Pragmatic solutions in uncertain times.

[jethro69]

What would be the approach if you just need a in-out stamp from them, which no intention to enter Thailand. Considering to move over to Lao, like it better than Cambodia.

[marko kok prong]

What would be the approach if you just need a in-out stamp from them, which no intention to enter Thailand. Considering to move over to Lao, like it better than Cambodia.

Let's hope John 1 thru 10 does that,like move preferably to a hut in antartica,so he cannot bore us with his drivel.

[marko kok prong]

A medical visa is available for folks wanting to get the one off gender reassignment or finally finish that pesky frontal lobotomy. The latter will definitely require an extension of stay approved by a $$$qualified Thai doctor.

With a medical visa the possibilities are endless!!!

See John1 thru 10,there is hope for you yet,you have obviously had the lobotomy,so all that remains is the gender reassignment,your sorted.

[impulse]

If the OP is as wealthy as he says, the most pragmatic solution is extension of stay based on 10MTHB investment.

The risk can be kept smaller than any of the other options discussed.

I'd actually be very interested in a discussion of the options for 10MM investment extension, other than a typical link to a website.

Which banks offer qualifying accounts? Are the qualified bank accounts interest bearing? At what rate? Is the deposit guaranteed? Principal and interest guaranteed? Interest fixed, or variable, (and tied to what)?

Aside from bank account and condominiums, what other investment vehicles qualify? If there are any alternatives, what's their historical return rate, and risks involved? Fees going in? Fees/penalties getting out?

Can it be a 5MM bank account and 5MM condo split? Can it be 2 or 3 condos adding up to 10MM? If it is condo(s), can I rent it/them out? What taxes am I required to pay on any rental income? Is there even a mechanism to pay those taxes without getting into trouble?

Anyone's personal experiences with the investment extension? Is it a slam dunk, or are there unwritten hurdles to be revealed only after the money is tied up? How much time does it take to set up if I wired money in tomorrow?

[jethro69]

What would be the approach if you just need a in-out stamp from them, which no intention to enter Thailand. Considering to move over to Lao, like it better than Cambodia.

Let's hope John 1 thru 10 does that,like move preferably to a hut in antartica,so he cannot bore us with his drivel.

Is there no "ignore" button like FB, would be the most uesful feature on TV

[John1thru10]

Myself, I was offered to stay at a friend's in Saigon (HMC), Vietnam. I have never been to Vietnam, and I've always been very interested to learn about this country, and it's differences compared to Thailand.

Visas for (US passport) Vietnam are relatively easy to obtain (at least from what I've read), requiring a letter of invitation for VOA (small fee, somewhere around 50 dollars US), plus something like 100-150 dollars US for a 3 month VOA at major airports.

My plan is to hopefully go there before my current 30 day exception expires, and stay there in Vietnam at least 3 months, learning about the culture and working at home (I'm a composer and animator). And while in Vietnam, apply for a new US Passport through the embassy there, so that I start fresh. Mine is currently like a phone book from world travel as a touring-artist over the last 8 years. That won't solve everything in terms of living in Thailand again, but it will surely help, to have a fresh passport. Plus, who knows, maybe I'll love Vietnam just as much, and can learn more about a new culture for me.

With the possible exception of the cranky British retirees here, who call everyone else 'riff raff' and 'criminals' a little too quickly for my tastes - I wish everyone the best of luck! Thailand has been a far more beautiful, educational, inspiring, caring experience than a lot of posters (or a randon Thai border official) can possibly understand in some snap judgement, for this farang. I wrote 2 operas about the country, made a movie, fell in love twice and lived with those 2 people for years. So much more. Good luck, everyone.

You sound like a friend of Arjunadawn,hey and lay off the Brits pal,stupid stereotyping like this add's nothing to your somewhat bizzare post.

So typical, that you call anything that lives outside of your own experience 'bizzare'. While I have no doubt that you can't relate to being a well respected artist, invited by governments all over the world each year to be paid to come and live for periods of time in their countries, and provided housing and airfare to do so, should I apologize to you, for that? I don't think so, personally. In Thailand I feel compassion for a person's world experience being more limited, because it's not their own fault. But for you: not so much. I was first invited to Thailand by a person who was choreographing the King and Queens events at the palace, and I fell in love with the culture there. It didn't involve a lot of bar stools or soccer games on the big screen, I gues is the problem here. At that time, I chose to take advantage of being offered free 9 month tourist visas for several years - yes, back-to-back - and fell in love, and had a healthy relationship that didn't involve barfines. I'm sorry if you can't relate to that, either. But I owe you no apology for your own inability to relate to something outside of your experience. How's that?

Chroreographing,hmm,does that involve you wearing tights i wonder,you know nothing about me yet assume my life is a round of bar stools and football games on the big screen.yes it is called football,not soccer,unless you are an American,in fact i live in rural Thailand,so your off the mark there,you sound like you like boasting of your achievments,another sign of a frightful bore.

