Tony M

This is not a thread about applying for, or renewing, a British passport. If you read the OP, it is a question about the return of a Thai passport to an applicant who has applied for a UK visit visa.

Don't worry. She should be able to pay for courier passport return when she attends her appointment for biometrics. VFS does not turn down opportunities to sell "services". It's mostly a money-grab.

A copy of the bio page of your British passport is enough (assuming that you are British ?). A copy of her previous passport(s) is good enough, including any entry and exit stamps to/from Thailand and UK.

Thank you for your response. If this "scheme" is introduced, there is no way that I would potentially give the Thai government 35% of income from any of my investments. Especially if someone who stays less than 180 days a year in Thailand wouldn't need to pay the same as they wouldn't be tax resident. (I do realise that wherever a person lives might result in taxes). The Thai government is unlikely to give anything in return for receiving a potential 35% of my income, or interest, in taxes from me, so they can lose all tax income from me. Currently tax resident here, I will happily become non-tax resident here.

Here is another stupid question, and I apologise if it has been asked and answered here or elsewhere. If I win 1 million GBP on the Premium Bonds, would Thailand want to tax that full amount as "global income" ? Premium Bonds prizes are, of course, tax - free, along with any income from those bonds (I believe ?). ? Uk premium bonds tax fee Interest is tax-free: Premium Bonds are a government-backed investment product, and the interest earned is free from both income tax and capital gains tax. No penalties or exit fees: You can cash in your bonds at any time without incurring any penalties or exit fees. Tax-free prizes: The monthly prize draw is also tax-free, and you don’t have to include the winnings in your tax return. No guaranteed regular income: Unlike traditional savings accounts, Premium Bonds do not guarantee a regular income or returns. The interest earned is based on luck and the annual prize fund rate. Secure investment: As a government-backed investment product, Premium Bonds are secure and backed by HM Treasury, ensuring that 100% of your investment is protected. No tax implications: There are no tax implications for non-UK residents who hold Premium Bonds, as the interest earned is not subject to UK tax. However, tax may be applicable in the country of residence.

Well, excuse me for asking a question. It seemed to me that it could be relevant to both "remitted income" and to any future possible changes in declaring foreign/global income. I have read the "handy guides" on estimating, declaring, identifying assessable and non-assessable income(s), but the handy guides, although incredibly useful, don't answer all of the questions that I and others might have. So, apologies for intruding in a thread which isn't even yours.

Many thanks.

I, probably like many others, am completely lost with all of this. At the moment, it looks like income remitted into Thailand will be taxed as assessable or non-assessable ? A tax return will, probably, need to be completed. Or not (this is still unclear). My question, and I apologise if it has already been asked and answered in one of the many threads, is what exchange rate does one need to use when converting transferred "income" to Thai baht on the tax return form ? Is it the rate on the date of submitting the form or a "median" of the possibly many different rates throughout the tax year ? I apologise if the question makes no sense.

Here is an interesting "explanation" of the background to frozen pensions, and more SN01457.pdf

I contacted my MP about the subject of frozen pensions, and asked him about his stance and his party's stance I received this response : On 26-Apr-24 5:44 PM, xxxxxxxxxxx MP wrote: I am aware that, at the time of the previous general election, the Labour party had included unfreezing of frozen pensions in their manifesto (I think that is correct). I therefore responded to my MP as below : Dear Mr xxxxxx, Thank you for your response. It is, of course, disappointing. At the time of the last (I believe) election the Labour Party promised to unfreeze pensions for those pensioners living overseas in countries that do not receive uprating. I have to ask why that promise has changed ? Why are we no longer deserving of this ? The fact that some pensioners are still receiving the level of pension that they had when they left UK many years ago is, to be fair, disgusting. You say that this "this is a difficult issue". I would have to disagree. It's a very simple issue. Make pension uprating the norm for all pensioners, no matter where they reside. What could be simpler than that ? We have paid our dues in UK, many of us, including me, for more than 40 years, and now we are penalised ? Why ? You say that moving overseas is voluntary decision. That is so, and so is my choice of who to vote for. I'm sure that the implication is clear. Regards, Tony M The MP has not responded

Without knowing the full background to the previous application, and the reasons for refusal, then it is difficult to give advice. If you can post the refusal notice, redacting all personal details, then we may be able to give some advice based on the reasons for refusal. Or you can message it to me privately, and I will help if I can. Making an application based on joining a tour group might be seen as an attempt to "get around" the previous refusal. Personally, and it's my opinion only, that's not a good idea.

