Retiring in Laos

There is no such beast as a retirement visa.

Transferring of pensions varies from country to country. I know Australia and NZ require you to notify them if you are leaving for more than 5 weeks. The pension payment is reduced if you stay out longer and likely to be cancelled after 6 months.

Healthcare is non existent in Laos unless you have private cover. However there are some very competent health professionals in the country.

To the best of my knowledge you cannot have money transferred into Laos without using an intermediary bank. This is Wells Fargo in NYC for the BCEL bank. However, there are ATM's everywhere where you can use a card to withdraw money. The amount is usually capped $200 a withdrawal. You can withdraw money several times though, but this increases the fees.

Taxes, if they exist here, have to be nearly zero. Utilities are not expensive. Electricity is the big one and I pay about $60-70/month and my house is totally air-conditioned as much as I like. I refuse to live in a sauna during the hot season. During the cold season - Dec. to March - a fan is plenty.

Average everyday healthcare is fine. There are some good doctors, especially at the French Clinic. For anything serious going to Thailand is the best thing to do. It may be wise to get ex-pat health insurance. There are a few companies that provide this but it isn't cheap.

Are you going to rent or buy? Neither is a fantastic deal anymore although searching around you can find reasonable rentals. Buying land/houses etc. is nowhere near the deal it was just a few years ago. As well, unless you have $1 million or more to invest foreigners cannot own land in their own name.

As Stumpy said, there is no retirement visa for Laos. You will have to have a business visa which is good for 1 year - multiple entry. You do not have to have a job to get this, there are ways. I have an American friend here who is retired and he gets one done every year. I think it costs about $500.

Living in Laos is as simple as moving here. Really, that easy. I chose to live here for 3 reasons primarily. I hate cold weather so Canada - my birth country - was out. I don't have a lot of money and Laos was really cheap at the time. I've been here 12 years. I came at a good time and bought land and built a house for my wife and I. She's Lao. I have no debt but I have to work. I make about $1500/month and we have a very comfortable life.

All in all, your money will take you a lot further in Thailand if you are not set on Laos. It really is same same but different. An extra bonus is Thailand has specific retirement visas and beaches and everything is cheaper. A house that costs $400,000 here is 1/4 that just across the river. There is a much larger selection of everything too.

If you do not have a specific reason to come to Laos (family, friends) you should check out Chang Mai. The weather there is similar but it's much more a 1st world place with respect to shopping etc.

Check this out:

https://www.fazwaz.com/projects/chiangm … arnkanok-2https://www.thailand-property.com/

I am currently looking at properties here. I am speaking to a lady named Dao Thanet email - [email protected]

Here is her latest email to me

Please find information on ownership title for non-Thai national below:

Freehold ownership
House/Villa – ​​Foreigners can setup or buy an existing Thai company, to secure ownership of the house under a freehold structure.
​​A method of house ownership in Thailand by foreigners is to setup or buy an existing Thai company, to secure ownership of the house under a freehold structure. This involves ​​​​setting up a Thai Limited Liability Company, which means that the majority shareholder under Thai law would need to be a Thai national. An agreement would then be put in place that would result in the Thai entity handing over complete power of attorney to the foreign partner, which would then provide them with a significant degree of security in the venture, and in turn in the ownership of the property.

Condo
– Foreigners can legally own a condo freehold in Thailand
–  Each building can sell 49 out of every 100 units to foreigners under a freehold structure
–  Owning a condo freehold in Thailand is without a lease and is timeless. – Yours forever

Leasehold ownership
If you're buying a property and it's under a Leasehold title, it means that you are getting a 30 Year Lease but in practice, leaseholds can be obtained for a 90 year period using the 30+30+30 mechanism. As the leasehold owner you have the complete rights to the property.

Example: https://www.thailand-property.com/3-bed … ai_1644789

This house would cost 4 to 5X this amount in Laos and I am very comfortable saying the build quality would not be as good.

Hope this helps a bit. Keep in touch and let us know what is going on.