Oops!

I'm sorry I called what you passively watch on television by the wrong name. I know how important that is for you. But just to answer your question; choreography has never involved tights, for me anyway - just a lot of recognition, well-paid world travel, and many beautiful women and celebrities over the years. I know, that's hard for you to understand. Ok, have a great life, and keep on representing the best of the west. Or at least, pretending to.

Edited May 19, 2014 by John1thru10

[shrimpythailand]

FD and S - and others....I take it that the retirement visa is for over 50 yr olds? only 800,000 bt and 3 months in the bank prior to annual due date.... or the Elite deal - 500,000 bt for 5 years... a friend of mine was in on the ground floor of the Elite card - he even went to Japan on a planeload of thai's pushing it on Japan when it first came out..- including Taksin... he staid with it for a few months after but he was in on it when it first started.... I think the commission money for thai's getting people from other countries signed up was thrown around pretty quick and disappeared in back pockets - but they have rolled it out again...you can easily do a marriage visa...400,000 - just pick the right thai woman....also if you have ANY connections in the business world - with money - you could easily get a work permit from a hi-so thai owner that you could actually spend more time on the golf course chatting up other hi-so thai customers than in the office if you find right someone who you could work for "part time" or anything - make your own job...( like one of the Lambo or Ferrari dealers just as a thought) have an office yes - and maybe have to show up and schmooz a falung customer or hi-so thai's.... - but jeez - not hard to do if you want to stay here AND have money....I like my hydraulics/industrial parts lo-so job and I have to work...ain't big pay - but 14 years now and with work permit and should be no problems in future as well ... unless it all goes south here yes...only really costs the company 10,000 bt per year for the work permit.... and I am training 18 thai's now in the biz....with export work and other countries buying from us....

[marko kok prong]

i don't watch television and have not for at least 3 years.

[shrimpythailand]

Look Clownhead it's against the rules of the forum to spread rumors. I have lived through many Military Coups. Bloodless and otherwise. Everything goes back to normal after a while. If you're really afraid go somewhere else. Stop scaremongering. Eventually the dumb peasants will realize they have been lied to and they aren't going to get their rice money. Maybe then they will stop believing the Taksin Regime.

As far as you are concerned it's obvious you inherited your wealth and haven't got a clue how to handle it. You can't even arrange an appropriate visa for yourself. Which is totally comical. This has to be a Troll post no one could be this stupid.

well said ATF.... I think you just hit the nail right on da haid.... 5 5 5 - if OP has all that money to brag about 500 k usd etc.... it would not be hard to figure out how to legally stay here outside of a tourist visa.... Jeez.... unbelieveable actually... 2 million baht is all you need with 4 thai employees to start a biz... figure out something you like to do and start a biz....not hard if you have that kind of moolah to brag about ...anyway - nuff said

[John1thru10]

A medical visa is available for folks wanting to get the one off gender reassignment or finally finish that pesky frontal lobotomy. The latter will definitely require an extension of stay approved by a $$$qualified Thai doctor.

With a medical visa the possibilities are endless!!!

See John1 thru 10,there is hope for you yet,you have obviously had the lobotomy,so all that remains is the gender reassignment,your sorted.

In other words, I hit the nerve without much effort at all, and now you're upset about it all night. Enjoy

[John1thru10]

A medical visa is available for folks wanting to get the one off gender reassignment or finally finish that pesky frontal lobotomy. The latter will definitely require an extension of stay approved by a $$$qualified Thai doctor.

With a medical visa the possibilities are endless!!!

See John1 thru 10,there is hope for you yet,you have obviously had the lobotomy,so all that remains is the gender reassignment,your sorted.

Also, it's 'usually' considered correct to put a space in between words and punctuation. When you don't know basic grammar, particularly in your native language, it does sort of betray you a bit. Just saying.

Edited May 19, 2014 by John1thru10

[John1thru10]

i don't watch television and have not for at least 3 years.

Uh huh.

[shrimpythailand]

Bye Bye. Don't let the door hit you.

Wow!! You are so original. However did you think that one up???

Yeah you'll probably fit in better with the Teak Door crowd.

Don't worry - you'll find me there as well (since many years)....

This useful thread has indeed been derailed by 'ostriches'. If you think that you will be all fine and good on your marriage, retirement or business extension, then you may be in for a big shock. These are troubled times in Thailand and it is foolish (IMHO), to sit smug and happy that you have a suitable visa extension to stay (for a year). Rules can change at the drop of a hat (as we have recently seen), and immigration officers can have a bad headache and deny you entry......

In my case, since I travel in and out of Thailand once or twice a year (working in Myanmar and Laos), the visa exemption suited me fine for my visits. No-one at immigration ever suggested that I was stretching or breaking the rules.

