PomPolo

Hahaha classic, I took the misses family to a resort over the new year and said exactly the same and the availability of mobile phones her daughter, niece and nephew translated it!!! I am not even allowed to say what the hell now! Was hoping none of the babies had have gone back to school and said this farang said 'what the 4..k' 🙂

Hahaha very true both, the only reason I started learning Thai was when my x wife was talking about my money to her family and I didn't have a clue what they were on about. So the first thing I learned were the numbers and I can count from nueng to lan now , that saved me a few quid 🙂

Also another one on my radar @treetops the job I used to have was heavily involved around consultancy and as yet I don't think talking on a phone would be breaking any Thai working rules. If someone wants to talk to me after I am 57 it would be rude not to pick up the phone, don't mind mentioning the pension company I am with AXA, the growth on that has been phenomenal probably only bitcoin has beaten it but I am certainly not investing in that, obviously wish I had sooner, wisha, shoulda, coulda not good investment tactics 🙂

Hear you on that one - same as me but all UK immigrants seem to know is I don't have a passport I am 15 years old (even though I am 40) and my boat is sinking so please pass me on to Social Services give me food, money, a house and regular handouts as its OK PomPolo has paid his taxes for 30 years so that should cover it

How much you paying? I have a go pro and would be more discreet than a you tube live streamer

Apologies @OneMoreFarang when I said residency in Thailand I probably didn't phrase that correctly I should have said long term visa status.

I am on a roll with starting controversial posts at the moment so thought I would keep up the momentum. When I took my first wife (now divorced) back to the UK many years ago we obviously had to jump through many visa hoops and it was all kisses and roses until it went south. To get her residency in the UK she had to learn English better than she actually spoke, luckily I spoke a reasonable amount of Thai so communication between us was never an issue. In the UK in order to get residency (quite easy for us xpats in Thailand with a non-O, money in the bank and more than 180 days a year in the country) foreign nationals are required to take what is called a 'Life in the UK' test which means they need to know a lot about the country they are going to live in and a very reasonable grasp on the English language. Do you think as guests in this country we should have to go through something similar or are the UK just too strict? For example show a level of proficiency in Thai language not necessarily read it or speak fluently that is difficult but be able to answer historical questions about the country that hosts us? Anyone from the US or any other countries is there similar restrictions on Visas regarding foreign Thai nationals with regards to your home countries history and language awareness? Without talking too much about Donald Trump! I am thinking about doing it a second time taking a lady I love back to the UK, I will get the sarcasm out of the way before the replies I know I will never learn EDITED TOPIC POST: When I said for a foreigner living in Thailand, I didn't mean residency I just meant very long term renewable visa i.e. Non O etc. @OneMoreFarang good spot slightly alters the context of the topic I guess but still applicable I think 🙂

I definitely stand corrected on that one just checked - this is the reason I post on AN it checks me to research more on my own situation with people who have lived in the country a lot longer than me appreciate that@BritManToo P

Agreed I didn't ask who was married in the topic participants, I think we are both correct on this one and call an official stalemate 555 - I'm not legally married yet 🙂 O Retirement with marriage or dependents yes O-A Retirement yet to make the leap 🙂 O-X gotta be super rich so not even going there 🙂 B wouldn't want a job or business here hehe Elite visa I just don't see the point in it fast track for airports and golf clubs for millions of Baht I get that for free Just googled and there are Smart, Ed and media visas also so might be some media holders hanging around this forum, not sure smart people would apply for a smart visa though you are an instant tax target then! 🙂

A Thai Non-Immigrant O-A often i.e. a Retirement Visa is not popular? I suspect most of the people in this forum are on that visa so hopefully it is reasonably popular! The point I was trying to make is when you do your 1 year retirement visa renewals theoretically you are also supposed to produce health insurance, I am guessing the same pattern will happen for the current farang taxation debacle.

