Advice on supporting family please

[balo]

So many people I know staying in Thailand during the winter, they own both a car and a condo. And live here 6 months on a tourist or ED visa. Thais should be happy that we have invested millions of baht in this country but now I think that immigration will look at it in a negative way.

Should we just keep quite about the investments we have done here ?

Sent from my SM-P601 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[ThaiBob]

Just get a retirement visa, the proposed tightening on ed visas was long overdue.

[OMGImInPattaya]

What's your concern...you're the perfect tourist. Just take copies of your house/condo ownership papers with you back home and use them for a single or multi entry tourist visa when you want to come back. At least in the US, it shouldn't be a problem...especially if your "of an age."

[Awohalitsiktoli]

Of course it is a disadvantage. If you are below the retirement age, or not married, or do not have sufficient funds to meet the exorbitant monthly income rules, you have no security in terms of your investment. You could find yourself unable to stay in the condo you purchased. This is not really a new phenomenon, especially for those under the age of 50. What Thailand needs is a new visa category based on a "reasonable" monthly income and/or sufficient funds to live in Thailand one year (far less than the retirement visa requirement). As long as you have the money, it could be renewed indefinitely. Maybe call it a "long stay visa." There are too many young people who are neither rich nor poor who are about to be kicked out the country because they do not have a good visa option (and, no doubt, immigration is going to crack down on English language visas for teachers and learn Thai visas for students). Fortunately, I do not have a visa problem, but if I did I think Cambodia might be a good option.

[Jingthing]

Just having a visa in your passport does not mean the officers are required to let you enter. That has always been true. Now it is MORE true. The OP brings up a good question. Time will tell.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Jingthing

[Asiantravel]

Of course it is a disadvantage. If you are below the retirement age, or not married, or do not have sufficient funds to meet the exorbitant monthly income rules, you have no security in terms of your investment. You could find yourself unable to stay in the condo you purchased. This is not really a new phenomenon, especially for those under the age of 50. What Thailand needs is a new visa category based on a "reasonable" monthly income and/or sufficient funds to live in Thailand one year (far less than the retirement visa requirement). As long as you have the money, it could be renewed indefinitely. Maybe call it a "long stay visa." There are too many young people who are neither rich nor poor who are about to be kicked out the country because they do not have a good visa option (and, no doubt, immigration is going to crack down on English language visas for teachers and learn Thai visas for students). Fortunately, I do not have a visa problem, but if I did I think Cambodia might be a good option.

ah , but nothing stays the same for ever and indeed you will find very shortly Cambodia's visa rules will also tighten significantly. You can check yourself on one of the expat forums for Cambodia if you don't believe me.

Edited July 17, 2014 by Asiantravel

[balo]

What's your concern...you're the perfect tourist. Just take copies of your house/condo ownership papers with you back home and use them for a single or multi entry tourist visa when you want to come back. At least in the US, it shouldn't be a problem...especially if your "of an age."

This is what I want to believe , that there will be no issues as long as you can show them a bank account with money in it , blue book etc. But from what I hear now things will change. I guess I will find out soon when it's time to renew my own visa.

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[Pattaya46]

These assets will be removed from you possesion gradual as visa classes for no chinese expats are eliminated.

People doing such statement should be banned from this forum. They are way to many.

ThaiVisa lost a lot of its credibility this year because of them.

... or do not have sufficient funds to meet the exorbitant monthly income rules, ...

Exorbitant? 40 or 65'000 baht! Even English teachers may get it

[OMGImInPattaya]

Of course it is a disadvantage. If you are below the retirement age, or not married, or do not have sufficient funds to meet the exorbitant monthly income rules, you have no security in terms of your investment. You could find yourself unable to stay in the condo you purchased. This is not really a new phenomenon, especially for those under the age of 50. What Thailand needs is a new visa category based on a "reasonable" monthly income and/or sufficient funds to live in Thailand one year (far less than the retirement visa requirement). As long as you have the money, it could be renewed indefinitely. Maybe call it a "long stay visa." There are too many young people who are neither rich nor poor who are about to be kicked out the country because they do not have a good visa option (and, no doubt, immigration is going to crack down on English language visas for teachers and learn Thai visas for students). Fortunately, I do not have a visa problem, but if I did I think Cambodia might be a good option.

Why does Thailand need such a visa category...does any other country have such a " bum around the country at your leisure for as long as you like" visa? Maybe some people might want such a category but maybe the Thais, and every higher country in the world, don't. And the current monthly income requirements are quite low IMO and I don't see why, if they even had such a visa, they should be any less...if anything, they should be raised for all categories.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

These assets will be removed from you possesion gradual as visa classes for no chinese expats are eliminated.

People doing such statement should be banned from this forum. They are way to many.

ThaiVisa lost a lot of its credibility this year because of them.

... or do not have sufficient funds to meet the exorbitant monthly income rules, ...

Exorbitant? 40 or 65'000 baht! Even English teachers may get it

You misunderstood me. The amount presented was an example of what I thought was a non-exorbitant amount--an amount sufficient enough to live a simple life in the Kingdom. If you are not married or retired, your long stay visa options are limited unless you are extremely rich. That is the point I was making. To the other poster, why does Thailand need a new visa category? Thailand is about to lose a lot of money by not accomodating--via a new visa category--young (unmarried) persons who want to stay in the Kingdom for a long time who are neither rich nor poor. Who will benefit? Cambodians, most likely. I am not saying everyone should be allowed to stay forever in the Kingdom. There are lots of people who I see every day who I wish had never been allowed to enter the Kingdom. I also think people (Thais and most farangs) are too "hung up" on the word "tourist." As long as they are spending a sufficient amount of money (and that amount is debatable) and doing no harm, why should the government care. Let them stay. Create a visa niche for them. Cambodia does not seem to be hung up on issues that are bothering Thai immigration, which demonstrates there are other approaches to this issue.

[craigt3365]

A troll post along with some associated replies have been removed from view. Apologies to the members with the appropriate replies.

As far as owning the condo, shouldn't be a worry at all...other than the issue of how much time you'll be able to stay in the country. Things are changing rapidly, but the previous trick was to get a multi-entry and extend it. Not sure how that will play out next month, but right now, seems they are targeting mainly those who go in and out a lot and in and out in the same day. I've read nothing about restricting condo purchases to long term visa holders only. That would kill the property market.

As far as the car, you have to have a Thai DL, otherwise, your insurance is void. I don't think you can get a DL with a tourist visa. Probably will be impossible next month for sure.

Tough times right now.

[chiang mai]

It was widely published on TV recently that Pattaya Immigration had posted notices suggesting that visitors could get one year licenses, the discussion that followed proved that many people all over the country had in fact done so, on tourist visa's. The logic seemed to be that a Thai license is easier to check and for the police to review than an international one or any of its variants. Whether or not that will now change I don't know, I strongly suspect it will not.