khunPer

19 hours ago, Sparkling said:

As far as I understood, there is no way to get a Non O-A based on marriage outside Thailand - we are in Munich,Germany.

I need to get a Non-O for 90 days, which i can/should extend in Thailand.

Is this right so far?

No, you can apply in your home country; might be more difficult to get it somewhere else.

You can also apply for a non-immigrant O-type visa when you arrive in Thailand as visa exempt or on a tourist visa.

On 1/15/2024 at 8:36 AM, jakow said:

We're in Thailand and traveling to the USA for 1 month. Our 5 year old and 2 year old both have US passports. The 5 year old has a Thai passport, but somehow we completely forgot that we didn't make a Thai passport for our 2 year old and just realized this today. (I know, really dumb.) How big of a problem is this? Our flight is on the 18th in the morning. My wife said we can get an emergency passport for him tomorrow. Is that true, and is it necessary? Thank you for any advice! Can't believe we did this...

No big problem. You can have same day passport issued for an official surcharge around 1,000 baht (it was 1,000 last I visited a Thai passport office a few years ago). Both mom and dad needs to be present when applying for passport for a Thai minor.

On 1/14/2024 at 7:17 AM, changthenomad said:

Hello , I have a full time ED visa for a private business university, 

I would like to form a company in Thai , with a Thai partner (51%), what would happen for director duties undertaken by me , without the 4 employees just yet + 2 mill paid up capital ? 

You can perform high level director duties; i.e. attend board meetings and sign documents and annual statement, but you cannot do any physical work.

On 1/13/2024 at 12:51 PM, Mike Lister said:

I agree things may change but I don't believe there is even the smallest chance that the banks will deduct tax from transfers, at source, that's almost impossible to do because the banks don't know who is tax resident and who is not, nor what funds are assessable or not.

The bank will most likely not withhold any tax, but they might report foreign transfers, which is easily possible with datasystems. In my Scandinavian home country the taxman has for years known all about the people's financial transactions; we don't even need to make a tax return, everything is already known and will be taxed...

On 1/12/2024 at 3:45 AM, Mike Lister said:

The money will not be taxed by the bank when it is received. If anything, that money should be reported on a Thai tax return as income but that will depend on whether you are Thai tax resident in the year it is received and whether your total income exceeds the threshold for filing a return.  There is a separate thread on this subject and a document at the start of it that you may wish to read:

 

 

 

It might change this year with the new tax-rule for foreign transfers from 1st January 2024; however, we are still missing details about how it will work.

On 1/11/2024 at 9:31 AM, advancebooking said:

I told him about 35 million if he lives to 85 yrs old. What do you think? Im sure theres many old guys who can help with this financial assessment. 

That sounds fair enough, if he heads for the affordable P&P-ladies and don't let some move in...

On 1/11/2024 at 10:19 AM, Tropicalevo said:

Hey - back to the future khunPer?

When I first arrived on Samui there was one branch per bank (and Krungsri did not exist here). They were all in Nathon, as well as the one ATM  per bank.

Progress eh?

Digital online era-progress...

6 hours ago, berro said:

If I die unexpectedly in Thailand, then how to make this as less of a burden for a family member in my home country, in a financial and organizational way? I don't have a partner in Thailand.

I would like to be cremated in Thailand and have the ashes sent back to my home country, or maybe scattered in Thailand.

 

Any recommendations and advice how to deal with this situation? What would or could it cost, approximately?

Just to add: I don't own property here in Thailand but rent a place. The amount of money on my Thai bank account is negligible.

Thanks in advance.

I would presume making a last will at the amphor office is the way, in where you state that you wish your body to be burned and what to do with the ashes. Make a separate bank account with a deposit for the costs – name it in the will – and donate whatever left of assets in Thailand to the temple, where your body is burned.

2 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Always busy and long waits.

It took me three weeks to make an overseas transfer in USD (medical insurance). No one in the branch could do it.

When I complain to HO they suggest that I transfer to the Nathon branch. - yeh sure. 40 minutes each way. For the accountant as well for the business account.

The banks want their customers to be online, they seems to think that bad physical service is the way.
In the future there will be one Samui-branch – probably in Nathon – for each bank and an office in a central mall for limited service. Bangkok Bank has already changed name of the Nathon Branch to Samui Branch – I had to change my paper slip the other day, because I wrote "Nathon" as branch, it should be "Samui"...

A place with a beer volcano and a stripper factory...

