Transcript of the above video: 

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing Thai Retirement Visas; pretty major topic amongst the expat community here in Thailand. It is probably kind of on the lips of folks recently because there have been some comments made by former Head of Immigration, now Deputy National Police Chief, Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn regarding Retirement Visas specifically.

l will go ahead and quote from the article titled: Driving out the gangs on Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, quoting directly: "For example requirements for obtaining Retirement Visa are easy he said adding the law requires any foreigner aged at least 50 years old to have at least 800,000 Baht in their bank account or an income certificate with a monthly salary not less than 65,000 Baht. That requirement is too low and does not help screen quality applicants." As we noted in a prior video I did on this, yes this is a concern. When "Big Joke", the former Head of Immigration is talking about this and I did another video, he is talking about trying to propose amendments to Thai Immigration Law, you need to take note of it. Now it doesn't mean panic; I don't think we are going to see the Retirement Visa system upended anytime soon but more to the point of this video which is the notion of "grandfathering in" somebody. We have seen this happen before, I have done videos on it. Back in the '90s when they changed the financial requirements, they "grandfathered in" the people that already had Retirement Visas. They were allowed to maintain their status under the terms they had originally got their visas issued under. Do I think that's a possibility here? Yes. Do I think it is probable? Yes, I find it highly probable. Do I think it is a foregone conclusion? No, it is not an absolute certainty. There is the possibility that they make new requirements and they don't grandfather people in but based on prior instances where we have seen changes to the overall Retirement Visa system I think it's very, very likely that any major changes to the Retirement Visa system would be moving forward, I could see a scenario coming up and in fact I think it is highly likely where I would not be retro active. Now that said, something that could prove to be a bit of a cause for concern would be okay you are grandfathered in, but you have got to assiduously maintain that visa and make sure that you are keeping yourself updated under those terms because presumably, if you fall out of that status you are out and you are basically having to deal with the new terms for Retirement Visa status, whatever they may be. 

Now again, none of this has happened yet, this is no reason to panic. It is also no reason to not look at Thailand as a destination for retirement. Quite honestly, the requirements are very low compared to other jurisdictions most notably because most other jurisdictions have no Retirement Visa whatsoever so you have to look at it like that especially in the context of Southeast Asia and greater Asia for that matter. 

But the other thing to keep in mind is look yeah, these requirements have been in place for like 25 years. It is not outside the realm of possibility they may change them. Now again, based on prior experience, where financial requirements have changed, there has been a methodology of maintaining one's status under the old terms so long as one was in Retirement Visa status before the change. So this might actually, in a sense, create a situation where it would behoove someone to get into Retirement Visa status early and often if you will, so as to at least be in a position where if they implemented a grandfathering sort of scenario, that one would actually be in status to enjoy that type of benefit.