Presnock

I read tha Seems it might be available in BKK and CM too, possibly retirement too, checking now

Does anyone know if the Thai immigration has already made the possiblity ot online visa extensions (mentions just about all types) including retirement,being a member in a family with Thai nationals, i.e.wife/kids and possibly in BKK, CM and PK. Has anyone else seen anything on this? Just wondering but it would be a lot easier.

well the picture showed them floating with jackets on...couldn't understand why they waited to the point that they had to cut open the fabric boat cover to get off the chairs and jump into the sea. Scary to say the least...One boat was mentioned by the tourists as "hit by a wave and broke the boat into two pieces"

strange these boats go out when the weather is shaky - I heard the weather for the south was stormy with heavy rains and flooding...then I read that 7 boats sank this week with 8 people still missing. seems this continues to happen too often.

new govt is seeking money in any way possible mostly do to the populist promises they promised prior to the election. Unless the 40 million tourists return next year the economy may shrink even more as the economies around the world seem to be shrinking after the pandemic overspending. But better here than in many other places in my opinion.

well now with Biden, open borders, the illegals (est 12 million) get a lot free bennies and can hang around in the US until the court can hear their asylum case which might take several years with the backlog. This means, that the states/cities controlled by the democrats have to raise the taxes to their citizens to pay for the care of these immigrants and many of these states are already have shrinking citizens as they are moving to states with lower taxes. Politicians in the US are like many around the world - corrupt - can't even pass an anti-corruption bill. Supreme Court set up their own ethics rules which they disobey anyway as the public started screaming at their antics. Too much polarization now with extremes on both sides and none seem to be happy but do resort to violence more and more. Better to stay in Thailand than go back to that. My opinion anyway

Actually, I spent 40 years living mostly in forieign countries in Asia, Europe, central America and Africa. I kept a log of my life in each of the countries, and in almost all, I was trained in the local language so could get around easily and did travel a lot within most of those countries. In my log book, I wrote about the local food, acceptance of foreigners, weather, dangers from volcanoes, earthquakes and terrorists and of course the temporary immigration scenarios. I really like some of the other countries quite a bit like the PI, I am a certified open water diver and with 9000 islands and crystal-clear waters with tons of life it was great as well as the cheap and readily available golf. However, while there I experienced some of the 20 typhoons a year with lots of flooding, active volcano 50 miles from the capital where Iived, earthquakes at the 8+ level so dropped that country from my retirement years. Thailand outweighed all the rest of the countries, yeah Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Malta all have some great varieties of life and I loved them too but...Several Asian countries (mostly SEA) have some pleasant memories too but Thailand far outweighed all of them in that this country was high on the list for just about every category. When I first retired here 20 years ago, I was doing the regular trips to Cambodia, arriving early at the immigration office to get a queue ticket hopefully for the same day when doing my reporting and extension of long-stay and as it has come to pass, it is now easier than it used to be and therefore cheaper too though that isn't affecting my pleasure of being here. When I first came to Thailand, there was no western fastfood at all, one store did open around soi31 I think of Sukumvit that sold western foods but as I kept coming back to Thailand, I could see the modernazation of just about every category. I love the spicy Thai food and while I eat healthier nowadays with all the available fresh fruits and veggies I still eat 1 Thai meal daily. I speak Thai, though not as well as I did years ago as I speak English with my daughter and Thai with my wife but she doesn't like extension conversations as she is trying to learn English. The weather here, especially when I what it is like back in the US, is still a favorite of mine. I hate snow, ice-covered roads, tornados, baseball size hail, etc so have no plans whatsoever to leave. I am on a US govt pension so according to the DTA agreement with the Thai and US govt, I will not be taxed here so I see no real problem with me staying here a while longer. Happy Holidays to all the readers on this forum. Some great stories, lots of useful information. Yeah and some useless stuff too.

I think the operative word is GREED! power and/money - same around the world that I have seen.

accuweather and any city, thailand will give you the weather and air quality also airquality and area? or from lazada or shoppee can buy very cheaply a 2.5micron meter, very small and can even carry it in your pocket and can measure anytime.

well, try living in a fundamentalist Muslim nation...and explain why for over 1500 years the Sunni and Shia have been killing more Muslims than any of the western countries have done. In this case based on my few years in a fundamentalist nation, he probably wanted to marry her but since she wouldn't convert, he couldn't so to him it was better to kill her and die too so they could be together forever. Many people that do worship Islam are peace lovers but to any Christian it is hard to understand some of their laws/restrictionscustoms, when we supposedly worship the same GOD.

