onera1961

3 hours ago, giddyup said:

And I'm a hit man for the Mafia.

OMG, only a hit man. I thought mafia boss like El Chapo or Escobar. 

On 12/7/2018 at 6:38 PM, Lungstib said:

Freedom of speech is not a strong point in either Thailand or Cambodia.

Freedom of speech in a police state? Are you kidding me?

10 hours ago, jackdd said:

"wearing a suit as if going to work in an office"

Lat time I wore a suit in an office was 1993. The MNC changed it policy and only people with direct contacts with customers were "expected" to wear suits. 

4 hours ago, stud858 said:

Bring my rates invoice as proof that I'm not a tramp.

What is rates invoice? Is it same as property tax invoice?

On 12/5/2018 at 6:18 PM, dotpoom said:

Get this...my government sold me my passport and then made me pay 4000 Bt.

If you get the passport from the Embassy, I guess they would not charge. But you got it in your home country and want the embassy to verify it. How do they know if it is fake or not? That's why the charge.

On 11/18/2018 at 9:33 AM, Bill Miller said:

She would like to do the deed in the US, but has been turned down twice for a visitor visa.

Have you applied for Fiancee visa? It is comparatively easy to get than a visitor visa. But you must marry once you land in the US. If you don't she cannot apply for visitor visa in the future. If she become illegal, applied for welfare, etc. you're responsible. 

On 11/18/2018 at 9:33 AM, Bill Miller said:

Just checked on line, and have 77,000 + baht/month showing as deposited in my Thai bank for  the past three months. I hope they figure some way to accept that as more solid proof than my dubious, farang sworn affidavit.

Hang on for a few months, things may clear up. You clearly have the required income to stay here legally.

On 11/18/2018 at 9:33 AM, Bill Miller said:

She has been filled with horror stories about women unable to inherit

She won't get a spousal SS unless she stays in the US for five years because she is not from a Totalization treaty country.

If you have property in the US she will inherit it as your wife even if the marriage is registered here. You may discuss this issue with a lawyer.

If you have property in the US and don't intend to marry, with your income, you should be able to get a loan for home improvement from US banks or peer-to-peer lenders like Prospect. Just don't disclose them that you're permanently living in Thailand. You don't have to set foot in the US to obtain this loan. Every thing will be arranged online. 

If nothing works, you can always hire an agent for a couple of years while you save up additional 400K you need for money in the bank method.

On 11/6/2018 at 3:40 AM, clearmirror said:

So, do you get unlimited travel entries and exits inside the year? Do the pages get filled up with lots of Thai exit/entry stamps or do they just see that your have a 1 year visa.

I have one year O-A visa and I entered/exited Thailand 10 times this year. Three enter/exit stamps (square enter and triangle exit. Exit overlaps Enter) per page. 

I have another question for people who have used one year ME O visa. Do they ever stamp USED on that visa like they do in SE visa?

27 minutes ago, maccie90 said:

Now im at an age that i dont really think they will try to force me.

It is only in the past. Nothing to worry. They could have only forced you to join army if you entered Thailand on a Thailand visa. And I don't think Thailand forces people unlike some South American countries and Israel. Thailand is a "mai pan lai" country. They really don't care.

But I don't see any way see can stop you from entering Thailand. Is her parent in the military as a top brass? Does she have access to King's inner circle?

2 hours ago, stevenl said:

That's a life insurance plus one time pay-out for criticial illness, not health.

So, i pay for 10 years (60K baht)/year (or 600K for 10 years), and my nominee will get 1 million if die for any reason (not accident), right?

If a develop a critical illness, for example heart condition or kidney failure, they will cover it? There is no out-patient benefits, right? Does it cover maintenance for critical ill ness, e.g. CAT and PAD?

14 minutes ago, ozmeldo said:

What is such an absolute magnet that 221 others countries can't offer you?

If you want a party town, go to Benidorm in Spain. Clean beaches, bars where ladies don't bother you with lady drinks, high speed stable Internet if you're a remote worker and no problem staying most of the year if you're an European. For others, you may have to leave after three months.

