Thai retirement visa information.

Yep, I just got mine. And I will tell you that there is no one single place to get all the information you need to get it. Not even on the commercial sites where they charge you. And to top it off--the method to get the visa is different in Bangkok than Chiang Mai and different again in Pattaya. Do I need to share what I know? If people want to know then I will share what I learned as I did mine in ALL THREE CITIES! So chime in or I will just go off into the sunset on this one. (I paid to have mine done for me. I did not want to do it myself and I have no regrets that I paid. And whatever you do or don't do I have no commercial interest in any of this unless I can see your dirty pictures).

[QUOTE=PirateMorgan;1878849]Yep, I just got mine. And I will tell you that there is no one single place to get all the information you need to get it. Not even on the commercial sites where they charge you. And to top it off--the method to get the visa is different in Bangkok than Chiang Mai and different again in Pattaya. Do I need to share what I know? If people want to know then I will share what I learned as I did mine in ALL THREE CITIES! So chime in or I will just go off into the sunset on this one. (I paid to have mine done for me. I did not want to do it myself and I have no regrets that I paid. And whatever you do or don't do I have no commercial interest in any of this unless I can see your dirty pictures).[/QUOTE]Would be happy to hear about the problems / pitfalls you encountered. Issues to look out for. Will be doing mine in Bangkok later this year. Was opening the bank account easy?. Was the company you used to assist you professional, recommend?

Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Pattaya all do the retirement visa in different ways. Small differences can cause problems for the un- initiated (me). I got my 30 tourist visa at Chiang Mai airport, then got my 90 extension in Chiang Mai, tried to get my 1 year visa in Bangkok and didn't because the services wanted 15000 to 20000 baht to do it for me, and then finally got the one year while living in Pattaya. The first and most important thing to know is this. My visa financial requirement is met by my monthly income, not any kind of bank deposit or investment. My USA Social Security income. And I DO meet the minimum requirements. During the visa process you have to substantiate this income TWICE. In Chiang Mai you go to the USA Council (appointment online) and in Bangkok you go to the USA Embassy (appointment online) I will mention Pattaya later if you do it there. When you go to the council they will ASK you on an application form what your USA Soc Income is. And you say 2000 $ per month or whatever you want. You pay $50 for the document, they stamp it and you are on your way. THEY DO NOT CHECK THE VALIDITY OF YOUR STATEMENT (as far as I know). So now you have met the financial requirement for your Thai Visa. No bank account, no deposits, no investments. You are in! The appointment for the document is easy to get in Chiang Mai and easy to get in BKK. It is more complicated in Pattaya so I advise getting the document while in Bangkok. The document has a life of (? Days I do not know). At each step of the way, really two steps, first the 90 day visa then the 1 year visa, I payed someone to do all but the embassy part for me. I did not want to do it myself. Those providers names I will provide later. I have NO FINANCIAL interest in any of this (the providers do no know I am recommending them), and am doing this on ISG because some the information is NOT available anywhere and the Thais know nothing about how the Embassy really works.

This part is subjective. There are those that probably got theirs for less money but right now I am happy with my results. I started the process in Chiang Mai and finished in Pattaya. I STRONGLY recommend doing it all in Chiang Mai. That means you should plan on living there for 90 days to make getting the visa the cheapest and easiest thing in the world to get. Use the service that I used. As part of the process they will make your appointment at Thai immigration (you make your own for the USA Council and it s VERY easy). They will TAKE you to Thai immigration. They will show you where to get your photos made. They will MAKE SURE that you do everything right. No slip ups. And because they ran over to immigration to get me a timely appointment they actually saved me $55 and I did not know THAT could be done! So I walked into the office on a Tuesday morning with my photos and income statement, went to Thai immigration with them (they had made the appointment and NO WAITING at Thai immigration) and 25 hours later handed me back my passport with my 90 day visa! I could not believe it! The cost was 16,900 baht + the $50 for the USA Income statement. (next step tomorrow, I am tired) In Chiang Mai I used- L. See. M. T Tour. Managing director is Varinthon Supracha. She speaks great English. 109 Varada Place, 099-5593587. The office is located near the shopping center Kad Suan Kaew (pronounced Cats & Cow) I have other numbers on the card-053-223928: [URL]www.lcmttour.com[/URL]; [EMAIL]info@lcmttour.com[/EMAIL].

