Due to a lot of luck, and a cheap lifestyle, I've found myself in a position where I may be able to retire 3 -5 years from now, somewhere between age 34 and 36. Obviously, this is too young to get a retirement visa. I'm thinking my best bet is to try and find a part time job that will sponsor me for a visa. I'm sure finding a job won't be a problem, I'm a US citizen with a degree in education. However, as I'm mostly interested in being on an extended vacation, I'm not interested in working more than 3 days a week or 34 hours a week. Does anyone know if it's possible to get a work visa for what essentially amounts to a part time job? If not, is it possible / legal to simply pay a company to say I am working for them in order to get them to give me a work permit?

Thanks,

Yes.

No.

Great thanks, I'll start contacting education head hunters when I'm getting close. Also, quick follow up questions. Based on my experiences, vacations, in Thailand I'm guessing that I can live a decent lifestyle on about $25,000 USD a year as long as I'm not in one of the more expensive cities. Does that estimate sound about right to those of you who are currently living in Thailand?

Thanks again

Yes, 66,000 baht approx. a month should be fine unless you want to live in a luxury apartment in Bangkok and get drunk every night. If you have 10M baht to invest, I believe they did restart the investment visas a couple of years' ago. However, I have not kept up to date with the latest developments on that front so I am not sure what the situation is with investment visas right now.

Edited May 10, 201412 yr by inthepink

before you start counting your chickens,the amount you need depends on,do you have a thai partner? what food are you intending to live on?do you drink?do you like clubbing?are you going to rent,house,condo,car,bike? 3-5yrs from now is a long time,things are changing in Thailand and they are not for the better.the amount you need will depend on mainly [a partner].and family.visa's and long term stays shouldn't be a problem as long as you get a job with a work permit.but be aware of SHARKS.

For the first 3 years I suggest you go ED visa and learn the language.

Inthepink: I heard about investment visa's on one of the other forums, I'm not sure how it works or how stable the Thai economy is though. Right now I'm invested in several mutual funds at USAA and the TSP retirement fund that I set up back in my Army days both accounts are giving me very decent returns. Are there solid trust worthy mutual funds or real estate investments for me to look into in Thailand? Last I checked in order to by anything other then a condo on the second floor or higher I had to be married to a Thai national, is that still correct? I have seen far too many guys get burned in divorce settlements and I've had too many bad experiences with past girlfriends, so I'm ruling marriage out of my future completely!

Meatboy: I live cheap always have always will. One of the reasons I'm thinking Thailand over other cheap countries like Cambodia, the Phillipines and Vietnam is the food. I love the local cuisine, and it's mostly inexpensive especially the little out door restaurants they set up on the side of the road, I love the ambiance the food and the price I can happily eat at those places three meals a day for a month as long as I don't have a woman nagging me to go someplace else . I'm not a huge fan of beer, never have been, however, as I would be on an extended vacation I expect to go to a bar once a month or so and would expect to spend about 1600 bhat on a night of drinking with friends. You mentioned things are changing in Thailand and not for the better. Are you referring to a strengthening bhat, a weakening dollar, or is there a growing hostility toward farangs in the general populace? Also, with SHARKS I assume you are referring to schools that promise visas and decent pay but in the end provide neither and have you working in the country illegally, when I was in China this used to happen all the time. I think I built up some decent BS sensors in China that have served me well but I admit I'm still an amateur when it comes to thailand. Any advice you can give me on how to avoid getting scammed or ripped off would be greatly appreciated.

notmyself: I looked into the ED visa, the information I got made it sound like these are getting harder to get more expensive to obtain and more of a pain in the ass to renew. I'm still considering it as an option I'm just a little torn. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to take a job at a University in one of the cheaper cities that provides housing, then I can spend a year learning the language getting the lay of the land soaking up interest in my accounts back home. Then I can find the best way to move money into the country and stay for an extended period of time. I don't suppose they offer a one year tourist visa?

notmyself: I looked into the ED visa, the information I got made it sound like these are getting harder to get more expensive to obtain and more of a pain in the ass to renew. I'm still considering it as an option I'm just a little torn. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to take a job at a University in one of the cheaper cities that provides housing, then I can spend a year learning the language getting the lay of the land soaking up interest in my accounts back home. Then I can find the best way to move money into the country and stay for an extended period of time. I don't suppose they offer a one year tourist visa?

