Thailand Elite Long Stay Visa Membership Privileges

[Ronuk]

Ugh I didn't explain well. Shouldn't my visa from june 08 2016 expire on june 07 2021. that is exactly five years.

Yes it should of been until June 7th. 2021.

Imho, it shouldn´t.... :-)

As far as I understand it, the maximum period the "TE visa" is valid for is the period of your membership. Your TE membership started in May 2016. The fact that you went to CW to have your sticker put in today is irrelevant as it does not extend the time of your TE membership.

PS: Oops, contradicting ubonjoe on the Topic of visa regulations feels like committing virtual TV suicide. ;-)))

The programme is set up in order to enable 5 full years of Visa usage, regardless when you actually applied for the membership. The 5 years start the day they affix the Visa in your passport. Hence, it's very unlikely you will be able to swing 6 years out of it by leaving and re-entering the country just before the Visa expires. It's a fair programme for both parties in that respect.

[DUS]

The programme is set up in order to enable 5 full years of Visa usage, regardless when you actually applied for the membership. The 5 years start the day they affix the Visa in your passport. Hence, it's very unlikely you will be able to swing 6 years out of it by leaving and re-entering the country just before the Visa expires. It's a fair programme for both parties in that respect.

You might well be correct on both claims, Ronuk.

My comments are just based on what I read on TV from other TE members who said/claimed that

a/ the visa expires 5 years after joining TE and not 5 years after they had the sticker put into their passports and

b/ they were told (but not in writing) that as you always get a new 1 year stamp whenever you re-enter the country that you could also do that before your membership comes to an end, thus squeezing 6 years out of your 5 year membership.

I like the fact that anotheruser will check with TE and report back to the forum in due course.

[Ronuk]

The programme is set up in order to enable 5 full years of Visa usage, regardless when you actually applied for the membership. The 5 years start the day they affix the Visa in your passport. Hence, it's very unlikely you will be able to swing 6 years out of it by leaving and re-entering the country just before the Visa expires. It's a fair programme for both parties in that respect.

You might well be correct on both claims, Ronuk.

My comments are just based on what I read on TV from other TE members who said/claimed that

a/ the visa expires 5 years after joining TE and not 5 years after they had the sticker put into their passports and

b/ they were told (but not in writing) that as you always get a new 1 year stamp whenever you re-enter the country that you could also do that before your membership comes to an end, thus squeezing 6 years out of your 5 year membership.

I like the fact that anotheruser will check with TE and report back to the forum in due course.

The Visa is 100% valid for 5 years the day it go's in your passport and not when you apply for membership. Even after you have been accepted TE state they need at least 14 days of your intended arrival to have the visa affixed.

I am no Visa expert but if say your 5 year Visa was to run out on 31st December 2016 and you left and re-entered the country on say 1st December 2016, is it legal to have a further 1 year stamp in your passport that would allow you to stay a further 12 months on an expired Visa? As I say, I am no expert on Visa legalities.

[anotheruser]

Nobody knows that yet but I would doubt they are dumb enough to give a year away free.

[ukrules]

Nobody knows that yet but I would doubt they are dumb enough to give a year away free.

Someone did confirm that Thailand Elite confirmed this is the case and you would get a year entry even if you arrived just prior to the expiration date, I can't remember where but it's on this forum somewhere.

Of course all of the additional perks and services would end on the date your membership ends which may or may not be before the visa expiry date by the looks of it and the next time you leave the country your visa would have expired.

I suspect many people will renew anyway, I wonder if there will be any incentives to renew offered ?

[anotheruser]

Nobody knows that yet but I would doubt they are dumb enough to give a year away free.

Someone did confirm that Thailand Elite confirmed this is the case and you would get a year entry even if you arrived just prior to the expiration date, I can't remember where but it's on this forum somewhere.

Of course all of the additional perks and services would end on the date your membership ends which may or may not be before the visa expiry date by the looks of it and the next time you leave the country your visa would have expired.

I suspect many people will renew anyway, I wonder if there will be any incentives to renew offered ?[/quote

Sure but I would want a better confirmation of this before I banked on it.

[JayBird]

Any update on the June 7 news? I didn't hear anything....

[ukrules]

Today I did my second one year extension without leaving Thailand since the initial visa was inserted in my passport back in 2014.

I spent 15 minutes in immigration today, that's me sorted for another year apart from the 90 day reports of course.

Before getting this PE visa what's now a 90 day report for me involved a trip to the airport and a flight to and from another country.

[Ronuk]

Looks to be a problem in Chang Mai now regarding Retirement Extensions and Visas.
Thread just gone up.

[Ronuk]

Sorry, I probably never worded my last post quite right.