[QUOTE=PirateMorgan;1879130]This part is subjective. There are those that probably got theirs for less money but right now I am happy with my results. I started the process in Chiang Mai and finished in Pattaya. I STRONGLY recommend doing it all in Chiang Mai. That means you should plan on living there for 90 days.. The cost was 16,900 baht + the $50 for the USA Income statement. (next step tomorrow, I am tired) In Chiang Mai I used- L. See. M. T Tour. Managing director is Varinthon Supracha. She speaks great English. 109 Varada Place, 099-5593587. The office is located near the shopping center Kad Suan Kaew (pronounced Cats & Cow) I have other numbers on the card-053-223928: [URL]www.lcmttour.com[/URL]; [EMAIL]info@lcmttour.com[/EMAIL].[/QUOTE]Now that is great information! Thanks on behalf of all who plan to do this. And would waste time and $$$ reading books on how to get it done. Appreciate the step by step, easy to read instructions.

[QUOTE=MrHawaii;1901494]Now that is great information! Thanks on behalf of all who plan to do this. And would waste time and $$$ reading books on how to get it done. Appreciate the step by step, easy to read instructions.[/QUOTE]Follow the below link and there's a PDF file that explains what you need. I'm in Pattaya and have 800,000 baht in the bank, it's very simple once you've been through the process once, if you don't meet the 800,000 baht bank requirement (and time requirement 3 or 4 months) I guess it gets more complicated, also your first time will be a bit more complicated as you'll need to get a 90 day visa first (non immigrant 0?

Really it's not hard, in Pattaya there's an agent in the same compound as the immigration office in Jomtien and they can help you check everything, they'll even come into the immigration dept with you if you want them to, but there's really no need. I wouldn't bother paying anyone more than a few hundred baht for help unless you get stuck around the money requirements.

Also if you have not opened a bank account in Thailand, generally it's easy, but you do find sometimes a bank will say they can't do it, this can be branch (not bank) specific, so just try another bank or branch. I use SCB they've been pretty good, Kasicorn as suppose to be good to, but like everything service can be inconsistent branch to branch, as can the process and advice. Welcome to Thailand, you'll get use to it.

[URL]www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com/expats/docs/retirementvisachecklist.pdf[/URL]

Warning for those wishing to retire in Thailand for an old boy.

"I used to go to Thailand fairly often. I found the women to be very feminine, and totally mercenary. I would not trust any Thai as far as I can throw a Mac truck. The women (hos or tradition good girls) will drain you of every penny and then dump you, while going to temple to make merit and be a good Thai. The whole country is corrupt from top to bottom. They also have extreme chauvinism, in the original meaning. The original meaning was coined by a man called Nicolas Chauvin, a French man that held the belief that everything French was perfect and everything not French was shit. Here is the dictionary definition:

Excessive or prejudiced loyalty or support for one's own cause, group, or gender.

In this case it means everything is judged by the degree of Thainess. Since you are not Thai, by definition you are shit. Most Thais put you on the same level as a caribou (water buffalo). You are just an animal that may be useful. If you get in an accident you are automatically at fault, because if you had not been in their country the accident would not have occurred. I kid you not, that is legal reasoning in Thailand. If you do try and convert a ho to a housewife (impossible everywhere not just Thailand) you will have no right to remain in the country, and she will not want to leave, as Thailand is the center of the universe, and ideal in every respect. The poster that said you could not own real estate in Thailand if you are not a native Thai is correct. The poster that gave the exception of owning a condo, in a complex that is 51% or more Thai owned, is also correct. You still have no effect rights. Try going to a Thai court and sue a Thai. It will not be a pretty outcome. The level of rip offs on real estate, and out right frauds, is huge, and you have no recourse to the courts against a Thai developer. Basically they would like you to just send your money to Thailand and never darken their doorsteps by actually despoiling their perfect culture with your presence. You will have to constantly report to immigration (at least every 90 days) and anywhere you live the landlord will have to report on your presence. They will kick you out, even if you have been married for a substantial time, and even if you have children there, on the smallest excuse. Even if you are married to a Thai you will have to have a significant amount of money in a Thai bank account which will be controlled by the Thai government. If the bank disappears the money, you are SOL. You can prove the bank allowed an employee or a third party to withdraw your money and it will be your responsibility to get it back (with no support from the government). Is it clear yet that they just do not want non-Thais in their country?" Commenter goes on to say that the Philippine is a safer option for retirement.

[URL]http://www.goingyourownway.com/mgtow-lounge/reddit-awalt-redpill-truth-thai-9587/[/URL]

[QUOTE=Travv;2049949]Warning for those wishing to retire in Thailand for an old boy.
Even if you are married to a Thai you will have to have a significant amount of money in a Thai bank account which will be controlled by the Thai government. [/QUOTE]I got my original Thai retirement visa in the USA and have been renewing it annually in Thailand for the past 5-6 years. I have never had to have a "significant" amount of money in a Thai bank account. I have a Thai bank account, of course. But I have never had more than about 40,000 baht ($1100-$1200 USD) in it at any one time, just to cover withdrawals for ordinary expenses.

