Jump to content

If money is not an issue is the Thai Elite Visa still available and working?


Recommended Posts

On 2/1/2019 at 6:11 PM, fusion58 said:

60 day extension alert:

 

I went to CW today to apply for a 60 day extension (to visit wife) and, after submitting my documents, I was advised by the IO (who was about to stamp my passport) that the 60 day count starts on the date you apply - not on the date of the expiry of your current permission to stay (in case you apply before your expiration date.) Oddly enough, the senior officer, when examining my documents, assured me just the reverse was true. When I pointed out the discrepancy in the advice I was receiving, there was a quick powwow, and the senior officer deferred to the subordinate.

 

But the irony doesn’t end there.

 

While I was sitting in my chair waiting for the verdict, my approval letter from Thailand Elite came in. 

Just to confirm how many weeks did the letter take you ????? I’m on 3 weeks wait now. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Reddrago said:

what is the official website to apply for elite visa?  I've sent an inquiry to [email protected] but a week later have not received a reply.  

http://www.thailandelite.com/ is the official site. Several users of this board have indicated that emails addressed to [email protected] are not being answered. Complete the application form, create an account and after that a customer representative will contact you.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a follow-up post:
 
I received e-mail confirmation today that my CC payment had cleared. I was advised that I would receive a welcome letter with a member ID number in 4-5 working days.
 
Much to my surprise, the welcome letter landed in my inbox just a few hours later.
 
All that remains now is to get the visa stamp at Suvarnabhumi.
 
I feel like it's safe to exhale for the first time since the U.S. Embassy shafted American expats by eliminating the income affidavits.
 
Looking forward to five years in LOS with zero contact with the TI mafia. [emoji3]
 

Zero contact perhaps, if you leave at least once a year. I am looking very closely at PE visa now, no 90 report assistance in Chiang Mai supposedly you can get vip service. Thailand Elite can not not do anything about TM30, which is now required in BKK. I don’t think anybody has been arrested for NOT having a TM30 receipt stapled in their passport yet but without filing a TM30as required you would be in breach of Thai law and subject to fines.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

You are not responsible for the Tm30, your landlord is...

If they fine you that's just because they are corrupt <deleted> that want to steal your money.

Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk
 

You may have a point but the regulation states, House Master, Owner or Possessor, the Possessor being the renter. I have even known a case where immigration wanted to fine a wife, who owned the property, and her falang husband as living there, both for not submitting a TM30! 

Edited by jacko45k
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You may have a point but the regulation states, House Master, Owner or Possessor, the Possessor being the renter. I have even known a case where immigration wanted to fine a wife, who owned the property, and her falang husband as living there, both for nor submitting a TM30! 
The posessor is NOT the renter by law.
It refers to a kind of manager, agent etc.

But yes if you life in your wifes condo or house, of course she needs to report you.
If you life in your own condo or house, you need to report yourself.

If you have a landlord it's not your duty to report, it's his.

And yes i know immigration does what they want and that's where the real problem is...

Sent from my LYA-L29 using Tapatalk

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The following was posted recently...

How I bought a 5-year "Thailand Elite visa" for $15,900

The Thai government sells long-term visas, I just bought one for 5 years (see picture) and this is a review of my personal customer service experience.

About the visa: Thailand offers the Elite visa to attract wealthy (for Thai standards) foreigners to the country. You can live in the country for 5 years and leave/enter as often as you want. The government owns an agency (Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd) which is responsible for all communication with the people who bought the visa. Border runs are not necessary. Foreign income in Thailand in general is not taxed if you wait a bit and bring that income into Thailand only in the calendar year after you earned it. If you want to be employed in Thailand you still need to get an additional regular work permit.

About me: EU citizen, living in Cambodia for the last few years as a permanent tourist (not employed), enjoying the tropical weather and low cost of living, too young for the Thai retirement visa

Why I wanted to move to Thailand: Cambodia tightened the immigration rules a few months ago, foreigners like me who are not employed in the country can now only get 3-months visas instead of 1-year visas. I looked for alternative countries with similar climate and saw the Thailand visa.

