Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

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For expats, will the new immigration rules cause you to leave Thailand?

Poll ended at Mon Feb 11, 2019 10:47 pm

I will be able to remain in Thailand.
17
65%
I will have to leave Thailand.
1
4%
I'm not sure yet.
3
12%
I am not an expat yet. I will still be able to retire in Thailand.
3
12%
I am not an expat yet. I will not be able to retire in Thailand.
1
4%
Other - please specify.
1
4%
 
Total votes: 26

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Gaybutton
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Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by Gaybutton »

We haven't had a poll on this board for a long time, but I think many are interested in how the new immigration rules will affect our board members.
fountainhall

Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by fountainhall »

I have responded “ will have to leave Thailand”. That is not strictly accurate. More so is that I will most likely choose to do so. I have been considering a move to Taiwan for two years. If not changed, the new rules will most likely tip the balance and I will move as soon as my condo is sold.

The other possibility is that I will take out a 5-year Thailand Elite membership. I see little difference in locking up an average of over Bt. 550,000 per year which cannot be touched until death or investing a lesser amount with some additional perks. Most will not agree, but in my case I consider it the easier route.
Jun

Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by Jun »

fountainhall wrote:The other possibility is that I will take out a 5-year Thailand Elite membership. I see little difference in locking up an average of over Bt. 550,000 per year which cannot be touched until death or investing a lesser amount with some additional perks. Most will not agree, but in my case I consider it the easier route.
Is that the scheme that costs 500,000 baht?

By my maths, you are approximately 500,000 baht better off by choosing to lock up 550,000 for a while rather than give away that sum. Where is the 100,000 baht per year of value ?

Maybe the Elite scheme makes sense to people worth several million who just value the convenience.
halfhansum

Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by halfhansum »

Why are they so fixated on expats income ?

It's not as if they are going to give you free housing and an income for life if you run out of cash, as in the UK ...
Run out of money , and you will get sweet FA from the Thais ...Lol
Jun

Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by Jun »

halfhansum wrote:Why are they so fixated on expats income ?
Thailand is not running a charity. They allow people with moderate or good incomes to retire in Thailand on the assumption they will spend the money and therefore contribute to the Thai economy.

If anyone's income and therefore spending is low, what is in it for Thailand?

Plenty of other countries have other ways of selecting based on economic contribution.. If you are highly educated and young, you will have a much longer list of countries you can move to. Or if you have substantial wealth, many countries have visa programmes for investors.

Thailand allows pensioners in with modest incomes. Similar concept.

Anyone earning $10 per week in Bangladesh had even fewer opportunities.

On the other hand, if you are asking why they are fixated on income above assets, that is a good question.
I have seen the same thing on credit card applications. They ask all about monthly income, but there is not a single question about net worth, such as housing , investments etc.
fountainhall

Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by fountainhall »

Jun wrote:Is that the scheme that costs 500,000 baht?

By my maths, you are approximately 500,000 baht better off by choosing to lock up 550,000 for a while rather than give away that sum. Where is the 100,000 baht per year of value ?
Your math is correct, although it is locked up for life - as far as we know. The convenience is I have a problem with the monthly remittance business. If I worked through it, I could probably find an answer. But I have always gone the Bt. 800,000 route (renewed this morning) and that is what I had intended to keep on doing. But I will not lock up a lot of cash just to do so. I already have several million locked up in an apartment. If that does not satisfy the Immigration people, then my view is f--k 'em.

If I stay here, I'll take the Elite route for its convenience and a few perks. Yes, it generally does not make financial sense, but it totally avoids the need to have any minimum bank balance at any time. Renewals are guaranteed (unless you break the law), they do the 90 day reporting for you . . . and so on. But as I have said elsewhere, I am in a 50/50 situation at present and may well just pack up and leave.
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ceejay
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Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by ceejay »

Jun wrote:
halfhansum wrote:Why are they so fixated on expats income ?
On the other hand, if you are asking why they are fixated on income above assets, that is a good question.
I have seen the same thing on credit card applications. They ask all about monthly income, but there is not a single question about net worth, such as housing , investments etc.
It's all about liquidity. All credit card companies are concerned with is can you pay your monthly minimum- that's a cash flow thing and nothing to do with assets. Same reason as why profitable companies become insolvent - no cash to pay the bills, no matter what the balance sheet has to say about assets.

And the same with Thailand. They want you to bring money here - and, preferably, spend it. You can own real estate worth millions, but you cannot spend those millions in a shop.
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ceejay
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Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by ceejay »

Separately, I would comment that the Thai Government and Immigration Service are being given an unfairly hard time here. Blame the people who have, for years, been gaming the system through agents or perjury and have been stupid enough to boast about it on Thai Visa and in other places as well. What did they expect to happen?
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Gaybutton
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Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by Gaybutton »

ceejay wrote:They want you to bring money here - and, preferably, spend it.
But how can people do that if they are forced to keep hundreds of thousands of baht in their Thai bank account? I have been unable to make sense out of it. They want you to prove you really have the money, but once you prove it, if you spend it, now you have problems about getting the next visa renewal.

To me, that's truly a Catch 22.

ceejay wrote:I would comment that the Thai Government and Immigration Service are being given an unfairly hard time here.
I agree with most of your post about who really is to blame. I don't blame Thailand for doing what they're doing. It's the way they're doing it that in my opinion is flawed.
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Gaybutton
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Re: Poll: If you are an expat, will the new rules force you out?

Post by Gaybutton »

It seems as if most who responded will be to remain in Thailand and retire in Thailand.

While the topic will remain open for further comments, the poll itself will close in a few hours. If you wish to participate in the poll, please do so before time runs out.
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