55Jay

I love this place !!!! I seem to recall some kind of pitched battle last year over the parking concession fees. First rule in Thailand is follow the money, which makes everything crystal clear. So apparently the parking fees are a lot of money......In a normal airport, there would be a concession granted, and that would be the end of the story. I do not remember any battles over parking fees at LAX airport.......But this appeal to the government adds a nice farcical touch.

Like if the jet ski mafia formed a lobbying group, and filed complaints against the police for trying to stop their scams.

No need to form a lobby group - just send an internal memorandum.

Perhaps contrast between those who have decades of previous work/savings/investments and a continuing strategy against inflation and cost of living increases to deal with a 5 to 10 Baht fluctuation..... and those who are no so well positioned. Vast range of categories and interesting stories therein.

Not forgetting those who may be well positioned but (as you do) take on local frugality for own purposes, then again, nobody likes to pay more if the same/similar is available for less, and nobody likes to be viewed as the dumb farang who pays more out of ignorance.

Nope. She asked me why I transferred so much (I wasn't sure if this was official questioning or just her idle curiosity wanting to know). I replied that I travel here frequently (which could be supported by numerous visa-on-arrival stamps in my passport, in case anyone doubted) and that my US bank hits me up for major fees when I do cash withdrawals here, so I figured why not just move a pile of cash here that I can tap when I visit? Also the certificate of deposit rates are better here; more than double the anemic rates in the US.

She cocked her head in a sort of a "huh, that's interesting" way and that's when she put the form in front of me to sign and that was that.

I really enjoyed the manner and tone in which you tell your short story. Unflappable, go with the flow disposition. Not sure if it is caused by lack of knowing there are other options, or that resources are plentiful enough that moving 120k into the fun money pile is not an issue.

I still move in and out of LOS and desire to keep all my eggs in one or more US baskets, even with current in rates as they are (agreed).

However an earlier threat of moving over full time prompted me to find (on this very TV forum) fairly simple work arounds to the ATM/credit card fees without moving money into an LOS account.

There are a number of US institutions still noted in other relevant threads, which offer no foreign transaction fees on their ATM/Debit cards, Visa/MasterCard products that do the same, in tandem with the celebrated AEON ATMs at locations in Thailand to get around Thai ATM fees. Sounded like a pain to me at first but now that it is set up and linked, it's pretty effortless. Wife doesn't mind when I announce it's time to hit AEON ATM down at Mall XYZ as getting me to the mall for any other (non) reason is a significant challenge. 555. Anyhow, enjoy life and your travels. Cheers, J.

Do Thai Customs provide one with a receipt that proves one legally brought cash in on one's person? <For what? Certify that your explanation of source is legit... because you said so?> I am forbdden by admin it seems < After only 98 posts!> to compare with other countries specifically, but I speak from experience that in leaving and entering two other nations I was given no receipt which puts me in a weak position. <A position to be avoided after learning the first time?> I do not understand why a receipt is not given. <See above> It makes one vulnerable to false accusations <You should be used to that after 98 posts> Perhaps this is intentional? <Perhaps>

Also, how does one solve the problem of travelling with cash <One puts it in the bank>, let's say for the sake of argument a million dollars in gold <Rent a truck...but that still doesn't solve the problem of getting change from 7-11 when you buy a pack of smokes with 1oz gold bar> or some published (since they don't actually 'print' it always, sometimes that is subbed out to a private company eh?) currency by Central Bank X <Uhhhh> . It could become a hassle at each and every border one crosses <You are getting warm>. It become ridiculous if gold coins and taxed as well <Unless you keep carrying them around to differnt nations and border crossings over and over again (weak position)>. Makes one not want to do business on the unregulated market <Warmer> which perhaps is the whole point, state control of business. <Hot>

In my mind's eye, I see you still walking in the mountains of China with gold and cash on a pack mule, looking for a non-state, unregulated private institution that won't ask any questions about what you put in their box (and allow your mule inside the lobby). With all that weight you are apparently carrying around nation to nation, if you ever find this nirvana, NEVER LEAVE! I know your mule would appreciate it.

Hope the book sales offset his pension when it gets shut off.

Verify equipment if it is "operated by ANA".

This post is so ironic as I just stumbled across what I consider a naive Stacey Dooley on YT last night, watched at least 2 of her movies. I can't believe she's that naive and the more I watched, the more the over-the-top and silly it got. Not that I disagree with the unpinning message, not at all, but one has to approach each country/situation/economy with some learned perspective. Stacey (and the OP) clearly lack that but perhaps Stacey only has a selfish reason to play it up while the OP, presumably, didn't step right off the jet?

