British workers encouraged to retire to Thailand after Brexit and snap up a £60k 20-year residency permit

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 8:22 AM, darksidedog said:

I just renewed my retirement visa at a cost of 14,500 baht. I dropped my passport in to a shop with two photos and got my passport with visa back two days later.

Why I would be possessed to spend utterly stupid money to save me ten minutes every year is beyond me.

I'm pretty sure the 5,10,20 year folks still have to do a 90 day report.

I just got my retirement extention in the DIY scheme.1900 baht and free coffee.30 minutes,passport back,smiles all round.

[louse1953]

18 hours ago, seancbk said:

 

I would say Thailand is improving all the time.   Sure parts of it were vastly better in the past, before the mass market and sexpat tourists arrived, but you can say the same for many many destinations around the world that were better 30 years ago and have been spoilt by tourism.  

For someone who is under 50 and therefore doesn't qualify for an extension of stay based on retirement, but who has made a ton of money or inherited a pile, the Thai elite makes a lot of sense.   

At 50 it makes less sense, except if you frequently travel by air in and out of Thailand, in which case the fast track service you get is worth it, also the 90 day reporting service they do for you might be worth it for some people.   

 

As far as 90 days is concerned it is just a quick run on the bike for me and i like keeping in contact with immi.If you live too far,what's so hard about writing a letter.Onlne will have to be back soon,surely.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 10:03 AM, Psimbo said:

One day the Brit Gov't will realise that they should encourage people to live overseas  and get the (tiny) increases- they are less of a burden being out of the country. IIRC the Japanese actually encourage their pensioners to go overseas and DO give them the adjustments. 

 

Apparently 2 Ambassadors ago the Indian Brit supported and tried to address this but was put firmly back in his box by the FO.

 

I know a guy that didn't have a pension increase for 20 years as it was frozen- ridiculous. By the! time I reach pension age though it will probably be 75 to qualify

The Norwegians do the same.Old people cost a lot of money to keep in the home country.Smart country,Norway.

[Percy P]

Will the retired person who has paid 60k  pounds for the Visa of 20 years live  longer enough . If not is there a refund.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 0:40 PM, cyberfarang said:

I receive more than 1 pension because as you say, the UK State pension would not be sufficient to cover living expenses in Thailand unless prepared to live a very basic lifestyle similar to how the poorer Thais live out in the sticks.  Also taking into account the bad bank interest and exchange rates.

 

I would not even consider retiring in Thailand unless I have a secured remainder of my life guaranteed income of a minimum of 50000 baht per month when the £ to bahts rates are low without the need the work to supplement my income and have a least 4 million baht in the bank after my initial expenses for setting myself up here.  

 

I know of some elderly expats that are living on $400 a month (just over 13000 baht) in Thailand with virtually no savings. As for immigration, I have no idea how these people manage to stay here and I don`t ask, not my business. What I do wonder is; why would some westerners choose to live like paupers in a foreign land?

 

 

A lot of British blokes i know,pulled the pin from work too early and sold the house. Money slowly wittled away and now on a pitiful pension.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 2:37 PM, ajarnmarc said:

Nice list of necessities needed to stay safe, while living within Thailand...

If I may add to your list-

 

Remember to carry small bills around at all times,

so you can pay your way through the day, when you venture out.

This will help pay for the times you forget to bring your passport with you.

 

Create a PDF with all your details and obtain plenty of photos,

with the every changing back ground color required, 

so best to get the photos taken with both white or blue behind you.

 

Don't forget that every 90 days you will need to report to the local immigration,

this is where the PDF will come in handy.

 

Best to quite smoking before you come,

as the ever changing law is soon going to restrict smoking anywhere outside your home.

 

Make sure to obtain class A insurance, 

for if you're unfortunate to be involved in an accident, 

the citizens will always blame the incident on the foreigners.

 

Good to also obtain extortion insurance for when the people recover, 

as they will come to obtain more pocket money for the accident, 

which you may or may not of been at fault.

 

If you don't bring your own mate, then you'll need to set aside an additional 20,000+ bht per month to pay salary, 

to most local females, who will pretend to be in love with you. The females communicate with each other within the first conversation, concerning how much their partners are paying them monthly, so the base is ever changing, 

and will create pressure to be increased annually, depending on how many friends your mate has.

 

Tripe!

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 4:45 PM, The Dark Lord said:

FredNL

 

could you pm me please with more info on this?

 

thanks

State pension would last 5 minutes in Caymans,bloody expensive place.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 3:37 PM, Bundaberg Baxter said:

Sounds illegal then and if you have not got even 800k should you really be here at all? I keep more than that here for medical needs if it wanted, what do these people do? you can't bribe a Hospital to treat you for next to nothing.

I know a few Brits that live like this.Have to pay 12k for visa because no money in the bank.It is a frugal life,keeps them off the piss and eating a lot of veggies,so can be a healthy life style.One mate got on the lao khao for a while,but i nagged him and he stopped.He has house for free to live in and gf that helps with money.If he gets really sick he will have problems.Rides unregisted bike on the main road and back roads in the town.Parks and walks everywhere.No licence either.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 4:13 PM, FredNL said:

Better to retire on the Cayman Islands. 

