why they ask for 800k?

[Jingthing]

why 800k bahts when I can live with 1/3 of that?

Because they don't want the country to become an economic refugee camp for destitute farang who can only spend Baht 22,000 (US$650) a month.

Like every other country they want foreigners to come here to benefit the economy not because they're just so thrilled to see farang clogging up the beaches and getting drunk in all the farang owned bars.

You can spend 10K baht a month if you want. Just show the 800K annually (bank method).

[elgordo38]

There's always Cambodia!

Are Americans verboten in Cambodia? Seems a couple Yank friends told me that.

[elgordo38]

You can also provide affidavit for 80k baht monthly income. You need to get the affidavit notarized by the embassy responsible for your passport.

Some embassies want to see a physical bank statement with your pension deposited. American consulate/embassy not so much.

[Tywais]

Correct me if I am wrong. To the best of my knowledge, in the late 1990ies it was raised to 800'000 Bht.

When I first arrived here it was 200k then moved up to 400k then to the current 800k.

[Naam]

You can buy a 50 million bht condo but you still have to cough up the 800k, of course it probably wouldnt be a problem, but why?.. its the inconvenience of having to line up at immigration every few months

those who can afford to buy a condo worth 50 million Baht will neither line up nor see the inside of any immigration office

[Naam]

There's always Cambodia!

-------------------------------------------

Yes, if you are willing to settle for Cambodia it is always there.

not to forget Bangla Desh or Zimbabwe

[PattayaPhom]

Nobody lives on 27K a month, they exist. That's why

[paz]

Nobody lives on 27K a month, they exist. That's why

Nobody include perhaps 5 millions of Thai people? The balance lives, sorry exists, with less.

[Maestro]

The mention of being asked for 800k in the topic title is an obvious reference to foreigners on a retirement extension. Please let us stay on topic and do not discuss the living expenses of Thais.

[Pib]

Nobody lives on 27K a month, they exist. That's why

27,000 divided by 30 days in a month is 900 baht a day...three time the current 300 baht minimum wage in Thailand. Call it existing or living, I expect the majority of the Thai population gets by on 300 baht a day.

If you increased the minimum wage overnight threefold to 900 baht Thais would feel absolutely rich.

[Kitsune]

"Quality tourists"

The more money you have the more you are likely to spend.

[IMA_FARANG]

You can buy a 50 million bht condo but you still have to cough up the 800k, of course it probably wouldnt be a problem, but why?.. its the inconvenience of having to line up at immigration every few months

No, 10M Bt investment in new real estate or Govt. bonds, is enough to qualify for an extension of stay.

That almost sounds to logical.

--------------------------------

Supposedly, so the foreigner has a cushion to fall back on.... they will tell you that as a retiree living in Thailand the 800K in a Thai bank is there in case you need hospital treatment in Thailand.

In actuality:

• the 800K Thai Baht is really to benefit the Thai Bank (foreign currency asset hedge)
• It demonstrates and consolidates the Thai government control over a retirees future while they live in Thailand.
• For the same reasons that you need a Thai drivers license if you drive in Thailand
• Because that's the law,

Maybe not entirely logical or valid reasons but that is the excuses they use.

As I said to someone last night on this forum..... governments are not logical entities.

Their purpose is to maintain and demonstrate control over the population for the benefit of the majority of the population, not the individual and maintain a standard of order in the population.

This is a standard practice in all governments worldwide....whether that government is a dictatorship or a so called Democracy.

The difference is only in degree of control, the real reason for government control of individuals is so that the government can maintain control over the majority of it's good citizens (the so-called law abiding citizens) for the benefit of that government.

But enough of that, I'm getting off-topic again, so I'll drop it here.

[Rhys]

You can buy a 50 million bht condo but you still have to cough up the 800k, of course it probably wouldnt be a problem, but why?.. its the inconvenience of having to line up at immigration every few months

No, 10M Bt investment in new real estate or Govt. bonds, is enough to qualify for an extension of stay.

That almost sounds to logical.

