Live in Thailand on the Australian old age pension.

The Old Age Pension and Living in Thailand.

logo

browse the website

If you are unsettled and getting old, try Thailand.

The Australian old age pension is enough to live well and the people in Thailand will make you happy.
Here are the basic facts about getting the old age pension while living in Thailand.
You have may many things to learn but this basic information should steer you in the right direction if you are thinking of living in Thailand.
As an Australian old age pensioner, you can live in Thailand and still get the pension.
There are restrictions that involves people who have not lived in Australia for a long period of years.
Until you get established you simply withdraw your pension money from any ATM in Thailand with your usual Australian ATM card, the ATM pays you in Thai baht.
Centerlink will continue to pay the money into your Australian bank account while you are out of Australia.
If the pension is your only income than you will not have enough money coming into Thailand to satisfy the Thai Immigration rules for a full 12 month visa and will need to do a border run every 3 months, or you may find other ways of staying in the country.
A border run means you go out of Thailand and re-enter to get a new visa stamp in your passport.
The visa might allow you to stay in Thailand for 2 weeks or for 3 months with a chance to cross another border and enter for another 3 months. This 3 months plus 3 months visa is called a double entry visa.
The length of the visa can depend on where and how you enter Thailand, various types of visas can be acquired before you leave Australia.
The Royal Thai Consulate looks after visa applications and are located in major cities.
The immigration laws can change and are sometimes complicated.
If you become a permanent resident of Thailand you will have a retirement visa or another 12 month visa, a permanent address and a bank account in Thailand.
You need to apply for a Thailand retirement visa, this takes some time to organize, the visa can be renewed each year.
From then on you need to check-in with Thailand immigration every 90 days, this can be done on line.

Try a holiday in Thailand.

With the old age pension you can go on a holiday any time without losing the benefits if you don’t stay out of Australia any longer than six weeks.
Staying longer than 6 weeks should be no problem as your benefits will be automatically reinstated when you return.
Here are some notes.
To receive the full old age pension while living overseas, you need to have been living in Australia for so many years.




Government info is that information.
If you do not return to Australia after six weeks, your supplements are automatically stopped. That is, your phone allowance, pharmacy allowance etc. are discontinued.
The bulk of your pension remains and is continually payed each fortnight.
All supplements will be activated again as soon as you return to Australia.
I don’t know why but the old age pension people do like you to inform them when you re enter Australia.
Here I find that the International Services line is the best way to contact them.
If you establish yourself as permanently residing in Thailand then a monthly payment into a Thai bank account might be arranged.
With your money in the Australian bank, you can take your bank card to any ATM machine and withdraw money in the Thai currency, this is not a good way to get money into Thailand because of the fees and the lower exchange rates.
If you open a Thai bank account then there are more efficient ways of transferring money. I use TransferWise.
Online banking can be a hassle if you are not organized. The bank will sometimes see a strange computer accessing your account and engage security measures.
If your bank requires you to acknowledge a message in your phone and your phone does not work overseas then you might have a problem.
The ATM machines will gobble up your bank card after the third failed attempt to withdraw money.
To open a bank account in Thailand you need a type ‘O’ visa. You should not be able to open a bank account on a visa of less than ninety days, although I’m sure anything is possible here.
The types of visas in Thailand are a subject on their own and if you decide to stay here for longer than a thirty day tourist, you will need to study the form and follow the rules.
A retirement visa is popular with Australian pensioners.
Each time you leave Australia you need to tell Centerlink, it is wise to also tell your bank.

If you are thinking of retirement in Thailand the first thing you might do is have a note book and jot down these steps.
Contact Centerlink and see if you are eligible to remain out of the country.
Read about a retirement visa for Thailand.
Go to next page. Information About Visiting Chiang Mai Thailand.
Book a flight into and out of Thailand, not more than 30 days apart.
Check with you bank.
Pack your bag and relax.
In the note book jot all your banking, centerlink and emergency numbers plus passport and flights number and an address in Thailand where you might sleep, the immigration in Thailand will need an address and phone number of some accommodation place even if you haven’t booked.
Read the page about catching a plane.
And read about being in Thailand.
Go back to the top.