falang07

BTW, is not online work considered done there where the customer's company is incorporated? At least in Europe it is so, e.g if you live in Germany and work for a company in France, the work is considered to be done in France.

you can apply for tax returns online

2 hours ago, mark5335 said:

Since Bangkok Immigration Division 1 at Chaengwattana don't insist on having neighbours/witnesses etc., to support an application for annual extension of stay, it is unlikely that you would need to resort to dragging the girl who works at Boots and at the Massage shop into Bangkok Immigration to support your application. No need to worry about this if in Bangkok.

maybe for now but you never know when they change their mind

I was told again (at the immigration) that 2 witnesses must still come with us to the immigration, is this really true? I am getting frustrated with having to ask neighbours to go with us during working hours when they have to work. Should not this be required for the first year only? Can I file a complaint somewhere?

Why not go directly to the immigration office? Should not take more than 30 minutes...

1 hour ago, elviajero said:

 

Yes there is. If the Government wind up the scheme (Clause 2.5 (3)) the following compensation clause would apply;

I am pretty sure that winding the scheme up would cost them a fortune as well as upset a lot of influential foreigners that were, IMO, a big part the reason the scheme was set up in the first place.

Indeed, I overlooked this one. Thanks for pointing it out.

1 hour ago, DipStick said:

I applied last month and was accepted, but due to our business requirements in China, I asked for a 9 month deferment , which was accepted.

i read all posts very carefully, and I am left with the impression that the negative posters are possibly aware that this scheme is out of their financial abilities, which is totally understandable, but does being jealous come into the mix ? If so again totally understandable but they should stop being negative and cease posting 

Well, I can easily afford to buy tens of TEs so rest assured you have absolutely nothing that I could envy you :-) I just do not like this clause, it is unilateral and not fair.

11 minutes ago, elviajero said:

If it was owned by a private Company I would be concerned, but as it owned by the Government it is highly unlikely they would wind it up. In my opinion, if necessary, they will prop it up at all cost. 

Why? Is there come compensation that they would have to pay in such a case? I do not see anything in the T&C. They can cancel it and you do not get anything since you agreed to the T&C and signed it.

4 hours ago, DUS said:

 

Nothing strange about it at all, imho. 

 

At the end of the day there is no guarantee whatsoever regarding ANY visa etc If Prayuth said tomorrow that all extensions of stay, visas etc shall be changed, scrapped or god knows what, then it will happen. 

 

But as ubonjoe repeatedly said in this thread: "This thread is not for the discussion of a possible termination of the TE program." :-)

OK, they can cancel an extension of stay, or standard visa for a reason (and we all know there must be some reason to cancel it), but not if I pay 1 million Baht and buy the visa. If I pay this money, I want to be sure that unless I give them a reason, they will not cancel it unilaterally. This is one of the reasons I would consider buying this but if I have to worry that it can be cancelled any day, well, this is not so good offer in the end and does not make me sleep well. Why buy something with 20 years validity when it can be void the next day. I will stick to standard visa, they did not convince me with this offer, especially in a country ruled by the military, this can change anytime.

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Small print in T&Cs to cover oneself such as act of God etc is always going to be there. The Elite card has already weathered 2 Military Coups, major floods, and economic disasters

strangely enough, no acts of God in these T&Cs, and instead "any order, rule, regulation, or law announced by any related government authority"

very strange indeed

and another BIIIG problem:

Termination due to government policies
In case there is any order, rule, regulation, or law announced by any related government authority which has an impact on the business operation of the Company to the effect that the Company is unable to continue its business or perform its operation as usual, the Company shall be entitled to terminate the Membership by giving an advance written notice to the Member.

WOW!!!! So you pay but get no guarantees. Nice from them. Thank you but I am used to rules that hold.

OK, looks good, but I do not like this:

The Member agrees that the Company may from time to time amend or supplement the Individual Membership Agreement.

