Transcript of the above video: 

Let me preface this video by saying look if you are here in Thailand right now on a visa extension of your Retirement status of whatever kind, this video is not intended for you. I'm not trying to freak people out with this video. I'm trying to make an ALERT for people that are looking to come to come to Thailand to retire over the roughly forthcoming foreseeable future - between now and roughly the end of the year - is what I am going to presume but it could be less time than that and as always will make videos as things evolve regarding what's going on, but here's the state of play.

Presently, as we have discussed in other videos, there are all kinds of these clamp downs with regard to Retirement Visas specifically and also banking specifically which is having a tangential impact on the Thai Retirement Visa process. What does that mean? And why the reason for the ALERT? Well the reason for the ALERT, I'm starting to get emails from folks that have come in over the past month or so and they are basically telling me, "hey I'm looking to get into Retirement Visa status", because they're operating off of the paradigm from some six weeks ago that it is possible or relatively straightforward to convert status here in the region. And the reason for the ALERT is quite frank, as of the time of this video, it is not. It is not particularly easy to convert into Retirement status from here in Thailand, and frankly, in the region, it's a bit of a rigmarole to be able to do it regionally as well. 

So the reason for the ALERT, I am directing this at folks who are in their home countries be it the United States, be it Canada, be it the UK, be it Western Europe, Australia as well, wherever, if you are watching this video, the ALERT is for you. If you are looking to come to Thailand and you are presuming you can just fly in and change over to Retirement Visa status in a fairly straightforward manner, that is not currently how we are seeing things working on the ground here as a practical matter. I don't know if that will change fundamentally moving forward, but for now, it is not the easiest thing in the world. Banking is especially a vexing and nettlesome proposition when it comes to folks that are first coming here especially on visas that are not Non-immigrant Visas: so visas like the Visa Exemption; as we have discussed in other videos, the Destination Thailand Visa is not turning out to be a particularly useful travel document or shall I say, not what it was purported to be. Meanwhile banking associated with Destination Thailand Visas is basically impossible and we are also seeing problems getting banking facilities for those who want to go ahead and convert over to things like Retirement Visas, which depending on the underlying facts of the given case, that may not be possible anyway. But for the moment, it's especially difficult to the point of impossible under the circumstances, due to the fact that there are banking restrictions and they are just clamping down generally on immigration matters to begin with. That was the state of play up until roughly 24 hours ago and now the Prime Minister has been suspended, and we are seeing this massive shake up within the Thai Government. This is not adding to stability when it comes to the overall Immigration System, nor is it adding to my peace of mind when it comes to analysis regarding forthcoming visas moving forward. So what am I talking about? Basically, I think there is going to continue to be volatility within the Immigration System I would say at least for the next few weeks minimum, as we see the government shake out and quite frankly, immigration, the plight of foreigners if you will - retirees or otherwise - is not the highest priority oftentimes on politicians' minds to begin with. I doubt it is going to be the highest priority and if anything, we could actually see measures to clamp down further as things proceed. Meanwhile as I have discussed in other videos, the answer to a low, low season is a low, low season which is yeah, I do think authorities eventually see, "hey yeah, things are in a downturn; we need to take a look at changing policies", and that may happen, but I don't foresee it happening any time in the particularly near future. That may kind of happen as we start to move more toward the high season but that is months away. 

So long story short and the thing to take away from this video, if you are a retiree and you are in your home country, it is a very good idea to contact a legal professional who deals with Retirement Visa status before coming here because you may want to put yourself in the most optimal position by getting your ducks in a row before you come, rather than simply presuming you are going to be able to do what you need to get done on this side once you are over here. And you will also be basically doing yourself a favour because you won't put yourself in a position where you are on your back foot in a situation where you have limited time on whatever visa status you have here in country, and you are also dealing with a system that is not particularly conducive in that moment toward being accommodating toward moving you into Retirement status. So the thing again to take away from this video, if you have not yet come to Thailand and you are looking to come and be a retiree here, it would be a good idea to contact a legal professional, gain some insight and guidance into how best to proceed.