I believe Walen school (sp?) is a TV sponsor and seems to offer quite a good service at around 20k (Baht) a year.

I'm in the same position as you though now somewhat older. Just getting through on triple entry tourist visas which I can get close to 9 months out of and then a visa exempt before going back to the UK for a couple of months and doing it all again. 3 more years and I can get a retirement visa!

Inthepink: I heard about investment visa's on one of the other forums, I'm not sure how it works or how stable the Thai economy is though. Right now I'm invested in several mutual funds at USAA and the TSP retirement fund that I set up back in my Army days both accounts are giving me very decent returns. Are there solid trust worthy mutual funds or real estate investments for me to look into in Thailand? Last I checked in order to by anything other then a condo on the second floor or higher I had to be married to a Thai national, is that still correct? I have seen far too many guys get burned in divorce settlements and I've had too many bad experiences with past girlfriends, so I'm ruling marriage out of my future completely!

Briefly: an investment visa requires you to put 10 million Baht into government bonds, fixed deposits with government banks or a new condo and keep it there. Mutual funds are not an option.

Personally I would not put any money into Thai mutual funds. Too concentrated a market risk, and better fund management available from groups outside the country.

Even if you're married to a Thai national you still can't own the land a house is on, even if you're not married you can own the building and have a 30 year lease or lifetime usufruct on the land.

I would, however, seriously question your desire to retire at such a young age. Many expats here become bored in retirement and turn to drink or other vices.

And do you really have enough money? Years of inflation could erode the value of what money you have - and I'm assuming it's not an enormous sum given your emphasis of your frugal lifestyle. A serious medical condition could also eat away at your savings. Even if you have medical insurance now, the will almost certainly finish when you're 70 or thereabouts.

I wouldn't consider retiring at your age unless I had at least $2,000,000 in savings and investments.

take ayg.advice,I have 30yrs experience of Thailand and I played the field and took good advice,i am one of the lucky ones been married 25yrs.and very happy and old and wise. and didn't move here perminant till 2009.but before that early 80's I met loads who would rob you of everything given the chance and there are more than enough here now.if you have the time try and read through the forum then you will get the idea of what I mean,i can asure you even if you go out only once a month and once you have had a pint or two it will be very hard to resist the female co.so you need your wits about you,it isn't cheap to live here anymore so make sure you get your sums right.so see you in 3-5yrs time

Inthepink: I heard about investment visa's on one of the other forums, I'm not sure how it works or how stable the Thai economy is though. Right now I'm invested in several mutual funds at USAA and the TSP retirement fund that I set up back in my Army days both accounts are giving me very decent returns. Are there solid trust worthy mutual funds or real estate investments for me to look into in Thailand? Last I checked in order to by anything other then a condo on the second floor or higher I had to be married to a Thai national, is that still correct? I have seen far too many guys get burned in divorce settlements and I've had too many bad experiences with past girlfriends, so I'm ruling marriage out of my future completely!

Meatboy: I live cheap always have always will. One of the reasons I'm thinking Thailand over other cheap countries like Cambodia, the Phillipines and Vietnam is the food. I love the local cuisine, and it's mostly inexpensive especially the little out door restaurants they set up on the side of the road, I love the ambiance the food and the price I can happily eat at those places three meals a day for a month as long as I don't have a woman nagging me to go someplace else . I'm not a huge fan of beer, never have been, however, as I would be on an extended vacation I expect to go to a bar once a month or so and would expect to spend about 1600 bhat on a night of drinking with friends. You mentioned things are changing in Thailand and not for the better. Are you referring to a strengthening bhat, a weakening dollar, or is there a growing hostility toward farangs in the general populace? Also, with SHARKS I assume you are referring to schools that promise visas and decent pay but in the end provide neither and have you working in the country illegally, when I was in China this used to happen all the time. I think I built up some decent BS sensors in China that have served me well but I admit I'm still an amateur when it comes to thailand. Any advice you can give me on how to avoid getting scammed or ripped off would be greatly appreciated.

