10-Year Visas Now Available: Thai Immigration

[sreiter]

I am an EU citizen (but not Greek) and live most of the time in Greece, with my Thai wife. Last year she got another residency permit for Greece for 10 years. This took time and we had to climb some bureaucratic hurdles, but we managed. It did not cost anything. She could work here if she wished to do so, buy land, houses and inherit. I would enjoy (who would not) to see a little bit of that in the revesed case, i.e. Thailand offering some benefits for people who are married to a Tai woman and involved in a Thai family.  So much for looking at the rules in the country you live in....Cheers

[sambum]

On 8/16/2017 at 1:23 PM, Thaiwrath said:

  

Eggsactly! Beat me to it, but glad you were the first with such an apt post!

[Kieran00001]

6 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

 

How is my stability here similar to that in my home country ? Not even close !! I adhere to all their rules but I'm still subject to the whims of immigration officers, politicians, coups etc...

Why are basic human rights for family units not implemented in this country, that is what I get annoyed about....

Why are these exact same basic human rights not implemented in your own country?  The UK has no qualms in breaking up a family where one member is foreign if they don't earn enough or don't meet the immigration requirements.

 

[Kieran00001]

3 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

Where do you come from?

 

Do they give visa for 5 years to retired foreigners? 

 

So many negative views here.

 

Thailand welcomes guests on many different kinds of visas.

 

It's SOOO easy to get a yearly visa in Thailand, no need to even go to Immigration, or to do the 90 day reporting if you are not just off the boat.

 

Anyone married and working can get Citizenship quite simply, like myself. 3 years working that's all.

 

Easier for me to get citizenship here than other countries like Australia or the USA etc.

 

Any retirees that come here and marry someone expecting full rights needs to check their own countries laws on this kinda thing.

 

 

 

They are just self important fools, probably the very same people who moan about how easy it is for immigrants to live in their home country while remaining completely oblivious to how hard it actually is for them and how dedicated they actually have to be to achieve it.

[cyborgx]

I just renewed my Retirement Visa yesterday, I was at Cheng Wattana for 6 hours and nobody mentioned it to me....  We has some long chats about other stuff, but no mention of new 10 year option

[cyborgx]

I'd definitely go for it It's similar to the 3M I had to deposit on an annual Term Deposit for the Investment Visa I used to have before I got the Retirement Visa.

 

Only difference is this Healthcare coverage.  10 Year visa is basically residency almost as good as citizenship for the over 50's who might not last longer than 10 years!

 

Yes I know there are other benefits with PR and Citizenship, but it's a nice halfway house allowing retirees a bit of respite from the annual horrible sometimes traumatic waste of time at Cheng Wattana.

 

I'm sure the Insurance companies will come out with a policy to suit this situation, but I worry what the annual fee might be.

 

There's also the fact that you can get treatment at very reasonable cost from Thai Government Hospitals, and nothing like the silly prices charged by the money grabbing big private hospitals here!

 

Why do they look like 5 star hotels? because they are making money hand over fist from you, whilst still paying relative pittances to their staff. It's not unusual to be charged Bt.1000 or more for a 5-10 minute consultation, ++++ for nurse, premises, breathing their air, and any other little thing they can think of to charge you for! 

 

Government Hospital treatment can leave a lot to be desired, but if its a choice between 200,000 for treatment at the Bumringrad Hilton, or 20,000 and some waiting around in queues with locals, I'll take the queue anyday!

 

It's not as if the doctors in Private hospitals are any better at diagnosis than the doctors at the government hospitals, they certainly are not..... Perhaps they have more toys to use and charge you for, but I've not experienced any better diagnosis from them

 

3 Million in the bank and the same medical care as your average Thai person gets is fine by me. If I REALLY want to pay private hospitals, that should be my choice not enforced by the government.

 

To be clear, I'm not asking for FREE treatment at Government Hospitals, but the option to pay for them (As I have in the past) rather than be forced to use an Insurance company in league with the private hospitals.

 

Thinking about it, there must be insurance policies that offer treatment at Government hospitals rather than the private ones, similar to the health coverage offered to Thai employees by the healthcare system implemented a few years ago? 

 

 

[JoeBloe]

On 8/16/2017 at 6:24 PM, StayinThailand2much said:

They probably just copied it from Google.

http://howtoretirestrong.com/retire-in-thailand/retire-in-thailand-cheap/

[lkv]

Me explaining right now how these insurance premiums will fly out of Thailand and back into Thailand legitimately and tax free to the accounts of some private Thai individuals would be beyond the scope of this thread and likely breaking some forum rules. 

 

[JoeBloe]

23 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

.. payment of another fee and possibly the usual syphilis, elephantiasis, TB and alcoholism tests etc.  

