Uk Couple Moving To Bangkok - How?

[palm]

Hello

We are a mid-thirties couple currently living in the UK.

We are going to buy a condo in Bangkok and use Thailand as a base for a year or more of travelling across Asia, but with much time spent in Thailand.

I have 'kind-of' retired in that I have regular income from royalties etc, yet I am obviously not old enough (I am 33) to apply for a Retirement Visa.

My questions are really - what visas should I apply for, and what is going to be the easiest, most pain-free experience to be able to get the ability to stay in Thailand (with lots of travelling in and out) for 12 months?

I'm a bit confused on the process of buying a condo and taking advantage of the investment visa, because I don't have a Thai bank account yet. So do I go over to Bangkok on a 60 day visa, open a Thai government bank account, deposit cash marked 'for the purchase of a government approved condo' and then fly out of Thailand to get the necessary visa?

Is there a reliable, recommended company around who could handle all of this for me for a fee? Preferably in the UK?

[loong]

Go look at

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/Bvisas.htm

This gives info for non-immigrant visa, available by post from hull. This will allow in and out of Thailand for up to 15 months

[Som Nam Na]

Don't buy...rent.

Property here is not the investment it is in the UK. You will have a hard time recouping your money once your travelling has finished and renting it will take you 30 years to break even.

Keep your money in the UK (ALL OF IT) and use a switch/ATM card to withdraw. You also don't get interest in an account here as you are a farang.

[Pui]

I'm the same age and from the UK. I've lived in Bangkok for 2 years.

Don't buy rent is good advice. The pitfalls far outway the benefits of buying here. Especially for a year or 2. You can only buy a condo as well. Not a house.

Thai bank account is useful. I transfer from my Lloyds TSB to my Thai Farmer Bank over the phone once a month. Its handy having a Thai bank account but as previously mentioned you will not get interest so keep it to a minimum.

The important thing is to sort out visa before you get here.

As I work for a company in the UK and have a legitimate business reason to be here, I have a business visa i only need to leave the country every 90 days.

If you don't have a business reason i believe a "Non-O" is a good alternative.

Tourist visa is not as good. Read there requirements for a Non- O and see if you can make yourself eligible.

Sort your Visa in the UK.

Rent or Buy. Thai or UK Bank you can decide later.

[palm]

Thanks for the advice.

We don't want to rent and live in someone else's apartment (or buy one and rent it out for peanuts) - we are fortunate enough to be able to buy something in Bangkok to keep as our Asia 'base' - and then furnish it to our taste, as we've done with our other properties.

I'll give the Hull consulate a ring and see what they say- it seems from their site you only need a reference and some proof of income/assets?

---

Persons requiring Non-Immigrant Visas who are not able to provide a letter of employment or appointment or marriage certificate are required to provide a letter of guarantee from someone who is prepared to meet any costs incurred by the applicant which they cannot pay themselves including the cost of repatriation if necessary.

--

Has anyone here ever gone down the Investment Visa route? It seems like its only 3m baht per person, but then what heppens after the 12 months is up?

[astral]

Has anyone here ever gone down the Investment Visa route? It seems like its only 3m baht per person, but then what heppens after the 12 months is up?

This is the problem with the Investment route.

My advice, for what it is worth,

Do not bring more money into Thailand, than you are prepared to walk away from.

I know it sounds cynical, but we never know when the rules will change, exchange rates plummet, etc. (1997 there were 90 baht to the UK pound at one point, compared to the previous norm of 37)

I am not sure that you qualify for a Non-Immigrant Visa.

The usual reasons are:

A job

Support of Thai dependants

Study

Retirement (Min age 50)

You may need to use a double entry tourist visa.

First entry 60 days.

Extend for 30 days at immigration office in Thailand

Do a border hop.

Second Entry 60 days

Extend for 30 days at immigration office in Thailand

That covers almost 6 months.

Then take a trip outside Thailand for a couple of weeks, say Australia

and apply for a new tourist visa and start again.

[palm]

Thanks again for the advice on the Visa questions.

I am seeing the UK Hull consulate tomorrow - the nice lady on the phone said just come in with your passport, photos, forms completed, the fee, and a guarantor letter and we'll give you 4 x 90 non-B or non-O visas! (a set for myself and my GF) She said there was no requirement for a business reference or anything - not even bank statements or the plane ticket!

[kenkannif]

^ I'd have thought it would be a multiple entry rather than a quad, so you can actually get 5 x 90 days (just about it) out of it. Go out and come back in the day before the year activation period expires and you'll get another 90 days, giving you almost 15 months of cover all in all (apply as near to your date of departure though as the activation period starts from when you apply...a week should be fine as Hull are cool...although they charge you can extra tenner for going in inperson).

[palm]

Well today went great.

I turned up to the UK Thai Consulate in Hull with passport, passport photo, completed application form, a guarantor letter from a friend in the UK and my cash and 10 minutes later I had a big stamp in my passport giving me a 12 months IMM-O visa!

It seems Hull is the place to go for painless Visas!

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Well today went great.

I turned up to the UK Thai Consulate in Hull with passport, passport photo, completed application form, a guarantor letter from a friend in the UK and my cash and 10 minutes later I had a big stamp in my passport giving me a 12 months IMM-O visa!

It seems Hull is the place to go for painless Visas!

Good for you. I hope that your forthcoming SEA experience is all you want it to be. Good luck.

[Up2U]

As advised by others - keep the bulk of your money out of Thailand.

Set up two or three bank accounts / building society accounts in UK - with credit cards. Then draw from hole-in-wall machines while here. Keep the receipts to show the Immigration authorities where your money is coming from. (Don't offer the receipts, but if asked, produce them).

The reason for multiple accounts is that many UK banks / card distributors put a daily limit on the money you can withdraw and it is better to deal with cash rather than plastic with travel agents, retailers, etc. in LOS. Currency conversion is usually very fair through ATMs as well. Better than the bank counter next to it

I strongly recommend renting - you may have a property sitting on your hands for a year when it comes to selling. Rent a new, unfurnished apartment and it's the same as being yours. It is much less hassle than buying.