Alternatives to staying here now my employment has finished

[robsamui]

Hope somebody can help me out here. I'm in an unusual situation . . . I think.

 

For the last 12 years I've been employed by the same company full-time and they've provided me with a WP.  Now it seems that things might change. It's possible that sometime in the next 12 months I might not be employed any more. I want to make plans well in advance but I'm no longer sure what my options are so that I can continue living here. I'm 67, by the way, and now get a (shrinking) government pension from the UK. (plus nothing whatsoever remaining in the UK). And I'm not one of the band of fellas who cashed in their houses and business and policies and came here cash rich. I've nowhere near the 800,000 baht needed (if that's still the sum) to lock up in a Thai bank to get any kind of recurring 12-month visa.

I have enough money to buy a small company (assuming I don't need to show millions in the bank). But the downside there is that then I need to maintain this, which I've worked out is going to cost me maybe 7,000 a month put to one side for payment of accounting fees and visa maintenance - am I more or less correct with this total?

 

My pension currently is hovering around the 35K a month mark. With some part time work I can add another 10 - 15K a month. That's fine - enough to live on and save a bit. But setting up the company will take a significant chunk out of my small amount of savings.

 

So is there any other way now that I can stay here permanently (ie border bounces and/or 12-month visas)? Tourist visas I'm years out of touch with and the last state of play here was needing evidence of a return ticket and being able to wave wads of cash around. Also they had long since stopped the end-to-end thing and it was 6 month in and six months out on any kind of tourist visa.

 

Any suggestions? Any new stuff happened in the last decade (!) so that I can find a way to stay put in Thailand? Or do I need to emigrate to Laos or Cambodia for a more liberal outlook? I don't want to do that - I'm just beginning to get the hang of things in Thailand!

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 23, 2017 by robsamui

[Mattd]

As you had a work permit and that everything with the company and your employment is legit, then if they make you redundant or retire you they will have to standby the labour law and pay you 10 months salary, which is subject to special tax concessions. Unless you took this option of the payout at the age of 60?

Did you participate in a provident fund here for the first 5 years employment, i.e. until you were 60?

[ubonjoe]

One option to meet the requirements to get an extension of stay based upon retirement you did not mention is the combination of income and money in the bank. Using the 35k baht number you mentioned that is an annual income of 420k baht which means you would only need 380k baht in the bank to reach the required 800k baht.

[Kinnock]

I'm not sure of the details, and I've heard it can take several years (there's a good thread on here about the process), but as you've been paying tax in Thailand for many years, and have lived here without getting a criminal record (I assume ), then you could apply for Thai citizenship.  You'll need to be able to speak Thai and be able to sing the national anthem, and I think it involves interviews and home visits, but it could be worth it in the long run to avoid border runs and keeping cash in the bank?

 

The new retirement visa will be a simpler route, but this option may be worth looking at?

 

Setting up a local business to get a work permit seems like a costly option?

[ubonjoe]

5 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

I'm not sure of the details, and I've heard it can take several years (there's a good thread on here about the process), but as you've been paying tax in Thailand for many years, and have lived here without getting a criminal record (I assume ), then you could apply for Thai citizenship.

He would not be able to apply for citizenship since apparently is not married to a Thai. To apply for citizenship requires having permanent residency for 5 years unless married to a Thai.

He could qualify to apply for permanent residency but he might not meet the monthly salary requirement to do it. It seems it might be to late to apply since his job may end this year.

[Kinnock]

12 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

He would not be able to apply for citizenship since apparently is not married to a Thai. To apply for citizenship requires having permanent residency for 5 years unless married to a Thai.

He could qualify to apply for permanent residency but he might not meet the monthly salary requirement to do it. It seems it might be to late to apply since his job may end this year.

I see.  But I thought the OP said he'd been working in Thailand for 12 years?  

 

When would a person need to apply for Permanent Residency?  Does it need to be done a fixed time before employment in Thailand ends?  (Don't want to hi-jack another person's thread, but I'm looking at similar options, so hope my question are relevant)

[ubonjoe]

6 minutes ago, Kinnock said:

When would a person need to apply for Permanent Residency?  Does it need to be done a fixed time before employment in Thailand ends? 

Permanent residency can be applied for when a person has been working and paying taxes for 3 years on extensions of stay. 

Applications for permanent residency are only accepted for a fixed of time near end of the year. In the past they have only been accepted during the month of December. Last year was a rarity since they accepted them for the last 3 months of the year.

A person would need to be working during at least the  first steps of the approval process that can take some time.

[Anthony Loh]

18 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

He would not be able to apply for citizenship since apparently is not married to a Thai. To apply for citizenship requires having permanent residency for 5 years unless married to a Thai.

He could qualify to apply for permanent residency but he might not meet the monthly salary requirement to do it. It seems it might be to late to apply since his job may end this year.

That's true, I also have the intention to apply for the Thai citizenship base on my marriage with Thai and my Thai kids ( I'm now age of 50 ) but later I found out that I need to hold minimal three years work permit in Thailand under the requirement. Because of that, I'm at the moment looking for job in Thailand to fulfill the said requirement. "Crying" .......can't enjoy my happy retired and need to work again.

[overherebc]

5 hours ago, Mattd said:

As you had a work permit and that everything with the company and your employment is legit, then if they make you redundant or retire you they will have to standby the labour law and pay you 10 months salary, which is subject to special tax concessions. Unless you took this option of the payout at the age of 60?

Did you participate in a provident fund here for the first 5 years employment, i.e. until you were 60?

 

This is the first thing you should check on, ie severance pay you will be entitled to as per Mattd's post.

Just don't sign anything that you can't read or understand when you finish.

Even if you signed a contract every year it makes no difference.

The labour court will be very much on your side and will just look at and see 10 years of tax payments and that constitutes 10 years continuous employment for severance payment reasons.