I found the barmaid in Phuket the most interesting, as she's on double the chambermaid salary where Stacey stayed. The more said barmaid went on, after riding her brand new motorcy, mentioned getting a Starbucks or other "famous brand" once a month, providing for her father's life insurance, providing for her mother and family, pays 60 quid for her one room tin roof where she lives alone by choice for her pesonal freedom, and still manages to save money "once or twice a month"..... All this was said by the barmaid who was speaking through teeth on which there were braces......... Stacey Dooley cried on her pillow for her (after scared shitless by a rat in the room's rooftop 55555) but to me, and my Thai wife, we thought the lady was doing very well - I personally thought there was a farang (or more than one?) in the background somewhere sending money every month but hey, that's fair play.

I presume OP wants, or GF wants, to work for some other reason. If it is so objectionable, OP can have a direct impact on the life improvement of at least 1 Thai citizen, saving her from a life of exploitation working in a farang-centric mall shop (I presume). Pony up and give the lady 6k/mo from your pocket. You'll feel good about thinking globally and acting locally, and you'll have 7 full days a week with your lady by your side. If that's objectionable, I'm sorry, but no need to suggest changing the entire economic structure of Thailand because you just became aware of how things work in the real world.

Good article, thanks JingThing. Read about his a couple years ago as I considered it. Element of emotional "voting with our feet" in protest, but the article laid out a few scenarios I hadn't considered, the common unpinning being money, taxes and overbearing govt interferece in our lives. Started out fair enough, virtuous War on Terror and all that, then leeched into broader powers to other agencies. We've been warned, so we need another McCarthy-like commission to haul up American expats with foreign bank accounts and accuse them of being tax dodging unpatriotic souls. That sort of public "name and shame" will never happen.

I do resent paying taxes (even with the FE Income Exclusion) to assist in operating the infrastructure of a country I don't live in, probably never will again, but do visit for a few weeks every few years or so. Mind less paying Social Security and Medicare monthlies, rationalizing that I might actually avail those accrual type services (chuckle) at some point in the future, and try to keep my head in the sand on the argument they may not be around by the time I get to eligibility age and further, my current contributions support a percentage "on the dole" who are defrauding the system. On the other hand, Mom/Dad are still around and collect monthly SS benefits, so I rationalize I'm helping them. A lovely, warm feeling, sorta like pissing down one's leg in winter, in the snow.

Oh, and to the lads who droned on above with the predictable "shoulda remained a colony" pokes, I actually agree, only as far as favorable expat taxes status goes. Yes, it would be grand.

However for the rest of it, and setting aside that you drive on the wrong side of the road, I am shocked and confused why you didn't relay the colonist comment to me in either Urdu, Farsi or Hindi, which makes complete sense to me as Z BBC told me all good English sur-names these days end in I or "Zed". Further, at least for now, where I'm located, can still go to "my" Embassy for a quick, new passport, not Germany, as I've heard a few of my UK allies and best mates lament about recently.

I do, however, say this descending into a barely audible, embarrassed murmur (as should you) as, where I'm at, the American Service Timing is 2 days weekly on the comical order of like 0900-0905. I arrive in the car park at 0830, compensating for the fact it requires 10 minutes to explain why I'm there to a host national (jobs programme), empty my pockets to get frisked by an Asian security guard paid slightly better than slave wages (jobs programme), then eventually I'm escorted by another Asian security guard into the Consular office where I am interviewed in front of a bullet proof window by a non-American (jobs programme). Shell out the required fees, reverse to check out with the Asian security guard and host national, who crosses me off the visitor's list.

I can visit my Embassy and save for other unfotunate souls like me, never see another American.

In'Shallah, to be fair again, you should actually relay your colonist break away barbs to us Americans on this forum in Spanish which, after all, is our official, national language.

Allah Akbhar, Humdullah, peace be upon you, best mate. Happy taxes to the rest of us.

J

Good and you are doing right by asking questions up front and consulting external and internal guidance.

We did the ceremoy bit a year earlier, then got around to the legal later. I also questioned myself why I was even doing the legal part at first, however it was a common necessity so I could formalise her residing with me abroad (spouse) and also in reverse should work situation evaporate and we made the move to LOS permanently - I would then go on the spouse visa which takes less resource$. Edit: And passport/Thai ID name change for house channote, driver's license, etc...

I used SunBelt (SB) in BKK for the prenup, had no idea what I was doing, never done one before. Wasn't that expensive, although I had no point of ref, but I didn't feel like I was being taken for an unreasonable ride. It was all pretty straight forward. Communicated with SB by email ahead of our trip to LOS, so I knew the costs, documents needed, and the basic procedure before visiting their office.

Had the uncomfortable discussion with wife in advance. It was hard, she agreed, but I could see it was a real gutt punch for her. I would feel the same way if I honestly loved someone and suddenly the cold legal "condom" was applied. It was difficult. For both of us.

