ELITE VISA QUESTIONS

[PoodThaiMaiDai]

12 hours ago, Matty81 said:

I've just been approved today.

 

I applied on the 30th July so pretty fast tbh

 

 

Nice.

I submitted my application to Thailand Elite on August 2nd and immediately received email confirmation it was being send to immigration. 

 

The website indicated 4-12 weeks, but my representative told me around 1 month. 

 

Next step is to pay and get in line to be part of the 200.

[GolfnBeer]

I applied on July 31 on Thailand Elite website and am waiting for approval.  I have since sent an email to the Washington Thai Embassy asking if they would issue a COE if I supplied all the correct documentation and the approval for the Elite Visa.  They stated several days ago that they DO NOT issue a COE for this type of Visa. Has anyone else contacted an Embassy regarding the Elite Visa and COE? 

 

Thanks

 

[PoodThaiMaiDai]

1 minute ago, GolfnBeer said:

I applied on July 31 on Thailand Elite website and am waiting for approval.  I have since sent an email to the Washington Thai Embassy asking if they would issue a COE if I supplied all the correct documentation and the approval for the Elite Visa.  They stated several days ago that they DO NOT issue a COE for this type of Visa. Has anyone else contacted an Embassy regarding the Elite Visa and COE? 

 

Thanks

 

I was dealing with Thai Embassy in Washington DC on a Retirement Visa.  They were rude and worthless.

 

I have been dealing with the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles now and they are very helpful and responsive.  

[FlyingThai]

3 hours ago, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

I was dealing with Thai Embassy in Washington DC on a Retirement Visa.  They were rude and worthless.

 

I have been dealing with the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles now and they are very helpful and responsive.  

 

There is no Embassy in LA, just a Consulate on Melrose/Larchmont.

[HerewardtheWake]

I am in the same situation as Skeptic7. Any information on a couple of questions would be appreciated:

 

1. There seem to be at least two agencies advertising the Elite program. Are they contractors sanctioned by the Thai government?

2. Is Elite actually a government sponsored program? Which ministry is responsible for it?

3. What is the legal recourse if the contracting agent disappears from the scene? I am enquiring about the scenario where one pays 500,000 Baht and the agency goes under for whatever reason after, say, 7 years.

[HerewardtheWake]

After having been granted a 5 or 20 year Elite visa and settling in Thailand, how long can one be away from Thailand and still have a valid Elite visa?

 

 For example: one gets a 5 year Elite, settles in Thailand, and then leaves for abroad a few months later, and returns after two years. Is that allowed?

 

 

Or in other words,  what is the maximum time an Elite visa holder be away from Thailand ? Thanks for any comments.

[FlyingThai]

38 minutes ago, HerewardtheWake said:

I am in the same situation as Skeptic7. Any information on a couple of questions would be appreciated:

 

1. There seem to be at least two agencies advertising the Elite program. Are they contractors sanctioned by the Thai government?

2. Is Elite actually a government sponsored program? Which ministry is responsible for it?

3. What is the legal recourse if the contracting agent disappears from the scene? I am enquiring about the scenario where one pays 500,000 Baht and the agency goes under for whatever reason after, say, 7 years.

1) There are many many GSA's worldwide that sell Thailand Elite visas. They are official and listed on TE's website. All they do though is funnel you to the TE Sales Team and collect a commission. You have no benefit going through them.

 

2) Yes it's fully administered under TAT. As per T&C the program is subject to the laws of Thailand (obviously) and should the program ever be terminated you'd be eligible for a refund. Actually getting one is another matter though.

 

3) You won't pay to the agent. As per point 1) all they do is funnel you to TE where all the formalities including payment process are taking place. TE accepts wire or credit card payment.

 

As for your second post, there is no time limit of how long you can stay in/out of Thailand that's up to you. You don't need to go to Thailand if you don't want to, it won't have any impact on the validity of your visa/membership. If you want to stay longer than 1 year at a time you need an extension at immigration, otherwise do a border bounce and get another 1 year stamp.

Edited August 12, 2020 by FlyingThai

[FlyingThai]

On 8/11/2020 at 9:45 AM, Winegeeker said:

Any idea how many elite visa holder there are?

i cant imagine it’s very many

There are plenty and recently there have been reports in various media outlets that TE has been extremely popular especially with people from China and now Hong Kong. Korea has also been on the hit list for a long time.

 

Many of these news articles seem sketchy to me (paid ad placement masquerading as a news report) but there are official numbers somewhere too. One thing is certain, the majority of these visa holders are already inside Thailand. Still, a quota of 200 to be allowed in will be exhausted quickly.

Edited August 12, 2020 by FlyingThai

[HerewardtheWake]

Flying Thai, Thank you for such definitive information. Much appreciated.

