Living In Pataya Renting

[Love You Long Time]

Hi,

I would like to come to pataya to maybe rent somewhere,possibly for 3 months or more,with the intention of getting a feeling and seeing what it is like living in Thailand.

I am from the uk and will be 50 in august,have my own house in the uk paid for,single, and an income of more than 800k per year.

It seems that there are a lot of regulations,visa problems,ect ect which seem a bit constraining and a bit off putting to someone who genuinly wants to maybe come and live in Thailand.

I understand the bank/income side of things that is sensible!,no government wants to accept people to live in their country if they cannot afford to live there and therefore become a burden(unlike the u.k where anyone can virtually come in penniless with no job and no income and no savings).

There are some questions i have:-

1/What is the standard minimum visa issued is it (30 days/1 month?) and the maximum issued to Thailand?

2/What Visa Would i need for a stay of 3 months or more.

3/What is the best advice for renting,say a one bedroom place furnished,mod cons,ect and cost in pataya?.

4/As i understand it you have to have 800k in a thai bank account?,is that all the time?,minimum balance throughout the year?.

5/Do you have to have to have a proven income coming in from outside source regulary every month or can you just transfer say £10.000 each year in 1 transfer lump.

6/Do you have to show your bank balance and proof of income?,is this safe,who are you showing this too?,as a concern about spoofing and identity theft ect ect.

7/Is it easy to tranfer funds from the U.K to Thailand?,which bank in thailand is recommended for this,a good reliable service ect.

8/If you have funds of 800k stuck in a bank account each year you are losing interest?,is there a bank that pays interest on savings?.

I would like some peoples experiences of re-locating to thailand and how they started off,problems,visas,renting,buying property,ect ect,appreciate any and all help thanks very much!.

regards

love you long time

[thaiflyer1]

Standard minimum "visa" is not actually a visa at all but rather a 30 day stamp available on arrival to citizens of 40 countries (UK is one of them).........Next up the ladder are the Tourist visas these are applied for in the applicants home country at the local Thai/Consulate, they come in single,double and triple entry form each entry being good for 60 days.....you have 3 months to use the single entry from date of issue and 6 months to use all entries on the double or triple (each entry can be extended by 30 days within Thailand thereby giving you a total stay of 90 days for a single entry and 180 days stay for a double entry. Next up are the Non Immigrant visas these are issued in either single entry or multiple entry form ....the single having a 3 month validity from date of issue and the multi 12 months fron date of issue.

Once you are 50+ one year extensions of stay are available subject to you meeting certain criteria i.e 800k baht in bank here or monthly income equivilant 65k baht/mth or combination thereof........medical certificate ...etc.

If you intend to come here in August (i.e when you hit 50) and intend to stay 3 months or more then your best bet is a Non Imm O class based upon "retirement" in the Kingdom.......you can then if you so wish extend your stay one year at a time by meeting the requirements.

Note.........the 800k in the bank only applies when you apply for the years extension of stay and not any other type of visa.

Said 800k should not remain static in the account here or immigration will be asking how you support yourself on the other hand you can only use 400k and top it up at the end of the year........in other words they like to see activity on the account.

Regards proven income............if you have the 800k in the bank here no proven income is required as the 800k substitutes for it.

Forget about interest on your money here its negligible.........1% if your lucky.Normal method to transfer money is by Swift its quite easy and only takes a couple of days. Bnaks are much of a muchness i use Siam Commercial Bank(Pattaya)...........mainly because there are never any queues!

Accomodation........this varies as with everywhere from 5kbaht a month for a basic condo up to 100k a month for 5 bed detached house, pool etc.....for a comfortable condo i/d work on 10-15k a month and for a house 15-25k a month.

Just noticed in your previous posts you dont intend to retire for another 15 years if this is still the case then maybe a double entry tourist visa would suffice?

Edited May 11, 2005 by thaiflyer1

[Love You Long Time]

Thanks very much for the very helpful and informative reply back regarding Visas ect!,much appreciated,i am coming out to Pataya hopefully on the 23rd MAY,for a holiday for 18 nights and to have a good look around too.

I am staying at the AMARI ORCHID HOTEL,any feedback on this Hotel?,i understand it is supposed to be quite good and near to everything but enough away so as not to have it all in your face e.g some peace and quite but nearby walk to main central strip for fun.

I am sort of semi-retired as i have ditched work for a Year,to recover from some health problems that were assosciated with the job which i have done for some 30 years,that was a good move,no regrets at all,plus it has given me the chance to travel a bit and enjoy life a bit as i have always been working my guts out!.

I do not rule out the chance to work again, i am happy to work, if possible to find it, as i have always been working since 17 yrs old,so i've been quite active,but for now i am enjoying travel and meeting people from around the world and making new friends. maybe not but i will enjoy the holiday anyway,thanks again for your kind help.I have been to Thiland before and Malaysia before.

By the way are there any Live music bars that are frequented by Brits that are living out in Pataya so that i could meet up with and chat with and get a low down on living in Pataya?.

Any tips for pataya as i am coming over on my own?.

Regards

Love You Long Time