@Jim *******

I think at present the retirement visa ie Non immigrant O visa obtained within Thailand on the basis of being over 50 years represents the best value if you are aged over 50 years. Previously the non immigrant OA visa (obtained in your own country) represented the best value as you didn't have to move any money into a Thai bank and you could keep your money working for you in your own country. However this visa now requires expensive inpatient and outpatient health insurance (separate from, or additional to) Covid insurance as part of the entry requirement to Thailand with this visa. And with the majority of neighbouring countries still closed or requiring PCR tests and some form of quarantine upon return to Thailand, it is not easy to do a border run just prior to the end of your first year of this visa expiring, and thus get a second year out of this visa for free.

With respect to the non immigrant O visa obtained within Thailand, most nationalities (except those from the US, UK and Australia) can get their embassy to provide them with a notarized later confirming that either they have the equivalent of 800K baht in the bank in their own country, or that they are in receipt of an income/pension equivelent to 65K baht a month. They then present this to immigration when applying for their non immigrant O visa and subsequent extension and therefore they don't need to move any money into Thailand. If you are one of the three nationalities as listed above, whose embassies won't provide such a letter, you have the choice of moving the equivalent of 800K baht into a Thai bank account 2 months before you apply for your visa and keep your account at that amount for 5 months of the year, maintaining at least 400K baht in that account for the rest of the year. Or you can transfer 65K baht every month from your country to a Thai bank account in your name only, if you are not actually in receipt of a pension/income of 65K baht, that automatically is paid into your Thai bank account every month. Personally I prefer the transferring of 65K baht a month into my account as opposed to having 800K baht sitting idle in a Thai bank account when that money could be working for me in my country. Others prefer to have the 800K banked and never touch it or have to remember to transfer the 65K each month without missing a payment or having the payment incorrectly coded. The 65K method works for me, but you have to be diligent and organised with a good memory to make it work. The other advantage is that you can spend every baht account of that 65K every month if you want to, ie there is no need to keep a minimum balance in your bank acvount

This

@James *******

so just to clarify, this means even if you are not hospitalized after a positive test, but instead you are placed in a medi hotel for 10 days, the AXA Sawadee Thailand policy will still cover your stay in a medi hotel

@Suwan ********

it's just the predominant beauty myth right now, that whiter/lighter skin is more beautiful. In advertising and billboards the Thai people featured are very light skinned. In TV soaps likewise the lead actors, both male and female are fair skinned or even Eurasian

@Suwan ********

many Thai people are prejudiced against their own darker skinned Thai citizens, as in those who live in central Thailand and perhaps have Chinese ancestry hate on those darker skinned Thais from Issan, northern Thailand and the southern states. The epitome of beauty seems to be equated with fair skin which is why nearly every beauty product comes with skin whitening chemicals. Totally crazy and difficult to understand

You can do your 90 day report by mail as long as it is date stamped at the post office at least 15 days before your next 90 day report is due. So if that fits in with your travel plans, do it before you leave for Chiang Mai using your Bangkok address as your address on your TM47 and send it to the immigration office you use in Bangkok

You can't stay for 3 and a half months. 90 days is about it at the moment and with Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos and Myanmar closed you can't do a border bounce to extend your time in Thailand. Not sure how immigration would consider flights booked to closed countries. You could travel to Cambodia but it would require quarantine on return and multiple PCR tests ie before you travel to Cambodia, once you arrive in Cambodia, before you return back to Thailand, once you arrive back in Thailand and a couple of times during your first 7 days back in Thailand. Costs for these tests soon mount up

@David *******

I believe it depends on the airline. Some will only carry vaccinated passengers (Qantas and Qatar proposed this, but I'm not sure if it is being strictly enforced) Singapore and Scoot have flights that only carry vaccinated passengers if they are arriving or transitting in Singapore. My understanding is that it is still generally possible to fly if you are unvaccinated but there are less seats available for unvaccinated passengers on any flight, so it is more difficult. Some countries, but not all, currently don't allow their unvaccinated citizens to travel. Australia for example requires that unvaccinated travellers apply for an exemption to travel overseas (usually only granted for compassionate reasons). Thsiland does allow unvaccinated travellers to enter, but requires a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of time of departure from origin country and strict hotel quarantine upon arrival in Thailand

Reading the article it looks like they want to extend the length of quarantine/restrictions, not get rid of all testing/quarantine. If this is approved the options for foreigners coming to Thailand would be 7 days in sandbox in Phuket or Samui with associated testing if the foreigner is vaccinated, or 14 days in hotel quarantine if unvaccinated

@Ruth ******

you can do your 90 day report at another immigration office to the one that you previously lodged one at. As long as your new accommodation provider lodges a TM30 for you. Airbnb hosts are notorious for not doing this, partly because Airbnb is technically illegal if you are leasing the premises for under a month. Some landlords don't want to do it as they are not declaring their rental income for tax avoidance and fear they will be found out . If you know you are going to be somewhere when your 90 day report is due perhaps ensure that the person you are going to be leasing from will submit a TM30 for you before you agree to stay there. Most condos have reception staff that do this automatically for you as do hotels and guesthouses. This is why they take a copy of your passport on check in. A way to work around it if you know that your landlord hasn't submitted the details for your TM30, is to stay the night before you go to immigration in a cheap hotel. Use the hotel name and address on your 90 day report and take your hotel receipt with you to immigration just in case they ask for proof in the absence of a rental contract. These days too with the ease of doing your 90 day report online you could submit it as though you were at your usual address, if you have a home base, so long as you hadn't stayed in a hotel or anywhere else that might have submitted a TM30 on your behalf during the period between your last 90 day report and the next 90 day report. People freely travel around the country staying for short or longer periods in a province, the TM30 and 90 day reporting is not a hindrance to this type of travel