What are the experiences of expats with the Thailand Elite visa?

One down side I was at the airport for an hour trying to get my elite visa...I have some sketchy visas from sketchy countries due to work so I had to talk to the head of immigration at Swampy to get through...after I should them my Work orders they put it in no questions asked..:so if you’re in my predicament be prepared for that

Gonna get one next year. Its a pretty good deal honestly if you think about it especially the 20 years one

It’s not bad...no more border runs

It's all about the money, ain't a damn thing funny

Please explain what an elite visa is, as against a retirement visa.☺

keep in mind they are about 4 weeks out now for the background check to come back. That's the only thing that holds it up

AND

Keep in mind you CANNOT have any overstay stamps in your passport

My favorite part was there was very little paperwork involved. Just send them their money and they leave you the fuck alone.

I am planning to get one before I retire in the summer of 2020. Yes, I could get a retirement visa, but even it comes with hassles. I'd have to take an expensive trip back to the US from the Middle East, where I currently live, to apply for the retirement visa. The Elite visa I can do online. Plus, it will likely "grandfather" me in despite ongoing changes to visa policy. The VIP treatment is also attractive.

I'll just relate a story here. A good friend of mine works for an IT company in the US but he chooses to live here.He's not married to a thai, not over 50, doesn't have a company here, so it limited him visa/extension wise

He travels a lot and burned thru METV's, SETV's, ED visas/extension etc. Every time he stamped into the country he was treated like a criminal :O The officer at passport control thumbed thru his passport page by page making unhappy sounds at all the stamps they'd see in it and then finally stamping him in.

He bought the 500K baht 5 year elite visa and he told me IF he knew he was going to go from being treated like a criminal to being treated like a VIP when he stamped in and out of the country he'd have bought the Elite visa YEARS ago.

He uses the 24 p/u deliveries a year, the Elite Lounge, the fast track immigrations, their 90 day reporting service. Everything. he said it's like night and day dealing with those wing-nut, passport stamping goof-balls at the airport comin' in on the Elite visa.

yes mine is 5 yrs

@Tod ********

lifetime elite doesn't exist anymore, correct?

It is a GREAT program,

I know probably 10 - 15 people who have it in one form or another.

Some have the old "lifetime" ones, others have the 5 year, some have the 20 year.

Not a single person I know of has anything bad to say about the program or the way it's run.

They do exactly what they say they will..

It will be interesting to see where this company heads in this year or into the beginning of next year..., some changes are underway 🙂