mudcat

My point is not that a trip to Bangkok is a big deal today, but my LTR-WP with extension expires when I am 84-years old and I am not sure I will be up for a two or three-day trip simply to provide notice that I am at the same address I have been since 2013. The only reason I can imagine is that neither BOI nor Immigration trusts the local offices or officers. ,

Well thank goodness we are heading back to the Bay Area next week for a month that takes care of this year to give BOI a chance to re-consider their demand that people from all over Thailand traipse to Bangkok to submit a few sheets of paper. If they refuse, we live 2-hours from a Cambodian border crossing - the idea of a trip to Bangkok is burdensome for a immigration program that was supposed to make living as a retiree easier.

I am confused with the feedback received from BOI which appears to contradict the TM95 calling out annual reporting is to "AN IMMIGRATION OFFICER" with no restriction as to who or where: Firstly: the header includes the space for the Immigration office where one chooses to report: ที่ทำกำรตรวจคนเข้ำเมือง ............................................. Immigration Office Secondly the notice at the end of the user section makes clear that: หมายเหตุ คนต่ำงด้ำวต้องแจ้งต่อพนักงำนเจ้ำหน้ำที่ตรวจคนเข้ำเมืองทุกระยะ 1 ปี NOTICE AN ALIEN MUST NOTIFY AN IMMIGRANTION OFFICER OF HIS/HER ADDRESS EVERY YEAR. This is is confirmed as authoritative by it being included in: Attachment to the Order of Immigration Bureau no. 150/2565 dated 22 August 2022. Where is the authority given for the BOI to dictate that reports must be done in Bangkok's One Stop Service Center either in person or an agent (unclear if this can be anyone, or must be one of the BOI's designated agents) in contradiction to the TM95 and the Immigration Bureau no. 150/2565 which clearly allow any one to provide notice to their local immigration office?

My passport 2026 expiration date did not sync up well with my hoped for LTR initial visa or renewal so I paid the ~$130 to the U.S. embassy and got a new 10-year passport (and passport card which I carry in my wallet and use when traveling to Canada or Mexico) back in a few weeks. My wife renewed her U.S. passport as well to sync with her Thai passport (all three due for renewal in 2032 - 10-years now). I understand some countries have their own renewal criteria and timelines, but we sent off our renewal packages on August 23 and received our passports back on September 14th, transferred my Non-IMM O visa on the 15th, and sent off my LTR WP application the next day. Approval pending additional documents on October 4th and final approval on October 18th and visa entered into my passport on October 31, Halloween.

A helpful guide on travel when seriously ill from EVA. I investigated this to reassure my wife that we would get her home if she could not manage flying without special accomodation. This may not apply in your case if you are under the care of the medical system and want to return to your home country. Check with your carrier. https://www.evaair.com/en-us/fly-prepare/special-assistance-and-inquiry/medical-conditions/ For U.S. citizens you should investigate what is necessary to get care under Medicare and how whether you have continued to pay your Part B premiums affects waiting period.

A U.S. tax transcript has one's personal identifications redacted or truncated. Simply point out the lines for one's pension, IRA withdrawals, and total social security income. The transcript is write protected so information cannot be altered or copied. There has been considerable back and forth on the $100,000 deposit as a substitute for health insurance. When I demonstrated more than that amount in my Roth IRA and provided information about the availability of the funds BOI did accept it. Although I used my Roth IRA to qualify, I would urge anyone who is able to obtain either international or Thai based health insurance to consider that as an option - I have always considered insurance to cover expenses I would not choose to pay for out of savings. The last thing I would want is to be in an argument between my Medicare provider and a Thai hospital about who is going to pay for my treatment. I carry a Pacific Cross Maxima policy with both inpatient and outpatient care with high limits that are reduced by a high deductible and a number of pre-existing exclusions. At 74-years old after three-years of no claims my annual premium is ~105,000 Thai baht. Not cheap, but I don't want to be scrambling around trying to cover initial treatment cost and looking for an airline to haul me back home to get treatment under Medicare in whatever condition I am in.

