Chitchat 10 year VISA for Thailand, if you are 50 or older

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

AsiaDK said:
Thank you Johnny for your advice.

I can see that others are also interested in retiring in LOS :smile:

These changes are actually being targeted at the PRC chinese & angmo's to make Thailand more attractive place to visit e.g. for medical tourists, long term holiday,..

It is not targeted at ASEAN members like Spore. With all the talk of free trade agreements, I'm still waiting to see if the thais are going to make it easier for Sporeans as members of ASEAN to stay & do business in Thailand as part of AFTA :confused:

With what Thailand can offers it's no wonder that medical tourism in Spore is having problems. What has Spore to offer but high prices & so so 3rd world doctors.

melzp · Nov 24, 2016

Why should Thai Govt welcome Sg. ?
The discriminative ICA see almost every Thai women as prostitute.
But welcome the Japs , Km Latinos, prc in open arms n legs.

Narong Wongwan · Nov 24, 2016

Want to stay in Thailand then sign up for elite card program.
They just expanded to include more categories.....entry level halved to bht500k membership. Can stay up to 20 years (if you can live that Long) and option to buy land (dunno why sinkies all hanker after landed)

AsiaDK · Nov 24, 2016

Narong Wongwan said:
Want to stay in Thailand then sign up for elite card program.
They just expanded to include more categories.....entry level halved to bht500k membership. Can stay up to 20 years (if you can live that Long) and option to buy land (dunno why sinkies all hanker after landed)

hi, i thought it is due renewable every 5-years?
This is why I found Johnny's mention of 10-years visa more simple.

no_faith · Nov 24, 2016

Keep 3mil baht in the bank for 1 year to be eligible for the 10 yrs visa?
So i pay the visa 10k baht and keep 3mil baht in bank.
After 1 year i can withdraw the money and still having the visa right?

AsiaDK · Nov 24, 2016

Australia has something similar if you lend AUD 5million to their states for certain years and upgrade to PR then citizenship.

no_faith · Nov 24, 2016

AsiaDK said:
Australia has something similar if you lend AUD 5million to their states for certain years and upgrade to PR then citizenship.

In short tat means as long you are cash rich, many countries welcome you. :biggrin:

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

melzp said:
Why should Thai Govt welcome Sg. ?
The discriminative ICA see almost every Thai women as prostitute.
But welcome the Japs , Km Latinos, prc in open arms n legs.

As long as you have $$$ you are welcome anywhere in the world, even in Spore :smile:

Sporeans don't have much spending power in Spore but when they move to Thailand their spending power increases. In Thailand the average salary is about 13,803.15 THB/Month(SIN$552.12) http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/wages In Spore you can't even live on $600 per month.

Even Malaysia wants to attract Sporeans & their $$. Tnink about the benefits to the host country, you are bringing $ into the country & as a retiree you won't be competing with the locals for jobs.

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

Narong Wongwan said:
Want to stay in Thailand then sign up for elite card program.
They just expanded to include more categories.....entry level halved to bht500k membership. Can stay up to 20 years (if you can live that Long) and option to buy land (dunno why sinkies all hanker after landed)

I don't think the Elite cards is for everyone. It may be attractive to those from the west who have to pay $ each time they visit LOS. However Sporeans do not have to pay for short visits.

You can read about it & decide if the costs of the card is worth it at http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/726441-thailand-elite-easy-access-500k-thb-card/

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

AsiaDK said:
hi, i thought it is due renewable every 5-years?
This is why I found Johnny's mention of 10-years visa more simple.

Yes if you meet the requirement the visa is for 10 years.

However you still have to make regular visits to the Bureau of Immigration every 90 days. This is the same requirement as the old retirement visa.

Leongsam · Nov 24, 2016

AsiaDK said:
Australia has something similar if you lend AUD 5million to their states for certain years and upgrade to PR then citizenship.

Residency can be "bought" in most countries. In NZ it's NZD1.5 million for the investor category with conditions attached or NZD 5 million for the "anything goes" category.

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

no_faith said:
Keep 3mil baht in the bank for 1 year to be eligible for the 10 yrs visa?
So i pay the visa 10k baht and keep 3mil baht in bank.
After 1 year i can withdraw the money and still having the visa right?

That is right. You can take out the 3million baht after the 1st year. Many Sporeans would be interested in buying a home & for 3 million baht it would be easy to find one.
You also need to be covered by a medical health insurance & report to the Bureau of Immigration every 90 days.

Don't know about the need for a re-entry visa? For example, if you decide to leave LOS within the 10 years whether you have to pay for a re-entry visa each time or the cost of a rentry visa :confused:

They haven't released the details yet.

winners · Nov 24, 2016

johnny333 said:
That is right. You can take out the 3million baht after the 1st year. Many Sporeans would be interested in buying a home & for 3 million baht it would be easy to find one.
You also need to be covered by a medical health insurance & report to the Bureau of Immigration every 90 days.

The terms are almost identical to the MM2H in Malaysia, except that the MM2H requires one to maintain RM60k (RM150k for those less than 50 years old) for the duration of the Visa's validity. But why need to report to the Bureau of Immigration every 90 days? This is too inconvenient.

Another obstacle is the language barrier. Must definitely have to pick up the Thai language, otherwise, can only go nowhere. I once met the owners of a bag shop in Hatyai. The couple was from JB and had reside in Hatyai for almost 20 years already. Of course they are very fluent in the Thai language. Cost of living in Hatyai is also very much cheaper. For example, the Sensodyne toothpaste costs 40% less than in Singapore. But petrol not cheap hor.

