Govt approves 10 year visas for foreigners over 50

[dhream]

If this is a ten year medical visa, then the guys signing up for it in it's current form need a brain transplant.

[tropo]

37 minutes ago, dentonian said:

 

The only information we know for sure is the announcement of a new 5/10 year Visa.

 

There are no announcements that any other type of Visa and certainly not extensions of stay will change.

It's only pessimists like yourself that are fuelling uncertainty.

 

I think the main problem was the use of the word "replace" in the report. That is why we have nearly 2000 posts in this thread. It's not only the pessimists who are concerned.

[dhream]

12 hours ago, BarnicaleBob said:

Can anyone tell me one benefit to having this new 10 year visa?

1. You still have to do 90 day checks

2.  You still have to do an annual check of which we don't have the details on yet. 

3.  It isn't really a 10 year visa, it is a 5 year visa that you can extend another 5 years, what is the fee for the extension?

4.  10,000 baht cost for 5 years comes to 2,000 a year, that is 100 baht a year more or 500 baht more expensive for the 5 years.

5.  So not only does it cost more and you still have to go to immigration the same number of times but you must have 3 million baht rather than 800,000 or 100,000 baht income rather than 64,000 baht.  

What is the advantage of this so called 10 year visa?

The advantages, BB, are abundant, and quite clear!

But only if your name is Mr. Somchai Takemorebaht, and you warm a chair at the Thai Government Treasury.

[Jingthing]

Maybe most people missed this thread, and I know many people, including me, would like CERTAINTY on all the concerns here, but in my opinion that certainty just does not exist yet because the details of the law have not been implemented.

 

I also imagine that many people are looking for the highest authority figure on thaivisa on visa issues, ubonjoe, 

to post about these concerns, and actually he has done so in a limited way.

 

Referring to his comment about this I will now summarize my take on what he said:

 

His OPINION is that people on current retirement extensions will be OK with the current requirements.

OPINION, not full certainty.

 

He thinks, as I do, that we need to WAIT for more information to become available. 

 

 This is kind of my point. It's perfectly legit for people to share opinions now, and evidence for their opinions, but to assert things DEFINITELY about a law that is IN PROCESS, is quite simply PREMATURE. 

 

 

Edited November 27, 2016 by Jingthing

[sanemax]

IMO , Thailand seems to be wanting to encourage infirm elderly people here , maybe the idea is to set up care homes , old people homes ?

[dhream]

A lot of uncertainty. But...

Even in Thailand, if it is a total disaster, and they lose money or expats as a result, they will revert to the current system, or come up with an even better (for us) plan.

The average Thai cannot AFFORD to alienate their expat base much more, for much longer.

Lost expat income will reverberate through the economy in unimaginable ways, each job lost will hit the next battler in the food chain, and so on.

It has long been stated that tourism is the only 'bright spot' in a sputtering economy, we are all pretty much long term tourists here, because all we have is a NON IMMIGRANT ANNUAL EXTENSION OF STAY and so do the MARRIED expats with half Thai children in some cases.

It is a precarious way to build a life or a retirement.

The thing is, when the elites in BKK make a mess of their 'guest laws' it's the middle class and below who (as always) take the loss.

There is a point when all but those expats with nothing to lose, will just reluctantly move on to somewhere they can see out their days with much more stability, than is evident at every level of society here right now.

[dhream]

Just now, sanemax said:

IMO , Thailand seems to be wanting to encourage infirm elderly people here , maybe the idea is to set up care homes , old people homes ?

Swiss Government actually do have something like that in the North, unless I was misinformed. Note however that the Swiss Government are behind it, in some sort of joint effort with a Thai provider whom I understand to be a private institution.

[dhream]

12 hours ago, DavisH said:

The salary / money in the bank requirements are ridiculous. Our combined salary is more than 100K a month, but when I retire I could live on 30-40K comfortably. But then again, this policy is not about attracting retirees to live here. Remember, this is a policy pushed by the Health Ministry, so as to reduce any burden of sick, under insured retired foreigners living here; and just taking the wealthiest ones who how can afford to pay / spend lots of money here. Fortunately, work-based and marriage based extensions are still relatively easy to obtain. 

