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Regardless of whether you obtain your Non-O outside of Thailand or within Thailand Bangkok Bank will freeze the ฿800,000 when you apply for your Bank Letter unless the funds have been in your account for 4 months already in which case the ฿800,000 will not be frozen. Obtaining a Non-O outside of Thailand means only one Bank Letter is required for the Annual Extension Based on Retirement. Based on my “friends” experience the Bank Letter for his Non-O application in country showed the Available Balance as ฿810,000, in the example I used above, as it was provided before they froze the ฿800,000. The Available Balance on the Banking App was shown as ฿10,000 soon after that day and remained that way until exactly 4 calendar months after the date the Bank Letter was issued when it returned to ฿810,000. Applying for a Non-O outside of Thailand means the ฿800,000 is frozen for 4 months from the date of issuing the Bank Letter for your Annual Extension Based on Retirement and you don’t need another Bank Letter until your next Annual Extension in 12 months time by which time the ฿800,000 will have been unfrozen and your Available Balance will be shown on the next Bank Letter as ฿810,000 using the example above. The issue with applying for the Non-O in country is you need two Bank Letters 1. For Non-O Application and 2. For Extension Based on Retirement. As you have to apply for your Annual Extension Based on Retirement within 4 months of the first Bank Letter, if your ฿800,000 is frozen when you get your first letter it will still be frozen when you apply for your Annual Extension Based on Retirement and the second letter will show the Available Balance as ฿10,000:using the example above. This is why it doesn’t work. It all comes down to whether your ฿800,000 has been in your Bangkok Bank account for 4 months when you apply for your Bank Letter. If it has not been then entering Visa Exempt, obtaining a Non-O in country and applying for an Annual Extension Based on Retirement doesn’t work.

Feedback based on a “friend’s” recent experience with Bangkok Bank. The Bangkok Bank letter issued once they signed their documentation confirming they agreed to their ฿800,000 being frozen for 4 months showed their Available Balance as the pre-frozen amount. Example: ฿810,000 in the account: Available Balance: ฿810,000 ฿800,000 was then frozen for 4 months from the date the letter was issued and automatically unfrozen 4 months later e.g. frozen 1st July 2025 - unfrozen 1st November 2025. As the letter showed the Available Balance as ฿810,000 before the ฿800,000 was frozen there was no issue with Immigration and they accepted the bank letter. This works for an Annual Extension as only one bank letter is required. However, if anyone is planning to enter Thailand Visa exempt, apply for a Non-O in country then Extend on the basis of Retirement using Bangkok Bank beware of the following. If your ฿800,000 is frozen by Bangkok Bank when you apply for the first bank letter to obtain your Non-O under the above scenario the bank letter will show: Available Balance: ฿810,000 The ฿800,000 is then frozen. Immigration accept the bank letter. But when you go to get your second letter for your Extension of Stay based on Retirement the letter, based on the above example, will show: Available Balance: ฿10,000 and a footnote to the letter stating: “฿800,000 has been seized”. This letter is not acceptable to Immigration as you have to have an Available Balance of ฿800,000 for the Extension regardless of the Bank Book showing the Balance as ฿810,000 (using the above example). The solutions for a Bangkok Bank customer seem to be: 1. Obtain your Non-O visa outside of Thailand and extend on Basis of Retirement in country so only one bank letter is required and will show your Available Balance as ฿810,000 (using the above example). 2. If you enter Thailand Visa exempt and apply for a Non-O in country ensure your ฿800,000 has been in the account for more than 4 months when you apply for the first letter so the ฿800,000 will not be frozen. Your second letter for your Extension on Basis of Retirement will then show Available Balance as ฿810,000 (using the above example). 3. Use another Bank who do not freeze your ฿800,000!

Has anyone renewed their Thai Driving Licence recently at the Prachuap Khiri Khan, Provincial Land Transport Office, Pranburi Branch, using a Yellow House Book/Pink ID card for their address and without needing a Certificate of Residence?

bkk-mike is totally correct. He never commented on how the calculation of the amount by which tax paid in the U.K. reduces your tax liabilities in Thailand. He clearly stated “just because you paid tax in the U.K. does not mean there isn’t a tax liability in Thailand nowadays”. Bkk-mike’s comment is 100% correct!

