Anyone have anymore information about this?? If true it would mean the end of the current one year visa system, plus grandiose new requirements on income and bank deposits.
Gov?t Approves 10-Year Visas for Foreigners Over 50
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Anyone have anymore information about this?? If true it would mean the end of the current one year visa system, plus grandiose new requirements on income and bank deposits.
Gov?t Approves 10-Year Visas for Foreigners Over 50
Best reason to never ever deal with these clowns and deal with embassies.
They posted home addresses and passport numbers the motherlode for internet scammers
Expat Personal Records Posted to Govt Site
Will this new visa still involve 90 day reporting?
Absolutely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chittychangchang
Applicants must either earn a monthly salary of at least 100,000 baht or have more than 3 million baht in their bank account, which cannot be withdrawn within the first year after receiving the visa. They must also have health insurance that covers hospital stays and provides at least USD$10,000 in annual coverage
Visa holders will still have to check in every 90 days with the Bureau of Immigration, Athisit said
So it will basically mean that instead of going to renew your annual Extension of Temporary Stay based on marriage every year, you just get the new 5 yr visa and do 90 day reports as normal for the 5 years.
I guess that there's a multiple reentry permit too, that allows you to come and go.
no biggie really, it just cuts out going to get your annual extension every year.
Too many questions currently, but worth watching for any developements if it is factual.
Another article with a bit more information.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/...enior-tourists
A bunch of arse I tell ya.
.....Quote:
Meanwhile, the Cabinet extended to 10 years from one the long-stay visa for foreigners aged 50 or more.
However, they must report to immigration police every 90 days.
The visa will be valid initially for five years and could be renewed for another five, Col Apisit Chaiyanuwat, vice minister at the Prime Minister’s Office, said.
The visa fee was set at 10,000 baht (20,000 rupees), he said.
Apart from the age requirement, the visa requires eligible foreigners to have a monthly salary of at least 100,000 baht or a bank deposit of at least 3 million baht, to be maintained for at least one year after receiving the visa.
Besides, they must have health insurance coverage for at least USD 1,000 for outpatient care and USD 10,000 or more for inpatient care per policy per year.
The revised rule aimed to promote medical and wellness tourism in line with the government’s policy.
The target groups for the visa are long-stay visitors from India, Australia, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Taiwan and the United States, Apisit said.
^
What about New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Spain, Greece, South America and the umpteen other countries not mentioned?
So if you're un-insurable you're exempt? Or may be the first year you have insurance, but lose it thereafter, how do they keep a check on that? :confused:Quote:
They must also have health insurance that covers hospital stays and provides at least USD$10,000 in annual coverage.
Insurance bit is not clear but over a 10 year period cheaper and less hassle than annual extension for retirement. If/when it is offered I will switch.
Kind of sounds like it would only be applicable to Retirement extensions, not Marriage.
Certainly some contradictory information, like a 10 year visa that has to be renewed after 5 years?
A visa fee of 10,000 baht, which presumably would be charged again at the 5 year renewal, equates to 2,000 baht/year, a small increase on the current 1,900.
Were it not for an ever increasing amount of strange regulations that have been applied during the last two years, most would think this was a joke.
As Pragmatic pointed out, obtaining the requisite health insurance for many retirees would be impossible due to age barring that nearly all insurers apply. I guess that the government could introduce it's own insurance of course, for a suitably exorbitant fee.
Hopefully, Todd will be along soon with his take on all this.
OK by me. 1 day trip to Bangers for US Embassy income verification costs about 10k baht per year to do extension.Quote:
Originally Posted by PAG
Please note they just approved the "rough draft" of this and there's nothing really hashed out as in how it will be implemented, how it will actually work AND there is no roll-out date either..
In summary;
10-year visa for people over 50
- price of visa 10K baht
- over 50 years of age
- monthly income of 100K baht OR minimum deposit of 3million baht in a thai bank which cannot be touched for one year
- health insurance for one year with $1,000USD for out-patient care and $10,000USD in-patient care per policy year
- 90 day reporting still must be done
- visa can be extended another 5 years after the first 5
No article that I found mentions if this is sold as a multi-entry visa or not, nor did ANY article say if it's purchased inside the country at your thai immigration office OR outside the country at a Thai consulate.
Also no article mentions this is in ANY WAY replacing any type of existing yearly extension of stay (got inside the country at a thai immigration office) or any current visa type (gotten outside the country at a thai consulate).
They are very long on speculation and very short on how this is exactly going to be implemented.. It also doesn't mention if foreigners get this "visa" outside the country at a thai consulate BEFORE winging their way here, or get it inside the country at a local immigration office.
The thai related forums on the inter-web are rife with posers :confused:, err posters weighing in with their two satang's worth of dis-information.
Right now I'd hafta say the best advice about this would be the words of wisdom spoken by Harvey Keitel playing Winston Wolfe in the movie Pulp Fiction;
Geesh! What a woman!...More moronic rhetoric with more fantasy increases in tourist number projection guesses?
5555 suspect well heeled tourists would balk at investing in Thai bank accounts and submit to proof of income requirements.