13 hours ago, fforest1 said:

I guess some people look down on others as riff-raff if they are not eating at the Hilton.....

I have never eaten in Hilton. But a meal for two in one of the Japanese/Korean/Thai restaurant in the mall will cost you 800/1000 baht. A thai sea food Mukada will cost $300/person. McDonalds are also not cheap. The other day I spent 6USD for a meal. I can buy cheaper ($4/5) in thousands of places in the US.

My food budget is average 500/day. Weekly bar visit 1500 baht. Rent 10K, Internet + cell data 2K, Utility 1.5K, transportation - Mostly grab taxi and motor cycle: 1500., etc. etc. 

14 hours ago, Silent Tiger said:

I wish to budget £50 sterling per day which is ok when on a pension !!! I can remember a meal for 30p in 1989 when only main road was central road

50 bucks should be ok. 20 for drink, average 10 each for a breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Just don't buy lady drinks for the girls in bar and don't start go to bars from morning and drink all day. 

27 minutes ago, sanemax said:

There are tell tale signs for immi that some people are working illegally (always doing visa runs on Mondays , sometimes over/understaying to get to an embassy on a Monday , coming straight back the next day , or doing week long visa runs during the school holiday) 

I think most people working illegally now are remote workers. My guess is very few teachers, bar managers, real estate agents, sales people, dive instructors, football players, etc. are working illegally any more. This is just my guess only.

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

Not a long enough story to write a book : I began my working life with no qualifications and got a job sweeping up building sites whilst living at home with my mum , learnt how to build houses and then moved onto to property investment , spent years working hard , living meagerly and invested everything that I earned 

That is a great story and kudos for your achievement. The FIRE movement advocates the same principle but it is more geared towards professionals - Save early, invest, buy only what you need not what you can afford now, etc. 

2 hours ago, luckyluke said:

What I understand is, that the officer in charge, at an Immigration Office, airport, land border... has the absolute power.

This is true. Immigration has absolute power in any country. Who are you going to complain? You can take them to court. But that will take months or years to resolve. No countries' immigration just go by the written rules. They also use their judgement if the candidate is going to violate any laws in the future (e.g. take up a job in the future due to financial difficulties,  already working illegally, or not attending schools, may not attend schools in the future, etc.) If they suspect anything, they don't have to prove it. Of course, in the western countries they do a through vetting as IOs are well trained in the vetting process and in Thailand IOs just pick up randomly among thousands of perpetual tourists. Almost 32 million visitors go through Thailand's border and only a very minor even less than one hundredth of a percentage are picked up for questioning and it is invariably perpetual tourists. And it is also easy to profile perpetual tourists in Thailand. They will go to neighboring countries for visa runs and stay may be few days at best. They will never go back to their home country or even New Zealand and stay there for three month. The OP is a rare case because he is going back to home country every nine months. 

 

young affluent and rich that I am and how I have no need or desire to work for a pittance in Thailand and that the 5-10 million Baht that I've spent in Thailand over the years has all come from abroad .

Wow. I really like to know your secret. Did you win a lottery or inherit it? Are you a member of FIRE movement? Can you write a book and publish it in Amazon? I will sure buy it.

Of course, you don't need the money but it will help humanity and countless perpetual tourists struggling to make it big in Chiangmai. You may be a leader of those perpetual tourists. Show them the right path. Think Tim Ferris. Of course, when he wrote his famous "4-hour work Week" book and did not tell people to go to Chiangmai and become a perpetual tourist in Thailand. May be your book will show them how to become a professional tourist in Thailand.

 

The Non Imm O-A Visa which OJAS suggested, which in my opinion is time consuming, expensive and a PITA.

Any American reading this should ignore this sentence. Non O-A is very easy to obtain from Washington DC embassy in the US. Don't be confused with people's opinion about London embassy. Yes it is a bit expensive (if you're paying for a physical exam by a doctor but free for almost all insurance) but it gives you peace of mind to avoid immigration offices in Thailand that is full of archaic rules. rules are made up on the spot, and inconsistent through out Thailand. It also gives you the freedom of keeping your money in America, invested in your IRAs and 401Ks, instead of moving into a Thai bank, season it for three months, get a printout of the passbook on the same day, etc. etc.  What ever people say, it's a pain in the neck to get a renewal in Thailand - loads of paper works, inconsistent requirements between immigration offices, spending whole day in an immigration office, etc. You can get O-A visa every two years and continue to live here forever. 