notmyself: I looked into the ED visa, the information I got made it sound like these are getting harder to get more expensive to obtain and more of a pain in the ass to renew. I'm still considering it as an option I'm just a little torn. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to take a job at a University in one of the cheaper cities that provides housing, then I can spend a year learning the language getting the lay of the land soaking up interest in my accounts back home. Then I can find the best way to move money into the country and stay for an extended period of time. I don't suppose they offer a one year tourist visa?

1600 baht sounds a very expensive night out to me ! I live in nong khai and spend about 400 baht on a night out ( 5 large Leo's ) ! I manage on 40,000 a month for myself and Thai gf and that includes rent for 2 bedroom detached bungalow , water , electricity etc

I assume that the exchange rate is going against the baht..

correct me if Im wrong..

Great thanks, I'll start contacting education head hunters when I'm getting close. Also, quick follow up questions. Based on my experiences, vacations, in Thailand I'm guessing that I can live a decent lifestyle on about $25,000 USD a year as long as I'm not in one of the more expensive cities. Does that estimate sound about right to those of you who are currently living in Thailand?

Thanks again

I doubt there's going to be that many "headhunters" looking for someone with a somewhat nebulous "degree in education" who wants to "work" 3 days a week in one of the less expensive cities and who would want to bother with all the document hassle needed to legitimize your stay here (and now the fall-back on serial border crossings is no longer an option).

You better make sure you have everything well and truly sorted before you have visions of sun soaked beaches flashing before you. Opportunities may exist, but most would be found in the larger (i.e. more expensive) cities. Expenses are a highly individual thing, but I live alone in a condo that I own and lead a lifestyle that could be described as "near death" out of choice. Baht 66,000 wouldn't make it for me. Assuming your endless vacation involves more than surfing the Internet and watching TV, you might want to up your budget a bit.

And if your employer gets a little casual about keeping your paper work up to date, you could easily find yourself with 7 days to exit the Kingdom on short notice.

Edited May 11, 201412 yr by Suradit69

When doing retirement planning, one thing many people overlook is the future oddly enough. They often tend to base their calculations and planning on what their current income is and what the current prices are. Even retiring at 55-60, you have to think ahead to what prices may be like in 15-20 years, and will your current (retirement) income still be enough then ? Whatever your income is now, it is not likely to keep pace with inflation. If you are getting $25,000/year now, 20 years from now you'll probably not be getting substantially more, but everything will cost a lot more.

For example, back in 1975 a pack of cigarettes cost 75 cents. 20 years later that same pack was over $8.00. That's almost 1,100% increase over 20 years (or an average increase of 55%/year).

A couple years ago I did a similar post where I had researched prices (bread/butter/milk/gas/etc) and compared them to current prices and it is almost startling to see how much everything has gone up in price over that time. What $1,000 will buy you today could cost you $4,000 (or significantly more) 20 years from now.

The other problem you'll face is, quite frankly, your age. Mid-30's is not the time for retirement. It's the time when you should be maximizing your earning potential, perhaps buying the "big ticket" items, working out future goals and salting away some extra into the retirement fund. In your 40s you should be trying to finish paying off those previously purchased big ticket items and work towards being entirely debt free before you hit 50, and maximizing the amount you are setting aside for retirement.

By 50, hopefully you'll be in the position where you don't owe a penny to anybody, you've got a wad stashed in retirement funds, you've got the house/car/jet ski, 500" holographic projection entertainment system, and you have a bank account that will allow you to do some travelling and enjoy the next 30-40 years.

Your 30s is the time when you want to rock ! Take that little cutie on a trip to Paris. Jamaica with your buddies. A weekend in Vegas gambling, a week in Vail skiing.

