donx

My new iPhone doesn't have a SIM card slot. My previous iPhone had a SIM card slot and an internal eSIM. I'm in the United States and I transferred my US phone number from the eSIM on my old iPhone to an eSIM on my new iPhone. Instead of a SIM card slot, Apple has added a second eSIM which means that when I travel to Thailand for vacation for a month, I'll need to use the second eSIM for whatever Thai mobile phone service I decide to use. My understanding is that AIS, dtac, and TrueMove H all support at least one eSIM activation method. I'd like to know if anyone has ever activated a monthly Thai mobile phone plan for an eSIM instead of using a physical SIM card which my iPhone doesn't support. If so, what carrier and plan did you choose?

My understanding is that it applies to land as well. Not sure if this is true as my wife purchased land valued at more that 3 million baht in January, so this promotion didn't apply to her purchase. Note also that this promotion only applies to Thai citizens. I don't know if it would apply to a Thai company purchasing land.

When my wife returned to Thailand at the end of December, she used her US passport because her Thai passport had expired and there wasn't enough time to obtain an emergency travel passport. Although in the past it was easy to enter Thailand with an expired Thai passport, the problem now (and for not too much longer I hope) is that it is my understanding that you can't use an expired passport when applying for the Thailand Pass. Therefore she also had to purchase the COVID insurance.

My Thai wife had a similar experience - but her positive test was the day before returning to America. The insurance she purchased (because she entered on her US Passport) didn't help because all of the hospitals they pay for were full. Fortunately, as a Thai citizen, the Thai government paid for her 11 days of quarantine in a hospiTEL her niece (a doctor) helped her find. I told my wife I won't go to Thailand until all this testing is gone. Unlike her, I couldn't afford to be stuck in quarantine as long as she was and I'd probably be required to pay an exorbitant fee.

For the OP, whether you need to sign the document siam dreamers posted or not will depend upon if your wife is considered married or not in Thailand. I have never signed such a document although I've been married to my Thai wife for over 20 years and she has purchased at least three different properties during that time. The reason is that she is still shown as single on her Thai ID card because we have never registered our marriage in Thailand and she still shows her maiden name on all Thai documents - Thai ID and passport. However, if your wige changed her last name and it shows that she is married on her Thai ID, then you will be required to sign this document.

You may want to consider a usufruct instead. And I think something called superficies is worth looking into. https://www.samuiforsale.com/real-rights/

I'm certainly not an expert on this and I've never seen an arrangement like this before; however, what I find interesting is that the original post appears to indicate that ownership of the land is separate from the ownership of the building. So even though a 200m2 unit owns the same 5% share of the Thai limited company as a 90m2 unit, the cost for the unit itself would be higher. How much are the 200m2 units compared to the 90m2 units? How is ownership of a unit identified?

He/she said the storage units are only available to rent. I'm assuming the 150,000 baht per sq.m. doesn't apply to the storage units and only applies to the condo units.

Yes, a photo of the CDC card was sufficient for getting my 3 family members their Thailand Pass. Maryland, at that time, didn't have the capability of providing a SMART Health Card QR code. I believe they now do via https://app.myirmobile.com which is used by several states.

I'm curious if the 5th day ATK test must be done at a clinic or hospital instead of using a self test kit. My guess is that it does. I remember the initial Test & Go they gave travelers a self test kit. I know that for entry into the US, the ATK test must be done at a hospital or clinic which is why I'm guessing this may be the same requirement for the current version of Test & Go. Aren't we up to version 4.0 now? Version 1: Second COVID test via self test kit on day 5 - 7 provided by the hotel at check-in. Version 2: Second COVID test via free PCR at government or university hospital (or clinic) on day 5 - 7. Version 3: Second COVID test via 5th day hotel SHA++ hotel with one night stay and PCR test for a significant cost. Version 4: Second COVID test via ATK - details TBD.

When I read one of the links, there appears to be different requirements for different people. For example, the requirement which I believe you and would fall under doesn't require a masters degree. See this link that @ThailandRyan posted: https://www.thaienquirer.com/32668/cabinet-approves-long-term-10-year-visa-to-attract-foreigners/ It identifies four different groups that can apply for the long-term visa: "The four groups that can apply for the visa include: - Wealthy global citizen: People with a high income of at least US$80,000 in income over the past two years and a minimum asset of $1 million - Wealthy pensioner: Pensioners, age 50 and above, with a stable pension of at least $80,000 over the past two years - Work-from-Thailand professional: Foreign workers with employers outside of Thailand, more than five years of working experience and make at least $80,000 over the past two years - High-skilled professional: Professionals working in targeted industries such as future services, infrastructure buildings, logistical systems and digital systems who make at least $80,000 over the past two years"

I've been working from home since March 2020. My wife is interested in returning to Thailand to live up to 6 months per year starting in 2024. I'm considering making the move with her and this might be a nice vehicle visa-wise to for me to continue working. I've been with my company for over 30 years and make well over the $80,000 required for this program. Hopefully it becomes available in the next 2 years.

