Thailand Elite Card is pleased to announce the release of four new membership programs

[ubonjoe]

32 minutes ago, DUS said:

Hi,

I returned to TH yesterday on my now expired METV so I am good to stay till the end of June. As I have no intention to go to my home country anytime soon for a 3rd METV, or to apply for an ED visa or to go on countless SETV visa runs for years to come, I have decided to go for the 5 year TE membership. Just 2 questions came to my mind:

a/ When should I apply for the TE membership? Should I send in the application form at the end of May, later or earlier?

b/ If I went to CW for getting the visa put into my passport before my current permission to stay expires, would that be any issue at all or would the current permission to stay (26th of June or somewhere around that day) just become void once they put the TE visa in my passport?

Have a nice weekend everyone.

DUS

You can apply for the membership at any time during the 60 day entry but be sure you have  time for the visa to be  issued within the 60 day entry. They cannot do it if you get the 30 day extension. I suggest you start the process prior to having less than 30 days remaining on your entry.

On the date they issue the PE visa they will cancel your current 60 day entry and do a one year entry.

[anotheruser]

I have to disagree with Ubonjoe on this one. I got an extension and then before that ran out went to CW and had my TE visa affixed. 

 

Maybe I am reading it wrong but you can as far as I know get a TE visa affixed at anytime you are still legally in Thailand.

 

I had limited time left on a VE if I remember correctly and extended it and before the extension ran out went to CW and got my TE visa. 

 

I would email TE directly and ask them however as things may have changed. My apologies if I am reading the question wrong however I don't think it matters how long you have left on your visa or extension.

 

Once you apply for and receive your TE visa the new date will be whatever date they issue your visa on. 

 

Make sure you have more than a week left when you apply. I would use 10 business (two weeks) days as the buffer to put my mind at ease. The TE visa cancels out everything else and becomes your new in/out dates.

 

The worst I could see happening if you don't make it in time is you would be liable to pay for a few days over stay. 

 

 

Edited April 29, 2017 by anotheruser

[ubonjoe]

9 hours ago, anotheruser said:

I have to disagree with Ubonjoe on this one. I got an extension and then before that ran out went to CW and had my TE visa affixed. 

There have been recent reports of people being told they could not get the visa because they were on an extension of their tourist visa entry.

Perhaps different if on a visa exempt entry.

I wrote the 30 days as a suggestion. I did not state it was requirement.

[newatthis]

Following on from another thread I have on this forum

[Tourist/Re-entry/ or what????], I have some questions:

 

1. Can I may the application from Australia?

2. If so,

A) I presume the application is to be sent by post?

Is payment made at the time of application?

C) If payment is made by SWIFT transfer from Oz, who calculates the exchange rate?

D) If approved, how is the visa marked in your passport for when you leave Australia?

 

Thanks

 

[ubonjoe]

9 minutes ago, newatthis said:

Following on from another thread I have on this forum

[Tourist/Re-entry/ or what????], I have some questions:

 

1. Can I may the application from Australia?

2. If so,

A) I presume the application is to be sent by post?

Is payment made at the time of application?

C) If payment is made by SWIFT transfer from Oz, who calculates the exchange rate?

D) If approved, how is the visa marked in your passport for when you leave Australia?

 

Thanks

 

You were asking about a extension based retirement and/or a OA visa in that topic.

A ) The application for the Thai Elite membership is done by email.

B ) You make the payment after the application is approved.

C) You can transfer it in baht by swift. Ask Thai elite how they handle the payment.

D ) When your arrive at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) they will meet you at the gate and escort you to immigration to have the visa done and you will be given a one year entry. 

Info is here on their website. http://www.thailandelite.com/job.php

[newatthis]

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You were asking about a extension based retirement and/or a OA visa in that topic.

A ) The application for the Thai Elite membership is done by email.

B ) You make the payment after the application is approved.

C) You can transfer it in baht by swift. Ask Thai elite how they handle the payment.

