Transcript of the above video: 

First things first in this video, I want to preface this video by saying, all of you retirees out there watching this, let me be clear, I don't exactly know what some of this means but I know it doesn't mean anybody needs to panic. Everybody just big deep breath. We go through these, especially when we get new Governments in Thailand, we oftentimes hear them talk, and I stress "talk" about making changes with regard to Immigration, sometimes with regard to Retirement Visas. That doesn't necessarily mean anything will ultimately be implemented and if implemented, as I have discussed in other videos, it's my thinking that there is a high probability that if there are major substantive changes made to the Retirement Visa, they will very likely grandfather in those who are already in status, especially for a prolonged period of time prior to the rule change. So that's something to keep in mind just going into this. 

That said, I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Bangkok Post, bangkokpost.com, the article is titled: Thai Cabinet endorses Visa revamp. Quoting directly: "The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed a comprehensive visa package proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to boost tourism, attract long-stay visitors and stimulate the economy. Deputy Government Spokeswoman Aiyarin Phanrit said the measures implemented in phases" - note that - "implemented in phases", this isn't going to happen overnight. Quoting further: "aimed to enhance Thailand's appeal to tourists, remote workers and long-term residents." That said, quoting further, and this was the line I thought was interesting. "Future plans include adding eight more countries to the Visa-on-Arrival list and revising the criteria for Long-Stay Retirement Visas." Now there wasn't anything further in there. I've done a little bit of further research, but everything is just this kind of vague statement that says, "yeah, we are looking at maybe retooling, or again "revising" the criteria associated with Long-Stay Retirement Visas.

As I have stated in prior videos, when they fundamentally changed the criteria associated with the Retirement Visa back in the '90s - which they did on three different occasions - they grandfathered everybody in that was already in the system prior to that point. So where they raised like the financial thresholds, they said, “well, if you were already here and you came in and detrimentally relied on the prior protocols, we'll just let you stay in that system.” It's my belief that if they fundamentally change for example the O Retirement Visa, that they will grandfather in those who were already in. That is speculation to some degree on my part, but based on prior circumstances, based on prior facts that we have seen in the past, that seems to be the logical conclusion to make. The other thing is again, I don't think this was said off-hand, but I do think that you can see, especially if you read that article, the priority seems to be on Long-staying tourists and bringing in sort of high-net-worth individuals etc. I have to imagine that if they make major changes to the Retirement Visa, it's not going to happen overnight and again as they note, it would be brought in in phases. 

So that said, no reason to panic; that's not the reason for the video. I just want people to be kind of aware as this Government is coming in, they are talking about possibly making changes to the Retirement Visa. It is my opinion, if they do make those changes, they will likely grandfather in those who are already in the system. That being said, it remains to be seen, and we will certainly be keeping you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.