David Walden

Yes, that is correct but they call it a 90-day tourist visa but it is only good for 60 days. I've had 12 of them, going back 15 years. There is no misunderstanding from me. Nobody gets it much nowadays because the Visa exemption is free and you don't need a visa to get into Thailand, It's now a visa exemption but the 30-day extension costs Bt1900 without much of the palaver. The end result is the same and simpler. You just arrive and get 2 months and can extend 30 days for a total of 90 days... your choice. A Tourist visa is for 90 days but is only good for 60 days you get it in your home country only. It costs about Aus $70 and you have 3 months to use it and you can extend it to 30 days. similar to the visa exemption. A 90day tourist visa and a months visa exemption are 2 different things

Yes, that is correct but they call it a 90-day tourist visa but it is only good for 60 days. I've had 12 of them, going back 15 years. There is no misunderstanding from me. Nobody gets it much nowadays because the Visa exemption is free and you don't need a visa to get into Thailand, It's now a visa exemption but the 30-day extension costs Bt1900 without much of the palaver. The end result is the same and simpler. You just arrive and get 2 months and can extend 30 days for a total of 90 days... your choice. A Tourist visa is for 90 days but is only good for 60 days you get it in your home country. It costs about Aus $70 and you have 3 months to use it and you can extend it 30 days. similar to the visa exemption. A 90day tourist visa and a months visa exemption are 2 different things

You did not have to buy a 90-day tourist visa. In plain language that is called a scam. Thailand regards most scams as fair play..

If you apply for a 90-day tourist visa in your home country it is only good for 60 days, that in English is an oxymoron. But allows you to go to immigration and renew that visa for a further 30 days inside the country for Bt1900. They call it a 90-day tourist visa as in all Thailand just to confuse patrons. I believe it is just confusing for novices and is really obsolete, the 60 visa exemption is now available and for 60 days, you just go to Immigration pay another Bt1900 and extend that visa-free visa to 90 days. (another oxymoron). Simple hay but only in Thailand. TIT. Would you believe it works?

If you make regular trips back to Australia from Thailand and are receiving treatment from your doctor which is mostly paid by Medicare, you can stack up with subsidised medicines for up to a year even if you are overseas. It is doable. I have recently taken up to 6 months supply in my regular trips to Thailand. but now only 3 months at a time. If you are over 50 y/o things are better for you in Thailand. You can get a retirement visa as I have by mail from Busselton now my home town from the Thai Embassy in Canberra which requires proof that you have equal to Bt800.000 in an Australian bank, that way you do not have to have a bank account in Thailand, you just access all you need via an ATM in Thailand, once granted a retirement visa in Australia you can do what you like with the Bt800,000 in the Aus bank when you get to Thailand that visa can be extended free of charge when you return, each time for a further 12 months making the visa good for 2 years. Your retirement visa is extended by 12 months when you return each time but you cannot get an extension on top of the extension. If you leave Thailand in the second year in Thailand that is it So if you make several trips to Australia and finally get back to Thailand a few days before the 1st year visa expires you will get an extension for 12 months free. I now only have trips to Thailand for up to 3 months, so the new regulation of Visa exemption for 2 months and a 30-day extension is very convenient for me. There is much comfort in being able to access Medicare in Aus as you get older. I'm 83 y/o medical insurance is impossible for me to get.

Yes, I own a house, a camper van and all my super in an Australian fund as well as Australian bank accounts with (ING) and ANZ. I am 83 y/o and still active and blessed that way and still walk 6 km every day, as I have done now for 47 years every day. and still do it in just about the same time as when I started, but I now break into 2 times 3 km.

Even if you don't declare the pre-existing complaint when you apply for cover, you will not get paid when it is treated. It is likely with that treatment if required there will be medical evidence that the treatment was known to be pre-existing. You did not declare it. You will likely fail in your request for payment of treatment of that complaint. If on your proposal to get the coverage you did not disclose the previous complaint it is not likely to be covered when and if you do make a claim..

I have only had retirement visas issued from the Thai Embassy in Canberra and used the surrender value of my super fund to prove that I had the funds available. The nice lady at the Embassy said "This way makes it much easier for us, don't say any other money you may have, that will only confuse Thai Immigration in Bangkok, they go overnight to Immigration in Bangkok and come a few days later" It took less than a week to be received by mail in W.A. I also had to get the police report $70 stating no warrants were outstanding and a doctor's medical report to prove I did not have any social disease (Ha! Ha!), yes short arm parade all witnessed by a neighbour who is a J.P. (oops! not the short arm parade, most military men know about that), He said this was all B/S and also pay $300 to the Embassy. All presented 3 full copy sets of 30 pages altogether. Details are on the Thailand website. not really so hard if you know the ropes, and you still have the Bt800,000 to spend as you like. Also, the retirement visa is multi-entry. Before the 1st year expires you can do a border run before it expires and return and be granted a 12-month extension free of charge, it can be good for 2 years. All my other trips have been 90-day tourist visas obtained from the Thai Consul in Perth. That no longer exists.

@Al**

...My calculation I do every time I get Bt20,000 and it is less than Money Changers will give you. Usually about 1%, My other bank ANZ charges $6 for the transaction and the ATM fee plus 3% of the transaction, which costs about B900 to get Bt20,000. I have that ANZ account debit card to get my super payment. My super is managed by ANZ. Both ING and ANZ change like a wounded bull if using a credit card..

Yes, my super has been much better, but I'm talking about bank interest, which is instantly available.