No never, I've read a lot about immigration being the devil incarnate but every single encounter I've ever had has been nothing but helpful! (One kept the office open for me to get something from home 30 minutes after due to close). Another gave me their personal phone number should I have any issues and not 1 baht was exchanged etc etc. Though I have seen one or two come unstuck due to their superiority attitude.
Exactly my point - I asked what bonds would I be investing in and they gave me a list. There was no performance background, no history, no management setup, nothing! You would need to view it as the fee for the LTR and not 'investment' imo. As for real estate, yep I own my house in my own name but the land in a thais. Whether that counts, who knows.
But the wealthy aspect is skewed, if I show I have 50m dollars in the bank, a 100 metre yacht off the coast of Phuket and a 100m gaff in the Koh Samui mountains, I don't get off the starting blocks for an LTR. But if I'm poor enough to have to continue working after 50 and can show I'm earning a paltry 80k a year, I'm a shoe in!
It definitely doesn't exist in Thailand. Many many falang run companies within Thailand fold due to staffing loyalty issues! ie none. There is no such thing as a notice period, they just leave and you find out when you see them starting a new job via Facebook!
Its a major clusterfuck! Cash in the bank is not accepted as proof of wealth but if you invest in thai stocks that don't have a performance record or reputable fund manager, you're in!! They seriously expect you to drag funds away from the Nasdaq (trackers running around 30%+ at the moment and put it into thai run companies! Or of course a 'passive income' of 80k US which must be shown on a tax return. Rich retirees don't have tax returns because they're retired!!! Garbage scheme, dreamt up by not very intelligent office clerks