What are the best visa options for moving to Thailand with a dog while selling my home in the UK?

Jun 19, 2023
a year ago
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
Please be gentle, we are confusing ourselves, our heads are spinning 😵‍💫🥴

Thank you all for your guidance so far, alas we still need to ask questions so apologise for sounding like we are going around in circles

Long story short, we live in the Uk, both over 50, our home has been valued, we are selling and we have a buyer lined up. We have a dog who will be coming with us and my private pension will be funding our lifestyle

We were going down the family elite visa 800,000 thb for 2 people for a 5yr visa. Alas I understand that visa has now been removed 😳

Our goal is to live in Thailand for between 5 and 8 years after which we might move to Indonesia (unless we have fully settled in Thailand)

We do not want to have health insurance due to my complex medical record

We are wanting to use part of the equity in our home to pay for our visa for Thailand but we do not want to have to wait until it has sold and we have the equity in the bank to then start the process

Is there a way where we can we arrive with our dog, on a one way ticket within weeks of selling our home (October/ beginning of November this year), then once the equity has landed in our account pay (whilst in Thailand) for anything/ everything we need, even if that means initially staying in an dog friendly condo/ guest house

Thank you for your understanding and help
3,801
views
6
likes
95
all likes
30
replies
0
images
14
users
TLDR : Answer Summary
A couple over 50, currently residing in the UK, is planning to move to Thailand with their dog while selling their home. They initially considered the now-removed Elite Family Visa but are exploring alternatives like a Retirement Visa, which is easier and more affordable. They want to move before their home sale concludes and are looking for a way to enter Thailand with a one-way ticket. Suggestions include obtaining a tourist visa for initial entry, recommending the Retirement Visa for long-term residency, and considering renting instead of selling their UK property.
NON-O RETIREMENT VISA RESOURCES / SERVICES
  • Go to the Retirement Visa Section for information on requirements, including age restrictions, financial requirements, and necessary documentation.
  • For immediate assistance, contact Thai Visa Centre directly via LINE at @ThaiVisaCentre or Email them.
  • Explore recent discussions by using the Non-O Retirement Visa tag in the search box at the top of the page.
  • Join the Thai Visa Advice Facebook Group to ask your questions, and get advice from others.
Gary ******
Don’t travel to Thailand (or most countries) on a one way ticket. You risk being denied entry. Have an onward ticket.
Oleg ***********
Just do retirement visa here on the spot! The easiest and cheapest! Good luck
Us *****
Do not sell your property. See if you can ask an agent to rent it out for you and use the rental and pension to fund your finances over here. Get a multiple entry visa as it will give you up to 9 months to sort out things over here for you before you get a retirement visa. If you do want to sell your property then this is not the time to do it. Sell when interest rate is low and people begging to buy it. If i were you, I would charge a little less for rent so you can have a quality tenant to take care of your place. Worst case scenario is that you will have a place to live when you want to come back to the UK.
Jeff ********
Get the retirement visa. Easier and cheaper in the long run
Russell *******
I would think again about selling a property in the UK to pay for a visa in Thailand. Especially as you can achieve the same period of time in Thailand for £42 per year.

If you don't have the money at the moment for the 800,000 baht Thais bank deposit, get a loan in the UK until you sell the property. Better still wait a few months. Good luck with the sale.
Michael ********
As for dog contact relo4paws for advice and assistance in coming in country
Eddie ******
Rent a long term property, to get a feel that the decision you made is the correct one, then look to buy. Not forgetting Thai law on owning property. Ex pats can give sound advice of there own experience
Mike *****
I would not come to.Thailand without health insurance...try get covered direct with.a Thai insurer.
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Mike ****
sadly, my history would work against me but thank you for sharing your views
Tulip ********
@Mike ****
I agree, my medical history is complex. I still got offered cover. You don't need cover if you have enough to self insure. That's an option, but anything really serious would drain a lot of cash. And we are talking millions of baht potentially.
Andrew ***********
@Tulip *******
can you tell me who offered you cover thanks 🙏
Brandon ************
@Mike ****
if they have a complex medical history it's likely they either cannot get insurance or it won't actually cover anything since every carrier in Thailand excludes pre-existing conditions.
Ruth *******
@Brandon ***********
exactly. What's the point of insurance if it doesn't cover anything except possibly being hit by a scooter.
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Brandon ***********
exactly, no point in paying for something that will not provide the very cover you are wanting to purchase, hence we would self fund our medical care👍🏼
John ********
My advice is don't buy its very hard to sell your far better to rent than you can move on without any problems
John ********
@Linz ***********
you can use the government hospitals, you still have to pay for the service but it's a lot cheaper than private hospitals
Alistair **********
Brandon has given good advice.

