gamb00ler

What do you mean by "continual image"? A digital image file like .jpg? Do you mean a very tall image that is the width of a smartphone? If it is a long conversation it will be hard to view with normal image apps. How are you planning to view the image? On your laptop, you can take multiple screen shots of the LINE chat window and then view them in order like a slide show.

They don't provide the TIN lookup function for Thailand. They do the lookup only for 7 countries, mostly in EU.

The web site you gave does nothing more than verify that the format of the entered TIN is valid. Here is text from their description of the TIN check: As long as the request itself is properly formatted, the response will always be returned with a 200 status code, even if the TIN number is not valid. If there is an issue with the request itself (for example, a missing country code) a 4XX or 5XX status code will be returned. Response status codes: 200 OK. The operation was completed successfully.

No matter where your money sits.... unfortunately you will always be subject to exchange rate risk.

In searching the LH Bank site, I noticed that they now allow foreigners to open a Pro-Fit account that pays 1.5% for the first 3M฿ and then 1.75% on the next 47M฿.

A couple of years ago LH Bank offered their Pro-Fit account paying 1.5% per year. The terms and conditions on that account state that it's for Thai individuals only. I probably shouldn't have assumed it is the same for this latest offer. It seems the advertised FCD's are also available to foreigners who temporarily (annual extension?) live in Thailand. https://www.lhbank.co.th/getattachment/567406c2-f5ff-4d99-9474-98090b9747d9/personal-เงินฝาก-deposit-interest-rates-Document-Foreign-Currency-Interest-Rates-and-Deposit-Fees-Current-Foreign-Currency-Deposit-Interest-Rates

So far only one presidential candidate has suggested cutting SSA benefits. You may wish to consider that chapter of your pocketbook.

LH Bank (Thai customers only!) sent an offer to my wife: I didn't read the actual terms and conditions but in the past they only accept Thai customers

The sane citizens hardly post silly YT political videos. You conclusion is invalid because of a skewed selection process. 😳

Yes, this is the most important advice for those applying for extensions, especially their first one.

This statement is misleading. AFAIK, Immigration doesn't know or care about the source of the funds that a retiree transfers each month to Thailand to meet Immigration's financial requirements. Many here on retirement extensions just use the appropriate Wise reason to get transfers encoded as foreign sourced.

Be careful using Thai cards to make foreign payments/withdrawals. I checked the terms and conditions on my Bangkok bank debit card (MasterCard) and they charge an extra 1.5% fee on transactions outside of Thailand. The exchange rate used is determined by MasterCard and can be found on their webiste: https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/personal/get-support/convert-currency.html

A minor correction.... It isn't that Thai Immigration won't accept letters showing income from Embassies. That's the proof Immigration accepted when I did my last extension in Feb. The actual problem is that Embassies from several countries no longer wanted to provide the letters that Immigration would accept.

That seems slightly bizarre. I only have one at Bangkok bank, but I was considering opening another to help segregate funds used for different purposes. It would make my expense tracking easier... and I am very lazy! I actually only wanted to open an EZ Savings account at SCB and the staff on their own initiative opened a regular savings account as well as the EZ. They said they did that because with the EZ you can't do any transactions at a teller so I needed the regular account as well. ??? Amazing Thailand!

I didn't see any reference to "biggest" in the original post.... Sometimes I am amazed that the culture seems to be permeated with such a pronounced laissez faire attitude. When I encounter many examples in a short time it temporarily impinges on my normally cheerful outlook. Thankfully, I usually manage to not post about it.

Here's my March chart from Hang Dong district of Chiang Mai. The most significant changes were the acquisition of an EV and the addition of a 3rd battery (total 24.58 Kwh capacity). The battery was added a few days after the EV. PV generation = 1,250 KWh PEA consumed = 614 KWh

AFAIK LINE only provides a method to save your messages as text. Do you want to view the saved conversation as a continuous image of the text exchanges? As a still photo or video clip? Do you have LINE installed on your desktop/laptop as well as on your phone? Is your phone Android or Apple? Is your desk/laptop Windows or Apple? Each of the different environments you use for LINE will have different capabilities and instructions to do what you require. For instance, on my Mac, I can record a video of a LINE chat window as I scroll through messages to/from someone.

