wtboatr

If one is aware that the TM.30 submitted for the 90 day report is not the latest one submitted to immigration due to a stay in a hotel, I think it would be wise to report a week early. In case the immigration officer calls you out on the discrepancy, you have a week to submit a new TM.30 to immigration and reconcile what's in their computer database with the TM.30 you submit for your 90 day report.

I'm going to summarize what I learned so far: 1. Most likely, immigration won't check to see if the TM.30 you provide for the 90 day report matches with what's in their computer. But there is always the chance that an attentive officer will notice the discrepancy and not let it slide. 2. When doing the annual extension, most foreigners take the time to make sure the TM.30 they provide matches with the immigration computer's records. 3. If you own your own home, you can file the TM.30 on your own behalf since you are both the owner and the foreigner. The simplifies the TM.30 since you are not dependent on another party to file the report. 4. Since I am staying on an Elite Visa, I don't get the benefit of the annual extension. #2 doesn't apply to me. I have to leave the country every 365 days and upon my return, my landlord must submit another TM.30 to immigration. One of these days, I'll purchase a small condo. This should simplify reconciling what's in immigration's computer database and the TM.30 I submit for my 90 day report. Thanks to everyone for their input.

This is great info! I'll have my wife do the check-in while I stay in the car. If they do need my info, passport or driver's license in order to check-in, then I'll request a new TM.30 from my landlord when I return back to Bangkok. It appears that the Thai immigration system records the last reported address. If I'm reported outside the province, then that can cause some surprises when I do the next 90 day report in Bangkok. Question: I live in Bangkok. What if I'm out late one night in Bangkok and I decided to spend the night in a nearby hotel rather than travel home after midnight. I assume the hotel will send a TM.30 to immigration. Do you think this will be a problem with Bangkok immigration? Thank you,

I'm staying in Thailand under an Elite Visa. I did my first 90 day report last week. No problems. I just don't want any surprises 90 days from now. I'll guess I'll use the same TM.30 three months from now regardless of checking into hotels as I travel within Thailand. I'll give myself one week of padding for my next 90 day report in case there are any issues with immigration. Thank you,

Thank you for your answer. I'm going to travel to Khao Yai this weekend. I know the hotel will file a TM.30 as I'm a foreigner staying in their province for a couple nights. I'm glad I don't have to contact my landlord upon my return to Bangkok. I do recall the leasing agent telling me that the landlord will need to file another TM.30 if I travel. Maybe she meant if I travel out of the country. Another Question: Does my landlord need to file another TM.30 if I travel out the country, say for one week? Thank you,

Hello, I have a question regarding the TM.30. I have a 2 year lease on a condo. I received a TM.30 from the landlord when I moved in. My question is: If I stay in a hotel for one night, must I contact my landlord in order for him to submit another TM.30. Thank you,

Were you able to figure out the details of your free insurance from the Mazda dealer?

I got some information on obtaining a bio-similar of Humira (Adalimumab) in Thailand. Hyrimoz, Hulio, & Exemptia, 40 mg/0.8 ml prefilled syrige is about 8600 baht when purchased from private hospitals and about 4500 baht when purchased from government hospitals. Seeing that the cost is about half when procured from a government hospital, do you think I can have a prescription ordered from a rheumatologist at private hospital then pick it up the medication at a pharmacy at a government hospital? I need two doses per month so the cost from a private hospital would be about $450 per month. The cost to obtain the medication from a pharmacy at a government hospital would be about $250 per month. Both prices are far cheaper than the USA. It would be nice to save the $200 per month if possible.

That's good news. Humira (Adalimumab) is an amazing biologic for rheumatoid arthritis as well as other diseases. My insurance pays well over $6,000 per month for this drug as long as I live in the US. However, my Blue Cross insurance plan provides no coverage outside the USA. Any idea how much Hulio & Hyrimoz cost in Thailand? A Google search yields no results. If I'm able to obtain this bio-similar at a reasonable cost, it may be an option that will save me a lot of suffering and truly prolong my life.

I did a quick search for Cosentyx prices in the USA. The cost is over $6,000 USD per month! It's amazing how much cheaper the same drug is in Thailand. This is good news. I'll ask my rheumatologist about prescribing this biologic during my next appointment in December. Thank you!

