khunPer

The visa-suggestions so far for digital nomads - where some are not so much nomads, as the title gives impression of - and online workers for foreign employers, or customers, have not been convincing, as the demands for both wealth or income, not to forget education, have been rather high. Some successful digital nomads and online workers are already here, using for example the Elite Card-option, and officially enjoying their life from their savings. Lots of remote workers might not have a high education - don't forget some of the most successful IT-entrepreneurs never finished their education - and might just make enough income for a pleasant life somewhere, where it's nice to stay. Actually, the income from these nomads and online workers might be a bonus, especially when lacking tourists. They all pays v.a.t. and other product taxes and spend some money - just like real tourists - but probably little less than the often wished for so-called "quality tourists", but they might benefit smaller local vendors instead of many-star hotels. Income tax, however, might be a difficult matter, and if income is taxed the revenue might be quite small or nothing, as the money are often settled off shore, and could be transferred as savings. It should be possible to find a more attractive long-stay permission for those that benefits both parts, i.e. win-win...????

The image from Bangkok Airways answers OP's question, if vaccinated you are free to travel...???? - as other also mentioned that they have been asked to show proof of vaccination - otherwise, until further notice, a Covid-test is required, at least when flying. Your link points to a page, which simply says that "to comply with the requirement of Samui District Public Health Office, every passenger traveling to Koh Samui must fill in the Personal Health Declaration via online application form before on board the aircraft." The general Bangkok Airways-page about Travel Documents however says... "Bangkok Airways strongly recommends you to check the up-to-date announcement or order issued by the local / municipal authorities of both your departure and destination point to ensure that requirements under such restrictive measures are met (including COVID-19 testing and vaccination documentation requirements), especially when it is close to the travelling date as the announcement or order may be reissued any time between the booking date and the travelling date. For more information on the announcement or order, please visit https://www.moicovid.com/ข้อมูลสำคัญ-จังหวัด/, then click the desired province on the map. Passengers traveling to Koh Samui, please specifically rely on the official information shared here." Bangkok Airways would likely not publish in their ticket office entry rules for Koh Samui that is not valid...

Not all are equal...????

Thailand Pass entry insurance (Covid) - the quote is still for equivalent to $20,000 - 1 to 74 years of age... 90 days THB 8,397 180 days THB 16,794 Link to Luma Insurance HERE.

Cruise ship terminal or not..? The Transport Commissioner Says The Koh Samui Cruise Ship Terminal Is Not Worth It Google translate... On April 26, 20, in the Petch Samui conference room Municipality on Koh Samui Koh Samui District Surat Thani Province The Transport Committee was led by General Yodyuth Bunyathikan, Chairman of the Transport Committee. along with the committee to visit the area of Koh Samui to listen to the problems of the local fishermen's waterways and to monitor the readiness of the cruise terminal at Laem Hin Kom, Taling Ngam Sub-district, Koh Samui District with Mr. Prawet Thaiprayoon, Deputy Governor of Surat Thani Province, Mr. Chayapol Inthasupha, Koh Samui Sheriff, Mr. Ramnet Jai Kwang, Mayor of Koh Samui City Along with relevant agencies in the area have confirmed and clarified information on the construction of the cruise port. For the preparation of the cruise terminal construction, the area of Laem Hin Kom, Taling Ngam Sub-district, Koh Samui District, has been determined. Will need a budget of 16 billion baht, which will have the capacity to support cruise ships of 160,000 gross tons, the length of the berth 340 meters, depth 10 meters, capable of receiving up to 500,000 tourists per year, can generate income giving the country more than 2,000 million baht per year, which is in accordance with the government's policy that tourism generates income into the country... Read the full story in the source article in Thai language "กรรมาธิการคมนาคมชี้สร้างท่าเทียบเรือสำราญเกาะสมุยไม่คุ้ม".

No more daily Covid numbers on my two Thai sources, so no more updates from me here about new daily cases...????

To all those that don't fancy Koh Samui, the answer is extremely simple: No one forces you to come here and spend your money on over-charged airfares, taxi-rides and hotels... – and all those happy people that comes here does it voluntary...????????