--------------------------------

Supposedly, so the foreigner has a cushion to fall back on.... they will tell you that as a retiree living in Thailand the 800K in a Thai bank is there in case you need hospital treatment in Thailand.

In actuality:

• the 800K Thai Baht is really to benefit the Thai Bank (foreign currency asset hedge)
• It demonstrates and consolidates the Thai government control over a retirees future while they live in Thailand.
• For the same reasons that you need a Thai drivers license if you drive in Thailand
• Because that's the law,

Maybe not entirely logical or valid reasons but that is the excuses they use.

As I said to someone last night on this forum..... governments are not logical entities.

Their purpose is to maintain and demonstrate control over the population for the benefit of the majority of the population, not the individual and maintain a standard of order in the population.

This is a standard practice in all governments worldwide....whether that government is a dictatorship or a so called Democracy.

The difference is only in degree of control, the real reason for government control of individuals is so that the government can maintain control over the majority of it's good citizens (the so-called law abiding citizens) for the benefit of that government.

But enough of that, I'm getting off-topic again, so I'll drop it here.

Shoots.. scores.. three points.. money..

[moe666]

Why 800,000k, lets keep this simple, it is their country, they make the laws and the rules. If you cannot meet the requirement or feel it is to extreme find another country.

[ubonjoe]

Two off topic replies to a post have been removed. Please do not use this topic as an opportunity to bash Thai's.

[chuang]

"why 800k bahts when I can live with 1/3 of that?"

There is nothing in the extension rule 2.22 to indicate that you are expected to spend 800k Baht during the 12- month period for which your retirement extension is valid. You are free to spend less or spend more.

You can live like a pauper as long as you have 800k .....

[tancred]

GO in one of their hospitals,you will need a lot more than 800,000.

[biggles45]

"Is it a real visa, dodgily obtained, or is it a pointless paper copy with a hologram, and if anyone checks the number it comes back as "No entry"? "

Most likely it has links to someone at Immigration who "lends" the 800,000 baht to your bank account for a couple of days to facilitate the processing of the visa. I have met a couple of folks over the years who used this method.

[roobaa01]

so first of all anyone buying a 50 mill thb condo would never see the immi office inside, that is absolutely wrong for any blue blooded

scots man would.....

so 200 k, 600 k, 800 k retirement

so 100k, 200k, 400 k , next ?? married to a thai

anyway why only 400 k if married ??

wbr

roobaa01

[Felt 35]

Why...well its Money into the country....if another reason they adopt the Schengen visa system, but that would be logical so want happen for where else is it possible to check my background as through the Thai Embassy in my home country, include financial situation, health situation, criminal record, education, work and previous work, family and extended family, political status, etc.

Edited July 12, 2015 by Felt 35

[1FinickyOne]

I don't think when they made their rules that they were considering what you personally could live on - I would guess that a Thai person going to whatever country you are from would have much more difficult requirements to meet. I think nobody likes doing paperwork etc… but I think they make it quite easy for retired expats to stay here…

[TheFishman1]

Well there are country's to name one Belize I think if you can show 2000 U S Doallars a month you can retire there after a year bring in duty free a car and household stuff even a boat.No problem and yes the house is in your name with land

[freebyrd]

There's always Cambodia!

There are those of us that lived many years in Thailand but actually prefer life in Cambodia. One man's meat.....

[samuibeachcomber]

why 800k bahts when I can live with 1/3 of that?

A "VIP" living on 22 k Baht per month (800'000/12/3 = 22222)

Or do you have a math problem?

that's 747 baht a day...can be done i guess,if you dont have to pay rent,live on your own,only have a couple of beers a day,eat at the local thai road stall.If that's what is happening.

[Bernard Flint]

You can also provide affidavit for 80k baht monthly income. You need to get the affidavit notarized by the embassy responsible for your passport.

WRONG

65,000 BAHT A MONTH, SIR

[freebyrd]

There's always Cambodia!

-------------------------------------------

Yes, if you are willing to settle for Cambodia it is always there.

