Mover1

Buy to letter sells properties with no CGT....

Yes that's exactly what i'm trying to do, make no bones about it

£9300.A big chunk of change??? at your age, seems like this is a desperate move to escape. which is great, as long as you are happy. just remember, when funds are gone and you are 48 or so.....thailand won't want you.... i hope you have plenty of money for when you go back to UK.....

you can't work, visa issues, health, etc......the money will go soon....

this post might get deleted, but i would reconsider thailand....for now

until 9300 isn't a big chunk..

Hi puukao, unfortunately yes £9300 is still a big chunk in my eyes. I'll gladly accept it from you if it's just your pocket change? Haha.

The reason i think it's big is because if everything works out the way i'm hoping i'll have around £40k per year to live on. £9300 is a big chunk of that first years money, and i don't want to touch the savings at all while i'm away. The plan is to travel on the £40k and still have all the capital left at the end so i can return to the uk after 5 years if i want to.

What i can't get my head around is paying out £9300 straight away before i've even decided if i want to stay in thailand for 5 years. It seems more sensible to do the visa runs at around £50-£100 a time every couple of months, or am i wrong somewhere? What do you think?

Thanks for the comment

£9300.A big chunk of change??? at your age, seems like this is a desperate move to escape. which is great, as long as you are happy. just remember, when funds are gone and you are 48 or so.....thailand won't want you.... i hope you have plenty of money for when you go back to UK.....

you can't work, visa issues, health, etc......the money will go soon....

this post might get deleted, but i would reconsider thailand....for now

until 9300 isn't a big chunk..

Why can't he work ? If he wanted to work all he would have to do is find a job, change his visa and get a work permit.

There's loads of foreigners working in Thailand. Starting a company is another option.

Newbie,

If one of your main reasons for moving to Thailand is to avoid Capital Gains Tax on properties you will sell after April 2016 you need to be very sure of the rules. E.g. for a UK Non-Resident selling his home after April 2015 is liable for capital gains from April 2015 to the date of sale, i.e. it is a new regulation but not retrospective.

You say you are getting advice on Tax, just make sure the person is a specialist for UK non-residents, also if you have the time and patience to read the information on the UK Inland revenue site you will probably be able to find your own answers on whether you will be liable to capital gains tax.

Regards banks I have a Lloyds International Sterling account in Isle of Mann, providing you keep GBP25k in it the monthly charge is GBP7/month but all telegraphic transfers of money abroad are free of charge. An alternative for money transfer is to send money from your UK bank to Bangkok Bank London (usually a free transfer) and it will then automatically be transferred to Thailand - subject to the correct information on the transfer and you having a Bangkok Bank account in Thailand - the charge for this is GBP20 at the UK end and Baht500 at the Thailand end.

Good luck with your move.

Buy to letter sells properties with no CGT....

Yup - I tend to agree with MaeJoMTB post#41 - the OP has the smell of an elaborate troll, and I'm surprised so many have risen to it.

Far too many ambiguities for my liking.

Crikey, some of you guys are such cynics! Haha.

I can assure you i'm genuine. I've been reading the replies on here on and off all day and will try to reply to each one of them later on, when i've got a bit more time. Appreciate everyone giving their advice and opinions so far, even if it's telling me i'm mad

Yes I am very cynical as far as online forums go, especially this one ;-)

but giving the benefit of doubt

Q.1 You say you are paying for professional advice. You're wasting your money if the advice you are paying for is that you wont be liable for CGT as a non -resident. You most certainly will and you can find that information for free!

Q.2 You've already had the best advise - and that is never to transfer more into Thailand than you need for your immediate purposes. Best to keep your money in the UK - but bear in mind that should you become the subject of a tax evasion investigation your bank accounts will all be up for scrutiny so it may be in your best interest to move the money into something else.

Q.3 Several Visa options - all of which there is plenty of info about on the Thai Embassy site. Just use common sense and pick the most appropriate that is within your budget.

Q.4 You can find plenty of rental properties here on this site - that will give you an idea of the going rate. Bear in mind they will be through agencies so more expensive than dealing direct with the property owner. But you're a buy to renter in the UK anyway (aren't you?) so this shouldn't be rocket science to you...