D ) When your arrive at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) they will meet you at the gate and escort you to immigration to have the visa done and you will be given a one year entry. 

Info is here on their website. http://www.thailandelite.com/job.php

Thank you ubonjoe. I just thought that a 500000 baht TE visa for 5 years could be an easier way to go before I leave Oz. I'm considering all options.

[abab]

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You were asking about a extension based retirement and/or a OA visa in that topic.

A ) The application for the Thai Elite membership is done by email.

B ) You make the payment after the application is approved.

C) You can transfer it in baht by swift. Ask Thai elite how they handle the payment.

D ) When your arrive at Suvarnabhumi (BKK) they will meet you at the gate and escort you to immigration to have the visa done and you will be given a one year entry. 

Info is here on their website. http://www.thailandelite.com/job.php

 

 

Hello, if already in Thailand, where to meet elite to put the visa in the passport ? And do you know if it's possible to pay them when meeting them ? Thanks.

 

 

[DUS]

Just now, abab said:

 

 

Hello, if already in Thailand, where to meet elite to put the visa in the passport ? And do you know if it's possible to pay them when meeting them ? Thanks.

 

 

 

Can be done at CW. But you have to pay the 500k in advance.

[ubonjoe]

Just now, abab said:

Hello, if already in Thailand, where to meet elite to put the visa in the passport ? And do you know if it's possible to pay them when meeting them ? Thanks.

The visa is done at Chaeng Wattana immigration. You set a time to meet a Thai elite rep there.

You have to pay the fee by doing a transfer to their bank account after the application is approved.

Once you submit the application they will send all the info you need by email.

[anotheruser]

11 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

There have been recent reports of people being told they could not get the visa because they were on an extension of their tourist visa entry.

Perhaps different if on a visa exempt entry.

I wrote the 30 days as a suggestion. I did not state it was requirement.

No problem I also said I might be mistaken or things might have changed.

[BritTim]

12 hours ago, abab said:

And do you know if it's possible to pay them when meeting them ?

In this day and age, almost any payment involving large sums of money must go through anti money laundering (AML) checks. That pretty much mandates making payment by bank transfer in advance.

[anotheruser]

If you are actually going to make the deal it would only make sense to talk with TE directly. They will know all facts for sure. Outside of that it is all idle speculation.

[DUS]

Quick question:

 

When I contacted TE they came back with some info incl. this:

 

The total process to apply as Thailand Elite Member will take not more than 20 working days. First, please kindly send us 3 simple documents via e-mail.

1. Copy of the first page of the Passport with full biodata for background / record check (with 3 blank pages and last entry stamp) 
2. High Resolution Photo for the membership card (Passport size)
3. Filled and correctly signed application form

Now, I seem to have a blonde moment since I am not sure what he means with "with 3 blank pages and last entry stamp". Sure, I can scan the page with the latest entry stamp but what´s that with the 3 blank pages? Do they really want me to scan 3 blank passport pages so that they know I´ve got that number of empty pages in my pp? Can´t really believe that but who knows ...

 

Thank you!

 

 

[Mattd]

13 minutes ago, DUS said:

Now, I seem to have a blonde moment since I am not sure what he means with "with 3 blank pages and last entry stamp". Sure, I can scan the page with the latest entry stamp but what´s that with the 3 blank pages? Do they really want me to scan 3 blank passport pages so that they know I´ve got that number of empty pages in my pp? Can´t really believe that but who knows ...

I'd imagine that they mean that your passport must still have 3 blank pages in it?

[ubonjoe]

8 minutes ago, Mattd said:

I'd imagine that they mean that your passport must still have 3 blank pages in it?

Agree

Wording in email is more than a little confusing.

[DUS]

32 minutes ago, Mattd said:

I'd imagine that they mean that your passport must still have 3 blank pages in it?

 

20 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Agree

Wording in email is more than a little confusing.