Used to drive up a few times to Hatyai already. Next trip may venture further north to Krabi and probably even to Phuket.

Dark Knight · Nov 24, 2016

johnny333 said:
For interested in retiring in Thailand, the rules were changed on 22nd Nov 2016 to make it easier.

To qualify you must be 50 or older.
The 10 year visa costs 10,000baht(SIN$400)
Have a monthly income of 100,000baht(SIN$4,000/month) or have 3 million baht($120,000) in the bank for at least 1 year

http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/tourism-and-transport/1141756/10-year-visa-for-senior-tourists

Are we allowed to open a bank account in Thailand if we are under 50 of age to prepare for the 10 year visa?
Or we need to wait till 50 of age before we can do that?

Anyone can share their experience on how to open a bank account in Thailand?
What sort of documents are required and what criteria need to be met?

Narong Wongwan · Nov 24, 2016

Dark Knight said:
Are we allowed to open a bank account in Thailand if we are under 50 of age to prepare for the 10 year visa?
Or we need to wait till 50 of age before we can do that?

Anyone can share their experience on how to open a bank account in Thailand?
What sort of documents are required and what criteria need to be met?

Open bank account is easy.
But some encounter difficulties.
Just go to another branch or bank. Some more lax than others.
Most require a Thai address. But I know a few who managed to open with a hotel room number as address.
My info might not be current. Go to Thaivisa to read up on this topic

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

winners said:
The terms are almost identical to the MM2H in Malaysia, except that the MM2H requires one to maintain RM60k (RM150k for those less than 50 years old) for the duration of the Visa's validity. But why need to report to the Bureau of Immigration every 90 days? This is too inconvenient.

Another obstacle is the language barrier. Must definitely have to pick up the Thai language, otherwise, can only go nowhere. I once met the owners of a bag shop in Hatyai. The couple was from JB and had reside in Hatyai for almost 20 years already. Of course they are very fluent in the Thai language. Cost of living in Hatyai is also very much cheaper. For example, the Sensodyne toothpaste costs 40% less than in Singapore. But petrol not cheap hor.

Used to drive up a few times to Hatyai already. Next trip may venture further north to Krabi and probably even to Phuket.

When I was younger, whenever I had leave I would spend it in Thailand so that the office couldn't ask me to return to the office :smile:

Made many trips tp Hatyai in those days. Eventually switched to Bangkok & Pattaya because there is more to see & do.

I've heard that Hatyai has changed a lot & would really like to do a re-visit to Hatyai. However the only airlines offering to fly from Spore to Hatyai is Tiger Air & that is the problem. Tiger is not the most reliable airline.

The thai authorities want to keep track of the foreigners & that's probably why they want them to report in every 90 days. This is a pain & one of the reasons that has stopped me from applying for a retirement visa.

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

Narong Wongwan said:
Open bank account is easy.
But some encounter difficulties.
Just go to another branch or bank. Some more lax than others.
Most require a Thai address. But I know a few who managed to open with a hotel room number as address.
My info might not be current. Go to Thaivisa to read up on this topic

If you don't have a visa or work permit, you can still open a bank account. However you may have to visit several branches to find one that is willing to do so.
It's easier to open a bank account if you are in a city like Pattaya where there is a sizeable expat community. The banks in Pattaya are more likely to have staff who understand english.

Another option is to try Citibank in Bangkok. They are likely to be more cosmopolitan in their outlook.

Dark Knight · Nov 24, 2016

Narong Wongwan said:
Open bank account is easy.
But some encounter difficulties.
Just go to another branch or bank. Some more lax than others.
Most require a Thai address. But I know a few who managed to open with a hotel room number as address.
My info might not be current. Go to Thaivisa to read up on this topic

That means those Sillyporeans who wish to retire in Thailand generally (if following the rules and regulations) will first need to buy themselves a Condo in Thailand.
With the Condo address only then they can go to the bank to open an account.
Follow then they will have to transfer (aka wire) a huge sum of $$$ to Thailand.
After that only then we can apply for the retirement visa?

I wonder how much admin fees or tax the bank in Sillypore and Thailand will charge us?

johnny333 · Nov 24, 2016

Dark Knight said:
Are we allowed to open a bank account in Thailand if we are under 50 of age to prepare for the 10 year visa?
Or we need to wait till 50 of age before we can do that?

Anyone can share their experience on how to open a bank account in Thailand?
What sort of documents are required and what criteria need to be met?

If you are given a long term VISA you should be able to approach any bank in Thailand to open an account because you have the documents from the Thai authorities to prove your status

However If you are a tourist trying to open a bank account, it gets more complicated. This will be up to the bank manager to decide whether or not to accept you as a client.
If he decides to accept your business you'll have to show your passport & the address of your hotel.

Dark Knight · Nov 24, 2016

johnny333 said:
If you are given a long term VISA you should be able to approach any bank in Thailand to open an account because you have the documents from the Thai authorities to prove your status

However If you are a tourist trying to open a bank account, it gets more complicated. This will be up to the bank manager to decide whether or not to accept you as a client.
If he decides to accept your business you'll have to show your passport & the address of your hotel.

Before the Thai immigration authority grant us the retirement visa, do we need to prove that we have that 3 million baht($120,000) in the bank?
Or we can just go ahead to apply for the retirement visa first without the $$$ in the bank?

Chitchat 10 year VISA for Thailand, if you are 50 or older

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