Thailand lifts barriers for more foreigners

[holy cow cm]

7 minutes ago, twocatsmac said:

Lol, that’s bed & breakfast at the monkey house talk.

Peaceful demonstrations and it does not incite or insinuate anything. I have nothing to do with it and to date they only watch the news, read the online chatter.

Edited August 3, 2020 by holy cow cm

[sammieuk1]

I don't see any barriers being lifted just the usual monkey tree to climb up and they can stick that right up their alternative state quarantine sideways ????

[craighj]

The first two of these groups are already allowed back in, its only the last of the three that is new?

 

craighj

[Travelanimal]

Can anyone explain to me when there are no normal flights so how can one from these categories fly to Thailand ???

[natway09]

Come on ,,,please.

You cannot blame this Government for the Immigration laws.

Investing under 100,000 USD in a condo can hardly be considered a right to PR

 

[Mavideol]

3 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

So where are the invested in condo retiree or retiree under long lease plans who have their lives here? 

isn't that cover under the 1st line === Foreigners who hold a residential permit;  555

[ThailandRyan]

11 minutes ago, Travelanimal said:

Can anyone explain to me when there are no normal flights so how can one from these categories fly to Thailand ???

You fly to Thailand on a scheduled repatriation flight that is bringing back Thais as well once you have met all of the requirements to return and get your approval from the local Thai Consulate, as well as booking your own quarantine location at one of the ASQ locations

Edited August 3, 2020 by ThailandRyan

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

Is that absolutely true? I'm not sure.

A retirement or marriage visa is only an extension of stay. I think having (half Thai) children gives one some credit when they consider an application.

To get permanent residency in Thailand, I'm not sure about the criteria.

An old British friend lost "permanent" residency in Australia, on the basis that he hadn't spent at least 2 of the last 5 years resident (physically living in) Australia.

"...To get permanent residency in Thailand, I'm not sure about the criteria..."

 

Thai Permanent Residency (PR) is not based on marriage or having kids and is not based on spending a certain period of time or money in Thailand. It's not based on owning property in Thailand or having large sums of money in the bank in Thailand.

 

The main criteria to qualify for Thai PR is having worked in Thailand on a Thai work permit for 3 continuous years or more and proof that the applicants personal Tax return for Thailand has been submitted and cleared for the same time period, with a document from the Thai Revenue Department indicating 'all finalised'.

 

And there's further criteria: work seen as contributing to the development of Thailand, certificate to prove no criminal record in Thailand or in home country, Thai language skills, proof that the applicant has some form of long-term investments which will ensure the PR holder will never be a financial burden to Thailand (e.g. mutual funds etc.), advanced education. Applicant must pass an interview with more senior immigration panel. And more. 

 

There's an annual maximum number of possible approvals. Actual approval rate is very low. 

 

Folks on visas like retirement visa cannot convert to Thai PR unless they gain a work permit and hold same for 3 years etc., and comply with the tax item, as mentioned above etc.

 

There an announced period of time every year when applications can be submitted (about 3 months only).

Edited August 3, 2020 by scorecard

[ukrules]

I think a clear path back to normality is emerging here.

 

Once there have been no new COVID cases identified in quarantined arrivals for about 4 or 8 weeks, I think they use the 8 week figure to declare an area safe inside Thailand so that should suffice then it can open back up.

 

While the infected are being found in quarantine the country remains closed for as long as it takes.

 

That's a clear choice, the only other option right now is to open the doors and roll the dice.

 

Until there's a vaccine rolled out to the billions nothing will change. 8 weeks with no arriving cases and we're good. I think that may be an impossible task.

[khunjeff]

2 hours ago, blackcab said:

I'm wondering how migrant workers will be able to afford to stay in Alternative State Quarantine. For the majority of such workers the cost would be impossible. Added on to that, there are hundreds of thousands of such workers, and a few thousand ASQ places.

They won't stay in ASQ. The scheme for bringing in migrant workers allows them to quarantine in facilities provided by their employer, with more than one person in each room. The costs are (supposed to be) paid by the employer.

[tso310]

48 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

You fly to Thailand on a scheduled repatriation flight that is bringing back Thais as well once you have met all of the requirements to return and get your approval from the local Thai Consulate, as well as booking your own quarantine location at one of the ASQ locations

Well the 3 August UK repat flights were fully booked within 24 hours. System was changed so foreigners could book, including economy, but priority will be given to Thais. 3000 are supposed to have registered for the 3 July flights. Flights are by A350, 5 business class and 225 economy seats. Demand is far outstripping supply.

To be fair the Embassy does provide a list of four companies that do an approved Covid-19 test along with a fit to fly certifcate for an extra £25 on top of the test fee. One actually had clinics around the country. There was a list also of approved insurance companies but I can't find it the list anymore.

[ThailandRyan]

2 minutes ago, tso310 said:

Well the 3 August UK repat flights were fully booked within 24 hours. System was changed so foreigners could book, including economy, but priority will be given to Thais. 3000 are supposed to have registered for the 3 July flights. Flights are by A350, 5 business class and 225 economy seats. Demand is far outstripping supply.

To be fair the Embassy does provide a list of four companies that do an approved Covid-19 test along with a fit to fly certifcate for an extra £25 on top of the test fee. One actually had clinics around the country. There was a list also of approved insurance companies but I can't find it the list anymore.

Sorry to hear about the scheduling issues.  There are thousands of Thais trying to return here and the que for foreigners meeting the requirements seems to be very long and with limited numbers allowed on each flight.