I agree there is nowhere currently on the tax form to claim tax credits. As far as I am aware the only way to currently claim tax credits is to use one of the Thai based expat tax advisers who have the ability to claim tax credits. Given their “fees” for submitting your tax return, including dealing with tax credits, you have to weigh up whether the cost of their fees against the tax credits you are claiming makes it financially worthwhile claiming the tax credits. As you say, there are some offices who do not understand or use the DTA. To be fair, that is not surprising given over 60 countries have DTA’s with Thailand. The Thai Revenue Department’s on-line e-filing system calculates your tax as you enter the required information so you can see any tax you owe in “real time”. Whilst it doesn’t cater for tax credits for those filing without tax credits it is pretty easy to use. The e-filing system is all in Thai but if you “right click” on the page you can select “Translate to English”. This works well apart from a couple of drop-down menus which don’t get translated. Using the system enables you to check any tax calculations you have done yourself before submission and helps to avoid any arbitrary demands. It is not really surprising however that due to the situations you mention that so many foreigners have held off filing.

You understanding is correct although U.K. Government Service Pensions are not taxable in Thailand under the Double Taxation Agreement between the U.K. and Thailand. Other U.K. pensions, including the U.K. State Pension, remitted to Thailand are assessable and potentially subject to tax in Thailand (after allowing for deductions, personal allowances and the nil rate band). You can claim tax credits in Thailand against tax paid in the U.K. to avoid being taxed twice.

Absolutely right on all fronts! The tax free cash in the U.K. is as you say one to be particularly careful with as it is classed as assessable income in Thailand and potentially taxable if remitted to Thailand.

Not sure about Nationwide being cheaper. Even £15 is expensive as my last Wise transfer last week cost £7.99 with Wise for ฿50,000. Most banks take the mid-market rate and impose an undisclosed margin between 2 to 5% whereas Wise uses the mid-market rate or better.

My pension drawdowns are taxed at source by Hargreaves Lansdown using the tax code provided by HMRC. You are right about filing a Thai tax return if you are in Thailand for 180 days or more in a tax year (calendar year). The only pension payments that are exempt from Thai tax, as defined in the Dual Tax Agreement (DTA) between the U.K. and Thailand are U.K. Government “Service” pensions e.g. Armed Forces, NHS, Civil Service etc. Even the U.K. State Pension is taxable in Thailand. My SIPP is potentially taxable in Thailand. There are various deductions and allowances in Thailand which are quite generous (particularly if you are over age 65). I guess whether to file a Thai tax return or not is an individual choice. Most people appear not to be bothering.

I have a Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP in income drawdown. I make payments to my U.K. bank account and then transfer what I need to Thailand using Wise. You can also make payments direct from your pension provider to Wise as they provide a U.K. sort code and bank account number.

I recently killed off my O-A and obtained a Non-O at Hua Hin Immigration. With the help of Dr. Jack’s advice it went smoothly. I went to Hanoi for 3 nights. On return to Suvarnabhumi the Immigration Officer just said “No Visa” and stamped me in for 60 days. To apply for the Non-Immigrant O Visa I had to provide the updated bank book, bank letter and obtain the “Credit Advice” from my bank showing my ฿800,000 was an International Transfer. This seems a strange request given my bank book clearly shows “FTT” and my bank statement shows “International Transfer”. I was told if your bank book doesn’t show “FTT” then you have to provide documentation from the transferring company e.g. Wise and you don’t need the “Credit Advice”.

I occasionally ship from Amazon U.K. Don’t do often but when I have it has worked well and I have never had any issues with import taxes or shipping fees as everything is clearly laid out before I complete the purchase so I know the overall cost. The only downside is there are a limited number of items that can be shipped to Thailand as a lot of sellers won’t ship to Thailand.

I have also used Amazon in the U.K. to send things to Thailand. As you say it is all handled for you, you know what you pay and it turns up at your door. This time I was buying direct from a large U.K. retailer who doesn’t use Amazon and won’t ship internationally. I used my Mail handling company in the U.K. to receive and forward the items. Involves a trip to the local post office to release the item and paying import tax. Sadly, I didn’t know the level of import tax before it arrived. I think somewhere along the line the value of the imported items has been inflated. I normally buy things locally and going forward on the occasions I want to buy something from the U.K. I will definitely only use Amazon. Time to pay up the import tax for this latest delivery and move on.

A very helpful answer! Thank you. As you say pay the post office, move on and use Amazon.

What an unhelpful answer!