Bill Miller

On 11/19/2018 at 8:08 PM, JackThompson said:

The problem you will face, if you tried to get an extension based on marriage, is that the "family desk" will first demand you have a TM-30 (which you do), but then demand another batch of landlord-docs, because you rent. 

I did not quote the entire discussion, for brevity's sake.
Do you think the same would apply if I go for a one year extension based on retirement? The juristic gal seemed very certain that the TM 30 should suffice.
Maybe have to go back to 90 day border hops, and yearly visa renewal at Savan.?

Grammar police alert!
One of my particular bugbears; it is a "border" between countries. A "boarder" is the person you ask to "Please pass the potatoes" at the rooming house dinner table.
The other one I see frequently is lose/loose. You "lose" your passport if your carryall bag closure is "loose".
I know, not of earth moving importance in the face of IO income proof issues, US Presidents, etc., but they will continue to be misused long after those issues have passed. ????
It has become an issue to me since my stroke, and having to correct about every third word I try to type.

The ones most likely to be involved would never, of course, utter any of the forbidden words.

4 hours ago, thaipo7 said:

Did they really arrest the right person?  I would feel better if she made the ID.  Nothing on the 14 year old or her friend in identifying this scum.  

The gut they arrested is making up stories about how Ir was consensual. so yeah. I would say they have the right guy.

39 minutes ago, Maestro said:

What does "waan jai" mean in the context of your post? Google Translate guesses that it is Hindi but gives no meaningful English translation.

 

It is a Paiboon romanization I have seen for 

หวานใจ, meaning "sweetheart". ????

3 hours ago, JackThompson said:

A Non-O-ME Visa from Savannakhet, with same-day-return border-bounces every 90-days.  That is still easier than having to apply for Non-O Visas based on retirement every 90-days.

Just to clarify, as I think this could be misunderstood: Don't have to " apply for Non-O Visas based on retirement every 90-days." Once a year works.
I decided a couple of years ago to "bag it" with Jomtien after an effort to extort 16,000 baht, pre "Big Joke", over the newly enforced residency rules. I get a new non "O" multi entry at Savan, and do a "bounce" every 90 days at whatever neighboring nation tickles our fancy. 
Ongoing story about the residency thing; ny landlady lives in Europe somewhere, I think Germany. My waan jai found the condo for me, and did all the negotiating, etc., with a delightful young real estate gal. Problems? The lease was in Thai, and signed by my nearest and dearest. TM 30? What's that?
Decided to "unscrew the inscrutables" in all this. A very helpful woman at the Juristic office cobbled up a lease agreement in my name, and for a 500 baht fee went to Jomtien on my behalf, settled the 1,600 baht TM 30 fine, and brought me back the appropriate receipts, forms, etc.
They would not give me a copy of the "lease", which I guess is a sort of phony, anyhow, the real owner never being present in all this. The gal did it all as an  "agent in situ". I don't mind as we have been paying month to month for half a year anyway. Just happy to have the TM 30.
Anyone know if Jomtien will accept that for a residence certificate? Might just want to get a driver's license, however much I grit my teeth when on the roads here.

4 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I can't imagine that 65,000 must be transfered each month. Do you really think they will reject a one time transfer of B780,000, or quarterly transfers of B195,000?

Rhis is of concern to me, also.
Through discussions with my Thai partner over the past four years I have come to the inescapable conclusion that the principle of "averaging" is considered "higher mathematics", and is beyond the ability of the average (DELIBERATE USAGE) publicly educated Thai person, to include many college graduates.
Any educators able to weigh in on this? I would be pleased to learn that I am full of beans, but college educated Fon has had a hard time grasping the concept that my average monthly income of 100,000+ baht does not mean 100,000 is available to spend every month. ☺️
The goal is to have 780,000 per annum, using the 65,000 per month (800,000 for the aged deposit method), or 480,000 deposited over a year of 40,000/ month if married, vs the annual aged deposit of 400,000 baht.
I admit to having had trouble with calculus, but this is arithmetic. Why 20,000 less gross total if on retirement and using a monthly calculation, while 80,000 more using the monthly income figure on the basis of marriage? Be sure she will find a use for that 80,000 "extra"!????

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Bill, here's an Adobe PDF document that Ubon Joe, our resident expert here, put together on marriage extension requirements.

