News Forum - Should Foreigners Still Come To Retire In Thailand?

[DwizzleyMatthews]

18 hours ago, Paulus said:

Hi everyone, it doesn't really matter as to who or why people want to retire here. Thailand made it's fortune from the foreign people who have decided to stay and invest in property albeit in their wive's names. It seems quite obvious that Thailand would like this to be a resort for the elite rather than the guys who have paid hundreds of thousands if not millions into the society. Now they are said to have raised the requirement for O/A visa to 3,400,000 or in the case of single guys 3,800,000. Clever move as of course you can sign over your house which of course is your wife's security. One thing you can be sure of that whatever hospital treats you should you become seriously ill. They will drain every last baht out of you and your wife. All of you seem to be posting for personal reasons but what ever your reason, we are all in the same position. I have lived and worked here for 18 years. I love it. I am a Brit and just love the freedom Thailand has allowed me. I feel that if it does come into firm law in October. I will leave. I will not put $100,000 up as collateral. All we can do is wait and see.

PAULUS

A little bit off the mark there Paulus:

The financial requirements for an extension of your permission to stay from an original OA visa are 400k married to a Thai and 800k for reason of retirement.

Since October 2019 new OA’s , and extensions of, have a mandatory 40k/400k coverage insurance requirement, this will rise to 3 million baht coverage in September 2022.
The cheapest 40/400 coverage is 6,000 - 11,400 baht yearly depending on age and the 3M coverage will be 15k - 69kbaht yearly ( NOTE: my guesstimate from an old LMG email ) depending on age.

[Benroon]

On 3/7/2022 at 6:56 AM, Soidog said:

The majority of expats I see in Thailand basically waste their life walking around from coffee shop to coffee shop, or bar to bar. Either that or they stay at home playing on the internet and pottering around without any purpose in life. Many people also run a business here but actually have little to no direct involvement. The business isn’t in their name and many don’t have a work permit and hence work out of sight for fear of being reported. That’s a life that’s not for me, but I respect it may be fine for others.  

Having worked 12 hour days (with a 3 hour commute wrapped around that) for decades with an awful amount of time spent on icy train platforms taking me into the City, in packed cold virus swamped trains, I had to remind myself that the whole purpose of doing that and not quitting was to reach a point in my life where I had absolutely zero 'purpose' other than try to be a nice person (work in progress) or to put it another way, my definition of 'making it' was not how many millions you have in the bank, but that you can wake up whenever you feel like it and never hear the soul destroying sirens from an alarm clock. The day I unplugged my alarm clock was the day I knew I had made it!

I could get a work permit easily but it would have to be an insane amount of money to draw me back into the alarm clock world. I don't need it and life is short.

Life for me is blissful when you have no idea what the following day will bring but you get to choose over breakfast. Beach, golf, few cold beers, walk with the dogs - pure heaven yet with no real purpose. If that's wasting life, I should have started wasting it a lot earlier - what's that saying no-one on their death bed has ever said they wish they had spent more time in the office. 

[LoongFred]

On 3/12/2022 at 5:39 AM, JamesR said:

You are 'orrible to poor old Fred.

Was I the one who drifted to the cost of Healthcare? ?Oh well I don't have time for trolls. Should we says poor old ******?

[Paulus]

Well it seems a lot of people are getting off track with their personal likes or dislikes. This will be my last post as the threads are getting silly. O/A is applied for in or out of country. However, if as one reply suggests that you can come for 2 years without showing 3mill + from an overseas application. Wonderful but 2 years is not retirement! I have had bith O and B visas.

To answer the initial topic, l think Thailand is a wonderul place. However, it was built on the G I's and grew at such a pace by middle aged and older guys spending loads of money and marrying some lovely girls whatever thei mr backgrounds. If in October this 3 million + will ruin their lives. Health insurance for guys in their late 60s or 70s wont be able to get health assurance nor might their houses or condos be worth the required amount as capital. Lets not forget the wives of these guys either. They could stand to lose everything. Anyway all the best to all of you.

