UK EXPAT RETIRING IN SINGAPORE

[martincymru]

Expat aged 56 wishes to retire in Singapore after expiry of his PEP.

Scenario 1 :-

left employment 09 April 2013
PEP expires 01 Aug 2013.

Grateful for advice ref Pass, procedures etc

Scenario 2 :-

left employment 09 April 2013
PEP expires 01 Aug 2013.
Wishes to do either voluntary work or study at local institution.

Grateful for advice ref Pass, procedures etc

[sundaymorningstaple]

Don't think it will happen if you do not have PR already, (which you need to obtain, from what I understand, before the age of 50) unless you have some massive investments here under the Global Investor Program.

INVESTMENT OPTIONS
Under GIP, you can choose one of the following investment options:

Option A: Invest at least S$2.5 million in a new business entity or to expand an existing business operation.

Option B: Invest at least S$2.5 million in a GIP fund1 that invests in Singapore based companies.

ELIGIBILITY FOR GIP APPLICATION

You are eligible to apply for PR under the GIP if you have:

(a) A substantial business track record; and

(b) A successful entrepreneurial background.

sms

The above is accurate as at 7 February 2013

[zzm9980]

Malaysia is much cheaper for retirement both from COL and the amount required for to get a visa to stay:

http://www.mm2h.com/

[offshoreoildude]

Malaysia is much cheaper for retirement both from COL and the amount required for to get a visa to stay:

http://www.mm2h.com/

Thailand is $50,000 in a bank account and a 4 hour process for a retirement visa.

[BillyB]

Malaysia is much cheaper for retirement both from COL and the amount required for to get a visa to stay:

http://www.mm2h.com/

Thailand is $50,000 in a bank account and a 4 hour process for a retirement visa.

Which would last about a month if you were at soi cowboy every night!

[zzm9980]

Malaysia is much cheaper for retirement both from COL and the amount required for to get a visa to stay:

http://www.mm2h.com/

Thailand is $50,000 in a bank account and a 4 hour process for a retirement visa.

True, and I'm sure there's even cheaper places than that. I just figured since it is right smack next to Singapore, and KL is quite similar to Singapore in culture/food/etc, it would be a decent substitute.

[freshmeat]

Malaysia is much cheaper for retirement both from COL and the amount required for to get a visa to stay:

http://www.mm2h.com/

Thailand is $50,000 in a bank account and a 4 hour process for a retirement visa.

Wow, is that all required for Thailand? How long is the visa?

[offshoreoildude]

Malaysia is much cheaper for retirement both from COL and the amount required for to get a visa to stay:

http://www.mm2h.com/

Thailand is $50,000 in a bank account and a 4 hour process for a retirement visa.

Wow, is that all required for Thailand? How long is the visa?

until you die or leave.

the money only needs to be seen once - in a bank accoint in thailand - you can take it out the next day.

Thailand currently has good lowcost medical and with the collapse (inevitable) of the dirty euro banks and countries the foreign RE owned market will collapse.

Just don't call the King a poof.

Aussie guy in Soi Cowboy bar gets in a fight with a Brit. Cops are called.

Cops ask what the heck is going on - start siding with the Brit.

Aussie guys says "But that bloody Pom called the King a POOF!". Cops promptly arrest Brit and clap Aussie guy on the shoulder in appreciation.

True Story.

[x9200]

Looks like even less than 50k will do:
http://samutprakan.immigration.go.th/vi ... -life.html

800k THB is ~ 35k SGD

OR

proof of pension being received of ~SGD2.8k/month or more.

The visa is for 1y only so probably the money needs to be seen more than once unless somebody is in a terminal condition.

http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/1 ... -Visa.html
http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/th ... icans.html

[movingtospore]

Expat aged 56 wishes to retire in Singapore after expiry of his PEP.

Scenario 1 :-

left employment 09 April 2013
PEP expires 01 Aug 2013.

