Thailand’s best known crime cracker, police general Surachate Hakparn, has openly stated that one year retirement visas and extensions of stay are plagued by out-of-date regulations and corrupt practices. In an interview with the Bangkok Post, the deputy national police chief said that the requirement to have 800,000 baht in a Thai bank, or its equivalent in annual foreign remittances, was too low as it failed to screen quality applicants. Police general Surachate added that “window dressing” of applicants’ bank accounts was a serious problem as visa agents and even some immigration officers colluded by providing short-term “loans”.
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. The context of his interview was the all-importance of getting rid of foreign motorbike gangs plaguing Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui in particular. Sociologists call this approach “deviancy amplification” as it highlights one particular criminal issue in order to justify policy action against a much wider group in society.
Police general Surachate’s observations have struck a chord as he is a former commander of both the tourist police division and, for a short period, the immigration bureau in 2018-19. In the past few years, there have been occasional attempts to toughen the bureaucracy for retirees such as introducing compulsory medical insurance for some visas and extensions – notably the “O/A” retiree option initially issued by a Thai embassy – and by checking bank books three months after the granting of an annual extension. But the efforts were largely non-consequential.
Although there are several visas suitable for single or retired retirees including Elite, Long Term Residence and Spouse options, the annually renewable retirement visa issued by the immigration bureau is far and away the most popular owing to its cheapness and easy availability for foreigners over 50 years. But it will likely be many months before policy revisions, if any, appear in the public forum. Concerns are already being raised about “the baby being thrown out with the bath water”. Most Thai retirees are elderly men 65-90-plus with no interest in joining a foreign mafia or even boarding a motorbike. Except perhaps to go to the pub.