Is elephantiasis a problem here or somewhere nearby? TB is on the rise, I know one Thai and one European personally who have had it, and the cure was a lot of pills for a long time. There is an alcoholism test?

[JoeBloe]

23 hours ago, aussienam said:

Like anything there will be some like you who see merit and others like me who do not!  If I was a wealthy frequent traveller with loads of disposable income with Thailand as my base then I might consider it. 

Precisely!

[theguyfromanotherforum]

Where do you come from?
 
Do they give visa for 5 years to retired foreigners? 
 
So many negative views here.
 
Thailand welcomes guests on many different kinds of visas.
 
It's SOOO easy to get a yearly visa in Thailand, no need to even go to Immigration, or to do the 90 day reporting if you are not just off the boat.
 
Anyone married and working can get Citizenship quite simply, like myself. 3 years working that's all.
 
Easier for me to get citizenship here than other countries like Australia or the USA etc.
 
Any retirees that come here and marry someone expecting full rights needs to check their own countries laws on this kinda thing.
 
 

You don't know what you are talking about or simply trolling.

[kekalot]

On 8/16/2017 at 5:25 PM, Mad mick said:

welcome to kwailand amazing thailand , go vietnam stay 5 years on tourist multiple entries 3 x 3 months  after 5 year can apply for dual citizenship and vietnamese passport + keep your country of origin passport , no need for dumb 3 million baht left in bank , for what not 10 years only a 5 years , then they change the rules who know's the place is a screaming mess  "  thai immigration wont get their heads around it , for decades waste of fn time

i am curious about that Vietnam thing.

is that right? I might consider something like this but the last time i checked it wasn't that easy or I was ill informed.

 

shoot me a PM if you got some good information (links etc) about this 5y on visas and applying for citizenship etc.

[scubascuba3]

Before they bring these visas in i wonder if they run it by a farang group. I guess they don't but they should. It will avoid their bright idea flopping

[fforest1]

52 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Before they bring these visas in i wonder if they run it by a farang group. I guess they don't but they should. It will avoid their bright idea flopping

I guess not one person in the Thai immigration office has had time over the past year to read any of the 1,000s of negative postings about this visa here .....

 

[maxpower]

11 hours ago, MrPatrickThai said:

Where do you come from?

 

Do they give visa for 5 years to retired foreigners? 

 

So many negative views here.

 

Thailand welcomes guests on many different kinds of visas.

 

It's SOOO easy to get a yearly visa in Thailand, no need to even go to Immigration, or to do the 90 day reporting if you are not just off the boat.

 

Anyone married and working can get Citizenship quite simply, like myself. 3 years working that's all.

 

Easier for me to get citizenship here than other countries like Australia or the USA etc.

 

Any retirees that come here and marry someone expecting full rights needs to check their own countries laws on this kinda thing.

 

 

Can I take a tour of your space ship?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

18 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

I guess not one person in the Thai immigration office has had time over the past year to read any of the 1,000s of negative postings about this visa here .....

 

 

That's working on the assumption that they actually care or have any interest in what any of us think or the practical issues we might bring to the table. And, in my years here, I've yet to see any indication of that whatsoever...

[Wake Up]

On 8/16/2017 at 7:38 PM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Just keep in mind that the Thai government's deposit insurance for Thai bank accounts is due to drop to 1 million baht per account starting in about 3 years in August 2020.

 

http://www.dpa.or.th/main.php?filename=index___EN

 

Another example of the left hand not knowing or caring what the right hand is doing here.

 

Good point 

[Elkski]

Just the one issue of only 1 million of deposit insurance is a deal breaker.   Would any Falang put money in an uninsured bank at home???

On the topic of income.  How is this proven?.  Some pension fund letter? A letter from SS? If these funds don't have to come to Thailand why is the number important?   How do they know if you have other payments you need to make?  What % of Thai families earn 100 k/after taxes?

Why wouldn't a Thai wife's pension or salary be part of this?   They are not thinking with anything other thought process than greed

[maddox41]

Better to pay for a elite visa 20 years 2 million b no worries then the requirements needed for this 5×5,visa useless

And  if your on a budget get the 5yr for 500.000 b 

[scubascuba3]

Better to pay for a elite visa 20 years 2 million b no worries then the requirements needed for this 5×5,visa useless
And  if your on a budget get the 5yr for 500.000 b 

I think its 20 years 1 million but still clearly not financially better than the 800k retirement visa option

[maddox41]

2 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

6 minutes ago, maddox41 said:

Better to pay for a elite visa 20 years 2 million b no worries then the requirements needed for this 5×5,visa useless
And  if your on a budget get the 5yr for 500.000 b 

