lifestyles of those already over here. The trend is currently away from the Dollar and toward the Euro, and, I'm guessing in the future that trend will continue. Perhaps the Chinese Yuan will detach itself from the Dollar and float on its own merit. Asian consumers are becoming more affluent, and will eventually take up any slack that results from a weaker US economy.

I'm betting on a recession in the States this year. Benanke may well be glad of a change of regime.

DIG

[jonniebkk]

it's hard (IMHO) to see things get much worse on the baht dollar exchange rate...if anything, it's more likely to stabilize or rise vis-a-vis the baht over the next few years than continue to fall. all the excesses are in the beginning stages of being rung out of the US economy (and it may take a nice little recession to complete the job) and the working classes in the usa will have to put their noses closer to the grindstone for the next few years in order to put the economy back in balance. all this would likely cause the dollar to stabilize or strengthen.

In the almost decade I have been residing in LOS...the $-B rate started at 38...rose to a high of 43 a few years later, and since then has gradually fallen to its current 33 range. It has not really effected my lifestyle much...as it all kinda balances out in the end...some imported goods become cheaper due to a strong baht so that moderates their increased cost to buy...so i get less baht for my dollars but the cost of the item doesn't cost much more and in some cases may decline in price. Basic living expenses are still quite reasonable. As you say, you make adjustments...if you go from 2 heinikens a day to 1, you have cut your beer costs in half (much more than the fall in your dollar purchasing power) without much of a sacrifice

As to continued staying...if you continue to meet the minimum financial standards then you will be fine. If these are a stretch, then it's probably better to look at other country options to begin with.

[rgs2001uk]

the dollar is still at least 20% higher than it was pre the 1997 crash when the rate was 25 baht to the us dollar.

i personally feel many were fooled into a false sense of security, i know personally 2 americans who have had to postpone their retirement to thailand because they no longer meet the new visa reqiurements, i dont think they ever will.

dont worry youre not alone , it will be the brits turn next, i calculated at 40 baht to the pound, and have seen it as low as 32 or 33, depending on dollar/pound rate.

i cant see the thais giving a discount because of exchange rates, they didnt come knocking on our door asking us to come here, we all made our own way to immigration of our own free will.

no i am not gloating or having a pop at anyone, who knows it could be me next.

the one thing i will say to anyone is never burn your bridges back home, its my opinion if you had to sell your house back home to be here then you were underfunded in the first place.

i know one guy who came here with 7 million baht total after selling everything in the uk.

first thing he does is buy a 4 million baht house in pattaya, then another 1.5 million on a new car, the rest was pissed away in about 18 months. he is now concerned that he may no longer meet the monthly baht requiremnts to be here next year.

i believe those who were grandfathered in still only need the money in the bank option, as for how long that will last, well how long is a piece of string.

the salad days are over, we may never see there likes again.

to anyone reading this and thinking of retiring here, never tie up your money in anything you can walk away from, better tho keep your house in your home country and let it out and use the rent as your income, at least you have a house to go back to.

theres another farang i know who is trying to convince his wife to sell her house so he can get his money back, i will say no more on that, we all know what the outcome will be.

hang on tight and fasten your seatbelts, some are in for a rough ride.

[britmaveric]

Well it will affect those who haven't planned for a fall - everything goes up/down. If you base your retirement on a certain baht rate, prob shouldnt be retired.

[melbat]

Thanks everyone.. you really cheered me up!

[Jingthing]

It is totally absurd to expect the Thai government to base visa requirements on anything other than the baht. Did I head you suggest that Americans should get a special sympathy break. Now, that is hilarious. I'm in the same boat, and also don't see any reason to expect a turnaround anytime soon.