Why the 5-year visa: I don't like to deal with authorities, I don't like border runs. I like the idea that an agency takes care of the bureaucracy. $15,900 for 5 years = $260 per month = 210 euro per month is worth it for me, especially in combination with the 0% tax on foreign income. They also sell 10-year and 20-year visas. This review is only about my personal experience and my priorities, this is not a recommendation for other people because everyone has to come to their own conclusions.

Overall satisfaction: I got what I wanted and they indeed provided a good service with only minor mishaps. I would do it again!

December 2017: I decide that I want to move to Thailand in February. I send an email to Thailand Elite to ask them if I can get the 5-year visa at the Thai Embassy Phnom Penh. They answer one day later and say yes (which would later turn out to be a wrong answer).

12 December: I fill out the online form with my application

20 December: After a clearance check with Thai Immigration they send me an approval letter by email

22 December: I send the money via SWIFT from my Cambodian Bank Account

29 December: They confirm that they received the payment

3 January: They register me in their system and issue a Membership ID number. I could move to Thailand today if I wanted to - three weeks after sending my application. This is also the starting date of the 5 years.

I tell them that I now want to have an appointment at the Thai Embassy Phnom Penh to get my 5-years visa. They tell me that this is not possible (which contradicts their earlier statement but was not really a problem). When I enter Thailand some weeks later at the Cambodian/Thailand land border crossing Aranyaprathet I instead get a stamp with a 30-day tourist visa exemption there with no problems.

13 February: I meet an "Elite Personal Liaison" staff member at Chaengwattana Immigration office in Bangkok. 20 minutes later I have the 5-year visa in my passport. Another option is to enter Thailand at Suvarnabhumi, Phuket, or Chiang Mai International Airport, then you get the 5-year visa there immediately.

Like every immigrant in Thailand, I have to report every 90 days that I am still living in Thailand, this can be done online or I can hand over my passport at the Elite office, they do the reporting at Immigration, and I collect the passport 2 days later.

The 5-year visa was the only reason for me to get the package, but the review would be not complete if I would not mention the other frills:

Separate Departure Lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport, expedited passport and visa controls at the airport, Limousine service from and to my hotel/apartment.

If you need a Thai drivers license, they can arrange an appointment at the Thai Transportation Office and accompany you

Same with Bangkok Bank account

Discounts at some hundred hotels, restaurants, spas, golf resorts, limousine services, hospitals and three cooking schools

"Welcome Package" with USB stick, black VIZ card with more shopping discounts, leather wallet, Elite Visa membership card, pin (see pics)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, pattayadgw said:

The following was posted recently...

How I bought a 5-year "Thailand Elite visa" for $15,900

The Thai government sells long-term visas, I just bought one for 5 years (see picture) and this is a review of my personal customer service experience.

About the visa: Thailand offers the Elite visa to attract wealthy (for Thai standards) foreigners to the country. You can live in the country for 5 years and leave/enter as often as you want. The government owns an agency (Thailand Privilege Card Co., Ltd) which is responsible for all communication with the people who bought the visa. Border runs are not necessary. Foreign income in Thailand in general is not taxed if you wait a bit and bring that income into Thailand only in the calendar year after you earned it. If you want to be employed in Thailand you still need to get an additional regular work permit.

About me: EU citizen, living in Cambodia for the last few years as a permanent tourist (not employed), enjoying the tropical weather and low cost of living, too young for the Thai retirement visa

Why I wanted to move to Thailand: Cambodia tightened the immigration rules a few months ago, foreigners like me who are not employed in the country can now only get 3-months visas instead of 1-year visas. I looked for alternative countries with similar climate and saw the Thailand visa.

