Globalist

Bangkok should of done it for you. A bit of confusion perhaps on what class of visa you were applying for.

Jomtien was also wrong. The rule clearly state it can be a combination totaling 10 million baht..Perhaps go back and ask to talk to a supervisor.

Yes, but please note that there are a couple of "rules" that immigration officers use for the 10M extension:

- You have to apply in the province where your condo is located.

- In case you use 2 or more condos to make up the 10M, then all the condos have to be in the same province.

These "rules" are not found in the police order, but are now standard practice in Thailand.

Also, someone had a question about the bank for the bond option. In principle, the shareholding should be >50% Thai (whatever that means for a SET listed company). Unfortunately, some immigration officers are adamant that only a 100% owned bank may be used. They are wrong, but it can be hard to argue.

I think very few 10M applicants go down the bond route at all, since one or more condos in top notch locations is likely to be a more attractive investment.

I tried this route ten years ago for a condo which cost me 17 million. Immigration at Bangkok were adamant that to qualify you must purchase the condo from the original landowner. Developers purchase the land for their projects from the original landowner or landowners, so even a new build or off plan purchase will not qualify. Second hand purchases definitely do not qualify.

That may possibly have been the case ten years ago, but it is absolutely not the case today.

The present tense phrasing "will not qualify" is therefore, at best, unhelpful.

Hi CpKt8

Thanks. I think we are getting a bit sidetracked here. Maybe I need to change the thread title.

I want definitive answer to the whether the 10m condo purchase must be from a developer OR NOT

There is no suggestion on ANY official docs I have seen that this is the case (i.e that it MUST be from a developer).

Let's see if anyone knows.

Of course, I can start ringing laywers just thought that maybe ThaiVisa posters might have evidence/ experience before I do so

It needs to be purchased directly from developer (i.e. off-plan or pre-deeds-transfer re-sale).

OP see my PM.

To the OP:

Ubonjoe is 100% correct.

However, note that:

- the condos must be purchased directly from the developer, i.e. you must be the first deeds-holder, and

- if you have 2 or more condos to make up the 10M, then they have to be located the same province (this is a "policy" of most Thai immigration officers, although not stated in the police order)

I had the same interest, but couldn't find any either. Maybe the clientele - foreigners in BKK wanting business visa to CN - are too few for local agents to bother about.

On the other hand, the new CN visa application centre in the Thanaphum Bulding on New Petchaburi Road is a quite pleasant and seems more efficient than the old one at Rama 9.

I went a weekday late morning and amazingly had my application filed within 15 min!

Outside Thailand, no.

Inside Thailand, yes. Thai immigration can give you a 12 month extension of stay on a Non-O/Non-B Visa based on 10MB investment in one or more condos in Thailand. There's even a provision for rental, in case someone would like to pay 10MB in rent .

I'm afraid your research is incomplete.

For your particular situation, there are at least two well-known options:

1) Elite card

2) Extension of stay on a Non-Imm-O or Non-Imm-B visa based on 10MB investment.

To the OP:

If you have trust issues, I recommend NOT to buy post-first-deeds-transfer.

If you buy pre-first-deeds-transfer AND if the developer is reputable (i.e. SET listed), then you will deal with the developer directly, which carries a virtually zero fraud risk.

Right. Cholesterol is good.

In arteries it is the result of vascular problems, not the cause.

What is the cause?

Too much refined sugars in diet, animal proteins, especially dairy, transfats.

Statins are poison.

OK.

Yes of course sugar and transfat are well-known to cause bad blood cholesterol levels.

But whats wrong with animal proteins...?

The point of story is Muslims are allowed to make rules regarding everyone or they try their best.

the point [probably] is that the [numerous] muslims in that [apparently muslim] area will now eat [spend money] at that McD. money money money..

if pork was served there they would not go there as they consider the whole place haram.

Indeed the whole McD area would then be considered haram. Wonder what it would take for the entire surrounding red light district area to be considered haram....? :-)

Whether Thais are more adulterous than others or not can not be deduced from this study: "...of all sexes who responded to a Match.com survey" .

Drawing such a conclusion from this study is known as "bad science".

