# 2 Questions ABout Retiring to Thailand



## dollarability

#1

Some time ago I inquired into opening a bank account in Thailand and transferring funds into it monthly from my bank here in Canada as a way of accumulating the 800,000 baht required to obtain a retirement visa. To this end I contacted several banks in Thailand, but none would open a bank account for me unless I were physically present. However, I have now learned that my bank sells Thai baht here in Canada for travelling purposes. However, I thought I had read that it was not possible to buy Thai baht either outside Thailand, since the government wants to discourage speculation. Since the Thai baht is constantly appreciating relative to the Canadian dollar I thought I might put $100 or $200 into baht per month and keep them in a safety deposit box until I am ready to travel to Thailand, but in view of what I read about not being able to buy them outside Thailand, I am wondering whether these baht differ somehow? Perhaps they are dated travellers cheques or something like that and not actual baht? Anyone have any insight into any of this?

#2

Also, I was thinking of just renewing my visa in Thailand as a way of avoiding the 800,000 baht requirement. Once one is in Thailand, can one renew one's visa easily and indefinitely, or is this not a viable idea?

Ty for your help as always.


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## Gary Pope

*Baht Deposit*

I am retired in Thailand, but from the US. You can go to the Thailand Foriegn Ministry website and read the requirements for a retirement VISA. Viist a Thailand consulate, they can be very helpful. It is a good idea to do the research and get this right, as VISA problems can be expensive and bothersome to fix. Now to what I did. To avoid the deposit requirement I opted for the option to provide proof of monthly income. If you can provide proof your monthly income exceeds 65,000 baht a month(you need to veryify this number) then you are not required to make the deposit. This is what I did. I went to the local US consulate and signed an affidavit(a single sheet of paper where you put the grooss amount of pounds from all sources of income, in your case, you earn a month, in the blank space, sign it, and then stand in front of a consulate notary, raise your right hand, and say "yes" when they ask the question) saying my income was the amount I had put on the paper(a number higher then the requirement) had it notarized by the consulate staff( my wife did not need to sign) and took this to Thai Immigration. They accepted this a proof of income and in place of the deposit requirement. Since you are from the UK your country consulate or embassy may handle this differently. You should talk with them and understand what the process they require to provide the Thai government with the documentation they need to verify monthly income. If this process is as easy as it was with the US, it could be a way around the deposit requirement. I recommend you verify this with some Thai Immigration people, but it offers another way. Just for clarification purposes, my income really is more then 65,000 baht per month. Good luck.


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## dollarability

*Thanks*

I actually do know the retirement visa rules fairly well. My understanding is that since I have an income of only 480,000 baht per year (40,000 per month) I have to deposit 800,000 - 480,000 = 320,000 baht. I was just curious about just renewing one's visa indefinitely as an alternative. I have contacted the embassy here in Toronto, but they never answered me. Thanks for your reply, this forum is really helpful.


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## Mweiga

*Visa options*



dollarability said:


> I actually do know the retirement visa rules fairly well. My understanding is that since I have an income of only 480,000 baht per year (40,000 per month) I have to deposit 800,000 - 480,000 = 320,000 baht. I was just curious about just renewing one's visa indefinitely as an alternative. I have contacted the embassy here in Toronto, but they never answered me. Thanks for your reply, this forum is really helpful.


To answer your second option question in the original post - you can just come out on a tourist visa and keep renewing this by making visa runs in and out of the country. There are a couple of tourist visa options - if you just arrive at the airport without any prearranged visa you'll get 30 days and then make visa runs to get another , and so on - you get 30 days for arrival by air but only 15 days for land border entries. You can also get a 60 day tourist visa at a Thai embassy outside the country before travelling - this can also be extended once when in Thailand but after that is expired you need to make the visa run. Read the Thai visa requirements on the web.

One other comment I would just make is that unless you have some other piggy bank you can dip into , you'll find it extremely tough to live on an income of just THB 40,000 per month.


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## gordon reid

*gordon reid*



Mweiga said:


> To answer your second option question in the original post - you can just come out on a tourist visa and keep renewing this by making visa runs in and out of the country. There are a couple of tourist visa options - if you just arrive at the airport without any prearranged visa you'll get 30 days and then make visa runs to get another , and so on - you get 30 days for arrival by air but only 15 days for land border entries. You can also get a 60 day tourist visa at a Thai embassy outside the country before travelling - this can also be extended once when in Thailand but after that is expired you need to make the visa run. Read the Thai visa requirements on the web.
> 
> One other comment I would just make is that unless you have some other piggy bank you can dip into , you'll find it extremely tough to live on an income of just THB 40,000 per month.