Pray do tell how I can 'easily obtain' a work visa, I'd love the chance to be gainfully employed here. Unfortunately, and no disrespect to Ajarns, there's not much 'gain' in such employment, and everyone else appears to have been recruited by a multinational from their home country.

What 'burden' are you on about? Everyone else seems to agree that without hard cash or insurance, you're going on the BBQ. 

The only people who are a 'burden' are careless uninsured tourists, or tourists who break the policy rules while making themselves an expensive inpatient, and even so, that's not a situation unique to 'poor' Thailand (that mysteriously has way too mutt football club and steel mill owning billionaires for its supposed status as a 'developing' nation).

Edited November 27, 2016 by dhream

[newnative]

3 hours ago, Wilsonandson said:

How do you know angels won't save us? Do you have a hotline to God?

Sounds like something Jingthing would say.

[Jingthing]

47 minutes ago, newnative said:

Sounds like something Jingthing would say.

No it doesn't.

[thehelmsman]

The farang owned housing market will finally drop down to realistic prices. Wonder how many farang are already putting their house on the market.

[jeffcool]

On 24/11/2016 at 10:13 PM, digibum said:

 

Listen I know it makes a lot of expats feel better to compare their salary to unskilled labor in Thailand but the fact of the matter is that middle-class Thais make a whole heck of a lot more money than they're being given credit for here.  

 

Hell cut cut every one of those numbers in half and they still making more money than most of the groaning retirees crowing about how much more they make than average Thais.  

 

So instead of a bunch of farangs crying about how much Thailand needs their B67K they should really be putting where they rank in context.  

 

Most middle-class Thais have the potential to retire with as much or more income as many of these guys have in retirement and those same Thais would have a hard time obtaining a retirement visa to go and live in the US or Europe.  

 

I don't begrudge anyone for their financial lot in life but quit acting like Thailand should be eating their meals off your butt because you big rich farang. 

 

Not it everyone in Thailand makes 7000 baht a month.  

Im not sure you get what i meant, or maybe i explain myself badly.....

 

Those HR and Acct Mgr i took as an example are Thai people making at most 35k a month for responsabilities jobs!!!! not in Bkk jobs

Not everyone in Thailand makes 7k a month! True most make less than that....

 

It's like everywhere in the world..... I you make 100k/month but your cost of living in your area is high, you end up as bad as having a small salary in the country side....

 Im not a big rich farang.... I always worked to live in Thailand and my salary were always based on my location of working.... I have been on 55k/month as GM to work in north west of THailand and on 2th in Bkk

[anotheruser]

2 hours ago, thehelmsman said:

The farang owned housing market will finally drop down to realistic prices. Wonder how many farang are already putting their house on the market.

 

lol You can buy land in most places in the world. Houses that have stood for centuries.

[dauu]

According to minutes of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the long stay, multiple-entry visa will be offered to citizens of 14 nations: Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Finland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada.

 

If I am from a country not on the list
I left with one year visa?

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed. 

[boomerangutang]

8 hours ago, dhream said:

If this is a ten year medical visa, then the guys signing up for it in it's current form need a brain transplant.

 

 

7 hours ago, sanemax said:

IMO , Thailand seems to be wanting to encourage infirm elderly people here , maybe the idea is to set up care homes , old people homes ?

 

Some of the same folks who bought Thaksin's Elite Card.  How's that working out, rich people?  Did y'all get free visas, and the option to buy 1 gnan of Thai property in your farang name?

 

5 hours ago, thehelmsman said:

The farang owned housing market will finally drop down to realistic prices. Wonder how many farang are already putting their house on the market.

 

I've already had some properties listed.  One sold recently.  Two to go.