Unfortunately, virtually all frozen raspberries and blueberries come from China.

Besides Hepatitis, who knows what kind of poisons can be found in them.

Shameful that even the most high-end shops in Thailand import Chinese berries.

I personally skip all food and drink produce from China, and wish more people would do the same to force food imports from countries with at least decent regulations.

I will give a lengthy update here... I am in a very good mood.

Basic timeline up to now...

Day -180: I have sex with a girl. Have a major STD issue (that ultimately goes unidentified). Take lots of tests, and lots of pills - zero answers. Symptoms slowly go away-ish over 5-6 months. (I made a lengthy thread on this forum about it)

Day -7: Finally have sex again.

Day 0: I notice barely-distinguishable bumps around the base of my penis. I am in a different (lesser developed) country at this time. Do some googling to look at pictures of genital warts and such... nothing seems to match - including the fact that, according to everything I am reading, the warts will show 1-3 months after contact. I was completely abistinent during that time period.

Day 14: I am back in Bangkok. The bumps are still there, although not really changing. I return to Urologist #1 at Hospital X (where I went after testing negative for everything at the Red Cross 180+ days earlier). He verifies that the bumps are warts. He offers to perform electrocautery, or will prescribe me the acid to use on my own. He estimates the procedure may cost 4-5k baht. I was a bit unsure if a Urologist would be the best option to cauterize warts... and I had already read threads on this forum about having cryo treatments at Saint Louis for 1-2k. So I took the acid.

Day 14-19: I use the acid. I hate it. It is definitely doing something - but it is leaving big black burn marks - and because the warts were down in my pubic hair line, the acid was all clumped up and I could not clean it off every day. Each day, I was essentially applying acid on top of the previous day(s) acid/hair/scar buildup. It was sillyness. (granted I should have shaved/trimmed down the hair before the first application, I messed up).

Day 21: Go to a Dermatologist at Saint Loius. The dermatologist will not treat me, as the wounds from my acid treatment are still open. Dr gives me some antibiotic.

Day 28: Return to St Louis. Do the cryotherapy. Tells me to come back in 14 days.

Day 33: Scabs are falling off. I am not satisfied with the results.

Day 35: I return to Saint Louis. Dr tells me to go away - come back in 1 more week. I indicate some spots that I think were not sufficiently treated. Dr says that is not clear. Come back in 1 week.

Day 42: More cryo (in the spots that I already indicated were *not* treated yet). Dr refuses to use the cryo on a spot on my testicle that I am requesting she treat. Tells me to return in 2 weeks if I have a problem. Hah - right.

Day 56: I return to Hospital X. The testicle spot is still there, and there are others near it. Both original bump areas have small/reforming warts still present. I now have something developing on a finger (jokes about touching myself are relevant, and warranted, here). Urologist #1 cauterizes anything and everything I desire on my testicles and base of penis. Doesn't want to cauterize my finger.

Day 56: I go home. That night I see some very small issues that neither I or the Dr could see. I am talking tiny stuff.

Day 59: Return to Hospital X. Urologist #1 is not there. Urologist #2 cauterizes new spots. Cauterizes my finger.

Day 59-60: I go home. I see new spots. Again. Super tiny, and very hard to see without dramatic lighting. I put acid on it for 2 nights.

Day 61: Screw it - return to Hospital X for the 3rd time in a week. Urologist #2 cauterizes 2 new spots. Day 59 and Day 61 involve cauterizing things that are now creeping up the skin of my shaft... This stuff is spreading by contact, imo, so I choose to just keep returning and cauterize the hell out of my penis - to prevent any more contact-spread. My penis looks like a warzone.

*******************

So as of this moment, it is possibly the first time I am wart-free in 61 days (I won't know for sure until the wounds heal). If I could do it all again, I would just have them cauterized on the Day 1, and I suspect it all would have been over. I am extremely unimpressed with my time at Saint Louis - both with cryotherapy, in general, and with the Drs unwillingness to cooperate. 2 of my 4 visits to Saint Louis ended with me paying for the Dr to *not* treat me... and the other 2 visits were ineffective. And the cryotherapy made me feel ill for a couple days, both times. Super.