I booked all the hotels for my family's trip via Agoda. They used the same hotel going to Bangkok and just before returning to the US. Both times, immediately after booking the nights with Agoda, the hotel emailed me directly regarding the Test & Go package. Of course they only needed it for their arrival. I also booked a different hotel in Bangkok for my wife after her 11 day quarantine before returning to the US. Again, this hotel emailed us about the Test & Go package immediately after booking it with Agoda.

The problem with the insurance isn't limited to asymptomatic quarantine. My wife tested positive the day before her scheduled return to the US. She had a mild sore throat, so she wasn't asymptomatic. Her travel insurance, AXA, said she was covered (it would expire at midnight on that day) and she was told to contact one of their approved hospitals listed on their website. Every one of the hospitals on their list in Bangkok was full and refused to admit her. Fortunately, my wife is also a Thai citizen, so she was able to go to a quarantine hotel paid for by the Thai government for 11 days. Once there, they took x-rays and blood samples multiple times and treated her with an anti-viral drug for several days. What would she do if she wasn't a Thai citizen? I don't even want to think about it. Fortunately, my son and daughter who travelled with her tested negative, so they were able to leave Thailand as scheduled. It would have been a disaster if they had to remain in Thailand for another week as they are college students who would miss an additional 2 weeks to classes. And my son would have a hard time proving he is a Thai citizen since he never obtained a Thai ID card which both my wife and daughter possess. So we would most likely be on the hook for whatever the quarantine costs would be for him.

I think you can avoid the 5th day PCR and hotel if you only stay 4 days. I read that somewhere and also saw someone post their Test & Go Thailand Pass that stated their pass was good for 5 or more days. That leads me to believe that if you enter a departure date 4 days after your arrival, then you won't be required to submit proof of a pre-purchased 5th day SHA++ one night stay with PCR test.

Yes, you are absolutely correct! If she didn't tell them that she had recently recovered from COVID-19, I'm sure they would have taken her US passport and found that she had overstayed 15 days. Having the Thai passport allowed her time to "play dumb" about when she arrived in Thailand. When she arrived at Narita airport in Tokyo, she said they had a random check at the gate where a man came to ask her how long she stayed in Thailand. She answered honestly - 45 days - and explained that she tested positive for COVID-19 the day before her scheduled departure. She said he checked many people. She doesn't know why he was checking, though she guesses that maybe he wanted to know how many people had COVID-19. I don't think she knows what organization he represented.

No it's not. Didn't you see my receipt from the first SHA++ hotel? We only paid for the first PCR tests (for 3 travelers) and the airport transit. The first SHA++ never paid for the second PCR test which was done in Phatthalung province far away from the hotel in Bangkok and at the provincial government run hotel FOR FREE! I don't think you grasp the differences between the original Test & Go program and the current version.

Thank you for the clarification.

The hospital was the government hospital in Phatthalung. This was with the first Test & Go program which stopped taking applications on December 22. In that version of Test & Go, the second PCR test was free. The traveler was responsible for going to a government run hospital on day 5 - 7 to get tested, but there was no fee. With the current version of Test & Go, the traveler pays for the second PCR test as well as for another night in an SHA++ hotel to await the results.

My wife called from the airport. She used her Thai passport she received yesterday to go through immigration. They asked her how she can enter the US and she told them she has a US passport. She said she entered Thailand with her US passport about a month ago. The immigration officer tried to find her information about her entry into Thailand using her Thai name, but her US passport has a different last name - my last name. Another officer came over to help. As they were looking unsuccessfully, my wife told them she tested positive for COVID but had recently recovered. She asked them if they wanted to see her documents including her US passport, but as soon as she told them she recently had COVID, they didn’t want to see or touch anything else from her. They were so afraid that they just let her enter without her having to pay the 14 day overstay fee. I’m so glad she renewed her Thai passport!

I didn't add the passport number to the vaccination certificates since I know that none of the US CDC certificates include it. However, these PCR test results appear in various formats depending upon who does the test. And with the stated requirement that the test is an RT-PCR test, leaving the decision up to an airline staffer who is just following the rules, adding RT-PCR to the test results made perfect sense.

Can you explain the US tax advantages? I'm not aware of any and if there are, I'd like to know if they are available to me as an American as well.

No, it wasn't. I booked their hotel separately on Agoda.com. Then I received an email from the hotel saying that the cost for the PCR test and transit from the airport would be 2000 per traveler and 1450 for the airport transit to the hospital for testing and then onto the hotel.

My family had test result PDF documents that only stated PCR - in small print and in parentheses. Reading about how airline staff were rejecting some passengers because the test results didn't say RT-PCR, I found an online application that allowed me to put RT-PCR prominently on the PDF documents. I made sure it looked like the lab included it. In fact, the lab did something similar when I told them the test results needed to include their passport numbers. The first PDF documents we received didn't include the passport number. Subsequent versions did, so I added RT-PCR to the far right of where they added the passport number using the same font style. I don't know if this was necessary or not, but the test results were accepted by the airline.

My wife, son, and daughter - all US citizens - received their second PCR test for free on January 3rd. That was with the original Test & Go program. All they needed to show was the pink receipt they received upon entry into Thailand on December 28. The Test & Go reboot charges for the the second PCR test.