Can anyone tell me whether someone entering Thailand on a 'pensioner's' visa for the first time is entitled to import their household goods duty-free. The Thai Customs website seems to imply that 'pensioners' are specifically excluded from this perk and will need to pay duty on their household stuff.

Can anyone tell me whether someone entering Thailand on a 'pensioner's' visa for the first time is entitled to import their household goods  duty-free. The  Thai Customs website seems to imply that 'pensioners' are specifically excluded from this perk and will need to pay duty on their household stuff.

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I believe all people entering Thailand for retirement purposes - on an "O" or "O-A" visa - have 6 months to import their household goods.

Have a look at these previous threads:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28684

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=27443

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=26454

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=24948

You can use the "search" facility - top of the page - to search for key words in previous threads.

To be eligible, the ' pensioner ' retiree must hold an O-A visa on an extended O visa.

Can anyone tell me whether someone entering Thailand on a 'pensioner's' visa for the first time is entitled to import their household goods  duty-free. The  Thai Customs website seems to imply that 'pensioners' are specifically excluded from this perk and will need to pay duty on their household stuff.

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Endure, I just bought in a container from Aust.Very strong suggestion is to get yourself a qualified clearing agent.I was very lucky, had mine out in 2 days & they didn't even open it.I still had to pay around 24,000 Baht in palm greasing & VAT.

Ask the questions before you do anything & have a complete list of what is in it.

Good luck.

I am of the view that "stuff" is rarely worth the expense of shipment and palm greasing, even if technically free of duty.

Almost everything is available at very low cost in Thailand so shipping goods is rarely cost effective. Your starting a new life, rid yourself of your past "stuff". Old furniture rarely fits into new houses

Unless you have already bought or built your new home, your looking at storage charges as well.

I am of the view that "stuff" is rarely worth the expense of shipment and palm greasing, even if technically free of duty.

Almost everything is available at very low cost in Thailand so shipping goods is rarely cost effective.  Your starting a new life, rid yourself of your past "stuff".  Old furniture rarely fits into new houses

Unless you have already bought or built your new home, your looking at storage charges as well.

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I'm glad someone else has brought this up because I didn't want to sound particularly generous - I wasn't, I just wanted to get rid of everything I had to my relatives. It helped to have four nephews and nieces, all around 20 years of age, two married, and all needing TVs, VCRs, furniture, kitchen white goods, garden tools, etc. The local Oxfam shop also had it's "skip" filled up more than once after my visits. The only item I couldn't get rid of was my Canon gas cooker: it worked perfectly, but ended up at the council dump. My Sony sound system is at my mum's and my big Goodman's Magnum speakers are up in the loft. I just couldn't bear parting with them, but I can't see me ever bringing them to Thailand. Maybe I'll bring my vinyl LPs one day, but they weigh a ton and what the heck can I play them on?

It's not furniture but things like books, music, a high end DVD recorder, computer equipment, video equipment. I don't mind leaving all my junk behind but I need electronics

It's not furniture but things like books, music, a high end DVD recorder, computer equipment, video equipment. I don't mind leaving all my junk behind but I need electronics 

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I know what you mean - I miss my radar detector that used to talk to me in my car. But it's not really needed in Phuket!

I'm retiring to Pattaya in June though I am going back to the UK for about 2 weeks at the beginning of August. My intention is to sell most of my furniture and merely to import ornaments etc along with a collection of 200 + CD's, photo CD's and some books and my photographic equipment consisting of 3 Nikon cameras, various lenses and one or two flash guns.

The photographic equipment will almost certainly be brought in in my hand luggage with much of it being locked in the safe in my condo when I'm back home.

Anyone see any problems here?

Alan

If you appear to be a "vanilla tourist", I doubt you will have any difficulty bringing anything thing through customs in BKK unless it is separately packaged or you declare it.

A friend of mine, brings loads of model plane engine parts in their original packages for a friend in the business here without every being checked.

Most of the posts to the contrary are not from "vanilla tourists".

Electronics and camer equipment is usually priced as expensive as in the west so unless your electronics are getting old and due for replacement, bringing it with you makes sense, although heavy stereo gear may be expensive if shipped as it is sure to cost.