Thread: BIG Changes to banked money method for retirement extensions.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

Years ago I did the three-monthly hops but never travelled by bus to Cambo preferring to spend three days in Penang or elsewhere, HK or S'pore.

What's wrong in using an agent in Pattaya to do your extension?

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

This is a fine alternative but in truth it gets old very quickly.

Exactly right. I did the 90 day border trips and after about a year of it, it grows thin on your patience. I would do flights to different places even though the company offered a van ride to Cambodia because the nonsense at the border gave me a headache. Nothing enjoyable about it. At least the flights were basically a stamp in and out. But as you say having to always travel somewhere because you have to isn't fun especially after you have seen all those places.

Now a 15 min drive to have lunch first then a quick "Hello I am still here" once every 90 days is far more pleasant.

Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

This is a fine alternative but in truth it gets old very quickly. Years ago I did the three-monthly hops but never travelled by bus to Cambo preferring to spend three days in Penang or elsewhere, HK or S'pore. As you say, it's a nice respite getting away from Thai stupidity but in the end it became a chore not least because when the time came to travel because I had to, I invariably didn't fancy it at all or, according to sod's law, I was ill from some bug or had the shits. It also got more expensive with £ depreciation - the idea of spending 12 hours on a bus to Cambo was too horrible to contemplate.

In some ways I miss my trips to Penang and get quite nostalgic for the curries and the pleasant hours under the casuarinas of Batu Ferringhi beach with a couple of beers in the Soho bar.

Used to work out well for me, a trip to Penang or where ever every 15 months for the visa, one trip to the Philipines to see friends, one trip to Indonesia to see the old man, so that only left max 2 Cambo trips a year if couldn't be fucked to fly anywhere for a weekend/ week. Did that for best part of 10 years.

Originally Posted by buriramboy

If/ when I move back to Thailand I've still failed to read anything that would convince me to do anything different to what I did before as in a one year multi entry non imm O or B obtained outside of Thailand and a nice trip out the mad house every 3 months or day trip to Cambo or Laos border and I could happily meet the financial requirements for a 1 year obtained in country.

agree, that's what I did, it was far better than dealing with frigging idiots at the immigration office

that said, the extension procedure are difficult, and the officials needs to be as difficult as their procedure

why would anyone want to go through that shit, when a country does everything because they don't want you there

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

What's wrong in using an agent in Pattaya to do your extension?

You miss the point. I don't need an agent and I qualify for extensions in my own right. We were talking about years ago when I was on a multi '0' annual visa necessitating a departure every three months. This has the virtue of never having to deal with a Thai immigration officer ever again. In itself this has to be a bonus. If I were younger I would do it in a heartbeat and fuck off extensions and their shitty offices, their fucking rudeness and their fucking arrogance, not least because one can also travel to see other places. Different game now as a grunter and I can't be arsed to travel, immigration office is a lesser evil.

Butters, the problem with that now is, although I can use Irish nationality and therefore have freedom of movement for myself and the wingman, we would not be classified as economically active, since I would be establishing our residence as persons of independent means and not as workers, and therefore we would require mandatory health insurance cover. At my age that would be a challenge. Even so, I would still do it if it were just me, but the wingman and Spain would not be a good fit.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

But as you say having to always travel somewhere because you have to isn't fun especially after you have seen all those places.

Same here.

SA

Even so, I would still do it if it were just me, but the wingman and Spain would not be a good fit.

Have you considered Portugal, it's considerably cheaper than Spain, the Portuguese are much nicer and more welcoming than the dago, and I believe they are offering all sorts of tax advantages to retirees. Residents are entitled to healthcare, and again, I believe that includes retirees.
Like Thailand they also have an incomprehensible language and a strange cuisine

We are making a visit there in June, and will look into the possibilities of a legal bolthole there. Porto is a delightful town.

Corbyns taxation proposals, his one off wealth tax threats and the strong possibility that if elected he would turn the UK into an Eastern Germany circa 1960 within a couple of years has made me very fearful indeed. Brexit is nothing compared to Corbyn.

Also have the Canary Islands, even cheaper and tax free and a better climate during the winter months than Spain or Portugal.

Originally Posted by Dragonfly

Thailand has become an overpriced shithole with only cutoff fools and idiots staying,

I'm stayin.

Portugal the Indian of Europe.

One foot in the Algarkirk, would be perfect for the Gent.

Originally Posted by taxexile

SA


Have you considered Portugal, it's considerably cheaper than Spain, the Portuguese are much nicer and more welcoming than the dago, and I believe they are offering all sorts of tax advantages to retirees. Residents are entitled to healthcare, and again, I believe that includes retirees.
Like Thailand they also have an incomprehensible language and a strange cuisine

We are making a visit there in June, and will look into the possibilities of a legal bolthole there. Porto is a delightful town.

Corbyns taxation proposals, his one off wealth tax threats and the strong possibility that if elected he would turn the UK into an Eastern Germany circa 1960 within a couple of years has made me very fearful indeed. Brexit is nothing compared to Corbyn.

