My Elite Visa Application (Day 1 until the End)

[leicesterguyuk]

15 minutes ago, LASportsNut said:

I agree and I am leaning toward this option.

I will meet with my bank anyway just to see what the issues were so I can not have issues in the future.

One thing I don't quite follow. You're talking with your bank and Transferwise about the whereabouts of the money or the transfer, but TE have already emailed you thanking you for sending the confirmation of payment? 

[LASportsNut]

2 minutes ago, leicesterguyuk said:

One thing I don't quite follow. You're talking with your bank and Transferwise about the whereabouts of the money or the transfer, but TE have already emailed you thanking you for sending the confirmation of payment? 

Yes, sorry for the confusion.

After I sent the money using TransferWise, I sent a PDF copy of the TransferWise confirmation to my representative. 

I also informed her the funds should arrive on September 9th.

[LASportsNut]

I logged into my TransferWise and I saw the status of the transaction has been updated.

Thailand Elite should receive the funds on Friday, September 11, 2020 now (instead of the 9th).

[Luv2Phuket]

I'm a little late to the party, but couldn't you have used your Chase card on Transferwise?

Or would it have shown as a cash advance, thereby negating any miles to earned?

 

[LASportsNut]

3 minutes ago, Luv2Phuket said:

I'm a little late to the party, but couldn't you have used your Chase card on Transferwise?

Or would it have shown as a cash advance, thereby negating any miles to earned?

 

Well, it took over a month to get the actual card, as the post office never delivered it and then returned it.

Then after finally receiving it, because I tried to use it on such a large amount ($32,000+) the first time using it, that created a huge red flag. 

It took another week to get the security hold dropped, despite 8 phone calls and 2 visits to Chase Bank.

By then I had already changed course.

[leicesterguyuk]

2 hours ago, LASportsNut said:

I logged into my TransferWise and I saw the status of the transaction has been updated.

Thailand Elite should receive the funds on Friday, September 11, 2020 now (instead of the 9th).

So in terms of the payment, it's already sent now and cannot be retrieved? So you'll have the Elite visa for definite, just without certainty yet of when you can activate it and then use it to return to Thailand? 

[LASportsNut]

5 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

So in terms of the payment, it's already sent now and cannot be retrieved? So you'll have the Elite visa for definite, just without certainty yet of when you can activate it and then use it to return to Thailand? 

I have until September 10th to cancel the transfer.

If for some reason the transfer of funds hits a snag, I will reapply for Elite Visa in 2021.

If the transfer of funds proceeds as planned I will contact Thailand Elite and let them know to not activate until further notice.

This way I will be able to monitor the travel ban and see if they will let in new Elite Visa members.

If the travel ban continues, I am 98% certain Thailand Elite will delay the need to activate the plan for 3-6 months more.

The company seems to be top notch for Thailand standards. 

Their communication and availability has been impressive so far.

[fun125]

I I hope that you have luck with everything. But I know that Thailand is very worried about opening up again 

[leicesterguyuk]

8 hours ago, LASportsNut said:

I have until September 10th to cancel the transfer.

If for some reason the transfer of funds hits a snag, I will reapply for Elite Visa in 2021.

If the transfer of funds proceeds as planned I will contact Thailand Elite and let them know to not activate until further notice.

This way I will be able to monitor the travel ban and see if they will let in new Elite Visa members.

If the travel ban continues, I am 98% certain Thailand Elite will delay the need to activate the plan for 3-6 months more.

The company seems to be top notch for Thailand standards. 

Their communication and availability has been impressive so far.

Seems like a good plan, and a similar one to what I'll be doing. 

It's just frustrating that news of Thai Elite members being allowed back into the country broke over a month ago, yet it's still not actually possible. 

[CJ-PAF]

18 hours ago, basket case said:

I put in my application 2 weeks ago, but have not heard back.

TE said I can defer paying for 3 months, which they will extend for 6 months. Given the current uncertainty, I will most certainly extend. As I don't plan/hope to move until Jan or Feb 2021, I will bide my time and see what (if any) options present themselves. If TE is the only option, then 8 will do that. If I can get an O-A visa and enter under some version of the "Phuket model", then I will do that instead. Deferring the TE payment may mean I'm further back in the queue, but I'm fine with that.

