What is the average cost for hiring a visa agent to assistance with a retirement visa in Thailand?

@Kuan *****

i have gotten some mixed information from several agents. I had one tell me all I needed was a valid passport and some passport photos. They would take care of the rest. That seemed too easy to me.

@Jim *******

OA needs the 90 day report.

@Gábor *********

Why?

Before covid I lived for eight years on OA visa - never once went to an immigration office. What for? 😆

@Jim *******

why what ?

@Todd ********

yep ten years new

@Pete ******

if using marriage visa or the 65k method, it makes more financial sense. If tying up 800k in a Thai bank account at interest rates less than 1%, it just financially foolish.

Pete Power then one would think you would have understood the role of agents and how to effectively leverage your financial assets to your advantage then. But sometimes people whom depend on their wives for a visa don’t look at the available options.

@Todd ********

I understand the requirements to live in Thailand legally, going through agencies is hardly the best option.

@Pete ******

as you would say… absolute bollocks mate. Luckily, nothing about using an agency is illegal now is it?

You understand the requirements to have your wife pave the way for you. Realistically that’s not an option available to most expats

@Todd ********

maybe using an Agent isn't illegal, but if an Agent bribes an Immigration Officer to avoid you having to have 800k in your Thai bank account, as is required by law, then what the Agent is doing is illegal isn't it? Doing that, by extension, I would think that by using the Agent, you would be breaking the law and would put yourself at risk.

@Colin ********

it's even better actually because it's illegal for an American to participate in bribery anywhere in the world. So extra illegal. But Todd can't see this as I've had him blocked for ages.

@Colin ********

‘maybe’ would be inaccurate. It’s very legal. And the the stamp you receive from immigration, also legal. By ‘extension’ it would be breaking the law?! 😂 C’mon man. Expecting a lot of convictions for that ‘breaking the law by extension’. If I sold a bank robber the getaway car, am I also guilty by extension? Give this some actual coherent thought

We are not living in Aus, USA, UK, Canada…. It’s a different culture and a different part of the world. You might be surprised to learn that a great many Thai people don’t care about our way of life or have any desire to live that way. Which is probably why so many of us come here for a better life. I’m confident that they will let us all know if the rules change.

@Todd ********

'maybe' you didn't read or understand my first sentence correctly? I didn't say that using an Agent was illegal. Perhaps using the word 'maybe' confused you. If I had used the word 'perhaps' instead of maybe might not have confused you into thinking that I was saying that using an Agent was illegal, which is wrong. How though does an Agent get around the fact that under Thai Law regarding these Visas, 800k is required to be in a Thai bank account in your name? Isn't it by bribing an Immigration Officer, which, although it's commonly done, is in fact illegal? Is every 'stamp' issued a genuine one? From what I've read in Facebook groups, there are foreigners that have found out that their stamp isn't a genuine one, but faked by dodgy people, Agents or whoever they are. Your comparison of 'selling a car to a bank robber' is a poor one. In that instance, you wouldn't know what the car was going to be used for. You got that wrong. Maybe it should be more like 'hiring a thief to steal some diamonds for you'.

You promote an Agent, or Agents. Do those ones help people get Visas and Extensions avoiding having 800k in their bank account? If so, how do they manage to do that? Maybe the Agents that you know or 'promote' do everything legally under Thai Laws, do they? If that's the case, then I wouldn't have any problem using an Agent you recommend, should I choose to use one, but I wouldn't want to find myself in the situation of finding that a 'stamp' is a fake, or finding that I'm 'forever' tied into using an Agent if I choose to 'go it alone' next time or at some point in time.

@Colin ********

No, nothing you said confused me at all. I was just correcting the inaccuracies. I also don't 'promote' anything. I could care less if all agents disappear tomorrow. I could also care less if immigration rules change. I point the obvious simplicity of using reputable agents that have been in business for many years. And help people whom are not keen on administrivia or wasting their valuable time standing around banks or govt offices. I also point out the obvious financial advantages of not having 800k losing money for you in a Thai bank account. That is pretty basic math though. I'm not sure that 'what you have heard on FB' would be anything i would rely on. (including me) The stamps are perfectly legal and issued by immigration. If you would like to know how the agents do they work, why would you not be asking them? Pick any agency and ask them the question, and i'm sure you will get the accurate info. Do you think that if their activity was 'illegal' that Thai authorities lack the ability to crack down on it? You don't honestly think it's a secret i suspect. For me personally, i used an agent. My stamp was verified by local immigration and i had no issues changing over to going it alone. As they say in thailand - it's up to you.

@Todd ********

perhaps my choice of words was not quite right, but I wasn't inaccurate in my thinking about Agents - I wasn't saying that they were illegal. So, you didn't answer my question about how Agents get around the requirement of having 800k in one's own bank account when it's a requirement under Thai Law. I understand what you said about the advantages of not having it tied up in a Thai bank account. I don't know what advantage anyone would get from saying on Facebook that their stamp was fake, so why say that? Maybe they didn't use a reputable Agent as you would recommend, but went for a cheap priced Agent and got what they paid for. As for what you said about Thai authorities and their ability to crack down on illegal activity, are you saying that everything done by all Agents is fully legal, or that all immigration officers are above taking bribes and there's nothing to crack down on? There's also much said about how corrupt Thai police are and especially how they like to stop foreigners and accuse them of breaking the law, when they're not, in the hope of extracting bribe money. TIT many Thai expats say.

@Pete ******

I agree. Lived here for years, never used an agent. It's each to their own however, some people can't cope with simple tasks, it's the world we live in

Jim Howard true. And others understand the value of their time and money and use both accordingly. Pretty basic stuff

@Todd ********

Yep. Stacks of both. All good. Can't see value in paying for basic stuff, but each to their own

@Pete ******

clearly not. Especially if you are challenged with the basics of finance. You don’t have to be the sharpest knife in the drawer to do the math I just gave you. This is why agents are thriving. Ask someone to help you understand

@Todd ********

Again complete bollocks. It is very easy to apply for a retirement visa without using an agent.

@Pete ******

because you don’t understand, hardly makes it bollocks.

Here is the basic math… If you leave 800k in your home country (also no need to pay transfer fees and exchange rates) at 5%; how much is sitting in your bank at the end of the year? If you guessed 840k you are correct. You would then need to pay an agent about out of the 40k proceeds which leaves you 22k in your pocket. Would you prefer having 22k in your pocket for having someone look after it or prefer a day wasted and forking over 1900 baht.

Personally I value my money and my time. So won’t be seeing you in the bank or immigration queue.

@Todd ********

soo many questions for you. You seem very knowledgeable can you contact me at it’s about agents and retirment visas

@Steve *******

The other things:

Expats who use agents dont pay bribes

Expats who use agents abide to every country laws, but “paramountly” they abide to the laws of their own passport country or wherever they have interests (affection, capital, job). Which it s where they must pay paramount attention to stick to the letter of the law

STEVE SMYTHE: DONT SPREAD UTTERLY FALSE INFO BASED ON YOUR SCAREMONGERING APPROACH

@Gianni *****

Of course they pay bribes! Don't be so ridiculous. Where do you think the money goes? 😂😂

@Steve *******

I dont interact with poorly educated

Block

@David ******

Can you DM me the agent please. Thai Visa Center reneged on the original offer from last year. They increased the renewal from 14k to 18k.

They claimed it was a decision by the "back office".