tai4de2

DTAC has a VOIP app. No need for roaming, just go into the app settings and flip a slider from “SIM” to “app” and it’s basically just like being in Thailand. SMS messages and incoming calls are delivered to the app and the app lets you send SMS abba make calls. I’ve used this while outside Thailand, with Bangkok Bank and other services that send codes via SMS and it works well.

Is a TIN tied to a specific employer, so if a foreigner changes jobs, a new one would be issued? Or does a TIN issued to an individual become the one and only TIN for that individual, for life? I was working with a lawyer and the topic of my old TIN (from when I worked and paid taxes in Thailand, some years ago) came up. He said my old TIN would not be used with a new future employer. This advice doesn’t make sense to me. For one thing, it would seem to imply filing multiple tax when a foreigner switches jobs during a given year, because I only see one space on the form for a TIN — not to mention trying to determine correct tax rates when income has been split across separate returns. The issue of non-employment income (interest investments etc.) complicates that even further. That seems totally unworkable. On the other hand, this certainly wouldn’t be the first thing I ever encountered in Thailand that doesn’t make sense to me.

I totally hear you on that... That said… success at Bangkok Bank this morning! I am now in possession of a bond holder number from the bank and a bond account passbook. I have not yet been able to add the account to my mobile banking app but the fellow said I need to wait a day before that becomes possible. And of course actually BUYING a bond even once I should be able to might become a whole new adventure.

I would love to go for WP instead of WGC but I am in a transition phase: I don’t have the retirement income flowing yet, but can still use salary from last year for WGC even though my income in 2023 will be around zero. What I like about LTR vs retirement extension is the ability to get a work permit on LTR, and exemption from the 4:1 ratio. This opens up possibilities for forming a company and issuing myself a work permit.

Indeed this is what I was told yesterday at Bangkok Bank as well. I worked and paid taxes in Thailand decades ago and so must have had a TIN… and I was in fact able to get an official TIN card printed at the Revenue Department branch yesterday simply by showing my passport. (Aside: this felt somehow miraculous.) Will try again at Bangkok Bank today. Let’s see what excuse they have today for not opening the bond account…

Mission accomplished. Card issued upon presentation of my passport and TID at the correct Revenue Office branch.

Went to the Klong Toei Revenue Office branch, 23rd floor Times Square building near Suk. 12. They looked me up using my current passport and found it, even mentioned the company name of my old employer. I got the TIN itself but I have to go to the correct branch to get the official card. I’m going to try that soon.

I worked and paid taxes in Thailand many years ago. I have no record of my TIN but I must have had one. Is there any chance of recovering it? Also is there an up to date list of Revenue Office branches somewhere? I searched but even on the Revenue Dept site I can’t find a list. I might have missed it… EDIT: just searching for “Revenue Office” in Google Maps shows a bunch, Not sure how up to date these are, but it’s a good place to start. Any insights appreciated.

I went to a Bangkok Bank branch. They said I could open a government bond account as a foreigner, but I need a Thai tax ID. That seems reasonable. I’m going to research that.

Thank you, I sent an email to the BOI LTR folks to ask.

Another question: has anyone successfully used a Thai government bond as part of the investment in Thailand for WGC? My condo won’t be enough and I will be looking for the lowest risk way of topping up to get to $500K. Was thinking to try to open a Bangkok Bank government bond account. On the face of it that seems like it should make this dead simple… Could another option be to buy another condo? Seems undesirable as I can only live in one of them at a time…

Anyone have any experience to share about buying a Thai government savings bond? Bangkok Bank offers a specific ”government bond account” as one of their investment options. Since I already have a savings account with Bangkok Bank I thought I might try to get a bond account opened. If I manage to do that, is it just a matter of a few taps in the mobile app and I’m magically a Thai government bond owner? Or is the process of acquiring a bond more involved than that even if I have an bond account with Bangkok Bank?

Waiting on my condo deal to close before applying for the WGC LTR visa… Has the manner in which to prove the value of a real estate asset in the USA been covered here? I was thinking I could use the assessed value from my county, plus a copy of the deed. Or something.

Ukraine is in Europe. What are you talking about?

There's no legal basis for this to happen. US citizenship is very, very hard to have stripped away... which IMO is a good thing as I don't want government to have the power to weaponize denaturalization. This case will wend its way through the legal system, and she'll be judged -- and punished -- accordingly. That, and not the "villagers with pitchforks and torches" routine, is our American definition of justice.

