khunPer

Apple Outlets: Studio 7, which has retail shops in both Lotus's BoPhut/Chaweng and 2nd floor in Central Festival; Banana, which has retail in Lotus's BoPhut/Chaweng and a larger shop just outside by the road to Thai International Hospital and the beach; Power Buy in Central Festival on ground floor.

You are probably right...👍

Foreigners can own a condo within the 49% allotment, both single and married to a Thai. Foreigners can own a building/house/villa, but not the land under it. If the building is not separated from land during construction, it cannot be separated later. A new built house can have foreign ownership, but needs a superficies or similar permission, and building permit issued to the foreigner. Being married to a Thai don't gives the foreign spouse any benefits in owning land in Thailand. The only way to own up to 1 rai of land – a rai equals 1,600 square meters – is to get an investor visa, and invest 40 million baht in pre-assigned possibilities. According to recent media story, this has solution has so far been used by little less that 10 foreigners. Apart for having land in a Thai-spouse's name, some also use the so-called company limited method to own land. Having land in a spouse's name, you can make a registered agreement for usufruct (use of the fruits of the land), or superficies (permission to build on the land), or habitation (rights to live in the property). However, be aware that any agreement made between husband and wife can be terminated upon divorce. Agreements like above should be made with the previous owner before the land is transferred to a Thai spouse. Mortgage is to my knowledge possible up to 50% of the valuation of the property (I don't use it myself, so no direct experience). It's the owner – i.e., Thai national or juristic person – that can have a mortgage. As foreigner you might be able to get a mortgage in a building; I know about of some construction companies that offered some level of mortgage when building a house – my foreign lawyer, partner in a Thai law firm, used mortgage, when building his villa – but I don't know any details.

Casinos seems not to become tourism attraction; however, Casinos might save some currency outflow from Thailand to Cambodia...

Cruise-tourist is not a good solution. The stay only for one day, not sleeping on the island, they even have their dinner on the cruise ship when they continue. When a big cruise ships arrives, the local traffic collapse, and locals and ordinary tourist have a hard time to find transportation, as all is used for the cruise on that particular day. A better solution would be to improve quality tourism – which is already an ongoing process in itself with expensive airfares and the highest concentration in the nation of luxury hotels – tourists that stays for several days and spend money on the island, including accommodation, meals and sightseeing tours. The islands infrastructure can't handle mass tourism and there is not much space left to improve infrastructure to mass tourism-level, like for example space for a second road around the island.

Yes, if you repeat being a snowbird with a total stay for more 180+ days within a calendar year.

I've been here permanently since 2006. And yes, of course I think about the annual extensions of stay, required documents, remembering 90-days address reports etc.; but keeping a good routine – like having the retirement deposit in a stable 12-months fixed account, and marking 90-days reports in my tabletop calendar with a pencil – makes it to overcome. Always look at bright side on life: If I check what is needed to stay in many other countries, including my Scandinavian home country, Thailand is fairly easy and still got too many benefits, compared to consider returning home...

The 180-days rule is for a tax-year; i.e., calendar year: "If a person resides in Thailand for 180 days or more during the tax calendar year, that person is taxed for income from that year. As of January 1, 2024 onwards, this income is subject to tax." Source link HERE. So, it's depending of when you enters Thailand and when you leave. Income tax is calculated per tax-year, the same as many other countries. Being snowbird from the Northern hemisphere should not enforce income tax, as a stay will be split over two tax-years. However, we still lack details about how the new income-tax of long-stay foreigners will be performed.

Yes, continue to scroll down, or ignore Facebook.

Depending of what you mean by "season", as the Gulf-side has Northeast Monsoon, which begins in October and lasts till around January. Phi Phi and Phuket has Southwest Monsoon.

As stated ... As always, check with the local office, what the wish; there are differences. Yellow book helps getting an address letter from immigration, yes; but you might still need that letter, yellow book or not, and still get that letter without a yellow book. TM30 is an important part, also if you have a yellow book.

The "no one dares"-part, could that be because nobody trust him...

Depending on the local Land Transport Office, some offices still want an LOR even you have a Yellow House Book.

Yes, it helps, but is not needed. Some Land Transport Offices still claims a letter from Immigration when having a Yellow House Book.

When you pay "coffee fees" you should know that you are into bribe, which is illegal...

I'm replying to the questions in opening post, "Mixed kid living in Thailand", which is also what I quoted...😉

Why do you talk about Yellow House Book and Pink ID-car, the thread is about car-registration and you don't need that as foreigner, to register a car.

If the child is born by a Thai mother in Thailand, the child will (automatically) be a Thai citizen. To my knowledge also a child born by a Thai mother in a foreign country can be Thai citizen. If you are not married to the mother, you are not legal father, even if your name is on the Thai birth-certificate. To be legal father outside of marriege either a DNA-test is needed, when the child an infant or toddler, or an approval at the local Amphor district-office when the child is 7 years or older; at the Amphor-office both parents and the child needs to be present. To obtain foreign – and thereby dual – citizenship, you will normally need to be approved father (legal married, or DNA, or by Amphor-approval) and follow the procedure from your home country with legalization of various documents. It can sometimes be little complicated, depending of the country's demand for documentation, especially if not legally married.

Banana has a good variety of laptops from affordable prices from around 15k baht, for example an Asus laptop with Solid State (no moveable parts) hard-drive.

If you register the car in your wife's name, you officially have donated or gifted the car to your wife. You only need a confirmed address in Thailand – a letter from the local immigration office – to register a car in your own name. First class insurance – normally on new cars – can be limited to two named drivers with a discount. If you are either named driver or the car "just" have an insurance, it covers when you are driving with a valid driver's license; remember that after three month in Thailand you need a Thai driver's license. If you but a new car a first class insurance for first year will normally be included or offered, there is also often a variety of insurance companies to choose from. I use Virayah Insurance – because the first car I bought second hand in Thailand had that insurance, and I've been satisfied with the company so far. If it's the best I cannot say. My local Virayah-agent sorts everything for me with annual tax payment and mandatory insurance at no extra service-charge, so I can renew my insurance and pay tax in one go, without a visit to the Land Transport Office.

They don't have an app for digital wallet, and it will take (too) long time to make one. Furthermore, not all have or can use a smartphone, suitable for such an app. Their voters are getting impatient to have the election campaign promise fulfilled...

You need the 800k baht deposit at least two month prior to application for extensions of stay, and three month after approval, whereafter the deposit can be reduced to not under 400k baht until two months before next application for extension of stay.

Probably more both wise and important to distribute some money to here than in a digital wallet...

Sorry to say it, but Uncle Tu was on the right track talking about "quality tourists" instead of mass tourism...

At Samui Immigration you just need a slip with your address, nothing else. When I was rejected last year I brought a print of my TM47 from the online application. The usual lady on the ground floor took it and said that it was not needed, just the address, which I from old time already has in my passport. She carefully saved the paper, so someone getting a photo copy might have my filled and useless TM47-form on the back of the copy...