It's not the time of your life to be sitting in a tiny little apartment, looking at a plate of the same pad thai or som tam that you eat everyday, wondering if the exchange rate has gone up/down by a couple baht and if that makes the difference between being able to afford a beer today or having to wait until next week.

What you don't want is to hit 50, look around and realize that you have no earning potential, no savings, no house and your future consists of starving from one month to the next while waiting for a deposit to hit your account that will barely last you a week or two.

Inthepink: I heard about investment visa's on one of the other forums, I'm not sure how it works or how stable the Thai economy is though. Right now I'm invested in several mutual funds at USAA and the TSP retirement fund that I set up back in my Army days both accounts are giving me very decent returns. Are there solid trust worthy mutual funds or real estate investments for me to look into in Thailand? Last I checked in order to by anything other then a condo on the second floor or higher I had to be married to a Thai national, is that still correct? I have seen far too many guys get burned in divorce settlements and I've had too many bad experiences with past girlfriends, so I'm ruling marriage out of my future completely!

Briefly: an investment visa requires you to put 10 million Baht into government bonds, fixed deposits with government banks or a new condo and keep it there. Mutual funds are not an option.

Personally I would not put any money into Thai mutual funds. Too concentrated a market risk, and better fund management available from groups outside the country.

Even if you're married to a Thai national you still can't own the land a house is on, even if you're not married you can own the building and have a 30 year lease or lifetime usufruct on the land.

I would, however, seriously question your desire to retire at such a young age. Many expats here become bored in retirement and turn to drink or other vices.

And do you really have enough money? Years of inflation could erode the value of what money you have - and I'm assuming it's not an enormous sum given your emphasis of your frugal lifestyle. A serious medical condition could also eat away at your savings. Even if you have medical insurance now, the will almost certainly finish when you're 70 or thereabouts.

I wouldn't consider retiring at your age unless I had at least $2,000,000 in savings and investments.

Yes would agree about how much money you need to be able to retire that early and probably that US$2M safely invested (no not bloody stock markets and sodding fraudulent hedge funds where you can lose most of it) should do it for you even with a safe modest return from it, Bear in mind that most working folk on average incomes will earn probably less than that is their whole working lifetime and living in expensive rip off places like the UK and USA so you should even without much or any income from it be able to live sensibly in Thailand on US$2M without worrying about investments etc, but only if you can cover inflation loses of course so 2 or 3% a year capital growth on current levels,

My advice would be totally the opposite as to retiring early and having fun. I would have loved to retire in my 30's but financial constraints meant I had to wait until I was 57 which was way too old as now finding doing many things I enjoy have become physically difficult. The main thing is to have plenty of great hobbies you enjoy (I have many including Photography, used to play Golf, Computer games and sims, Motorbike riding ,Music both playing my digital piano and listening too, Movies and TV Shows, and even sex ) They are all to me far more satisfying and pleasurable than having to go to work and having to put up with bad bosses, even if as in my case you are doing a job you enjoy.

If I had more money I would also take up other hobbies too like maybe sailing or microlight fling etc though now being late 60's I would find it too physically demanding to be ideal. But I would not want to return to work to be able to do those things as then I would be chasing rainbow ends. So YES if you are like me and enjoy life and hobbies and never get bored then go for it my friend and enjoy your life without being a prisoner to the extreme Capitalist system we now live in and the narrow minded work ethic and greed that corrupts us all. You work ONLY to live and not the other way around, or else you have lost direction, IMHO that is, Don't go chasing money as having a fun life is far more important than money so work out what you need as a minimum to enjoy your life sensibly and happily and be satisfied with that Do not be stupid like so many I see trying to stash away far more wealth than they need and ending up stressed and tired and still working at 60, so sad and a waste of a one time only life !!!!!!!!!