 

Hello my fellow Blondes,

 

Thanks for your feedback! :-)

 

Yes, I think the pp needs to have 3 blank pages but it feels "odd" that they ask for 3 blank pages to be scanned and emailed. Guess, I will just do it "for piece of mind" ... lol

[Robert24]

 
Hello my fellow Blondes,
 
Thanks for your feedback! :-)
 
Yes, I think the pp needs to have 3 blank pages but it feels "odd" that they ask for 3 blank pages to be scanned and emailed. Guess, I will just do it "for piece of mind" ... lol

If something is not clear, I would recommend to write back and clarify quickly. Maybe the person's English isn't very good.

Sent from my SM-J710F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[midas]

On 8/3/2016 at 0:30 AM, mrfaroukh said:

Well a retirement visa cost 1800 plus max 4000 for re entry, it makes it 5800 multiply by 10 equal to 58000 Baht. Now I pay 1000 000 baht all together to get a limo, some massage and spa, a health checkup and discount in duty free and quick entry and exit from the airport.

 

No thanks. It may be a good alternative for someone who can not get retirement visa.

Plus in today's world we don't know what is going to happen next month or even next week and for me to pay that amount for   future " benefits " it would have to be a fairly sure thing and because it went broke once before it's definitely not that

[richard_smith237]

8 minutes ago, midas said:

Plus in today's world we don't know what is going to happen next month or even next week and for me to pay that amount for   future " benefits " it would have to be a fairly sure thing and because it went broke once before it's definitely not that

 

I'm into my 11th year of Membership... I'm not so sure the program went broke, but at a couple of times the future of the TE program was a little sketchy. 

By the time I am 50 and of retirement age the program will have cost me 152 baht per day. 

From usage (Golf, Massage & Airport Trx) I've pretty much recovered my costs. 

 

That said: The perks have changed, many have been dropped... the goal posts have moved (i.e. changes in golf courses, many have gone, 7 series BWM dropped to Camry (this doesnt bother me), Massage now limited to Thai or foot massage only (this annoyed me)... 

 

So.. with all this, I've still been happy with the program and now that I'm married to a Thai and have a child I could sell my membership and apply for the Type O visa... but its just too convenient. 

 

The greatest convenience - not having to queue at immigration and being whisked straight through to the waiting car...  If you are a frequent flyer this perk alone is worth it. 

 

 

[scubascuba3]

 
Can be done at CW. But you have to pay the 500k in advance.

Why did you only get the 5 year 500k visa ? Vs 20 year 1m visa

[DUS]

43 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Why did you only get the 5 year 500k visa ? Vs 20 year 1m visa

 

Are you asking me or the original poster my response you quoted above referred to?

 

Personally, I haven´t signed the application form yet but I will in all likelihood go for 5 years since (and I am quoting comments made by other users):

 

- "Go for the 5 years membership because this will take you over the 50 years "threshold" and then you can have a look and decide if you fancy doing the visa and extensions based on retirement."

- "Go for the 5 years membership because it will give you plenty of time to figure out if Thailand is the right place for you and if you like it you can then decide between renewing the TE membership or going down the route of "extension based on retirement".

- "5 years is long enough a commitment to make in the first place, so don´t go for the 20 years membership."

 

I agree, though, that the 1mn option IS tempting as it gives an extra 15 years for "only" 500k more. Still, I think the reasons given in the quotes above are valid and that´s why I will most likely go for the 5 yrs membership when I put pen to paper.

Edited May 5, 2017 by DUS

[anotheruser]

6 hours ago, Mattd said:

I'd imagine that they mean that your passport must still have 3 blank pages in it?

Yeah this is exactly correct. 

[DUS]

3 minutes ago, anotheruser said:

Yeah this is exactly correct. 

 

I intend to email the application within the next week or so. The wording was a bit strange in the way that it sounded like they wanted to have a scan of 3 empty pages emailed to them alongside the other scans/copies. Anyway, I´ll send whatever they need and then we´ll see.....

