ronnie50

Right. I'm one of the few that got an appointment for the extension, but it's mid afternoon on a Friday. Chances of getting the multiple re-entry after that's finished is doubtful. Didn't you say earlier that the re-entry booth at the airport (swampy) was airside, after security? If so, CW would be the only way to get the re-entry visa without actually flying out of the country, is that right too?

Fully agree. They (tax office) will just check that the forms are filled in correctly. The question is how do "I" prove the money is from savings slowly gathered over 20-30 years, or pension earnings from that tax year? Someone was using the term FIFO (first in and first out - regarding savings I guess), but again are the tax authorities in LOS going to be reviewing your foreign bank accounts? Like you say, highly doubtful. So how to prove.

Can you get that immediately after the extension at CW? Or do you need to get a new and different queue number?

Thanks. But are you referring to the 12 month detailed bank statement, or just the one page letter they prepare addressed to Immigration on your behalf? Both? I've had the letter done on the spot for 200 baht (to apply for the O visa), but the time needed to prepare the12 month statement for the retirement extension seems to vary from bank to bank. This will be first time asking for a 12 month statement and I'd like to know how much time SCB needs for that..

Does anyone with an SCB account know how long it takes SCB to provide the 12 month bank statement for Retirement Extension visa? I am aware the bank 'letter' to immigration is done on the spot for 200 THB, but I've never asked for the bank statement before.. (I'm aware there is no branch at IMM1 CW). Also for the first extension from O visa, at CW IMM1 can I do it more than 30 days from visa expiry? I have an appointment on 28 Feb and the visa expires 1 April. Txs!

It makes sense. I'm in a similar boat. How would they ever know whether it came from passive savings or earnings (already taxed?). My concern as above is they are getting ready to scrap the 'remittance' taxes and tax everyone on their global income that year.

Well, at least the Minister is speaking now and not a bureaucrat at TRD. The last highlighted line is what spooks me most. You can read it different ways, but reading between the lines of the lead paragraph the 'adjustments to tax overseas income' combined with the main incentive to get Thais to remit more of their overseas income back to Thailand suggests taxing only remittances is about to go right out the window. They are getting ready to tax all residents (foreign and Thai) on their global income - like other countries. That way there is less incentive for Thais to keep their excess earnings overseas. It makes sense, but it really sucks.

Trump was never a fan of NATO and in his first term floated the idea of the US leaving the alliance. He was always ok with Putin - if not right out empathetic with Putin. So Trump is ready to do an end run around both NATO and Ukraine to satisfy Putin. Oh and then there's Gaza.. and the evil Netanyahu, another of Trump's puppetmasters. On behalf of Bibi, Trump is ready to ethnically cleanse all Palestinians from "greater Israel" - and have no doubt, Gaza first, the West Bank next. Plan was likely drawn up long ago.

Also, I believe Thailand imports steel from China..

Yes, this article looks like a story searching for a headline. Thailand doesn't export steel or aluminium to the US. They sell rubber #1, machinery and some other odds and sods that they manufacture here. And of course rice and shrimp. So the article's premise is questionable. Of course, if Stump follows through and taxes everything coming into the country at 25% then yes, a game changer.

The UK had the same afternoon ban for decades but finally did away with it in the 1990s. I recall the reason the afternoon ban was introduiced in the UK (unless a myth), was to get the war-time workers back on the assembly lines after lunch. Industrialists and employers probably pushed to keep the afternoon ban for decades thereafter.

Despite some dreaful days, IMO, after many years here, this 'winter' has, on average, enjoyed cleaner air than previous years (in Bangkok, depending your location). Maybe that long cool snap of winds from China helped to blow it away or at least keep it moving. Do any long-time residents (like 20 years) recall that this bad air in Bangkok only really kicked off 7 or 8 years ago? I don't recall it being an issue before that. I could be wrong. It's always been a s-show up in CM.