Felt like a complete heel during the process at SunBelt. I felt bad for her as, at first, she had no assets listed on "her" paper. To make it feel better and avoid further embarrassment, I prompted her with "What about this, that?, etc". so listed the truck, the house, her BK Bank accts, etc. Not that I could or would go after any of it, but felt her perk up and feel a bit more a part of what was obvoiusly a one-sided affair.

I have no idea how good the document will be if ever needed in future, but it gave me some sense of security instead of stumbling along a well worn path with no realistic forethought. Anyway, that was 3 or 4 years ago and those difficult feelings lingered for a few days under the surface between us, but are now forgotten.

Note: SB (and others) repeatedly told me to have the PNup registered by whatever Ampur office we used to register our marriage. That made sense to me however proved to be a little difficult to get done, which resurrected the embarrassment and feelings during the initial SB prenup process. My wife had to take an active part in trying to explain what we (ok, "I") wanted to the govt office people in a relatively small town. I felt really bad for her as I dug my heels in until it was understood and accomplished. Feeling like an arse all over again, I almost threw my hands up and said "forget it, Mai Pen Rai" and all that. Anyway, stuck with it, took about an hour of jabbering back and forth, phone calls made to the next higher district office (or something)....come back tomorrow. The next day we went back and the same people seemed ready for us, although one lady sorta rolled her eyes like, "Oh no, they're back", then it went like clockwork, annotated in a very important looking logbook, copies were taken and lots of stamps, etc.

Good luck to you.

J

Me thinks OP is yanking thy chain. His short replies present another silly wrinkle.

Or he's just off his head, in which case....he'll fit right in.

why they want 400k in bank

every couples can live good with 15k/month in many cities in thailand

This is where the post took a left turn.......<

Yah, Rayong Resort is pretty nice. Stayed in the bungalows next to the water which were a bit on the high side, never tried a regular room in the main hotel building, which I think were less expensive.

Agree. Weird.

Yup, you win. You can live your life a happy man now I guess.

Excellent, have a nice day

Everyone knows there are 2 diff scales so you only made yourself look foolish in the end. Which was nearly amusing as watching you argue with....... yourself! LOL. Cheers.

I smell an original idea here, can't believe I never considered it before.

1. Claim what you earn. WP or not. Your situation, based on your questions, sounds like "Farang in Thailand 101".

2. Use US address? Why? Although you can have a mailing address and a physical address. I do.

3. Of course the IRS can find out if you are in or out of the US if they want to. Think about that one for a minute. Passport at immigration departure. Plane ticket. Thai bank account opened with passport? Credit card use? ATM use from a US bank? If you live under a rock, are totally cash based and/or earn all your money illegally (no work permit) in Thailand, then you have a pretty low radar return.

4. They will never know you earn money under the table locally in Thailand, same if you sold oranges on the side of the road in the US, unless you tell them. It's how much risk you want to assume should you ever get a look. Chance of that happening is pretty slim, but it does exist. Don't get me wrong, I loath paying taxes. I'm an expat for a long time and it pisses me off every year.

I didn't believe this process would be as simple as set forth on the W7 instruction so, being the cynical expat I (we?) am, called the IRS to confirm. Nice lady read back the instructions word for word then we had a chuckle as I told her I just didn't believe it could be as easy and effecient as the form made it sound.

I did it in another country, had a US Military legal guy (notary) do a silly fill in the blanks form to say he watched me make the xerox copy of the original in front of him, then I had the pp copy stamped by the Thai consulate here (about $20.00).

Did the 1040 as married filing joint, put wife's name (less still unissued ITIN) on page 1 and sent the lot and the memo/letter signed by us, to the ITIN processing center as per instruction. Return went through and it was about 1.5 to 2 months later received the ITIN document in the mail. I owed money, so maybe that helped greased the skids, I don't know (cynical again).

As to paying the fees, scam, etc., IMO, the instant benefit of having my standard withholding doubled, thus reducing taxable income amount, felt like a pretty good deal to me then, and in all future tax years. J.

They were shark food if they sank. Same if they get sent back to origin. Darn their bad luck to breakdown and get "rescued" by fellow Muslims, they were hoping for the Great Satan.

The name sake....... sorta like the gift that keeps on giving.

Hi Pib, been a while.

Fixed similar IE9 issue, thanks. Hope all's well, take care.

Jay

I think there's plenty of threads on money-laundering in this forum, some of which I have found helpful in the past. But really, if you want to stay outside the oversight of the authorities, you really will need a brown paper bag and a tinfoil hat.

SC

I am NOT laundering money. Why do I say that? For what to me, at least, are obvious reasons...