Don't assume that your bank's "free" transfers will be a good deal. They may charge no fees but give you a haircut on the exchange rate. Banks typically are not very charitable. I would recommend that you use a single SWIFT transfer for the total amount you need. Make sure your bank explains all fees that will be applied, including any by an intermediary bank. The receiving Thai bank will also apply a fee of .25% which will be 500฿ for a 2.2M฿ transfer. The money should be in C$ when it arrives at the Thai bank. That bank will apply their TT Buying rate when converting to ฿. If the money you're planning to send was in your possession prior to Jan. 1, 2024, there will be no Thai tax due.

An RTF (rich text format) file uses the same character set as an ordinary text file, but also allows special character sequences that specify more options about the appearance (bold, italic, underlined, strike through) when viewed or printed. In fact RTF files can be altered just the same as normal text files. LINE has a place where you can retain messages and photos.... it's called KEEP. https://help.line.me/line/IOSSecondary/categoryId/20009688/3/pc?lang=en#:~:text=Keep is a storage service,Keep%2C see this Help article.

Your wife must be Thai and as such she has a Thai national ID number. That is also her Thai tax ID. You can also get a Thai tax ID and then ask banks to not withhold tax from your interest payments from your regular savings accounts. However, I believe that on fixed deposit accounts, the bank will still withhold tax after you have a tax ID. As an alternative to a fixed account you could open an SCB EZ Savings account which pays 1.5% per year but in monthly installments. This account has no bank passbook, but Chiang Mai Immigration accepted my SCB account with 800K for my retirement extension last year. I'm not sure about your wife being required to report her interest income. I do know that the first 20K of interest for each taxpayer is exempt from income tax.

Thanks for that suggestion. I struggled a bit getting my order through using my US credit card, but hopefully our new vacuum will arrive by April 15th. Amazon UK makes it easy to get purchases to Thailand. I didn't think to check UK. I assumed shipping would be easier/quicker/cheaper from Australia.

I have looked at many shops and I do already have an Electrolux. It's a corded upright and works fine for simple tile floor vacuuming. Unfortunately, we have carpets and a dog that sheds a lot once a year. Our current vacuum has a brush in the head but that brush is only driven by the suction the vacuum cleaner creates. We would like a vacuum with a brush driven by a motor for better results on carpets. This vacuum's suction is also weak and the included tools are junk. I already had to go through a protracted discussion with Electrolux before they would give me a replacement. Their design of the handle and extreme cost cutting use of cheap plastic everywhere lead to the handle breaking in half. No replacement part is available. It seems there isn't a market for higher quality vacuums in Thailand. I did find an imported vacuum (Danish) with a motor driven brush but the reviews were poor and the price high with no attendant improvement in overall quality.

My wife and I are tired of the low quality vacuum cleaners available in Thailand. We want to import one from Australia so we won't need to convert the voltage. Unfortunately, the Shark company don't sell what we want in Thailand and won't ship here. I also spoke to Australian stores that sell them and they seem unwilling to sell to me if my plans are to ship it via 3rd party to Thailand. There are freight forwarding companies that will receive the item and then send to me in Thailand. Has anyone used such a company to get Australian goods to Thailand? Can you recommend or share any concerns about the process?

@sometimewoodworker thanks for taking the time. Somehow I missed that section in the Furniture Fittings catalog or I had a different version. I have now downloaded the same version you used. Häfele does indeed have a good selection.... but still no brass colored glass shelving fasteners. AliExpress has those but not as elegantly designed as Häfele's.

It takes a while to search through all the stuff Häfele sells. I couldn't find anything for glass shelving after going through several catalogs.