Well the operative word there is "yet". I was totally surprised when I came back to BKK and the ease with which we can get around the city now. The way things are going, maybe progress will more the trains everywhere unless of course the city is under water by then. Yeah, if I lived in Ratchaburi, I would have vehicular transportation. I really like the several visits we made to Ratchaburi, some nice areas there, especially near the Myanmar border. The night skies when we stayed overnights were spectacular too. Happy Holiday Season

with the trains/metro going just about everywhere, why drive? I moved to CM to get out of traffic 10 years ago, then daughter began college in BKK and wife and I wanted to be closer to her if there were any immediate problems so we kept our house in CM and rent a house in BKK. Now with the trains etc, there is no reason to drive at all in BKK and now be able to go anywhere in a very comparatively shorter time. But, I still like CM better but recognize all the available conveniences now in BKK.

I think the move to the far right is hitting most of the western countries as they are the favorite countries for those fleeing the autocrats as the immigrants keep finding govt to give them something for nothing while the citizens get taxed higher to pay for the bennies for the immigrants and for making the schools bi-lingual!

in most of the cities controlled by Dem's the local law has been adapted to letting minorities, youths, etc go without any jail time. That is the problem, people do not have to pay for committing crimes. In one of the east coast cities, one car jacker was shot by an off-duty policeman when the perp tried to hijack him using a gun, that perp had 8 other arrests for armed carjacking the previous 8 months or so and was let out on self recognizance each time, no bail or anything else. It began with the BLM riots and their charges all dropped in most cities. But the violence was brought out and preached by Trump as that has been his answer to anything said negatively about him. He even talks about how he could out box Biden. Anyone who has followed Trump since 2016 should easily see how his rhetoric has influence the masses to violence! Just like jan 6 - he calls that a peaceful demonstration.

spent a couple of years in Japan, Fusamachi and Tokyo and totally agree with this. They are among the most honable/honest people in a crazy world. I am embarrassed at how bad the US has become - mostly because so many folks are Trumpers and their answer is violence as he teaches! my opinion anyway and I definitely am not a democrat but gave up on Republicans too

Most dangerous part of "runs" is the fact that if allowed to continue without some treatment (ask any pharmacist what one should keep at home in case of this happening. As a world traveller (due to work) we always carried medicinal needs, including those for the runs as one might just get a mild case but which could get worse. After a day or so one can be dangerously dehydrated and should seek immediate help either by pharmacy or doctor. The pharmacies here are well aware of stomach problems and are always a great help in my opinion. I always keep electrolytes at home as I exercise regularly and after a good sweat, drink a mixture of the same with water. imodium is a great one to STOP the runs. good luck

according to the DTA art 20 1 & 2 and Article 21 para 2, us govt pensions can only be taxed by the US unless the person is not only a citizen but a resident of Thailand. I receive a us govt pension based on 40 years working for the US govt and upon birth was a us citizen.

checkout your DTA with Thailand...sometimes certain incomes are not taxable by your residence country if you are automatically paying taxes in your home country's payments..also check out "Thai.examiner.com" has some interesting reads on this subject too. And, don't forget, The Thai committee is still working on this and there are a number of influential Thais that seem to be arguing against this progect too. As we all know TIT and anything could happen or not.

suggest all read their country's DTA with Thailand and what can or cannot be taxed...US - article 20 is interesting

Read the DTA with Thailand, article 20 talks about pensions etc

Yeah, I originally asked a tax prep consultant about this and they told me that the govt of residence could tax my US govt pension but that then I would be give a tax credit in the difference between the two tax charts. I checked the DTA today, Article 20 states the same as the Canadian DTA, that state pensions could only be taxed by the state that pays that pension. i.e. the US govt. so I we shouldn't have to pay any tax to the Thai govt but only show them (in my case) a copy of the pension yearly chart or my W2's showing how much my pension for the year was and the tax with held. But, TIT and listening to someone like on a video on "Thai Examiner.com", who knows what the final will look like. Happy Holidays to all

THIS EXPLANATION FOR THE CANADIAN EX-PATS IS THE PERFECT REASON OR ALL TO CHECK ANY DTA YOUR COUNTRY HAS WITH THAILAND

GOOD ON CANADA. HOPE IT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR FELLOW EX-PATS

suggest all google "Thai examiner.com" for their inputs into this issue. Several good articles.

Check out your country's DTA with Thailand - if they don't tax it, and it meets the Thai threshold then the Thais most ikely can legally tax those funds.