khunPer

April 13th, Sound Club, Chaweng Beach...

If you haven't got enough water during Songkran day, then Sound Club's Miss Wet T-shirt competitions are back, last time it was held at the front sound stage.

Sound Club's 2nd sound stage in the back has also reopened and plays mainly cool house music...

Some dates you might like to be aware of...

Songkran:

April 12th, Friday, normally some water-splashing begins in the evening in Chaweng Beach...

April 13th, Saturday, the day where the whole island is fighting water war; normally Songkran is only one day on Samui...

Full Moon Party dates at Haad Rin's Sunrise Beach on Koh Phangan...

–in case you either might wish to attend or instead use the night in a less crowded Chaweng-nightlife:

April 23rd, Tuesday
May 23rd, Thursday

June 21st, Friday

July 22nd, Monday

August 19th, Monday

September 18th, Wednesday

October 15th, Tuesday

November 15th, Friday (also Loy Krathong)

December 15th, Sunday

December 31st New Year Party, Tuesday

You might notice, that sometimes the Full Moon Party is not held the night with the full Moon, which is due to religious days, where sale of alcohol is forbidden from midnight to midnight.

Therefore these dates might also be of interest, as you cannot buy or get alcohol served from midnight to midnight, where the nightlife will also be closed; i.e. nightclubs won't open and next night open from midnight:

May 22nd, Wednesday, Wisakha Bucha Day

July 20th, Saturday, Asarnha Bucha Day

July 21st, Sunday, Buddhist Lent Day

October 17th, Thursday, end of Buddhist Lent

April 12th 6pm, free symphony orchestra concert "Samui South Wav" at Phru Chaweng (Chaweng Lake)

Tourism Association of Koh Samui: SAMUI SOUTH WAV is a free concert with zones for VIP and general public Let's watch and listen to good music to welcome Songkran to our Samui people this year. Come experience "Music, Waves, Wind, Magic of the Island".

Show schedule...

For more info, SAMUI SOUTH WAV's Facebook profile HERE.

On 4/2/2024 at 7:14 AM, Hellfire said:

Yes, that indeed is obvious. What about other, less obvious advantages? For example, the cost of the health related services?

You are on your own and needs health related insurance, no matter what visa or permission to stay – tourist visa or retiree – your have. If you stay less than six months you can normally use a travel insurance with repatriation to your home country.

If you plan to stay as snowbird the METV (multiple entry tourist visa) gives you 2 x 90 days with a visa-run for re-entry and two 30-days extension on each 60-days entry. The retirement visa – non-immigrant OA – gives you one years stay on each entry, but requires more paperwork from home, proof of funds and a an approved health insurance. Not all countries issues that visa.

16 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Just read a thread about B-Quik, ok, my personal experiences just in the last 30 days:

 

B-Quik, front shocks, 8000+, Honda service centre, 7000, amazing, ain't it?

 

Sirikit Government Hospital, full abdomen CT scan, 19,500 Jomtien (private) Hospital, 18,600, amazing ain't it?

 

Room air purifier, exact same brand, Homepro 9,000 and Lazada 4,800 what a shocker!

 

Friend just bought tickets Bangkok - Krabi return, 8000 per person x 6 from a travel agent.  I peeked online and see tickets on the exact same dates, same class of service, for under 3000 per person!

 

And the GF says you get what you pay for, wants to shop at the most expensive stores for clothes, 90% polyester, cheap as sh*t material, costing 3000 for a top.

 

TIT, guys, shop around, pay what you want, but I think the key word is, in LOS, shop around!

 

 

It's the same all over the free world, it's called free trade, so you'll see competing prices instead of only the highest price...

If you read the pinned thread, you'll find answers...

They need money for the 10,000 baht scheme...

22 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

Thanks khunPer but I am looking for a desktop.

Same place have some. Otherwise JIB in Central. You can choose main bord, SSDs (solid state drives) and graphic card. They'll assemble it for you and install OS after your choice, fx. Win10 or Win11. Power Buy (I think it is named) on the ground floor in central might also still have some desktops.

Lazada is an alternative. I've bought desktops from there, arrives within two days.

On 4/1/2024 at 3:39 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

My son has just completed year 3 (Primary) at an English Program school and has a huge pile of course books and work books, both English and Thai.  Most have been written in, although some appear to be virtually unused.  He'll be getting new books when the new academic year starts in May.  I still have his books from P2 as well!

