Investment Visa - New Rules?

[ManaoBkk]

My friend has just e-mailed me from Ireland..

He said he had applied for his Investment visa as previous years based on the condo's he has owned for some years now..

He has now been told that the visa rules for this type of visa have now changed. The only thing he mentioned in his e-mail was there was now an age limit of 65? he's 50.

The little I could find on the web regarding this type of visa was that if you had previously held an investment visa and had kept it current then you could continue/extend it??

Does anybody have any upto date info on this refering to specifically to having a previous investment visa and not against a new application?

Thanks

[paz]

Ask him which visa he got because there is no 'investment visa" for owning a condo and there has never been .And regulations have not changed.

There are is a via that require one to be over 50 and have money in a bank. And there is the consulates in the UK that makes their own rules and raise the age to 65.

Edited September 26, 2014 by paz

[ubonjoe]

There has been no changes for the investment extension of stay (it is not a visa).

There were no changes made to clause 2.5 that is for investment extensions in the immigration order that went into effect the 29th of August.

[AyG]

Sounds rather like what happened to me. As soon as I turned 50 they started pressuring me to move from an investment extension of stay to a retirement one. 18 months ago they point blank refused to extend my stay on the investment visa and forced me to change to retirement. This was at Chaengwattana. They seem to make the rules up as they go along.

[ManaoBkk]

I need to check with him...

But I'm fairly sure he had been issued an O type visa in the past back in Ireland based on him having property here

[paz]

I need to check with him...

But I'm fairly sure he had been issued an O type visa in the past back in Ireland based on him having property here

Yes, in the past some consulates used to do that. Not anymore I'm afraid. He can come in visa exempt, then apply for an year long extension of stay as you can read on the related threads.

Edited September 26, 2014 by paz

[ubonjoe]

I need to check with him...

But I'm fairly sure he had been issued an O type visa in the past back in Ireland based on him having property here

That is certainly not an investment visa. That was based upon him owning condo which is no longer possible since all multiple entry visas have to approved by the embassy in London now.

The age of 65 and having a government pension is the requirements now to get a multiple entry non-o visa approved by the embassy in London based upon retirement.

[spambot]

I need to check with him...

But I'm fairly sure he had been issued an O type visa in the past back in Ireland based on him having property here

That is certainly not an investment visa. That was based upon him owning condo which is no longer possible since all multiple entry visas have to approved by the embassy in London now.

The age of 65 and having a government pension is the requirements now to get a multiple entry non-o visa approved by the embassy in London based upon retirement.

Hi UbonJoe - I thought that there was a method to stay based upon investment in Condo(s) as long as the value of the property(s) exceeded 10 million Baht and only after 3 years.

I did look into this myself about 2 years ago and thought that this might be a useful option to consider.

I based all my reasoning on this single item on Bangkok immigration page - FAQ's - However it doesn't define what process to follow.

Does anyone have experience or definitive insight to this information on the Bangkok immigration website?

http://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/base.php?page=faq

20. Question : Could the alien (about 35 year of age) stay in Thailand without working or marriage to Thai national? If so, what are the requirements?

Answer : Yes. The said alien could stay in the Kingdom by the reason of investment of no less than 10 million Baht in Thailand. The requirements are that the alien:

1. Must have been granted a “Non-Immigrant visa”
2. Must have evidence of transferring funds into Thailand of no less than 10 million Baht. (Copy of evidence showing a transfer of funds from a foreign country to a bank in Thailand)
3. Must have evidence of investing in the purchase or rental of a condominium unit for a period of no less than 3 year issued by a relevant agency or government unit, at a purchase or rental price of no less than 10 million Baht (Copy of condominium purchase agreement and copy of the ownership registration of the said condominium issued by government or relevant agency or a copy of a long-term lease agreement are needed documents)

[Mario2008]

Not after 3 years, the 3 years refers to that you either buy a condo or rent a condo and in the case of rent the 3 year rent must be at least mentioned price.

The problem is often getting the visa before you travel to Thailand. Best option might be to get a tourist visa and then convert into a non-B visa once you have the required papers for proof of having invested 10 million.

[Estrada]

Ask him which visa he got because there is no 'investment visa" for owning a condo and there has never been .And regulations have not changed.

There are is a via that require one to be over 50 and have money in a bank. And there is the consulates in the UK that makes their own rules and raise the age to 65.

Sorry you are wrong. There was an "Investment Visa" for owning condos above a certain value. It was introduced to help out some friends with political connections, who are Thai Developers, during the finanical crisis circs 1997. Their advertisments read "Buy 5 condos and get an investment visa".

[spambot]

Not after 3 years, the 3 years refers to that you either buy a condo or rent a condo and in the case of rent the 3 year rent must be at least mentioned price.

The problem is often getting the visa before you travel to Thailand. Best option might be to get a tourist visa and then convert into a non-B visa once you have the required papers for proof of having invested 10 million.

Good points Mario2008 - When I re-read this again (since last time was 2 years ago) I wondered how I had missed the 3 year rule (to buy) last time, but as you rightly point out - This is just for rentals.

It is good to hear that this is an option still.

I was put off last time doing this when I looked at the sales tax on a single Condo (sale latter) since its based upon a personal income tax and the higher the single unit sale latter then the higher the tax - Without going over my last notes I seem to think that this could be as much as 25% of the property sale (under certain circumstances). So it made more sense to buy multiple lower cost condos (up to the value 10 million) and release (sell) them at staged periods over different tax years to make the tax on the sale less painful.

[paz]

Sorry you are wrong. There was an "Investment Visa" for owning condos above a certain value. It was introduced to help out some friends with political connections, who are Thai Developers, during the finanical crisis circs 1997. Their advertisments read "Buy 5 condos and get an investment visa".

It is a reason for extension of stay, not a visa. These are different things.

[ManaoBkk]

Sorry for the delay - my friend has just e-mailed me..

He has in fact been issued in Ireland a type "O" visa for the past 5 or 6 years based on him owning 4 condo's down Ratchada. But he has been told this time that he can no longer get this visa??

He's planning on coming back for around 30 days and then going to Cambodia or similar to try there - anybody with any similar experience?

[ubonjoe]

He will not get a non-o for that reason anywhere nearby here. Australia maybe at one of the honorary consulates.

It is not even a reason to get a non-o shown on MFA website. http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/123/15398-Issuance-of-Visa.html

'other activities (Category "O") as follows:

to stay with the family, to perfrom duties for the state enterprise or social welfare organizations, to stay after retirement for the elderly, to receive medical treatment, to be a sport coach as required by Thai Government, to be a contestant or witness for the judicial process."