Note as other posters have mentioned - immigration officers have on countless occasions suggested to people 'do a visa-run'. They have not said 'don't do a visa-run because that is illegal'. Suddenly, everything has changed overnight and a sudden change could also take place for retirement visas, marriage visas etc.

So..... be smug ==> be stupid (IMHO)

Simon

good point Simon - yes these are NOT good times in thailand - was wondering why the rice farmers disappeared off the news now for 6 weeks and still haven't got any money.... now more probs with the apoointed PM thing ... it will get a lot worse before an election comes around sometime...plus with no PM then it also means no money under the table for all the gov "schemes" that the gov has done that takes money out of taxp[ayers pockets and puts it in back pockets... rice plan, new car buyer 100,000 bt... a friend said he just got his 100 thou check tho last week and it cleared.... whoa...

[AnotherOneAmerican]

So tell me what would be in Thailand's interest to suddenley cancel,all retirement ,marriage,buisness visa's and work permit's,whoever eventually is in charge of the country would not do this,as it is worth a lot of money to the country, i see no Pol pot on the horizon,so really i think you are getting worked up over nothing.

Hmmmmm,

I can see several candidates for the "Pol Pot" position.

One we can't talk about, another is currently threatened with arrest, and then there is that one out in Dubai.

Not to mention an assortment of generals lurking in the background.

Edited May 19, 2014 by AnotherOneAmerican

[ATF]

Look Clownhead it's against the rules of the forum to spread rumors. I have lived through many Military Coups. Bloodless and otherwise. Everything goes back to normal after a while. If you're really afraid go somewhere else. Stop scaremongering. Eventually the dumb peasants will realize they have been lied to and they aren't going to get their rice money. Maybe then they will stop believing the Taksin Regime.

As far as you are concerned it's obvious you inherited your wealth and haven't got a clue how to handle it. You can't even arrange an appropriate visa for yourself. Which is totally comical. This has to be a Troll post no one could be this stupid.

well said ATF.... I think you just hit the nail right on da haid.... 5 5 5 - if OP has all that money to brag about 500 k usd etc.... it would not be hard to figure out how to legally stay here outside of a tourist visa.... Jeez.... unbelieveable actually... 2 million baht is all you need with 4 thai employees to start a biz... figure out something you like to do and start a biz....not hard if you have that kind of moolah to brag about ...anyway - nuff said

Everyday on TVisa there is some clown asking about visas. They are just too stupid or mean to go and see a professional visa consultant/lawyer. Of course it costs more but they take care of everything for you. No 90 day reporting, no sweating in Immigration. It just costs 25k per year all done, finished and I'm not talking ED visas. Go into any falang bar and ask the owner or there will be stickers in the toilet. It's not rocket science or maybe it is? These people have connections and it's easier for Immigration too.

[marko kok prong]

i don't watch television and have not for at least 3 years.

Uh huh.

Surely a man of your education can come up with something better than this ,sir and for your info i am a writer and artist too,though i do not go about bragging about it on forums such as this,seems you have cast me entirely in the wrong mold,pardon the pun.

[John1thru10]

Look Clownhead it's against the rules of the forum to spread rumors. I have lived through many Military Coups. Bloodless and otherwise. Everything goes back to normal after a while. If you're really afraid go somewhere else. Stop scaremongering. Eventually the dumb peasants will realize they have been lied to and they aren't going to get their rice money. Maybe then they will stop believing the Taksin Regime.

As far as you are concerned it's obvious you inherited your wealth and haven't got a clue how to handle it. You can't even arrange an appropriate visa for yourself. Which is totally comical. This has to be a Troll post no one could be this stupid.

well said ATF.... I think you just hit the nail right on da haid.... 5 5 5 - if OP has all that money to brag about 500 k usd etc.... it would not be hard to figure out how to legally stay here outside of a tourist visa.... Jeez.... unbelieveable actually... 2 million baht is all you need with 4 thai employees to start a biz... figure out something you like to do and start a biz....not hard if you have that kind of moolah to brag about ...anyway - nuff said

Everyday on TVisa there is some clown asking about visas. They are just too stupid or mean to go and see a professional visa consultant/lawyer. Of course it costs more but they take care of everything for you. No 90 day reporting, no sweating in Immigration. It just costs 25k per year all done, finished and I'm not talking ED visas. Go into any falang bar and ask the owner or there will be stickers in the toilet. It's not rocket science or maybe it is? These people have connections and it's easier for Immigration too.

Not to 'spread rumors' or anything, though - as you posted in rage earlier was against forum rules.

[ATF]

Not to 'spread rumors' or anything, though - as you posted in rage earlier was against forum rules.