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Same same, my application went to the ministry the 27th of august.  20 year for 1m.  Spending the tiraks inheritance. Instead of sitting on 800k I spend 1000k and forget about it.  Like you I am wondering how long it will take.  I already did a background check for APEC so the data should be available.

Fortunately, I am living in China so I might be able to catch a ride on a repatriation flight.  They are pretty low occupancy lately.  Hoping anyway.

[leicesterguyuk]

41 minutes ago, CJ-PAF said:

Fortunately, I am living in China so I might be able to catch a ride on a repatriation flight.  They are pretty low occupancy lately.  Hoping anyway.

If a CoE isn't being issued yet for Elite visas (as Thai Elite have said they're still not eligible for entry), what visa would you travel to Thailand on? And if they do become eligible, how will you get your visa affixed if outside of Thailand? 

[CJ-PAF]

13 hours ago, leicesterguyuk said:

If a CoE isn't being issued yet for Elite visas (as Thai Elite have said they're still not eligible for entry), what visa would you travel to Thailand on? And if they do become eligible, how will you get your visa affixed if outside of Thailand? 

The ministry is talking about adding TE to the permitted classes.  It has not happened yet, however, TE should be in front of general tourists.

My understanding is that some TE stickers are being sent to the local consulates to be affixed. We will see how available this is.

[LASportsNut]

Here is the latest on travel:


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-09/thailand-to-finalize-entry-plan-for-foreign-visitors-by-october?utm_source=google&utm_medium=bd&utm_campaign=Pursuits&cmpId=GP.Pursuits


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[LASportsNut]

My TransferWise got held up again.

I decided I wanted to call Thailand Elite to discuss my payment delay as I expected it to arrive on September 9th.

I sent my representative an email to have her email me when she was in the office.

She replied a few hours later with a phone number I did not recognize.

I called the number and she answered, “Hello”.

I thought this was odd, but confirmed it was my representative. She explained she was on holiday but saw my message. But sent me her personal cell phone number.

Like I said, the service has been great.

After apologizing about the payment delay, she caught me off guard.

She said, “You know that is a lot of money. Maybe you should wait until you can for sure travel” (or something to this effect).

I told her I would think about it.

So I am going to follow the Thailand government announcements and make a decision then.

Unsure how long it will be.



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[basket case]

My TransferWise got held up again.

I decided I wanted to call Thailand Elite to discuss my payment delay as I expected it to arrive on September 9th.

I sent my representative an email to have her email me when she was in the office.

She replied a few hours later with a phone number I did not recognize.

I called the number and she answered, “Hello”.

I thought this was odd, but confirmed it was my representative. She explained she was on holiday but saw my message. But sent me her personal cell phone number.

Like I said, the service has been great.

After apologizing about the payment delay, she caught me off guard.

She said, “You know that is a lot of money. Maybe you should wait until you can for sure travel” (or something to this effect).

I told her I would think about it.

So I am going to follow the Thailand government announcements and make a decision then.

Unsure how long it will be.



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I think she is right.

There really isn't a lot of downside in waiting, as TE has already said you can defer payment for at least 6 months.

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[davidge]

6 minutes ago, LASportsNut said:

My TransferWise got held up again.

I decided I wanted to call Thailand Elite to discuss my payment delay as I expected it to arrive on September 9th.

I sent my representative an email to have her email me when she was in the office.

She replied a few hours later with a phone number I did not recognize.

I called the number and she answered, “Hello”.

I thought this was odd, but confirmed it was my representative. She explained she was on holiday but saw my message. But sent me her personal cell phone number.

Like I said, the service has been great.

After apologizing about the payment delay, she caught me off guard.

She said, “You know that is a lot of money. Maybe you should wait until you can for sure travel” (or something to this effect).

I told her I would think about it.

So I am going to follow the Thailand government announcements and make a decision then.

Unsure how long it will be.



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AFAIK no Elite Visa holder has been given entry so far. Until they do start letting them in it does seem like an extravagance.

It may even be that they start letting in the long stay tourist visa people in first. Let’s see what the Cabinet says on Tuesday.

