watgate

One thing the Captain should be reminded of is his g/f back in Thailand. I am sure she is faithful to you while you are busy getting your life in order but one must be mindful that many Thai ladies are pros. They can juggle more then one man at the same time and get a nice cash flow streaming to them on a monthly basis. There are Thai woman who are in fact faithful and honest and hopefully yours fits that label. The temptation to cheat rises exponentially when you are not around. Remember the adage, when the cats away the mice will play. Good luck,

This year the stars aligned and I don't have to do a 90 day report until April 1 which is no problem since I will be back in Chiang Mai before then. I left to escape the foul air and have to return to Chiang Mai to fly back to the US. I will be returning to Thailand around the middle of May and am planning on checking out some places down south such as Naklua, Jomtien maybe Hua Hin to see about moving there with my g/f to escape the foul air of chiang mai. If we do move then it shouldn't be an issue but if we decide to stay in chiang mai and just leave for 2-3 months during the burning season some questions come to mind. If I have to do a 90 day report while away from chiang mai I take it I would have to do the 90 day report at the nearest immigration office where we will be staying. Is that correct? Also are you supposed to report to the nearest immigration office to report your stay when you first arrive, say for instance in Buriram?As for my annual extension of stay based on retirement it is due on Jan 14 each year and I have been doing it the beginning of December but will start to do it the end of December if we decide to still live in chiang mai because going forward you are going to have to report back to immigration 90 days after your annual extension is completed to verify your funds are still in your bank acct. In this way I should be back in chiang mai before I have to report back to immigration around the end of March. My last question I usually fly back to the US each year around the beginning of April so what would happen, if anything, if my plane departed before I was due to report back to immigration to show the funds still in my bank acct? Would it be the same as what happened this year with my 90 day report whereby I am due to report at immigration on April 1 and my plane is departing the same day so I don't have to report. Any clarification would be appreciated.

I realize this is about Latin America but was wondering why American and Canadian and maybe some other expats from other countries haven't retired in Florida?

I entered Thailand by air from Vietnam on Oct 10, 2109 so was due for a 90 day report at immigration on Jan 7 2019. I went to immigration on Jan 2, 2019 to do my 90 day report. I was given a slip which said I have to do another 90 day report again on April 1, 2019. I am questioning this because I thought the 90 days would begin again from the actual day I was supposed to report initially which would have been Jan 7, 2019, which going out 90 days would have meant I didn't have to report again to immigration until April 6, 2019. It might be moot since I am due to depart back to the US on April 1, 2019 so my 2 questions are should I have been give a new report date of April 6, 2016 based on the above scenario and secondly, since I am scheduled to depart from Chiang Mai back to the US on April 1, 2019 I am thinking that I wouldn't have to report on April 1 to immigration to do my 90 day report on April 1. Is that correct?

  2 hours ago, HHTel said:

One option to avoid holding a lump sum in Thai baht is to keep in a Foreign Currency account.  That way your cash will be in US dollars or GBP which you can draw from when the exchange rate is favourable

     A previous poster said that if you deposit funds in a thai bank that are not thai baht they will not be protected by Thailand's version of FDIC insurance for bank deposits, If true then depositing funds in another currency in a thai bank would be very risky.

Once I deposit 800K in a thai bank I was wondering what would be the best way to close out the acct and withdraw my funds if at some point in the future I get to the point where I have had enough of the land of smiles. Since the funds would be in thai baht I would want to most likely convert it back to usd. I guess I could take the thai baht to a currency exchange place and exchange the thai baht for usd. I would then have to get the necessary form to bring the usd back into the US since it would be more then the 10k limit for bringing usd currency into the US. 

     For all you astute financial wizards would I be better served to transfer or wire the funds back to my US  financial institution if I decided to close out my acct in Thailand? How cost effective would that scenario be since I am sure I would have to pay the associated bank fees to change the thai baht back to usd before wiring the funds back to the US plus whatever bank fees would be charged for wiring the funds back to the US. 

    Does anyone know what would be the most cost effective way to transfer or bring my funds back to the US if I decide to go that route.  Thanks for any info or advice.

Since I have never put 800k in a thai bank I was wondering what exactly one has to do with complying with the FACTA/FBAR reporting when doing one's income taxes at year end? Since I go back to the US for a couple of months each year do I need to get something from the bank where my 800k will be on deposit in order to be able to complete the FACTA/FBAR requirement? I don't want to go back to the US and not be able to complete the FACTA/FBAR requirement since I don't have the necessary info or documentation to complete it.

Two issues come to mind. First off,if one has to transfer into their thai bank acct 65k each month, aren't they going to be hit with monthly wire fees and bank fees which can add  up. Secondly, what about going the tourist visa route as a former poster suggested in a previous posting. He said " If I have to I'll go the METV route or SETV plus runs. I'm just trying to minimize the hassle and giving me the chance to come and go as I please over a full year".  Are tourist visas still practical for stays of 6 months or longer or has immigration cracked down on them?

I am only up to page 21 so if someone has already answered my question my apologies. Say,at some point I want to say adios to Thailand and want to withdraw my 800k thai baht to take back to the US. Can you convert the 800k  thai baht back to usd or will you be hard pressed to find an exchange place willing or able to convert that much thai baht into usd? If you have to take 800k thai baht back to the US does anyone know if you will take a big hit in the conversion from thai baht back to usd? I realize one can get a thai atm card which you can use to withdraw funds from your  thai bank acct while in another country so maybe that would be the rest way to go.  Any comments or info is appreciated.

