Retirement

Hi Russ,
I will try to answer a few of your questions... first, the legal retirement status you are referring to is called an O-A long stay retirement visa for people 50 and older.  I am 60.  I came in on a 30 day tourist visa, signed a 6 month lease on a condo and then applied for 3 mth temporary + 12 mth O-A retirement visa with multiple re-entry permit all at same time. It took about 3 weeks to get my passport & retirement visa back. Cost was about $10,000 THB to Immigration, but I paid more for someone to help me since it was first time and for convenience. Some people told me I would have to do before I came into the country, but it wasn't a problem doing it after moving here... If you're not 50 or older then you probably wouldn't qualify for the retirement visa and you're not supposed to be able to work if you're on retirement visa...

As for as banking, I used my US bank card to get cash from atm until I opened an account with Citibank in Bangkok. I deposited some cash I had brought with me and since have been doing wire xfers from my home country. Have Citibank atm card that works in any Thai bank atm, no fees.

As for renting, if you know where you want to live, area & building, it is easy... most buildings have rental companies on bottom floor that have units listed for rent. It's not hard... Just be sure you look at unit and be ready to move in before putting deposit down. If you change your mind, you probably won't get the deposit back.

Hope that eases your mind a little...

thanks so much, so citibank atms work all over thailand? what is the most you can withdraw at one time?  where did you settle and are you enjoying life there?  does the heat get to you at times?  i am 59, retired and have almost had it with the usa.  looking for a more causal life.  however, not crazy about bkk, too busy.

I stayed in Jomtien Beach, Pattaya at View Talay 7 condo for 6 mths... then moved to Bangkok in Jan 2017.  I like both places but wanted to experience different areas and be close to airport in Bangkok for travel. Got tired of drive to airport from Pattaya...

Can get 30,000 THB at Citibank atm, can get 20,000 THB at all others anywhere in Thailand per day...

Weather is hot, but you get use to it... I just run ac a lot... I am from Louisiana so kind of use to the hot weather anyway...

Good luck...

thanks so much for the info!!!!!!!! be safe.

In my opinion, one should always get the appropriate visa before coming to Thailand.  If you are planning to live the life of an expat you need to get used to dealing with visas and government bureaucracy.  If you can't cope with getting a visa for Thailand from the comfort of your home country then you are apt to be one of those who struggles when you get here.

My early experience was with the Honorary Consul General in Hawaii who was very helpful.  I also found that going to immigration in Thailand you begin to familiarize yourself with the requirements, the officials and the process which will become part of your routine.  The internet, being what it is, you will tend to read more negative stories from troubled people who feel life is conspiring against them.  If you take things step by step and follow the rules you shouldn't find the process overpowering. 

It is also important to find out if your US financial institutions can deal with international transfers and what their rules are for those who live overseas.  You will probably find it necessary to maintain a mailing address in the US.  Online tax filing is not very painful and you can get internet access almost everywhere.

I lived in Bangkok for 30 years and have now lived in Chiang Rai for more than ten years.  Though polar opposites they were both great at the time and Chiang Rai continues to be the right place for now.  Places are different, people are different and both people and places change over time so whatever you choose as your initial location be aware that you may change your mind along the way.

Each person has to find their own adaptation to weather depending on where they live.  Some try to do outdoor activities early in the morning when things are cooler.  In Bangkok I found it better to get my exercise at a plush nearby health club.  Here in Chiang Rai I have great roads for cycling so weather permitting I get my exercise outdoors.

Just take things one step at a time and try to enjoy the journey.

The Thai embassy locations in USA are in Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. If you live in one of those cities it may not be so bad.  If you live in another state and need to drive or fly and stay in hotels in one of those cities to apply for a Thai retirement visa, that could be very costly.

For me, it was much easier to just do it when I got here. I was prepared to fly out every 30 days to renew my tourist visa if necessary, but was able to get a retirement visa before my 30-day tourist visa expired. Anyway, I came from Saudi after finishing an assignment and had already leased a condo on the previous trip a month earlier. So, there was no way I was going to fly back to the US just to apply for a Thai retirement visa when I could get it here.

There doesn't seem to be any rules against getting a retirement visa once you're here, at least it wasn't for me...

One comment about banking. My understanding is that Bangkok Bank has an office in New York City. Being a licensed (?) bank in the US has it's advantages when doing transactions. I'm not sure if an other Thai bank offers the same opportunities.

I personally do not go that route. I use a Schwab account. I transfer money to a Schwab account in which they provide me with a credit card and ATM access, no charge for any ATM transactions. I go to a bank, into the banking area not the ATM machine. I show them my passport and make the transaction with a teller. This seems to minimize complications and fees.

You should also think about any state sides accounts that you have. Some institutions will not allow you to have an account without a US address. Personally I have a house in the US so I by pass problems. You might be able to use an electronic mail service to satisfy this condition. I will defer to others to answer that specific question. Aside from the technical complications it is delightful living or being retired in Thailand.

wow, great information, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, one more point. The electronic mail services operate in different states. They do have an option for depositing checks into an account of yours. If the check is an income check such as retirement, then the state that that mail service is in must comply with state laws. By this I mean collecting state income tax's. I believe that Florida and Nevada do not collect state income tax. As I understand it from a friend Michigan does have an income tax, the mail service collects and forwards that money to the state, and the friend has to file for a refund each year. Too complicated for me. I use a service in Florida, no particular reason other then to stay away from any state income tax thing.

