jeffo999

Need to hire an agency for this? I want to know more.

Looks like the renewal vs the initial retire visa from your home country is different. Makes sense since is hard to verify funds in a Thai bank from abroad.

One thing that I learned and have done is open an HSBC Premier account. This will allow me to open an account in Thailand and the Philippines before even leaving home. The ATM is no charge at any ATM machine worldwide and no fee for credit card transactions. Wire xfer's are also free and supposedly done in seconds. For signing up they wil give me a dell netbook or points redeemable for $300 cash. Minimum balance is USA 100k$. I have not tried this yet so do not know if there will be a charge at the ATM where I withdraw. They may refund that too. I have decided to try the Philippines first but will get my Thai retirement visa anyways. Thanks for the info!

This is the info I got... Thank you for your request for information regarding visas for Thailand. When you apply for the visa the bank account should be in the U.S. So if you plan to transfer the funds later that is acceptable. I have attached the forms and information required for this type of visa. If you require additional information please contact the Visa Section at telephone (323) 962-9574 ext 230 Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to Noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Thank you. Visa Section Royal Thai Consulate General Los Angeles

Good point...good thing I have kept clean. I wonder if the 800k in a Thai bank could be 800k in Bangkok Bank in your home country? At least this way it would be protected.

I will use a service such as in the following link. Most of these services reside in a non income tax state also. I have thought about moving to Nevada or Florida and obtaining a drivers license and severing any ties with the tax state I now reside in. Having friends sort through your mail for long term or forever is a burden I would not want to have. http://www.usabox.com/

I would think that the O-A visa would almost be guaranteed from your home country as long as you are 50. I have used the Houston Honorary Royal Thai Consulate in the past for non-B visa's so will try them for the O-A this time too.

OK good. I would prefer to do the mixed pension and bank deposit even though my pension should clear the 65k hurdle unless the baht goes to 25/$. I really don't plan on returning home since I will not have one to go to.

I have seen some BM's mention that they need to go back home to get their retirement visa's after 18 months. Why is this? I thought renewal was done in Thailand. Also on the 800k in the bank and pension income. Are they not letting you still have a combination of these? Is this not up to the certification from your embassy? Seems like conflicting information.

This one is kind of fun. See if you can get better than 50%. http://spottheladyboy.com/

I would think if the perimeter of U-Tapao had an Angeles City built up around it it may just work out. That would save lots on taxi fares but then the high hotel prices may lead people to make the long journey to the beach resort of Pattaya

Hello, Just discovered the Expat issues thanks to MM. I have been asking myself these same questions for the last 6 years or so. Now have turned 50 and am still questioning whether moving is a good idea. I spend about 4-5 months a year in Thailand already, usually on 70k baht a month. I will have no health insurance in the USA, so much cheaper alternative to be in Thailand. I think I could tap out pension at 65k a month today (baht 31/$) plus significant savings for settling into my new life, plus social security (haha) at 62. While watching the $ drop and never seeing it regain except for small periods of time so I have held off on the big move. Also, it seems like pension plans are getting a little to much notice these days, nothing in life is guaranteed except for the obvious. Where I live the housing prices are almost comparable to say, the darkside. I used to think Thailand was maybe 1/4 the cost of living in the USA but now is getting much closer, minus the ladies of course. I think planning on the dollar at least to go back to the 25 range, with the GBP and Euro lowering also to the baht. So....I would not make the move on less than 70k guaranteed in a month no matter where I live in Thailand. even If I lived in Buriram or wherever (speaking of which my buddy got a house in Buriram province for 500 baht a month, nice place too, like 17 baht a day but has ghosts so Thai's will not live there). I would spend more traveling than I would if I had a place east of the Suk. Anyways....keep on saving at 1% interest.

Anybody interested in sharing a ride to snooky? need a 3rd person to cut costs.