mejomini

First it's one farang assaulted by another farang accompanied by a thai female. Now it's a farang with a thai female being assaulted. Payback? Looks like it's all connected. Pattaya as a family resort LOL.

Never had a problem with Lazada and refunds. A little slow sometimes but it gets there eventually. On the other hand, my order was cancelled by the seller on the competing outfit (S******ee) . Still waiting for a 500 baht refund after 3 months plus, many e-mails. They just seem to make refunds impossible. Money lost, lesson learned!

Renewing my OA retirement extension now. My immigration office required 3 million insurance, proof of 100,000 USD Covid coverage, bank statement 12 months, bank letter showing proof of funds 800K. Lampang.

3 years ago we brought in our household goods from the US. Since my wife is Thai,  the furniture and household goods were tax free and shipped under her name. She had to provide her Thai ID to clear customs. Other stuff, like tools and pictures were taxed by customs at a mysterious rate. As far as shipping, much of our possessions were damaged on arrival. The shipping insurance finally settled after 4 months. Good thing we had lots of photos from before and after. Make sure the stuff is worth the hassle and expense, and get full value insurance. Good luck.

Overbuilding hotel and rental capacity, and perennial gouging of visitors is not a sustainable business model. Many will fail. I feel sorry for the many employees losing their jobs. They are the ones who should get the help. As for the owners, let them fail. The strong will survive. 

Before leaving the US, investigate getting an account with a big box bank (such as CITI bank, and possibly HSBC) which has a presence in Thailand. Upon arrival, open an account in Thailand at the same bank, and then your international transfers will be done by ACH, which are free, but have a daily limit. The bank manager in the US was able to arrange introductions with his counterpart in Bangkok, which simplified things greatly. Wire transfers can easily be done to either your bank account in Thailand (usually with no additional fees if same bank as US). For regulatory scrutiny reasons, try to keep individual transfers below 50K US, they'll clear faster. Then open an account with a local bank that's convenient to you and transfer the 400 or 800 THB for the visa extension, plus any additional needed for expenses. Domestic transfers are easily done between Thai banks.

7 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

I am an American and i'm not married but after reading the horror stories of all the documentation you need for a marriage visa I would just put 800,000 baht into Bangkok Bank for a retirement extension of stay and leave the money there all year long.  It makes your experience at immigration so much more easier. 

 

Unlike the USA the real estate market here has tanked. You are building a house in a market that has a glut of houses and condos and rents are incredibly low now. So it maybe fun to build your retirement dream home it will very difficult to get your money out if you need to sell. 

 

Look into Aetna Insurance Thailand as a starting point for researching health insurance. 

 

good luck.

I agree with all the above. I am happily retired and married in Thailand. We built a house on her land and yes selling would be very difficult, but we live in it and enjoy the village life and the house will be hers when I go meet my ancestors. 

Check out Pacific Cross, they are accepted by Immigration for the yearly extension and they are cheaper than the international expat companies I dealt with before.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket and keep some assets in the US for an exit plan should things go south. One never knows, relationships can go sour, and one is at the  mercy of whatever conditions Immigration can place on you. As a retired person, one cannot at this time acquire permanent residence, unfortunately.

At this time, I believe that if you have a non-O visa, you can extend it yearly on the base of marriage or retirement without having to provide proof of insurance, although some form of insurance is highly recommended.

Good luck

I have used Bangkok bank without any problems. As a US citizen, I had to fill out tax papers for FATCA. Also it helps if you can bring along someone important to vouch for you, preferably someone who has an account with the bank. Teachers, government employees, Puyai Ban, etc. It makes things easier. They will issue all the necessary paperwork for immigration for 100 Baht fee. I have always found my local branch very helpful.

Dual pricing will have to go first!

Going the way of their motorcycle industry.....Unless suddenly become competitive.

100% under control

Bought several appliances at HomePro. Usually there is a sale promotion going on....really good prices on a Samsung refrigerator and 3 Air conditioning units. Also  bought a hood and hob for my new kitchen.  Friendly, efficient service, quick delivery at my convenience, hassle-free installation. Beat the other guys' prices hands down too. Very happy with the service. A warranty defect item was taken care of without any hassle too. 

Received outstanding service in LA in 2018. Very quick and helpful. 24 hour turnaround for visa pickup. Bernard went out of his way to assist us.

Why you want to know?

Doing away with the embassy letter, and replacing it with a bank verification letter for the monthly income deposits like for the 400/800 K THB in the bank would be the logical solution. A compulsory proof of insurance a la Schengen (or payment into the Baht plan) along with the income verification, a visa fee, and voila, problem solved.  Why make things so complicated?

Best wishes for recovery. Hope she does not lose her hand.

15 minutes ago, keystonecoppers2 said:

UbonJoe, as you know all about everything here, what would the amount be if you transfer money,

on a monthly basis, to a thai bank, without raising some suspicion? The money is huge, so I think it will be

portioned out. The the money is of course legally aquired, no money laundring here!  Thanks in advance!      

50K U.S. raised flags both stateside and in Thailand.  Nothing serious, but lots of questions asked.

Multiple entry visa valid up to one year, then extend at the end based on retirement.  The consulate  in the U.S. has a set of requirements for that type of visa including financial, medical, police background to be attached to the application etc.  The fee was around 200 USD.  I found the consulate to be very helpful in Los Angeles.

On 7/14/2018 at 10:16 AM, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Yes, that's a very good change and relatively recent one of their part.

 

C1 USED to be a stickler on foreign travel, and I had my cards locked by them more than once in the past. But these days, they rely more on getting confirmations from the user either by mobile message or emails to confirm anything they flag as a suspicious transactions.

 

I was REALLY surprised some time back when C1 credit cards told me I no longer needed to worry about foreign travel notifications with them!!!!

 

I had terrible trouble with Capital One's security department. The new card they sent to my US address was lost in the mail, they would not send another without infinite additional security measures, and a US cell phone able to receive SMS confirmations.  Absolutely horrible company to deal with.  Never again. Had their card for maybe 15 years, no late payments, they just don't want to take care of customers.

I tried to use Bkk bank NY for funds transfer.  Expensive and cumbersome.

I had good luck with a Citi Bank Global account.  The only Citi branches are in Bangkok, but ATMs are everywhere. No trouble transferring funds from Citi Bank U.S. to Citi Bank Thailand for free via inter-account transfer....then transfer to local bank like BKK Bank. 

Larger amounts via Wire Transfer (keep them under 50 K USD or they will be held up for a while). 

Have your checks deposited in US account, having them mailed here is a real hassle.  BKK bank took 6 weeks and 500 THB fee to clear a check from a US city.

Maintain a US mailing address.

There are videos on You Tube about retiring in Thailand.  Some have really good information.

Good luck 

Grow up, learn Sabai-Sabai, or attend your own funeral.......

Leave the road rage to Thai drivers.

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

It is not really a new rule. They are just enforcing it now (for at least a year). Thai's have to show their ID card.

It is so they have proof of who sent the package or letter incase it turns out to contain prohibited items.

Ran into same problem in my village post office, although they were satisfied with my Thai driver's license.  Most times a copy of passport has been enough, except for hotel registrations.  

On 7/9/2018 at 2:48 PM, Pilotman said:

Bit off topic, but the good thing about having a current IDP, is that when you go to apply for your Thai DL, you dont have to sit through that God awful video for 40 minutes. 

Had to sit through a one hour video in Thai, with the IDP......otherwise would have had to sit through the 4 hour video....

Lampang DLT.

Citi gold refunds Atm charges on their debit card worldwide, very fair exchange rate.

Bring home a new mia noy, grab a beer and enjoy the show.