1. Money that needs to be laundered is dirty (gained by illegal means and especially both illegal and immoral means). Mine is all legally and morally obtained. How is transferring legally gotten funds to another country 'money laundering'?

2. I declared my money out and in (without being given a receipt for my own protection/proof of having done so), and thus, in my view, bent over backwards to satsify the what seems to me to be overbearing limitations on free flow of cash. How is that 'laundering money'?

3. If the definiton of 'money laundering' is that adopted by current consensus of mega-nation states, viz. anything that doesn't meet common practices, especially those that make gov't monitoring easy, then yes I am a 'money launderer' [do not misquote me out of context]. But only in the same sense that someone who rescues Christian Karen from Myanmar, even without a fee, is a 'human trafficker'. Both are a contemptible misuse of common sense and the English language. If I prefer to dig a hole in the ground and collect rusty old tin cans out of the belief, almost certainly misguided, that that is a financial salvation for possible troubled times ahead, you may laugh, but to sneer and insult is beyond the courtesy expected on this forum.

4. Even information on what could be potentially used by real or quasi-criminals does not make the sharing of that infomation illegal or contemptible. I see a huge change in socially liberal tolerance since about 1982, that was used by both the left, right and nowheres. Used to be books were available on all sorts of weird and unsual subjects (including actual money laundering, smuggling, grow-ops, self-defence etc) - in all Anglo countries, especially the USA. Now, the attitude of society and indeed this forum has become more socially conservative (in the negative sense of restricting freedom of thought and writing, I am in many ways a conservative). I do not know if it is a legal, business or social consideration.

On a related note, why the snarky, condescending, confrontational tone? You say tomAYtoes, I say TomAAtoes. Who cares? I am happy to learn from the experiences of those whose opinion I do not share. Perhaps the negative reaction is due to my including too much political rhetoric and expressing my opinions about 'the way it should be' (or was in 1978). But no one has said that. So, I am.

Is the above novel (again) your idea of "leaving this forum"? None of my business. I'm just sayin'.......

I spent all my money on women and booze. The rest of it I wasted.

Dear OP,

I would say you talk to much about politics and how the world has changed, when you really have a simple question, easily summarized in a sentence or two. You are not doing a public service with your libertarian waxing nostalgic circa 1980 and desire of a long gone time of less regulation and freedom before all this new fangled technology and ACH transfers, etc. Thus, when common users find your question ludicrous, naive or out of touch with reality, well mate, you are fair game. Don't take it personally, this is a tough, cynical audience.

Just to be fair and honest, and maybe why you've asked your question here, I believe there are loads of dodgy, closet farang billionaires in Thailand who loathe using banks and commerical financial services, therein brought in their legally obtained, double declared after-tax capital gains by concealing it in the soles of their shoes. After complying with the law, they go through a lot of trouble to disappear afterward. They all live in Issan and to keep up the ruse, join TV and complain openly about the foreign currency exchange rate, 150 Baht ATM fees (they don't use ATMs though, wink wink) and cost of diesel, just to "blend in" with the rest of us commoners. Ain't foolin' me, I know who they are, I can spot them a mile away at the Korat mall. They have pot bellies, gray hair and to flaunt their riches and status by walking arm in arm with lovely young brides and proudly whip out their platinum member card at Sizzler. It's so obvious!

Good luck in your quest given the post 9-11, post US Patriot Act day and age and how to get your sock load of dough from there to here without breaking The Man's law. If you are discreet, meaning not blabbering on in public TV forums, you'll be ok. My advice - wear larger sized shoes, you can fit more in there. Best regards, Jay.

Check out the banking/finance section in the Forum. There's a lot of information on banking, ATM use, wiring money from abroad, etc.

Changeover:

Are western Heifers any different?

No.

I work for a large security company and would generally agree with givenall.

Hey, some useful links to other fishing venues! Thanks Zoso. That's grounds to put it on a fresh thread that's actually about fishing.

When I glance back up at the tab on my IE browser, says "Fishing Holidays in Thailand". Operative word being Holiday which, to me, screams "Tourists from abroad".

&lt;deleted&gt; are we on about here? It's the same as real estate agents, buying a car, travel agents, etc. They all make a business out of finding things, sources, info, even public info, protecting it, putting a brand on it, and... here we go... get ready now...... selling it to CUSTOMERS! What a concept.

To the tour operator arguing on here. Why? Clearly, the guys on here are just busting your balls and you are rising to the bait (a fishing analogy). Clearly, they don't need, want, or will ever book in your services. Trying to convince a room full of cynical in-country expats that you and your business is cut from another cloth is like putting yourself in front of a crowd of agnostics and trying to convert them to catholics.

Go on then, get some a the market share, nothing wrong with that. Do a good job and you'll have happy return customers.