*******************

***Lastly***, the reason why I am in a good mood... Urologist #2 mentions, casually, during our final conversation, that I don't have 'genital warts' - that I just have 'skin warts'. What??? I asked him to verify... "Yes, this is just a common skin wart, like the skin on your arm or hand. You do not have any warts on the glans/membrane of your penis. This could come from a dirty towel, or anything." W.T.F. I did a ton of traveling during that 1-3 month period (and zero sex). I used towels given to me many times... so its entirely possible... although the location sure looks like it would come from grinding into a girl who had warts on the outside of her vagina. But again, I had no sex during this time period.

Note: During my consultations with the Dermatologist and Urologist #1 about my timeline (no sex) + the general timeline of genital warts... neither one felt it was pertinent to inform me that I *don't* have genital warts. Both simply agreed that the timing was odd - and that it must have been from the girl 180 days earlier, as 7 days is too fast.

If someone wants to send me crashing down to earth - and tell me that I *do*, in fact, have genital warts - please do so gently. I suppose that depends on the definition of 'genital warts'. If I have common skin warts in the pubic hair line of my genitals - this does not qualify as 'genital warts' (according to Urologist #2).

*******************

As of a couple days ago... I am taking 1mg L-Lysine, and 1mg Cod Liver Oil. I have been taking 1mg Vitamine C for 45 days, or so. If anyone has other advice, please share. I have zero interest in having another 'outbreak'.

edit: I don't smoke, rarely drink, eat very well, and am physically active.

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"Good enough" condo location in Thailand currently costs 150kTHB/m2 or more, both in Pattaya and Bangkok.

With 4 - 5 MTHB you'll get at most 27-33 m2, i.e. most likely a studio or small 1BR.

I know nothing about Bangkok and I dont want to know, but this is certainly not the case in Pattaya.

Yes it is.

"Good enough" in Pattaya means on the beach. Literally on the beach.

The OP was asking about investment, not about throwing money away.

Can't find that small units in Pattaya beachfront developments today, so Bangkok is a better bet with limited money.

I have a 145sqm prime beachfront condo. High floor, direct beach view in Jomtien.

It'll be snowing in Pattaya before that sells for 150K Baht per meter or 21,750,000 baht.

I will sell it for that price if you PM me, I'll even throw in the chanote titled, privately owned parking space for free.

If you own a condo literally on the beach, i.e. the condo development's land either includes OR directly borders a proper beach without any road or similar in-between, then I congratulate you to owning a good asset!

That's one of the types of asset I'd recommend the OP to invest in, perhaps he should contact you then! :-)

"Good enough" condo location in Thailand currently costs 150kTHB/m2 or more, both in Pattaya and Bangkok.

With 4 - 5 MTHB you'll get at most 27-33 m2, i.e. most likely a studio or small 1BR.

I know nothing about Bangkok and I dont want to know, but this is certainly not the case in Pattaya.

Yes it is.

"Good enough" in Pattaya means on the beach. Literally on the beach.

The OP was asking about investment, not about throwing money away.

Can't find that small units in Pattaya beachfront developments today, so Bangkok is a better bet with limited money.

Property investment, whether in Thailand or elsewhere on the planet, has one simple golden rule:

Location, location location.

Yet not all people grasp the meaning of it.

"Good enough" condo location in Thailand currently costs 150kTHB/m2 or more, both in Pattaya and Bangkok.

With 4 - 5 MTHB you'll get at most 27-33 m2, i.e. most likely a studio or small 1BR. Not bad, and many developments around 150kTHB/m2 do include studios and small 1BRs, but slightly larger 1BR or 2BR units typically show a better long-term rental yield.

Excellent OP, I'm also interested in precisely those questions.

Look forward to positive responses from community members with real experience.

Generally speaking, withholding tax is for a buyer/renter/licensee to pay on behalf of a seller/landlord/licensor.

For what it's worth, I was told the following by an official at the Thai tax office: A renter does not have to pay withholding tax on condo rental if the landlord and the renter are both private persons rather than companies.

If that statement is correct, it would suffice to pay all tax retrospectively with the tax return.