Here is the thread.http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/923752-need-21-day-validity-of-permission-to-stay-for-visa-conversion-in-cm/

[Ronuk]

The TE visa actually works out at just over £5 Sterling a day and that's before you minus the Visa run fees etc. I am sat here thinking how far my £5 a day would go in London to give me piece of mind and be happy......I'm struggling.

[anotheruser]

Again the Elite visa isn't for the high rollers of the world. They are above the law when it comes to back to back visas, even it is unlikely they would spend that amount of time in Thailand. You think they would turn away Richard Branson no matter how many stamps are in his passport. I can imagine that making news "Business mogul Richard Branson was refused entry to Thailand this morning for too many stamps allegedly."

Also the service of the program isn't up to par for the ultra wealthy. If you are extremely rich and you consider the process I went through waiting in the main room of Chaeng Wattana with everybody else good service, you are doing something completely wrong. Again really rich people are pre-cleared to enter the country, Would some buy it because it is a mere pin prick financially to do so? I guess that is possible but it wouldn't be some coveted item that is done as matter of a course for a status symbol.

If I were filthy rich I would have figured something else out. Rich people have so many options. For example if I were a billionaire it would pretty much be assumed when I buy my $30,000,000 villa in Phuket they will leave me alone. They aren't going to mess with anybody that rich. As I said the services aren't up to par for an ultra wealthy client. Imagine the smile he will have when he learns his Toyota "limo" may be upgraded to a BMW!!!

The program simply isn't smooth enough to appeal to that type of person. I am happy with it myself but I feel people like me are more in line with what the program offers. How would a rich person even knows this program exists? It seems people in the immigration lines didn't know. I don't think Warren Buffett is glued to TV everyday worrying about how he is going to take care of his wife over here.

The program is great if it fits your needs. It fits mine very well. I am under 50 have the funds needed and it is my easiest option to be legit here. There arepeope over 50 that seem to enjoy it because they can afford it and it saves them some hassles. There are some married people who seem to like that they aren't dependent on their wives for a visa anymore. Perhaps there are some oil workers traveling frequently that it is useful for. After that I am having a problem thinking of who would need one.

The term "elite" is a baby step above the term "vip" in the Thai visa world. The platinum standard in the world of entering Thailand is you have enough clout you just tell them you are coming. At that point you don't need permission.

Picture Branson sitting for half an hour in the middle of Chaeng Wattana, not even being offered a complimentary water. The idea of this service being for the one percenters is utterly absurd. Again I am happy what it does for me. What it does, is allow a mere mortal such as myself who is middle class to basically buy himself an easy way to stay.

For awhile the thread was going so well and filled with info until we had to argue this tired point again. I guess I am guilty of doing this myself but I am on the bottom of the barrel on the financial world and even by my relatively modest standards I find some of the service to be appalling.

Thai elite if you are reading this here is a tip... when you are at CW and are going to affix the visa take the member down to the coffee shop it is an Amazon I think, buy him a coffee and let him/her wait there. Heck I will even pay the coffee. They would really need to put the finishing touches on their services to appeal to anybody at the upper levels.

I think the program could do well in the future by being what it is and not trying to pretend to be something it's not. The way I see it is that it is the lowest benchmark of if an individual can support themselves in Thailand. In this way it works. If you don't have it you do visa runs and take your chances. If you do have it then you are safe at least for the moment.

Sorry for the lengthy post. lol

[DUS]

Great post! Thanks anotheruser!

[JayBird]

I agree on interpreting the TE program for what, at least I feel, it truly is: A way to grant long term visas to people who can 'prove' they have funds and are not here for non-legitimate means. I think Thailand feels safe that who ever can pay for a PE visa is not trying to secretly be here or work illegally In that light I can respect it.

Still would have preferred if PE was listed along T, B, O, and the other Visas. But whatever

I know there's a lot of arguing back and forth, but the only point I would really like to emphasize is:

There may be alternatives to the TE visa for certain individuals that are worth exploring. To reject the TE in favour of another is not a testament to one's net worth or wallet size.

For the moment, I still calculate the 'Spend a week vacation somewhere in SE Asia every 2-3 months' to accomplish the same at the same amount of money.

I would also caution against a 20-year membership. Visa rules around the world change, and 20 years is a long horizon (with minimal advantage over a 5 year membership). A simple scenario could be that in 5-10 years Thailand could have a new Visa agreement with G7 countries granting them 90 day visa on arrival (a courtesy already extended to many other countries). This could be coupled with a 90-day extension that could be applied online (as we move forward with progress this should be feasible). I would imagine many people would see this as a more than adequate solution to their Thailand residency means.