Q.5 Really?? You've been 6 times before for 2 -3 weeks each time and you still don't know anything about basic domestic living or what essentials to bring with you??? As someone else has already said perhaps you really aren't ready to make a long term move just yet.....

Q.6 You will not officially be a 'Thai Resident' unless you obtain a Certificate of Permanent residency and you aren't going to get that until you have 3 years of renewed Visas anyway, however it seems of more concern to you that you are NOT a UK resident - not that that is in any way going to let you off the hook as far as CGT is concerned.

Q.7 Depends on number of ties to the UK - To be safe work on a figure of less than 16 days.

best visa option if i were you would be the non (o) you can get it in 2 days from the thai consulate in hull . it will do you for 1 year and 3 months im pretty sure though you,ll need to ask the experts in the visa section.

check this link, im sure you have the 800000k - http://www.youblawg.com/immigration-law/royal-thai-consulate-in-hull-uk-said-non-o-visas-now-need-800000-thb

Triggering the a ninety day entry on the last day of the one year validity, and then extending the ninety days for sixty, will actually give closer to seventeen months. Not bad going for the price, and you get a little trip rnr every three months to see other places in the region.

To the OP, I'd ask, why Thailand? You've not really said. You might hate it after living here for six months or so. Do you have a plan B?

Buy to letter sells properties with no CGT....

Yup - I tend to agree with MaeJoMTB post#41 - the OP has the smell of an elaborate troll, and I'm surprised so many have risen to it.

Far too many ambiguities for my liking.

Crikey, some of you guys are such cynics! Haha.

I can assure you i'm genuine. I've been reading the replies on here on and off all day and will try to reply to each one of them later on, when i've got a bit more time. Appreciate everyone giving their advice and opinions so far, even if it's telling me i'm mad

Thanks chiang mai, i hadn't considered losing access to the NHS so I'll have to get proper medical insurance sorted out in case anything bad happens. The tax saving vastly outweighs the points you raised, and once invested will be even more beneficial - as long as everything goes to plan! I guess if it all goes tits up then I go home with my tail between my legs, file for bankruptcy and start again. Touch wood that will not happen.

ukrules - thanks for pointing out what you meant. Looks like i won't be visiting the uk for more than 16 days per year!

For medical insurance I use 'BUPA International'. I did some research and came to the conclusion that this is the best one.

Not to be confused with BUPA Thailand or BUPA UK, get it while you're young and keep it.

If you don't tell your Doctor that you've left they won't know and neither will the NHS....

Excellent i'll check them out, thanks

As for renting an apartment the first thing to watch out for is the price of the electricity, some of them will overcharge you by 2 or 3 times the going rate. If you rent it directly from the owner you often pay the electric bill when it arrives just like you would do back in the UK but if the apartment rental is 'managed' by either an estate agent or the front office of the apartment block then they will almost certainly add something to each unit of electricity you pay. This is a normal and widely accepted practice, you just need to make sure you don't get ripped off with some outrageous rate.

The business of landlords 'overcharging' for electricity needs to be kept in perspective. My landlord charges me roughly double the electricity company rate, but I really like my apartment and, given the low rent, think my total accommodation package is very good value. I wouldn't dream of moving because I'm being 'overcharged' for electricity.

Yes i'll keep the location and any premium in mind, thanks. The last couple of times i've been over I keep wondering why there isn't any solar panels up, can't help thinking someone could make a killing in that market.

Hi ukrules,

Thanks for the reply. Can you tell me which visa i should be applying for if the tourist one is no good? I haven't heard of the Thailand Elite but will look into it, £9300 is a big unexpected chunk to cough up though! Haha.

Thanks for the tips on renting. Can you give me any pointers on how much the electric rates should be, just so i know i'm not getting ripped off? Are there any websites to check on this?

Cheers

You will probably be able to manage on tourist visas for a year or more with almost no problems.

If this was me (and it was one day years back) I'd get an METV (Multiple Entry Tourist Visa) for the first trip, this lasts 6 months and you can drag it out for just under 9 months by doing border runs. After that I would then travel around Asia a little bit picking up new visas as I go. When you get bored of that it's time to look at something more permanent.