I am so jealous of you to be able to retire in your mid 30's as that is bloody marvellous and much better than my life of working hard from school until I was 57 and being yet another of life's usual prisoners as 99% of us really are. Even so I have enjoyed most of my life though I have to say, and mainly by working half of my life in a job I really enjoyed doing despite some bad despicable a'hole sad and mental bosses. Life and Family must always come before work though, just have to get that balance right and keep things in perspective. Good luck to you..

Edited May 11, 201412 yr by rayw

When doing retirement planning, one thing many people overlook is the future oddly enough. They often tend to base their calculations and planning on what their current income is and what the current prices are. Even retiring at 55-60, you have to think ahead to what prices may be like in 15-20 years, and will your current (retirement) income still be enough then ? Whatever your income is now, it is not likely to keep pace with inflation. If you are getting $25,000/year now, 20 years from now you'll probably not be getting substantially more, but everything will cost a lot more.

For example, back in 1975 a pack of cigarettes cost 75 cents. 20 years later that same pack was over $8.00. That's almost 1,100% increase over 20 years (or an average increase of 55%/year).

A couple years ago I did a similar post where I had researched prices (bread/butter/milk/gas/etc) and compared them to current prices and it is almost startling to see how much everything has gone up in price over that time. What $1,000 will buy you today could cost you $4,000 (or significantly more) 20 years from now.

The other problem you'll face is, quite frankly, your age. Mid-30's is not the time for retirement. It's the time when you should be maximizing your earning potential, perhaps buying the "big ticket" items, working out future goals and salting away some extra into the retirement fund. In your 40s you should be trying to finish paying off those previously purchased big ticket items and work towards being entirely debt free before you hit 50, and maximizing the amount you are setting aside for retirement.

By 50, hopefully you'll be in the position where you don't owe a penny to anybody, you've got a wad stashed in retirement funds, you've got the house/car/jet ski, 500" holographic projection entertainment system, and you have a bank account that will allow you to do some travelling and enjoy the next 30-40 years.

Your 30s is the time when you want to rock ! Take that little cutie on a trip to Paris. Jamaica with your buddies. A weekend in Vegas gambling, a week in Vail skiing.

It's not the time of your life to be sitting in a tiny little apartment, looking at a plate of the same pad thai or som tam that you eat everyday, wondering if the exchange rate has gone up/down by a couple baht and if that makes the difference between being able to afford a beer today or having to wait until next week.

What you don't want is to hit 50, look around and realize that you have no earning potential, no savings, no house and your future consists of starving from one month to the next while waiting for a deposit to hit your account that will barely last you a week or two.

Wise words.

I retired at 39 (2009) and always had a 1:2 rule where my outgoings are 1/3 of my income per year. At the age of the OP I would be looking at closer to 1:3 or at least bouncing off it. 28%?

Yes, 66,000 baht approx. a month should be fine unless you want to live in a luxury apartment in Bangkok and get drunk every night. If you have 10M baht to invest, I believe they did restart the investment visas a couple of years' ago. However, I have not kept up to date with the latest developments on that front so I am not sure what the situation is with investment visas right now.

I have a friend lives on 200 Bt a day.......... I have yearly expenses like insurance and tax on a car and motorbike, company accounts for my house. I do weekly shopping for my groceries and petrol for motorbike (the car I seldom use except for driving holidays) I pay monthly bills for services.......apart from that I can go for days without spending a single Baht....maybe the odd ice coffee and a cone dip...

Inthepink: I heard about investment visa's on one of the other forums, I'm not sure how it works or how stable the Thai economy is though. Right now I'm invested in several mutual funds at USAA and the TSP retirement fund that I set up back in my Army days both accounts are giving me very decent returns. Are there solid trust worthy mutual funds or real estate investments for me to look into in Thailand? Last I checked in order to by anything other then a condo on the second floor or higher I had to be married to a Thai national, is that still correct? I have seen far too many guys get burned in divorce settlements and I've had too many bad experiences with past girlfriends, so I'm ruling marriage out of my future completely!