Yes it's common in Asia - not only in Thailand - to include walls and balcony in the area measurement.

This is opposite to European standards and obviously leads to an overstatement of the "livable area", since you can't live inside walls .. :-P

So to properly compare per m2 prices with European ones, you have adjust the value by something like 10-15% for most condos.

There's only one thing that needs to be excluded: sugar.

Unfortunately it means going off Thai food altogether, since it's a sugar-based cuisine...

It's surprising to me how some below-50 people prefer the pure COST option rather than the perfectly legal INVESTMENT option...

The investment extension is much more hassle to get and requires you to entrust 10 million baht to the thai economy. If in five years baht goes from 33 to 35 baht per usd, your investment just lost 600,000 baht -- more than the elite card would have cost you in the first place.

Plus, the PE visa itself is more convenient than business visa: 5 years validity instead of 1, multiple 1 year entries with no need for reentry permits, zero paperwork required to get the visa itself or extensions, airport assistance (you clear the immigration faster than 1st class passengers!) etc. etc.

True, if 0.5MTHB is not a big enough amount to bother about and absolutely zero hassle is sought, then I do agree TE is a good option. (You also get to ride a nice car to/from the airport.)

But if not, I'd say there's a strong case for the 10MTHB Investment Extension of Stay.

Choosing the THB Bond or Term Deposit option, the THB FX risk you mention is clearly there.

Choosing the option of a BKK prime location luxury-class condo (175kTHB+/m2), the THB FX risk is very small if not negligible, since that asset class is an internationally traded asset.

Such an asset will very likely do better than -5% over 5 years (which is the TE cost), as measured in your "home" currency.

The only issue is whether 10MTHB is enough to get you such an asset. I think it can still be possible.

I heard there were issues with renewing these investment visas, they're good for one year and then the problems start but this is all historical information and I believe it's been reinstated lately. How many times can you renew and extend the 10 Million Baht investment visa ?

Is it good for life, 1 year, 5 years, etc ?

Is the extension / renewal procedure a mere formality like going to immigration for a yearly extension ?

Legally there shouldn't be any issues, and no limitations of number of renewals.

As always, immigration is extremely picky on details of documentation, whether relevant or not.

At least provided that you have exactly the same papers as you had the first time and go to the same immigration office, it should be a formality. After all, it is in fact a yearly extension (of stay).

It's surprising to me how some below-50 people prefer the pure COST option rather than the perfectly legal INVESTMENT option...

The investment extension is much more hassle to get and requires you to entrust 10 million baht to the thai economy. If in five years baht goes from 33 to 35 baht per usd, your investment just lost 600,000 baht -- more than the elite card would have cost you in the first place.

Plus, the PE visa itself is more convenient than business visa: 5 years validity instead of 1, multiple 1 year entries with no need for reentry permits, zero paperwork required to get the visa itself or extensions, airport assistance (you clear the immigration faster than 1st class passengers!) etc. etc.

True, if 0.5MTHB is not a big enough amount to bother about and absolutely zero hassle is sought, then I do agree TE is a good option. (You also get to ride a nice car to/from the airport.)

But if not, I'd say there's a strong case for the 10MTHB Investment Extension of Stay.

Choosing the THB Bond or Term Deposit option, the THB FX risk you mention is clearly there.

Choosing the option of a BKK prime location luxury-class condo (175kTHB+/m2), the THB FX risk is very small if not negligible, since that asset class is an internationally traded asset.

Such an asset will very likely do better than -5% over 5 years (which is the TE cost), as measured in your "home" currency.

The only issue is whether 10MTHB is enough to get you such an asset. I think it can still be possible.

LAVA is an Indian mobile phone brand.

The vendors will hardly tell you this, given the Thai's dislike for India and Indians...

The phones are essentially made for LAVA by Chinese white label manufacturers.

LAVA has operations in Hong Kong also nowadays, but it's an Indian company.

It's surprising to me how some below-50 people prefer the pure COST option rather than the perfectly legal INVESTMENT option...

"Bread Talk" makes a European style dark and slightly sour bread at some of their branches. Very good and not sweet. Don't know about gluten, wheat etc.

European prices too, at THB 128 a loaf.