Thank to everyone for commenting on my post regarding living with rheumatoid arthritis in Thailand. For the past several years I've been taking the biologic drug Humira. It's works great! However, this drug is not available in Thailand, and even if it were, it would be too expensive for me to purchase. This drug costs over $6,000 USD in the states. If it were not for health insurance, I would not have had the pleasure of injecting myself every 2 weeks to control my RA. I'm planning on moving full time to Thailand in 17 months so I must find a way to stop the pain and destruction to my body without the use of expensive biologics. 4 months ago, I stopped taking all my RA medications. It looks like things were going to be ok, but as the drugs slowly left my body, all my joint pain and disabilities slowly returned. I'm talking about finger, hand, shoulder, hips, knees, foot, and toes all in chronic or acute pain. It's a terrible place to be. I've been trying to fight this disease by following a low carb diet and exercise. My diet is that of keto. I'm practically a ketovore now, as I've been attempting to eliminate anything that can cause inflammation and painful flareups. I was hopeful that diet could solve the problem, but I'm starting to lose faith that diet alone can manage the pain and damage to my body. I've watched a lot of YouTube videos of people reducing RA by following a carnivore diet. Everybody is different though and what works for one person may not work for another. I've started to take a DMARD drug called Leflunomide. It's relatively cheap, about $150 USD. Form what I've read, it's available in Thailand. At this time, I actually don't know if it will work. It'll take a few months to find out. I can't take methotrexate as it makes me nauseous. Even worse for me is Hydroxychloroquine. That drug makes me so ill that I can't get out of bed. Methotrexate and Hydroxychloroquine work well for many people with RA, but not for me as I can't deal with the nauseous side effects. My goal is to take a cheap DMARD drug in the US, that's also available in Thailand so when I move there permanently, I can continue with the same drug and not be miserable in my new home country while I experiment with new medications. Some of these medications can take months to take effect. For instance, it took me 4 months on methotrexate for the drug to take effect and my join pain to subside. Thank you for the rheumatologist recommendations. I'll get in touch with at least one of them on my next trip so I can discuss my situation and available medications in Thailand. If anyone can share the costs to see a rheumatologist, the cost of lab test, and the cost of their medications, I would be grateful. In the meantime, I'll keep the carbs down as low as possible, consume zero sugar, take my vitamins, especially vitamin D, eat high quality fats and proteins, and exercise daily. I know this definitely helps. If Leflunomide works for me, I'll be satisfied with the quality of my health. I'll experiment in a few of years to see if I can live without it and protect my liver from the damage caused by DMARD's. Once again, thank you for all your responses.

Can anyone recommend a rheumatologist in Bangkok? I'm sure I'm not the only one here that suffers from this painful, join-wrecking condition. I'm aware that Bumrumgrad and Samitivej Hospitals have rheumatologists on staff. However, it seems overkill for me to go to a hospital for my chronic condition. I'm hoping for a recommendation to a small clinic that specialized in rheumatology. I assume the costs to visit the clinic for regular evaluations and prescriptions would be lower as well. Also, if anyone is willing to share what rheumatoid arthritis medication they are prescribed, it would be benefit me to know what my available options are in Thailand. Thank you,

Oil prices are cyclical. I believe it's a bad decision for governments to subsidize oil prices. It's a long lasting burden on the tax payers while only providing temporary price reductions. It's better for oil prices to be high temporarily. High oil prices incentive a change of behavior to alternative methods of energy use and transport. In my case, I'm toying with the idea of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and an electric bicycle as means of transport to reduce my reliance on expensive petrol. In 2.5 weeks the US Fed is expected to raise the Fed Funds Rate 0.75%. Unless the Thai Central Bank or government takes action (what kind of action, I have no idea), I expect to see the Baht weaken further. It would not surprise me to see the Baht trading between 39 and 40 in the next few weeks.

If you are able to use other bank's ATM's, that's a big plus. When I need cash, it seems like I can never find an SCB ATM. When I don't need cash they are everywhere. I have an Krungsri ATM/Debit Card that allows me to use other bank's ATM's for free. I really like that feature. I think I pay an extra 200 Baht per year for this feature (400 Baht total per year.) It's definitely worth having, but it's another card that I have to carry in my wallet. I prefer to use SCB as my main bank account and pay for all my PrompPay purchases. I like the SCB Mobile App the best. Hmm. I wonder if SCB also has an ATM Card that allows me to use other bank's ATM's for free. I'd definitely pay a little extra for it for the convenience of not having to carry around the Krungsri card in my wallet.

True. But what action can the Thai government take to strengthen the Baht? The central bank could spend their foreign currency reserves and buy Baht on the open market, but that would deplete their foreign currency reserves. The central bank could raise interest rates and reduce the amount of Baht in circulation. But that would have an impact on the booming economy (at least the construction economy in Bangkok) and reduce GDP. Or the central bank can do nothing and watch the THB/USD rate fall to 40:1 in the next few months and accept paying more for imported goods and reduce their imports too. In the long run, Thai exports become cheaper, and with the increase in exports, the Thai Baht strengthens once again. I would think the last option is the best for Thailand.