 

What do most parents do with them?  Just dump the whole lot in the bin?  Can they be recycled in any way?  Keep them for posterity?

Paper-recycling, none were interested.

Banana next to Lotus's use to have some good ASUS laptops with preinstalled 64-bit WinOS; I bought one there recently.

15 hours ago, Swall101 said:

 @khunPer really surprised at how reasonable the fees for IS on Samui are, being an island you would of thought they could name their price! Lot cheaper than some of the other areas I mentioned. Would you say that would be offset by higher property rental prices on Samui? eg. higher there than say Hua Hin? (any local rental sites you would recommend to do a bit of research?)

School fees might well be due to competition, as it's a fairly small island with 4-5 international schools, and a really good bi-lingual EP-school. It's worth to look at PBISS, and ISS (International School Samui in Bo Phut), if you wish the most expensive. The schools had football competitions (before Covid), changing between the leading international schools as host – at that time the EP-school also had an international section – so we got around and had a close look all the leading ones.

Property prices are as always based on the three important factors: Location, location and location. It's a small island, so many properties on Samui have a good location and therefore relative high price both for buying and for rental. However, you can find reasonable priced properties both on sale and for rent, but not as many as in Hua Hin-area. In Hua Hin you might see reasonable priced property advertised as close to the sea, only 5 kilometers, on Samui it's 500 meters. Sea view-homes are also in high value, even that a beach is not within walking distance.

Property prices are depending of life style and preferences for location; i.e., for example beach, shopping or view. You can find nice 2-bed homes – bungalows or villas – from around 25,000-30,000 baht per month in rent; or a small 1-bed apartment with sea-view for 70,000+ baht per month. However, it's possible to rent a small 2-bed beachfront pool-villa in the area of around 60,000 baht per month, when it's a long term agreement. At many locations some daily needs shopping is within walking distance; but not when it's with sea view up in the hills, there you need to include some kind of transportation in the budget, and the school bus might also not drive up there.

Good sites for research, depending of choice of school, is Bo Phut-area (ISS), Chaweng Noi area (PBISS), and Lamai (Lamai International School (LIS) and Windfield International School / L’Ecole Française Internationale de Koh Samui. But I've recently seen a PBISS school bus as far away as Maenam, which might widen your choices for ISS/PBISS to include Maenam. However, I normally recommend to check anything physically before accepting a rental agreement and pay a deposit, even that Google Street View is a good help to get an impression of an area. Some excellent places you might also not find on the Internet, but instead from a local "For Rent"-sign or spoken word-method.

19 hours ago, Swall101 said:

Hi All

 

Just found this forum and my first post. I’ve always dreamed about retiring in Thailand ever since my first holiday 20 years ago. That time is nearly here! My situation as follows:

 

• 55 years old this year (live in UK)
• My partner is 56 this year (not married but been together 16 years)
• We have an 11 year old daughter who we will look to put in an International School
• I am lucky enough to have a decent final salary pension which I can take at 55
• Home owner in UK with small mortgage left on it

 

I’ve written to a couple of well known visa agents to ask the same thing, what would be the best option for me visa wise, Elite, Non O retirement, ED, Guardian etc…. They have not been overly engaging and have pushed the elite visa as I mentioned the 10 year platinum (like the idea of the most hassle free, but comes at a cost). I asked them if that would be best in my circumstance and they said yes inc my daughter which would be 3.5m in total. I mentioned that could you mix and match eg. ED for my daughter and guardian for her mum as an option (understand it’s 1x child, 1x guardian) but never really answered the question. I’d love to hear your thoughts on potential routes you think I could take….

 

In regards to location, albeit I love Bangkok, I don’t think I’d want to live there full time, moreover weekend trips. So with this in mind and thinking about the other locations I have visited over the years we’ll probably look at, Krabi, Koh Samui, Phuket, Hua Hin or Jomtien. Had a look at International schools in those areas and all look pretty good (prices do vary with Krabi being quite a bit lower overall). My daughters education is important and think going to school here could open up many doors in this part of the world. Has anyone got an opinion on schools in these areas they could share?

 

Thanks so much in advance and look forward to your replies….

I've been living here for 18 years – Koh Samui – since I was 56, and I had my daughter in an international school.

