new2here

Has anyone actually undergone this new way of WP issuance? It SOUNDS like (for renewals) the employee fills out the application, uploads their documents, then your employer somehow “attaches” themselves to your application (as you can’t renew or get a WP independently from having an actual employer) and once approved, you pay online, then get an appointment to get your face/finger prints taken. It also sounds like labour also now issues a card - and the QR on your card is simply changed each year as you renew - thus negating the need to come in yearly for a physical blue book stamp. Is this how others have found it to be? again, this is for renewals of an existing WP (obviously in book format before the new e-work permit system launched late in 2025)

I have always used and owned Sigs - they are one of the best semi-autos I’ve used . Now, to be fair, I’m far from an aficionado and really am just a layman, but I’ve owned the P226 and P225 and when I lived in the US, and held a CCW in my state of then-residence, the P225 was my concealed choice. Have always loved the Sig line and have fond memories of shooting and the ease of disassembly and cleaning.

I think for her, that’s what she’s known and has been what mom/dad bought and drank, therefore what she sticks with.. for me, I’ve had Voss (If available I like the sparking water as it gives me the soda like feeling without the sugars) but since my wife is an Evian fan, I drink it too … for simplicity alone.. and as I said earlier, I really can’t honestly say that when served cool/cold, that i can truly identify X label over Y label across the mineral water group.

I do think it’s a good place..: but so could a LOT of OTHER places too. I think it really comes down to a hard, objective assessment of where you are at in life, what you expect or foresee going forward, your risk tolerances, finances, health now and foreseeable future, family etc. I think it really can be a good place to settle down and finish out your life.. but.. I think you really have to think it through (to the best of your ability and foreseeability) and think about issues that are perhaps unpleasant - what if you have a major life-altering medical issue? - what’s your desires for end of life care? and issues that are a bit more warm and fuzzy.. what’s your day to day plans for lifestyle? are you a stay-at-home kind of guy, a golfer? what’s that look like.. I also think having a solid, well rounded social network is huge. I have friends here - good friends - that aren’t borne from my spouse or work, but from common interests etc., and to me that’s a big deal. for me it creates a balanced life that’s not all focused on one or two points. My spouse too, she’s the same. She has her gang- some are old school (HS and University) friends, some are work-based and others are from her various hobbies. And I think that’s great for her too.

My wife is a water connoisseur in that she only drinks Evian. She must go through at least 12 bottles a week. That’s fine; it’s her thing . For me, I only care about the taste. Can I taste the difference? Yes, but really only between bottled/filtered water and mineral waters.. within the mineral water spectrum, i honestly can’t say i can immediately identify the various labels. My only thing with the water is that I have to take it cool to cold - not room temperature/warm. If it’s warm to like warm the minerals become “bitter” to take on a more unpleasant metallic-like after taste.

For me, it was an issue that we talked about before we decided to marry. My spouse is civil servant - MoF - and holds an advanced degree. Therefore, for her, career is a big(er) deal - which I get. She and i got lucky as I see it, that we are both from very solidly financed families - so “money” wasn’t a huge huge issue for either of us. Her mom and dad are more than self-sufficient as are my mom and dad. The issue that was more front and center for us was children. Her mom and dad are from larger families (ie 4 to 6 kids) and I’m an only-child born from 2 only-child parents. So there was some animated discussion about family size expectations. And the agreement is that she will stay home when children arrive. I myself haven’t really worried about this issue “wife stops working” but I can sure see how it could be a problem later on. For me, my spouse and I discussed a LOT of things before we decided that we could “do this” (ie be married) her working post-marriage and post-kids, was just one of them. But I think having that discussion ahead of time made things far easier.

Agreed. To me there’s going to be to costs that apply fairly uniformly across the whole kingdom - for example staff wages and fleet acquisition costs.. and as such, those costs should be applied to all postal prices across the kingdom. … but there will some higher costs that are very localized.. and to that end, to me, it’s fair to include those localized higher costs specifically to services provided in those areas, as opposed to applying them kingdom wide. As I recall, Thai Post, while a direct government entity, they are mostly self-funded thru postal fees paid… as such, it’s fair for them to set prices based on true costs to provide said services.

Wouldn’t it be that banks would want to close more physical branches and OPEN more ATMs? After all, due to their “pooling” agreements, bank X can still have reach to their customers without the need to have an actual company owned ATM on premises and instead service their customer via bank Ys unit.

