tai4de2

When actually buying a condo, there will be a Sale & Purchase Agreement (contract). That document can be used to open an account at Bangkok Bank when in country visa exempt. The bank’s own “here’s how to work with Bangkok Bank to buy a condo as a foreigner” pamphlet shows it. I did this a couple of months ago at the Bangkok Bank branch at Bumrungrad. They didn’t want to do it until I showed them their own pamphlet, after which they did it cheerfully.

Los Angeles. Application required submitting just a single recent bank statement, which doesn’t have to be from a Thai bank. I forget the balance requirement but IIRC it was low, maybe $1700?

Good point, thanks for that. I suppose I could use the non-O I got as the basis for the in-country marriage extension, should the need arise. Not a huge win there because even a visa-exempt entry can be converted and used as the extension basis.

I applied for and received a 1 year multiple entry non-O eVisa based on "visiting a Thai spouse" (I forget the exact wording, but that's the gist of it -- it's the one that required a statement from my spouse that we're still married). I think the practical differences between this and the marriage extension I can also qualify for in-country are I cannot get a work permit on the visa I got, but I could on the marriage extension With the visa I got I'll be stamped in for 90 days each arrival, and so I'll need to actually leave Thailand every 90 days -- but I could re-enter immediately without too much risk of being denied (since it's not a tourist visa), vs. the marriage extension that requires 90 day reporting but not leaving Thailand I'll need new visas every year, vs. just continuing to extend my stay if on the marriage extension. Is this correct? Are there any other practical differences? The benefits to me of the ME Non-O is that the process is just vastly simpler. No criminal background check, no health certificate, no onerous documentation required from the bank (a simple statement is all that's required), no drawing maps, no visits from immigration at our residence in Thailand. I'll be in and out of Thailand over the next year and so having to leave every 90 days is a non-issue, at least for the next year or two.

What does "flying through Europe" mean? Is it a simple connection on the same booking? If so, when you check in at the airport in the USA for your flight, the airline will treat Thailand as your destination. Will you be able to show a ticket to leave Thailand within 30 days? It seems not, and so you risk being denied boarding. If on the other hand you will actually enter a country in Europe for a little stopover, or if you have separate tickets for the USA-Europe and Europe-Thailand segments, then when checking in at the airport in the USA the airline will treat your flight as one way to Europe, i.e. your eventual travel to Thailand is not relevant at that point. So you will need to satisfy whatever requirements exist for entering that European country (probably a nothingburger, so low risk... but I don't know for sure). But you could get denied boarding for the Europe->Thailand flight if you have no proof of onward travel from Thailand within 30 days. How strict those checks are in Europe, and for foreign passengers traveling to a third country, I don't know.

Los Angeles Yes I used my driver license for the proof of residency in the correct consular district.

If you do not have an air ticket to leave Thailand within 30 days of your initial arrival there, you will likely be denied boarding in the USA for your flight to Thailand.

I uploaded the same PDF for the "copy of flight confirmation" and "travel booking confirmation". It was for my flights. I struggle to understand what the "travel booking confirmation" would ever be for... maybe if someone is going on a group tour or something? I also didn't understand the specific thing needed for the passport pages w/ travel records for... what's that about 12 months since... what? I just put all pages that had a stamp within the past 12 months. My application was successful. I received the eVisa on the 11th business day after submission (end of March 2023).

If you stay 30 nights you will have overstayed by a day.

Any recent experiences applying for an eVisa via Los Angeles consulate? Just wondering what processing times are like. Any other insights also welcome (strictness of required documents, granting of multi entry instead of falling back to single entry, etc.).

It’s going to be a few months until my condo is finished and I can get my LTR visa application going. I’ve been entering and exiting Thailand a lot in the past few months dealing with the condo and other personal stuff as I configure my future in Thailand. I’m starting to get concerned that I’m going to get scrutinized and possibly denied entry or told “you must have a visa next time” soon. I don’t want to have immigration issues this close to the finish line. So let’s say I apply for a METV or some other form of non-O (say, based on marriage), and use that to enter Thailand a few times over the next few months. Will that make problems for me when I go for the LTR visa later this year? It might only be like 3 months later that I go for the LTR. I’d prefer to apply for an eVisa in the USA vs. visa category conversions or extensions of stay in-country because from what I can determine, the eVisa requires no medical certificates or police clearance. I have nothing to hide there but not having to deal with those two things is simply a big logistical win, but in-country conversions and extensions seem to universally require them. Any advice and insight welcome.

So, I did manage to get my Bangkok Bank account linked. But I’m wrong about the bank linking providing a third payment method. @lkn was right. According to customer service the only things enabled by bank account linking are withdrawals (sending money from Line Pay to the bank — already pointed out by @lkn) and adding money from the bank to Line Pay. The latter is possible even without linking. And CS recommends just adding my debit card as a credit card to get direct debit functionality. Also as @lkn said.

Thanks for the info! Will report back in a few weeks.

It looks to me like every sub-app within the Line system that can take money from you — such as BTS — has its own associated “payment method”. The payment methods are set up in Line itself and then the sub-apps let you chose among the user-added payment methods. Payment methods are (1) the Rabbit Line Pay balance, (2) credit cards, and (3) — I *think* — a bank account. I believe that last part is what the “account linking” thing is about. And then as you stated there seems to be a way of moving money in the other direction. Maybe that’s only possible with the “linked bank account” payment method. I got Rabbit Line Pay customer service to send me a PDF of the ATM flow to do the linking for Bangkok Bank accounts. It’s buried deep inside menus I would never have guessed. Will try later today.

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I’m trying to figure out what lack of bank account linking means in practical terms. Without this feature, what functionality am I missing? What I’d really like is for Line Pay to directly debit my bank account, in other words skip the need to keep a balance in Rabbit Line Pay. Is that possible, if I manage to get a bank account linked? If I understand correctly that’s possible with a credit card? So I suppose it would make some sense if it were available with a bank account too. I did find something in the help FAQ suggesting that foreigners can link a Bangkok Bank account but it has to be done at an ATM. I’ll try it later today.

Has anyone managed to get Rabbit Line Pay linked with Bangkok Bank mobile banking? I made it through ID verification in Line but Bangkok Bank mobile banking tells me it can’t link to Line because my Line is a foreigner account. Is this really not possible for foreigners or did I miss a step somewhere?

Can anyone recommend a firm that can do inspections on a condo, prior to purchase? In Bangkok. My condo is new construction, and the PSA provides for an inspection period once construction is complete. I’d like to take advantage of that. Thanks!

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.