What is the best visa option for retiring in Thailand at 70 years old with a pension?

Cambodia has the easiest long term visa. Renewal once a year at $300 USD.

Cost of living is less than Thailand. Your pension will have more power.

Philippines has a very easy visa program. You can maintain a Tourist Visa with a series of two month extensions. Maximum duration of stay is 36 months. But a quick visa run to anywhere resets the eligibility for another 36 months.

the total accrued cost to maintain a Tourist Visa for 12 months is $500 USD.

English language is ubiquitous. Cost of living is same as Thailand. Bit more than Cambodia.

you are over sixty five. get on medical medicaid. and choose a plan that provides coverage overseas. most medical plans happy to have you hosptialized there since thier medical costs are far less than usa. . they have v.a hospiatals in the phillipines for american expats in military. or veterans. . kaiser in usa will pay the thai hospital for emergency treatment. then maybe come back to usa for whatever costly procedure or do it there. not sure which is best....

There is a content creator by the name of

@Brights*******

that can clear all of your confusion. He is a wealth of information. I have zoom meetings with him and other folks who want to leave the country or have already left the country and he helps you with every step. I’m positive he would be able to assist you.

a high income. you get treated like royalty. hire agent. print 1 years of all financial statements before you leave. hell to do with text verification u thailand. read document request. rent a house with an address.

Health insurance is fantastic until you claim it

You have to start with a 30-day Tourist Visa, then via an agency covert it to a Non-O Immigrant Visa. Health Ins is a different story. Hard to get or very expensive at 70. Try getting Medicare that would be accepted here. 65,000 baht income would barely make it, especially if you have to purchase a good Health Ins. Good luck

Whether you buy health insurance or not, may depend on several factors, how much of your monthly income can you put aside into a medical account in case you need to tap into it? You may also need to consider sending aside money to pay for either home healthcare of some type you become disabled if your health is in the upper 10% for your age bracket you may consider not getting health insurance here which is extremely expensive for anyone over 65, which includes you I believe, but you’re from America, statistically you’re on multiple medication‘s, probably have some type of coronary at and weight issues. So if you can’t get yourself healthy here, you’ll be at the mercy of the health insurance companies, which could be very expensive, or… Paying out-of-pocket and if you’re in that bottom 90% may be an over utilizer of healthcare here.

Good luck. It'll cost you dearly and they probably won't pay for anything. Stay off scooters and pills and quackseens and you won't need HELLth insurance.

Hey man, this is my personal opinion, but I’m 52 and about to make the leap myself. I’m opting to keep my Medicare here in the states and keep travelers insurance for anything minor that could come my way like a broken arm or something of that nature. If anything serious were to develop I would come back stateside. My reasoning is that Thai insurance seems high if you’re above a certain age or any preexisting condition. From what I’ve seen it would be more than what I pay in Medicare. Maybe someone with more experience might straighten me out but I’ve yet to see it

Using AI and it pulled up to from many sources. Took your post and these are some of the results. You'll have to run it through again because there's more info.

My husband was quoted he could only get a moritorium plan due to pre existing and 66 years old. Not good, you don’t know what will be covered till after the fact. Decided to stay on Medicare here and go 3 months of year.

Save the money not drinking alcohol,smoking,avoid processed food like bacon etc,avoid greasy fries and put in the bank as a health account. I do and I feel much better.

Insurance companies insure themselves,not you.

If you really want to pay the insurance company ,they will be happy to accept half of your a month pension..A better plan is to pay as you need to.Self insure.Some money in the bank.1M Thai baht.

Apply for a Non O - 90 day visa (retirement based) online at the THAI E-VISA App. If you have that, go to Thailand bringing the necessary paperwork, local things to be done the first 60 days in Thailand. Once you have all the necessary paperwork, after these 60 days go to the local immigration extending you 90 days NON O one Retirement, pay 1900 baht and you are good to go.

You can only get frozen pension no other benefits at all . Retirement visa.

Lets remember what insurance is for: to pay when you can't pay. If you have funds to pay then don't insure in Thailand; just pay instead, especially if you are old and the insurance probably won't pay out anyway.

