Of course it isn't a 'right' to settle in any other country - but the point is that some people who manage perfectly well in their home country - using the UK as an example - still have too little income to qualify as acceptable, decent citizens in a country where - so it seems - many expats can manage on a fair bit less than 800,000 bt. And where, as you rightly say, it is generally cheaper to retire than some other countries anyway.poosmate wrote:I think to compare the basic allowance in the UK with the amount the Thai government requires that expat pensioners bring to this country is like chalk and cheese.It is not a right to settle in another country.The issue of the Thai government giving low cost health care. Why? Insurance is available and sufficient and healthcare is cheaper usually than western countries.
I think generally that Thailand is cheaper to retire to than many other countries some who even demand that larger sums of money are brought in.
I personly believe that if a pensioner who decides to move to Thailand and does not have at LEAST 800000 Baht per year to SPEND in this country is not an asset to Thailand and should stay at home.
Why do mainly Brits ( I am one ) try to get other countries to follow the example of the BROKEN UK?
To some expats these days it seems that income denotes status and social acceptability. True - as someone else has pointed out - Thailand doesn't need the so called dregs around Victory Monument. In fact the income requirements now in place were partly aimed at sorting that problem out. But neither does it need IMO an expat community built solely around higher end income people. Any balanced society consists of people from a huge range of backgrounds, skills and income levels.
All expats living there will of course spend their money there - and at least pension income is generally pretty secure and regular. Unlike income from some expat run businesses. Plus pensioners who buy property there are unlikely to cause trouble, and unlikely to inconvenience anyone by having to renew their 30 year leases.
As far as health care costs are concerned my point was not that Thailand should provide cheap health care for expats. Far from it. I would simply like to see a good, reliable Thai run expat insurance scheme which people would of course pay a fair premium for. The emphasis being on 'fair' - and users would ultimately be the judges of that. Just as I would like to see the health scheme for Thais developed into something more worthwhile. Whether the health insurances currently available are adequate is debatable - as many expats who have had to return to their home countries to have botched treatment put right would testify.