ChristianTroy Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 The other part of thr equation is that corruption must part of that equation in order for your "you got money, you get what you want..." CB corruption is a very negative word! bribes are nothing unusual in this country! try to open an a gogo bar at walking street pty and see how many people you have to bribe in order to get permission to open it, to keep it and to secure it! It is not only the mafia! same goes for visas, some lawyers seem to know people who know people..... I would say "you got money, you get what you want..." is pretty close to the truth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 A Malaysian taxi driver said to me, "We welcome foreigners to our country. They come here and pay rent or buy a home, spend money on food, clothes etc. We WANT them to stay." Compare that to Thailand. Talked to a friend who renewed his retirement visa. He said the problem was those folks who would wire in 800,000 baht, get the visa and then immediately ship it right out. The change is to stop that. Doesn't seem to be much of a problem as long as you keep most of your money here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 A Malaysian taxi driver said to me, "We welcome foreigners to our country. They come here and pay rent or buy a home, spend money on food, clothes etc. We WANT them to stay." Compare that to Thailand. Talked to a friend who renewed his retirement visa. He said the problem was those folks who would wire in 800,000 baht, get the visa and then immediately ship it right out. The change is to stop that. Doesn't seem to be much of a problem as long as you keep most of your money here. Earlier this year I was chatting with a frang investment person, here in BKK, and he indicated that the normal practice was to xfr the $$$ into the Thai bank account, next dat xfr it back out. I didn't go in to details with him on the why's of doing this, but a quick guess is to get a higher interest rate. For me, I see no problem to xfr the $$$ and let it sit in the account. If the interest is low, that is just the cost of living in Thailand, no biggie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardinalblue Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 If that is the case, then they should require that a minimum be kept in a thai bank account at all times (12 months a year).. To have a regulation that states one must have the 800k in for three months before application approval means that now the person can keep that money in for 3 months plus an extra week and then pull it out for possible investment elsewhere. They are banking that many will just keep it in and live off it until nine months later when the cycle starts again... I would have no problem if LOS requuired a minimum balance like 800k at all times. If they did that, though, i would assume many people might have financial difficulty maintaining 800k because in essence you are kissing that money as the priviledge to live here and one would need other discretionary monies to actual live off. If they required a minimum amount, they would have to find what would deem appropriate for the average person or many would opt elsewhere (meaning affordable) to live.. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 800K Baht is not all that much (for me) as I would not be counting on that amount to live on. I would like to see a better interest rate and also a weaker Baht so when I xfr in my USD, I can get a better exchange rate....pleeeez....where is the $1 USD > 42 baht??? (or better). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 One reason you don't like to tie up too much money here is the economic situation. A Brit I know here lost the equivalent of 3.3 million baht when the baht took a dive versus the sterling in 1997. Ouch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Central Scrutinizer Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 Flash, yep, exactly my worry as well. I'd rather my money stayed in the states were the situation is more stable and I have some protections. What's the difference where my money is located? I'm spending it here every day. A simple tax return copy or papers from the Embassy showing you have sufficient income to stay here should suffice as far as I am concerned. With the advent of ubiquitous ATM's here and all other forms of plastic (CCs) and online banking now there should not be such a hassle to prove what you can use for living expenses here. The Thais are being silly, or have another reason for farangs keeping their money in a Thai bank. Bullshit really. Cent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 One reason you don't like to tie up too much money here is the economic situation. A Brit I know here lost the equivalent of 3.3 million baht when the baht took a dive versus the sterling in 1997. Ouch. 3.3M...ouch! I am quite jaded to losing money after the US stock market crash a few years back but I still would like to keep what I have and not loose more! I can understand Thailand wanting the money in their banks, as that gives them more lending power and all that other banking blah-blah. I like the idea to keep the bucks in a USA a account and get a letter from the back showing that you do have the funds. My Roth IRA has enough to satisfy the Thai government and I never touch that money, other then to move it in and out of stocks...and I hope to keep the numbers going up!!! However, I do no think that Thailand will ever consider having the bucks in another country...bummer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 The xfr from say Euro -> Baht -> Euro would cost you due to conversion costs, maybe 2%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentors Posted October 4, 2006 Report Share Posted October 4, 2006 A Malaysian taxi driver said to me, "We welcome foreigners to our country. They come here and pay rent or buy a home, spend money on food, clothes etc. We WANT them to stay." Compare that to Thailand. Talked to a friend who renewed his retirement visa. He said the problem was those folks who would wire in 800,000 baht, get the visa and then immediately ship it right out. The change is to stop that. Doesn't seem to be much of a problem as long as you keep most of your money here. Thats the point, the VOA runners borrow some money from friends, because they don't have them enough, then after they get the visa, they have to sent back the money soon. And about Malaysia, Malaysia has not much Tourists who want to stay there all the time. I'm shure, if this country would have same crowd of farangs like Thailand, then they would change their visa law. With a better going ASEAN, these countries will make new visa regulations between every member country, like the EU do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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