IMO you best choice would be a non-immigrant O-visa based on retirement for you – 50+ years old – with annual extensions of stay. It requires either a cash bank deposit of 800,000 baht in a Thai bank account – which is the easiest solution – or a monthly transferred income of not less than 65,000 baht. The paperwork is not more complicated than you can do it yourself.

For your partner and child's mother, a dependent visa for her daughter studying, attending a Thai international school. Most, if not all, international schools will help with details and paperwork. To my knowledge a capital or deposit of 500,000 baht is necessary.

There can be huge price differences for international schools, ranging from around 150,000 baht per year and up to more than one million baht per year. So the number of schools and their prices within an area of interest might be important for the overall living costs; also distance from home to school and availability of school bus service.

As you mention Koh Samui as a potential destination I can reply my experience living here with a child in international school. There are at the moment four English-Cambridge curriculum (IGCSE) international schools and one French. The most expensive (Bo Phut) is in the range around 450,000 baht for a year (some extra payments might apply); while the others (Chaweng Noi and Lamai) are in the range around 250,000 baht per year (also with some extras payments). Only two of the schools offers the higher levels, IGCSE-certificate and Cambridge A-level. One on the schools "PBISS, Panyadee British International School Samui) furthermore offers Cambridge STEM.

It's possible and easy to change school – we did that that, as by that time there was one more international school on the island, which is now only bi-lingual (EP, English Program) with Cambridge curriculum and native English.language teachers, but not international certificate. EP with Cambridge-curriculum is a possibility for Thai P1-P6, which equals international Y2-Y7, as you don't need a certificate for primary school, but the Thai school year (May to April) is different from the international school year (September to July), so there will be some long holidays when changing.

We chose to do Cambridge IGCSE and then my daughter continued – at the moment – in a foreign European boarding school for IB (International Baccalaureate), as that diploma should give better possibilities for studying than a Cambridge A-level.

You are welcome, if you have questions.

22 hours ago, rexpotter said:

I will never get used to this.

It's not toilet paper – look in Thai's toilets, do you find it there? – it's a tissue roll, so perfectly acceptable on a table; just get used to it...

7 hours ago, ibjoe said:

If I am married to Thai lady, living in her house which is also my Yellow House Book address, and return to Thailand after being out of the country for a while and immediately go home to our house, is she required to file a TM30? If she doesn't, does that affect my Non-O retirement visa renewal (a few days after I arrive)? Can we do it at immigration office? Thank you.

It's depending of the province you live and the local immigration office. According to the police order you don't need to make a new TM30. However, where I live – Surat Thani-province – the immigration office don't care and wish a new TM30 every time someone leaves the province.

When applying for extension of stay you might be asked for a receipt or copy of you TM30 registration. The immigration officers might check online in the database. I've been out and I followed the police order, but last October, when extending my stay, I was told that I've been abroad and did not have a TM30 registration after returning. Extension of stay-application refused until I has a new TM30-registration.

It's easy today to register TM30 online, so better do it too much, rather than ending up coming back later a start all over again in the queue-line for extension of stay-applications.

1 hour ago, Muhendis said:

What a load of fuss and bother some people have had.

I simply presented my new passport together with the old one to immigration at Buriram.

Insisted, twice, that it is a free service.

10 minutes later was presented my newly stamped (marriage extension) passport and went home.

It is a free service and no documents required

It's depending of the immigration office, they are not equal.

On 3/24/2024 at 2:59 AM, lopburi3 said:

You have no rights to a girlfriends property.

Yes, you have, if the girlfriend makes a last will.

5 hours ago, connda said:

What did the family of the cop that Red Bull heir Vorayuth Yoovidhya killed?  100K THB I believe.

Here in Thailand the state is happy to separate the haves from the have nots again (as the Thaksin fiasco exemplifies).

Nobodies get next to nothing in compensation; somebodies get lavish compensation.
And if the prep is a somebody?  They skate.  If the prep is a nobody? Throw the book at them.
Here in Thailand that is called equity and justice.

1 million baht according to the news stories shortly after the incident. 1 million baht is also the common compensation for death, for example is that amount mentioned in insurance policies.