I would beg to differ @BritManToo directly from the Thai Embassy website https://www.thaiembassy.com/travel-to-thailand/health-insurance-in-thailand It's just more than likely that the immigration offices do not enforce it. Foreign or Thai Insurance Policy? When you first come to Thailand, you may already hold comprehensive travel or medical insurance from your home country. Expats who wish to obtain the long-stay non-immigrant O-A visa from their home country will need to show evidence of a health insurance policy that covers the holder for 40,000 Baht ($1340) outpatient and 400,000 Baht ($13,400) inpatient costs as a minimum. This policy can be from an insurance provider in your home country or one in Thailand. However, an important point to note is that once you come to obtain your yearly extension at an immigration office in Thailand, it will need to be from an approved Thai insurance company, something to be aware of if you are considering purchasing a new policy before traveling.

This is an interesting one @BritManToo there was talk of it being compulsory for foreigners in Thailand to have health insurance? However it is a catch 22 when you call a Thai health insurance company and they say unfortunately we can't cover you, another one that is going to be as difficult to enforce as their tax rules.

As much as it would gripe me to do so I suspect the condition would allow me time to get back to the UK and utilise the NHS services that I have paid tax for most of my life. Totally agree though on the self-insured thing, and could even possibly cover the amounts you have mentioned along with savings and lump sum 25% I would receive on my private pension at 57. Extremely good advice and much appreciated.

@Sheryl yes one I have mentioned in the topic previously won't go into too many details but the last couple of years I have had a medical condition that would probably preclude me from getting reasonable health insurance so keep a small pot back for that just in-case there are any recurrences, checked my private pension yesterday and is definitely going up at a better rate than inflation, originally I could have taken it at 55 but have changed the retirement age to 57 given the gains the pension is making

Yeah guys - I'm not on the breadline but certainly don't have access to 600k baht or 15k pounds a month 🤣

@gearbox that is also a very fair point that I was aware of but didn't include about the DTA on my personal pension as many other threads talking about that. I have a son in a different country also and am fairly mobile so me and the misses flipping between countries to avoid the 180 day rule is also a possibility (she wants more stamps in her passport 🙂 ) assuming that the reality of the 'not new' been around for a while taxation rules are actually enforced, enforcement is a huge can of worms! Your estimates on monthly budgets track with what a lot of the guys are saying in the topic and sort of what I am aiming at so again very good points.

Very fair point @Andrew65 in terms of US politics the British Law could be gone with the swipe of a pen, with the US six justices appointed by Republican presidents and three appointed by Democratic presidents no issues getting an executive order through. If a sensible party in the UK was voted in with a large majority there would be no issues with getting it through the commons either and ignore the OAP's in the Lords

For sure @jayboy as I mentioned in the topic post everything will be subjective and relative to circumstances however it is definitely enlightening and giving me ideas for myself on peoples personal viewpoints on this. 600k p/a is a fairly common thread in this topic and something I have already started budgeting for geekily 🙂 making a spreadsheet for between 50k-100k p/m

Also the UK laws adequately laws to protect every citizens human rights who needs another country or conglomerate of countries telling you what is right or wrong, that is the reason long term Brexit was a good idea - screwed the pound up in the short term but no pain no gain!

I think he would withdraw and with the fear of Europe not getting the extortionate amount of money they get paid from the UK now they would relent as they wouldn't be able to operate. The total financial settlement, often referred to as the "divorce bill," was initially estimated at £30.2 billion. By December 2023, the UK had paid approximately £23.8 billion, leaving an outstanding balance of about £6.4 billion

The politicians should be advocating for 99% of their citizens and not the minority 1% that choose to live their lives differently or are just outright criminals living in the country illegally.

Wouldn't surprise me at all these stats, Donald Trump for prime minister (obviously I know that is not possible despite his Scottish heritage) I should have said someone like Donald Trump for Prime Minister! About time the politicians stop playing by the woke band.

Nice one @BritManToo I have to improvise in Issan, just made this for the fam for lunch, no Pizza oven here in fact only a toaster and a microwave, they loved it though 🙂 (Ignore the Singha it was part of the cooking routine 555 )

Yeah, I hope they don't send him back to England was planning a trip there this year

Very good question, mine was a Datsun Cherry and ironically I lost my cherry in it 🙂