It means you as a member have to agree that they can do any changes later on, shorten the validity, introduce new yearly fees, etc. This clause should not be there. If I sign an agreement and pay big money, I want the rules cast in stone. This effectively enables them to do what they want, even cancel it.

Also, I can not imagine how could anyone prove that a freelancer is working if he/she does that only at home. It is absolutely impossible. If you do not have a shop/deal with Thai customers, unless you tell them you work at home, there is absolutely no way to prove if you work, or if you just play with the computer/program some code for fun.

The fact that the business is based overseas and receives income overseas is completely irrelevant. If the foreigner is physically in Thailand when they are working at their occupation they require permission.

Just because immigration currently tolerate this kind of work does not make it legal.

And it is not illegal either, I would call is a grey zone, like many things in Thailand. Do not worry, just do your work and no one really cares since you do not take any work from the Thais and it is not subject to Thai income tax either.

I suppose anyone clever enough to generate substantial offshore income that is worth it can easily deduce why and how, too

If you are concerned about security for your deposits I would avoid any bank that arose as a result of the parent finance company going belly-up in the 1998 melt down. Two come to mind immediately and one of them is headed by the man who was head of the failed finance company.The two I know of were among the top five financial instututions before the crash. Be a wary and take a little less interest.

An international credit rating would be nice

you mean the international credit rating agencies that were behind the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_rating_agencies_and_the_subprime_crisis? well, yes, you can indeed trust their ratings (in your dreams)...

If you are concerned about security for your deposits I would avoid any bank that arose as a result of the parent finance company going belly-up in the 1998 melt down. Two come to mind immediately and one of them is headed by the man who was head of the failed finance company.The two I know of were among the top five financial instututions before the crash. Be a wary and take a little less interest.

If you keep the amount under the deposit protection scheme limit, there is no reason to worry and just take the best offer that is on the market (CIMB and Islam Bank still offer over 2%).

2.60% sounds very good, I will check this one tomorrow and might move from CIMB, too. Thanks for the info.

I also think that there must be a valid reason to refuse an application for extension, it can not just depend on how the immigration officer feels that day. BTW, what are the possible steps to take in case it gets rejected for no obvious reason?

Immigration officers in every country I have lived - have a wide discretion when it comes to approving applications or not. The very fact that part of the process is based on interviews by someone in immigration and observing your behaviour means that any application is at the discretion of who you are officers that you meet. You really have to approach it like you approach a job interview, and figure out what they are looking for to disqualify you and trying not to give them a reason. Dressing properly, covering tattoos where possible (since senior/older bureaucrats would be of the generation where tattooed people were all undesirables) -- and addressing the officer with the respect the officer expects and providing concise and direct answers to his/her questions -- will all help with making sure you pass "the interview".

You have no right to immigrate, you have no right to work in Thailand, you have no right to retire in Thailand.... and you have no right to visit Thailand.

Well, I disagree with you on this, we do not live in some medieval ages. If I have a wife and family here, they must have a good reason to refuse it.

I doubt anyone checks the account account again. Never happened to me.

I also think that there must be a valid reason to refuse an application for extension, it can not just depend on how the immigration officer feels that day. BTW, what are the possible steps to take in case it gets rejected for no obvious reason?

Hell in pattaya immigration,just outside the main door on the side I was offered a bank statement for 5 thousand showing 800,000 baht,that's cheap,but no need for it,income is OK

Showing a fake statement and risking a jail? Well, I would not do it.

From the site: "Minimum deposit amount of THB 50,000 and maximum of THB 8,000,000 for fixed deposit account"

"Minimum deposit amount of THB 800,000 for Speed Savings account"

So for fixed deposit, minimum is 50,000 only.

No, I was there and did it myself, you just deposit anything over 50,000 THB, no need to deposit anything on "speed savings.

2.1% in CIMB: http://www.cimbthai.com/CIMB/en/personal/promotion/deposit/8month-speedsaving_feb2016/