There is a Thailand Expat forum where this thread actually belongs. Here it is for future refrence.

[URL]http://www.internationalsexguide.info/forum/forumdisplay.php?769-Thailand-ExPats-Forum[/URL]

In the past I have been a big proponent of Wise (formerly TransferWise) as a great, fast and low-cost service for transferring money from our home country into Thailand. This is an especially important service for those of us who utilize the minimum monthly income stream of 65,000 THB per month to qualify for our annual Non-Immigrant Long Stay/Retirement Visa (or a combination of that and a more or less permanent deposit of a certain lump sum amount of money in a Thai bank). The critical factor as far as Thai Immigration is concerned is that the minimum monthly income money comes into Thailand as a Foreign Transfer, "from abroad", i. e. new money into Thailand from outside of Thailand.

The way this has worked with Wise until October 1, 2021, just 10 days ago, was when we were transferring the money we need to transfer every month to produce a record of it coming "from abroad", we simply chose the "Funds for long term stay in Thailand" option as our reason for the transfer and, sure enough, it would show up on our Thai bank records as a Foreign Transfer "from abroad." And then you would show Thai Immigration that bank record on the day you renewed your Long Stay visa. Simple enough. Great service. Fast, cheap and it produced exactly the records we needed to get our Non-Immigrant Visas renewed.

No more.

Starting on October 1, 2021, choosing that option on Wise produces NO International/Foreign Transfer "from abroad" record at all. It only produces a useless "Transfer from other account" record with your Thai bank. And, naturally, it will NOT be designated as a Foreign Transfer by your Thai bank and therefore it will NOT be accepted by Thai Immigration as evidence of new money coming into Thailand as is required to qualify for a Non-Immigrant Long Stay Visa. As far as Thai Immigration knows or cares, you or a friend in Thailand transferred money from one Thai bank account into another Thai bank account in order to fool Thai Immigration into thinking they were the required Foreign Transfers. Or, worse, Thai Immigration might think that is money you earned and were paid under the table by illegally working a job, which is generally forbidden for those of us living here on a Non-Immigrant Long Stay Visa, and tried to pawn them off as Foreign Transfers. Who knows.

Wise explains this is happening because the money indeed IS coming from inside Thailand from a Wise account in Thailand so they can get it to us "within seconds or minutes" instead of waiting until the next business day for it, as was always the case prior to October 1. They will pull the money from your home country account to deposit it in a Wise account in that country at the same time. Effectively, they are performing two domestic transfers at once, not even one International/Foreign Transfer "from abroad".

So if anyone is still using Wise and choosing the "Funds for long term stay in Thailand" option as the reason for their transfers in order to show Thai Immigration that you are making monthly International/Foreign Transfers "from abroad" to qualify for a Non-Immigrant Long Stay Visa, you better stop using Wise for that purpose and start using your own home country bank (likely more expensive) or another service for those transfers.

Just passing this along as a heads up. If anyone knows of a workaround for this with Wise or knows of another service that WILL make a fast and low-cost transfer that shows up at our Thai banks as International/Foreign Transfers "from abroad", please let me know.

[QUOTE=EihTooms;2613279]

Just passing this along as a heads up. If anyone knows of a workaround for this with Wise or knows of another service that WILL make a fast and low-cost transfer that shows up at our Thai banks as International/Foreign Transfers "from abroad", please let me know.[/QUOTE]I use Charles Schwab and they charge a flat fee of $15.00 from a brokerage account. When I had a Private Client account they would refund the fee. I opted out of the private client account a month ago and my fee this month for the transfer was still $15.00.

I don't use the monthly transfer method to renew my visa, but I still make the monthly transfer so that if I choose to change from the 800,000 balance method, I would be able to do so.

[QUOTE=HoustonPlayer;2613288]I use Charles Schwab and they charge a flat fee of $15.00 from a brokerage account. When I had a Private Client account they would refund the fee. I opted out of the private client account a month ago and my fee this month for the transfer was still $15.00.

I don't use the monthly transfer method to renew my visa, but I still make the monthly transfer so that if I choose to change from the 800,000 balance method, I would be able to do so.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the reply. I have not checked how much a roughly $2100 USD transfer per month would cost me at Bank of America. If I go that route, after that amount has been satisfied each month, I suppose I would use Wise for any additional transfers.

Wise customer support tells me this glitch occurs occasionally with certain Thai banks and that, if it starts to happen, they can try to reset it with your bank so it will begin to recognize those transfers as International/Foreign Transfers again. But by then we have already made a substantial transfer that is designated as a mere "Transfer from other account" and therefore of no value as far as a long term stay visa renewal is concerned.