sandyf

Not strange at all, most people flying to Thailand on a one way ticket would require a visa. A re-entry permit is a pseudo visa and would be checked as any other visa. You are right to a certain extent that not all airline staff are familiar with them, a supervisor will soon sort that out.

That would be between them and the TRD, not my business.

You are wrong. The law is not on foreigners per se, it is on all Thai tax residents. The primary aim is collect revenue from high wealth individuals who may be generating income outside the country which is currently uncollected due to offshore tax avoidance. Revenue from retired expat pensioners will pale into insignificance compared to the big fish, and the working expats should already be paying their taxes.

Why have you quoted me, I never mentioned anything about income. The first post implied the PA was more than the state pension, which is not true.

I don't really know what you are trying to say. I do not believe there will be the amount of data sharing going on that many want to make out. If you are right in what you say, then it strikes me that you would be exempt from any reporting. However I must say I find it hard to believe that you have never paid any tax anywhere.

Can't see that working for Thais going to the UK. My wife had no problem entering Turkey last year, different story leaving. Had her passport checked 3 times and each time resulted in a phone call, because we were heading back to UK. Your post is going to have visa exempters rubbing their hands with glee.

Do you really think they are going to leave someone behind, there is always the option of asking for special assistance.

Indeed, for normal Schengen visas the sponsor needs to be a close family member. If i remember right common law was acceptable when we were EU citizens.

So how do the "self check only" airlines check the various visas from around the world? My wife usually has a message on her ticket to say she must use a check in desk.

I don't know what he meant by "blowing through", a bit risky if not done from the inside. I have had a blocked drain pipe on occasions and I made an attachment from bits of pipe and tubing for the vacuum cleaner and sucked it clear.

No it doesn't. The UK government have tried to brain wash people into seeing the state pension as a single entity.

Many talk about about CRS as though governments are telling each other every time you go to the toilet. I read in an article some time ago that exchanged financial information was to do with unearned income rather than earned income, should have kept it for reference. This is what Wiki have to say and my interpretation would be that Item 5 refers to investment/savings accounts rather than current accounts, why say "distributions" rather than "transactions". Also why refer to a "Reportable Account"? , would indicate not all accounts are reportable Little doubt others will want to read it differently. The information and its exchange format are governed by a detailed standard, whose details are listed in a 44-page long document.[15] Each participating country will annually automatically exchange with the other country the below information in the case of Jurisdiction A with respect to each Jurisdiction B reportable account, and in the case of Jurisdiction B with respect to each Jurisdiction A reportable account:[16] Name, address, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) and date and place of birth of each Reportable Person. Account number Name and identifying number of the reporting financial institution; Account balance or value as of the end of the relevant calendar year (or other appropriate reporting period) or at its closure, if the account was closed. Distributions made to the account (dividends, interest, gross proceeds/redemptions, other) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Reporting_Standard

Certainly the best option. Maybe I didn't word it right but the lady I referred to lived in Thailand, just in the UK on a visitor visa.

I don't use Singapore Airlines. The self check in issue only arises when I travel alone with no visa requirement. Most of the time either myself or my wife has a visa check. When they try and make me go to a machine I just say I want to go to the desk and they say Very well Sir. I have yet to see a machine without a bunch of exciteable foreigners like flies around the proverbial. I will be pushing up daisies long before there is no check in desk available.

Never used a self check in, and never will. If you can scan the passport, why can't you scan the QR code on the ETA?

A late friend of mine had his Thai girlfriend in the UK and she got a Schengen visa to go to Amsterdam from London Embassy. It should be done in home country but the Handbook does indicate circumstances for the visa to be issued elsewhere, mainly on a last minute basis. They had booked a highly discounted package and applied on the grounds that it wasn't available before she left Thailand, accepted without much question. Not an option I would advocate but always worth bearing in mind if you are into taking a chance.

Permanent Residency is something completely different to visa status extension. Nothing to stop you pursuing that option.

There was a quite a lot ommitted from the OP. This article appeared on my phone a couple of days ago and the OP appears to be a redacted version. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2860812/law-to-tax-income-from-overseas-in-the-works#:~:text=The Thai Revenue Department is,director-general of the department.

Bit confused about Spain, thought you said you were planning Italy. I did the first Schengen visa at that VFS office, only problem was that the girl behind the desk couldn't find Tenerife on a map of Spain. It looks like Spain ditched VFS and are using another VAC from anothe company called BLS. Never heard of them but a quick Google shows the checklist here https://thailand.blsspainvisa.com/assets/pdf/Checklist-Tourism-Family.pdf Items 9 & 12 refer to sponsor.

No, it was for Germany but the requirements are fairly common to the EU in general. The document checklist for Italy can be found here https://visa.vfsglobal.com/one-pager/italy/thailand/english/pdf/checklist_tourist_2024.pdf Note item 11. Your comment about easier embassies/consulates is a bit irrelevant, the main hurdle is the VFS staff. The VFS German office is at Chamchuri Square and handles some other countries but don't think Italy was one of them, not sure where that is. Chamchuri Square is relatively new and massive, a beaurocratic nightmare. With luck Italy may be one of the more established and smaller offices. As a historical note, some years ago the Germans had their own way of handling Schengen visa applications using software called Videx. The system was flawed in that it could not differentiate between EU family members and standard applicants. I reported the Bangkok German Embassy to SOLVIT and the EU commission ruled in my favour, the German embassy had to start accepting manual applications from family members of EU citizens. When I did the German visa earlier this year they were still using Videx in a modified form, but most other countries use a standard format for the application.

March this year for Germany, but been that way for a long time. In over 20 visa applications for UK, Europe, Canada and China there has never been a financial document submitted with my wife's name on it.

That is not true. I submitted 6 documents in respect of sponsorship and no financial documents in respect of the applicant were submitted.

Indeed, I never submitted any documents regarding my wife. Just stated in the sponsor letter that we would be travelling together and I would meet all costs involved.

These days nearly all Schengen visas have to be done by VFS and if they accept the documents then the visa is virtually guaranteed. That being said I try as much as possible to use refundable options in travel arrangements, you never know what may arise and flexability can be a great asset. It is certainly not an issue in respect of the visa application.

No problem with that at all. Your itinerary would show Italy as being the main destination so you could arrive anywhere and then make your way to Italy. You could be in a similar scenario to myself and be travelling by train to Italy. Bottom line is they don't want to be issuing Schengen visas from a country you may only be passing through.