 

No so many idiots and corruption, good food, no monkeys driving..

Residence way easier and cheaper than Thailand and it's not a 3rd world country. 

Only problem is that you have to take cover once a while for an hurricane.

Racist comment should be removed.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 5:42 PM, Prbkk said:

Terrible , same as Australia. But couldn't that have been challenged in Brussels?

Ozzys do not pay tax on pension.Lose a few concessions but i rekon that's fair enough.Pension goes up with CPI.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 6:52 PM, bazza73 said:

It's more than 1900 if you include a multiple re-entry permit, as I have to do.

I pay about 12,000 baht a year for an agent to do all the correct paperwork for me. IMHO it's well worth it when you don't have the hassle of waiting for anywhere up to a day, only to have the extension application rejected because you failed to dot some i or cross some t.

It is still done in person, 15 minutes maximum at Immigration for the last 5 years.

Your easily pleased.If you can't fill out a few forms correctly how did you make it this far in life.

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 7:54 PM, darksidedog said:

Please stop with your assertion that anything about how I obtained my visa is illegal, as it is not.

I used a licensed and approved visa agent. I provided him with exactly what he asked for. He made the application and visa granted.

Your comments suggest you haven't been here very long. This is Thailand.

Some things stink, some things don't. You need to avoid the smells and take advantage of what doesn't.

My visa is every bit as genuine as every other one out there at the end of the day.

I avoided queues. I avoided paperwork. Because I could! And I have done absolutely nothing wrong.

My 90 day reports are done the same way. My re-entry permits are done the same way. I don't like queuing. I pay extra for that, and am happy to do so.

If every visa obtained from a visa agency was illegal, there wouldn't be any visa agencies. Get it?

I add to that, you don't have the first clue who I am, or what I do as a volunteer here, so your good guys/bad guys comment is sad.

 

 

Doesn't matter what you think,it is illegal.One day,when they feel like it your agent will be caught out.

[little mary sunshine]

On 4/7/2017 at 3:19 PM, emilymat said:

Maybe I can shed some light on this for you.

 

 

The UK state pension is, in fact, a social security benefit, not a personal pension. This is the case, even though someone could have paid 48 years in national insurance contributions.  Therefore, as a benefit it can be frozen in those countries which do not have bi-lateral social security agreements. (Thailand does not, whereas the Philippines does, hence a Brit in Thailand has his/her pension frozen for the day they reside here, whereas the same Brit living in the Philippines would have annual increases in relation to inflation etc)

 

In the EC all countries, by definition, have social security agreements with each other, hence pensions in those countries for Brits are increased annually. What happens in Europe after Brexit is not clear, but I suspect bi-lateral agreements will replace the blanket agreement which currently operates.

 

I think the article is somewhat ludicrous in suggesting Thailand could be a panacea for retirees, as opposed to anywhere else.

 

Finally, if a Brit lives in Canada or the US he would have an annual increased pension in one but not the other. .(Just can't remember which one is which). 

 

Hope this helps.

Most of the Brits I know give a local, family,or mailbox adderss

and continue to get increased pensions....maybe 95%.

[FredNL]

29 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

Racist comment should be removed.

Explain your comment !!!

[louse1953]

On 07/04/2017 at 11:20 PM, AmericanSafety said:

One of the good things about being an American expat in Thailand is we do not have to show income for a retirement visa. We just have to go to the embassy and "swear or attest" that we have enough income to support ourselves for a year at a time.

That's ok if you live in Bangkok.I could do the same with my embassy,but the less they know about me the better.800k in fixed deposit and that's my safety net.

[elgordo38]

On 4/7/2017 at 8:19 PM, Dumbastheycome said:

For years  I have   renewed   my  annual extension of stay  based on retirement  for  1900  Bht  within  2 hours. After  I  go  and  spend  a   couple of  thousand somewhere and  go  home legitimate and  happy.

14,500 Bht?

 

Pssst your one of the smart ones. Would be interesting to know how many fish the government catches on this one. 

[louse1953]

On 08/04/2017 at 4:15 AM, wakeupplease said:

60k to live here for ? the situation changes from week to week, so you may be ok for a week then be told to leave. But 60k to be told you are just a guest and to have to suffer the racialist double triple and up to 10x charges that are levied on farangs from entry to the national parks or buying food at the local takeaway. When will this lot learn to respect their so called guests and not fear them? Moving here is not an option for anyone who has half a brain, you cannot even own your own house here and even if you buy a condo on a 51 Thai/49% Farang split it could end up in others hands and you loose the lot with many of the so called lawyers hiding in the shadows waiting to pounce. There are some stupid Brits around and perverts which you can have with pleasure, but those who worked all their life to get security in there old age will steer clear of here if they have any sense.

You can own your house and if you get ripped off on simple takeaway means you are not aware of your surroundings and what's going on.

[elgordo38]

On 4/7/2017 at 3:44 PM, Black Ops said:

What you do is get adequate "Insurance".