[Roadglide]

6 minutes ago, LASportsNut said:

My TransferWise got held up again.

After apologizing about the payment delay, she caught me off guard.

She said, “You know that is a lot of money. Maybe you should wait until you can for sure travel” (or something to this effect).

I told her I would think about it.

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She may have given you very sound advice, especially considering she is a position to know more about the governments policy than we are.

[CJ-PAF]

15 hours ago, davidge said:

AFAIK no Elite Visa holder has been given entry so far. Until they do start letting them in it does seem like an extravagance.

It may even be that they start letting in the long stay tourist visa people in first. Let’s see what the Cabinet says on Tuesday.

I expect that the TE people will be in the same group as the O/OA people, and only from certain countries, but it is just a guess.  It does not look that promising from the US this year. I am actually surprised that they are trying to open up to the EU. The recent spikes in Spain, France and the UK are not promising.

[CJ-PAF]

On 13/09/2020 at 03:19, LASportsNut said:

My TransferWise got held up again.

I decided I wanted to call Thailand Elite to discuss my payment delay as I expected it to arrive on September 9th.

I sent my representative an email to have her email me when she was in the office.

She replied a few hours later with a phone number I did not recognize.

I called the number and she answered, “Hello”.

I thought this was odd, but confirmed it was my representative. She explained she was on holiday but saw my message. But sent me her personal cell phone number.

Like I said, the service has been great.

After apologizing about the payment delay, she caught me off guard.

She said, “You know that is a lot of money. Maybe you should wait until you can for sure travel” (or something to this effect).

I told her I would think about it.

So I am going to follow the Thailand government announcements and make a decision then.

Unsure how long it will be.



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So what happened? Did the transfer go through? Enquiring minds want to know.

Still waiting on approval here.

[LASportsNut]

Sorry for the delay on posting.

I had a very personal matter occur and I cannot really discuss it here.

If I do proceed I guess I have to follow the new guidelines.

I will make my final decision this week.


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[Boston Dave]

I'm curious about how you will fly in..

It seems like a private jet of needed at this point..

[CJ-PAF]

On 24/09/2020 at 11:36, Boston Dave said:

I'm curious about how you will fly in..

It seems like a private jet of needed at this point..

TAT will be arranging charters with Thai Air and others. Apparently Emirate is resumung service but I do not know where the COEs are coming from.

4 weeks for me now and no word yet. No idea about the hold up but apparently a lot of applicants.

I am also looking at the STV. I could roll over into TE later and use tne cash to show a nice bank balance. The STV application just started and the rules are no out yet.

 

[Luv2Phuket]

On 21/09/2020 at 01:46, LASportsNut said:

Sorry for the delay on posting.

I had a very personal matter occur and I cannot really discuss it here.

If I do proceed I guess I have to follow the new guidelines.

I will make my final decision this week.

 

Hope everything is (or will be) okay.

Thanks for keeping us in the loop when you have the time!

[Boston Dave]

20 hours ago, CJ-PAF said:

TAT will be arranging charters with Thai Air and others. Apparently Emirate is resumung service but I do not know where the COEs are coming from.

4 weeks for me now and no word yet. No idea about the hold up but apparently a lot of applicants.

I am also looking at the STV. I could roll over into TE later and use tne cash to show a nice bank balance. The STV application just started and the RULES are no out yet.

 

Thanks for the reply... I'm looking at both also right now. I'm a US expat living in the Philippines, so I'm waiting to find out if Thailand will permit me to fly in from here.. like many others, i'm happy to obey the rules i just wish I knew what they were..

[CJ-PAF]

3 hours ago, Boston Dave said:

Thanks for the reply... I'm looking at both also right now. I'm a US expat living in the Philippines, so I'm waiting to find out if Thailand will permit me to fly in from here.. like many others, i'm happy to obey the RULES i just wish I knew what they were..

Isn't that the truth. I worry about getting all of the boxes ticked and then not getting the COE as well. That would be an expensive disaster.

One thing I was thinking was going somewhere to fill the 30 day bookings before going home to Chiang Rai. The tirak has not been anywhere for a while. It would cost nothing to head to Kamala for a few weeks.

How is covid doing in the PI? I thought the borders were closed.