Retirement or Long Stay visa for people under 50...

[frostfire 1,279]

Haya all,

 

I have read a number of posts about retirement or type O visas.. and most do not mention the age requirement. The official website states that to get one you need, in addition to the other things, to be 50 years old or older.

 

I am 33 years old, and within the next 2 years I will have my finances at the point where I will want to retire, and am seriously thinking of LOS.

 

Is this even possible at my age? If so, what hurdles do I need to jump thru? Since I will need to have a 51/49 company set up to buy a condo anyway, can I use that same company to arrange a long term work visa? If so, what are the draw backs to that? Is there any other way?

 

Any info appreciated!

 

Frosty (14 days to wheels up!! WOOT)

[barry_bonds 1]

I'm gonna assume that you inherited alot of money or has cashed in on some valuable stock options, because 35 yrs. is a highly unlikely age in which to retire.

 

Having said that there's a big difference between living in LOS and visiting LOS on holiday.

 

Before you make any big financial decisions about retiring, I suggest you try living in LOS for at least 6 months to get some good idea of what your life will be like. Be sure to live according to your planned budget to get a more realistic look. My guess is that despite how much fun you are having in LOS, you may miss home, family and friends.

 

Another thing, 35 is too young to retire, meaning that you are bound to get bored out of your wits and will be tempted to start a business of some type. My warning is that the only people, who leave LOS as a millionaire, arrived to LOS as a billionaire. It is not easy as it looks.

[frostfire 1,279]

Heh. I hear ya.

 

No, I did not inherit a large fortune...

 

I am a business owner, and on top of that I am a technology expert with a leading mobile application developement firm. I don't want to get more specific than that, but between the profits from my consultation firm and the salary from my job, I will be able to budget a loose retirement very soon.

 

I say loose because I am sure I will end up telecommuting weekly and making several trips back to the US every year... and my business here will continue to expand with our without me here leading it (I hope lol). Either way tho... I am ready for an extended stay, as it were.

 

As things are now I cannot stay longer than 90 days in any 6 months... so I need some method of bypassing this. I dont know that I will live there forever... nobody can tell that... but I do want to have the ability to do so, if I so choose.

 

So... Thats why I ask :) - Any push in the right direction appreciated!

 

 

Frosty

 

Another small note...

 

I do not plan on not doing anything while I am there... I plan on working at least 20 hours a week on my consultation projects, which I can do so long as I have the computers there with me (will be fun trying to get them all in to the country tho lol). So its not like I will not have an income or be so restless I will get bored... More like I want to be on semi-retirement, just not in this dusty good-for-nothing city.

 

Frosty

[barry_bonds 1]

I say loose because I am sure I will end up telecommuting weekly and making several trips back to the US every year... and my business here will continue to expand with our without me here leading it (I hope lol). Either way tho... I am ready for an extended stay, as it were.

 

As things are now I cannot stay longer than 90 days in any 6 months... so I need some method of bypassing this. I dont know that I will live there forever... nobody can tell that... but I do want to have the ability to do so, if I so choose.

Frosty

 

I'm here in Thailand for 5 months, so I was in the same situation of needing to stay longer than 90 days, as my plane tickets were already purchased before the new law change. I had to respond quickly, so I used Sunbelt to help acquire the company sponsorship to get the necessary visa. Sunbelt is highly visible on the Thaivisa.com website. They were very quick and professional in dealing with. It seems to me that anything is possible is obtainable in Thailand when you show them the right money. I suspect Sunbelt is very influential in Thailand to be able to do what they do. See below the email message that I received from Sunbelt. I believe their rate may have dropped a little since then.

Their website address is: http://www.lawyer.th.com/

 

Once you receive the package from Sunbelt, you can go get the passport yourself or use a service. I used passport plus in Houston, Texas. Here's their website:

http://visatoasia.com/thailand.html?OVRAW=...;OVMTC=advanced

 

 

 

Sunbelt can help you acquire a Multiple Entry One Year Non Immigrant Business Visa for Thailand. Our professional fee for the sponsorship documents is 7704.00 Baht. Courier Fee is an additional 1000 Baht.

 

 

With benefits of this visa type are:

 

- Unlimited entries to Thailand

 

- A full 90 days on each entry

 

- May apply for a Thailand Work Permit

 

- Ability to explore business opportunities and/or investments

 

- Can open a Thai Bank account

 

 

 

The way it will works:

 

1. You will provide the passport details of the applicant Please refer to the attach scanned copy of my passport (archive.zip)

 

2. You will transfer the fee to us via Bank Wire or Western Union. Please refer to the attach scanned copy of my wire transfer (wire_transfer_visa.pdf)

 

 

3. We prepare the sponsorship documents and courier them.

 

4. You will apply for the visa, with our sponsor documents, at the Thai consulate.

 

5. They will issue you the one year multiple entry non-immigrant B visa.

 

6. You are now welcome to enter Thailand.

 

 

Please be aware that a One Year Thai Visa is valid for a period of 12 months. Each entry is valid for 90 days. After each 90 entry you are required to leave the country via any border checkpoint to secure another 90 day entry stamp. This is simply a stamp, no visits to a Thai consulate and no fees are required. A short bus trip to Cambodia is the easiest route, BUT any border checkpoint will be fine.

