onera1961

2 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Now I am going to go there.

The U.S. government says it cannot verify income.

REALLY?!?

They cannot verify SOCIAL SECURITY U.S. federal government pensions?!?

Does anyone actually believe that?

They cannot verify U.S. MILITARY pensions?

Does anyone actually believe that?

I simply cannot believe embassies cannot verify your income but private banks can do to risk their money by loaning you. Embassies can always hire a private company in the US for a fee, paid by applicants

2 hours ago, sqwakvfr said:

 But all things come to an end.  

Nothing lasts forever -Buddha

8 hours ago, thailand49 said:

Thai immigration, get your house in order I seriously doubt the people are inside immigration each year is running through all the pages on my passport. They already have boxes and boxes construed as wallpaper for years of asking for verification at Jomtien soon they will have to move to a larger building if a fire starts in their building all hell will break? 

I think instead of blaming TI, we should blame our embassies if they refuse to issue affidavit (I know BE is going to stop from Jan 1). Embassy can always outsource the verification to an home country private company for a fee. Banks in America give million dollars loans based on income verification. TI only want assurances that embassies are verifying your declaration in affidavit. 

4 minutes ago, Brickbat said:

I would have thought folks know that Gandhi booted the Brits out of his own country.

I would say Gandhi booted Brits from their crown jewel and from a country that created the British middle class, putting aside all the other historical reasons for the end of colonialism. ???? 

39 minutes ago, Brickbat said:

So well done Thailand for looking after your own people. 

As I mentioned earlier, most Thais get their daily dose of drugs from Thai people only. By booting out blacks, they cannot reduce drug usage. 

1 minute ago, NanLaew said:

Because all foreign banks and foreign entities including foreign embassies are not Thai.

TI only wants embassies to verify income. And it appears BE already has said they cannot verify incomes. My questions is why? Why they cannot verify? They can outsource verification to a third party company in the UK (for a fee paid by applicant).

I don't blame TIs because most officers there still have 20th century mindset may be due to their education or whatever. It seems they need assurances from embassies that they are verifying incomes, instead of just stamping papers. At least Western embassies should take a proactive roles in assuring TIs that they are verifying incomes and their verification is as solid and as good as it gets. If I get evidence that they have done that and TIs are not accepting it, I can blame TIs. 99.9 percent of their citizens have paid substantial taxes through out their lifetime and they will be doing it for a fee. 

12 minutes ago, ArickChaiyaphum said:

Import what ??? It is called a exchange rate transfer to exotic funds. Takes 24 hours from US UKP CDN etc

Import worries and risk of living in Thailand ????

2 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

so- how do people get proof- they get a letter from Social Security- with the letterhead - stating income. They get a letter from Veterans  Department verifying amounts. They get a letter from their private bank pension provider with amounts.\

When US banks and other private entities can verify income, why not American Embassy? For that matter BE and other embassies and can also assure TI that they are verifying income affidavit. Will TI accept their assurances? I am not sure abut top level negotiations, as many posters mentioned, is on going and I wish they could come up with a solution that keeps the affidavit method currently in place and acceptable to TI. People get million dollar loans based on private party verification in the US and when US bank can take the risk of giving million dollars loans based on their verification method why embassies cannot assure TI that their verification method is solid. Be it based on SS letter, tax returns, or pension letters or whatever. 

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

Otherwise, foreigners are required to invest at least $2.5 million Singapore dollars (about $1.8 million at current rates) in the local economy by opening a new business or by expanding an existing business.?

Singapore is for billionaires.

19 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

May need to look into this a bit deeper. Can foreigners purchase in the USA on tourist visa?

I think anybody can buy a house in the US. Opening a bank account may be a problem with current situation but  not impossible. Lots of cheap houses in University towns and most American houses come with at least two bed rooms, often three. If you're a handy man, you can fix them up (if required) and rent them also to university students on a per room basis for a semester contract. Another option is to do a reverse mortgage and you can live on the house (don't have to live year round) till you die. Reverse mortgage will give you some income every month. After your death, they will take your house. You need to be 62. I am not 62 yet. I will look into that once I am 62.

6 hours ago, billd766 said:

No. Dutch embassy requires proof if income.