The real hurdle is having a pension or some other "passive" income that totals $80,000 per year. If your income falls between 40,000 and $80,000 there are options to top-up with investments in Thailand. Once you have the LTR stamp in your passport Non-IMM O requirements go away and are replaced with LTR requirements. This is when you can withdraw your 400/800 baht bank deposit. If you have an accepted non-Thai health insurance such as US Tricare or some European plans you can drop it or self-insure showing $100,000 on deposit in a foreign account. My regular IO in our local office was unhappy to lose a customer. No renewal, no 90-day reports since Halloween 2022 for me.

YouTube premium allows one to download and store videos for an unlimited amount of time and play them when offline. Does require a phone or tablet though. Modest cost here in Asia especially under the family plan.

My wife went through village schools but left in her early teens in the mid-80's. She is bright and somewhat inquisitive but lacks any structure to organize her world view. She managed to pass the U.S. citizen ship exam on her first try, but every morning for a few months we went through the 100 questions in random order. There is nothing in her media consumption here that informs, but it does prompt questions. As to her knowledge of world history it is solely because of our conversations and my answers to her questions.

I believe that when the wealth transfer from parents who own the land to the children who have no interest in being farmers happens the land will be sold to finance a new pickup or a condo near a real job will drive sale prices down once the car/mortgage payments catch up and overtake income.

The more pertinent question for me is would I stay should my wife pass before me. My current thought is to return to my home country even though my saying goodbye to my wife's extended family and my step granddaughter would be wrenching as I doubt if I would ever return to visit. How would I ever explain my crooked path through life to people in my new life, but probably easier than dealing with always being a mystery to people who have never strayed very far from the village.

Not related to the misery index (also known as the windchill factor) in the US midwest, but similar in that it results in scary headlines. NOAA's chart with some commentary https://beerglo.amebaownd.com/posts/37130531

Your snippet calls out the "or" I referred to in the second paragraph. "a pension certificate OR individual income tax return ..." This is not important for most, but others who receive some or all of their pensions tax exempt and thus their tax returns would not reflect all of their retirement income.

I read this as requiring WP applicants to either provide a pension certificate(s) showing $80K - per year. I use my Social Security and Pension Benefit statements from my non-federal government job. OR Provide tax return(s) showing passive income of $80K I would provide a tax transcript as is anonymized through truncating names and all but the last four digits of the Social Security number. A request for two years in the latter case makes some sense as it decreases the likelihood of gaming the requirement. For example the last two-years of 1099Rs included $107K and $105K in RMDs (Required Minimum Withdrawal) and conversions from my Taxable IRA to my Roth IRA - only the RMD touched my hands, but I would be able to claim 'Wealthy Pensioner' status based on my 1099Rs from 2021 and 2022.

How about increasing the deposit insurance amount from the pitiful million baht they offer.

I have been with Pacific Cross for a few years - at first it was to protect my assets and guard against immigration requirements should Non-IMM O require insurance in the future. Once I obtained a Long Term Resident visa I considered continuing the same policy, but the LTR initial requirement was for ten-months validity would have delayed my visa application for a few months. I decided to demonstrate ability to cover medical expenses through retirement assets. Once I was able to take another look at my policy and options I decided to move from the highest level of Premier to the lowest level of Maxima while retaining outpatient coverage but increasing my deductible from ThB20K to Thb40K.. I understand the aversion to outpatient cover here as typically outpatient costs are quite low and the cover in many of the lower level plans restrict number of visits and maximum per-visit charges. Once I looked at the outpatient provisions in the Premier plan I realized that should I ever need continuing outpatient treatment such as Chemo, radiation, or physical therapy I could easily exceed my deductible and but exceed my outpatient allowance. It made more sense to move to the Maxima plan which has much better outpatient cover and allow the deductible (and no-claim discount) to control my costs until I really need care.

My check status tab gives my application date, visa type and number, staff, and complete. Speak to your contact at BOI when your process is complete

On what screen or tab?

I don't remember - I think after my visa was in my passport I went through and deleted everything I could. I brought this up with my BOI Sherpa and I remember him telling me that they would do that as well. When I just logged in there was no personal data to be seen, so I am pretty certain that external snooping directed towards me or other applicants is secure. The real exposure is a system hack or the months between application and either granting or denying - during that time anyone who has access to your username/password has access to a lot of your personal data.