Why would you consider it settling? Thailand has a lot going for it but many things against, which is why I moved on. I've lived in Hong Kong, Thailand, China ,Philippines and Cambodia and out of that list Cambodia suits me for many reasons. One man's meat.....

[Jingthing]

There's always Cambodia!

There are those of us that lived many years in Thailand but actually prefer life in Cambodia. One man's meat.....

I have no doubt that is true but in the context of this thread, I wasn't really commenting on that either way.

The point was that you can stay legally long term in Cambodia and not worry about financial requirements except to pay the fees to get the visas.

[freebyrd]

There's always Cambodia!

There are those of us that lived many years in Thailand but actually prefer life in Cambodia. One man's meat.....

I have no doubt that is true but in the context of this thread, I wasn't really commenting on that either way.

The point was that you can stay legally long term in Cambodia and not worry about financial requirements except to pay the fees to get the visas.

Fair enough but the emoticon wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

[smotherb]

Their reasoning will be, "If you don't have funds you'll have to work. You may work if you do have funds, but if you don't have funds you definitely will. If you've got funds, and you're too old for the hassle, and it's too hot, and your skills will limit your earnings, you'll probably spend your savings". Thailand basically subscribes to what economists call "the lump of labour" fallacy. They think there's a fixed number of jobs to go around, and so if someone takes a job they can only have taken it at the expense of someone else.

On another thread I did to death the difference between i) 800,000 baht, and ii) the equivalent of 800,000 baht. The second of these is a lot less onerous, in my view, because it doesn't require you to take on a load of currency risk, and if you stop living in the country you don't have to change the money back. From the Thais point of view, of course, retirees are a source of foreign currency earnings, and (therefore) a welcome support for the baht in the international currency markets. You can see why they want you to change the money. It seems to depend on who you approach as to whether they'll accept "the equivalent of" or whether you have to have a baht deposit. If it's a baht deposit I'll probably always do 90 day visas (although the way the EU is going retirement nearer home looks increasingly likely - the sterling/drachma rate might be quite attractive).

I wonder whether there has ever been court action to freeze a baht account after an accident. I'll bet there has. They want you to have money in case something happens. I don't know why they don't up the retirement visa to £300 per annum but throw in basic health cover with it. That or insist on evidence of private cover, or assess the risk you pose once a year and make everyone a tailored one year visa price, with health cover included.

If you think about it from there point of view say $3,000 in an escrow account which couldn't be touched without the agreement of an arbiter would be better. That way if you are sick, jailed or due for deportation it would go some way to meet the expense.

No, much too complicated. Keep it simple. Absolutely, no financial requirement to stay. However, any farang who cannot pay his bills goes directly to jail and is given three months to pay in full or . . .

[smotherb]

Sure, you might spend 1/3 of that but emergencies do pop-up sometimes like an accident/disease which would require hospital care...and hospitals like to be paid since a foreigner is not covered under the Thailand universal card/30 baht medical program....and the Thai govt definitely don't want to pay for your hospital care. Plus as Maestro said, the immigration rule doesn't say you have to be spending the Bt800K for year; it only says you must have it in a bank account if using the bank account method for income proof.

As a non-drinker who prefers to cook, and who is too scared to ride a scooter, I'd struggle to spend 180,000 a year in Isaan. I was thinking about Thailand this morning. It's the only place I've ever been where snapshot memories spontaneously make me smile, and (being tight) that pretty much comes down to how inexpensive things are. I'm such a tight arse that the 213 baht rail ticket from Bangkok to Nong Khai is like an object touched by a saint or a fragment of the true cross. Mmmmmmmm.......cheapness.

But as I say, an escrow account would make more sense from the Thais point of view. There's no point in giving you a visa based on 800,000B if the first thing you to is spend the lot and put yourself expensively in hospital as a consequence, with no health cover. A couple of thousand quid in an escrow account that you can't touch until you've left the country, and which they can't touch until some Norwegian arbiter has agreed - we all trust Scandinavians! - would make a lot more sense.

Well, 2k quid is roughly B105K, about 87% less than the Thais expect now. Are you expecting things to cost less or the Thais to simply require less?