Edited May 5, 2017 by DUS

[anotheruser]

59 minutes ago, DUS said:

 

I intend to email the application within the next week or so. The wording was a bit strange in the way that it sounded like they wanted to have a scan of 3 empty pages emailed to them alongside the other scans/copies. Anyway, I´ll send whatever they need and then we´ll see.....

They are easy to deal with. Even if you miss something it is easy to send again. I wouldn't worry too much about it. The entire process is a piece of cake.

[scubascuba3]

 
Are you asking me or the original poster my response you quoted above referred to?
 
Personally, I haven´t signed the application form yet but I will in all likelihood go for 5 years since (and I am quoting comments made by other users):
 

- "Go for the 5 years membership because this will take you over the 50 years "threshold" and then you can have a look and decide if you fancy doing the visa and extensions based on retirement."

- "Go for the 5 years membership because it will give you plenty of time to figure out if Thailand is the right place for you and if you like it you can then decide between renewing the TE membership or going down the route of "extension based on retirement".

- "5 years is long enough a commitment to make in the first place, so don´t go for the 20 years membership."

 

I agree, though, that the 1mn option IS tempting as it gives an extra 15 years for "only" 500k more. Still, I think the reasons given in the quotes above are valid and that´s why I will most likely go for the 5 yrs membership when I put pen to paper.

Yes it was meant to you. 5 years flies by when you are enjoying yourself. I'd go for 20 years because in theory it means pain free visas. But I'll only get it if i start getting visa issues, 3 years to 50.

[huberthammer]

11 hours ago, DUS said:

 

I intend to email the application within the next week or so. The wording was a bit strange in the way that it sounded like they wanted to have a scan of 3 empty pages emailed to them alongside the other scans/copies. Anyway, I´ll send whatever they need and then we´ll see.....

they were very helpful and if there is something that you send wrongly they will promptly get back to you and sort it out. Probably the best customer service I had in the last 10 years both in Europe and Asia. 

[midas]

On 5/5/2017 at 1:10 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

I'm into my 11th year of Membership... I'm not so sure the program went broke, but at a couple of times the future of the TE program was a little sketchy. 

By the time I am 50 and of retirement age the program will have cost me 152 baht per day. 

From usage (Golf, Massage & Airport Trx) I've pretty much recovered my costs. 

 

That said: The perks have changed, many have been dropped... the goal posts have moved (i.e. changes in golf courses, many have gone, 7 series BWM dropped to Camry (this doesnt bother me), Massage now limited to Thai or foot massage only (this annoyed me)... 

 

So.. with all this, I've still been happy with the program and now that I'm married to a Thai and have a child I could sell my membership and apply for the Type O visa... but its just too convenient. 

 

The greatest convenience - not having to queue at immigration and being whisked straight through to the waiting car...  If you are a frequent flyer this perk alone is worth it. 

 

 

"  I'm not so sure the program went broke "

 

You can use whatever description you choose but I don't know how else you would describe a company closing down because it had a debt burden of more than 1.4 billion baht.

 

I don't see the value of all those perks myself and I would prefer to pay for things like that if I actually need them. Had I not been able to get my retirement visa so easily and inexpensively I still wouldn't have succumbed to that scheme. I am highly suspicious of any organisation that demands their money in a lump-sum upfront because it doesn't give you the confidence that they have plan to be around in the long term. I mean American Express doesn't charge me a lump-sum for my Platinum card.

 

 

 

[DUS]

Afaik, issued PE/TE Visas have never been revoked/cancelled at any time.

[ubonjoe]

13 minutes ago, midas said:

You can use whatever description you choose but I don't know how else you would describe a company closing down because it had a debt burden of more than 1.4 billion baht.

It obvious it never happened. If you look at the history of that attempt to close it down you will find they had to back track on their decision.

There was a change in government after election a few months after they made that decision also. The new government revived the Elite program and expanded it to include the 5 year visas and etc.

[DUS]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism-and-transport/1245963/elite-card-reports-improved-performance