Paulus

[DwizzleyMatthews]

33 minutes ago, Paulus said:

Well it seems a lot of people are getting off track with their personal likes or dislikes. This will be my last post as the threads are getting silly. O/A is applied for in or out of country. However, if as one reply suggests that you can come for 2 years without showing 3mill + from an overseas application. Wonderful but 2 years is not retirement! 

Some posts are getting silly I agree.

You seem to be totally confused about OA visas.

An OA visa can only be applied for at a Thai Embassy in your home country or a country where you have resident status, never within Thailand.

You have to show savings of equivalent to 800k baht , doesn’t have to be in a Thai bank. After 2 years you can apply for a new OA ( home country or residence ) or apply for yearly extension in which case the 800k baht needs to be in a Thailand bank.

Changing the reason for extension to “ marriage to a Thai national “ will reduce the financial requirements to 400k baht.

An OA visa or extension of requires additional mandatory health insurance, only Phuket ( as far as I am aware) immigration office allows people who have held OA visas and extensions for a few years exemption to this rule.

No one needs to show 3 million baht for an OA visa or extension of, you are confusing the 3 million baht insurance coverage with financial requirements.

I posted the requirements necessary to obtain a new OA visa or an extension of above.

[JamesR]

Thanks for the info.

Is it possible for me to go to Thailand with a long tourist visa, I will take travel/health insurance as I always do to cover the length of my stay.

Once In Thailand can I then apply for an O visa if I transfer 800k baht from the Uk to Thailand and then get yearly extensions? (I am not married to a Thai)

You say we then do not need to get the mandatory insurance as we have to with the OA visa but I can still buy regular health insurance ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Faz]

Gentlemen, the topic is SHOULD foreigners still retire in Thailand, not HOW or what kind of Visas.
If you have questions about HOW to retire in Thailand and Visa types, please open a new topic in the appropriate section > https://thethaiger.com/talk/forum/82-visas-long-stay-extensions-re-entry-permit/

@Paulus - you cannot apply for an Non Imm O-A Visa within Thailand. Open a new topic.

MODERATOR.

[Grumpish]

22 hours ago, Benroon said:

Having worked 12 hour days (with a 3 hour commute wrapped around that) for decades with an awful amount of time spent on icy train platforms taking me into the City, in packed cold virus swamped trains, I had to remind myself that the whole purpose of doing that and not quitting was to reach a point in my life where I had absolutely zero 'purpose' other than try to be a nice person (work in progress) or to put it another way, my definition of 'making it' was not how many millions you have in the bank, but that you can wake up whenever you feel like it and never hear the soul destroying sirens from an alarm clock. The day I unplugged my alarm clock was the day I knew I had made it!

I could get a work permit easily but it would have to be an insane amount of money to draw me back into the alarm clock world. I don't need it and life is short.

Life for me is blissful when you have no idea what the following day will bring but you get to choose over breakfast. Beach, golf, few cold beers, walk with the dogs - pure heaven yet with no real purpose. If that's wasting life, I should have started wasting it a lot earlier - what's that saying no-one on their death bed has ever said they wish they had spent more time in the office. 

Personally more a snowbird than wanting to retire permanently to somewhere in particular, but I understand exactly where you are coming from, I spent too many years doing the same thing. I have paid my dues, if what I want now is just to drift from day to day then that is my prerogative.

[Benroon]

21 hours ago, Paulus said:

Well it seems a lot of people are getting off track with their personal likes or dislikes. This will be my last post as the threads are getting silly. O/A is applied for in or out of country. However, if as one reply suggests that you can come for 2 years without showing 3mill + from an overseas application. Wonderful but 2 years is not retirement! I have had bith O and B visas.

To answer the initial topic, l think Thailand is a wonderul place. However, it was built on the G I's and grew at such a pace by middle aged and older guys spending loads of money and marrying some lovely girls whatever thei mr backgrounds. If in October this 3 million + will ruin their lives. Health insurance for guys in their late 60s or 70s wont be able to get health assurance nor might their houses or condos be worth the required amount as capital. Lets not forget the wives of these guys either. They could stand to lose everything. Anyway all the best to all of you.

