timendres

On 6/28/2025 at 1:19 PM, Negita43 said:

My Philosophy - keep out of politics and religion of a country if you are not a national of that country

When I had my company, the Thai staff were always a bit surprised how well informed I was about Thai politics.

And I was always curious to hear what the staff thought about different issues.

But I was very careful to never pick a side or take a position. It is not my country.

I would always just say "Politics. Crazy, right?" and leave it at that.

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Lately I've been smoking Wikipedia.............https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_Thailand.

85 events in the last 15 years. Yup, almost daily, as you suggested. Just another 5,390 shootings, and you would be so right.

39 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Thailand is also a land of almost daily mass shootings.

Please, do share whatever you are smoking...

10 minutes ago, John Drake said:

What I have read says the tax will only apply to non-citizens. Has this changed?

That has not changed. However, what people are pointing out is that banks and other institutions will be unwilling to make the investment to verify citizenship. It will be easier and cheaper to simply say "get it back at refund time". So they will take it from every transaction.

Many insist that I am a ghost. I tell every Thai person I meet that I really want to meet a ghost. Please.

On 6/19/2025 at 11:11 AM, NanLaew said:

 

Hypothetical: What if it is a farang landlord who doesn't have a registered company but owns several condominiums that he rents out for his 'living the dream' income here?

I am not an expert on this topic. Have only talked to a few "landlords".

But I believe that, if the landlord has a valid extension, and they are hiring Thai nationals for any "work" involved, and they are reporting their income to the Thai government and paying taxes, I believe it is all fine. The difficult part is proving you are not "working" if, say, you are on a retirement extension. But one guy I spoke with indicated that he hired Thais for everything, including meeting potential renters and executing all paperwork. Another simply had a management company to handle everything - I believe as part of the development.

On 6/13/2025 at 4:36 PM, DrJack54 said:

Elaborate

Not much to say. IO suggested a way to "expedite the process". I declined. The number was absurd.

When I renewed two years ago, the IO insisted on the deed to the condo, as the owner was not in the blue book.

(it was her daughter who was registered in the blue book and managing everything for her elderly mother).

We produced the deed and all was okay. But it was a small battle over my unwillingness to provide an envelope.

This was at CW.

Young Place / Grand Le Jardin in Ratchayothin, Bangkok.

Rooms are generally 70sqm, but some are over 100sqm.

Walls and floors are quite thick, so minimal noise.

Building has an open interior that you will never see in a new building.

The building is reasonably well maintained and in good condition.

A pool is the only "facility", but it is nice and on the 7th floor outside.

350m from BTS station Ratchayothin.

Rents run from 12,000 to 20.000 per month.

When you mention "35w versus 65w", I assume you are referring to the charger (the power brick).

The difference is nothing more than how fast the batter will charge when you are plugged in.

If you need really fast charging, select the 65w.

If you do not care how long it takes to charge, select the 35w.

On 3/27/2025 at 6:38 PM, BrandonJT said:

You did not have a non-B visa. You had a work extension. You cannot cancel a visa. 

He almost certainly had a Non-B visa, which he used until he obtained an extension based on work permit.

You are correct that, by this time, the original visa has expired.

23 hours ago, John Drake said:

 

When I retired from Mahidol, I like you thought I would need to change my visa from Non-B to Non-O. As it ended up, however, when I went to Nakhon Pathom immigration (where Mahidol is located and where university employees were directed for extensions), the immigration officer said not so. She simply wrote a note in my passport underneath the extension that was expiring, issued me a letter, and sent me to Chaengwattana, because I actually live in Bangkok and would henceforth need to do my extensions there. Subsequently, I extended on my Non-B for purposes of retirement at Chaengwattana and have now done so for nine consecutive years.

Thank you for confirming this. I was told by numerous people (an agent and a CW IO) that I could not get a retirement extension using my Non-B visa. It is good to hear confirmation that someone has done it with a Non-B. Sounds like immigration just wants to create more business for itself (in my case).

Wow. Looks like a genuine glitch in the system.

The algo forgot to check and not offer the same product at any price.

7 hours ago, Upnotover said:

Yes you are wrong.  I did exactly that last year.

Thank you. That is good to know.

Came to meet a girl. Fell in love with the country. Had to wait almost ten years to make the "jump".

Before the jump, I spent a full month here twice. Each time, I just wanted to stay.

Fifteen years here full time, and I am still very happy with my decision.

On 3/22/2025 at 3:14 AM, scorecard said:

The staff are human beings, employees with expectation and no doubt they were given promises.

In fact, every one of my employees signed an employment contract.

This contract spelled out very clearly the circumstances under which employee could be fired.

It also stated that the company would adhere to the Thai labor laws.

You should be up to speed on those laws, as they have real implications for your business.

On 3/22/2025 at 8:55 AM, oxo1947 said:

As always in Thailand --- different branch = different interpretations

You are SO right about that. I was dealing with Chaeng Watthana. They were very strict about the 800K.

On 3/22/2025 at 9:09 AM, Packer said:

That sounds odd.

 

Wouldn't it have been an option to go to a neighboring country, get a single entry non-o visa based on retirement and come back the next day, then go to get the 12 month extension using the 800k you had saved inside Thailand?

As mentioned above, I exited Thailand and re-entered the next day, but using visa exempt. I doubt I could obtain a Non-O visa "in one day" outside of Thailand. You are correct, however, that if I had obtained a Non-O outside Thailand, it would already meet the 800K requirement. That said, I have my doubts that 800K sitting in a Thai bank account could be used to obtain the Non-O outside Thailand. Maybe I am wrong about that,

21 hours ago, khunPer said:

If you have been working here (non-B) or former stayed with extensions as married (non-O) – and saved up the 800k baht for retirement – you can change your permission to stay to be as retiree; then you don't need to leave the kingdom or show funds from abroad. However, if your former permission to stay expires without being duly extended, you need a new visa. This is mentioned for other readers of the forum.

The issue was that I was here on a Non-B visa, which I extended based on work permit. However, my working days ended and I wanted to change to a retirement extension. The retirement extension requires a Non-O visa. You cannot obtain a retirement extension based on a Non-B visa. Thus, I was required to leave and re-enter the country to obtain the Non-O. There are some who claim to have managed to make the change from Non-B to Non-O without leaving the country, and at the moment I cannot remember the circumstances that allowed then to do that, but prevented me from doing the same. Having left and re-entered "visa exempt", then obtaining the Non-O in country, I was required to show the 800K and demonstrate that it came from abroad - requiring both bank statements and the transfer "credit advice" from the bank.

As @khunPer stated, obtaining the Non=O domestically will require proof the funds came from abroad.

I know this first hand, because I complained vehemently about it.

I had worked here for 10 years, and saved up the 800K required.

But I was forced to wire it to my bank in the US, then wire it back. Eating the fees and spreads.

In my case, I was required to show evidence of the "Credit Advice", which is the document that a bank

produces when wiring money abroad. I had to show the credit advice from the US and from Bangkok Bank.

I also needed to provide the bank book showing the deposit and current balance.

When you go to renew your extension based on a work permit, you will be required to

show the social security tax payments for your entire staff for the 3 months prior to the

renewal. That's assuming that they do not show up at your office asking to see your staff

before the renewal, or even shortly after you obtain your extension. For me, they showed

up at the office four months into the extension expecting to see the staff in the office.