Portugal has been invaded by French pensioners, you are going to love it there

nothing wrong with the older frog once it has seen sense and left france. i associate with a few frenchies here in hua hin and find them excellent comapany, much better in fact than most of the chavvy lowrent brits that seem to gravitate to thailand.

Tax, if you want to avail yourself of an EU residence, other than Ireland, you had better get your skates on. The situation is in a state of flux given the ERG position but if Britain crashes out next month sans a deal then your proposed plan may not get off the ground unless, of course, you apply as a third country national under the 'golden visa' schemes.
These require a property purchase in excess of 500,000 euros and an element of capital investment.
There are few Thais in Portugal but as far as I know most Thai that are there are spouses of Brits retired on the Algarve.
I know a little about Portugal but in truth you and Mrs Tax will be somewhat isolated if you choose an area away from the Algarve. Portuguese are quite conservative and reserved, and if you cannot speak the lingo then north of the tourist zone will be difficult for you. The cultural difference between Spanish and the Portuguese is quite extraordinary when one considers their proximity. Up country in Portugal, in the boonies, in the Minho, Porto, around Braganza etc, they are pretty much done and dusted by 9 o'clock in the evening, they eat quietly and go to bed early. I loved touring around there and relished the sedate pace of things. But as a place to hang one's hat? Sure the cities are fine but they do have problems with urban crime, mugging etc and the legacy of their African colonies has yielded unwanted dividends.
Frankly, you would do better upping stumps for somewhere like Cyprus or Crete. The thing is, when you start bouncing off the walls in your dementia poor Mrs Tax will have to negotiate things by herself and this is challenging for most Thai but in foreign climes it will be more of a bugger and in truth would be testing for the average Brit.
Stick with Scarborough, pay your tax and enjoy pootling around the Dales interspersed with your jaunts in the Hua Hin bathchair.

sounds like a reply from an agony aunt, but thanks for the effort anyway!

the algarve, or at least the coast, hold no attractions, and should it come to it, porto or the douro would suit just fine. like the portuguese, we are also conservative and reserved and value highly our privacy and quiet.

as you say, brexit may very well put paid to our ideas. ive never been to either cyprus or crete and so cannot comment, but if the worst comes to the worst, and should brexit truly isolate the uk, though i doubt very much it will, then yorkshire and h-h will suit just fine. ....... but there is no way the traitorous pig corbyn is getting his grubby hands on my hard earned and distributing it to the feckless, the lazy and the arab.

^^^ A short Penang vacation is not the same as a border bounce.

Bit stretched there, lom, to suggest an extended 'bounce' to the other side of a border to satisfy visa requirements is a vacation and not a visa run.

In that case I have never paid for sex, though being generous by nature I did in the past help to support Issani families.

Originally Posted by jabir

Bit stretched there, lom, to suggest an extended 'bounce' to the other side of a border to satisfy visa requirements is a vacation and not a visa run.

Not at all, I've done the one day border run with minibus as well as the 4-5 days in Penang with Firefly from Samui.
A bounce is out and then immediately back.
A short vacation in Penang equals relaxing on the beach with a Tiger bear or five and eating good Indian and Malay food, it recharges your mental batteries and you return very relaxed.
Somchai Fittipaldi with his minibus can offer none of that..

Does it matter if every 3 months you do a same day return by car/bus/plane or stay a few days/ week somewhere? The point is the ease of which a non O /B multi entry visa can be obtained outside of Thailand without having to jump through immigration hoops compared to the one year extension people obtain in country.

actually, even overseas Thai embassies have started to make things more difficult for non-O and non-B, asking all kind of silly paperwork

Originally Posted by Dragonfly

actually, even overseas Thai embassies have started to make things more difficult for non-O and non-B, asking all kind of silly paperwork

Application form has been the same for years, only thing that has changed is they now use the same generic form for all visas, be they tourist, or multi O page 2.

Since you can do them by post in your home country, how would they ask for extra silly paper work.

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Application form has been the same for years, only thing that has changed is they now use the same generic form for all visas, be they tourist, or multi O page 2.

Since you can do them by post in your home country, how would they ask for extra silly paper work.

As I posted some time ago, in U.K. the only authority for initial retirement visas is the Thai Embassy in London. The easier option via consulates is now finished.
All supporting documentation for the application now has to be notarised, or the Embassy will not accept it. Proof of incom, Doctors letter and Police report all need a solicitor or notary public to authenticate them.

Originally Posted by Pragmatic

I'm stayin.

Yeah, me too. The alternatives don't add up.

Originally Posted by Switch

All supporting documentation for the application now has to be notarised, or the Embassy will not accept it. Proof of incom, Doctors letter and Police report all need a solicitor or notary public to authenticate them.

None of which are difficult to officially obtain. Expensive and time consuming but all are accessible, some online. The easily found notary I used years ago was amused but accepted his cash fee and took out his brass stamps and red candles.

As we know Thais like the multiple coloured stamps.