 

0 Thai Marriage Extension Reqs 2018 from UbonJoe.pdf

 

Also, you should get advice from members who live in/use the Jomtien Immigration office, and some offices have their own individual takes on rules, such as requiring some extra things or certain numbers of copies or other niggling details.

 

Also, you didn't mention your nationality or when you might be applying for a marriage extension.

 

If you're an American, Brit, Aussie or Dane, you're probably aware that those countries' embassies in Thailand are ceasing to issue income letters used to document the 40,000 baht per month in income that's one of the available financial requirements (the other being 400,000 baht in a Thai bank account for at least two months prior to applying).

 

If you're planning to use the Thai bank deposit approach, then nothing's changing. If you're planning to use the monthly income method, the specifics on the phasing out of the income letters varies by country/embassy. Thai Immigration is supposed to accept the letters for 6 months after they're issued, but whether that's going to remain the case for Americans, Brits and Aussies heading into 2019 seems a bit uncertain.

 

 

 

Thanks so much.
I am a Yank, and as to when is in her bailiwick. She would like to do the deed in the US, but has been turned down twice for a visitor visa.
I think it might be easier if we got hitched here, then get a spousal visa. Original intent was just to show my "pal" some of the sights, but somewhere along the way we decided we like to hangout on a more permanent basis.????
I have been here four years on a retirement basis, using an affidavit from the US Embassy, and getting a new visa from Savannakhet. 
Just checked on line, and have 77,000 + baht/month showing as deposited in my Thai bank for  the past three months. I hope they figure some way to accept that as more solid proof than my dubious, farang sworn affidavit.
statement. 800,000 would be tough to put all in one pot.400,000 easier, if she will consent to marry here. She has been filled with horror stories about women unable to inherit because they were married here. I am fairly certain that this is due to insufficient care to the legalities of a proper will.

 

1 hour ago, Maestro said:

@Bill Miller   You were off topic with your post in the other thread and therefore I have split it off to create this new topic.

Thanks so much.
I use Jomtien as my "home" IO.
I tried to do something in Bkk a couple of years ago, but they said "Oh, no. You live in Sattahip area. Must go to Jomtien." 

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

Your Pater was right. 

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272503554_Antibacterial_Activity_of_Myristica_fragrans_and_Curry_Powder_against_Selected_Organisms

Very cool! Thanks. 

Although not Jewish I have adopted the habit of koshering meat, here. The purpose under kashut (dietary law) is to remove any blood from the meat, but it draws any moisture out, which has the effect of pulling bacteria out as well. Then it must be thoroughly rinsed. 
No guarantees, but I believe this adds to the hygiene of the food.
A good green curry will help if the meat was slightly "off". My dad maintained this was the purpose of curry, developed in the days before refrigeration. ????

I keep reading about a "one year extension of stay". I have been going to Savan., Laos, and getting a new non "O" visa each year.
Have I been wasting time and resources doing this, when I could go to immigration at Jomtien and get an extension instead?
Somebody please help an old, disabled guy here. I have done endless (it seems) searches, and keep getting page after page of irrelevant stuff to wade through. I had a stroke this past March, which makes a lot of reading difficult, and my Thai partner is, like, "I don't understand why you need to do this..." 
Neither do I, waan jai! ????
 "My Thai wife stubbornly refused to believe me until I took her to Immigration and she heard if from the horse's mouth." Thanks, Cusanas. Just so! ????
Give me a "1,2,3" precis, or a link to the article with the current, applicable info. Please.
I did, after all, join "Thai Visa" on the assumption that I would find what I needed. Navigation is not easy! ????

5 hours ago, Thailand said:

Perhaps a 5 year Dumb Visa for those of us that don't have the smarts and would not be a threat to local talent?

Sign me up!

Damn, I feel old!
I was born and raised in New England well before the advent of universal "career women". The women, on average, married and stayed home to keep house, raise babies, etc., and had little opportunity to earn cash to take their boyfriends/ husbands out on a date. "Dutch treat" where each pay half was sort of the earmark of "cheap Charlie" involvement, and did not attract the most desirable girls.
Thailand is a nation where less than 100 years ago women were literally chattel. In some respects that is still true, but the relevance is that it is still expected that the man will provide the wherewithal, and the woman will manage and maintain the family resources.
As has been posted many times in this thread, this is not "The West", so just don't expect (relatively new!) Western behaviour from Thai women. 
It is coming, but slowly. As my GF says, in the meantime, "You pay, pay, pay. Don't be stinky." (Stingy ????)
 