Have a great day.

What is retirement?

To correct a few statements:
"To the best of my knowledge you cannot have money transferred into Laos without using an intermediary bank. "
You certainly can. I have money transferred directly from my Australian bank account. Use a bank like the Pubic Bank and you can use a swift code.

"Taxes, if they exist here, have to be nearly zero. "
Taxes certainly exist and they are 10%. However if you are working your employer will usually pay those.

Healthcare  is much better than it was 11 years ago when I first arrived. There are a couple of hospitals around that I trust, though if things were really serious, I agree that I would head to Udon Thani.

I agree that Land and houses are much more expensive than they used to be. If you bought land 10 years ago, you did well. You can build a VERY nice house for about 150,000usd sans land.
"A house that costs $400,000 here is 1/4 that just across the river. "
That is not correct and is a gross exaggeration. The house shown would certainly not be 4 or 5 times the cost here in Lao. You could not get that place for that money in town, but you could get it a bit further out. There are now a number of building/housing projects that have started and house and land packages are quite reasonable. Yes you can set up a company in Thailand, but do you really want the majority shareholder to be Thai? You need an awful lot of trust. Foreigners can buy freeholds on condos here in Lao.

Lao is an ok place to live, the restaurants are FAR better than in Thailand and alcohol is cheaper if that is important for you. Finally you don't have to put up with the military.

vientianeboy wrote:

What is retirement?

To correct a few statements:
"To the best of my knowledge you cannot have money transferred into Laos without using an intermediary bank. "
You certainly can. I have money transferred directly from my Australian bank account. Use a bank like the Pubic Bank and you can use a swift code.

"Taxes, if they exist here, have to be nearly zero. "
Taxes certainly exist and they are 10%. However if you are working your employer will usually pay those.

Healthcare  is much better than it was 11 years ago when I first arrived. There are a couple of hospitals around that I trust, though if things were really serious, I agree that I would head to Udon Thani.

I agree that Land and houses are much more expensive than they used to be. If you bought land 10 years ago, you did well. You can build a VERY nice house for about 150,000usd sans land.
"A house that costs $400,000 here is 1/4 that just across the river. "
That is not correct and is a gross exaggeration. The house shown would certainly not be 4 or 5 times the cost here in Lao. You could not get that place for that money in town, but you could get it a bit further out. There are now a number of building/housing projects that have started and house and land packages are quite reasonable. Yes you can set up a company in Thailand, but do you really want the majority shareholder to be Thai? You need an awful lot of trust. Foreigners can buy freeholds on condos here in Lao.

Lao is an ok place to live, the restaurants are FAR better than in Thailand and alcohol is cheaper if that is important for you. Finally you don't have to put up with the military.

hey vientianeboy

yea i heard that they have good vegetarian resutrants, because im vegetarian i was wondering about that. im interested in moving to laos, how long have you been living there, and do you speak laos?

A long time. As I am not vegetarian I cannot help you with that. Yes, I speak Lao. The country is Lao, the people and language are Lao. The French added the "s".

oh ok kool. let me ask you a question, ummmm i here that the people of lao are very friendly. ( that's kind of a cliche statement, but that's what i've heard from people who have visited there personally) and that the women dress modest, being that it's a Buddhist country and all.

would you say that Buddhism has had a effect on the people of lao in the past, does it effect family values and morals, and their general outlook on life?

what is your opinion on that?

Of course Buddhism has had a great effect. Even during the years of the revolution it still played a major part. It does so today in all walks of life. The people are  friendlier than in Thailand.

Hi,

I was born in Laos from Lao parents and immigrated in Canada over a decade now. I have my Canadian citizenship. I am planning to retire in Lao in few years after spending from ore 26 years with Federal in as senior IT. But i would like to keep my Canadian Citizenship just in case i want to come back to Canada.
Yes, Canada is cold, one of the main reason for me.

Please provide some advices. I still have my parents house and some lands over there which i can build with less than $100,000.

Thank you in advance!

La