Misty

Hi, based on recent personal experience and discussions with others, how proficient you need to be in Thai depends largely (and maybe only) on whether you're using an agent or other intermediary and paying VIP fees.

It's a point worth considering. Local governments may need to adopt policies to protect those who live and work there and wish to own primary residences. Some Canadian cities are definitely a case in point. And wealthy buyers entering a property market for speculation or to hide money need not be foreigners.

Reciprocity might help make the argument. Other countries could adopt policies that allow Thais to purchase property in their countries, when their citizens can purchase property in Thailand.

If you met the requirements for Non-B visa renewal and they do the "asking" (versus you do the "offering") would that technically be extortion, instead of bribery?

During his Presidency, there was really only one person in the US who potentially outranked him, and I suppose she could call him anything she liked : ) The unofficial order of rank established by the WH & State Dept for those in government service states that the President outranks Senators, who outrank Five Star Generals of the Army, who of course outrank LTCs. But when all else fails, these guidelines may come in handy.

Senator Duckworth retired from the military in 2014. She is now an elected Senator, not a military officer. Therefore, she should be referred to and addressed as Senator Duckworth.

Also photographs of all the future recipients in front of the hospital where they will receive the shot, being sure to show all recipients and the full name of the hospital clearly in every single photo

Doesn't seem to be US From 4 Aug: "The United States has provided more than 23 million vaccine doses and over $158 million in emergency health and humanitarian assistance to ASEAN members to fight COVID-19 and is committed to a comprehensive set of actions towards ending the global pandemic in 2022." https://reliefweb.int/report/indonesia/us-support-asean-fighting-covid-19

Why I wonder.

Immigration.....charming.....???? well that's one way to put it

I'm no fan of Thaksin's but the bloating problems at THAI predate Thaksin and the period 2002-04.

I wonder how all the personal data that's collected over the years is protected. Does Thailand's new Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) apply?

Beyond saving a screenshot of your details on your country's health website and carrying the QR code for someone to check, can you request an international vaccination record or "vaccine passport" from your country? Thailand's Ministry of Health is issuing this type of document for international travelers, so it would seem that one issued overseas would also be acceptable here. http:\\vpassport.ddc.moph.go.th

For the retirement visa, the $40k per year is supposed to be "pension" income. It's definitely not salary income. But since defined benefit pensions are increasingly rare - will other types of passive income be acceptable? Say dividends, interest, capital gains, or even rents received from passive real estate investments? How will this be monitored, I wonder?

The requirements of $500k investment/$80k income per year is for the "wealthy global citizen" category, which seems to allow the person to work and differs from the $250k investment/$40k per year category which is retirement only. (If I understand it correctly).

Not true. COVID replicates quicker in unvaccinated people, increasing the chance of mutations. That's how we got delta.

Wouldn't put a date or a year on it. But one day central banks will start to fight inflation, and then the crash will come

Here comes the Borg Assimilation

Yes, could be. Or both may be just aimed at upping the wealth level of those who do come - regardless of from where.

Yes, point being things changed on a dime in Malaysia….

Hopefully you're correct. However, some have been watching the current gyrations going on with Malaysia's "My Second Home" (MM2H) program. Reportedly after Malaysia hired KPMG as advisor, the gov't announced a plan to change the MM2H program by increasing the requirements. substantially. Not surprisingly, there was a huge expat outcry by those who'd purchased homes and made a life in Malaysia, and the changes have been at least temporarily put on ice. But it's been suggested that Thailand may be trying to do something similar with its McKinsey & Co advised "wealthy expat" program, albeit in stages. At least the Thai program seems so poorly thought out there will be few takers. Still, that's not much comfort if the ultimate intent is similar to Malaysia's.

Here's hoping outsourcing will become the standard for small businesses, as it is pretty much everywhere. To be successful, most start ups/small businesses rely on outsourcing certain types of work, rather than hiring employees. If you think about it, what's the best way for a small firm to handle, say, accounting/tax filing - should they: 1) try to hire an accountant (whom the small firm must keep trained, pay a salary far more than work needed, have some sort of expensive incentive scheme to keep them interested, supply office space, a desk, computer, etc, and then risk losing them and starting over as soon as a better offer comes) OR should they 2) outsource the task to a full time, professional accounting firm that can do all these things far more effectively? The answer is pretty obvious. Yet Thai Immigration still requires small businesses who want foreign expertise/knowledge transfer to maintain 4 Thai employees per foreigner for each NonB extension. This policy is completely dysfunction for the small businesses - whether they are Thai or foreign owned. Getting foreign expertise into a small firm in this environment is nearly impossible. Allowing and encouraging outsourcing would be a huge positive leap for the economy.

The business would be taxed by its legal jurisdiction. The digital nomad may not own the business - very often they're just working online as a private contractor for a third party. The digital nomad could have a bank account in one country and physically be in another. They may also use some other payment system - say Paypal, or perhaps a cryptocurrency account. The digital nomad owes income tax where they're considered to be tax resident (usually where they actually live) - not where the business is or where their bank or financial institution is. Some tax jurisdictions may want the digital nomad to declare themselves non tax-resident in writing with proof before allowing them to rescind a prior tax residency.

Reportedly McKinsey & Co was one of the advisors to the Thai government on this program. If so, I do hope they were paid up front, and not on a % take up basis.

The address on a bank account does not confer tax residency. Primarily where you actually live is what matters. Say you have an account at the US bank JP Morgan Chase, and you have a Florida address on it. This does not necessarily make you a tax resident of Florida. Say instead that it has a Thai address on it. This also does not make you a tax resident of Thailand. Living in Thailand would make you a tax resident - and stamps in a passport would be evidence of this. There is also the issue of domicile. Some US states require a declaration of "domicile" in exchange for providing certain services - such as issuing a state driver's license. For example, if someone declares they are "domiciled" in OH in order to get a driver's license, the state's laws make that person also subject to OH income tax - even if their passport says they live in Thailand. Fun, no?