Singapore Expats

Anyone who has checked out expat forums elsewhere in the region may have come across the ThaiVisa expat forum. I believe it is, or at least has been the #1 expat forum in Thailand.

Recently they changed their name to ASEAN Now. At first I didn’t realize they were ThaiVisa and was surprised at how much forum activity they had for a seemingly unknown website.

The interesting thing is they have now added country forums for each country in ASEAN, including Singapore. Not much activity outside of Thailand yet, but thought it was an interesting move on their part.

They can be quite a toxic bunch. I was on there a few years ago when it looked like I was being transferred to Thailand. I'd say that because Thailand has absolutely plummeted in terms of being a feasible long term destination (for anything from PR to O visa to work) they've had to open up a bit. It

PNGMK wrote: ↑

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 8:41 am

They can be quite a toxic bunch. I was on there a few years ago when it looked like I was being transferred to Thailand. I'd say that because Thailand has absolutely plummeted in terms of being a feasible long term destination (for anything from PR to O visa to work) they've had to open up a bit. It

Toxic in terms of government policy towards farang?

I know in the past, to get the retirement visa, it used to be possible to just make a sworn statement about your income at the embassy and that would suffice. I think they got wind that it was being abused, so now they need to see the money in your Thai account. But AFAIK, you can just remit 65k baht per month into an account, accumulate what you don’t spend — then transfer the savings back and repeat.

The other recent one was the mandatory health coverage. I believe this one is now a must after some initial stops and starts, but not sure if it applies to visas outside of retirement. This was allegedly enacted after some foreigners skipped town after incurring large medical bills.

The long-time bugbear has been the 90 day reporting on your whereabouts. However, they finally changed it to online reporting, and it sounds like it is much easier.

Definitely Thailand makes you go through more than most other countries in SE Asia, but most of negative commentary you see online is from those who are not actually staying in country… for those on the ground, it seems like they are able to manage.

PNGMK wrote: ↑

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 8:41 am

They can be quite a toxic bunch. I was on there a few years ago when it looked like I was being transferred to Thailand. I'd say that because Thailand has absolutely plummeted in terms of being a feasible long term destination (for anything from PR to O visa to work) they've had to open up a bit. It

Why did you end up staying?

I didn't get a transfer to Thailand and no longer required information on Th.