Transcript of the above video:

As the title of this video suggests, we are discussing yet again "Big Joke", that is Police General Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn and his recent comments regarding Thai Retirement Visas. I thought of making this video after reading a recent article from the Pattaya Mail, that is pattayamail.com, the article is titled: Top Thai cop urges Retirement Visa rules to be tightened. Quoting directly, and I urge those who are watching this video go read that for yourself. Quoting directly: "He continued that he would propose to the new Thai Cabinet that the 1979 Immigration Act, which still governs some Visa practices be replaced. Police General Surachate did not detail his policy recommendations for Retirement Visa extensions apart from emphasizing that the entry bar was set too low and was too easily circumvented." 

So I am going back to something really poignant here. He is recommending that revisions at least, be made to the Immigration Act. That would be a really big deal because that Act was promulgated in 1979 and fundamentally has not changed since then; that's a big thing. If that happens and nobody is saying it has, no changes to the Immigration Law have been promulgated but it is being discussed and is being discussed by someone that would probably be listened to heavily by the Cabinet and members of Parliament that might ultimately vote on any new Bill regarding Thai Immigration. Again, this is serious. This is something to take note of, the fact that somebody in this position is noting their issues with respect to this Law. So first of all that's worth noting. Then the next thing is the policy recommendations could one argue as being kind of vague. Well I don't think he was being vague per se, he was just sort of speaking his mind if you will about the state of things and things he would like to do. Now as we have discussed, nothing has happened; there is an element of speculation in all of this including with what he is saying but again it remains to be seen if we will see changes to the rules associated with Retirement Visas and if we do, what those changes will look like. 

Now again, I don't really want these videos to drive people away from coming to Thailand or thinking of retiring here. Ultimately I think Thai Immigration's Retirement Visa system is probably going to be, well for one thing it is one of the few places in Southeast Asia that offers this type of Visa status for retirees and quite honestly the terms Thailand has are some of the most accommodating in the world, quite honestly. The requirements are not that high all things considered; the financial requirements and other requirements associated with it. When we have discussed the Malaysia My Second Home Program, those requirements are far more onerous perhaps from a financial standpoint for some and those requirements have been pushed upward; they had been raised here recently. So again nothing has changed. I don't think we will see any major changes anytime in the immediate future but that being said, we will certainly keep you updated on this channel as the situation evolves.