In terms of insurance and substitution for insurance. You must understand that the group of applicants they are considering are solidly middle or upper class with income and assets they have earned saved over a lifetime or are currently employed here or from overseas. Of course the vicissitudes of life can change most of that rapidly, but requiring pension income for wealthy retirees, stringent requirements for overseas employers, or a large hostage investment seemed to give assurance to the bodies that approved the program that the class of applicants would be a net benefit to the Kingdom. The requirement for health insurance is much more reasonable than the requirement for OA visas and there is the option for 'self-funding' as many here maintain they choose to utilize. I, like most middle-class people, have always had private health insurance through work or privately (as a U.S. citizen there is no public health plan as in Europe or the U.K.). Even with insurance in place, I chose to demonstrate assets in my retirement accounts well in excess of their $100,000 requirement both because of their now waived 10-month validity and because Thai insurance companies faced with large claims are liable to constructively cancel by large increases in rates or cancel outright. As a U.S. senior who has maintained my Medicare premium payments I always have the option of returning to the U.S. and establishing coverage immediately. I understand the frustration with the two-track process - wealthy under BOI and Hoi Polloi under the immigration laws and officer. This is the world we live in both here and in our countries of origin. BOI can make a case that their applicants present no risk of becoming a burden on the Kingdom unlike many who barely qualify for a spouse or retirement visa based on a bank deposit and survive the pittance of a pension from their working years and possibly some savings for retirement. There is a wide band of persons in the middle who feel aggrieved by the laws they need to comply with and who do not qualify or choose not to apply for one of the LTR visas because of age or income source. I applied and received a LTR visa for personal reasons and lack of faith that I could remain in the Kingdom over the medium to long-term given that the current requirements are subject to arbitrary changes that might trap me into actions I may not choose to take such as moving more money into the Thai financial system or changing my health insurance to their idea of adequacy.

The requirement file f8938 would apply my wife as she an classic Thai small saver with a few passbook accounts with an important exception After I pass her assets would otherwise require filing, but Possible requirement to file f8938: If your combined Thai bank accounts dollar balance is more than $200,000 on the last day of the year or more than $300,000 at any point during the year you need to file f8938, but only if you need to file taxes*. The requirement to file Form F8938 comes with significant penalties, so you must keep track of your income and assets, so you do not fail to file. * TIP Exception if no income tax return required. If you do not have to file an income tax return for the tax year, you do not have to file Form 8938, even if the value of your specified foreign financial assets is more than the appropriate reporting threshold. (from i8938 instructions)

As you browse I would pay attention to seating height and forward visibility, especially if your spouse is on the short side.

Sorry for not reading your first reply - unless you can demonstrate offshore residence for more than 330 in one of the previous three tax years you use the domestic version of streamlined compliance: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/u-s-taxpayers-residing-in-the-united-states One difference is that the 'domestic' version assess a 5% penalty on offshore balances you failed to report over the past six-years - the IRS tax lookback is still only three-years. The penalty and back taxes may be niggling or may be significant. We got out of compliance when we failed to report some accounts my wife held prior to our marriage/her citizenship - the damage was minor but the work was significant.

Given that you mention FBAR and amended returns you probably are going to file under what is called streamlined filing which requires filing years of missing FinCEN 114s and three years of amended returns that report and pay taxes on the accounts you failed to report. If you have time and good records you can do it yourself as I did. Send a pm if you want. https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/streamlined-filing-compliance-procedures

Like many successful applicants my application to approval was ~4-weeks and another 2-weeks to arrange travel to Bangkok for my stamp (and Halloween and our 10-year anniversary). I renewed my U.S. passport for another 10-years to cover the entire LTR period prior to applying so the timeline looks like this: Passport date 09/01/2022, received 09/15/2022 Off to Immigration to transfer stamps - 09/16/22 Application submitted 09/17/2022 Back and forth with BOI re use of Roth IRA as substitute for insurance Approval notice 10/16/2022 Appointment for receiving visa in passport 10/31/2022 Some notes I have read that BOI is getting sticky about insurance substitution accounts - YMMV There were problems with adding documents after initial application - this may be fixed by now. I did delete my application support documents after approval - not a bad idea with any Thai site. I substituted my Roth IRA for my Pacific Cross policy as they required 10-months validity - this has changed, but as my Roth is part of my estate planning it is likely to be usable at five-years and at ten-years (if I live to 84-years old and the program is still available). Since I got my visa stamp I have missed two 90-day reports and one Non-O extension - I did not miss the IO or the office.