 

The only real issue I see with the new folks being allowed in are the Thai Elite Visa folks.  As far as I know with a Thai elite Visa you do not require insurance with the Visa, and if they now have to also have to have the 100k USD policy, it would be a moot point to purchase that product unless of course they, being from China, are exempted from the insurance requirements.  

[Pattaya Spotter]

5 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

What is an 'invested in condo' retiree. As far as I know, owning residential property in Thailand doesn't necessarily afford one any residential rights in the country (I used to own a condo there).

Yes you are correct, condominium ownership doesn't confer any legal residency rights (though in certain circumstances it can qualify one for a non-immigrant visa).

[Pattaya Spotter]

It would be nice if a some point the government addressed the situation of Non-Immigrant visa holders who have one-year retirement extensions who were caught out of Thailand when the country shut its borders. I have not heard nary a word on them; I don't know how many of them there are out there are but I know 3 of them personally. They are willing to comply with the quarantine, however, the 100k insurance requirement is a bit of a lift because two of them are in their 70s. (Two of them own condos and the third shares a home with his Thai wife.)

Edited August 3, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[Sergeant]

I am sorry to say that no tourist will be coming to Thailand with the 14 days restrictions.. As a matter of fact in the beginning it was allow a 14 days stay at home if returned home from Bangkok. If Thailand has such a good record controlling the Virus a 19 better ways can be done with not adding more cost to tourist Travels. I bet the Government official are making a bonus for booking certain hotels.

Happly travels

[Letseng]

6 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

So where are the invested in condo retiree or retiree under long lease plans who have their lives here? 

We don't matter it seems

[Letseng]

6 hours ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

Does that apply to all countries or is only Thailand so generous “to have consideration for these people”? For example, could my Chinese friend just buy a condo in Florida or London and that would give him permanent residency? 
 

 

 

No, it wouldn't in London, nor where Im stuck in Austria. 10 years living&working, language fluency and indepths knowledge of history and a hefty admin. fee on top. People moan about Thailand, many EU countries don't give you residency for free either, PR is even more difficult. 

[TheAceFace]

Same old story, bahhhhhumbug. We are not welcome here, with family or not. Myself have blasted loads here and have a family. The country is going to pot. Throw them rose tinted specs in the bin.

[stubuzz]

2 hours ago, tso310 said:

Well the 3 August UK repat flights were fully booked within 24 hours. System was changed so foreigners could book, including economy, but priority will be given to Thais. 3000 are supposed to have registered for the 3 July flights.

Where did you get this info? Have you got a link?

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, Letseng said:

We don't matter it seems

You got that right! Very Cruel for you guys n girls!

[holy cow cm]

1 hour ago, TheAceFace said:

Same old story, bahhhhhumbug. We are not welcome here, with family or not. Myself have blasted loads here and have a family. The country is going to pot. Throw them rose tinted specs in the bin.

I have spent millions upon millions +++ of baht here. Just lucky I never left. Just in the CV 19 close down I have brought in over 2-3 million baht in transfers alone. Don't figure as my money is Ai dirty foreigner westerner money. . 

[tso310]

2 hours ago, stubuzz said:

Where did you get this info? Have you got a link?

My wife was trying to get one of the flights.

[impulse]

6 hours ago, Letseng said:

We don't matter it seems

 

But you knew that going in.

 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

16 hours ago, webfact said:

Foreigners who hold a residential permit

what means residential permit?

permanent residence or anyone with long term visa?

 

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

15 hours ago, Andrew65 said:

What is an 'invested in condo' retiree. As far as I know, owning residential property in Thailand doesn't necessarily afford one any residential rights in the country (I used to own a condo there).

There is an INVESTOR VISa where you can invest 300K USD even in a condo or thai stocks, and get

a long term visa.

[SCOTT FITZGERSLD]

13 hours ago, rupert the bear said:

he had qualified and had a visa and its gone just like that

the investment visa is good for life, if he got it when the min. amount was 3 million

he can have the visa even after the amount changed to 10 mil.

[connda]

19 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

It means bought and own and live in their condo. They need to have consideration for these people. Dropping 1-2-3 million for a condo is not chicken scratch.

But - you can readily see exactly where condo owners stand with the Thai government. 
Anyone planning to do the same in the future should read and heed.

[khunjeff]

3 hours ago, SCOTT FITZGERSLD said:

what means residential permit?

permanent residence or anyone with long term visa?

 

It means permanent residence.

[Enzian]

The reason I read a thread like this is to get an idea when I might be able to get back in this country in the event I leave for any reason and then want to return on my retirement visa with multi-entry permit. And this is not looking good. I own an apt in CA but my son gutted it to rebuild it "better", but for now we don't have the funds to do so. So Sukhumvit is the only home I have. I'm insanely glad to be here but I live to travel; that, however, is over until sometime next year at the soonest. But another random plus is that it is a better than ever time to be a renter here; I've never wanted to buy.

I'm not religious, but all of us who are here in LOS and healthy, let's give thanks. The rest is just details. And good luck to those who want to return.

[CGW]

59 minutes ago, Enzian said:

I'm not religious, but all of us who are here in LOS and healthy, let's give thanks

Excuse me if I interject here, but instead of giving thanks, could I suggest that people's "prayers" are focused on the raining down of Fire & Brimstone on those responsible for this war on humanity as they are truly Evil & for those that are still in denial to be able to see the truth of the ongoing agenda! 

Amen!