 

 

Note: our fee if for the sponsor documents only. You are responsible fees at the Thai consulate (5000 THB) per visa.

 

 

You can make payment of 8704.00 THB to us via Bank Wire Transfer or Western Union.

[redwood13 56]

Haya all,

 

I have read a number of posts about retirement or type O visas.. and most do not mention the age requirement. The official website states that to get one you need, in addition to the other things, to be 50 years old or older.

 

I am 33 years old, and within the next 2 years I will have my finances at the point where I will want to retire, and am seriously thinking of LOS.

 

Is this even possible at my age? If so, what hurdles do I need to jump thru? Since I will need to have a 51/49 company set up to buy a condo anyway, can I use that same company to arrange a long term work visa? If so, what are the draw backs to that? Is there any other way?

 

Any info appreciated!

 

Frosty (14 days to wheels up!! WOOT)

 

Yes, to get a one year extension of stay based on retirement you'd need to be 50 or older. You can also extend on the basis of marriage or business. You don't qualify for retirement and perhaps are not interested in marriage, so business would be the only likely option for you and "barry bonds" has offered a good starting point for you there. I'd also have mentioned the Amity Treaty for US passport holders, but since you're thinking in terms of a couple of years from now this may well no longer be an option at that time.

 

Right now you can likely obtain a multiple entry O visa from the Honorary Consulates in Denver or Dallas as they seem to issue them based on a far more liberal policy than you'll find at the Consulates, but who knows what their policy will be in the future. You'd have to go to the border every 90 days and if you make that last run just before the visa expires you can get close to 15 months out of it.

 

As far as the condo purchase goes, if you buy on resale from a farang owner or you buy in a building, either new or on resale, that has less than 49% of the building farang owned, there'd be no need to purchase using a company. And given what appears to currently be very strict inspection of companies involving farangs I very likely would not buy anything using a company.

 

I'd suggest you spend some time reading the visa and business forums in thaivisa taking special note of the advice and comments by Greg of SunBelt.

 

-redwood

[elef 0]

There're 2 more possibilites

 

- if you're willing to invest at least 40 million baht in Thailand via BoI you can even get permission to buy 1 rai of land to build a house on

 

- buy a Thai Elite Card for 1 million baht and get a 5 year visa which will be renewed every 5 year

[frostfire 1,279]

Is there anyone here that has a Thai Elite Card or knows someone who has?

 

With current exchange rates it would cost approx. 30k USD... and while most of the benifits of the card I would not use on a regular basis, the 5 year renewable visa might just be worth it. (not to mention the expedited passport policies... kinda nice, that).

 

Anyone have any other input on this?

 

 

Frosty

[Gary 4,119]

Before anyone makes plans to stay long term on a business visa, I suggest you contact Sunbelt ASAP. Things have VERY recently changed drastically and NOT for the better. The visa situation for guys under fifty is looking pretty bad.

[Idefix 2,275]

4. You will apply for the visa, with our sponsor documents, at the Thai consulate.

5. They will issue you the one year multiple entry non-immigrant B visa.

It WAS a solution. Now not possible to get such a visa in Asia without work permit.

Same in France too. No work permit => only 3 months nom-Imm B visa

Idefix

[barry_bonds 1]

It WAS a solution. Now not possible to get such a visa in Asia without work permit.

Same in France too. No work permit => only 3 months nom-Imm B visa

Idefix

 

One thing I hate about Thailand...there policy seems to change quite frequently without much thought or long-term planning.

[torrenova 644]

Why not spend Bt1,000,000 on an Elite Card and not have to worry about it again, ?

[frostfire 1,279]

Torrenova:

 

I am considering it actually, but I want to hear from someone who has one (or personally knows someone who does) before forking that kind of cash over.

 

I like the idea... the perks would, at least to me, be worth the expense. (Its only 30k USD... a nice chunk, but not a fortune). But I just dont see something like this being... real?

 

 

Frosty

[aussiedoug 0]

Thaivisa.pdfThe Sunbelt setup is basically an employment/business reference, it is a loophole that will be closed. Don't bother with the Elite Card, it is a sham and was an idea of Thaksin and will most likely be axed. Don't expect a refund, they have changed many parts of it since initially selling it. Why not just get a 90 day visa each time you return to the states, and then you no need bother about any shennagans.