23 hours ago, stat said:

Anyone managed to obtain a tax certificate from Thai RD that they have been a tax resident in Thailand in a given year? I received dividends on German shares and was charged 25% withholding tax instead of 15% and now need to prove that I was a thai tax resident in 2022. This problem arises in a lot of circumstances where one receives dividends from non Thai shares and is charged a higher withholding tax then is stipulated in the DBA. Usually the DBA rate is 15% and more is withheld at source.

 

IMHO there is a possibilty that this certificate will usually only be issued if you had paid taxes in TH, which I did not. Can someone corroborate? I understand there might be a distinction between certificates one being a tax certificate and the other being a tax resident certificate. To my understanding German IRS should accept both.

 

I can obviously prove that I have been resident in Thailand for more then 180 days with passport stamps.

 

Any recommendation on the use of an agency to obtain said tax certificate without having paid income tax. In the past income tax was only levied on income remitted in the same year, which I did not.

 

I am currently not in Thailand so cannot apply in person.

 

https://www.rd.go.th/english/21974.html

https://www.rd.go.th/english/21978.html

 

 

Thanks!

You need the R.O.21 (Income Tax Payment Certificate) and the R.O.22 (Certificate of Residence), both for the said year in question. As the R.O.21 states, you need to be tax resident with a registered TIN (Tax Identification Number) and have been submitting a Tax Return Form, which can be with a 0 baht receipt for tax payment.

Without those forms for the given year, you cannot expect to get your withheld dividend tax reduced to 15 percent.

Tax Return Form in Thailand needs to be submitted no later than the March 31st the following year.

On 3/18/2024 at 4:45 AM, jimn said:

That's why I married a girl 36 years younger than me.

Unfortunately young girls gets old, if you keep them long enough...

10 hours ago, Liquorice said:

All ticket dates are changeable, it depends on the class of ticket you purchase whether it's free, or a fee applies.

Nope, I've been using budget tickets that cannot be changed, fee or not; they are lost if not used on the booked flight.

We just try to help you with answers to your questions; just buy whatever ticket you like.

21 hours ago, KieranM said:

Hi there,

 

My fiancé and I are moving to Bangkok in July as she has secured a teaching position at an international school. They are sponsoring her visa and work permit.

 

I am currently job hunting myself but it is possible/likely I may need to move out with her before I manage to secure a job and therefore a work and business visa/work permit.

 

What is the approach in this scenario? Do I need to apply for a tourist visa and hope to secure something within the 60 days?

 

My background is government and NGO work, so I wouldn't be eligible for any technical specialist routes.

 

We are not yet married as we were planning to do so once in Thailand. Are there significant benefits to us marrying before we leave to help secure a spousal visa route for example?

 

We've struggled to get a clear picture from the official e-visa website and would welcome any advice from more experienced hands!

 

Many thanks,

Kieran.

You can apply for a 60 days tourist visa and in Thailand apply for a 30 days extension of stay, which gives you a total of 90 days.

If you apply for METV – Multiple Entry Tourist Visa – you can take a short trip to a neighboring country after 60 or 90 days in Thailand and return to a new 60 days entry and a 30 days extension. That can give a total of 180 days with one re-entry.

It's my understanding that when you find a job you'll need to apply for a non-immigrant B-visa abroad and re-enter on that visa. I'm not sure if you can change from a tourist visa to non-B visa inside Thailand; perhaps others can answer that or you can find a thread in the forum with answer.

It's the shop owners rules, just like a house owner's rules; simple as that.

If you don't like their rules, shop somewhere else, where you don't need to remove your shoes; like convenient stores and shopping malls, there you also can find pharmacies and a lot of other shops that let you keep your shoes on.

On 3/19/2024 at 4:51 PM, JoeyMac said:

I am looking to buy a car that is 2-3 years old, that won't fall apart as we leave the dealership.

Second hand car are (often too) expensive in Thailand. It's better to buy a new with full warranty, if you worry about quality; it will keep a good price for a number of years.

On 3/19/2024 at 9:15 AM, digbeth said:

So if you're 'buying' a leasehold condo and the developers/Reit's finance is rock solid you could find yourself being kicked out before the lease is up?

Yes. Therefore, don't BUY leasehold condos or something sub-leased. There are earlier cases where people have lost their investment, some even their luxury house investments. Your contract will be with the leaseholder of the original lease, not the real land owner; so, any claim would be against the leaseholder than haven't paid the landowner.