50 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

We don't hear about many rejected-entries from Korean or Japanese visitors here (or in other places I read),  but that could be because they report such issues in their native language, elsewhere. 

May be they are not perpetual tourists like Westerners. 

1 minute ago, DavidB1960 said:

only copies of and signed by me.

Copies of what? Owner's Tabian ban and ID?

9 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

I refer you to the first part of my response. ATMS are not reliable anywhere. They do go down. You have started adding all sorts of amounts. All that is required is 20,000 with which to meet entry requirements for a "tourist".

Instead of debating 20K, let's all agree that it is an archaic rule and they should get rid of it or install an ATM and ask the tourist to go get 20K from ATM. 

9 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

The tourist will never come back? Really? Why then does Thailand remain one of the top destinations for the tourists from Norway and Sweden?

Tourist will always comeback. There is a magic to Thailand and I am yet to figure it  out why. When Tim Ferris wrote "4-hours Work Week" he did not tell everybody to go to Chiangmai and become a perpetual tourist but that's what most perpetual tourists, caught in immigration rejection, do now a days. You want to make Thailand as your base to explore SEA, fine. Do it in one or two years. Even Europeans who have access to 22 countries to live and work without a visa, seldom become a perpetual tourist in another country. 

9 hours ago, geriatrickid said:

Wrong. Tax law says if you stay  more than 6 months out of a country.

When I got my O-A visa, there was a note that I must report to immigration every 90-day. But there was no indication anywhere that says I must file a tax return in Thailand if I stay more than 180-day. There is no basis for this argument. If one is working as a remote worker, then yes you have to file in Thailand first and and then reduce your tax in your home country tax filing. 



 

49 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Reduction in accessibility to self-financed Western visitors, and higher-requirements on expats long-stay extensions,

Why only Western visitors? How about Singaporean, Korean, Japanese? 

46 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

WU is a ripoff, fee-wise, but it works in an emergency.  Banks will offer to use this to help you in an emergency situation (friends have done it - lost wallet, etc).

They charge only $5 (same as Money gram) but their exchange rate is bad. However, it is the only game (and money gram) for instant cash transfer. 

49 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

As a direct result of immigration practices at the airports and other options-reductions, condos are sitting empty, and restaurants are closing. 

I made few observations in the past few weeks in Bangkok and Pattaya. May be they built more condos and opened plenty of unnecessary restaurants which are doomed to fail.  Good for everybody and now people like me can rent it for cheap.

Mukataas are packed with Thais, Korean, Japanese and MKs in malls are packed with Thais. Street stalls are also packed with Thais. Mall food courts are also packed with Thais. Went to Korean shopping malls in Soi 10 Sukumvit, packed with Koreans and Thais. Japanese enclave in Thaniya street, packed with Japanese and Thai bar girls. Nana beer bars packed with farangs. Discos in bangkok and Pattaya packed with different nationalities. My familiar McDonalds and KFCs have also the same traffic, Thais, Farangs, Indians.

Of course, without any real statistics, observations are only observations and biased towards what one believes. 

17 hours ago, NanYar said:

[ ] Signed copy from landlord of the Tabian Baan
- [ ] Signed copy from landlord of his Thai ID-Card

Are these two really required at Jomtien?

28 minutes ago, poohy said:

Maybe thats whats required ( if so i think respectfully the law is an ass) thank god it doesnt apply to me as i would fail miserably

It applied to all visas, including Non-O. I have entered Thailand may be a few dozen times in the last 14 years and I was never asked to show 20K. Now I plan to keep 20K in Traveler's check even though I have an O-A visa

6 hours ago, elviajero said:

It was dropped because it was too much of a pain for the IO's to go through each passport to manually count days.

And were unable to upgrade their system to do it using computers. What a shame.