I don't have any experience of this category of visa, but I aware that it is seemingly "designed' to make it virtually impossible for an applicant to qualify. This paragraph is the important one : Where the application is for entry clearance, the applicant, or if the applicant is applying as a parent or grandparent, the applicant’s partner, must be unable to obtain the required level of care in the country where they are living, even with the financial help of the sponsor because either: (a) the care is not available and there is no person in that country who can reasonably provide it: or (b) the care is not affordable. It is clear that they set the bar very high !

Again, many thanks, Mike.

I thought it had been established that, if you are tax resident, then you must file a tax return. Is that not the case ? My remittances are from savings, so are you saying that I do not need to file any tax return at all, and I don't need to submit any evidence of savings pre-1/1/24 unless asked sometime in the future ?

Sorry, but I'm still confused. What information do I include on the form ? Just zeros, as there is no assessable income ?

Mike, thank you for this. I apologise if this question has been asked before, but there is a lot of information to be looked though in this thread: You, and others, have mentioned keeping records, and I have no problem with that. When I need to submit a tax return (P90, in my case), in early 2025, it will be a paper submission, based on remittances of savings in 2024, and based on the savings balance in my UK account at 31/12/23. So do I add a letter of explanation to the tax return (in English ?), and take it all along to the local tax office, along with all of the printouts, etc ? Do I just put zeros in the "income" boxes on the form ?

The condo has a form of lawyers, on contract, for sure, to do all of their legal work.

Someone must know who the owner is. The owner, or the owner's agent, must pay fees to the condo each year, etc. Who does City Hall send the bill for annual condo tax to ? Who pays the tax ? The condo can pressure the owner or the agent, or take legal action, to get the owner to take action for payment, for noise under the Wrongful Acts legislation, or whatever.

Some people want to keep their passports while their application is considered. Mainly that would be applicants for "settlement" type visas, which can take several weeks to process. Visit visa are being processed fairly quickly at the moment, so, unless you need it to use imminently, then it's best to leave it with VFS. The passport does not go anywhere near the UKVI, and the UKVI do not need to see the passport. The visa is not yet an e-visa, but that will happen sometime in the near future. For instance the Biometric Residence Card issued in the UK will soon be an e-card and not a credit card/ATM type of card. Visa is stuck into the passport by VFS at the application centre, if issued by the UKVI decision-maker. It is then ready for collection or sending by EMS. The applicant does not have to go back to the application centre to collect the passport, as VFS will "courier" it to the applicant's chosen address (for a fee, of course).

She would seem to have acouple of options. The most obvious option is to cut her holiday short, go back to UK now, and submit her FLR application before 30 April. In theory she can make the application from Thailand, but she must be in UK to give biometrics. So, she could do the online stuff from here, and make an appointmemt to give biometrics at a later date. Her problem, of course, is that she still has to be back in UK by the 30th April or she has no leave to remain or enter. The airline will refuse to carry her to UK without a valid Residence Permit. If she doesn't enter the UK before 30th April, then I think she must start the whole visa application process again. And that means applying under the new rules regarding financial requirements and income. That's how I see it. I could be wrong.

Next week the tour bus company will be advertising "Our customers bought 'Keep You Safe' amulets at the temple tour !"

Many thanks, Mike. You're doing a great job for us all !

Understood. I am intending/hoping to use savings (accrued pre-1/1/24), which is obviously different from DTA exempt income ? So, no need to "declare" anything at all because, as you say, there doesn't seem to be anywhere to declare it ?

Mike, re your point 1 response. I have seen this, from a Thai law firm : The new amendment to the Revenue Code in Thailand, which will come into effect on January 1, 2024, requires tax residents of Thailand to declare all of their overseas income, regardless of where it is earned. However, this does not necessarily mean that foreigners will have to pay more taxes in Thailand. Under double taxation treaties (DTTs), Thailand has agreements with many countries to avoid double taxation on income. This means that if a foreigner is already paying taxes on their overseas income in another country, they may be exempt from paying taxes on that income in Thailand. To take advantage of a DTT, foreigners will need to declare their overseas income to the Thai Revenue Department and provide documentation to prove that they have already paid taxes on that income in the other country. Difference between declaring and paying taxes Declaring taxes means reporting your income to the tax authorities. Paying taxes means actually remitting money to the government. Under the new amendment to the Revenue Code, all tax residents of Thailand will be required to declare their overseas income, regardless of whether or not they are exempt from paying taxes on that income. However, foreigners who are exempt from paying taxes on their overseas income will not actually have to pay any taxes to the Thai government. Doesn't that mean that a tax return must be submitted anyway ?

Thank you for the clarification. And, yes, it's a bridge to be crossed sometime.