That’s a fair point. However, i would *guess* that a substantial percentage of working Thais actually fall under the minimum earned wage threshold to even have a tax due obligation (host, this doesn’t exempt them from filing despite the income level) I think that this is also a big reason why the use of the VAT is more prevalent because it’s far easier to enforce, control and collect - but as we know, any kind of tax like the VAT, tends to be regressive in nature unless key household items like food, rent, utilities are exempt. If I were revenue, Id start “upstream” by looking closer at the businesses finances - if they report X in “payroll” costs - then they’d be obligated to show to which tax payer IDs was said payroll disbursed to.. that would then give revenue a starting point for collection purposes . You could also get the banks in play. Require a “payroll code” be applied to any payroll payments made to individuals accounts.. and report at years end anyone with said deposits… that too would help revenue identify those with taxable income over X level. Foreigners working legally is low-hanging fruit because there aren’t all that many of them, and due to the increased regulatory requirements (ie work permits) it’s easier to identify these people and make sure they meet filing/payment rules.

My experience is like the majority of others as well ALL of my cards (2 from BBL, 1 from KBank and 1 from SCB) have a fixed annual fee.. From memory, it’s around 2k to 4k depending on the card and it’s “features” That said, like the others, I’ve never actually paid that fee - but rather was exempted yearly based on the amount of spend I put on the card.. My BBL cards are the lowest I recall with only few thousands or X transactions. The others are a bit higher - but easily met with just my traditional spend. IF the claim is 6,000 for the annual fee - IMHO - that would perhaps be for TWO cards from the same bank (I applied for and was approved for my 2 BBL cards at the same time) OR a card from the issuers “premium” line which carries higher perks, but also higher fees or minimums spend for a fee waiver.

i agree .. while the math is in fact correct - you’re right that by using the top few country, you’re always going to look “cheaper than..” To me, what Id think is better is to add language in the applicable law that sets a schedule for any fee hikes - like a bi-annual review or even pegged to the rate of inflation etc.

To be fair, nearly all countries operate in this manner in that the fees, taxes are nearly universally added into the fare programmatically - but disclosed in the fare construct section of the booking. So, Thailand really isn’t doing anything different than nearly all other countries in terms of how these taxes and fees are collected.

… effectively that is (a state funded subsidy) what they’re looking for.. and of course the other half of that would be how does the government pay for that subsidy? I agree that in many cases there’s some “self-inflicted” issues that are hurting their business - be that service, portions, cleanliness, productivity etc - that are fairly controllable. For me, the other issue I would have is this. IF your business expects to benefit from or partake in this kind of government funded subsidy, then I’d want to see proof that you’ve been paying the appropriate taxes - which is a part in how these programs are funded to begin with.

There’s a few “strikes” against having a non-stop US-TH sector. In no specific order - Thailand may be a high volume market, like the Philippines, its generally a low(er) YIELD market - meaning there isn’t a huge demand for PAID premium cabin seats - and that’s a huge driver to a routes financial viability. A second strike - compared to say SIN or even TPE - reasonably close by - BKK has relatively limited downline connectivity.. again, compared to SIN, where a pax coming off a US-SIN non-stop could easily make a same-carrier, downline connection to say DPS or KUL. TG would largely no have that kind of downline volume demand. A third as I see it would be fleet utilization .. depending on the frequency, a US-TH non-stop, running that would probably require a minimum of 2 aircraft to support that. To me, there’s much more profitable (ie higher RASM), easier fill with moderate premium demand, routes out there right now, than a true US-TH non-stop.

My wife and I won 10,000 2 years ago. At that time the Nonthaburi GLO office wasn’t too far so we went there. As I actually bought the ticket, I signed it they paid me - using all my data (passport etc) and minus the very minor taxes due. It was actually quite smooth. The part that took the longest was the validating the ticket itself. Once the ticket was validated as genius and the numbers verified, the paperwork was less than 10 minutes and they gave me a paper check (i don’t recall if they offered a cash pay option) against Krungthai bank. Krungthai accepted it and my account was credited 2 days later (i deposited it past the cutoff time for that days check clearance process) Everything I have seen, heard and experienced tells me that foreigners are eligible to legally play and win with the GLO bi-monthly lottery subject to the same rules for Thais. I myself don’t find the ticket price relative to the odds and max payouts to be hugely compelling per se, but it is one of the few legal ways to gamble in the kingdom.

While aircraft today have the technical range for a SEA/AFO/LAX/JFK- BKK non-stop, in my head, I wonder about the economics of that type of routing. Given non-stops draw revenue from only O&D traffic - without the ability to draw connection traffic at the hub point (ex: China Air via TPE, All Nippon/JAL via HND/NRT, or Emirates via DXB) I’d wonder if there really is enough volume to justify such a routing and the aircraft utilization that it would require. Bangkok, like a few destinations in the region, *tend* to be more leisure destinations - therefore tend NOT to draw paid premium cabin demand - which would be a huge driver for cost and revenue justifying this kind of long and thin route.. Somewhat similar to how SQ runs their EWR/JFK-SIN with an all C/J & PE cabins and forgo straight Y class all together. But for that market, it clearly has sufficient paid premium cabin traffic to support both routes (EWR and JFK), I’m not entirely sure that BKK has the same level of consistent demand.