You only need to bank the full 800,000 baht when you have no income at all , you have 40,000 baht per month so you have 40/65ths of the monthly amount required , so you only need to bank the balance which is roughly 1/3 of the 800,000


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## gordon reid

*gordon reid*



dollarability said:


> #1
> 
> Some time ago I inquired into opening a bank account in Thailand and transferring funds into it monthly from my bank here in Canada as a way of accumulating the 800,000 baht required to obtain a retirement visa. To this end I contacted several banks in Thailand, but none would open a bank account for me unless I were physically present. However, I have now learned that my bank sells Thai baht here in Canada for travelling purposes. However, I thought I had read that it was not possible to buy Thai baht either outside Thailand, since the government wants to discourage speculation. Since the Thai baht is constantly appreciating relative to the Canadian dollar I thought I might put $100 or $200 into baht per month and keep them in a safety deposit box until I am ready to travel to Thailand, but in view of what I read about not being able to buy them outside Thailand, I am wondering whether these baht differ somehow? Perhaps they are dated travellers cheques or something like that and not actual baht? Anyone have any insight into any of this?
> 
> #2
> 
> Also, I was thinking of just renewing my visa in Thailand as a way of avoiding the 800,000 baht requirement. Once one is in Thailand, can one renew one's visa easily and indefinitely, or is this not a viable idea?
> 
> Ty for your help as always.


it is always better to exchange once you arrive in Thailand , get only enough for immediate expenses , i.e. snacks , drinks and taxi fares. The exchange rates apart from money booths and A.T.M. ,s are far better when you use the banks here in Thailand.


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## dollarability

*Cost of Living*

Really? I have researched the cost of living in Thailand and it seems to be one-third that of Canada, except in Bangkok and the main tourist centres. $16,000 CDN is my retirement income, thanks to the generosity of the Canadian government that taxes all my income and returns that to me at retirement, so Im assuming that that would equate to purchasing power equal to $48,000 in Thailand - 480,000baht per year. I included health insurance at 10,000 baht per year, a furnished condo at 10,000 baht per year, and food. Im planning to live in Chiang Mai.



> One other comment I would just make is that unless you have some other piggy bank you can dip into , you'll find it extremely tough to live on an income of just THB 40,000 per month.


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## dollarability

*Correction*

Sorry, I meant 10, 000 baht per month for the condo. Thai Apartments has lots of these for rent, and they look good.


QUOTE=dollarability;560926]Really? I have researched the cost of living in Thailand and it seems to be one-third that of Canada, except in Bangkok and the main tourist centres. $16,000 CDN is my retirement income, thanks to the generosity of the Canadian government that taxes all my income and returns that to me at retirement, so Im assuming that that would equate to purchasing power equal to $48,000 in Thailand - 480,000baht per year. I included health insurance at 10,000 baht per year, a furnished condo at 10,000 baht per year, and food. Im planning to live in Chiang Mai.[/QUOTE]


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## Mweiga

dollarability said:


> Sorry, I meant 10, 000 baht per month for the condo. Thai Apartments has lots of these for rent, and they look good.
> 
> 
> QUOTE=dollarability;560926]Really? I have researched the cost of living in Thailand and it seems to be one-third that of Canada, except in Bangkok and the main tourist centres. $16,000 CDN is my retirement income, thanks to the generosity of the Canadian government that taxes all my income and returns that to me at retirement, so Im assuming that that would equate to purchasing power equal to $48,000 in Thailand - 480,000baht per year. I included health insurance at 10,000 baht per year, a furnished condo at 10,000 baht per year, and food. Im planning to live in Chiang Mai.


[/QUOTE]

You will just about manage but it'll be a "no frills" lifestyle ! Good luck.


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## dollarability

*Thank You*

Thank you very much for your insights. Every piece of advice gives me a more dimensional perspective that I can incorporate into my planning. My frills will be walking around Chiang Mai, visiting the temples, and meditating. I have already taken the eight precepts so my needs are pretty simple. Mainly I want to spend my retirement writing books on Buddhism. I am working on my second such book now. However, in light of your suggestions I will try to save more than the minimum requirement between now and my projected retirement date.


You will just about manage but it'll be a "no frills" lifestyle ! Good luck.[/QUOTE]


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## Rustyo

Money goes a long way in Thailand once you learn the pitfalls. 

My basic salary will be THB24,000 per month when i start teaching in september, which is fine if you don't party every night. 

I have always lived a simple live and never wanted anything too much, so for me this is fine. 

My girlfriend is a Thai National and she lives on less than that as a nurse, it really depends on what type of life style you want.


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## dollarability

*Pitfalls*

What are the pitfalls? I know that there is a Thai price and a farang price. Are there others?

In terms of lifestyle, I hope to be able to afford a 650 sq. ft. single bedroom furnished condo within walking distance (thirty minutes) of the Old City of Chiang Mai, with tv and Internet; a good computer; dinner out once or twice a month; books; and maybe a bit of travel in other regions of Thailand, once or twice a year, for a total of maybe one or two months, especially rural Thailand; and occasional public transit. My main activities will be writing, reading, photography, visiting spirit houses and temples, and meditation. Does 40,000 baht per month sound adequate for that lifestyle?





Rustyo said:


> Money goes a long way in Thailand once you learn the pitfalls.
> 
> My basic salary will be THB24,000 per month when i start teaching in september, which is fine if you don't party every night.
> 
> I have always lived a simple live and never wanted anything too much, so for me this is fine.
> 
> My girlfriend is a Thai National and she lives on less than that as a nurse, it really depends on what type of life style you want.


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## Cer

Lately several immigration offices require proof of income by presenting the bankbook (showing regular income at a 65000/40000 level).
They are now well aware, that most embassies legalise the signature and not the nature of the message(read: amount)


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