Presnock

That is fairly close to my situation...married a restarant owner/head chef (small place) who asked for money occasionally to "bail" out her siblings - did that for a year, sat her down, chatted about the situations of each - only one was a hard worker moving up in the business that she worked for, and explained to my wife that I didn't mind small donations for health of mom and dad occasionally - cheaper to buy them insurance along with their national healt care so pretty cheap and that has been the way it is for 20+ years. Wife is happy (moved away from family), family continues on their ways and mother and father of wife are happy. I too am happy, I could afford to give them all monies regularly but...I was not brought up in a rich family - lower middle class - did without in many instances until I learned to get a job and have money available when I needed it. That has carried through my career (2 families) and retirement where we can afford just about anything. Now 77 so don't plan to make many changes in that philosophy.

Actually lived in Malta for a while - lovely climate, views, available food and cost...but after a while "island fever" sets in...only 1 stoplight on the whole place and way to easy to run out of space to move around. Italy was not too bad, and Spain/Portugal pretty nice too...especially that one can go to the beach today and tomorrow ski or sled on the snowy mountains. But obviously not so great for everyone but just like Thailand, SEA area, some of us just love it here. I lived in many different countries (fortunately paid for by govt) and when retirement came around Thailand was at the top of overall likes and still feel the same as 20 years ago.

When I first lived in Thailand '72-'73, a friend of mine said that he couldn't understand why I walked so fast as in order to survive the heat, one must learn the Thai shuffle! He was correct.

Well that is the final documentation that the BOI kept insisting on me forwarding although I did have other US gvt documentation but they insisted on the 1040's just like I had health insurer documenation of unlimited funds for hospitalization but the BOI insisted on a letter from the US insurer saying "USD 50K for hospitalization". They want some proof I guess of taxes paid somewhere and something that their deciding officials can easily understand. Good luck wherever you go.. This visa was perfect for me and I guess at least another 7000+ residents.

I mentioned that I would bring my initial application and documentation to the BOI office but they said they were entertaining walk ins and that the application and supporting documentation needed to be done on line so that is what I did. They also did not accept some of the US govt documentation that DID actually fit the criteria but they were insistant about tax forms and 50K hospitalilzation too even though the health insurances documentation said "unlimited for hospitalization" but finally insurer sent a letter saying USD50K hospitalization and within a week my LTR was approved. was easy once I understood that their senior folks will apparently only accept exactly what I said they wanted as I am not so sure that the senior folks don't want to have to figure out what something means to us that does fit the qualification but to them ...well they just don't want to have to figure out if something is right or not. Good luck again

The bottom line in qualification for the LTR - that is the decisions set down by the senior officials that decide yea or nay on issuing the visa. The front office receiving the applicants documentation have specific directions on WHAT can be accepted. They have gone through over 7000 applicants so far with approvals so many people provided the BOI with documentation that fit into the blanks that are required. One of those blanks for me was the tax forms for the previous two years, and USD$50K hospitalization coverage. They are very specific in what they need to send the application forward so call and talk to them, forward whatever they decide they will look at but also be prepared for providing EXACTLY what they must have in order to forward your application. I called at least 5 times before I was able to provide exactly what they wanted though previous to all the calls, I HAD PROVIDED US govt documentation of my pension for the previous two years and health insurance I have had since 1996 that showed "UNLIMITED" hospitalization but that was not sufficient as it did not say "USD50K hospitalization". Once I understood (but still don't understand clearly why) I did just what they said - 1040's and USD50K hospitalization. Good luck and hope my explanation helps you to better understand the why failure in your initial application.

Where did you pay taxes as that is also one of the OECD CRS that is bringing up the taxing of remitted income. You say remitting to Thailand 5m THB, did you file Thai taxes? If not then you must have paid taxes elsewhere - that is prehaps why the BOI requests tax forms filed for the last two years which they kept telling me I needed to do also as I did the 199R for my pension but they still insised on the 1040R for the previous two years...USD 50K hospitalization is an entirely different matter which can be replaced by a USD 100K self insured fund in the bank for the previous 12 mos. The initial folks at the BOI know exactly what their senior folks deciding whether or not one gets an LTR so they just tell the applicant that this or that is not acceptable documentation for the LTR qualifications. Good luck to you and all applying for this what I consider to be the best visa for people retired like me as a resident.

If one qualifies, get a BOI LTR - check the benefits and qualificatons. A wealthy pensioner can avoid having to pay taxes on foreign remittances into Thailand. The BOI will assist with getting a work permit if the applicant wishes to work in Thailand and by getting the LTR can pay lower taxes on the salary from the employment in Thailand. Just saying.

you forgot AGENTS.