 

1 hour ago, dauu said:

According to minutes of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the long stay, multiple-entry visa will be offered to citizens of 14 nations: Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Finland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. If I am from a country not on the list. I left with one year visa?

 

Thai Imm head honchos aren't the smartest fries in the Happy Meal.  They sat around a table and ticked off the farang countries they can think of - which have rich people.  They didn't include; Finland, Austria, Belgium, Spain, S.Korea, Luxembourg, Greece, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Montenegro, Andorra, Portugal, Taiwan, Iceland, South Africa, UAE, Kuwait or New Zealand, .....or any western hemisphere countries other than Canada and the US.  Does that mean citizens of countries not listed are not eligible? 

[Thaidream]

No, it doesn't mean the other countries are not eligible- it appears they want the new Visa to be available only to the named countries. To me that means there will be two tiers of the O-A Visa- the one year tier and the 10 yer tier. It would be totally illogical to exclude half the World and use a higher financial level that even more limits the number of potential retirees. If indeed the  new visa is being offered for medical retirees - then the limited countries make some sense based upon availability of medical resources and needed financials to continue medical treatment.

[brewsterbudgen]

3 hours ago, dauu said:

According to minutes of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, the long stay, multiple-entry visa will be offered to citizens of 14 nations: Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden, France, Finland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada.
 
If I am from a country not on the list
I left with one year visa?

 

It would appear so. The new 10 year visa option is restricted both by nationality and income. Everyone else has to stick with the current options.

Sent from my SM-A500F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by metisdead
Please do not modify someone else's post in your quoted reply, either with font or color changes or wording.

[nausea]

So, joining the dots together, it would seem this is some sort of medical visa, aimed at developing a long stay care home industry.

 

 

.

[newnative]

27 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

 

 

It would appear so. The new 10 year visa option is restricted both by nationality and income. Everyone else has to stick with the current options.

Sent from my SM-A500F using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

 

And, the current options are fine with me.  The thing I dislike--reporting every 90 days--you still have to do with the 10 Year.

[metisdead]

A post containing French language has been removed, please note this is the English language side of the forum.

[rabas]

1 hour ago, newnative said:

And, the current options are fine with me.  The thing I dislike--reporting every 90 days--you still have to do with the 10 Year.

 

Do you know you can do the 90 day report by internet sitting at home ?

(if you have a com...... er, never mind)

[newnative]

11 minutes ago, rabas said:

 

Do you know you can do the 90 day report by internet sitting at home ?

(if you have a com...... er, never mind)

Yes, I am aware of it--been waiting awhile to make sure they have the kinks out and Immigration is fully up to speed with it.

[Usernames]

3 hours ago, nausea said:

So, joining the dots together, it would seem this is some sort of medical visa, aimed at developing a long stay care home industry.

 

 

.

 

Warehousing.  Soylent Green is people!

[boomerangutang]

4 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It would appear so. The new 10 year visa option is restricted both by nationality and income. Everyone else has to stick with the current options.

 

       I think you'll find, if the new thing gets instated (which is still an 'if') that the sage Imm heads in Bkk will include other well-to-do farang countries like Austria and Spain.  These are rules made by people who are products of Thai education.  Precision isn't their strong suit (though they're great at superstition).  Methinks the mention of those countries are 'to give an idea of who is covered' ....rather than a precise list.  

 

      I mentioned this new issue to an elder farang friend of mine, and right away, he said it was to benefit insurance companies.   He could be right about that.  It's a moot point for him, as he's already opted to leave Thailand for good.  Too much bureaucracy for him - and that was before the new visa dilemma.  Oh, and money's no problem for him.  Single old guys like him could be spending 2 million baht/yr each in Thailand, but alas, Thailand wants to push tens of thousands of guys like him away with their overly-restrictive rules.  And then there are farang with wives and kids who may be compelled to leave also.  I know some family guys who have recently left Thailand for good.   