I think embassy letters will be accepted if it's issued after income verification. But most embassies don't verify income and Thai immigration knows about those embassies, I guess. I knew an American, living on free foods and with 6OO USD monthly income from his savings, waiting to collect another 600 baht in SS when he will be 62. Those were the days and it is not going to be easy for him. 

5 hours ago, garyk said:

After I looked into it, it made more sense for me keep a small place in America for emergencies. And keep an extra amount for emergencies, here in Thailand, or where ever I travel. 

I agree. I have also kept a small house (around 50K in a rural university town) in the US. Like my summer home but unfortunately I end up there during the snow season ????. If you're 65, medicare will take care of you on US soil. You need emergency fund (as you said) to cover you here in Thailand till you're able to move to the USA.

Single people come to Thailand for warm weather, friendly people, good foods, and, of course, if you're lonely with a hope to find a partner. 

1 minute ago, kevin612 said:

I guess black people are poor in thailand. 

Definitely, compared to other ethnicities. 

On 10/22/2018 at 8:05 PM, LALes said:

This all amounts to nothing if the African drug dealers around Soi 13 are not removed.

I wonder where do these black guys get their drugs to sell on the street from. Mostly Thais. Except Sukumvit working girls, most thais buy their drugs from thais. Go to rama 4 slum and watch. Be careful though.

The same is true for Europe and America. Where do these street sellers get their drugs from? From white people only. 

It is always the economically disadvantaged people who get the brunt of any ill conceived policy. I support removing illegals/criminals without any racial profiling. Not every black guy on the street is selling drugs and targeting them exclusively is racial profiling. 

26 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

Let's not get into how much you do or do not need to live on in Thailand. Depends on so many things, own or rent, car or bike, mia noi or just the wife, kids at school or college, living at home or not, and finally whether you drink French Merlot or make your own.

I said 30/40K baht. My assumption is based on average expense of a retired single person or a couple living modestly. Not smoking, excessive drinking, rented girl friends or sending kids to school/college. Average expense in the USA for this scenario is 1000-1200 USD (excluding housing and medical expenses). A 65% (published rate mentioned in many articles) of that expense will be in Thailand (major cities) + housing. The question arises becuase do you really need 65K to live in Thailand? I said no!

1 minute ago, Sheryl said:

In fact the oz embassy announced that they are unaffected and will continue with stat dec
The IO You spoke to was talking from her back side... Unless there is a link to the statement officially its a waste of time

If Thai immigration stops taking those embassy letters, it is a mute whether some embassies issue them or not. I think this is not a waste of time but a warning to prepare for eventuality. And I guess retirees have enough time to waste ????

18 minutes ago, sambum said:

65K a month left in your account untouched for 12 months that shows 800,000 at end of the year, 65K a month that you can use them top up with 3 months to go before renewal, or 65K a month you can use to live on?

Another strategy may be to keep depositing 65K every month and live of off other income as you need only 30-40K to live in Thailand. And at the end of the year, you will have 800K and that you can show in subsequent years. 

14 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Yessssss. Just to stick it to police state's demand. If they had a smooth 90-day reporting across all immigration offices, I would have complied. Hey I am not responsible for TM30 but I will be fined in some offices when I go for 90-day reporting. 

May be I got carried away. Reporting address in an arrival form is hassle free and no TM 30 is required. And it will give me opportunity to visit other countries also. I am not sure how long I can continue it though. It may be too much taxing on my health. 

3 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

You do 4 border hops a year to avoid doing a 90 day report?

Yessssss. Just to stick it to police state's demand. If they had a smooth 90-day reporting across all immigration offices, I would have complied. Hey I am not responsible for TM30 but I will be fined in some offices when I go for 90-day reporting. 

1 minute ago, marcusarelus said:

Thailand is not a police state.  It's in your mind. 

Yes, when police can demand urine sample on the street, tries to track your every movement (by 90-day reporting which is not uniform across all immigration office), controls the Web, tries to monitor social media sites, bans e-cigarette, etc. etc. I can give many more examples, for me it is a police state.

Just now, marcusarelus said:

You stay in Thailand for a year and don't do a 90 day report? 

I already said I would do border hop to avoid reporting police state's demand of reporting every 90-day.