Personally, I would contact BC/BS and info GeoBlue and advise them of the situation as they are the actual signers with GEO for proper support. If BC/BS doesn't support you, then contact the OPM retirement of the lack of support as they are the office paying the insurance payments from your annuity. Please continue to advise the support or lack of support so that your fellow retirees can at least have a heads up on what to expect from the insurance provider. Good luck

that is why I saId the 1099R replaces the W2 for retirees who do Exactly that, as the purpose of both is exactly the same - preparaton of tax form 1040. But who cares in any case I didn't say anthing about a salary and you are the won stoking that horse nor did I say I receive a salary. Now I see why so many current users of this forum talk about how useful it used to be and now we have these people who make up stories to counter whatever someone is talking about. Some people need to get a life I guess.

previously w/GMMI I would email them when I made an appointment and for what and they would send me the rquest for the bill to go to BCBS billing but one must insure that the hospital charges BCBS sometimes only for over night stays and out patient the patient must pay on day of svc.

He explained exactly why showing how it was wired incorrectly and could lead to overloads on circuits. plus he said the wiring should have some kind of ground also so be careful.

Yeah we had a new pump installed at our rental house....installer said he hesitated even installing it as the way it was wired - saying unsafe. Anyway he too said he would return and let us pay for him to correct the wiring but he never came back.

Reuse of cheap oil on top of that...Thai food cooked at least a really good restaurant and usually at home at one time used to be classifiedd as one of the healthiest diets due to the amount of veggies vs meats, and fresh fruits. Once costs continued to rise for materials, it just is too expensive for a restaurant to provide ONLY the best..I am speaking of experience - my wife had a small restaurant next to a college, only bought the best veggies/meats/fruits daily at 5 AM every day and had a long list of regular customers. UNfortunately, I explained to her after many months of negative finances coming in to support the restaurant. That she either had to buy cheaper fresh food, lower costs, get rid of excess workers, etc and plan to close on holidays and most weekends as her customers were students who liked to go home whenever not in school. Finally she got the total picture and closed. I read stories about the food today and it sure can be a lot different than it used to be. Glad I changed my diet and eating habits as one can find healthy food here, not processed, not fried, not sugary, not full of MSG/salts. Good luck to all and good eating

Personnally, we have heard suggested that they are doing it on a honest volunteer in obtaining an ID and doing tax forms if we have assessble income meeting the necessary levels for submitting. If they do have access to our funds from the home country banks and that of the Thai banks in which we have accounts, at a certain level of remittances they may ask us for some kind of documentation on why we have not done as required - at that point we may need documentation that it shows those remittances are exempt and the why i.e. govt pension and DTA or LTR or whatever one uses for exemption and no report. As yet though we don't even have clue as whatever the new interpretation entails. Seems to me like basic taxes with basic exemptions. By now most people should have been able to determine if there is any chance they have not paid taxes to a home country nor to Thailand then they probably are going to have to pay here without something like the LTR. If they are working and earning in Thailand, then believe they will have to pay something here but then again who am I to decide - I sure don't know anyone else's finance/banking/work or whatever but I am confident for the most part on MY situation. Good luck to all.

I have bc/bs too and I thought that since these were regular bills based on appointments for service (chemo) that GEO-BLUE should have sent a form letter to the patient to give to the hospital which would then just bill the BC/BS. If unscheduled visits and not a preferred privider then I could understand not having the OS processor provide such service but that is unlike the process that BCBS has done in the past though the previous OS processor had failed to get the preferred provider to do the forward billiing to the insurer and we just paid up front. I have numerous bills I need to forward to GEO-BCBS too so I will get on that soon to get my money back. Good luck on your situation. Thanks for alerting of the possibility of poor service. I I myself did have problems with the wellness card of BCBS - couldn't even get drugs from the Hospital pharmacy without going through the hassles of translating even though bills were written in English as well as Thai - nothing extra but each time I used the wellness card the same crap so I told they could keep the card and I was no longer interested in using it for anything. I stopped doing the exercise report weekly for points and tossed the card telling them it was useless for someone overseas where the pharmacies don't have the code US pharmacies have. No biggie to me. Good luck

maye that is why they the submarines for public transportation

1099R replace w2's for retirees who do exactly that retire, Of course if one moves on to another "job" they could get both. And that is correct, 1099R's should satisfy BOI but in my case they wanted my 1040 tax forms instead of the 1099R. How they communicate exactly what they want may be based on the applicant. That I don't Know, only what my experience with them was. I thought they were very helpful throughout.

I agree. Part of the OECD CRS and FACTA are all programs aimed at various targets i.e. tax evasion, money laundering, corruption, and probably a lot more as control over the masses gets more and more difficult in my opinion. I do read about the US from which I hail and I realize that people are not financially robust as many people think. Housing is totally out of control and people are even resorting to living in a foreign country and driving across the border to come to work in border states as they can't afford the state housing (which would also include property and other taxes). I have lived overseas more than the US since I got out of HS in 1964 and have filed taxes on my earnings every single year except VN war resident and tax exempt. I haven't had a lot of the freebie stuff that taxpayers reportedly get like during the COVID fiasco but my tax bill is paid regularly. I divested myself of any holdings in the states or some state/city/district there would be after me to pay their taxes too. While I was working overseas, I was a govt employee so me state of residence took their share of my paycheck and my house there required me to pay property taxes too. Now I have to file my Foreign Bank and Financial Report (FBAR) every year as well as inform the tax folks that I do have a foreign bank account. But still, I guess a sizeable number of US citizens working overseas do not or have not been paying their "fair share" so the govt resorts to different schemes to find ways to hunt those people down. Now, the Thais and other foreign countries are going to aid the US Justice and Tax offices in tracking down those people. I am pretty sure that the Thais when checking remittances into Thailand which are supposedly going to be reported by tax ID and tax forms and claims of exemption are going to be asked to verify large remittances. It will be interesting to note how far that can and will go to track down expats financials. I read today another article about the "dire" condition of the Thai national finances while they seek more tax monies to fund populist promises but which weigh heavily on the empty coffers. So, I guess maybe after June the RD will put out the final on the new interpretation of the Thai tax law. Sorry for this boring tale of my opinion and why I see it the way I do. As said by Benjamin Franklin, "nothing is certain except taxes and death". Good Luck to all...I noted on the news that the Thai weather department says that we will enter into the rainy season on the 20th of this month.