Meatboy: I live cheap always have always will. One of the reasons I'm thinking Thailand over other cheap countries like Cambodia, the Phillipines and Vietnam is the food. I love the local cuisine, and it's mostly inexpensive especially the little out door restaurants they set up on the side of the road, I love the ambiance the food and the price I can happily eat at those places three meals a day for a month as long as I don't have a woman nagging me to go someplace else . I'm not a huge fan of beer, never have been, however, as I would be on an extended vacation I expect to go to a bar once a month or so and would expect to spend about 1600 bhat on a night of drinking with friends. You mentioned things are changing in Thailand and not for the better. Are you referring to a strengthening bhat, a weakening dollar, or is there a growing hostility toward farangs in the general populace? Also, with SHARKS I assume you are referring to schools that promise visas and decent pay but in the end provide neither and have you working in the country illegally, when I was in China this used to happen all the time. I think I built up some decent BS sensors in China that have served me well but I admit I'm still an amateur when it comes to thailand. Any advice you can give me on how to avoid getting scammed or ripped off would be greatly appreciated.

notmyself: I looked into the ED visa, the information I got made it sound like these are getting harder to get more expensive to obtain and more of a pain in the ass to renew. I'm still considering it as an option I'm just a little torn. I'm thinking it might be a good idea to take a job at a University in one of the cheaper cities that provides housing, then I can spend a year learning the language getting the lay of the land soaking up interest in my accounts back home. Then I can find the best way to move money into the country and stay for an extended period of time. I don't suppose they offer a one year tourist visa?

You must be one of the lucky few in the world that can soak up the interest on your investment in the US . Close to nothing in most banks .

Sorry if this is off topic, but Thailand visa system is not really designed to be very helpful to someone like the OP. I wonder if his cheaper destination nation NEEDS to be Thailand. There are some other countries, also cheaper living than the west, where he could get much more stable residence, even permanent, even a new passport, perfectly legitimately just based on his finances. If he insists on Thailand he's going to be playing games with Thai immigration for many, many years until age 50, when it will become easy, assuming he still has money, which is really debatable.

Edited May 11, 201412 yr by Jingthing

Cool.. cheap living.. the Governor of Phuket was making limbs for poor Thais who required such things.. (t.v. news)..and I called the reporter and told him that a 3D printer can make them for $5..they cost thousands in Europe and U.S., probably cheaper in Los..land of smiles..

He thanked me..the world is changing.. move to Thailand with 10 million baht..bingo! Investment visa used to work like dat.. guys??

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Cigarettes have a penalty inflation.. petrol has increased at almost the same rate.. I've been told things have increased approx. sixfold since 1970..Kerry d. is right though..

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Cool.. cheap living.. the Governor of Phuket was making limbs for poor Thais who required such things.. (t.v. news)..and I called the reporter and told him that a 3D printer can make them for $5..they cost thousands in Europe and U.S., probably cheaper in Los..land of smiles..

He thanked me..the world is changing.. move to Thailand with 10 million baht..bingo! Investment visa used to work like dat.. guys??

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't recall the details of that investment visa. He should look into. If it's possible, that's a LOT of money to invest in a country possibly on the brink of civil war. Again, there are other countries with investments buy residency schemes for MUCH less money. Seriously MUCH less.

Cool.. cheap living.. the Governor of Phuket was making limbs for poor Thais who required such things.. (t.v. news)..and I called the reporter and told him that a 3D printer can make them for $5..they cost thousands in Europe and U.S., probably cheaper in Los..land of smiles..

He thanked me..the world is changing.. move to Thailand with 10 million baht..bingo! Investment visa used to work like dat.. guys??

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't recall the details of that investment visa. He should look into. If it's possible, that's a LOT of money to invest in a country possibly on the brink of civil war. Again, there are other countries with investments buy residency schemes for MUCH less money. Seriously MUCH less.

How many got their money back from the investment visa when it was 2 million?

I agree with you, go somewhere else.