I think its 20 years 1 million but still clearly not financially better than the 800k retirement visa option

Well yeah if it's 1 million its the way to go if you want to retire here and if your under 50 it's  a good option then getting married LOL

[scubascuba3]

Well yeah if it's 1 million its the way to go if you want to retire here and if your under 50 it's  a good option then getting married LOL

If you are under 50 the 10 year visa isn't applicable anyway. If i was 30-40 yeah the 20 year 1m Elite is sensible

[hawker9000]

On ‎8‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 0:02 AM, chrisinth said:

From the OP link:

 

“It is now effective,” Natthathorn said by phone. “Foreigners can apply for it at their provincial immigration offices. For Bangkok and neighboring provinces, it’s at Chaeng Wattana.”

Although the new retirement visa has been available since Friday, Natthathorn said he has not seen any applications come across his desk so far.

 

I think it will be interesting to see how many of these visas are actually issued. Obviously when the immigration personnel catch up with the memo........................

Oh ye of little faith.  Why within a month I'll bet we'll be seeing lots of these having been issued.  And with a year, huge numbers.  Huge!   (Why the announcements have already been printed and promotions planned...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dcnx]

On 8/17/2017 at 10:57 PM, kekalot said:

i am curious about that Vietnam thing.

is that right? I might consider something like this but the last time i checked it wasn't that easy or I was ill informed.

 

shoot me a PM if you got some good information (links etc) about this 5y on visas and applying for citizenship etc.

Have a few friends living in Da Nang, Vietnam and they say the visa process is fairly easy and friendly.

[dcnx]

On 8/18/2017 at 11:06 PM, maddox41 said:

Better to pay for a elite visa 20 years 2 million b no worries then the requirements needed for this 5×5,visa useless

And  if your on a budget get the 5yr for 500.000 b 

If they really want to sell the Elite they should issue a work permit with it. Then it would absolutely be worth the $3000 usd per year you'd pay for it.

 

[MrPatrickThai]

On 8/17/2017 at 10:32 PM, theguyfromanotherforum said:

 

 

You don't know what you are talking about or simply trolling.

 

 

I know exactly what I'm talking about as I'm in the middle of the Thai citizenship process. Is that what you're referring to? "Riab nagai" but "mai ngai" :)

 

Why did you not answer my questions? 

 

My questions were:- 

Where do you come from?

Do they give visa for 5 years to retired foreigners? 

 

Or are you talking about me saying it's easier here than if I went to say, the USA?

 

Expand man instead at that pathetic insulting reply.

 

[MrPatrickThai]

On 8/18/2017 at 10:40 PM, Elkski said:

Just the one issue of only 1 million of deposit insurance is a deal breaker.   Would any Falang put money in an uninsured bank at home???

On the topic of income.  How is this proven?.  Some pension fund letter? A letter from SS? If these funds don't have to come to Thailand why is the number important?   How do they know if you have other payments you need to make?  What % of Thai families earn 100 k/after taxes?

Why wouldn't a Thai wife's pension or salary be part of this?   They are not thinking with anything other thought process than greed

It's farang, not falang.

 

 

[MrPatrickThai]

On 8/17/2017 at 4:06 PM, Kieran00001 said:

 

They are just self important fools, probably the very same people who moan about how easy it is for immigrants to live in their home country while remaining completely oblivious to how hard it actually is for them and how dedicated they actually have to be to achieve it.

Well said.

 

I work here and get a yearly visa - easy. I don't even have to go to immigration, my work takes care of it.

 

Even if I had to, what is 60  minutes a year - lol - I've even heard retired guys complain about this one visit a year. 

 

I think these moaners are full of self-importance, due their lowered self-esteem here, for whatever reason. Maybe their laziness to learn the language, their lo-so g/f or wife, their meagre pension or whatever.

 

The system now is fine. 

 

 

[MrPatrickThai]

On 8/17/2017 at 8:45 PM, cyborgx said:

I just renewed my Retirement Visa yesterday, I was at Cheng Wattana for 6 hours and nobody mentioned it to me....  We has some long chats about other stuff, but no mention of new 10 year option

Why didn't you ask them? Duh

[MrPatrickThai]

On 8/17/2017 at 9:14 PM, cyborgx said:

Yes I know there are other benefits with PR and Citizenship, but it's a nice halfway house allowing retirees a bit of respite from the annual horrible sometimes traumatic waste of time at Cheng Wattana.

A 10 year visa like this is NOTHING like Citizenship. 

 

One positive thing is that retirees can get a personal nurse/carer for $300 a month. 

 

Why is it traumatic? That's weird.