Since your wife is Thai, insurance for her is very cheap, while I have family coverage on my insurance, we still have local coverage for my wife and daughte since it is so cheap plus if serious, your wife can go to a government hospital - I have many friends who have been treated at govt hospitals because they are cheaper and in many cases the doctors there are also at the private hospitals. Anyway enjoy your travels, I fully undertand about NY especially the taxes. If you have a house there, if it is empty while you are here, I have read several stories about squatters moving in and NY is the wrong place to have to fight for your own property. Take care. good luck

are you in Thailand? if so, call them and talk to them, explain what you have, sometimes you have to draw them a picture in their mind so they truly understand whay you ae talking about. I was frustrated too, and chatting with them - as for the 40K retiree - with other qualifications, it mentioned the 1099 could be used for financial yet when I provided them 2 years of 1099R they told me "oh you have to provide us with your 1040 tax forms for the past two years...I had also given them my annuity (1st for each year plus January's) which yeah they would have to multiply by 12 but then they said no it has to be from your government - I explained that th 1099 R and annuity statements are from the Govt and that they are what provides the numbers for the 1040 but they insisted again about 1040 so that is what I gave them plus my health insurance office had just sent me a "2024 Overseas Health Benefits Brochure" 17 pages...I highlighted for the BOI every sentence/phrase that provided "UNLIMITED HOSPITALIZATION" but they said what I sent them would not pass because it did not say "USD $50K for Hospitalization"...another AN user sent me a note saying he had the same insurer and he asked them to write him a letter saying exactly that phrase. I sent an email to the insurer and the next day they returned an email letter saying exactly that phrase. Then in less than a week I made the appt to get the stamps in my PP. I called about 5 or 6 times and talked with those junior officers and they speak English well and were very patient and helpful. I don't know of course what you are using as documentation to support the qualifications but those two are the main ones for me and it actually turned out easier than I thought it would. I am extremely happy with this VISA and its benefits especially since it is actually cheaper. I wasn't worried about the tax as my only income is a US govt pension so with the DTA over riding the Thai tax laws I am safe two ways! ...ah I see you are in CM I think star visa there was a rep for the boi and LTR you might check with them and if so they may be able to guide you. As for walk-in, I said I would do that and they replied that they didn't want to do that anymore but... Any check with Star Visa and maybe... Are you a US cit or EU? as I know our documentation is totally alien to each of us. Good luck!

You mean all those healed were fakes? I knew it all along of course but to see thousands of idiots out there during those yesteryear tv evangelicals "healing" the sick and lame. Yet some even opened up their own university, lived in mansions, limos, etc yet folks still believe them. Many are still active but then all one has to do is see the one who pictures himself as the new" Mesaiah" and even running for office and watch the throngs of believers. IDIOTS is about the only word I can think of that describes the US political scene right now.

I blv Biden MUST withdraw and not be replaced by KH. His age and failing mental health mean that even if he would win in Nov, KH will be the president and she is even more unqualified for that position than he or Trump is. Just like Hillary, she lost the democrats who went over in protest to Trump. Good or bad? either way, if both Trump and Biden are the leaders in Nov - then Biden will definitely fade away as with KH. The parties' leaders are just stupid but I realize they are controlled by $$$ thus we continue to get really ineffective elected officials that the big $$$ can control to some extent in my opinion. I have basically given up on elections as it used to be the "lesser of two evils" and not is is just "two losers" that is for the people of the US and the world. I will not vote for either of these two leading candidates and glad that I am OLD...I feel sorry for all younger than me especially my children that they will have to endure whoever happens to lose to the other as the real losers are the citizens in my opinion. Why else would I make the decision to retire here versus where I grew up?

I totally understand, retired here 20+ years ago and have always done all my immigration bit and with the BOI LTR, it was easy working with those folks and I began to understand after reading a lot of the fourm members talking about their experience with the BOI. I found them very patient and understanding as I explained each document but it at times seem to fall on deaf ears - I eventually realized that those in the initial proceedings are but buffers for the senior folks who actually make the decisions on documentation and approvals of the LTR so one needs to talk to the reps and after they explain exactly what they need, one must understand that whatever documentation one might have, you might have to write a clearly understandable explanation of why that document does provide exactly what they NEED to make the decision makers happy. Good luck