spambot

Good point Chilly07, A subject on its own and outside the scope of this post is completing the tax return, remaining resident or becoming non-resident. Sending a Self Assessment tax return You cannot use HMRC’s online services to tell them about your income if you’re non-resident. Instead, you must do one of the following: fill in a paper version of the Self Assessment tax return and also SA109 form (This is just some supplementary pages that record your residence and domicile status added to your SA100 Tax Return), send this only by post in the ‘residence, remittance basis etc’ section) use commercial self assessment software similar to abcsa.co.uk that supports SA109 reporting (this will appear in the section relating to "Residence remittance basis" Section) Or can get a tax professional to report your UK income for you

Brilliant summary

One last thing... As long as you are receiving a pension at 5 April, the end of the tax year, your pension provider will give you an ‘end of year certificate’ P60. This might be given to you electronically, rather than on paper. This shows the total amount of tax they have deducted in the tax year.

I should have mentioned that the above assumes that the work pension is from the UK and is not an overseas pension. If its an overseas pension, the process is a lot more complex than is defined above.

When you start to receive a pension for the first time, HMRC are not able to work out your tax code until they have received some information from either you or your pension provider. You may have a P45 from your pension provider if you have just stopped working and immediately afterwards start to take a pension. If you do not have a P45, your pension provider should send details of your new pension directly to HMRC via the electronic PAYE system. As a pensioner, you will not see this yourself, as the pension company will submit the information directly to HMRC. If you get money from occupational pension, private pension or retirement annuity, the pension payer deducts tax from your pension under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system. In order to do this HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) issues a PAYE code to the pension payer to tell them how much tax to take off. When HMRC issues you with a tax code check your coding notice, to make sure you are paying the right tax on your state pension since mistakes do occur. HMRC generally collects any tax due on your state pension through the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system since you have other taxable income. If for some reason it is not possible for HMRC to collect any tax due on your state pension through the PAYE system, you may have to complete a Self Assessment tax return each year. Alternatively, HMRC may send you what is called a Simple Assessment. I am assuming that you already know, but worth noting that if your address with HMRC is defined as Thailand your pension will not be indexed each year and since inflation is currently significant this issue will become an increasingly important consideration. If HMRC holds your address as being in the Philippines you will get the benefit of the annual indexation. To contact HMRC (including Web Chat) click Here

Thanks Joe

On the site for single tourist visa: '5. Travel itinerary to Thailand e.g. plane ticket, hotel booking' Can it be assumed that the plane ticket is not an actual requirement, since many arrive across the friendship bridge.

Brilliant answer - Clear understandable - Thanks

Assuming that that the flight into Thailand has occurred from a home country and then an attempt to re-enter Thailand was from a land border Is this re-entry (same calendar year) defined as the second visa exempt entry or is this entry defined as the first Visa Exempt - now by land border entry?

Joe - The same thing has happened - I hit edit for first post and the result is not an edit, but rather a second post occurs - as if the post has been used as quote. Not sure what is occurring - Can you delete the second post?

Thanks recom273 I don't have a bike, but I like the feel that you have created a reason to find a bike and go on a journey. When I first stepped into Thailand many years ago I just wanted to find every corner of any undiscovered place and I made trips to many places, one day I thought to myself there was no places left This sounds like a reason to go discovering.... Thank You!

Thanks Joe

Mnnn - Interesting. A previous recommendation from many years ago was to get the train down to Sungai Petani, then there is a minivan to Betong and then you can take a minivan from Betong to Hat Yai Bus Terminal. Obviously doing the Visa run this way is not the most efficient, but done simply for the experience and for the enjoyment of taking the road less travelled.

Interesting - I did not know that Satun Border option even existed. I remember last I did the border run I was advised not to use Sadao because there was an insistence to stay one night in Malaysia before returning. I never tested the Sadao border run and I went to Padang Besar. It sounds like from your experience, it is not as easy as it once was at Padang Besar. I just did some quick research on Google maps and just as you say Satun is difficult to reach without transport. However I can see that most all Border runs from Phuket or even Koh Samui all chose to go to the Satun Border.

Yes - On my first train journey I just looked on the map and thought that the Padang Besar I would arrive was on the Thai side, not realising that there was two Padang Besar stations. I got off when the rest of the train emptied then assumed that I had got off at the Thailand side . I am assuming that the same train stops at both Padang Besar stations and hence need to ignore the first Padang Besar station or if not take taxi to the passport controls on the road track up to the station.

xylophone A totally Brilliant response to DrJack54 questions.

Good point my friend I

sandyf - Brilliant response - Just what I wanted to hear. It is posts like this that make a differences and provides value to me and other people on this forum. Thanks

Great point zzzzz As the world economy changes the risk free interest available from Banks, Gov Bonds or money market funds continues to increase the argument for better use of 800K Baht. Today that risk free difference equates to over 22K Baht minus the Thai bank deposit rate of say 0.5% (4K), the resulting 18K Baht gain should be worth at least a consideration.

Thank you, Peterw42, xylophone, zzzzz, Misty, Mike Teavee, jimn, PeachCH for the really good information about how using agents would be helpful to readers. Adults can now make a better informed decision. Those with strong opposing beliefs clearly are entitled to expression, but is not as welcomed when it becomes disrespectful or personal..

I just remembered my very first time coming back from Georgetown 2012 and I also wandered over to the market where I bought a t-shirt with a 1960's ban the bomb logo and then came back for the afternoon train, I got out of station and went to nearby McDonalds, 6 hrs latter a bomb exploded, killing 11 people. At the time I was on the train going north to Bangkok wearing my shirt from the market.

Really good information Mike. The breakdown given is useful in determining the costs for different levels of service: 25K for conversion VE to O visa, apply for extension and 90 day reports. 13/15K make the O conversion by self, but then agent gets the extension 8K same as above but using own 800K funds. I sense that some on this forum have strong beliefs about using agents and wish to impose these beliefs on others, even trying to ridiculing helpful information. Thank you for your data, adults can now make a better informed decision.

Really 13K? I have used 800K method for 9 years, since agents in Bangkok quoted 25K. Just doing the maths: The cost of an agent would be 1.625% for the use of 800K. If compare this with other use of funds: While you can only get from Thai banks on deposit 0.25% - 0.5%, but Gov 2yr gilts in my case UK is paying around 4.4%. By paying 1.625% to an agent and getting 4.4% for better yield the net gain is 2.8% (and someone else does the work).

Ahh perfect - So what you are saying I think is that at least the border run can be done in the station similar to any border run by land. I was not sure that there was going to be some kind of gotcha when arriving by train and leaving by train. If what you imply, that it is possible inside the station and there is no requirement to stay a night in Malaysia, then this is great news to hear. There is also the added bonus that if the full border run is possible inside the station it becomes a whole lot more simple to navigate. Every land based border I have ever done I always find myself wondering around unsuccessfully looking for clues where to go next.

OK - Thanks Joe for responding.