The bottom line, according to what the TRD has said so far, is to avoid being classified as a resident of Thailand for tax purposes, you must be present in the Kingdom 180 days or more. So 7 months would be over the limit, unless you can dip in an out for a couple of weeks at a time during the 7 months and avoid residencey classification. Basically, we are all waiting to see what happens - it's not clear yet about what is going to be assessible income - just remittances as is the case now, or your global income. The latter is pretty stupid - I'd call it the 'widow maker'.

So they're charging us more but we get to do everything ourselves; auto-check-in, print our own boarding passes and baggage tags, drag the bags to a conveyer belt and dump them on it. Then head to security and immigration. Before you know it, we'll be hauling our bags with us out onto the tarmac and loading them on the plane ourselves - for an extra charge of course.

Thanks both.

That's a pity. It will probably look exactly the same..

Apologies for creating a new topic, but this is something I haven't seen anywhere else. I have SCB account. In the App, it is possible to generate an Account Statement going back one year. It is then sent to my email, password protected. Each month is a separate document and has all the deposits and withdrawals on SCB letterhead (bilingual). So 12 statements or 6 or whatever I want. Anyone know (or better still tried this) if sufficient to print these from home and then just get the account ownership letter from the branch? Or do think immigration would want to see a bunch of rubber stamps from the bank on the account statements (no stamps on auto-generated but each month on letterhead)?

Thanks for the reply. It's outer ear and just inside the canal around the top (precise area of incisura or external auditory meatus). It happens once or twice each week for many months, and I can tell when it's coming on because the discomfort begins slowly and if I press lightly on the tragus it hurts a bit more. I try to hack it out as long as I can but eventually reach for the ibuprofen. I try to avoid water near the ears when showering, so I don't think it's 'swimmer's ear' but could be. Air conditioning seems to be trigger too. I had to look up all these anatomy terms here: https://otosurgeryatlas.stanford.edu/otologic-surgery-atlas/surgical-anatomy-of-the-ear/external-ear/#iLightbox[gallery_image_1]/0 Thanks for any advice. R.

Hi @Sheryl Can you recommend a good ENT Doctor that specializes on ear problems - like recurrent earaches (e.g. specializes in ears rather than sinsus or nasal)? The one I've been seeing for the last two years says everything seems fine - but it's not..

It would be good if AC turned the seasonal flignts into year-round. AC has the rights to the route it inherited from the (defunct) Canadian Airlines (CP) - THAI Airways joint route. I guess the two countries' government air authorities would need to agree to that. Then again, as you say, particularly for American travelers to/from BKK, there are so many other pretty good connecting flights via Japan, Korea, Taiwan, it probably wouldn't make a lot of business sense. THAI used to fly non-stop to LA for many years - I even took that flight myself once. They tried BKK-New York briefly too. But, yeah, it's tough.

Yes, you're probably right.

Too bad the Corrs or ( whomever) is responsible for their booking has chosen a mall in central Bangkok. While that venue is very good for many things, a real Western style concert IMO (Thai LIbel Lawyers - F-cuk off), needs arena-style seating so that elevation is possible in oval style to see the band and not 4000 people seated on the floor hundreds of metres from the actual performance. I saw the Scorpions at the other place near Lak Si many years ago and that was okay. Not really great but okay thanks to elevated seating options. Anyway, I won't be paying to see the Corrs in central Bangkok - to my own disappointment. I hope others enjoy it - if they can actually see it.

I seem to recall that all concert seating at Paragon Hall in Bangkok is on one level (no risers), is that right? Haven't been there in ages and can't remember. Some photos on the Web suggest all 5,000 seats are floor level.. but maybe there are other modalities? Cheers.

Thanks, I just kept checking each day several times and finally got a convenient day (not too early in the week, in case the bank documeents weren't ready..it would give me extra time to work on the banks)

Thanks @rockedbottom that's very useful. So that's the letter, then the statement is several pages long if you ask for 3 or 6 months, is that right? (and takes longer to get)?