gdringjr

I agree that ACH transfers to Bangkok Bank, New York are one of the cheapest routes to get cash to Thailand. Here are their fees for receiving ACH transfers which are then available to you in one day.

Transferred Amount

Fee (USD)

Free

3.00

5.00

10.00

20.00

I have been using ACH transfers from Bank of America to Bangkok Bank, NY for years and it's been OK. I paid B of A three dollars for the three day transfer to Bangkok Bank, NY and then ten dollars (see chart above) to Bangkok Bank. Monthly cost of $13 for moving my money over here with a good exchange rate.

But I just went one better. I just opened a Fidelity account which, similar to Schawb, refunds all ATM fees. I tried my new debit card last week and then checked my balances and found I had paid just .01% more than the current XE.com rate. Fidelity is not even charging the 1% foreign exchange fee at the moment so I recieved my cash, from my US bank (Fidelity) paying vitually nothing.

OK, I've got three veteran posters telling me that a work permit is needed. Thank you very much.

In a somewhat different scenario: I am the owner of a condo which I would like to rent to others. In order to rent my condo I have to post advertisements, respond to emails and calls, show the condo, collect rents, make or direct repairs and improvements, manage evictions, etc. This certainly sounds like work l but I know at least a dozen expats who have bought condos and then perform this work without the benefit of a work permit.

Is a work permit needed if one buys and then rents or leases his/her condo? Would you HAVE to hire a management company to perform the management of the rental property to be within the law? If you did have to hire a management company, are the acts of of hiring and then working with your management company considered "work"?

Thanks!

Hey, please wake up. This is Thailand. Don't ask all those questions based on your western values. You know all the answers already but you are trying to stir the xx. ...

OK. Can you please email me a set of non-western values? Then I can ask my questions based upon whatever values you send me. That would be helpful. Thanks so much.

Wow! You were right Mario when you said there was a "broad definition of labour". I just read the Alien Working Act B.E. 2551 (2008), Section 5 which defines "working" as "working by physical strength or knowledge whether intended for wages or any other benefits".

Not only does this incredibly broad definition describe virtually everything everyone does during every waking moment but it fails as a definition at the most elementary level. It defines "working" as "working". That's like defining "run" as " to run".

Amazing Thailand

Thanks for that Mario.

I've moved on from my original question which was answered succinctly by three members and my question now asks for a bright line or a definition of what you call " ...the rule of what is considered working...". What is this rule you mention? Is it codified in immigration law?

There must be some definition of "work" for the purposes of Thai immigration law. Otherwise I suppose I could be arrested for weeding my carrots. If a government intends to charge someone with a violation of a law or rule than that law or rule must be defined or codified. Does anyone know the text of the rule or law defining "work" for the purposes of Thai immigration or where it could be found?

I guess what I'm asking is there any bright line rule that determines when a persons activity is deemed to be "work".

OK, I've got three veteran posters telling me that a work permit is needed. Thank you very much.

In a somewhat different scenario: I am the owner of a condo which I would like to rent to others. In order to rent my condo I have to post advertisements, respond to emails and calls, show the condo, collect rents, make or direct repairs and improvements, manage evictions, etc. This certainly sounds like work l but I know at least a dozen expats who have bought condos and then perform this work without the benefit of a work permit.

Is a work permit needed if one buys and then rents or leases his/her condo? Would you HAVE to hire a management company to perform the management of the rental property to be within the law? If you did have to hire a management company, are the acts of of hiring and then working with your management company considered "work"?

Thanks!

I have a few friends who are renting their Chiang Mai houses and condos on AirBnB.com and they are having great success with booking travellers into their accommodations. The bookings tend to be short term (a few days to a few weeks) and while the turnover is high, so is the compensation. All of my friend's homes are straightforward condo or house rentals with no other services or amenities. None of my friends have a work permit.

Here is my question. If I open a bed and breakfast at my home (using my spare guest bungalow) and offer not only accomodation but breakfast and dinner, use of bicycles, golf clubs, computers, motorbike, etc., would I need a work permit? It seems to me that changing linens, preparing meals, cleaning up after guests, giving touring advice, picking people up at the airport, etc. is work. Since I'm being compensated for this work would I need a work permit? What's your take on this?

I'm not looking for advice on whether the idea of opening a bed and breakfast is practical or not. The scope of my question is limited to the need for a work permit.

What I find interesting about this story is that if the seizure and arrest occurred as reported than there was no judicial oversight which means the police could have easily brought the "stash" in with them.

No mention is made of the police explaining their suspicions to a judge or magistrate and attempting to obtain authorization to search the mans home. The story says the police knocked, identified themselves, entered the mans home and took his drugs. No warrant. No due process. No right to privacy.

Of course I want criminals arrested and put in jail but knowing that the Thai police can enter my home whenever they like, without judicial oversight is the frightening aspect of this story.

I assume the OP is moving money from a U.S. bank as he asks about dollars to baht.

A few months ago I opened an online U.S. Fidelity Cash Management Account which is linked to a Fidelity Investment Account. The cash management account is a checking account with no minimum balance and zero fees for almost everything including ATM withdrawals anywhere in the world. Fidelity provides a Visa Debit card which can be used in any ATM with no fee. Not only do they not charge ATM fees but they reimburse you (within one day) of any fees that were charged by the bank which owns the ATM. No minimum balance needed and you don't need to use the linked investment account.

I'll be closing my fee-heavy Bank of America account (which I have had for twenty years) in a few weeks.

Schwab has a similar checking account with zero fees and reimbursements for ALL ATM transaction fees. Schwab reimburses all other banks fees at the end of each month instead of the same day as the transaction.

Neither Fidelity nor Schwab have brick and mortar banks so everything is online including opening the accounts. If you open an account from a non-US IP address that will trigger fraud alarms and you will probably have to go into a Fidelity or Schwab investment office to verify your identity.

Look here for a list of U.S. banks that refund ALL ATM fees: http://consumerist.com/2008/12/22/49-banks-that-refund-all-atm-fees/

Colder than a brass toilet seat on the shady side of an iceberg in Chiang Mai