New Special Tourist Visa: A drop in the ocean compared to 2019 as many retirees feel abandoned

[farangroby]

o.04%, better not any special visa

 

[MRToMRT]

On numbers, the Minister has now stated in public that If operations in the first month run smoothly without triggering another outbreak, they aim to increase carrying capacity in the next phase. So the 1200 may just be October.

Assuming all goes well (??) then the tours companies have (yesterday) also been given the signal from TAT to start prepping for possible charters from Oct 1. 

 

So the trickle may become a small stream but I think we all know its not the river than dropping the quarantine will be.

 

But I think we are stuck with quarantine whilst worldwide numbers are starting to rise again. 

 

Whats needed now is a massive push on ASQ hotels and relaxation of flight restrictions.

 

Its not "tourism" as we all know. Just long stayers who will predominantly be retirees. 

 

 

[Isaanfreak]

After 20 years my rose coloured glasses fell off ( ok it didn't happen just now)I see even I am married to a thai citizen for over 16 years I am less and less welcome in Thailand. I gave up upon the idea retire there. I am not going to do 90 days report 

. No reports if I leave our house for a week. I am not interested to do the marriage visa every motherlover year. No. I will move to Portugal rent a flat for 200€ no special visa needed. No hassle. No double pricing. I will visiting Thailand but no way I will jump around how they whistle. Thailand was better in my opinion. Now the prices are up friendliness down, everywhere, bars,restaurants, shops, markets. Even if I can speak basic thai. Ok I stop being so negative,Thailand still have good sides I guess I am just disappointed.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Isaanfreak

[michel7752]

On 9/16/2020 at 8:18 AM, mlkik said:

As someone who has a non o retirement extention and visited my elderly Mother in the UK early March I have not been allowed to return.

The Thai government rules are that I must have 800 000 Thai baht in my Thai bank account. I have about 1 000 000 .

I bought a new car in May 2018 and I had a bungalow built on my other halfs Fathers land. I have to pay the bills as her beauty salon does not generate enough income to pay for 1st class car insurance and air con electric bills.

I expected wrongly that people on retirement extentions would be allowed to register for repat flights in the near future. 

Some people have said that this new tourist visa will be ideal for people like myself. I dissagree as I have an extention that is valid for another 4 months and a re entry permit. Why should I have to change this and apply for a tourist visa ?

I am prepared to pay for the ASQ and get my covid test within 72 hours of my flight and have an insurance policy that is ready to go but am not considered worthy of return to a place which I wrongly thought was my home.

As someone else mentioned people thinking of retiring in Thailand think very carefully !

 

Completely agree. And what makes things really scandalous is that during all these months there has not been one single piece of information about what people stranded abroad with an O or AO based yearly visa (of which many have expired in the meantime) can expect in the future. Zero information, zero emphaty, zero anything.

Edited September 18, 2020 by michel7752

[Negita43]

Yes but can anyone point me to the terms and conditions of this special visa in English?

Thanks

[daveAustin]

On 9/16/2020 at 5:39 AM, Bluetongue said:

Besides I think he is a wowser who doesn't really want the booze and sex demographic back anyway, (and that may well include us retirees etc by proxy). 

He's good for another W, but wowser is a good start.

[FarFlungFalang]

2 hours ago, Negita43 said:

Yes but can anyone point me to the terms and conditions of this special visa in English?

Thanks

There is only one term and condition and that is to have and spend a LOT of money.

[micmichd]

10 hours ago, michel7752 said:

Completely agree. And what makes things really scandalous is that during all these months there has not been one single piece of information about what people stranded abroad with an O or AO based yearly visa (of which many have expired in the meantime) can expect in the future. Zero information, zero emphaty, zero anything.

For pensioners on a long-time O visa nothing has changed. Except for the quarantine thing in case you leave the country and want to come back. But it's certainly not Thailand's problem if you can't get the virus under control in the West. 

[Peter Denis]

12 hours ago, Isaanfreak said:

After 20 years my rose coloured glasses fell off ( ok it didn't happen just now)I see even I am married to a thai citizen for over 16 years I am less and less welcome in Thailand. I gave up upon the idea retire there. I am not going to do 90 days report 

. No reports if I leave our house for a week. I am not interested to do the marriage visa every motherlover year. No. I will move to Portugal rent a flat for 200€ no special visa needed. No hassle. No double pricing. I will visiting Thailand but no way I will jump around how they whistle. Thailand was better in my opinion. Now the prices are up friendliness down, everywhere, bars,restaurants, shops, markets. Even if I can speak basic thai. Ok I stop being so negative,Thailand still have good sides I guess I am just disappointed.

Are you disappointed in Thailand overall, or is it just the Thai immigration stuff that is at the core of your decision to leave Thailand?