Why the 5-year visa: I don't like to deal with authorities, I don't like border runs. I like the idea that an agency takes care of the bureaucracy. $15,900 for 5 years = $260 per month = 210 euro per month is worth it for me, especially in combination with the 0% tax on foreign income. They also sell 10-year and 20-year visas. This review is only about my personal experience and my priorities, this is not a recommendation for other people because everyone has to come to their own conclusions.

Overall satisfaction: I got what I wanted and they indeed provided a good service with only minor mishaps. I would do it again!

December 2017: I decide that I want to move to Thailand in February. I send an email to Thailand Elite to ask them if I can get the 5-year visa at the Thai Embassy Phnom Penh. They answer one day later and say yes (which would later turn out to be a wrong answer).

12 December: I fill out the online form with my application

20 December: After a clearance check with Thai Immigration they send me an approval letter by email

22 December: I send the money via SWIFT from my Cambodian Bank Account

29 December: They confirm that they received the payment

3 January: They register me in their system and issue a Membership ID number. I could move to Thailand today if I wanted to - three weeks after sending my application. This is also the starting date of the 5 years.

I tell them that I now want to have an appointment at the Thai Embassy Phnom Penh to get my 5-years visa. They tell me that this is not possible (which contradicts their earlier statement but was not really a problem). When I enter Thailand some weeks later at the Cambodian/Thailand land border crossing Aranyaprathet I instead get a stamp with a 30-day tourist visa exemption there with no problems.

13 February: I meet an "Elite Personal Liaison" staff member at Chaengwattana Immigration office in Bangkok. 20 minutes later I have the 5-year visa in my passport. Another option is to enter Thailand at Suvarnabhumi, Phuket, or Chiang Mai International Airport, then you get the 5-year visa there immediately.

Like every immigrant in Thailand, I have to report every 90 days that I am still living in Thailand, this can be done online or I can hand over my passport at the Elite office, they do the reporting at Immigration, and I collect the passport 2 days later.

The 5-year visa was the only reason for me to get the package, but the review would be not complete if I would not mention the other frills:

Separate Departure Lounge at Suvarnabhumi Airport, expedited passport and visa controls at the airport, Limousine service from and to my hotel/apartment.

If you need a Thai drivers license, they can arrange an appointment at the Thai Transportation Office and accompany you

Same with Bangkok Bank account

Discounts at some hundred hotels, restaurants, spas, golf resorts, limousine services, hospitals and three cooking schools

"Welcome Package" with USB stick, black VIZ card with more shopping discounts, leather wallet, Elite Visa membership card, pin (see pics)

This is all great if you dont mind shelling out 260 dollars a month just to live some where.....

If you under 50 and not married or working Thailand leaves a person virtually no other options for a long stay other than the elite visa....  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, pattayadgw said:

Why the 5-year visa: I don't like to deal with authorities, I don't like border runs.

The holder of a Thailand Elite Visa is required to leave Thailand every year before their 1-year permission to stay stamp expires or they need to extend their stay through immigration.  I don't know what the extension process is for an Elite Visa, but I have heard that it is a hassle.  You can ask your visa agency for details. 

 

Also, the 5-year Thailand Elite Visa can be extended for 6 years if you leave and reenter Thailand before the end of your fifth year and the expiration of the visa, immigration will give you another 1-year permission to stay stamp.  

Edited by SEtonal
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, SEtonal said:

I don't know what the extension process is for an Elite Visa, but I have heard that it is a hassle.  You can ask your visa agency for details. 

You fill out the same extension of stay form that everyone else fills out and it's processed in the same way, the only difference being you get one year of extra time instead of the usual 30 days you would get on a 60 day tourist visa.

 

It's no hassle and takes about 10-15 minutes depending on where you live. I'm in Hua Hin so it's pretty quick as it's a quiet place, also my one year stamps expire each June when it's a quiet time of year.

 

You certainly don't need an agent for anything related to Thailand Elite.

Edited by ukrules
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, ThomasThBKK said:

The posessor is NOT the renter by law.