On 11/8/2018 at 3:42 PM, Stuart21 said:

 

Yes just transfer to her account as required. Can do from anywhere on the planet-

This is what I have been doing. We have separate accounts at Bkk Bank, but a transfer takes about one minute, and is instantaneous.
I had a stroke in March od this year. Thankful it was not more severe, but waan jai asked "What I do if you sick and cannot?"
I will write down passwords, etc., so she can access our money, and also get a POA notarized  from the US embassy and have it translated and notarized in Thai.
Please keep the peanut gallery comments to yourselves.
She is not a beer bar girl I met a short time ago. She has given me upwards of 30,000 baht at need when I had difficulty with international transfer issues.
I want her to have the same access, etc., that normally exists in mature relationships in the West. If your thought is "I wouldn't give that to ANY woman", just keep it to yourself, and know that I feel sorry for you and whatever bad experiences you have had.
 

6 hours ago, Scottjouro said:

Why would it be ?...is pension tax excempt in say the UK or US or Aussie ?...no ....if it exceeds certain threseholds 

 

One could argue that an overseas pension is not taxable given it wasnt "earned" or source is Thailand

 

One could also argue pension payments which are not taxed at foreign source, and person is tax resident in Thailand could/should be paying tax in Thailand

 

One day pensioners in Thailand may have to declare their tax affairs in Thailand and if tax had not paid already on the money they may find themselves liable for tax in Thailand

Yes, in the US your social security pension is not taxed until a certain threshold. It is why I asked if any tax boffins know the answer, not a bunch of "well maybes".
Thanks anyway.
Again, is there anyone who knows if foreign retirement, i.e. pensions, are considered "earned", taxable income under this regulation? We can speculate until the kwai come home, but somebody, somewhere, has the answer.

On 3/2/2018 at 7:30 AM, ezzra said:

A resident of Thailand who in the previous tax year derived assessable income under Section 40 from an employment or from business carried on abroad or from a property situated abroad shall,

I think the keyword is "assessable", i.e. wages or business profit. 
Any tax goniffs know if pension payments are exempt?

The topic under consideration is cannabis legalized for medicinal use. I think it is a long row to hoe before it is

approved for recreational use.
It is not, BTW, fully legal in the US. A friend of mine who jumped through all the hoops and got a permit to legally grow marijuana as a medicinal provider got arrested and shut down. The soi disant "conservative" elements don't want anything that they do not profit from. It still is not legal on the federal level, and the police state, I mean police in conservative states, use that to step on the little people who dare to exercise their locally legislated rights.
I suspect a lack of brown envelopes somewhere in the process. That system is no longer well established and understood there.     

Had one trying to scam a lady friend of mine. He claimed to be a US Army General!
If you don't know, a field grade officer does NOT seek out Thai romance in on line chat rooms. For that matter of fact as a lowly second looie we were admonished to be circumspect in our romantic escapades. 

They prey on Thai folks who, let's face it, are simply not very sophisticated, on average,  regarding the evils in the wider world.

11 minutes ago, connda said:

The real issue (and the one that doesn't get press coverage) is the culture of corporeal punishment that is ingrained within the Ministry of Education. 
When I hear the words "we need an investigation" from a government ministry, what I actually hear is "we need time to cover this up and make it go away." 
What is actually needed is an public discourse regarding the the mode, manners, and reasons for the use of physical discipline within Thai schools along with a publicly published policy statement that defines exactly what happens to teachers and school administrators who stray beyond the bound of accepted policy and rational behavior. 

Just so. Existing statutes supposedly prohibit corporal punishment, but offer no penalties for infractions.
The "nod, nod, wink, wink" attitude will never change until it becomes clear that violations will result in meaningful. prescribed consequences, and training of ALL educational personnel in the regulations and penalties involved.