I'm glad there is a nearly insurmountable bar to removing someone's US citizenship. I don't want government to have the power to weaponize denaturalization. This case has nothing to do with the circumstances by which she attained citizenship. This woman will go through the legal system, be judged, and sentenced accordingly. There's zero chance she'll lose citizenship and even less chance she'll be deported anywhere.

Imprisonment yes. The other stuff, no. Citizens have the right to live in the US, and US citizenship generally can’t be revoked over matters that have nothing to do with the circumstances by which someone attained citizenship. It’s actually really hard and involved to lose US citizenship.

Thank you!

I appreciate the replies... The condo is already going to be roughed-in with the fiber itself. I'm trying to understand what provider-supplied equipment is installed and what connections are made between that equipment and the rough-in, when I do eventually get service installed from AIS, True, or 3BB. Does anyone live in a condo with one of those Litech boxes like shown in my photos, and can comment on whether my assumptions are correct? Is that box one of these (or similar)? Unfortunately I can't get inside one to check myself. https://www.showmecables.com/indoor-fiber-termination-wall-enclosure-plastic-construction-1?identifiers=pla-4577266910970038&Campaign=(ROI) Shopping - No Numbers&CampaignId=361705774&AdGroup=Patch Panels&AdGroupId=1178677387791174&AdId=73667542330608&Network=o&msclkid=b20c2569f6251de625d64687323e21a1&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=(ROI) Shopping - No Numbers&utm_term=4577266910970038&utm_content=Patch Panels

New condo, still under construction. There is a single fiber drop into each unit. It looks like the fiber will be run into a white Litech-branded box, on my wall. I attached photos from a show unit of the wall and of the underside of the Litech box. Can anyone confirm, or correct me, on the following points? The Litech box does not contain any equipment; it simply provides a convenient place to coil up the fiber and terminate it neatly so that... ...AIS, True, or 3BB can conveniently attach their combo ONT/router/WAP device via a short piece of fiber to that Litech box If I ever want TV service, set-top boxes will connect over ordinary network (Wi-Fi or LAN); there is no coax involved So, no electricity supply is supplied to the inside of the Litech box, and my provider won't install anything inside it. In fact the Litech box is actually optional because there could possibly be other ways to provide the fiber termination to which AIS/True/3BB's device will be attached. Correct? Also: my plan is to put the provider's combo device into bridge mode, shut off its Wi-Fi, and connect my own router and WAPs via one or more LAN ports... like my Unifi system at home in the USA. Doable? Thanks.

Thanks. I believe you are correct. I continued my email thread with the LTR folks, asking this very direct question: Do I still qualify if I apply in July 2023 with this (example): 2023 year-to-date: $0 2022: $500000 2021: $750000 The answer: Yes, you can use the income for year 2022 and 2021. With your information, it can be qualified because the requirement for total income is 160,000 USD from the last 2 years (80,000 per year, but can be combined). This appears to confirm the idea of average income for the trailing 24 month period being what's important, and also a certain flexibility that accounts for yearly variances in income. I'm eager to confirm this because my investment in Thailand isn't quite at $500K, and I will likely need to "top it up" solely for the purpose of this visa. I'd like to avoid doing that unless I have some assurance that I qualify on all the other criteria.

I haven’t seen anything about the extent to which her family in the US may have helped her flee, destroy evidence, etc. Although not always taken as seriously as the crime itself, abetting a crime is also a risky thing in the US.

I contacted the LTR center by email and asked about the period for which I’d need to demonstrate the 80k of income, for the Wealthy Global Citizen case. I was told unequivocally over the course of a lengthy email exchange that * For an application made any time in 2023, I would show 2021 and 2022 calendar year income * The WGC process does not involve checking my *current* (2023) income/job situation at all. This would seem to mean that if I left my job late 22 or early 23, and have no income during any of 23, I can still get a WGC visa in 23 (assuming all other criteria are met). Is this really true?

When I was in Thailand recently I was successful opening a savings account at the Bangkok Bank Bumrungrad branch (I went there because it happened to be a Saturday and they were open vs. other branches in the area which are closed on weekends). I was in Thailand on a visa exempt entry. I showed the bank a Purchase & Sale Agreement for a condo I am going to buy (but have not actually bought yet), plus my passport of course. There was a little back and forth because they at first tried to claim that they only do this when someone has the deed already, e.g. once the condo sale is completed. But their own brochure specifically states some of the conditions under which a foreigner can open an account, and the deed IS NOT required. Neither is any specific kind of visa. See the “Open an Account” section in this document: https://www.bangkokbank.com/-/media/files/personal/other-services/transfers/buyingcondo.pdf?la=en&hash=688DBBF0954BF058C263618189F3969BB3530BC2

Well there are worse places to be stuck, at least.