And re paperwork you have to have bank book, statement isn’t sufficient

@Ivan ***********

I agree with all that. Although I do know people who have had issues with 90 day reporting when they’ve been away for 6 months, for eg. It is bureaucratic though, but then so is METV

@Paul ******

I don’t know where you’ve seen that ‘possibly’. They seem to have made their position v clear, if you ask me.

@Carl **********

well do are many other countries

@John ********

what? Come and go to Thailand as you like, for as long as you like. I’d call that an advantage. Plus they are one of the few groups allowed in (soon) currently

@Ivan ***********

he is well under 50 though. And huge advantage of Elite is basically a visa that allows you to ‘come and go’ easily. Personally I don’t want to live in Thailand for more than 6 months of the year. And I like to leave easily for weekend (and longer) trips. Retirement visa kinda traps you in Thailand with lots of paperwork. If you can afford other options I think that’s great.

@Paul ******

I really don’t think so. ‘Letter from Embassy’ or short medical extension only I think (sadly).

@Peter ******

‘Russia has vaccine’. I’m sure we’re all be lining up to take that (not). All this stuff about ‘Thailand needs tourism’ - Tourism is 20% of the economy (including domestic, which is growing hugely as prices drop). Plus Chinese tourists make up 25%, and they will be allowed back soon due to their control of COVID. For comparison NZ’s reliance on tourism is 12% and the UK 10%.). I’m in Koh Phangan, which is dead because it’s solely dependent on tourism (and frankly has been milking it with rubbish accommodation for years). If you go to Surat Thani, which is the local business hub, you’d never know there was a global crisis. It’s business as usual.

@Peter ******

yeah - a lot different now though. I don’t think those kind of tourist visas will be opened up for years.,People outside Thailand are vastly underestimating how cautious the authorities are currently.

@Peter ******

I also do that with METV but there’s no guarantees that will continue in near future