"The Pastafarian conception of Heaven includes a beer volcano and a stripper (or sometimes prostitute) factory. The Pastafarian Hell is similar, except that the beer is stale and the strippers have sexually transmitted diseases."
Source link HERE.

3 hours ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

Does the current Samui Form TM.7 (extension application) still have a field for entering your Form TM.6 number?  That form is now abolished so on arrival I didn't get a number.

Just leve it blank – TM6 number – if you don't have any form stapled in your passport.

2 hours ago, Mike Lister said:

In the case of a British subject living in Thailand: that person will most often have two wills, one for Thai assets and one covering UK assets. Each will have its own probate and be independently probated. My niece if head of family law for a midlands law firm and she is the executrix for my UK will, she prepared the will and has custody of it. I am UK domiciled, despite living here in Thailand for over 20 years. Domicile is extremely difficult to change, there are three different types, domicile of origin, domicile of choice and domicile of dependence, the link below explains. My domicile of  origin is the UK, this cannot be changed. My domicile of dependence is the UK because that is where my assets arise and where I own property. My domicile of choice is Thailand where I also have assets and a wife  hence I am domiciled in two countries, at different levels. Residency is a different matter entirely. But there will not be a single probate for both my UK and Thai estates, this has been confirmed to me by Thai lawyers and of course my niece. So I think there's some crossed wires somewhere in your story, Kuhn Sumalee in Chiang Mai is a Barrister and one of the top lawyers in the North, I would trust those two legal views over any other I have ever come across.

 

https://www.litrg.org.uk/tax-guides/migrants/residence-and-domicile/where-am-i-domiciled

As I wrote, it is depending of you nationality and different laws in different countries; inheritance is not simple. That is why to last wills can be very important, as advised by Thai lawyers.

I believe my government and the law more than a lawyer, and my government says clearly: "When a person dies, it is the authorities of the country where the deceased was resident that handles the estate."

22 hours ago, topt said:

Do you have a link for that as it seems surprising to me unless I have misunderstood you?

 

Surely the point of having more than one will is that it would be probated in the country to which it applies?

For example I have had to write a third will for the Isle of Man as they handle probate separately from the UK. I don't think a Thai court is going to deal with my estate in other jurisdictions either.....

My source is a Danish lawyer that are expert in Thai law, and the Danish government (link below). I was also surprised, but if you think about it, it makes sense. You can only have residence in one country – i.e. the country where you spend most of your time – and that country will handle the estate. It's not the country that one dies in that handles the estate, but the country of domicile; if you are on holiday in Thailand, but domiciled in UK, your estate will be handled in UK. If you for example have dual citizenship, it's the country of residence that handles the estate.

However, there are exceptions, such as non moveable real estate, which will be handled by the rules of the country, where the real estate is. A foreigner can for example inherit Thai land from a Thai spouse, but cannot own the land – i.e., needs to sell or transfer the land within a certain period – even if the spouse lives and die in another country, where real estate can be inherited...
"The rules for inheritance and probate differ from country to country. In some countries, the switch takes place in the country where the values are located. This applies regardless of where the deceased lived. Real estate often has to be exchanged in the country where the property is located." (Source link below.)

Inheritance can be complex, but in general, this is the principle. If you leave UK and settle in Thailand, then Thailand is your country of residence. Some countries might not acknowledge wills from other countries – again, think of for example real estate – which is why lawyers recommend to make separate wills for assets in separate countries. Different countries have different national rules, so you might be able to apply for an estate to be handled by country of citizenship, instead of country of residence.

Country of residence can de be defined by...

• Where the person themselves or the person's household have their permanent home
• Where a person's belongings are usually located
• Where the person resides when the person is not temporarily residing elsewhere (e.g. due to vacation, study or business trip, illness or imprisonment)

Link to Danish governmental source (you can use browser og Google translate) HERE.

Seems like the lucky amulets stopped working – this is the second recent news-story about an invisible thief – wonder where you get, or how you gain, invisible power...

On 1/7/2024 at 5:12 AM, 33 RPM said:

i need a small bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide

Where is a likely place to purchase it.

Thanks.

A pharmacy.

Small bottles comes in 3%.

Larger bottles (circa 450 ml) comes in 3% and 6%.

1 liter bottles normally needs to be ordered and can come in food grade, 35% to 50%.

On 1/6/2024 at 10:53 AM, Tropicalevo said:

Back to the heading. Who has my money?
Is this standard practice for all debit card credits or just this particular hospital 'taking its time'?