For those who question changing Visa requirements: It happens often enough. Americans/Canadians need to keep an eye out on July with regards tow hat happens to Shengen Visa requirements (they might change it!). And there is some talk about Thai-Canada FTA which could open the doors more to Canadian Snowbirds

[gerry1011]

I think you guys all agree that Thailand Elite is a good program, of value to some, lots of value to others, but not everyone wants to buy it.

We do agree

Great

Edited June 9, 2016 by gerry1011

[Thailand Elite]

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your interest and have discussed about this topic. Your comments are important to us! We are continuously looking for ways in which to improve the quality of our services offered to our customers.

Please don’t forget to follow us on https://www.facebook.com/thailandelite.

The Thailand Elite Team

[anotheruser]

Alright just a small update. I went today to open a bank account. At Thai Krung they wouldn't talk to me with no work permit. I called TE and they said they had their contract with Bangkok bank. They said I would need a document from them that would take up to a week to get. I decided to try without it anyway because I was right in front of the bank in the mall anyway. The lady look puzzled by the visa and membership card. I explained what it was and she went and made some calls. She came back and asked me for my membership letter and I gave her that along with the receipt for joining. She made a few more calls and then told me she couldn't do it with out the needed document.

So I wrongly assumed the visa was enough to open an account. So just putting it out there for other new members if you want to guarantee you can open an account make sure you email TE member services first and tell them 5 to 7 business days in advance what branch you want to open an account at. From the look on the ladies face at the bank she had probably never seen an elite visa before. So ironically it might have been easier to open an account on a tourist visa as some people report they have been able to do so. Do people need to get a separate document to open a bank account when they have a retirement visa?

Just asking out of curiosity. Anyway this post is just a heads up to get whatever the paper is ahead of time so people don't waste their time.

We could probably make a sticky thread that has only hard facts at some point. This thread is useful and fun to debate the merits of the program but perhaps a thread with only verified info would be useful for some people? I think a lot of info gets lost in the exchanges in this one making it necessary to dig through 10 pages of thread to get info that could be condensed into one or two posts.

[anotheruser]

I think that's what they are offering already.

[ukrules]

I think that's what they are offering already.

Yes but you have to join for a minimum of 5 years which is fine if you're planning on staying for 5 years.

I think a 1 year only option would be a big hit with the 'gap year' types who will have their parents pay for it and then use Thailand as a 'safe base' for further travels around Asia. It could be marketed as such.

[ukrules]

I opened an account with Kasikorn years ago, I haven't bothered with Bangkok Bank so far.

[Ronuk]

Bangkok Bank offers some good options if you put 2million BHT, I think it is in your account. They will still open a simple cash card (ATM) and passbook account on the strength of a temporary address and a passport. I did one quickly in December for a friend in Hua Hin. It all took about 30 minutes and you walk out with an ATM/Debit card and passbook. Vey quick and simple.

[anotheruser]

Bangkok Bank offers some good options if you put 2million BHT, I think it is in your account. They will still open a simple cash card (ATM) and passbook account on the strength of a temporary address and a passport. I did one quickly in December for a friend in Hua Hin. It all took about 30 minutes and you walk out with an ATM/Debit card and passbook. Vey quick and simple.

As I said the Thai Elite visa affixed in your passport will guarantee you need an additional document and an appointment will be set. They said just my passport and the card would be needed as my card is linked to my address I won't need any proof of where I live it is documented already.

Or that was the case for me in Bangkok anyway. Just remembered you are a member as well so maybe it isn't the case anywhere but that is the official policy I have been told by Thai Elite.

Edited June 17, 2016 by anotheruser

[Ronuk]

Bangkok Bank offers some good options if you put 2million BHT, I think it is in your account. They will still open a simple cash card (ATM) and passbook account on the strength of a temporary address and a passport. I did one quickly in December for a friend in Hua Hin. It all took about 30 minutes and you walk out with an ATM/Debit card and passbook. Vey quick and simple.

As I said the Thai Elite visa affixed in your passport will guarantee you need an additional document and an appointment will be set. They said just my passport and the card would be needed as my card is linked to my address I won't need any proof of where I live it is documented already.

Or that was the case for me in Bangkok anyway. Just remembered you are a member as well so maybe it isn't the case anywhere but that is the official policy I have been told by Thai Elite.

I am going to test the water when I next fly in in a couple of weeks. I agree though and I think it's the proper type of Bank accounts the TE give access too with a personal banking manager rather than just a cash card account which I have found possible to open in most places. If you look direct at the Bangkok Bank website, they do some good bank accounts if you can put a few bob in there. Lets us know how you get on anyway and what they offer you.

[anotheruser]

Question is: will other banks open on this? Because if i joined (which I don't intend to anytime soon), I'd expect red carpet treatment, live like a Thai citizen kind of thing, not..."we only work with Bangkok Bank".