 

 

 

 

[jacko45k]

2 hours ago, HerewardtheWake said:

After having been granted a 5 or 20 year Elite visa and settling in Thailand, how long can one be away from Thailand and still have a valid Elite visa?

 

 For example: one gets a 5 year Elite, settles in Thailand, and then leaves for abroad a few months later, and returns after two years. Is that allowed?

 

 

Or in other words,  what is the maximum time an Elite visa holder be away from Thailand ? Thanks for any comments.

One gets a 5 year Visa which will allow entry for 5 years until expiry, presuming passport remains valid. Each entry will give a Permission of Stay of 1 years Validity. 

[Matty81]

5 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

There are plenty and recently there have been reports in various media outlets that TE has been extremely popular especially with people from China and now Hong Kong. Korea has also been on the hit list for a long time.

 

Many of these news articles seem sketchy to me (paid ad placement masquerading as a news report) but there are official numbers somewhere too. One thing is certain, the majority of these visa holders are already inside Thailand. Still, a quota of 200 to be allowed in will be exhausted quickly.

Has this actually been confirmed that only 200 will be allowed back to start with? How will they select the "200"?

 

Fist come first serve basis? 

[FlyingThai]

9 hours ago, Matty81 said:

Has this actually been confirmed that only 200 will be allowed back to start with? How will they select the "200"?

 

Fist come first serve basis? 

There hasn’t been a confirmation about anything and the entire operation will be a clusterf***!

 

i certainly wouldn’t chance it and apply/pay for a TE Visa just in case they come up with something useful.

 

The exception is if you’re currently in Thailand and can change to TE (not possible from all visa types unless TEC has an agreement with Immigration).

[BritTim]

11 hours ago, Matty81 said:

Has this actually been confirmed that only 200 will be allowed back to start with? How will they select the "200"?

 

Fist come first serve basis? 

I have no special knowledge on this, but this is what I expect. When there are available seats on repatriation flights, after allocations for higher priority foreigners, the MFA will be asked to approve any Thailand Elite members who have registered. The MFA will approve them as long as the limit has not been reached. Thus, it will be a combination of seat availability and first come first served.

[Berti]

24 minutes ago, BritTim said:

I have no special knowledge on this, but this is what I expect. When there are available seats on repatriation flights, after allocations for higher priority foreigners, the MFA will be asked to approve any Thailand Elite members who have registered. The MFA will approve them as long as the limit has not been reached. Thus, it will be a combination of seat availability and first come first served.

I think this only refers to people who have the elite visa already in their passport.

From what I hear, embassies are not allowed to issue new elite visas to new members.

 

[unsubscribe]

17 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

Many of these news articles seem sketchy to me (paid ad placement masquerading as a news report) but there are official numbers somewhere too. One thing is certain, the majority of these visa holders are already inside Thailand. Still, a quota of 200 to be allowed in will be exhausted quickly.

I heard from TE that it will be 200 TE visa holders allowed in per day, not 200 in total. Is that incorrect?

TE is targeting end of September to allow TE visa holders in.

[unsubscribe]

22 hours ago, PoodThaiMaiDai said:

I was dealing with Thai Embassy in Washington DC on a Retirement Visa.  They were rude and worthless.

 

I have been dealing with the Thai Embassy in Los Angeles now and they are very helpful and responsive.  

I've had the opposite experience, the LA consulate ignores my emails but the DC embassy responds quickly and is helpful.

 

I'm wary to take a repatriation flight if that is all that is offered, there's just been a steady stream of uninfected (tested before departing) visitors testing positive in quarantine while in Thailand. I'm also interested if the flight prices will be inflated since we are dealing directly with commercial carriers.

[thainet]

22 minutes ago, Berti said:

I think this only refers to people who have the elite visa already in their passport.

From what I hear, embassies are not allowed to issue new elite visas to new members.

 

Correct. Elite Visas are nothing to do with Thai Embassies, and also nothing to do with Thai Immigration for the initial application.

[HerewardtheWake]

19 hours ago, FlyingThai said:

There are plenty and recently there have been reports in various media outlets that TE has been extremely popular especially with people from China and now Hong Kong. Korea has also been on the hit list for a long time.

 

Many of these news articles seem sketchy to me (paid ad placement masquerading as a news report) but there are official numbers somewhere too. One thing is certain, the majority of these visa holders are already inside Thailand. Still, a quota of 200 to be allowed in will be exhausted quickly.

Elite visa brochures say airport departures and receptions, and transportation to and from airports, are provided  for Bangkok (presumably both Suvannabhumi and Don Muang?), Chiang Mai, and Phuket. No mention of Hua Hin;  or any of the other "international" airports like Chiang Rai.  Anybody has any information or experience on this? Thanks.