One must also keep the "nuclear" option in mind as well. There may come a time when your 21 year old brain trapped in a aging  rapidly deteriorating body looks for an exit. 

Edited April 9, 2017 by elgordo38

[louse1953]

41 minutes ago, FredNL said:

Explain your comment !!!

I've lived in Thailand a long time and i haven't seen a monkey driving yet.Get it!

[billd766]

21 hours ago, NCFC said:

You'd have to pay me £60k to live in Thailand

 

I have lived here since 2001 and I love it.

 

Please send me £60k to live here.

 

I will spend about £58k on the essentials of good whisky, good food and bad women but I may squander the rest.

[JAG]

I know a few Brits that live like this.Have to pay 12k for visa because no money in the bank.It is a frugal life,keeps them off the piss and eating a lot of veggies,so can be a healthy life style.One mate got on the lao khao for a while,but i nagged him and he stopped.He has house for free to live in and gf that helps with money.If he gets really sick he will have problems.Rides unregisted bike on the main road and back roads in the town.Parks and walks everywhere.No licence either.

But, is he happy? Does he have a better life here than eking out his pension in some grotty bedsit in a grey rainswept inner city? What right have any of us to pass judgement on his choice. Yes if he gets really sick he will have problems, maybe die, then he may well die in the UK, but at least here he will die with the sun on his back and said girlfriend holding his hand!

Maybe Rudyard Kipling got it right when he wrote " Ship me somewhere East of Suez, where the best is like the worst..."

 

I really must stop having a beer on Sunday Lunchtime!

 

 

[jollyhangmon]

2 hours ago, louse1953 said:

I've lived in Thailand a long time and i haven't seen a monkey driving yet.Get it!

Well, that's because they're well disguised then.

 

As a matter of fact one encounters 'drivers' here behind steering wheels or handle bars on a daily basis where - without any doubt - it would be much better (as in 'safer') for just everyone else on the road if they would still be swinging from one tree-branch to the other. 

[AGareth2]

2 hours ago, JAG said:

I really must stop having a beer on Sunday Lunchtime!

 

2 would be better

[onemorechang]

2 hours ago, JAG said:

I really must stop having a beer on Sunday Lunchtime!

 

No need to go that far.

 

[chainarong]

On ‎4‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 8:57 AM, leeneeds said:

Retire, Research, Reflect, 

Research, again, 

make a list of all good and bad 

Cambodia, Vietnam, Myanmar considered also, 

with the view that you live 30 plus years in your new destination 

 

what is your back up plan? 

 

Please no high building jumps.

 

 

And never break ties with your place of Origin , with any future Junta leader it is unpredictable, that even applies to Prayut.

[notmyself]

What kind of stupidity is this? Arrogant <deleted> think they know it all and can turn over every person passing on the street, the bunch of [word] hucksters. The following video is not set in Thailand but is indicative of the stupidity.

 

 

[trigpoint]

2 hours ago, JAG said:

But, is he happy? Does he have a better life here than eking out his pension in some grotty bedsit in a grey rainswept inner city? What right have any of us to pass judgement on his choice. Yes if he gets really sick he will have problems, maybe die, then he may well die in the UK, but at least here he will die with the sun on his back and said girlfriend holding his hand!

Maybe Rudyard Kipling got it right when he wrote " Ship me somewhere East of Suez, where the best is like the worst..."

 

I really must stop having a beer on Sunday Lunchtime!

 

 

Just to add, it's a lot cheaper to die here, 9000 bht funeral/ cremation costs for a mate who died recently, fraction of the cost back in the UK.

[freebyrd]

On 08/04/2017 at 2:55 PM, freebyrd said:

Bearing in mind how much Thailand has changed, for the worse, in the past 20 years, why would anyone want to commit for the next 20?. Also, at 50, layout $60K when there is no assurance you will make it 55 let alone 70?,,,,,,,,and that's for the youngest of retirees.

£60K, pounds not dollars, even more reason to give it a miss.

[Guest]

before they ask anyone to retire here it must be made easier for expats to live here , get real. it is a very difficult process to live here and enjoy some of the things we are used to.

[simon43]

I have a Thai Elite 500k baht card, which works fine for me.

 

I lived in Thailand for 15 years, and relocated to live and work in Myanmar last year, (I previously worked there in 2012/2103 and liked what I saw).

 

Now I'm taking a holiday for a few weeks in Thailand, (using the Elite card limo service to/from the airport ==> all good).

 

My plan last year was to work in Myanmar for a few years, and then retire back to Thailand.  But I'm having second thoughts.  My lifestyle in Myanmar is peaceful, safe, enjoyable and financially-fruitful!  

 

After living in Myanmar for just 1 year, I can apply for permanent residence, (no Myanmar wife needed...).  The Myanmar government has already issued PR to about 200 applicants.

 

As the years pass by, it seems that Thailand is 'going in the wrong direction' rather fast, whilst the likes of Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar are 'going in the right direction' much faster!

 

If Myanmar introduces a long-stay (1 year renewable) retirement visa for expats, then I predict that Thailand will lose out big time as a retirement destination.