Hi Gene, I am guessing if you can get both of those you are from the USA. If you want the contact of a very good insurance person living in Thailand (used to dealing with older applicants) he will tell you the reality of the options available on your budget. So there is a lot of fair advice on here but let me summarise. Your best route by far if you have the money is to get the Non O retirement before you come. 1) Create an account on the official Thailand E-Visa Portal. Financial Proof: Upload recent U.S. bank statements showing a balance of at least 800,000 THB (it is best to have $25,000+ USD to safely account for exchange rate swings).Other Uploads: Passport, passport-style photos, and a flight itinerary to Thailand. (I paid for one of the ticket generator sites to spit out a ticket because I was afraid the visa would't come before I left. But it did, so you can take that safety step or not) Outcome: The Thai consulate emails an approved electronic 90-day Non-Immigrant. 2) Fly to Thailand: When you arrive at the airport in Thailand, the immigration officer will scan the e-visa and stamp a 90-day entry permit into your passport. 3) Get a residency certificate from Immigration - check what the local immigration office requires as they can be variable. Usually someone on a group like this will be able to update you or you can go to a bar full of older foreigners and someone will likely know. Sometimes its a year lease, sometimes you can do it from a temporary one. Open a Thai Bank Account Go to a major local bank branch (like Bangkok Bank (if you plan to use WISE for transfers BKK bank is the best to be sure of 100% getting your future payments to be seen as international) or Kasikorn Bank).Documents: Passport with the 90-day Non-O stamp and a signed Thai lease agreement or a residency certificate from Thai Immigration to prove your address 4) Transfer the 800,000 THB into the Thai Account Thai Immigration strictly mandates that the money for the 1 year extension must sit inside a domestic Thai bank. Wire the 800,000 THB directly from U.S. bank account into the new Thai bank account. The transfer must come from overseas and land in their exact name. you need to request a Foreign Exchange Transaction form or credit advice from the Thai bank as proof (you can do this when you go to the immigration. To keep the 1-year extension valid, specific banking rules apply for the rest of the year: the 800,000 THB must remain completely untouched for another 3 months after the extension is approved. For the remaining months of the year, the account balance can drop, but it must never fall below 400,000 THB. You must top the account back up to the full 800,000 THB at least 3 months before you apply to renew the visa even if you are going onto the monthly method. 5) Start transferring in your 65,000 per month. Do a small test transfer to ensure you get the required international transfer code on your statement, Ensure the transfers happens around the same date each month. You can spend this money. 6) During the final 15 days of your 90 stay stamp, Go to the local Thai Immigration Bureau to submit the application for the 1 Year Extension of Stay Based on Retirement. Documents: A freshly updated Thai bank passbook showing the 3 month seasoned funds, and the 65,000 each month, an official bank certification letter printed on the day before the application, passport copies, and proof of address. Apply for your extensiono. Apply for your exit re-entry visa if needed. 7) Wait a year, Repeat step 6. Or you can pay a Thai agent to help, If you open a bank account yourself and maintain 800K in your bank account, it's around 15 - 25,000 THB for the agent and you must follow the annual rules for account balance maintenance. If you want the agent to help you open the bank account its about 35,000 to 55,000 THB. You can still switch to monthly transfers on these options and self manage the next time or pay an agent again IMPORTANT: If you do not have 800,000 THB some local agents offer a service where the agency temporarily deposits their own corporate funds into the applicant's account to satisfy immigration. This costs around 60,000 to 90,000 THB. Please note that this is a legal grey area and could be challenged by the govt in the future. Once you go this route you are stuck with this route unless you leave the country and start again. You cannot take yourself onto monthly transfers.

You're too broke to live there full-time

Good insurance at 70 LOL LOL LOL I WOULDN'T TRUST THAI INSURANCE COMPANIES TO COVER CLAIMS! ESPECIALLY IN FUTURE YEARS!

Non O first.

Then you can open a bank account.

Whack 800k Thai baht into it and in 3 months you can move over to the retirement visa.

.retirement visa is what you need if you have the 800k in a bank account use that as your insurance backup and use government hospitals not private ones

When U reach 70 insurance is very expensive plus

Go for 3 MTH to check it out, all depends what U want & get for yr money

With you hardly qualify for a good visa. (You don’t mention any savings.)Never mind about health insurance. I have feelings your health is not the best. Just have a holiday and forget about the Thai dream.

I am curious, why only Thailand?

Have you explore options to Philippines, Vietnam or even Colombia & Mexico. I heard now with all criminals locked up making EU angry, EL Salvador is good option.

Stay where you are

Retirement visa obviously

I was once trying to get health insurance through AXA all was going well at my interview. Then he asked me the million dollar question, do you smoke. At the time I didn't smoke, so I said no, I don't smoke, then he said have you ever smoked. I said yes a long time ago I used to smoke a little. The premium shot up .He said if you died and they do a postmortem on you and detect any nicotine, your claim is void .Keep this in mind guys 🙏.

My thai insurance renewal this year was ฿50,000. I am 75. You can get affordable insurance. Also, I have learned to use the good government hospitals instead of private ones. They do accept non-thai and are as modern, efficient and a lot cheaper foreigner prices than the private hospitals. The one time I needed surgery, the doctor I consulted at the private hospital was the same doctor at a government hospital. He did the surgery at the government hospital and now I use that government hospital, Banphaeo General Hospital, for all my medical needs. The doctor's appointment fee is ฿300 at the government hospital. By the way, my surgery and 7-day stay cost me ฿3000 out of pocket.

Non- OA From home.......

Forget the insurance.It will either be denied due to pre existing conditions, or will cost an absolute fortune .Just save your money and pay cash as required.You cannot win against medical insurance companies,that is why they are amongst the most profitable businesses around the world.Half the footy stadiums around the world bear their names and logos now.🙄💩😈🤬

Non O is the easy option. No health insurance required. At 70 insurance is getting expensive. You may decide to self insure.

