“The Stranded”: Highlighting the plight of expats unable to return to Thailand: #5 “From retirement dream to pariah”

[Pattaya Spotter]

2 hours ago, CaptainCarrot said:

Fake news

At least from the listed countries, which cover much of the world, MM2H visa holders may not enter Malaysia.

 

Effective from 7 September 2020, the Government of Malaysia is imposing entry restrictions into Malaysia on foreign travelers who are traveling from countries that have recorded over 150,000 COVID-19 cases, as listed below:

 

The United States of America
Brazil
India
Russia
Peru
Colombia
South Africa
Mexico
Spain
Argentina
Chile
Iran
The United Kingdom
Bangladesh
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
France
Turkey
Italy
Germany
Iraq
The Philippines
Indonesia
 

The entry restrictions include travelers who are citizens of/holders of long-term passes of the countries listed above, who are residing in or traveling from those countries.
 

...
 

The entry restrictions cover travelers holding long-term passes from Malaysia including:
Permanent Residents (PR);
Malaysia My Second Home Program (MM2H) pass holders;

...

 

https://www.kln.gov.my/web/usa_washington/news-from-mission/-/blogs/travel-advisory-entry-restrictions-on-foreign-travelers-to-malaysia-4-september-2020

[Mr Meeseeks]

3 hours ago, Ketyo said:

The Khmer Rouge was a dictatorial regime that oppressed and murdered its own people as well as foreigners who opposed it, and whose main international supporter and adviser was the Chinese Communist Party  .....   the current Thai, Cambodian, Laos, Philippine governments are.........    ????

The US, Australians and Thais supported the Khmer Rouge at the UN as the legitimate government of Cambodia even after the Vietnamese invaded and exposed the genocide.

 

They then supported and financed the Khmer Rouge in a guerrilla war against the Vietnamese that was largely conducted along and from within the Thai border.

 

Pol Pot was safeguarded in a house in Trat province protected by Thai special forces.

 

Not to mention the American Secret War, carpet bombing of Cambodian territory and the puppet Lon Nol dictatorship which was installed and propped up by the Americans was the main cause of the Khmer Rouge sweeping to power in the beginning.

Edited October 21, 2020 by Mr Meeseeks

[CaptainCarrot]

49 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

At least from the listed countries, which cover much of the world, MM2H visa holders may not enter Malaysia.

 

Effective from 7 September 2020, the Government of Malaysia is imposing entry restrictions into Malaysia on foreign travelers who are traveling from countries that have recorded over 150,000 COVID-19 cases, as listed below:

 

The United States of America
Brazil
India
Russia
Peru
Colombia
South Africa
Mexico
Spain
Argentina
Chile
Iran
The United Kingdom
Bangladesh
Saudi Arabia
Pakistan
France
Turkey
Italy
Germany
Iraq
The Philippines
Indonesia
 

The entry restrictions include travelers who are citizens of/holders of long-term passes of the countries listed above, who are residing in or traveling from those countries.
 

...
 

The entry restrictions cover travelers holding long-term passes from Malaysia including:
Permanent Residents (PR);
Malaysia My Second Home Program (MM2H) pass holders;

...

 

https://www.kln.gov.my/web/usa_washington/news-from-mission/-/blogs/travel-advisory-entry-restrictions-on-foreign-travelers-to-malaysia-4-september-2020

You originally said"

"Malaysia My Second Home" program participants haven't been able to enter the country since the start of Malaysia's border closure." 
They have. I travelled back from Thailand in July. Only since the new restrictions in the last month have SOME MM2H holders been barred entry.

[DB58]

5 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

It seems most are tired of these sob stories...it's a global pandemic, the first in 100 years. When it has passed, all will return to normal.

Hmmm... I would like to think that you are correct but... Covid-19 is the 6th pandemic in the past 100; and this is the first time governments have responded in such an extreme manner. Thusly causing a global economic disaster.

As far as returning to “normal” governments all over the globe are trying to redefine what “new-normal” is going to look like... damn this is depressing. Good luck to us all!

2019 covid-19
2009-10 Swine Flu H1N1

1981-present HIV/AIDS

1968-70 Hong Kong Flu H3N2 

1957-58 Asian Flu H2N2

1918-19 Spanish flu H1N1

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics

 

 

[rickudon]

The reality is that many people around the world have been inconvenienced by Covid travel restrictions - both internationally and within their own countries.

 

Personally, i am  fortunate that i was in Thailand and on a marriage extension, so 'getting back' was not a direct issue. I realised in late January that my annual visit to the UK was likely to be compromised, so cancelled all plans at that time. Now, i could return to UK at any time, BUT the return to Thailand would be problematical - COE, insurance, Covid test and booking ASQ is a string of hurdles where any delay could wreck your plans - let alone the cost.

 

I have children and grandchildren in the UK, who i would like to see - but i need to know that i can get back to Thailand as well (have daughter here). Thailand's Covid phobia also means that borders could close any time or requirements change. So for now I have to wait it out here - the potential uncertainties of a roundtrip to the UK make it non-viable except for an emergency.

