sanook1

100 per cent on domestic and 40 per cent on international = 20 per cent rise?

no smart ass they have other incomes also like landing fees

durrrr:P

lol

Ever since I arrived here on my non o visas I've been pestered to go and teach at the local schools here in La Un, Ranong. Despite pleas of I'm not a teacher, and even a blunt no. It was you speak English, you do it. Of late the cetang has finally dropped, and all I get now is occaisionally kids asking for help with homework. The so called Thai English teachers in the 4 schools that approached me, can not hold a conversation in the language the are supposedly teaching. So if a native English teacher wishes to teach if approached by the local primary schools. What's the problem. Just get the police to do a check with the police in his/her native country. At least the kids would get an ear for how the language is used, and not just be limited to "Hello" and "What is your name?", the dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Yes I totally agree with you. My Brother is here with his indonesian Wife Teaching English, they have 2 baby girls 1 and 2 years old. He has a degree and is fully qualified but apparently most of the other teachers are not qualified. They are a ###### site better than the alternative though.

compensation for deaths and injuries is common here and in other asian countries.

the insurance might have considered jet skiing a "dangerous sport" and probably had an exclusion clause.

in an advanced society , the local authorities would look at this accident have some kind of enquiry and impose some restrictions on jet ski operators , an age limit on users , ( this kid was 15 and probably had never used one before) and mark out special areas for jet skiing or for jet ski free swimming , thereby making things safer for the tourists.

have such measures been implemented in cha am ?

why is all this about money, it was an accident its about a young boy being killed by a jetski. Its a sad story but nobody is to blame. No money should be paid. Jet ski companies should have more control about where they allow customers to go...its the fault of beach zoning

Big deal? The dumb ones have worked fine for decades.

thats ok, no worries there

...so now this information is out and unfolds over the next week.. What do you think the coming year will bring for the thai borse and the property markets here. Its probably a good time to invest in the SET index in a fund like SCBSET with siam commercial bank and maybe buy a condo with the profits at the end of the year. This is my theory anyways, hoping to get a 20 percent or so devalued property here in 2008:) Anybody have any better ideas?

Wow

Someone withdrew money from an ATM in Chiang Mai 7:00PM 3rd Jan from an ATM in Chiang Mai, using a fake copy of my British ATM card. I discovered this by looking at my Internet banking and noticed a 20,000 baht withdrawal from Chiang Mai Siam City Bank ATM machine - not sure which one.(I dont live in Chiang Mai)

I have now cancelled my card and have requested an investigation by my bank in the UK.

I have no idea how someone could copy my card, replace it and also know the PIN number. It is a normal ATM (debit) bank card, i never use it in shops or over the phone.

the only possibility i can think of is there are some dodgy atms in thailand that have been set up to copy cards and get the numbers

yes the same thing happened to me. I apparently bought 1500 pounds worth of car parts in Korea...I have never even been to Korea. My credit card company refunded the money.

was there a bomb in on nut lotus complex that killed a few people maybe 3....its strange that it wasnt covered in the media. This apparently happened last night

This is not the work of Thaksin.

This is a third party.

There will be a counter coup soon.

Got any proof to back this claim?

Disturbing the peace and making the current gov look bad could be beneficial to Toxin's side. Enlighten those of us who merely think of logical arguments as to who would benefit from the current state of affairs oh wise one.

keep your heads down lads and lasses. lets all go to laos and vietnam

I am quite sure you will need your spouse with you. Have no experience under the new rules but that was always requirement number one before.

You will need 4x6cm photo for the TM.7 application. You really should have the wife call immigration and get a current list as web site has not been updated and if you have to change a tourist visa you will be subject to two sets of rules.

Yes, I will be changing from a tourist visa, how will that affect me? That was a good point Loburi, to phone the immagration, could you let me have either their number or their web site?

Many thanks for advice.

thats very helpful thank you.

have lived, and been wed to my Thai wife for 16months now. Am going to Bangkok on Jan 5th to get(I hope) a 12 month visa. I know I need to show min of 40,000baht a month, also wedding cert and house registration in wifes name. Birth cert of (wifes) son, and photos on wife and I in and around house. Do I need anything else? I would hate to go to Bangkok and find I have forgotten something. Oh yes, my passport and wifes ID.

Thanks for any advice.

yes make sure that the 40 k per month is made by either you or your wife, it cannot be residual income

theres a spot of unused highway around the bang saen area where you can open up to 297kmh, well i did:) not doing it anymore...too scarry, happy to have lived to tell the tale

...i am a global perpetual tourist!

The concept of the perpetual tourist or perpetual traveller (PT) is based on the principle that the PT never stays in any one country long enough to become liable for tax payment in that country. Books have been written on this subject.