I am not trying to persuade you to stay, but some comments on what you wrote:

> When doing your 90-day reports on-line it takes between 5 and 10 minutes every 3-months - yes, it's stupid and senseless but hardly worth making a fuzz over it;

> Since end of June 2020 the TM-30 notification when doing domestic or even international trips is not required any more.  It only needs to be done ONCE from the place where you officially reside for Immigration purposes, and then when staying on the same Visa or extension of that Visa, there is no need to do them anymore;

> If you dread the pettiness of your local IO (some Imm officers are a real PITA) and you are over +50 years of age, you could consider applying for a Non Imm O-A Visa when visiting your home-country.  That Visa will provide you with almost 2 years of IO hassle-free stay in Thailand.  When you occasionally visit your home-country (e.g. once every 1-2 years), it's just a matter of re-applying for a new Non Imm O-A Visa.  Doing so you will NEVER EVER have to visit an IO when living in Thailand, and as an extra bonus there is no need to park/transfer money to a Thai personal bank-account to satisfy IO financial requirements.

 

[micmichd]

13 hours ago, Isaanfreak said:

After 20 years my rose coloured glasses fell off ( ok it didn't happen just now)I see even I am married to a thai citizen for over 16 years I am less and less welcome in Thailand. I gave up upon the idea retire there. I am not going to do 90 days report 

. No reports if I leave our house for a week. I am not interested to do the marriage visa every motherlover year. No. I will move to Portugal rent a flat for 200€ no special visa needed. No hassle. No double pricing. I will visiting Thailand but no way I will jump around how they whistle. Thailand was better in my opinion. Now the prices are up friendliness down, everywhere, bars,restaurants, shops, markets. Even if I can speak basic thai. Ok I stop being so negative,Thailand still have good sides I guess I am just disappointed.

Would you qualify for a long-stay retirement visa in Thailand? 

Then I would advise you to get one. I did this, and I have no hassle over here. 

The mandatory 90 days report is really not worth complaining. They have a database at the immigration, and if nothing has changed it's very easily done. 

[ICELANDMAN]

On 9/16/2020 at 11:30 AM, Enzian said:

I'll probably be able to renew my retirement status this December, but if at some point next year I'm faced with the choice of staying in-country indefinitely or leaving and staying out indefinitely or forever, I'll crack and leave. 

I understand your resentment against all the new measures to contain C19 and I agree with what you write but we must be realistic even if the situation seems to be getting worse currently I hope that we should not have to choose between staying here forever or leaving forever, I prefer the intermediate solution, give yourself more time to see how the situation evolves and eventually make decisions over a longer period.

Thailand still has many positives that should not be underestimated as the situation worsens in many western states

 

[daejung]

On 9/16/2020 at 5:52 AM, connda said:

By the way, this is a clear warning to any foreigner considering retiring here in the future.  Do so at your own peril.  As many retirees are now finding out, you can be separated from all your assets that you sink into Thailand indefinitely and the Thai government will not care one iota. 
 

I agree. Thailand is not a reliable place where to invest and stay in the long run

[Ganesh108]

On 9/16/2020 at 2:20 PM, miamiman123 said:

Because they may hope and pray that the wealthy tourists spends a lot of his money here .....not like you ole penny pinchers that are living off of 16090 per month!... eating rice and chicken every day. Hehehe 

that’s the plan 

Well-off people with class would never demean anyone having little money, not even in jest. You're saying a lot about yourself here. 

[chrisandsu]

5 minutes ago, Ganesh108 said:

Well-off people with class would never demean anyone having little money, not even in jest. You're saying a lot about yourself here. 

My old boss just lost 10-15million baht to a ex massage girl . He would convince himself he wasn’t a cheap Charlie by throwing money at her and her family . Now he wishes he was a cheap Charlie . 

[micmichd]

10 hours ago, daejung said:

I agree. Thailand is not a reliable place where to invest and stay in the long run

If you're not ready to stay and leave your assets here then why did you come here? 

[GeorgeCross]

17 minutes ago, micmichd said:

If you're not ready to stay and leave your assets here then why did you come here? 

 

you can stay and not bring ALL of your assets here ????

 

 

 

[micmichd]

14 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

you can stay and not bring ALL of your assets here ????

 

 

 

If you can't decide which side you're on you can do that. 

Easy for a pensioner like me : part of my assets were taken away from my income in Germany and are now stashed in pension funds where I get them in instalments every month. 

The rest of my assets were transferred here by Western Union. 

In Europe I don't even need a bank account anymore. 

Edited September 20, 2020 by micmichd

[SantiSuk]

On 9/16/2020 at 4:44 PM, CapeTown said:

A lot of thought and consultation has evidently gone into the STV. This seems the best Thailand can manage for the moment.

 

The difficulties come from the bigger players who are losing considerable revenues and national companies must be facing bankruptcy.

 

Tourism is the main source of income for many millions of less well off Thais too. They are living on loans or earnings from the last high season 2019/20. They have no buffer beyond this year. What are they to do? Who is looking after them? Many have already returned to the village, to the homes of their parents and grandparents and to agriculture.

 

This is not just short term distress, the resentment and bitterness felt at home and abroad will have permanent long term consequences too, I would imagine.