4 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

While I agree the injuries should be dealt with and the teacher fired from teaching, I would like to know what REALLY caused the teacher to punish him.  Teachers in Thailand rarely care if you can recite a timetable as a matter of fact I think most of them would have trouble.  I am willing to be there is more to it than the boy has admitted

It does not matter what the circumstances, if the bruising in his photo was from the "discipline", then it was criminal assault on the part of the teacher. If the boy did something more serious, then he should have been referred to a higher authority. I am fairly certain that beating students with what was described, which is essentially a club, is not within the prescribed duties of any teacher in Thailand. 

5 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

If one marries, does she get a social security number? Or she has to emigrate to the USA? May be they can go to the USA, marry in Las vegas, apply for a social security card. With a social security card, spouse will be paid 50% of his SS (when she turns 62 of course), without any contribution made to the system. 

There is a residency requirement, I believe, of five years for a Thai spouse. Some nations have a Social Security agreement with he US that make things easier.
I think I read that some negotiations just completed allowing direct deposit of SS benefits to Thai banks. It may be that some agreement will be forth coming on other Social Security issues.
Stay tuned! 

18 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I would like to see Thailand require health insurance for expats at the same time offering a BASIC government plan at a reasonably inflated cost for those that can't get decent cover privately due to preexisting conditions. That's another logical thing they could do which they will not do. 

Yes!
A few years back they had a program that applied to foreigners. I think it was meant for foreign "guest workers", i.e. from Laos, Cambodia, etc., but was a little vaguely worded and a number of Westerners got on it before someone noticed and pulled the plug on farang participation. That said, an expat I was chatting with swears a neighbor just got signed up. Still waiting to find out where!
I think the program would work fine if a reasonable premium were charged, and by that I mean enough to finance the needs of the system. Thai folks have the 30 baht scheme, how about 3,000 baht/month for farangs? I would gladly pay that, plus a  co-pay for "extra" services.
I think a program along those lines, with mandatory participation for those who do not carry private insurance, would well serve both the farang expat/visitor community, and would help finance the short falls of the existing system.
How to present such an idea to the movers and shakers?   

6 minutes ago, Moonlover said:

Well. I do have one suggestion. You mentioned that your partner is actually your fiancée. Do you see where I'm going here?

 

If you marry, Your regular social security payments of 47,000 per month will comfortably exceed the monthly income requirement for a marriage based extension.

 

Other than that, showing your bank statements for the whole year and appending a spreadsheet showing that your average income does indeed exceed the retirement threshold could well work. You have plenty of time so try an informal chat with IO prior to your renewal date. I suspect there could be a lot of use doing that, me included.

 

And please take no notice of the doom and gloom brigade. I'm quite sure that monthly income extensions will still be accepted.

 

Good luck.

Thanks.
Th idea of "...an informal chat with IO..." is amusing, but I will try when I go to Jomtien to try for a residency letter.
If I get any info on that I will post a follow up.
We just had a talk about maybe getting married here. Fon had wanted to marry in the US, but getting her a visa has been a problem.
She somehow got the idea that Thai marriage would not be recognized in the US. Horror stories about not being permitted to inherit, etc.
Thanks for the note about the "doom and gloom brigade", 5555

Wow. 174 pages already.
I am going to talk about some concerns, and I am not sure that anyone else has mentioned them yet. I had a stroke a few months ago, and though doing quite well in most respects still find reading a bit difficult.
I do honestly meet the current requirements for the income method, having something in the neighborhood of 100,000 baht AVERAGE monthly income. That is the key. My social security is a bit over 47,000 of that, and is regular as clockwork. The balance of my income is from a custodial account and is distributed quarterly. A portion is from dividend income, etc., but partially from principle, and is under the threshold amount such that I do not need to file a tax return every year.
My concern is if TI will accept my Thai bank records, and perhaps Bkk bank will write a letter, indicating an AVERAGE of more than 65,000 baht per month, or well more than the 800,000 baht yearly amount that is the ultimate goal.
I have had a difficult time getting my fiancee to understand the concept of "income average". so "no, darling, we do not have 100,000 baht to spend this month".
Am I likely to have any better luck with an Immigration Officer?
Do any of the visa agents work on the monthly income basis, or would I need to find one that, however they do it, manage to "prove" their clients have 800,000 seasoned baht?
I have until 12 Sept. 2019 according to my most recent visa from Savan., where incidentally they asked to see my bank book for the first time.  I did not have it, but they accepted a copy of the previous year's visa as "proof" that I had met the requirement then, and I guess presumably was still retired with an income. ????