KhonKaenKowboy

CIMB are doing 1 year FD at 1.7%...minimum is usually 10 or 50k....works fine at cm immigration and letter is 100 THB ...they ask for an hours notice on the letter.  AP Plaza....but also about 300m north of Chiang Phuak Gate.  1 million gets you preferred status and lounge passes at Swampy.

19 minutes ago, charliebadenhop said:

Well... they turned me down.

 

If I had returned the money to my account the same day I think they would have let it slide, but I took it out the afternoon of one day and put it back on the morning of the next day 

 

The immigration guy said he would like to help me but he has to show his superior. She immediately said "No"

 

And I cannot go to Mae Sai and back again. I have to fly out of the country. Why do you think it is necessary to fly out?

He said I can go and come back on the same day if I like.

 

So, as he said, come back in on a tourist visa and then I can go to Mae Sai immigration and get it converted to a Non-O.

Will I have to wait 3 months to do this?

Not sure, because of the seasoning of money.

I did not think to ask at the time. 

 

I am thinking that VietJet out of Bangkok is my cheapest option. $106 round trip.

Does someone know which airport that fly out of?

 

 

if you could convert a 30 on arrival to an O at immigration that would be nice...then you would have time to reseason.  Otherwise..my condolences....just try to make the most of it and have a good time in Vientiane...if you just need to go out and in, consider CM to KL...non-stop.  Guess you won't need a reentry permit.  good luck.

I wonder why MaeSai is out?  There is a lady there that has always been really nice to me.

Krungsri is paying 1.3% and I doubt you would be getting close to that at the others.  CIMB was paying 1.6 last month with a million and free airport lounge passes and preferred parking at branches.

33 minutes ago, ChrisKC said:

Thai Military Bank?

I know the branches can vary, but are you serious?  They seem to have a difficult time with the concept that you really can't have a work permit with an O-A Visa that says "Employment Prohibited" on it.  Ask them about being taken over by ING in 2008..., if you want to see a Thai in a suit actually sweat.

The "Yellow" at Airport Plaza is well above average, with solid management, that I would describe as farang friendly.  Too bad retirement extensions are no longer done down the street...and yes, their online system is excellent, and I like the way they pay interest on the second to last business day of the month.  The queuing system is efficient, the guard is polite, and there are some good lookers working there.

I've encountered the same thing.  Even changing my phone number required a trip to the branch I opened the account at 10 years ago (BKKBank).  Same for the letter for condo purchase, and the tax withholding sheet.  There are even fees for depositing money out of province, less at the CDM, but still....

Aren't we talking about the 800K?  No tax will be held as the threshold is 20,000.....at current rates, you would need about double that amount before they withhold.  All the FDs I've seen will withhold 15% no matter the amount...and it is fairly easy to get it back, but not as easy as not filing at all.  The best one is Mee Tae Dai Savings....currently paying 1.3%...so basically if you keep about a million here, you can beat BKKBank and SCBs FD rates, have more flexibility on withdrawals and not have to file.  Way too simple for the Hardway Club membership.  Everyone has their limits on what they pay or will be paid, otherwise you would see a lot more expats still flying Thai. 

nope....http://www.uob.co.th/th/announcement/deposite-rates/2016/01Oct2016_en.pdf

Keep in mind that every page of your bank books are stamped and initialed in every page, before it is issued to you.  I think that causes some confusion,  So the letter is the only thing that needs to be rubber stamped, when you pay for it.

Here is 20 with visas denied at the Malaysia border...in one day.

http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/43487/got-refused-entry-to-thailand

Krungsri pays interest monthly, with no taxes withheld. Their rate is always higher than BKKBank.  They charge 200 for the letter.  I did earn 17000 in interest on a 13 month 500K FD earlier this year with CIMB, and used that, with a savings account to make 800K.  Rates are down a lot, now.  And also CIMB only pay 1% if you don't put 1 million in....