I'd recommend the retirement visa over elite visa. If the whole process is a bit complicated for you, then just find an agent to sort it out. They cost more (still significantly less than elite visa), but they'll take care of it all for you. Dealing with immigration seems hard, but once you've done it once it's pretty easy the next time round
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Alistair *********
we would 💯 ask an agent to take care of things for us
Kool *******
@Linz ***********
just remember, at the end of your 8-10 years, with the Elite visa you get absolutely none of the money you bought it with back. With the type O retirement extensions every year, you get all your money back you had to put in a Thai bank to meet the financial obligation, and for both of you having retirement extensions that would be bt1.6million. They also only cost bt1900 a year to extend them, and bt2000 initially. Get all you money back, or none of it. It is your choice. The type O visa extension based on retirement is the easiest visa/extension you can get in Thailand.
Alistair **********
@Linz ***********
maybe try messaging Thai Visa Centre and see how much they charge for retirement visa service.
Jane *********
@Alistair *********
*****
thb, I checked it with Thai visa centre just few days ago. All they need is just passports by mail, they don’t even require deposits of
*****
0 in Thai bank acc.
Danny **************
@Alistair *********
yess thai visa centre is the way to go
Henrik ****
To answer your first question:
**************************************************************
Brett *********
@Henrik ***
what about 2 individual elite? It is only the family one that is discontinued
Henrik ****
@Brett ********
, yes, I was actually just looking at this. You might be able to get one ordinary 5-year Elite Visa and then a 5-year family member Elite Visa. Don t quote me for it, but it looks to me like this will add up to a total of 900k THB (600k + 300k). Try study the thailand-elite.com
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Henrik ***
exactly, discontinued though could end up being a blessing in disguise 😕
Brandon ************
Come with a single entry tourist visa from the Thai embassy in London. This will give you 60 days when you arrive and you can apply for a 30 day extension one time. That's 90 days.

OR apply for a Multiple-Entry tourist visa from the Thai embassy before you come. This is valid for 6 months from the time it is issued, and will give you 60 days every time you enter Thailand within those 6 months. That means you can do 60+30, do a quick border bounce or take a short trip to a nearby country for fun and return, 60+30, and then right before the visa expires around the 6 month mark, do a final border bounce for another 60+30. I can't imagine 9 months isn't enough time for you to resolve what you are waiting for.

Once the money is settled you can then convert to the non-O visa within Thailand once you have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account. Getting the other spouse on a trailing visa for that is a little bit more complicated unfortunately as it will involve you having to leave Thailand again and apply for the non-O trailing spouse visa from a nearby consulate. Or you can each get 800,000 in a Thai bank account and then you can both apply for the non-O visa directly from within the country.

I'm not sure of your finances but you can also look into one of the LTR visas and see if you will qualify for that. It's a 10 year visa and if you qualify it will make everything easy for you.

**********************


Your airline is the only one who will care if you have a one way ticket, so ask them their policy. If they want to see a flight out of Thailand then google "onward travel ticket" and you can rent a plane ticket to use when you checkin for your flight to Thailand.

You'd probably need to use this as well if you wanted to apply for the Multiple Entry Tourist Visa since for that application you need to show a flight to Thailand, a flight out of Thailand within 60 days, and another flight back to Thailand.
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Brandon ***********
awesome, thank you
Brandon ************
@Linz ***********
if you qualify for LTR it's really one of the best visas right now. But the qualifications are steep.
Linz ************
ORIGINAL POSTER
@Brandon ***********
yes and sadly, not something we would be able to consider
Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else
... members · 60% approval rate
The Thai Visa Advice And Everything Else group allows for a broad range of discussions on life in Thailand, beyond just visa inquiries.
Join the Group
Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else
View the Conversation
Thai Visa Advice and Everything Else