 

So many are inconvenienced, some much more than others.

 

Thailand could streamline their requirements - rapid Covid tests can now be done at Heathrow, so 72 hour test <deleted> is not needed, and a COE could be valid for months so you can choose when to return, not have an agenda forced upon you.

[Pattaya Spotter]

44 minutes ago, CaptainCarrot said:

You originally said"

"Malaysia My Second Home" program participants haven't been able to enter the country since the start of Malaysia's border closure." 
They have. I travelled back from Thailand in July. Only since the new restrictions in the last month have SOME MM2H holders been barred entry.

Well apparently it's not "fake news" that the most relevant data point from my post is that MM2H participants are not allowed entry right now (since September and continuing). It's also interesting to note that Malaysia's entry restrictions are tightening, not loosening, as the pandemic drags out.

[Pattaya Spotter]

54 minutes ago, DB58 said:

Hmmm... I would like to think that you are correct but... Covid-19 is the 6th pandemic in the past 100; and this is the first time governments have responded in such an extreme manner. Thusly causing a global economic disaster.

As far as returning to “normal” governments all over the globe are trying to redefine what “new-normal” is going to look like... damn this is depressing. Good luck to us all!

2019 covid-19
2009-10 Swine Flu H1N1

1981-present HIV/AIDS

1968-70 Hong Kong Flu H3N2 

1957-58 Asian Flu H2N2

1918-19 Spanish flu H1N1

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics

 

 

All except the 1918/19 and the current one were isolated geographically and/or contained quickly...so on a different order of magnitude. I agree that without an effective vaccine, things won't return to normal but with one they will (in a few years).

[connda]

13 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

At Thaivisa, we intend to take their cases forward in the hope that the Thai authorities may have a rethink and right some injustices allowing genuine people who have committed their lives and hard-earned money to Thailand to be allowed an easier way back than the onerous, problematic or downright impossible hoops they have been asked to jump through.

I'm sure that Thaivisa's insights and our fellow locked-out expats concerns will be duly forwarded to the appropriate department within the Thai Ministries faster then you can say, "Ranong, Rayong, Yala." 

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm.... it’s almost like they don’t want us here innit ? ( if you can be bothered checking I have been saying this for the past 5 years). But what would I know?

[tingtong]

Mr Q. Didn't really have a moving story.

 

Right now not even retired, no Thai partner...on the other hand 14 mil in UK bank to ride it out.

Those no access to Thai bank acct ever heard a debit card??

 

Talking of card, purchasing an Elite card could skip him a few status ahead of those waiting tourists, the category he is about to fall currently.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 10/20/2020 at 10:18 PM, webfact said:

“Everything has since been scuppered, of course, and it’s my own fault: I should have seen a pandemic coming, sold my condo and belongings - or given them away to local charities - as it was clear to many, but not me, that countries would be shutting their doors and turning history inside out rather like the Khmer Rouge back in the mid-seventies. It would have been a heartbreaking wrench (by the way, I have no Thai partner, the heartbreak would be leaving the home I love) but at least I’d have access to the cash value of my property.

Pity he didn't see what many of us have seen for decades- that we are only aliens and have to beg for permission to remain every year. Anyone accepting that knows that, in the words of the wise, "don't invest more in LOS than one can walk away from".

 

When I first stayed long time I could get 90 days visa exempt at the border as many times as I wanted, back to back. Just cross the border to Malaya where I didn't need a visa, walk up the road and cross back into Thailand. Greeted with a smile.

How times have changed.

 

No matter how much I took into LOS I knew it probably was spent and not recoverable. I guess I was lucky that I was able to take my 800,000 out without a problem.

 

Whatever. No matter how much I loved being in LOS, I knew at heart that it might not last forever. Nothing stays the same and everything ends.

[thaibeachlovers]

17 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

All except the 1918/19 and the current one were isolated geographically and/or contained quickly...so on a different order of magnitude. I agree that without an effective vaccine, things won't return to normal but with one they will (in a few years).

Why do you assume the corona vaccine will be more effective than the flu vaccine?

[thaibeachlovers]

18 hours ago, DB58 said:

Hmmm... I would like to think that you are correct but... Covid-19 is the 6th pandemic in the past 100; and this is the first time governments have responded in such an extreme manner. Thusly causing a global economic disaster.

As far as returning to “normal” governments all over the globe are trying to redefine what “new-normal” is going to look like... damn this is depressing. Good luck to us all!

2019 covid-19
2009-10 Swine Flu H1N1

1981-present HIV/AIDS

1968-70 Hong Kong Flu H3N2 

1957-58 Asian Flu H2N2

1918-19 Spanish flu H1N1

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_epidemics

 

 

Why include HIV/AIDS? It's highly unlikely to catch it if don't have unprotected sex with strangers or use dirty needles for illegal drugs.