I don't understand.  If you live in Thailand you don't have to pay state tax no matter what state you have a mailing address in.  And any retirement check takes out any applicable tax before deposit, which can be direct. 

Thanks Bill, I do appreciate all the info......... can't wait to start living there.

When it comes to tax's I guess there is an unlimited number of scenarios. Personally I have direct deposit and I have complete control over the situation. I just know this one guy who gets his seemingly retirement checks sent to him via one of these services, located in Michigan. The service, apparently by Michigan state law, collects and forwards the so called tax's due. Each state has their own thing. Using Florida or Nevada seems to help by pass potential complications. I prefer to operate at least one step ahead of problems.

In the mean time enjoy your life and your dreams.

I got it Bill, easier the better getting the money there.  May I ask where in TL you settled?

I live 10 months a year in Chiang Mai. I am very active in the expat community as well as I'm working with international schools in providing specialized professional assistance. Starting this upcoming March I will spend a month in a beach area, because of the smoke. I spend two months a year back in the states making sure that all of my affairs are in order and taken care of. This is my second year with this plan and look forward to many more years with it. For one I enjoy being part of an international community, more so in Thailand and/or Chiang Mai.

Enjoy.

Hi Russ,

If you don't mind me asking, what is your timeframe for moving to Thailand? Are you just thinking about it or have you made decision yet?

Kindly

Housing; Use an agent, look on Google or Craigs list, or go look in person on your own for a condo/apt rental, it's not rocket science.

Visa: get a 30 day visa when entering the country, go to US Embassy Outreach meeting or set an appointment with the Embassy in Bangkok (if you're a US citizen) and get an income affidavit and declare income 800k baht or more on it (1850 baht money order fee for the Embassy, changes based on FX rate for $50), then go to immigration and apply for a retirement visa (if you're 50 or older) 1900 baht for Non Immigrant type O (1 time only) then another 1900 for the retirement visa (yearly), you'll need to show a condo/apt rental contract: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-se … -outreach/

Money: Open a Bangkok bank account, just have an adress in Thailand and show them your US passport and get a debit ATM card:  (if you have a US bank account) I transfer money from my US checking account for free to Bangkok Bank New York branch via their ABA number, they send it directly to my Thai bank in 2/3 days (which has a small fee to receive the funds): http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/ … omUSA.aspx

Taxes: I do everything online including the FBAR using my foreign address, just be sure to do the FBAR every year when you file; Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-bu … ounts-fbar

These are the Royal Thai Honorary Consulate-General listed in the U.S.- Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas (Dallas and Houston), Puerto Rico and Utah.  These are in addition to the listed locations.

Zeus.wmo wrote:

The Thai embassy locations in USA are in Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. If you live in one of those cities it may not be so bad.  If you live in another state and need to drive or fly and stay in hotels in one of those cities to apply for a Thai retirement visa, that could be very costly.
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villagefarang wrote:

These are the Royal Thai Honorary Consulate-General listed in the U.S.- Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Oregon, Texas (Dallas and Houston), Puerto Rico and Utah.  These are in addition to the listed locations.

Zeus.wmo wrote:

The Thai embassy locations in USA are in Washington DC, New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. If you live in one of those cities it may not be so bad.  If you live in another state and need to drive or fly and stay in hotels in one of those cities to apply for a Thai retirement visa, that could be very costly.
.

In Dallas (not sure about anywhere else) you can only get a Non O visa (no retirement visa application available) for about $130/150, good for 1 year but you must leave the country every 90 days to keep it active or convert it into a Retirement visa once you arrive at Thai immigration. I've never talked to anyone that applied or had a retirement visa from a Consulate state side.

Don't know if anyone ran across this recently, but I am extending my retirement visa this month so I called lady in immigration that helped me last year which was my first time to see if I could just bring my conpany pension payslip or statement.  She said I still needed to bring income affidavit notarized by US embassy and that the affidavit needed to be stamped by MFA Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to bring my pension statement also.

Has anyone extended in last few months? Did you have to get income affidavit stamped by MFA? Did you have to bring proof of income?

I don't know why you need income affidavit because US embassy did not even verify my income. I asked them if they needed to see my pension statement and they said no. So, it appears that someone with no income could get an affidavit and put whatever amount they wanted on it.

Several months ago I switched over from marriage to retirement but I used the 800,000 baht in the bank method.  There was a lot less paperwork for retirement than for marriage.

I agree that raising your hand and swearing to something at the embassy without any proof seems naive but maybe we shouldn't question that too much as things could be a lot more difficult.

I know first hand that since last October immigration is in the process of making many changes. My understanding is that they want to revamp the system, because the system is "old, antiquated,  and out of date". I know that internally this has created problems for processing officers, as to following the old or the new regulations. I attended a meeting in late June or early July. A printed handout was provided for all attendee's. Even with these new written rules or regulations immigration is making various adjustments in the application of them. In some cases there is some over kill on the application of rules. Such is the way of any bureaucracy. 

The point is go with the flow. They will straighten out their system in due time in their way. They are even working at getting rid of corruption of a segment of the officers. From my perch I see the government trying to do a lot to help Farangs officially, but there is that segment that resist these changes, and their loss of income,

Again just go with the flow, and minimize your questions with immigration. They do work hard at helping people but there is the Thai way and us Farangs must learn and respect the Thai way.

(I have no interest in participating is any debate with the nay Sayers or any other negative group.)

I think I will hire a law firm when my time comes.  It's a little expensive but they handle everything and have offices in TL in case there are any problems.  Frankly, I would rather pay this extra money and have them deal with new rules or issues just to make a move like this less stressful.