Sorry if this is off topic, but Thailand visa system is not really designed to be very helpful to someone like the OP. I wonder if his cheaper destination nation NEEDS to be Thailand. There are some other countries, also cheaper living than the west, where he could get much more stable residence, even permanent, even a new passport, perfectly legitimately just based on his finances. If he insists on Thailand he's going to be playing games with Thai immigration for many, many years until age 50, when it will become easy, assuming he still has money, which is really debatable.

JingThing,

I am very curious to know as to which other countries you are talking about?

Thanks!!!

Ecuador (only 25K USD buys residency), Philippines, Nicaragua (Grenada is supposed to be very nice, the war is long ago), Panama off the top of my head. The rules change ... moving target. Some countries offer income options for younger people that don't require pensions. For example, Argentina and Chile, and others. Mostly we're talking Central and South America. Cambodia has the business visa gambit but I don't think that is going to last.

Edited May 11, 201412 yr by Jingthing

Cool.. cheap living.. the Governor of Phuket was making limbs for poor Thais who required such things.. (t.v. news)..and I called the reporter and told him that a 3D printer can make them for $5..they cost thousands in Europe and U.S., probably cheaper in Los..land of smiles..

He thanked me..the world is changing.. move to Thailand with 10 million baht..bingo! Investment visa used to work like dat.. guys??

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't recall the details of that investment visa. He should look into. If it's possible, that's a LOT of money to invest in a country possibly on the brink of civil war. Again, there are other countries with investments buy residency schemes for MUCH less money. Seriously MUCH less.

How many got their money back from the investment visa when it was 2 million?

I agree with you, go somewhere else.

It was never 2 million. It was 3 million for a few years and I suspect most people could of gotten their money back from it they wanted to leave. Many used the 3 million one to buy condos. The 10 million baht investment extension has been around for decades.

You don't have to put the 10 million into companies or such. You can buy a condo and put the remainder in the bank or bonds. You would get a return from the condo from not having to pay rent every month.

Have you looked at Uruguay? The Sovereign Society has been plugging Uruguay and it sounds pretty good. Low prices, good economy, good banking, good climate, low taxes, affordable health care plans, plus relatively easy to get residency and citizenship, etc. If you haven't checked out Uruguay, you might want to.

In respect of THIS topic, it's probably a good idea to move further discussion of early retirement options in countries OTHER than Thailand to this thread on this other forum:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/706247-retirement-if-not-thailand-where/?p=7474870

Cool.. cheap living.. the Governor of Phuket was making limbs for poor Thais who required such things.. (t.v. news)..and I called the reporter and told him that a 3D printer can make them for $5..they cost thousands in Europe and U.S., probably cheaper in Los..land of smiles..

He thanked me..the world is changing.. move to Thailand with 10 million baht..bingo! Investment visa used to work like dat.. guys??

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't recall the details of that investment visa. He should look into. If it's possible, that's a LOT of money to invest in a country possibly on the brink of civil war. Again, there are other countries with investments buy residency schemes for MUCH less money. Seriously MUCH less.

How many got their money back from the investment visa when it was 2 million?

I agree with you, go somewhere else.

It was never 2 million. It was 3 million for a few years and I suspect most people could of gotten their money back from it they wanted to leave. Many used the 3 million one to buy condos. The 10 million baht investment extension has been around for decades.

You don't have to put the 10 million into companies or such. You can buy a condo and put the remainder in the bank or bonds. You would get a return from the condo from not having to pay rent every month.

I'm pretty sure it was 2 but ok let's say it was 3. I personally know many people who were S****** for it, which is why the 10 million is not taken up. I don't know any single person who resides in LoS on the original 2-3 million visa.... do you? Should be noted that I'm going back quite some time here so 12-14 years ago.

Re the OP being an American, and the mention being made of potentially investing in Thai mutual funds and such, people need to be aware that there are both reporting and adverse taxation complications that apply to this specifically for Americans.

Here's an article that explains how the U.S. tax consequences can be particularly bad for certain kinds of foreign investments, including foreign mutual funds.

http://www.crevelingandcreveling.com/blog-list/160-american-expat-financial-advice-dont-get-caught-by-us-tax-rules-on-foreign-investments.html