Emigrating to Thailand, how do you take the formal step?
14 September 2024
Dear readers,
We (my Thai wife and I) want to emigrate to Thailand at the end of 2025. I have already read up on a number of formal matters (insurance, tax, visa, etc.). Now we unexpectedly have the opportunity to buy a dream plot with a beautiful house and many fruit trees on it. We already own living space, but it is too small to live in permanently. Moreover, it lacks a garden.
This opportunity does mean that we can move to Thailand sooner. Financially etc. it is not a problem.
I find it exciting, because now the emigration is becoming more concrete. However, I have no idea where to start. How do you take the first formal step?
Regards,
Albert
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Apply for a visa, sell your house and belongings, check whether your passport is still valid for long enough, order plane tickets, purchase an international driving licence, cancel subscriptions, insurance and utilities, deregister and leave.
Dear Albert,
You do not indicate whether you are Belgian or Dutch.
If you are Belgian, I can advise you to read the file “Unsubscribe for Belgians” carefully, which can be found on the left under “Files”.
For the Netherlands you emigrate. Deregister at the city hall/town hall. Then you will receive a certificate 'Residence suspended'. Cancellation of ALL insurances will then be automatic, you will automatically receive partially unused 'parts' of insurance premiums back.
You will also be automatically registered with RNI (Registration of Non-Residents), a certificate of which you can request from RNI.
Attention: For NL law you are emigrating. For Thai immigration law you are only a non-immigrant resident with a residence stamp 'Extention of stay permitted up to…365 days after date stamp. In between every 90 days a reporting obligation to Immigration.
There are requirements for your annual extension of residence status. Some requirements change from time to time. Inform yourself about this in advance.
Please note that extension of residence status is officially 'up to the Thai Immigration (Officer)'.
You see, you are not actually immigrating into Thailand.
For Belgians, apply for Model 8 at your municipality.
Use the following link with a checklist containing information from the Dutch government:
https://www.nederlandwereldwijd.nl/checklist-verhuizen-buitenland-emigreren
Moderator: Nonsense response from SiamTon thrown in the trash.
SiamTon, if you read Albert's question properly, you cannot come to this advice!
Albert is going to buy a house in Thailand and wants to formally emigrate. You know that then article 4 of the current treaty comes into play: fiscal residence. In older terms: where is the center of your social and economic life; where is your social life and where do you spend your money. That becomes Thailand in emigration.
Your advice to keep a house in NL, the insurance, the utilities brings them into conflict with that article. A house in NL is a huge obstacle and the NL tax authorities will seize all means to consider them resident in NL and the service does not shy away from going to court. Lammert de Haan has written an advice about this with examples from case law: https://www.thailandblog.nl/expats-en-pensionado/van-welk-land-ben-jij-fiscaal-inwoner/
You advise to remain registered in the Netherlands. That brings the obligation to maintain a health insurance policy and you give strange advice about that with 'conscious choice'.
I predict that these people will get a lot of trouble and I hope that they do NOT follow your advice regarding that house in NL in your way. It will be difficult enough if they keep that house AND rent it out long-term at market rate.
The only correct advice Erik!
SiamTon says:
If something unexpected happens and you suddenly have to return to the Netherlands, you will have a home that functions(T).
By the way, if you rent out your property in the Netherlands and you as the owner suddenly have to return, your house is NOT available. This can last for years if the tenant does not cooperate.
And I wouldn't dare recommend domicili fraud to anyone.
FOEI SiamTon, with your advice you only get Albert into trouble.
If you do not want to be deregistered from the municipal BRP, you have not formally emigrated either. You must have been in the Netherlands for at least 4 months. So not only staying, but also not being deregistered. In that case, you are obliged to maintain health insurance. So it is not a matter of maintaining or cancelling. Registered in the Netherlands means being obliged to be insured. Which is very advantageous because the NL health insurance also applies in TH. Do ensure worldwide coverage and check the policy carefully for the conditions. If necessary, switch health insurer before the end of the year.
Even if you have emigrated, you can still keep your bank account. This is what Rabobank reports on this matter: https://www.rabobank.nl/particulieren/service/verhuizen/buitenland; and the Foundation for Dutch Citizens Outside the Netherlands previously reported that ING simply allows its customers with Dutch nationality to keep their accounts.
There are readers who give advice on everything without reading the true facts of the topic.
Your answer is completely off topic, maybe you should reread what it is about.
Siam Ton,
What you advise here is complete nonsense. I would certainly NOT advise the questioner to follow this.
Every reasonable person knows only too well that when you move abroad permanently you must deregister from the population register. Otherwise this is fraud and punishable.
It's embarrassing to have to read this here.
If your passport expires within 2 years, please apply for a new passport.
Getting a new passport in Thailand is much more expensive.