Grateful for advice ref Pass, procedures etc

Scenario 2 :-

left employment 09 April 2013
PEP expires 01 Aug 2013.
Wishes to do either voluntary work or study at local institution.

Grateful for advice ref Pass, procedures etc

Gosh, why? There are so many, much nicer places in the world...

[freshmeat]

What about Philippine? A good place to retire? It seems the cost of living there is cheaper than Thailand with no language barrier.

Malaysia is not bad with 10 years visa. Lower cost of living than Singapore.

[JR8]

Thailand currently has good lowcost medical and with the collapse (inevitable) of the dirty euro banks and countries the foreign RE owned market will collapse.

Just don't call the King a poof.

Or marry a local?

Your post reminded me of two former business acquaintances, who married Thai women, and later moved to Thailand.

So I thought I'd Google their names and try and see how they're doing these days...

There's very little info on one of them, not surprising, that was his style.

The other, oh my!

'Riff-Raffles'
Kevin Meacher

-------------------------------
'Have you ever dreamt of quitting your job and setting up a business in a tropical paradise, spending days lazing by the beach whilst the money comes rolling in? Most of us have had this dream at some time or the other but the reality can be alarmingly different.
We follow the hilarious trials and tribulations of Kevin, who turned the dream into a reality, leaving his life in England to run a small hotel in the Thailand holiday resort of Pattaya.
His story highlights the vast difference in cultures between East and West and shows the number of day-to-day problems that can be encountered. Whilst everything is viewed in a light- hearted and amusing manner, it is easy to see that the grass is not always as greener on the other side, as we may imagine.'
----------------------------------
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Riff-Raffles-eb ... ff-raffles

What the summary does not say, is something I discovered from his old Twitter post feed. His wife divorced him and tried to get 100% ownership of the hotel. It ended up in the High Court. He won on all counts, but it seems despite that he is now the GM of a 3* hotel in Bangkok!



p.s. It seems you can read large slabs of the book for free c/o Google Books (!?)
...
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=LSxl ... nd&f=false

[Hidy Ho]

Thailand is $50,000 in a bank account and a 4 hour process for a retirement visa.

Wow, is that all required for Thailand? How long is the visa?

until you die or leave.

the money only needs to be seen once - in a bank accoint in thailand - you can take it out the next day.

A lot of inaccurate information give out here ...

For a person not married to Thai and over 50 yrs old, you need to have monthly income of 65,000 baht or 800,000 in the bank. The deposit in the bank has to be there at least 3 months and need to be verified annually. A foreigner can own a condo but not land.

The retirement visa is good for ONE year only and need to be renewed annually. Also, there are quarterly extension cost.

Malaysia has higher deposit requirement but has more specialized retirement program including property purchase. And I think it is the only Asian country listed in many of the "top 10 best countries to retire" lists online.

[offshoreoildude]

Wow, is that all required for Thailand? How long is the visa?

until you die or leave.

the money only needs to be seen once - in a bank accoint in thailand - you can take it out the next day.

A lot of inaccurate information give out here ...

For a person not married to Thai and over 50 yrs old, you need to have monthly income of 65,000 baht or 800,000 in the bank. The deposit in the bank has to be there at least 3 months and need to be verified annually. A foreigner can own a condo but not land.

The retirement visa is good for ONE year only and need to be renewed annually. Also, there are quarterly extension cost.

Malaysia has higher deposit requirement but has more specialized retirement program including property purchase. And I think it is the only Asian country listed in many of the "top 10 best countries to retire" lists online.

Well yes - in written law it's that way buit I know a few people up there who assure me that in practice it's considerably easier.

Malaysia is not a stable society nor country in my opinion and I would be hesitant to move there unless you were Muslim or had some family ties.

[zzm9980]

Well yes - in written law it's that way buit I know a few people up there who assure me that in practice it's considerably easier.

Right but would you want to bet your retirement on them not cracking down and enforcing the law as written someday?