What, if any, benefits are there to obtaining a retirement visa? Obviously, not making the many border runs is a big plus. For now, I do not mind making a trip every three months. I am just trying to think if there is any other advantage or disadvantage. Seems I heard that the hospitals give you a little better price on their services, if you have a retirement visa. Any truth to that?

What, if any, benefits are there to obtaining a retirement visa? Obviously, not making the many border runs is a big plus. For now, I do not mind making a trip every three months. I am just trying to think if there is any other advantage or disadvantage. Seems I heard that the hospitals give you a little better price on their services, if you have a retirement visa. Any truth to that?

 

I know of no better rates from hospitals or anywhere else, but there are advantages. You're right about the main advantage of the one-year visa . . . it saves the hassle and of having to make the 90-day visa run. With the one-year visa the only requirement is to report your address every 90 days.

 

The 90-day visa is a tourist visa. The retirement visa is a non-immigrant visa. You can get a Thai driver's license and motorcycle license with the retirement visa, but not with the 90-day visa. Also, from what I understand, some banks will not let you open an account and/or will not let you get online banking with the 90-day visa.

 

Other than that, I can't think of any other particular advantages, although I have heard that Thailand is frowning on allowing people to live in Thailand permanently by constantly making visa runs. I have heard they are going to set some sort of limitation on the number of visa runs permitted over certain periods of time. I don't know if there is actually any truth to that, but every so often I hear rumblings about it.

 

I have also heard that various consulates and Thai embassies outside of Thailand are tightening up the rules about making it so easy to get the 90-day visa.

 

It seems to me that someone who wishes to be a resident of Thailand is a lot better off with the one-year visa rather than the 90-day visa. However, for whatever reasons, there are plenty of people who prefer to stick to the visa run method, rather than the one-year visa method, despite the fact that they are eligible for the one-year visa.

 

If you are under age 50, then at the moment you don't have much choice. It is my understanding that to be eligible for the one-year visa, you must be at least 50 years old and also have a proveable income from sources outside of Thailand. Neither of those is a requirement for the 90-day visa.