Yes, expats can own property; no, they don’t need money in bank
Re: “Trump should mention plight of US expats to Prayut”, Have Your Say, yesterday.
The writer’s complaint about US citizens being treated so badly here is surely skewed. It is inaccurate to say that expatriate retirees must keep $30,000 in the bank, since they can simply ask the US embassy for a letter certifying their income. The letter is handed over without the need for documentary proof. Quite a loophole!
Nor is it true that US citizens cannot own property in Thailand – unless, of course, the writer was excluding condo ownership. As regards Thai work permits being almost impossible to obtain, around 40,000 are issued every year and that excludes many more employment permits given to citizens of neighbouring countries.
It’s usually a case of swings and roundabouts in any country’s immigration procedures. When I worked in Haiti in the 1980s, I was waived through immigration at Port au Prince without showing a passport. However, on leaving, I was fined $100 because my passport lacked an entry stamp.
Barry Kenyon