It takes time.

4 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

 

I have, but many years ago. 

To my knowledge, you need to continue with the voluntary option immediately after stopping work.

17 hours ago, JeffersLos said:

 

Thanks.

 

My Thai ID card number starts with the numbers 6 5099.....

 

Does this mean that I can qualify for 'Voluntary insured person under section 40'? 

You need to have been working in Thailand and paid SS while working in accordance with the rules, to continue when retired.

My Thai ID-card also begins with 6, but as I've never had a work permit – and therefore never entered the SS-system – I'm not eligible.

1 hour ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

Does anyone have a pdf or good printable version of the Samui Immigration office's own double-sided application Form TM7 (extension of stay) and TM8 (multiple re-entry)?  I know they tend to reject the single-sided version available from the main government website, and I'm staying far from the Samui office so it's inconvenient for me to go a day early just to pick up those forms.

You can get the forms in advance from the service window on the ground floor – they normally dont accept any other forms than their own printed versions.

I once filled in everything from home using downloads, I had to redo it all at the immigration office in their forms. Now I come a day, or a few days, in advance and collect the form.

On 1/5/2024 at 8:43 AM, Hanaguma said:

Apologies if this is the upteenth time this question has come up....

 

What options pay the best return on the money that I need to deposit for an O visa for retirement? I accept that I will take a haircut on what I can get in the market or on GICs.  

Also, does my wife also have to make a deposit, or can she piggyback on mine? (we are both over 50, both non Thai).

Thanks all!

12 month fixed bank account, pays at the moment about 1.6 percent per annum. I cash the interest every year – after 15% withholding tax – and leaves a clean 800k baht in the account for extension of stay purpose.

On 1/5/2024 at 4:28 AM, Presnock said:

I have read a lot of Thai (translated) by some legal folks too, that according to the new tax laws, there can be exemptions on certain pensions (in one it says special pensions) and even in other google available translations.  There is even an exemption for "wealthy retiree's pension" and the wealthy retiree is defined as one receiving a pension of over 80K USD per year.  Also, there are provisions that state that the DTA has priority if the pension is taxed prior by the paying country.  By reading one's country's DTA with Thailand (also can easily be googled) one should be able to understand if their pension or other funds are exempt or not.  All should be available on google in different languages even.  Hopefully we will receive "official" notification of exactly what we can expect to do this year though nothing needs to be paid until we reside over 180 daysin Thailand this year, but it would be nice to be able to make any necessary plans prior to then.

Valid DTAs are still valid; many covers retirement pension taxation.

On 1/5/2024 at 12:24 PM, Pappap said:

Hi, has anyone experience of having two separate and different wills in two countries, i.e. one in Thailand and one in the UK. Seems this would be easier for the relevant executors/administrators in each country, one dealing with each country. Thanks.

Yes, and that is advised by the Thai lawyers that wrote the book "Thai Law For Foreigners". Make one will in Thailand for one's belongings in Thailand, following the Thai law and custom; and another will for belongings in one's home country following the law and customs there. However, be aware of that it's a court in the country where you have your primary home (lives), which will handle the estate of both wills, no matter where you die.

I made two will, one in Thailand and another in m y home country. I wrote in both that there is another will covering assets in the other country.

13 hours ago, mrblonde said:

My plan is to move out to Thailand permanently within the next 4 years, I’m currently 46.  I did have a buy to let flat in the U.K. (in South East) for a few years but the combination of increasing interest rates and the government targeting landlords I chose to sell up.
The way non-paying tenants are so protected in the U.K. was also a genuine concern.

I’m considering buying a couple of condos in Pattaya (outright) to rent out long term.  ROI am looking at 8% in most cases.  
When I move out to Thailand, I’ll move into one of them. 
With the way the West seems to be going, I’d imagine more people wanting to head East as they near retirement, keeping property prices stable (at worst).

 

I’ve seen other posts on here advising the stock market for an income but I have a SIPP and do not want all my future income (my Thailand retirement fund) tied to a potentially turbulent market.
 

are there any things to consider?  Anything to avoid?  

 

If you are making a business with more than one condo, you might need to do it from a Thai company limited. You shall pay tax of the income.

I wouldn't do that, just buy the one condo I need for myself. There are (plenty) of other ways to make an income from savings with lower risk factor risk than property in Thailand, when looked at as an investment.