John personally I think you are a nutjob, but you're definitely not the only one here. Real men on forums don't go crying to teacher about about posts calling it is what it is. Members who keep doing that end up on ignore lists. Have a nice day.

[marko kok prong]

Not to 'spread rumors' or anything, though - as you posted in rage earlier was against forum rules.

John personally I think you are a nutjob, but you're definitely not the only one here. Real men on forums don't go crying to teacher about about posts calling it is what it is. Members who keep doing that end up on ignore lists. Have a nice day.

Yes your naughty,i am going to tell my Mummy.

[TheFishman1]

Yep got bored with it

[brit1984]

if i was "independently wealthy" i would have my PA deal with admin stuff like arranging visas, and spend my time tapping more beautiful objects than a computer keyboard

[alanrchase]

Thank you for telling me how rich you are. Green with envy.

Sent from my GT-I9500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[hawker9000]

Hard to helieve someone with enough savvy to accumulate that much wealth, would be so unsavvy as to attemot to persuade an immigration officer of his NON-working, NON-resident status by showing him multiple property deeds and a thai ba k book...

[AYJAYDEE]

Hard to helieve someone with enough savvy to accumulate that much wealth, would be so unsavvy as to attemot to persuade an immigration officer of his NON-working, NON-resident status by showing him multiple property deeds and a thai ba k book...

game, set and match!! lol

[thehelmsman]

It wasn't long ago this "fatandstupid" character was posting about wanting information on cheapest transportation getting around Bangkok and today he's wealthy rather he's independently wealthy.

[geronimo]

Anyway, I have tried to open a positive thread that will be of some assistance to those seeking practical solutions to manage risk to their assets.

However it has already been highjacked by muppets and keyboard warriors.

And so I will bid all of TV farewell. For good.

Cheers

FD&S

Bye Bye. Don't let the door hit you.

He slammed it so hard, it came off the hinges!!!!!

[Krataiboy]

I will move on to either Cambodia or Indonesia. As I posted in another thread, they have just introduced a 25 year visa for anyone who marries an Indonesian citizen. Those married to a Thai can only dream of such a luxury.

Why wait for the Christmas rush? Do it now. Go to Cambodia or Indonesia. I doubt anyone in Thailand will shed a tear. Just do it.

And don't forget to pack your ego. If you can find a container big enough, that is.

Edited May 20, 2014 by Krataiboy

[chrisinth]

Personally I don't think the OP will solve anything by most of his intentions while doing a border run on a tourist visa.

To show proof of two properties and multiple bank accounts does not fit a 'tourist's' profile, IMHO, and to do so will cause the OP more problems than it will answer simple questions asked by an immigration official.

Don't volunteer anything that isn't asked for, and act like a tourist....................

[Cnxforever]

I am one of these independently weathly under 50 individuals and I am currently on a tourist visa.

There was a flood of posting on the crackdown over the last week, however I deliberately avoided wasting any energy adding to the often erroneous and misinformed debate.

Instead, I focused upon implementing pragmatic solutions to manage the risks that are now attached to the tourist visa. I became independantly wealthy by doing just that- focusing on solutions, not the problem.

The problem, or primary risk, as I now see it, is that one can be blocked from entering Thailand merely because an immigration officer "suspects" you have been working. So regardless of the fact that I do not work here, nor do anything untoward, access to my two properties, bank accounts, investments, and personal possessions may all be lost because some officer on a border somewhere, or at an airport, "suspects" that I am working.

And so on to the point of this thread. Rather wasting our energy going round and round discussing the crackdown, let us instead focus on listing some practical solutions.

Here are some of mine:

• I have over the last week transferred several million baht out of my Thai bank accounts.
• I have puchased 2KUSD worth of American express travelers cheques. There is no way I am showing any immigration officer 20KTHB in CASH. He can view and play with my travelers cheques as much as he wants.
• I have made copies of the leases on both of my properties. I will be taking them with me next time I do a visa run. But...I am unsure whether showing that I have two properties wins any points with immigration? Or will it spur them to make accusations of running a business, which I am not? A good topic for debate in itself because lots of my oil and gas friends also have high value properties here and some of them have been using visa exemptions for over a decade.
• I will be also be taking (some) of my Thai bank books with me next time I do a visa run.

So what pratical solutions will you use to manage the risk that flows from the tourist visa crack down the fact that an officer can now deport you and blacklist you on nothing more than his suspicion that you are working?

How did you transfer several million baht out of the country? What reason did you give?

[brit1984]

I don't understand the issues here. I you guys plan to stay here for an extended period of time, get a suitable visum (ie. not a tourist one). There's lots of options.

No there's not. Not married-under 50-not working-done the education visa already for 3 years.

He has stated he has millions of baht and property. There could be an Investment Visa possibility.

or just get an elite card... simple pragmatic solution for independently wealthy high-rollers like the OP