mudcat

Here is a sheet of mailing labels to Immigration you can print on label stock. Do one for home and you are set for the decade Immigration - LTR Unit.docx

The TM95 form for annual LTR visa holders who have been resident for 1-year (i.e. have not left the Kingdom) is attached TM.95 blank.pdf

U.S. procedures at Kaiser required a driver to stand by to take you home as their anesthetic was enough to disorient one. Not sure what the recommendation is here but you might inquire - maybe a promise to take a motorcycle taxi would be enough. The first test I had after my sister's colon cancer was a sigmoidoscopy which was an office procedure vs an operating room. Why would you have a sigmoidoscopy instead of a colonoscopy? A flexible sigmoidoscopy is a quick, safe and efficient way for healthcare providers to diagnose and treat conditions in your lower large intestine. It doesn't go as far into your body as a colonoscopy, so it doesn't take as much time or preparation. It can be done with or without sedation.

I put my faith in a treaty between two sovereign states before any decree, because there is no recourse or appeal and the language is clear and less subject to "new" readings.

It never made much sense to market a new visa program to persons who demonstrate the wherewithal to bring significant assets, income, or cash benefits into the kingdom only to turn around and subject the transfers to taxation. The exception for highly skilled workers being granted a capped low tax rate is reasonable recognition they are not bringing assets but their skills.

The purpose would be to have a tax return or transcript showing the sources of your income. Basic process is to add half of your Social Security benefit to your gross income. If the result is under $25/32 thousand (single/married filing jointly) your benefit is not taxable income and your taxable income is likely to be less than your standard deduction. See definition of gross income footnote to "do you need to file" in your i1040 instructions. Having a return or transcript will give you the information you may need to answer questions from the RD who may not understand the tax treatment of Social Security benefits

Should your income in the U.S. be under the standard deduction after calculating the tax status of your Social Security benefit and thus a tax return was not required one can file amended returns back three years to organize your paper trail.

One of the rare instances that I am grateful for paying U.S. income tax on worldwide earnings. As I have not worked since I walked out the door in 2010 with my Social Security entitlement and Civil Service government pension from the agency I worked for, I believe the DTA has me well covered. My Social Security is direct deposited into Bangkok Bank for our living expenses here and my pension is deposited into my Chase checking account that I use to pay my credit card, one insurance payment, one-time PayPal payments I don't want to run through my credit card, and for investments. My investments are in a Roth IRA and two robot taxable accounts (one each for myself and my wife into which I invest $1,000/month each). Neither of my investment accounts is withdrawn from but rather form the bulk of my estate through beneficiary designations, currently my wife with two charities as contingent beneficiaries. I am not worried about tracking ATM withdrawals (typically one a month for which Chase reimburses the Thai bank charges), as I can easily demonstrate the source of funds being my pension - and I use a few different Thai banks for convenience which makes tying the transaction to my Thai tax ID number unlikely. As I am on a LTR-WP pension I do not need to worry about the local IO or RD officers making discretionary interpretations of what appear to be a very vague proposal. A headache yes, something to make us uproot our lives here - no.

Going the other way (back to th U.S. for a visit where I wanted cover for initial treatment and repatriation) I ended up using a Thai company's travel plan (MSIG). I appreciated reading in their terms and conditions a definition of pre-existing conditions: Pre-existing Conditions means Physical conditions of the Insured as follows: 1. In case of insurance for a Single Trip and for annual Open Policy, it shall mean the disease (including complications), symptom or abnormality occurred to the Insured within twenty-four (24) months preceding the effective date of this Policy with sufficient indication for a person to seek diagnosis or treatment or for a physician to provide diagnosis or treatment; 2. In case of insurance for Annual Trip, it shall mean the disease (including complications), symptom or abnormality occurred to the Insured within twenty-four (24) months preceding the effective date of this Policy with sufficient indication for a person to seek diagnosis or treatment or for a physician to provide diagnosis or treatment and medical conditions for which the Insured has claimed during a previous trip or medical conditions for which the Insured has sought treatment or diagnosis within twelve (12) months before the trip. Such conditions shall be considered pre-existing conditions for subsequent trip. Although this policy is only available for residents reading the definition gave me assurance that a long term condition (in my case cholesrerol) that is under control through medication is not a pre-existing condition. Other plans required having one's medical history being reviewed by an underwriter.

Flew out from Bangkok this morning. Used the Fast Track lane all the way down the terminal past the escalators. They allowed my wife (Thai national) process with me. It was pretty busy but altogether around 15-minutes and we were on our way to our gate.

The BOI employee must be reading the notice to report stapled into our passports as the attached shows:

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.

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.