For the first time in 12 trips from the US to Thailand, Lufthansa made me check a box at online check-in stating that I would take full financial responsibility for my return flight if I was denied entry to my destination.  Guess the airlines have had it with people who have visas or return tickets (eligible for visa exempt entry), who still get denied for a plethora of reasons ranging from the IO having a very bad hair day to being wanted by Interpol.  I think if you are switching to AirAsia, you will have a problem.  "Should" is not a good guideline when dealing with Immigration.  In the US, illegal re-entry is quite a bit more serious than a long list of crimes that could get you deported in the first place,  Just sayin'.

I've  heard even letting a fixed deposit mature and "roll-over" during the seasoning period can be a disqualification.  That being stated, I would give my left pinky to deal with CR Immigration,  instead of CM...perhaps a "gift  from the heart" will resolve this.  Otherwise, it's only a 16 hour bus ride to Vientiane, and temps should be dropping below 40c any day now.

I mailed my tm30 in registered mail...I also enclosed a sase for the return bottom half of the form.  I made copies just in case, and did it within 24 hours of my arrival, but never did it in the last three years, and almost always did 90 reports online.  Took my yellowbook for extension and they didn't want it.  They did the last time I reported in person.  I  live in my own condo..so this is a grey area, as their website says "for business purposes."

Nope..  Nor would equity in Thai condos that were in your name.

On 8/23/2016 at 1:23 PM, Franky Bear said:

Then an amazing opportunity popped up out of nowhere where i have now secured a job with full family relocation to Hong Kong.

I don;t need to go too deep with HK, but it offers a great education for the kid, it's safe, the expat community are all professionals with good jobs and it offers a great mix of east and west.

 

Let me see....home of the Chinese mafia...home of 60,000 US citizens, most with Chinese ancestry....home of many big banks, and even bigger financial scams....home to the same bald headed boiler room workers that can be found in the much less developed countries-just paying higher rent and maybe a little less polyester in their monkey suits.  Eastern HQ for worker exploitation..It does have an impressive economy, albeit extremely vulnerable.  Don't forget your Little Red Book.

I'm going to start a thread:  "Digital Nomads leaving after two months".....

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Oz wine is cheaper in the US than in Oz.  I know Jacob's Creek is mediocre, at best, but they get about 650 thb here in LOS for a bottle.  I can get it delivered to my door in the States for 5 usd (175 THB), and our local budget gourmet chain carries about 20 varieties of OZ wine under 10 usd per bottle...very well regarded.

Mexico is very cheap right now v. USD, and foreigner can own land 50 Km from the coast.  Mexican prison prices are less for certain goods...wine, tequilla, beef than here.

1 hour ago, Bender said:

Maybe one or two did come back, but i guarantee you those people who left did not come back...

Official source: a german friend did have a thai girlfriend working in a bank. A couple of years ago i learnt something.  People who left close their account and repatriate their funds. In the recent years, NO ONE did close his account and open it back few years later.... SO the foreigners dont come back!

 

Out of curiosity, you said " I have known a number of them."  So how many exactly??? And what they did miss in this country?

And why would a returnee be required to bank at the same bank and/or branch as before?  I sold my house in CM in 2008, repatriated my money, bought and sold three in the US, then came back here in 2014 and bought a condo.  I've been hired by the same school district in Virginia three times, and the one person that objected was the one, who is long gone, and they even told me that the effort I put in, when I am there is greatly appreciated and good for me that I have the wherewithal to travel the world.  Besides that, the high cost of housing makes it quite difficult to find people, let alone those with a degree and a clean police record. 