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, HerewardtheWake said:

Elite visa brochures say airport departures and receptions, and transportation to and from airports, are provided  for Bangkok (presumably both Suvannabhumi and Don Muang?), Chiang Mai, and Phuket. No mention of Hua Hin;  or any of the other "international" airports like Chiang Rai.  Anybody has any information or experience on this? Thanks.

This is from my approval letter late last year :

 

 

Things may have changed since then, I would email them to check.

 

Edited August 13, 2020 by ukrules

[BritTim]

4 hours ago, Berti said:

I think this only refers to people who have the elite visa already in their passport.

From what I hear, embassies are not allowed to issue new elite visas to new members.

My own expectation is that new members will also be accommodated, based on the documentation proving their membership. Whether the Thailand Elite visa is inserted in their passports prior to the start of their flight, or at the end of their flight should not make a big difference.

[HerewardtheWake]

Thanks, UK. I think the 1900 Baht renewal is when one stays in Thailand continuously for 12 months, right?. A departure and return at any point will renew the visa for the next 12 months.

 

The airport arrival-departure privileges seem to be limited to Suvannabhumi, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. I've written to the contracting agency about Hua Hin and Chiang Rai,  but strangely they ignore the question, which makes me think they are not included.

[Skeptic7]

1 hour ago, HerewardtheWake said:

I think the 1900 Baht renewal is when one stays in Thailand continuously for 12 months, right?

Correct.

[Skeptic7]

5 hours ago, unsubscribe said:

I'm also interested if the flight prices will be inflated since we are dealing directly with commercial carriers.

Reports that I've seen are that many times on these flights, ONLY Business Class is available, as the economy seats are already filled with higher priority passengers. Just another big expense to add to the list. 

Edited August 13, 2020 by Skeptic7

[unsubscribe]

1 hour ago, Skeptic7 said:

Reports that I've seen are that many times on these flights, ONLY Business Class is available, as the economy seats are already filled with higher priority passengers. Just another big expense to add to the list. 

I'm sort of ok with that if they aren't inflating the prices.

[Captain Monday]

1 hour ago, Skeptic7 said:

Reports that I've seen are that many times on these flights, ONLY Business Class is available, as the economy seats are already filled with higher priority passengers. Just another big expense to add to the list. 

I hear that too. But every pic I see upped to facebook on repatriation flights is of farangs sitting in near empty

economy class sections.

[Maestro]

Removed an off-topic post (pedantic)

[michel7752]

On 8/13/2020 at 6:50 PM, HerewardtheWake said:

Elite visa brochures say airport departures and receptions, and transportation to and from airports, are provided  for Bangkok (presumably both Suvannabhumi and Don Muang?), Chiang Mai, and Phuket. No mention of Hua Hin;  or any of the other "international" airports like Chiang Rai.  Anybody has any information or experience on this? Thanks.

How long is transportation to and from airports allowed to be? Would it include for example Suvannabhumi to Pattaya? Or is transportation intended to be valid only for the local area of those few airports?

[galt1967]

8 hours ago, michel7752 said:

How long is transportation to and from airports allowed to be? Would it include for example Suvannabhumi to Pattaya? Or is transportation intended to be valid only for the local area of those few airports?

 

Depending on the TE 'plan' purchased, transport may OR may not be included.

 

And IF transport IS included, it's only to Bangkok from BKK not to Pattaya.

[FalangTingTong]

On 8/13/2020 at 11:27 PM, unsubscribe said:

I'm sort of ok with that if they aren't inflating the prices.

From what I have seen online it’s about 2500 EUR for one way business class from e.g. Frankfurt, I believe London was similar.  That’s more than I would normally pay but it’s not inflated compared to full-fare Business.  Hoping to do it in November myself.

[fleur3]

skeptric7 started this topic by telling us that he is outside of thailand, has a non o visa (extension) that expires 3rd of januari 2021. he wonders if he can get a elite visa being outside thailand.  The answer is yes BUT i want to add a element that could be worriing.

I am being informed by Elite visa that it is NOT possible to get a elitevisa as long as your original visa is still valid. That would mean that skeptic7 can not apply for an elitevisa before 3rd januari 2021.

Hope that is not true as i happen to be in the same situation. Myvisa was issued by the thai embassy in the netherlands dated 3rd naj 2020 and expires 3rd of januari 2021. So exactly same date. Was hoping that thai elite members were able to enter thailand qwithin a few months. For that reason i have contacted thai elite company with above mentioned result: not possibleto apply before jan 3 2021. Any comments or knowledge that helps? Tha nks