Paulus

Then you need to change the heading - you have been given reasons why foreigners should retire in Thailand which is a direct answer to your topic and now complain it’s gone off topic which it hasn’t. When all along you appear to have visa issues.

[Pinetree]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:14 AM, Benroon said:

to reach a point in my life where I had absolutely zero 'purpose' other than try to be a nice person

My biggest worry nowadays is hoping Tom Brady wins an 8th super bowl. I love the lack of any real responsibilities, for the first time in decades.  I fit right in to the Thailand's vibe. Prefect place to retire, at least for me. 

[JamesR]

7 hours ago, Pinetree said:

My biggest worry nowadays is hoping Tom Brady wins an 8th super bowl. I love the lack of any real responsibilities, for the first time in decades.  I fit right in to the Thailand's vibe. Prefect place to retire, at least for me. 

I have a spare supper bowl I can give Tom Brady for free, but why does he need so many supper bowls, does he get that hungry? 

[JamesR]

10 hours ago, Faz said:

Gentlemen, the topic is SHOULD foreigners still retire in Thailand, not HOW or what kind of Visas.
If you have questions about HOW to retire in Thailand and Visa types, please open a new topic in the appropriate section > https://thethaiger.com/talk/forum/82-visas-long-stay-extensions-re-entry-permit/

@Paulus - you cannot apply for an Non Imm O-A Visa within Thailand. Open a new topic.

MODERATOR.

I would have thought that one of the many reasons for a person deciding to retire in Thailand is how difficult or easy it is to get a visa, what type of visas are available and the way they are renewed, it seems reasonable to me and is therefore relevant as far as I can see.

 

[Benroon]

7 hours ago, Pinetree said:

My biggest worry nowadays is hoping Tom Brady wins an 8th super bowl. I love the lack of any real responsibilities, for the first time in decades.  I fit right in to the Thailand's vibe. Prefect place to retire, at least for me. 

Same here - I don't even know who Tom Brady is so I can't even get to worry about that !!

I think my last real worry was my golf caddies trousers holding out as they were clearly too, impressively,  tight for her ! Everytime she went to get the ball out of the hole I feared the worst - very stressful !

[Pinetree]

1 hour ago, JamesR said:

I would have thought that one of the many reasons for a person deciding to retire in Thailand is how difficult or easy it is to get a visa, what type of visas are available and the way they are renewed, it seems reasonable to me and is therefore relevant as far as I can see.

That is a minor issue that can be overcome quickly with a bit of research and a little cash in the bank.  In my view that is far from a deciding factor. 

[Pinetree]

47 minutes ago, Benroon said:

I think my last real worry was my golf caddies trousers holding out as they were clearly too, impressively,  tight for her ! Everytime she went to get the ball out of the hole I feared the worst - very stressful !

been there myself and I have the photographs 

[JamesR]

7 minutes ago, Pinetree said:

That is a minor issue that can be overcome quickly with a bit of research and a little cash in the bank.  In my view that is far from a deciding factor. 

But for me and maybe some others it is factor I suspect as a year by year visa is not really a retirement as such but just leave to remain on a year by year basis which could change instantly.

[Faz]

1 hour ago, JamesR said:

I would have thought that one of the many reasons for a person deciding to retire in Thailand is how difficult or easy it is to get a visa, what type of visas are available and the way they are renewed, it seems reasonable to me and is therefore relevant as far as I can see.

This topic is SHOULD you retire in Thailand as a News article, not I've MADE the decision to retire in Thailand and what Visa you need.
 

[Faz]

29 minutes ago, JamesR said:

But for me and maybe some others it is factor I suspect as a year by year visa is not really a retirement as such but just leave to remain on a year by year basis which could change instantly.

Then ask in the correct forum as already advised.

MODERATOR.