The countries of this planet are not ready for the PT. That’s where your “global” comes in. You can be a PT, but not in Thailand, or any other country, alone. A PT has to move from country to country, staying in every country no longer than the laws and regulations permit a tourist to stay.

The problem of a PT begins when he falls in love with a particular country, makes it his base, and wants to stay longer at a time than this country considers sufficient for the purpose of tourism.

The PT must not have a home in any country. He does not travel in order to return, but to move on, which is not to say that every once in while his travels may bring him to a country to which he travelled before. The true PT has no difficulty complying with Thailand’s immigration rules, which are in fact very accommodating to a PT. His problems only start when the true PT-spirit leaves him.

---------------

Maestro

JR Texas (51, USA): Very clever.......interesting.......never thought of it that way Maetro. The globalization of the economy has created a global economy and the vast majority are not benefitting from it. In order to cope with the economic problems generated by the "system," a system that is rigged to benefit the top 1% in virtually every country, migration has skyrocketed. In Thailand's case, many migrate legally....getting Non-O's or Non-B's and try to work/start a business and/or support a Thai wife, etc. Others try to deal with it (legally) by getting Tourists visas (single, double) over and over again. Still other try to cope by doing (legal) border runs and getting visa exempt stamps. And finally, a growing number try to cope by crossing into Thailand illegally....this is a major problem in Thailand along the Lao PDR-Thailand border and the Cambodia-Thailand border. The illegal migrants are clearly a problem, but they do provide services in fishing and agriculture and construction and entertainment venues (especially girls along the border). Thais, of course, know this. Same as in USA where migrants from Mexico do all sorts of jobs American do not want to do. The PT (perpetual tourist) issue is not a problem in my view. But Thailand has decided to make it a problem, perhaps for the reasons you stated. The real problem now, it seems to me, is the gap between the PT and the Non-O/Bs. Many people do not want to be PTs, but they also are unable to meet the requirement sfor getting Non-O/Bs. In some cases they have the money to start a business and therefore meet the requirements for a long-term visa, but they simply do not want to deal with all of the red tape (it seems Thailand wants to do everything in its power to prevent expats from working legally in the Kingdom). What is needed, I think, is a shift in thinking and a shift in visa rules/regulations that will help these people live in Thailand legally. That means "lowering the bar." Of course, the exact opposite is happening and that is hurting many people at the moment. Another way of looking at this: If PTs are a problem, enact a set of visa/rules and regulations that make it easy for them to obtain long-term visa solutions. I hope my point is clear. Any idea what such changes would entail?

On a different matter: Is the new system going to make "those in the loop" more or less money than the old system? I think it will cause them to lose a lot of money. Since people are self interested, I think this will eventually cause a shift back to the old system. Financially, it makes no sense to me. It also makes no sense to me if the reason for the changes is to thwart crime.

Best wishes,

JR

maybe you should re-read the post about her

Apologies to Cobra and Nam (above)

yes lets all give the whole thing bad press....i am a global perpetual tourist!

You are not a tourist, tourists don't earn money, they just spend it. You are a working nomad .... where do you pay tax on your income?

//edit/sshhh.... let's see how long it takes for the 183 day rule to be mentioned

most western countries have tax treaties with thailand to prevent double taxation. So if above poster is deriving income from properties etc then nothing to feel guilty about as he is accountable for local tax and thailand is not going to risk their favorable trading relationships with western countries to try to double tax people. Forget about it.

by Thai law you are liable to pay 15% of your gross rental income if you don't file income tax here. If you set up a company and do file income tax returns, you can deduct expences.

15% of gross, thats interesting, is there a band that you have to reach here before that becomes applicable? In Denmark I have to pay 60% so 15 would be excellent. Say for example someone owned a flat in jomtien and rented it out for 25000 per month and that was their only income derrived from thailand, would that be 21250? I suppose people with large units renting for 150000 per month could say that the rent is only 25000 and take the difference in cash.

I'll bet anything that come January there will be major sweeps checking farang passports and arrests

goowar lew cap ill tell her to keep her head down...not that she ever gets off her comouter anyway ao i guess shes nothing to worry about

I don't see what scantily clad girls have to do with selling just about any product other than scantily clad girls. I don't care if DTAC has scantily clad girls gyrating in front of a display if the dtac service sucks. same goes for girls selling Nescafe or Leo Beer or whatever. Of course, I may not be a typical consumer in Thailand, I suppose.

Whitey, I'm with you on that one.

Once I was at Pantip Plaza and the ground floor had a dance troup of young ladies half clad in sparkly silver outfits performing for a computer manufacturer. I thought to myself: "How bad must their products be that they can't be sold on features, performance and reliability alone? How does a gyrating half-naked lady in any way persuade me to buy their computer?"

it gets your attention, you look and there, you buy...are you gay? of course it works that why marketing companies do this. maybe in thailand they should use 20 year old boys haha

Can you still fly out and get the 60 day tourist visa and do this back to back - forever?

thanks

nam

nobody knows yet. in January and february should have a better fix on this. I just got a single entry TR visa from KL malaysia which should be good for 60 to 30 extension. Next time in KL or penang should be telling about the future.