Actually, a large number of posters don't live here, but wish they did, and just can't let go with the fact that for whatever reason they can't move over here and enjoy the things we do.  There have been two waves of malcontents posting a lot of negativity on here over the last several years.  First was the ED Visa sour grapes...all of a sudden, just because they got caught red handed, abusing visa rules; LOS is the worst place this side of N. Korea.  Lately, it's been a new phenomenon.....seems like after the GBP took a 10% haircut in a single day; that now life in the UK is so much better than Thailand and the people are so much friendlier.....and let me guess...they have better teeth, too?  Over the last ten years here, we've seen the US bubble burst in 2008...the Euro trash was telling me it was going to 2 to 1 vs. the Dollar..and the GBP was at 2.10....but then we had the PIGS and the EU deflated like a Songkran toy...they've almost gone extinct in CM.....then there was the mighty Australians who got their new world orders from the Chinese, then watched the value of their commodities drop to almost nothing, with the Canadians doing the identical dance on the other hemisphere, which reminds me, what happened to the mighty oil and gas workers contingent that used to regularly come on here and attack visa rules, because they were the drunkest of all sailors,  If they saved 10% of what they made during the boom, they are ahead of most......and every time, their were countless people from each country hitting the exits, trying their best to justify their move back to miseryland....bad Thai drivers or corruption are a favorite starting point....then it's the women aren't attractive and the food is terrible....read the stories in Ajarn about the teachers, that went home......pretty pathetic...the ones cleaning rear ends of hospital patients are doing better than most.

What's interesting, is for the numerous posters, who state that they returned to the UK or US and they love it and it's great...not one of them give any clue at all to what the price tag of this transition was.  "Me and the wife and two kids moved back to the US and she loves it and the schools are great."  Let me see.....airfare for 4...5000 usd...good public K-12 in the US...in California?  So you simply got off the plane and shelled out 2 million for a starter home in Cupertino and sent the kids to public school?  

And for those that claim many are stuck here for financial reasons, I would say, yes, it would be financially unwise for me to move to the US or UK, because of the serious costs involved.  And the poster proclaiming the great medical care in the US....I can show you insurance quotes for two, in their early 50s in good health, that are 1300 per month, with a 13000 usd deductible.

Craft beer, wine, cheese, gasoline, milk, good clothes...all cheaper in the US.....but the monthly costs to enjoy those items?  <deleted>.

I'm a fan of Stickman, and I'm sure some of you are, too.  Stick turned into a Thailand basher...and all of a sudden, things are much better in Kiwi.  I don't know how much Stick makes promoting Ladyboy bars at NEP, but just notice....he's been gone for a year, and while we've seen some great photos of Kiwiland...one must wonder..is the guy living in his parent's basement?  He only said prices had gone up a lot and he was looking...not a peep since..did you buy property or not, Stick?  Have you held any kind of trabajo since you've been back?

The feel good stories are great, but it would be nice if we could get some hard numbers with the cheerleading.

yep, free a/c today...does seem to be finishing up.

I visit Virginia for about four weeks per year.  Driving is a lot safer, sanitation is a lot better, but even those things come with a heavy price.  Most live there due to the high paying jobs and choose the best place they can afford and be less than an hour each way to work, which is often 1.5 hours.  Basic house 400K, taxes 5K yearly, haircut 20, teeth cleaning/exam 150, basic Doctor's visit 80 with insurance that could easily be 500 per month+, cable/broadband 130 per month, lots of illegal immigrants, lots of Muslims, and try driving home after 4 small beers and you won't really feel like you're in friendly territory.

Thailand has changed a lot.  They seem to be more like the Cambodians than before.  While the garbage situation has improved greatly in BKK in the last 10 years; it is really reaching critical mass in CM, and most act like they couldn't care less...that can be disturbing...the hopeless, don't care attitude.  I gotta live somewhere, and my lifestyle and expenses are perfectly sustainable here, so I will be staying.

8 hours ago, berybert said:

Yes because sitting down after a long time sitting down is all anyone wants to do.

I like the 30 THB bus from DMK to Mo Chit...the only problem is you don't have time for a smoke, because it runs so frequently.  Living the dream is tough, these days, but 1000?  totally out of your minds.  For 1000, I can get from Swampy to lower Sukhumvit, with a liter of Jim Beam from Duty Free, and a decent meal at Took Lae Dee.  Going the other way, I had a 06:30 am flight, left my hotel at Sukhumvit 39 at 03:40 walked out to the curb, got in a pink cab,,,he dropped my date off deep into Ekami, then took me to the terminal...the meter said 180, and I gave him 220.

If the Drivers are called "Ubers," maybe the smart phone staring, circus pants wearing customers should be called "Goobers."