Good question… I’d wonder not only will this spread to other banks (my own GUESS only is that it will as there’s really only upside for the bank and little downside by going this route) AND id wonder if at any point in time, banks will ask/require account holders to verify/update their status? For example you opened it back in 201X and at that time held a Non-B and WP.. but now in 2025 you don’t .. I’d wonder if they will want to see if the then-status still holds true today?

I tend to agree.. While I think socio-economic demographics of an IKEA customer probably overwhelmingly support a move away from cash payment and towards e-payments, QR and the like, I DO think that having some reasonable mechanism to accept cash is still a smart move Maybe it’s a “cash this register only” or the like.. but some way for cash paying customers to shop.

This isn’t an auditors issue.. the auditors really only verify that TG has followed the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and relevant Thai law as to their reporting of their financials …. How the may operate, their policies and protocols — that’s purely a management decision. So upgrades etc — Deloitte has zero input to this practice - only that whatever financial impact it has or doesn’t have, are properly recorded in their reports.

I recall TGs outside auditor is the Thai arm of Deloitte Touché.. as such, I’d be very very surprised if there was any malfeasance or violations of GAAP - otherwise Deloitte wouldn’t sign off on any of the required disclosures.

Here’s my take.. and it’s not unique to Thailand, nor a condemnation of it either. In no specific order .. 1) I think there’s a general lack of “safety culture” here .. safety is of course talked about - you see all kinds of signs/posters extolling safety.. but in practice, safety and safety compliance just isn’t an ingrained part of the daily life here . 2) Overall lack of firm, fair and CONSISTENT enforcement of existing laws.. On the books, Thailand has essentially the same motor vehicle laws as many “western” countries — but the enforcement of these laws is spotty or sporadic at best and out right ignored at worst… combined with a penalty system that is both woefully lacking combined with poorly integrated into the later motor vehicle, driver and public safety systems. I’ve long advocated for seizure and forfeiture to the state, of assets used in crimes resulting in injury or death OR repeated offenders.. Once you start taking away people’s “stuff” you’ll see change .. keep running zebras and narrowly missing pedestrians - loose the bike or car (financed or not) … run an illegal club where drugs are found or fire escapes blocked and people are hurt - loose the building and land. Harsh? yes.. but in the end, the “state” has the onus to ensure compliance with safety laws.

i had this account type in 2023 and when it matured i had a choice; USD or THB (at that days rate) I chose USD and was given notes in acceptable shape .. you can always politely refuse/request a different note if you feel that a specific one won’t be exchangeable later on.. i’ve never known any bank to refuse a reasonable request at the time of exchange

I would set up so that those holding visas like the DTV and various Non-Os (that require a local bank account) would be eligible to open an account at either SCB or Krungthai (because of their relationship with the national government) despite not holding a WP (which tends to be the key document many banks want) That way, Immigration would know that an account opened at SCB or Krungthai meets the requirements for type of account necessary .. AND the applicant would be able to open said account at a branch of SCB/Krungthai, by virtue of their holding said DTV or NON-On visa without the need/hassle of an “agent” or similar 3rd party. Both banks have a sufficient national footprint as far as physical branches goes and both are ATM “pool” participants.. So account access shouldn’t be a major issue. By limiting this to only 2 banks, it makes it easier for the regulators to make sure accounts are opened only for legitimate purposes and for those whose identity is confirmed.

Hi, I’ve asked this question to BBL before (I bank with them and at the Silom HQ office where most of these offices are located) I was told it’s still remitted to Revenue, but with a “999” type tax identifier.. It’s coded with BBLs payor ID* (as it should) but is tagged with an “unknown” payee code. (Note that BBL has many different tax IDs for its different operating divisions like retail banking, their asset management arm, etc) When/if it is later identified and assigned to a specific tax ID, then its re-coded and an update sent to revenue automatically

For me, I have done it, in-person, at my local RD office. To me fair, I have a rather straight forward return… none the less, I take all my papers; receipts (ex tax withholding forms from banks for interest received), tax withholding certificate from employer, etc then the staff just “plug in” what data goes where.. I’m usually done in about 15 mins or so. They usually ask some confirming questions; do i have a thai child, am I married etc.. All questions that might impact the final tax calculation. When done they show me my refund (i commonly get a bit back) and i’m in my way. My personal take here is so long as you don’t have an overly complex return and you generally know what is and is not necessary to report and what can be shown to revenue as a deduction- then i think DIY is very doable but the opposite I think also holds true.. If you’re not familiar with the process , have a more complex return - then a tax pro might be the better way to go