Well, the OP included:

Under the new system, the tourists will only be permited to 30-day tourist visas, which could then be extended twice, after that they will have to leave the kingdom for at least 90 days before coming back in again. Meaning Tourists who have stayed in Thailand for 90 days, must stay out of the Kingdom for at least 90 days before being permitted a re-entry.

However, I think it unwise to rely on an uncorroborated account from an unidentified source.

As alluded to above, at the moment nobody can really say with certainty; those who may potentially be affected have little choice other than to wait and see...

my friend said she wants to just overstay instead of doing visa runs. shes been doing so for 9 years now and never been asked to produce her documents for anything. so now she will just stop doing visa runs and just stay here. She runs a sucessful internet site from here but the taxes are only paid in amsterdam

Wish her luck in the IDC...

idc??

Hi,

I am a teacher here, with a proper visa and work permit.

I want to settle a Thai company, which will be on my gf's name.

Of course, it's my gf's name but I want to know if I can work, as a foreign lawyer, for

her company.

I basically want to do some internet transactions but pay taxes in Thailand.

And if I work for her company, can't I get a workpermit? (2 workpermit....or I left my school?)

And how much does it cost to set up a Thai company?

Thanks for all comments.

Sebastien.

thai companies are easy to set up

i can get it done for 20000 baht

youll also have to pay the 4 thais and keep them on your books, i can also do this. the whole thing wil run for about 100000 per year

you pay taxes and stay here legally make the biz work and this will seem a drop in the ocean...good luck

Can you still fly out and get the 60 day tourist visa and do this back to back - forever?

thanks

nam

nobody knows yet. in January and february should have a better fix on this. I just got a single entry TR visa from KL malaysia which should be good for 60 to 30 extension. Next time in KL or penang should be telling about the future.

Well, the OP included:

Under the new system, the tourists will only be permited to 30-day tourist visas, which could then be extended twice, after that they will have to leave the kingdom for at least 90 days before coming back in again. Meaning Tourists who have stayed in Thailand for 90 days, must stay out of the Kingdom for at least 90 days before being permitted a re-entry.

However, I think it unwise to rely on an uncorroborated account from an unidentified source.

As alluded to above, at the moment nobody can really say with certainty; those who may potentially be affected have little choice other than to wait and see...

my friend said she wants to just overstay instead of doing visa runs. shes been doing so for 9 years now and never been asked to produce her documents for anything. so now she will just stop doing visa runs and just stay here. She runs a sucessful internet site from here but the taxes are only paid in amsterdam

Apologies to Cobra and Nam (above)

yes lets all give the whole thing bad press....i am a global perpetual tourist!

You are not a tourist, tourists don't earn money, they just spend it. You are a working nomad .... where do you pay tax on your income?

//edit/sshhh.... let's see how long it takes for the 183 day rule to be mentioned

i pay tax in denmark, but im from the uk

\the rent from my property allows me to be a perpetual global, bangkok based, tourist:P

"I think that we are all going to make some drastic adjustments. The face of Thai tourism will change."

*****

i don't think that somebody staying in Thailand more than three months is or can be called a tourist. i also don't see a reason why i should make drastic adjustments. but i admit that it is bad luck and unjust for those who would like to live in Thailand but do not meet the criteria for longer stays.

Don't you know how to do this-IIIIIIII!

i know how to do this, its great:)

believe that this crackdown is aimed at finding the falangs that are working illegaly and dont contribute cash from abroad to the thai economy but take Cash from the thai economy.

Hi guys

I am in a similiar boat to most, living on back to back 30 day runs to Burma, working as a teacher without a work permit and although I am married many years ago to my thai wife, we never got around to registering it..........dagnamit

So with the new visa restrictions and the lack of transparency as to what might happen in the coming months we have been scrambling around for solutions and thought we had got one sorted, dont want to risk back to back consular visits only to find I have been denied for one reason or another and then stuck in that country away from nmy wife and job..... sure you guys know the feeling.

Anyhow, malaysian friend of a friend turned me on to this guy //edit// whose company name is //edit// - Marriage registration and visa service based in Hat Yai and he said that he could arrange everything. My malaysian friend got a marriage visa and a work/business permit for 20,000 bht...... and he wasnt even married and he didnt even have a business...........it was all just on paper.

I doubted he could do the same for me as I figured it was easier for Malays and Thai embassies to do business but my friends friend assured me that he (JT Tranlation) could take care of it for me. So my wife contacted him and explained that I was doing the burma run every month and he said that he could help me to do my marriage visa, just send a copy of my passport, my wifes passport/id card, 2 photocopies of friends passports as guarantors and he would take care of everything else.........