Well, there were a lot of western renters stood in line at Jomtiem last time I did a TM30 for a guest at my place. I guess they would stop doing it if they stopped fining them!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You fill out the same extension of stay form that everyone else fills out and it's processed in the same way, the only difference being you get one year of extra time instead of the usual 30 days you would get on a 60 day tourist visa.
 
It's no hassle and takes about 10-15 minutes depending on where you live. I'm in Hua Hin so it's pretty quick as it's a quiet place, also my one year stamps expire each June when it's a quiet time of year.
 
You certainly don't need an agent for anything related to Thailand Elite.
That's true for renewals, but the guy Bastien - a foreign lawyer who sells Thai Elite visas for the Thai Elite entity - is technically an agent.

Others have mentioned no one has contacted them after inquiry at the info site for Thai Elite. Bastien is on Line and email. I suspect he is not around this week as it is Chinese New Year. Don't know that for a fact though. Email:

[email protected]

I enjoy learning Thai, so I opted not to do Thai Elite. I don't mind going to immigration - it's part of learning the language - and it's cheaper to buy business class flights in and out of LoS rather than pay USD260 a month to be treated like a business class passenger and skip the 90 day immigration visits.

Going back through the emails, there was another turn-off with the Thai Elite. If I do need to get a work visa in Thailand during the five year Thai Elite Visa period, the Thai Elite visa is stopped and that time is not credited to your visa.

So if I stop studying and am a director of a Thai company, Thai Elite is useful. Getting business visas is a huge hassle without paying local lawyers. If I then need to come work in the Kingdom for that company for a year - or the immigration law on directors changes - I lose the fee I paid for that one year period and do not get a Thai Elite visa in return.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/7/2019 at 6:28 PM, SEtonal said:

  I don't know what the extension process is for an Elite Visa, but I have heard that it is a hassle.  You can ask your visa agency for details. 

 

I don't think it is a hassle, Thai Elite will do it for you if you don't leave the country for an entire year.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
On 11/3/2018 at 3:33 PM, galt67 said:

Perhaps he wants a flat-rate, clear, no-hassle visa to live in Thailand for the next 20 years?

 

 

Why not, he of she is retired and want as little hassle as possible.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/9/2019 at 9:43 AM, huberthammer said:

I don't think it is a hassle, Thai Elite will do it for you if you don't leave the country for an entire year.

Most boring ,I travel exclusively and I'm a senior citizen. Penang,Singapore, Indonesia.And many others places. No problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/9/2019 at 9:43 AM, huberthammer said:

I don't think it is a hassle, Thai Elite will do it for you if you don't leave the country for an entire year.

 

Yeah its this is true, it's the exact same as extending the tourist visa, just show up at immigration and pay 1900 baht and you get the extension.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 months later...
Guest jonzboy

Hi All,  this thread has been dormant for a while but imho is the best of all the threads on the subject of Thailand Elite Visa.

 

May I ask if anyone can update me (us) on current application processing times?  The website says 1-4 months, but in reality what are the experiences of members who have recently applied?

Edited by jonzboy
added text
Link to comment
Share on other sites

34 minutes ago, jonzboy said:

The website says 1-4 months, but in reality what are the experiences of members who have recently applied?

I renewed my 5 year membership towards the end of last year and it took about 3 days for them to process. I know this is a different situation but others will be interested in this as it becomes near to renewal time.

 

Renewal processing is different to the initial application, I scanned and emailed my documents and that's it - they didn't need hard copies physically mailing in or anything like that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Is the TEV available to those who have a work permit? I know the various options from their official website and that the price ranges from 500,000 to 2,000,000 depending on the number of years and benefits. I just seem to have missed any details on the work permit matter. I am considering this option in order to avoid the hassle that comes when opting for the spouse visa or retirement visa. Since I am about to change from full-time employment with my company to a temporary/part-time role I am looking into the options. Thank you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.





×
×
  • Create New...