They told me they only work with Bangkok bank over the phone. I haven't looked into it any further because I simply don't really care that much. I will only be putting relatively small amounts into this account anyway. The way the banking works with this visa is somewhat quirky in my opinion. It is another area they will need to improve if they want to become more attractive to a wider base of people.

I would have preferred Krung Thai because they have an ATM at the 7/11 at the foot of my condo building. I will probably ask them to confirm more formally that I am only able to use Bangkok bank with their program. I am sure other banks may make an account whether it is officially condoned or not. However i would like to know the official stance and will ask at some point via email. It will also be interesting to see if they show up at the bank. They gave me a specific time to go to the bank so they may show up and hit me with the 2,000 Baht charge. If this is the case I certainly will be a little annoyed with them. I don't need anybody to join me I just need the letter and I think I can handle opening an account all by my little self.

Will keep you updated Ronuk. I am trying to give as much info as I can in this thread.

Edited June 17, 2016 by anotheruser

[Ronuk]

I am just looking at the services they offer. It says the first time of using the EPL (Elite personnel Liaison) for opening a Bank account, obtaining a drivers Licence or using there Immigration service, is free so they shouldn't charge you. I actually think you are right and they will be sending someone to help you with the process and to make sure it happens.

Edited June 17, 2016 by Ronuk

[JayBird]

I was able to open up a bank account at Bangkok Bank in Phuket with (as far as I recall) no problems. They spoke sufficient English. Charged me for an insurance that I don't need/want. Gave me my bank card and online banking. I can use my mobile phone to do all my banking. Works perfectly.

The downside with Bangkok Bank is, at least for me: Good luck finding an ATM Everywhere I go I see all the colours but Bangkok Bank

As for the PE Visa: To be fair, we should also be fair. Not many countries offer any means of staying for 5-20 years without having to cross the border. So the fact that Thailand offers this should be acknowledged as a positive.

Thailand even offers a 'Retirement' Visa, which many other countries do not... another positive note for Thailand.

To be fair: Thailand offers many ways to stay and visit that are not available to other countries. To expect more is a bit unreasonable. To offer advice on how they can improve their program is always good tho

I don't have a TE/PE Visa as I travel in/out of the country so much that I can do nicely with METV/SETV/30-day visa. But it is comforting to know that should I be in a position where I want to stay for multi-years continuously that I do have an option. Something not even offered by '1st world' places such as Schengen

[anotheruser]

I am making no criticism of value for money as far as visas go. I am merely trying to relate my experiences as far as other services go. If you would pay attention to what I am saying I could have probably opened a bank account very easily if it were not for the elite visa in my passport.

I think I have already said that over all my experience has been positive and I don't expect much more out of the program than a visa.

I also offer what I am saying as I am aware that TE is paying attention to this thread. Some of my ideas are very easy to implement such as letting people who go to CW immigration wait at a coffee shop instead of in the main immigration hall.

I have done nothing more than basically relate my experiences as I go through bank accounts, immigration or anything else and feel that I have done my best to give an honest opinion in regards to the customer experience.

I am just trying to shed light on exactly what is offered under the program as their website isn't exactly all that clear. If TE would actually clarify things in this thread that would be very helpful and go a long ways towards establishing trust to potential customers here. Right now it is just a handful of people such as myself and a few others that are explaining things to potential candidates.

I feel that I have been objective and my recent experiences provide a realistic out look on exactly what is offered.

[anotheruser]

Alright so got back from the Bank appointment. Was offered just a standard savings account with ATM card. Didn't ask for anything else. Nobody met me but the bank seemed to know I was coming. Gave them the letter I printed off from Thai Elite and things went as they normally would. No 2,000 Baht fee or anything like that. So if you want to make an account with the elite program just make sure you request the documents to be emailed to you and say what branch of Bangkok Bank you want to do it at.

Not much more to say about it.

[DUS]

Alright so got back from the Bank appointment. Was offered just a standard savings account with ATM card. Didn't ask for anything else. Nobody met me but the bank seemed to know I was coming. Gave them the letter I printed off from Thai Elite and things went as they normally would. No 2,000 Baht fee or anything like that. So if you want to make an account with the elite program just make sure you request the documents to be emailed to you and say what branch of Bangkok Bank you want to do it at.

Not much more to say about it.

Thank you very much for your update! It´s great to have this sort of feedback from TE members!

Question: Did you ask / get online banking access with the account? Some people on the TV forum reported being denied online banking access to their Bangkok Bank savings accounts.

[anotheruser]

Yeah I also have online banking. I didn't ask but she offered it so I took it.