Spend 500 quid and an agent will set you up with a 15 mths visa. Then go from there with your 65k mthly deposits. Easy from there.

Go for three months and see if it a good fit for you. Some times the fantasy doesn’t meet the reality.

I pay $300 a month and covrrage is world wide including Thailand excluding the US.

Due to your age they will r*pe you with the amount they will want to charge you for health insurance if they will even give you a policy at all. Also look into the International Health Insurance it might be the better way to get insurance.

Your best option is a "Non-Immigrant O" visa, which doesn't require insurance. The visa will have a validity period of one year, but upon entry, you will only be granted 90 days' permission to stay. For an extension of your permission to stay (note: not a visa extension), you will need proof of a monthly income of minimum 65,000 baht, or a deposit of a minimum of 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account, or a mixture of both. With this alternative, you don't need to have a poor and compulsory health insurance policy from a Thai company, but are free to choose one that best suits your needs.

At 70, serious insurance is a problem, especially as any pre existing issues will not get coverage. Also many companies don't cover over the age of 75. I suggest you contact Eric Dohlon, on Facebook, he is a very experienced insurance broker, I believe he can give you the best advice.

Good luck.

I travel between my home Country and Thailand. No need to stay in one or the other. Australia has free Public healthcare and using my platinum visa I’m covered for hospital or accident. Just a thought.

Health Insurance policy usability depends on the verdict of the underwriter investigation of your medical history. The exclusion list of non-coverage for many will shock them, especially when the premium is so high and it’s possible only half of you is covered! The insurance companies don’t want to lose money. Many older expats go the ‘self-insured’ path when they see what their true coverage is and cancel it.

Get Non-O Visa in order to be self insured.

Gene, I say this to everyone and I know it’s annoying. Regards to health the best thing you can do is avoid bars, smoking and drinking and embark on a fitness cardio and maintaining muscle mass.

What is so confusing? Retirement visa based on 65k monthly. Health i surface is an entirely seperate issue. Try CIGNA Global if you want a legitimate serious carrier. Be prepared to pay up to $1k/month.

If you're retired from the federal government and continued your health insurance, it will probably cover you in Thailand. BCBS certainly does.

As kind of a rule of thumb what you would pay as the copay in America is close to full pay here so you're probably better off to self-insure. If you really get a bad medical situation, you could still have issues. You can also downshift: the high-end hospitals are still cheaper than in America but you can go down to lesser and lesser hospitals where you may have the same doctor but the cost will be much less.

Here’s what I did. Retirement O, you don’t need to show proof of insurance like the retirement OA. I pay $350 for the Cigna world plan a month inpatient only.

Just done health insurance at 60,000 a year. Good cover and can be paid monthly, quarterly, half yearly or in a lump sum. Hospitals up here in Isaan are very good and efficient

I so don't get these posts. So why buy health insurance in Thailand? Why not buy insurance for Thailand from elsewhere, thereby solving the problems mentioned eg early age cut-off by Thai companies. Also exclusions mentioned can be treated differently and you can often buy with no health declaration. Do people always go forward looking only at the most difficult alternative? It makes no sense.

Marry Thai woman who works for the government likes teachers, then you can get free treatment in public hospitals

From what I've been told most medical insurance companies won't accept new clients over 70 so that might be a problem but if you ask on the forums you might find a company that does. Also although you can cover the non-O retirement requirement using the 65.000 Baht a month route my understanding is that you can only do that for the 2nd and following years as you need to have 12 months record of those transfers to the Thai bank so unless you somehow already have a Thai bank account then you will need to deposit 800,000 Baht for the first year and start transfers of the 67,000 immediately. I'm no expert on Thai immigration rules so please check this yourself.

Get the LTR visa. You can do it on your owm like I did or use an agent

The only visa that exempts non government pensions including RMDs from.IRAs from Thai tax and no 800k baht requirement. No.criminal.background check but you do need full financial disclosure. I think there is a work permit option though I don't work. Good for 5 years with once a year report to verify address instead of 90 days and renewable for another 5 years.

Get the 800k in the bank visa first.. obviously you need thai bank. You can use thai government hospitals.. you will pay more than thai person.. still far less than private hospitals.. it is the wait time that is the problem..

Buying insurance in Thailand will be a problem at 70 years old. Pre-existing conditions will be excluded. The out of pocket costs are pretty low. You should look at this carefully.

From my experience the insurance here pays for little if 70.

It won't cover any previous health problem and for me they wanted me to pay the first 300,000 baht.

Ditched it.

I keep. 1,000,000b in the bank for health.

Not sure what the question is, if coming to thailand to retire, then a retire visa is the obvious, and only, choice.

The most common is the 90 day Non-O visa based on being over 50 which you then extend every 12 months inside Thailand, but you will need to deposit a minimum of 800k baht in a Thai bank for at least the first year's extension. If that's an issue you could look at the 12 month Non-OA visa which doesn't require any funds in a Thai bank but does require insurance, police checks and a medical certificate

Local healthcare is quite expensive but you need to tell any insurance company your full details etc then your get a quote.

so you think that insurance makes good health care?