[mcfish]

 
       I think you'll find, if the new thing gets instated (which is still an 'if') that the sage Imm heads in Bkk will include other well-to-do farang countries like Austria and Spain.  These are rules made by people who are products of Thai education.  Precision isn't their strong suit (though they're great at superstition).  Methinks the mention of those countries are 'to give an idea of who is covered' ....rather than a precise list.  
 
      I mentioned this new issue to an elder farang friend of mine, and right away, he said it was to benefit insurance companies.   He could be right about that.  It's a moot point for him, as he's already opted to leave Thailand for good.  Too much bureaucracy for him - and that was before the new visa dilemma.  Oh, and money's no problem for him.  Single old guys like him could be spending 2 million baht/yr each in Thailand, but alas, Thailand wants to push tens of thousands of guys like him away with their overly-restrictive rules.  And then there are farang with wives and kids who may be compelled to leave also.  I know some family guys who have recently left Thailand for good.   

I don't understand why your friend left. Retirement extension couldn't be any easier, reporting every 90 days from your pc in your underwear

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[Oxx]

1 hour ago, mcfish said:

Retirement extension couldn't be any easier, reporting every 90 days from your pc in your underwear

 

But only if you live in the right district, haven't been in the Kingdom too long, the website is working correctly, and you're using obsolete (and particularly insecure) versions of Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer.

 

Apart from that, it's fine... except when it's not (which is much of the time).

 

Perhaps my mistake is that I try to do this decently clad? I'll try skyclad next time.

[mcfish]

 
But only if you live in the right district, haven't been in the Kingdom too long, the website is working correctly, and you're using obsolete (and particularly insecure) versions of Microsoft Windows and Internet Explorer.
 
Apart from that, it's fine... except when it's not (which is much of the time).
 
Perhaps my mistake is that I try to do this decently clad? I'll try skyclad next time.

Yes going commando would put some real pressure on the system :-)
Im staying in Jomtein for a few months and took 15 mins to extend but I'm only around the corner so just to easy

Sent from my SC-01D using Tapatalk

[jjczap]

16 hours ago, dhream said:

On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2016 at 9:19 AM, BarnicaleBob said:

Can anyone tell me one benefit to having this new 10 year visa?

1. You still have to do 90 day checks

2.  You still have to do an annual check of which we don't have the details on yet. 

3.  It isn't really a 10 year visa, it is a 5 year visa that you can extend another 5 years, what is the fee for the extension?

4.  10,000 baht cost for 5 years comes to 2,000 a year, that is 100 baht a year more or 500 baht more expensive for the 5 years.

5.  So not only does it cost more and you still have to go to immigration the same number of times but you must have 3 million baht rather than 800,000 or 100,000 baht income rather than 64,000 baht.  

What is the advantage of this so called 10 year visa?

The advantages, BB, are abundant, and quite clear!

But only if your name is Mr. Somchai Takemorebaht, and you warm a chair at the Thai Government Treasury.

 

YES -  you missed one point that was in the Cabinet release -  read it again -  it is a multi entry visa --  3900 * 5 =  19,500 baht savings -  sounds pretty good to me -  plus your #5 is incorrect , you visit immigration for the visa twice in 10 years initial and renewal and with the multi entry and you enjoy to travel how many 90 days would you do in a year? and if you meet the income requirement there is no money tied up   --  again sounds pretty  good to me

[Jingthing]

A key question at this point (other questions flow from the answer) is -- is this new visa really going to be called O-A visa and if so does it REPLACE the current O-A visa? 

 

We're getting conflicting reports on just that BASIC question. So, you see, yet again, anyone that is asserting absolute confidence that they know how all of this is going to shake out should simply be ignored now as NOT CREDIBLE. Their guesses might be good guesses and they might be able to give really good reasons why they're right, and EVENTUALLY they might end of being totally correct, but at this POINT IN TIME it's not even possible to back up FINAL CONCLUSIONS (positive, negative, or neutral) with any kind of full assurance.

 

WAIT! 

Edited November 28, 2016 by Jingthing