The standard electric rate depends on how much you use, the more you use, the more you pay. I think it also depends on where abouts you live. I'm in Hua Hin and it's about 4.6 Baht per unit directly to the electric company. My bills are 4-8k a month, I like to use the air conditioning all the time though.

I'll have to ask about the METV as it's not mentioned on the thai embassy uk website, or at least i couldn't see it! I intend on travelling around a bit, so will help with the visa's like you mentioned, good to know.

Thanks for electric bill info, very helpful!

Hi AbeSurd,

Thanks for the reply, i'll repost some of the questions in the forum you mentioned.

I'll have to have a chat with the banks and see what i'm supposed to do, i don't know whether they're all for UK residents or not. And ask about each ones off-shore accounts, if they do one.

I wasn't planning on keeping a UK address, would a rental property be ok to do this with even if it's rented out? Can you tell me why this is so important, this isn't something i'd even thought about before as i was told to cut all ties because of tax reasons.

If you plan on returning to the UK after the 5 years are up you will find that you suddenly have no credit rating, presumably you also won't have been on the electoral roll for 5 years so opening a bank account will not be easy, even if you deposit a large amount of money. You will need to start from scratch and this can become a real pain, even for small things like getting a mobile phone - no electoral roll record + no bank account = no credit, even for the small things. For this reason I keep an active UK mobile phone and bank account.

I suggest keeping at least one bank account open and not telling them anything. I've heard of people just mentioning that they now live abroad on a visit back to the UK and the banks reaction was to instantly freeze / close all accounts along with their credit cards and overdraft facilities !

There is some obscure regulation which says if you're in the UK for less than a certain number of days per year then you can't be treated as a resident, I think it's 15 days or less - this is from memory so I would check with your advisors on that. I haven't been to the UK for years and don't plan to ever return apart from maybe a short visit so it's not something I've really looked into in much detail. There are also many other rules like the 90 day per year thing but from what I read the greatly reduced number of days limit is (or was) definitive.

There's still plenty of people over here paying UK tax though so you do need to plan it carefully even if you never go back.

Loving the replies on this mate, so good to hear from someone experienced.

I understand what you're saying about credit rating and difficulties when going back, but i'm also concerned the gov could use this info against me for tax reasons if i did ever go back after 5 years. I'm sure I could use a relative's address for an account and mobile, so will need to make certain on this. Didn't consider any of these points so really appreciate the heads up. Definitely needs more investigation by accountants / advisors.

I'm about to move to Thailand early next year for 5 years and have a lot of questions, hopefully it's ok to post them here and get some answers from you experienced expats. If I'm posting in the wrong place then please tell me where to go :

1. I'm selling a business and have some rental properties in the uk. The properties are all being sold after April 2016 so i'm not liable for Capital Gains Tax, as long as i'm out the UK for 5 years, is this correct? I'm paying for professional tax advice at the moment but i'm interested if anyone here has some similar recent experience.
   
2. How is it best to handle bank accounts when moving to another country? At the moment i've got a few uk accounts, is it best to keep these open and open another account in a Thai bank? Or use an offshore bank? If offshore, which currency is best to use?
   
3. I'm about to apply for a Thai visa. I'm a bit confused as to which visa i should be applying for, is it a Tourist Visa valid for 60 days, then keep renewing it every 90 days? I'm 43 yrs old if it makes a difference.
   
4. I've been to Thailand 6 times for short (2-3 week) holidays, but i've never rented an apartment on a long term basis. Is there things i should be watching out for? And how do i know it's a reasonable price? Where do i find places for long term rental?
   
5. How does living in an apartment in Thailand compare the uk? I mean whats the differences i should be aware of, like kitchen appliances (oven, washing machine, etc), how to get uk tv channels, washing clothes and laundry, cooking, etc? Do i need any essentials to bring with me?
   
6. I plan on moving around the country, and visiting other countries, maybe even going around the world at some point. In order to maintain my tax status as a Thai resident, how many days must i be resident in the country so the uk gov is satisfied concerning Capital Gains Tax (It could be a fxxxing big mistake if i get this wrong).
   
7. How many days are you allowed back to visit friends and family in the UK for each year?
   

Sorry for all the questions. I'm excited about the move and also a bit nervous about how unprepared i feel! Any pointers regarding anything i've mentioned above would be really helpful!

Cheers