Just a wee introduction

[ScottishSwedes]

Hi Everyone!

Me (Tony) and my wife (Sophie) are thinking seriously about selling up and making the move to the place that hosted our honeymoon. We're currently living in Helsingborg, Sweden (my wife is Swedish, I'm Scottish) and feel we can have a better way of life in Hua Hin. There's obviously many obstacles in the way ie, selling/buying property, work, visas, pets etc etc etc. Most of which we are absolutely clueless about. We're thinking of maybe coming over first for a couple of months and hiring an apartment to get the 'feel' of living there to see if it's really for us. As we think about and plan for it the more questions I'll be having for you lovely (I hope?) bunch of people, but in the meantime I'll just start off with a friendly hi!

Tony/Sophie

[aragon]

Hi Tony and welcome to the forum. You're definitely making the right move by renting in HH first before you make the full-time move. I wouldn't sell up right now in Sweden before you've had the chance to really satisfy yourself that HH is where you want to be. You obviously have fond memories from your honeymoon, but living full-time somewhere can be a totally different story than just visiting.

[ScottishSwedes]

Yes I know that from experience (twice)
We're totally confused with the visa situation as it seems we have to be over 50 to retire there and have a ridiculous amount of money in the bank. We can't get a job there unless it's a speciality job that the locals can't do.
We both do photography and sell photos/images online working from home. So we kind of have our own business in cyberspace and use other companies to license our images.
Not sure how this line of work could fit into a life in Hua Hin as we're basically doing the same work regardless of where we live but it seems the best visa we can attain would be a 6 month tourist visa then we would have to leave then come back.
Am I right or have I missed something?

[aragon]

I am not an expert on the visa situation in Thailand, as although we own a property there, we have yet to retire so do not live there full-time, rather just visit several times a year.

Having said that I do know that you are correct in that you can only get a retirement extension visa once you are 50+ and you do need to have Thb.800K in the bank or be able to provide proof of a similar level of income or a combination of both.

Regarding running an online business from HH, I do recall a similar question being asked previously and basically the answer, as I recall, was that technically you would still be deemed to be working in Thailand and to do so without a work permit would be breaking the law.

There are others here on the forum much more proficient than I with regard to all things visa/work permit wise and may wish to add to or clarify what I have written.

Good luck.

[ScottishSwedes]

Thanks aragon
It's not going to be easy that's for sure.

[JamesWest]

Thanks aragon
It's not going to be easy that's for sure.

of course running a internet based business from your home in Thailnd is no problem if you don't tell anyone about it.

you could live part time in Cambodia and Thailand. That way you are not just doing a border run which in the future might become a problem.

can i ask how old you are?

[ScottishSwedes]

Thanks aragon
It's not going to be easy that's for sure.

of course running a internet based business from your home in Thailnd is no problem if you don't tell anyone about it.

you could live part time in Cambodia and Thailand. That way you are not just doing a border run which in the future might become a problem.

can i ask how old you are?

I'm 51 so no problems there with the age thing but my wife is only in her thirties so she has a bit to wait for the retirement thing.
The internet thing isn't really a business as such so I guess I wouldn't really have to report it but I'm sure the authorities will want to know how we'll finance our time there?

[Dannie Boy]

Thanks aragon
It's not going to be easy that's for sure.

of course running a internet based business from your home in Thailnd is no problem if you don't tell anyone about it.

you could live part time in Cambodia and Thailand. That way you are not just doing a border run which in the future might become a problem.

can i ask how old you are?

I'm 51 so no problems there with the age thing but my wife is only in her thirties so she has a bit to wait for the retirement thing.
The internet thing isn't really a business as such so I guess I wouldn't really have to report it but I'm sure the authorities will want to know how we'll finance our time there?

I think you'll find that with the hundreds of thousands of expats living in Thailand, it's surprising how many suffer from amnesia and forget to tell the authorities about their on-line activities. As for the authorities wanting to know how you finance your living here, hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised that they won't delve into your financial affairs, other than checking your bank balance to confirm you have a minimum of 800k baht seasoned for at least 3 months. Hopefully somebody will confirm the status for your wife's visa status

[ScottishSwedes]

Thanks Dannie boy that's good to know.
As for the 800k baht. Can that then be spent after 3 months or do we 'have to' have that money in the bank at all times?

[Dannie Boy]

Thanks Dannie boy that's good to know.
As for the 800k baht. Can that then be spent after 3 months or do we 'have to' have that money in the bank at all times?

No you just need to have it in the bank for the three months prior to visa renewal date

[ScottishSwedes]

Thanks Dannie boy that's good to know.
As for the 800k baht. Can that then be spent after 3 months or do we 'have to' have that money in the bank at all times?

No you just need to have it in the bank for the three months prior to visa renewal date

Every visa renewal date?
If yes then it's probably not worth the risk in spending it.

[Big Boy]

Yes, every renewal date. I think the idea is that Immigration can see you using the money to live in Thailand. If the money stays static, then there could be suspicion regarding where the money that you are living on is coming from e.g. coming from work that you are doing whilst living in Thailand.

[PeteC]

^ Yes, the concept of people having active bank accounts in a different country and ATM cards to access it here is completely beyond their comprehension. Pete

[Dannie Boy]

Ive just renewed my visa for the fourth time and have never been asked how I finance my living costs and my bank book that I show them remains largely static.

[Big Boy]

I agree that it shouldn't make any difference, but you know as well as I do, it can depend on the mood of the Immigration Officer on the day.

As an example, because of recent Immigration whims, my bank, [Edit] Kasikorn, Market Village would not issue my letter 2 weeks ago until I'd made a transaction that day - I simply stood up, walked outside and drew 1000 baht from the ATM. However, I think we've had people complaining on here that a same day transaction was required.