The real reason is that the airport on Samui has been build and maintained for private funds without supporting government money, so there are only the users that can pay for it. Everyone can use the airport - and several airlines does - but the of course need to pay the fees. Using the Surat Thani-option to a public funded airport with bus and ferry transfer is a great option for those, that wish a cheaper transport fare, and has time to spend in a bus and on an 1½ hour ferry-ride. In old times it was the 12-hours sleeper-train to Surat Thani that was way to Samui, and that is also still available and used by many travelling on a budget. With up to 25+ flights a day at present post Covid-time and periods with fully booked ferries, it doesn't seem like it's the airport fee that stops the tourism, there are actually quite a number of tourists on the island at the moment...????

Present entry rules to Samui...

Snapped a photo of Samui entry rules yesterday in Bangkok Airways' ticket office... You need to show either vaccination certificate or RT-PCR test...???? -And yes, Samui do have special rules, even it's not independant...

I presume some of Samuians would love to - and some of the original Chinese inhabitants would probably open casinos...????

Is 50 baht a huge problem if it supports someone cleaning and taking care of beaches that you might decide to enjoy..?

There are pigs again, or at least there were two months ago (February 2022).

No Covid-data found for April 22nd and so far for April 23rd. I'm considering to stop looking for data to upload, as with the many holes, it makes the information fairly useless. As Covid-test of incoming vaccinated travellers also stops in about a week, it might be the end of useful data.

21st April 2022 Samui, +401 new cases Phangan, +41 new cases Koh Tao, no data Source: Kohmui.com

If you stay more than 180 days in Thailand you are fully tax resident of Thailand. If you don't have a permanent address in France, and don't stay in that country for 180 days with a year, you would - under normal conditions - only be partial tax resident, provided you have income - or pension - or property in France. I'm not aware if there are some special French conditions, it might be worth checking the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between France and Thailand. Even you are partial taxable you might need to fill in a tax return form every year, especially if you are paid a retirement pension from France, which France, according to a DTA, might claim its right to tax and source-country.

I had my first - and so far only - child when I was 56. I presume it's a question of lifestyle and expectation - and of course if you need an heir to all the wealth you saved up, by not already have a horde of children - a man can often wait for the right moment in his life to have a child, or children, of course providing he can find a partner of the the right age. A benefit for me being father a little late in life was that I could better afford a child, and I could also afford domestic help like a live-in nanny for some years - an affordable expense when living in Thailand - which probably made life and relationship less complicated, when a small child becomes part of it...???? "If worth it", is quite relative. "Worth it" in money, you shall count 5 million baht in cost per child in Thailand, if you wish to provide a reasonable level of schooling, but still not the best, i.e. most expensive. Even in my Scandinavian home country a similar cost would appear, even that reasonable schooling is free, as everything else is more expensive than Thailand; and that sum does of course not include an au-pair or nanny. So "worth it" has probably more to do with lifestyle - i.e. if your life get enriched by a child - in modern terms a child is not an income, it's rather an expense, sometimes a huge expense...???? But of course, if you get a beautiful daughter, then you might be able to claim 5 million baht, or more, in sin sot, and recover your expenses and perhaps even a bit more...

Your B-extension can be often done by the accountant of the company your work for, better - and might also be cheaper - than an agent, as the accountant normally has all relevant information.

Thanks, exactly my first thought when I saw the headline and a photo with five and what seems to be a teen daughter blurred; it would not be abnormal that an older teen might with not to join.

This is the most scary part of the news-article... The car was later found on Wednesday at a second-hand car sale outlet in Udon Thani province during a livestream sale promotion. The family remains without a trace.

You can normally find a number of different prices from the same airline, on the route, at the same date(s). The price differences are depending of the booking class, which might be luggage allowance, possibilities for changing ticket with or without fees, refund or not for unused tickets or legs, and earned bonus points, just to give some examples. If you know that you don't need to change dates or having the ticket refunded, and the included luggage is Okay for you, then you can look for the cheapest option; otherwise check carefully if the offered ticked is what you need and want.

No Covid-data found for the 18th and 19th April. 20th April 2022 Samui, +34 new cases Phangan, no data Koh Tao, no data Source: Kohmui.com

May 6th & 7th Samui Bike Week

Otherwise it might be worth checking Banana, nest to Lotus's in Bo Phut/Chaweng.

All over the World.