Being that the Thai police are immigration and most all Embassies, Consulates and Immigration offices are autonomous and perhaps are receptive to ......
Almost right :rolleyes:
The people at thai immigration offices are a division of the Royal Thai Police, BUT all they can do is immigration related stuff.
ALL the thai consulates and thai embassies (which are interestly enough located OUTSIDE thailand :rofl:) are run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While they may seem to you as autonomous they all follow the dictates of the MFA. That's why now all the "multi-entry visas" in the US (METV, year-long Multi-O's, B's, ED's, etc) are sold only at 4 places; New York, Chicago, LA, or Washington DC. The MFA put a stop to most of the honorary consulates scattered hither and yon around the US from selling anything but single entry visas.
This wasn't designed to boost tourist numbers, because as a rule "tourists" by their very definition, come here, TOUR around, then leave.
This "10 year wonder visa" <-as in we wonder how it will really work, is designed to attract more people who live her...
You're making stuff up man.
No where in ANY of the articles does it say the current yearly extension of stay process would be canceled.
You're reading things into that vague, poorly written article that aren't spelled out.
And NO, no one has more information on this because it's just the thai powerz-that-b tooting their own drum, beating their own horn..
This all looks very similar to the Malaysian requirements which the Thais are using as a template since they find it difficult to come up with a true idea on their own.
It is easy to announce a complicated plan, but another thing to implement and maintain.
That reminds me of when you could get an extension here, with no show of money, based on support by a Thai child. 2006 was the year.Quote:
Originally Posted by rickschoppers
Then we had free government hospital treatment for farangs on long stay extensions. Both ill thought out and only lasting one year before being withdrawn.
Too many people jumping to conclusions that other one year visas will be affected. This is merely another visa option for those who can afford it. I can afford it, but would more than likely maintain my one year multiple entry visa status.
Everyone needs to sit back and wait to see what developes. For anyone who has lived in Thailand for awhile, you will be used to this way of doing things.
or be proactive and plan to leave.Thailand is becoming less and less attractiveQuote:
Originally Posted by rickschoppers
Interesting. Wonder what needs to be presented to prove this?Quote:
Originally Posted by Luigi
That's exactly what I thought.Quote:
Originally Posted by rickschoppers
But Thailand being Thailand, they can't resist the temptation to make it more complicated and eke out more money.
In Malaysia the economic benefits (I presume) are seen as being more spread out in the community, while in Thailand the hands of officialdom are rather more grasping.
Where are you off to Dave?Quote:
Originally Posted by david44
I think it patently obvious that this new proposed visa is in addition to the current visa regime, designed for those who want the convenience and security of a five year resident visa - however, quite how it proposes to deal with those who have lost their incomes, have developed an underlying medical problem and have spent their savings, say, 18 months after the issue of the visa is not clear.
What does worry me is the leakage of the requirement to have a medical insurance certificate into other extension applications. Most folk over 60 tend to have some developing condition which would render them liable to pay premiums that make a residence untenable or, indeed, impossible given most over 70 are uninsurable.
The problem with the Thai is of course they are both very greedy and quite stupid.
The British government did canvass the Thai on the possibility of Brits residents in Thailand being permitted to join their medical social insurance scheme with perhaps an additional premium to be paid. I have no idea how it developed but I suspect the Thai simply blanked them on the basis all farang are just cows to be milked and do not qualify, ever, as anything other than visitors on a perennial year's probation.
Just a minor point, but I wonder why they would require the medical insurance to include a US$1000 outpatient limit? (about 30,000 baht)
If the visa holder has 100K+ baht monthly income, as required, they can probably manage to pay for 30000 baht of medical costs without any difficulty and don't need insurance to pay for it.
Outpatient coverage increases the annual premium substantially.....I exclude it on my own because the annual premium discount is 25% for not taking it. Outpatient procedures are generally not that costly whereas in-patient costs can be pretty high depending on what you're "in" for. Thats when you might want the insurance to kick in.
I'll give you a clue.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Read the opening sentences of the article: "Affluent foreign residents over 50 will soon be able to apply for 10-year visas, "
"Intended to promote Thailand as a hub for medical services,"
It's got nothing to do with marriage visa, nor retirement visa, nor work visa, but is an extra option, and is designed to attract wealthy visitors who want medical treatment (but could suit retirement visa people if they have the dosh).
A whole lot of panicking over a "new" extension to the idea of the Elite Card, sans airport limo et al benefits.
No...his later statement was....Quote:
Originally Posted by Jools
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seekingasylum
I'm due up the crema handy 2 min push in the wheelbarrow ,imagine paying for 10 years and being flattened by ...take yer pickQuote:
Originally Posted by chassamui
Tsunami
Elephant
Nong
Drunk Driver
Balcony diver
Pay as you go short time seems best investment .
I still hope to dip my beak in the Cameron Highlands so who knows may wet yours if I can peddle that far on my map its all downhil to Changi took Alan a week but I stop for sex more often
Indeed. Often these "draft" announcements are done and naught comes of them.Quote:
Originally Posted by toddaniels