 

But what else can the government do? The resources for plugging the gaps in the economy are not there. Neither is the health infrastructure for treatment. It cannot permit covid to rip through. It must wait for a vaccine.

 

For the moment, on balance, maybe best to stay closed, given the levels of fear in the people (Phuket is an example) and wait for the vaccine. Wait for the vaccine and think about the needs of all 70 million Thais and just as important, the needs of all future long and short stay visitors. It is a real challenge to keep hope alive and keep the welcoming smile.

 

For now, in practical terms, the most important job is presumably to focus on setting up the network of clinics that will be required for delivery of the much-hoped-for vaccine. This is very important.

 

 

There's already a network of health clinics (typically one each tanmbon) that provides free low-level health and a certain amount of local monitoring. Ask your Thai partner or a Thai friend to take you to one - you might be surprised at how organised the Thais are!

[FritsSikkink]

"These include retirees stranded abroad with families in Thailand, others unmarried with loved ones in the kingdom and people like digital nomads."  Digital nomads? Don't make me laugh, dodging tax, no work permit, not a valid visa. Let them do like nomads do, go somewhere else.

[Enzian]

10 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

My old boss just lost 10-15million baht to a ex massage girl . He would convince himself he wasn’t a cheap Charlie by throwing money at her and her family . Now he wishes he was a cheap Charlie . 

In my recently ended 4+ year relationship with a Thai woman half my age I probably spent very roughly a million and half baht more than I would have if I had just kept playing the field. So I guess I got off cheap; or I really am a Cheap Charlie (Charles my real middle name ironically), as I'm trying (with mixed success) to convince my new half-my-age gf. 

[micmichd]

2 minutes ago, Enzian said:

In my recently ended 4+ year relationship with a Thai woman half my age I probably spent very roughly a million and half baht more than I would have if I had just kept playing the field. So I guess I got off cheap; or I really am a Cheap Charlie (Charles my real middle name ironically), as I'm trying (with mixed success) to convince my new half-my-age gf. 

Your boss should have learned the good British art of understatement. 

[chrisandsu]

3 hours ago, Enzian said:

In my recently ended 4+ year relationship with a Thai woman half my age I probably spent very roughly a million and half baht more than I would have if I had just kept playing the field. So I guess I got off cheap; or I really am a Cheap Charlie (Charles my real middle name ironically), as I'm trying (with mixed success) to convince my new half-my-age gf. 

It’s going to cost one way or another but try and drip feed it . It’s a bit like buying my kids Christmas presents , every year you feel like the presents have to be bigger and better otherwise they won’t be impressed anymore . Keep consistent and don’t raise the expectations . 

[chrisandsu]

3 hours ago, micmichd said:

Your boss should have learned the good British art of understatement. 

He’s American so all she needed to do was massage his ego . Was like taking candy from a baby . 

[moontang]

18 hours ago, chrisandsu said:

He’s American so all she needed to do was massage his ego . Was like taking candy from a baby . 

I don't think the Euro-trash deserve any rewards for economic prowess, that's for damn sure, but that should be expected with their lack of technology.

Edited September 21, 2020 by moontang

[chrisandsu]

4 hours ago, moontang said:

I don't think the Euro-trash deserve any rewards for economic prowess, that's for damn sure, but that should be expected with their lack of technology.

Living in America I can tell you there is more then enough American trash . Just hope they are never allowed a passport . 

[micmichd]

1 hour ago, chrisandsu said:

Living in America I can tell you there is more then enough American trash . Just hope they are never allowed a passport . 

Yes, I know. 

Sometimes they even hit Pattaya where they yell "Make America Great Again. Thailand belongs to America" 

They all got deported from Thailand. 

[moontang]

34 minutes ago, micmichd said:

Yes, I know. 

Sometimes they even hit Pattaya where they yell "Make America Great Again. Thailand belongs to America" 

They all got deported from Thailand. 

I won't embarrass you with the GDP numbers, but looking at personal income shows the wealthiest of the EU would barely be equivalent to the states often joked about..WV, NM to name a few.  But, let's not forget the Canadians, who always outnumber the Americans at IDC, according to NGO sources, with one tenth the population.

[chrisandsu]

8 minutes ago, moontang said:

I won't embarrass you with the GDP numbers, but looking at personal income shows the wealthiest of the EU would barely be equivalent to the states often joked about..WV, NM to name a few.  But, let's not forget the Canadians, who always outnumber the Americans at IDC, according to NGO sources, with one tenth the population.

I’m sorry if I dented your ego . You are certainly not a cheap Charlie ???? while looking at your gdp can we minus the national debt ?

Edited September 21, 2020 by chrisandsu

[moontang]

39 minutes ago, chrisandsu said:

I’m sorry if I dented your ego . You are certainly not a cheap Charlie ???? while looking at your gdp can we minus the national debt 

National debt as percentage of GDP..sure..the Euro-trash classics are in far worse shape...

[racket]

Could be that retirees are more subject to COVID-19 so they don’t want to deal with them should the virus scale up infections.