To my knowledge it's not airborne and dies quickly if out of a living body.

[Pattaya Spotter]

11 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Why do you assume the corona vaccine will be more effective than the flu vaccine?

That's a big question...how effective any vaccine(s) will be; the first batch of them are expected to be only around 50% effective.

Edited October 22, 2020 by Pattaya Spotter

[Pattaya Spotter]

17 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Whatever. No matter how much I loved being in LOS, I knew at heart that it might not last forever. Nothing stays the same and everything ends.

What has ended?

[Stargeezr]

I am so happy that my Thai family has a few places for me to stay when I go to Thailand

and I keep my Thai clothes at one of them. I feel sorry for all the people expats and all

who have bought property, and have a Thai wife, GF or Hubby, and cannot get back to

Thailand.  I am content to spend this Winter in Canada, and return to Thailand next Winter

as I think it will take that long for the Thai government to get their collective act together

for the present situation.   Wow 39 Chinese who have to stay 90 days. They must be company

owners and families, or someone that the Chinese government gave that much time off

to go to Thailand to invest in some properties that are likely great values now. Guess Thailand

has to start somewhere, but China? Really!

Geezer

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

That's a big question...how effective any vaccine(s) will be; the first batch of them are expected to be only around 50% effective.

In my opinion the vaccine is likely to be like the flu vaccine.

 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

2 hours ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

What has ended?

My time in LOS. I could afford to stay without health insurance, but that was a step too far, so I'm back "home" for the rest of my life probably.

I'd rather be there, but everything ends.

[Pattaya Spotter]

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

In my opinion the vaccine is likely to be like the flu vaccine.

 

 

That's certainly a possibility...not 100% effective and a poke needed annually. I have read that one thing they're seeing is not too much variation and mutation in the virus so maybe one or two shots may give lasting immunity.

[Pattaya Spotter]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

My time in LOS. I could afford to stay without health insurance, but that was a step too far, so I'm back "home" for the rest of my life probably.

I'd rather be there, but everything ends.

I understand...for you personally Thailand is no longer where you will "hang your hat." I thought you might be saying there was a major policy change and foreign expats and retirees were no longer welcome (after the pandemic). You know what they say..."Where you are is where you're meant to be."

[CANSIAM]

On 10/20/2020 at 7:53 PM, Guderian said:

If Thailand had a formal retirement programme then people would be right to complain, but it doesn't and most retirees will be living here on one-year extensions of stay which are just a temporary permission to remain in the country for a little while longer. While it was impossible to see why the Thai government might do it, there was always the possibility at some stage that they might change their minds about the permission. Well now we know the "why", and it's not something malicious, it's just the government trying to strike a balance between protecting its people and keep the economy from collapsing. Just look at the mess in parts of Europe and the US now, with ICU beds completely full in many hospitals, and Thailand doesn't have more than a fraction of those country's medical resources. If those sort of case numbers happened here it really would be a disaster, and if it was traced back to arriving tourists you might well find that the Thai people decide they never want any foreigners to come here again. As it is, things should open up slowly again next year, so just be a little bit patient and realise that you're not alone in this, and Thailand is far from unique in closing its borders to protect itself.

Why is it necessary then to keep 24,000 USD per year in a Thai bank ( the Thai retirement programme ) just to remain in the country 'a little while' longer ? Even in disastrous times, a  legitimate valid retirement and re entry permit keeping an extension alive  obtained in Thailand by rights should have been on the listed categories to return from the get go, .... with all the pre checks, covid , ASQ, etc. there's no extra risk at all. If anything, the retirees would have access to their money again 'in country' thus stimulating Thailands slow recovery process. 

[Janner1]

On 10/21/2020 at 6:54 AM, Thaiophil said:

Many other countries are not allowing foreigners in period.

But the U.K. is allowing Thai nationals in without quarantine, but if any of them subsequently developed COVID from the flight or what ever, they then go into quarantine at OUR (the taxpayers ) expense.

But if I were to come to Thailand It starts with an over priced visa continues with excessively over priced  inadequate health insurance, over priced documentation, and then on arrival subjected to another COVID test, documentation checks ( and they had better be 110% correct ) stuffed on to a bus with other inmates, sorry travellers not necessarily from the same flight or country, taken to an hotel of there choice where we are then charged a price equivalent to cutting ones throat and giving 15 pints of blood, for 14 days of living in a locked room ,at the end of which we are given a further COVID test and sent on our respective ways with a tracking device firmly fitted and never to be removed to our very expensive telephones that WE not the government paid for but will forever have control of.

Before COVID I came to Thailand 6 times each year spending £5,000 each time, but now because of the governments greed and the excessively imposed costs, I can think of better ways to have my hard earned money stolen from me so unless the government gets real and changes its modus operandi they can shove it.

The world is a big place and I can spend money in any country I choose to visit, so no matter how much one loves a country and it’s culture many other countries offer similar goodies, So who needs ya Thailand