Jeffandgop interesting you should mention this. In the past I would withdraw funds from a a Thai atm with my Schwab debit card and the rate always seemed to be significantly lower then what the XE currency converter website listed. I was led to believe that when you withdrew funds from an atm you would be getting the prevailing rate but now I am wondering if you do get a lower exchange rate from an atm versus having funds sent either by the ACH method or from the soon to be only option of a wire from your home bank or brokerage to Thailand.

I am planning on visiting Vietnam in October and would like to know what is the best currency to bring for spending there. I know I can use my atm card to withdraw funds but would prefer to bring some money with me.

I am planning to go to Vietnam this June or July and was wondering if there are any tours to Vietnam from Chiang Mai. I am also considering putting together a trip myself and was wondering if anyone has gone  there recently. I realize Vietnam is a large country and trying to do Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in one trip might be stretching oneself a bit so am exploring different options or itineraries. I understand a major thai airlines is going to be starting direct flights from chiang mai to I think Hanoi this coming March so this is an option. Also there is vietjet which I understand is a very good airline. Any info on visas for Vietnam such as being able to get one upon arrival in vietnam or should one be obtained before departure. I am a US citizen and I know my thai g/f does not need a visa. Any ideas or info on sight seeing in vietnam and any experiences you have had there would be appreciated as I develop an itinerary and decide whether I want to take a pre- arranged tour, providing you can get one from Chiang Mai or go the independent route. Any suggestions for hotels or places to visit would be appreciated also. I am hoping to go for 5 - 6 nights so what would be feasible and realistic to see in vietnam during that time frame? Lastly should one bring US currency to exchange there or use the atm's? Thank you for any info or input you might have about exploring vietnam.

Carib-Your posting Albert Einstein's quote was brilliant and I wholeheartedly concur with it. Well done.

I am still confused. I have a 90 day report on Dec 30, 2017 and using the calculator says I am good til March 30, 2018. My question is since I am not due to depart Thailand until March 31, 2018, will there be any repercussions when I arrive back in Thailand around the first week in July 2018 ? Yes I realize you can report up to 15 days before and up to 7 days after for your 90 day report but am still wondering if I DON'T do my 90 day report and miss the deadline by 1 day, what if any repercussions might there be upon my return in July?

I am due to depart Thailand next March 31, 2108 and will be having a 90 day report due at immigrations in chiang mai 1-2 days before my departure. If I don't report to immigrations for my 90 day report what will be the repercussions when I arrive back in Thailand around the 1st week in July?

No but I did hide the fact that I was an American went Obama was President.

My g/f has to go and renew her thai passport and my understanding is that she will be given a new passport number. I am anxious to book a flight within Myanmar and they are asking for my Thai g/f's passport number. If I put down her current passport number in order to book the flight, will there be any problem when we arrive at the airport and she has a new Thai passport with a new passport number? Yes, I know I can wait until she gets her new passport but if it would not cause any problems when checking in then I would like to book the flight now to take advantage of the good airfare. Any knowledgeable info would be appreciated.

I frequently go to McCormick Hospital for testing and never once have I ever seen a rat scurrying about. I find McCormick to be a very clean hospital. As for mosquitoes in their patient wards I was hospitalized there for a week a few years ago and never saw any mosquitoes in my room. Can a mosquito or two get into the ward, probably but I never saw any during my 1 week stay there.

I thought with an OA visa you have to go through the whole process every year or two  whereby you have to bring a medical report,police verification, bank statement,etc to the US Embassy or consulate to get another OA visa.With an O visa it is pretty straight forward whereby you just do an extension of stay for another year. I didn't realize you can do an extension of stay based on retirement when his total stay is near ending with the OA visa.So another question is once you do an extension of stay based on retirement and get a re-entry permit, would you do this for successive yearly stays in Thailand?

I am pretty sure my friend has an OA visa which he obtained in the US and is planning on going to immigration. I am not familiar with OA visas so my questions are "Does he go to immigrations in 90 days from the date of issuance of the OA visa or from the date he initially entered Thailand on the OA visa?" A second question is " Can he convert his OA visa to an O visa at immigration, and if so, what is required for him to do so?" If he can't then what is required from him when he goes to immigration with his OA visa besides showing a bank account with 800,000 baht which has been seasoned for 3 months.

I have to apply for my annual retirement extension, as well as my re-entry permit at immigration the end of this month. My question is  I will be departing Thailand next March 2017 and coming back in July 2017. I also am planning on visiting Myanmar most likely in October. Therefore I will be needing 2 re-entry permits. When I go to immigration the end of this month to apply for a re-entry permit can I apply for 2 re-entry permits or do I need to apply for the multiple re-entry permit even though I will only be needing two? I would much rather pay  2,000 baht then 3,900 baht.

Jingthing- Trump went on 60 minutes and stated that he is not going to look to repeal or reverse the Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage. He said it was now the law of the land and it is here to stay. I would think that if that were the case, and I hope and pray it is, then I don't see how Gays can be discrimanated against with any forthcoming healthcare plan. It that were the case, there would be a MAJOR lawsuit because of the Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage.

I've come a long way in my thinking ,although I am not gay, I do have a lot of respect for gays. I hope and pray Pres-elect Trump, and more importantly, V. Pres-elect Pence do not try and reverse the hard fought gains that Gays have won. I hope they stay focusd on much more important issues such as strengthening our national defense which has been weakened considerably. I also hope they work toward implementing a comprehensive national health plan for all Americans. I hope they stay focused on doing something about our out of control deficit spending. Our deficits are through the roof and we have almost reached the point of no return. If we don't get our financial house in order, and soon I might add, the whole country is going to suffer immeasureably as the debt consumes more and more of the budget. We are living in precarious times with much uncertainty and there are MUCH more pressing concerns then trying to waste time attempting to roll back hard fought gains by Gays.