My wife asked for more details and he said that I would be able to stay in Thailand for 1 year but that I would have to go to Penang etc etc every 3 months. My wife told him that we dont have the requisite 400,000 or the legally obtained 40,000 bht per month but the guy said not to worry as he could help us..........when asked how he replied, dont worry I can do it......... We assumed he knew something we didnt.........a loophole per se

He said the fee was 12,000 bht and after receiving our documents we would pay 6000 bht and when everything was ready, we would go to Hat Yai to collect our marriage visa documents, register our marriage at the local amphur with him (in Hat Yai which is not our local for sure) and then I would go to Malaysia and apply for the Non Immigrant visa. We sent our documents that day and after confirmation, deposited 6000 bht into his account

Several times in our further phone conversations we have asked him how he can circumnavigate the rule of 40,000 or 400,000 and we never got a satisfactory answer, only that he could take care of it but in the last day or two we have gotten cold feet and contacted him again and to our surprise it seems he is telling us it will cost 12,000 bht just to get our marriage visa................what ?? Eerything else is step by step and that he cannot help us with the new restrictions concerning savings and income

Can anyone offer me some clear advice here......... Does it really cost 12,000 bht just to register our marriage legally and bear in mind this does not include the UK consular feeof 1,950 bht for stamping our piece of paper that he has sent us (a crummy photocopy with incorrect spelling of my personal details. Surely I could have done all this myself for a whole lot less with a trip to my embassy..........what is the exact procedure and how much would it cost for me....... or an agency to do normally

When asked about refunding our intial 6000, he offered 3000 bht because of translation he said he did..........we have only sent our details and received a piece of paper with incorrect details on it !!! so he has now gone away to reconsider what we should pay for his 2 phonecalls, 2 pieces of paper with incorrect details and the cost of posting it to us, my wife suggested 200 bht and I certainly concur as it seems to be a complete rip off

Cheers for your advice guys

JAF

PS what conceivable benefit is there if I dont have 400,000 bht or 40,000 bht per month obtained legally here and have a marriage visa.........seems pointless to me as I am still in the same boat as everyone else, going to burma or penang hoping they give me what I want

500 baht to register your marrage if you forget your witness'

"I think that we are all going to make some drastic adjustments. The face of Thai tourism will change."

*****

i don't think that somebody staying in Thailand more than three months is or can be called a tourist. i also don't see a reason why i should make drastic adjustments. but i admit that it is bad luck and unjust for those who would like to live in Thailand but do not meet the criteria for longer stays.

strange i still think of myself as a tourist, i left uni in 1997 and have been bouncing about the world since. I have a couple of properties now from my efforts and trading company. Just arrived back in Thailand. but have been here for the most part of the past decade. 30 years old now. Whats next? Dont want a work permit, dont want to marry but now cant really consider Bangkok as my base. Any offers?

"strange i still think of myself as a tourist"

Sorry you are not a tourist.

The current, so called, 'shake-up' will have no effect on tourists..... the bad press on the other hand

yes lets all give the whole thing bad press....i am a global perpetual tourist! we should all look for the cheapest solution. i want to stay, have external income and want to make the most of my money. Its best not to break the rules but how can we all as a group make the cheapest choice. I know people who overstay and pay the 20k once in a while, the are not bums and do well for themselves. I have never been on overstay for 10 years but may consider doing so if it means leaving this place because of having to marry, set up a company etc.... i want it real not false

They may very well ask you what you're living on if the 800,000bt never decreases between one year and the next.

JR Texas (51, USA): I was under the impression that Thai banks no longer pay interest on foreign savings accounts. Does anyone have solid info. on this? I am almost certain that this is the policy of Bangkok Bank. Am I wrong?

Yes. Thai banks, including Bangkok Bank, most certainly do pay in interest on foreign savings accounts.

For current rates click on: Bank of Thailand Interest Rates

whatever you are doing should be ok as long as you are not a drug dealer or pimp and that you pay your taxes as everyone should.....whats the worry? lol

"I think that we are all going to make some drastic adjustments. The face of Thai tourism will change."

*****

i don't think that somebody staying in Thailand more than three months is or can be called a tourist. i also don't see a reason why i should make drastic adjustments. but i admit that it is bad luck and unjust for those who would like to live in Thailand but do not meet the criteria for longer stays.

strange i still think of myself as a tourist, i left uni in 1997 and have been bouncing about the world since. I have a couple of properties now from my efforts and trading company. Just arrived back in Thailand. but have been here for the most part of the past decade. 30 years old now. Whats next? Dont want a work permit, dont want to marry but now cant really consider Bangkok as my base. Any offers?