SeaBorn13

https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/report-of-foreign-bank-and-financial-accounts-fbar

My take on this is that more US citizens will have to file under the new Immigration policy.  And those that had 800,000 in their Thai account last year have until April 15th to meet the filing deadline.  The penalty for NOT filing is $10,000.  As 800,000 baht has to be held in a Thai bank, in my opinion this triggers the need to file the Treasury form.  Comments?

Here is an update on the cost of my bilateral hernia surgery.  The cost was higher due to the fact that I had a Transient Ischemic Attack and had to spend 2 days in ICU after the surgery.  Total cost including a cat scan and ICU was 212,000 baht.  I had the surgery done at SDM Center by Dr. Kanit.  He trained in England and is knowledgeable and professional. 

The reason I have over 1,000,000 baht per month is I worked for it.  AND that is precisely why I a miffed by this whole immigration fiasco.  A government exists solely to do what the individual can not accomplish on their own.  It's job is not to rob from the "rich" and give to the "poor".  You may not be retired or you would know that it is not easy to move money from one account to another without a certain amount of forethought.  And FYI, my Thai ties go back almost 35 years so I do have a vested interest in the state of this country.

I have an account with Bangkok Bank.  I use their Internet Banking to transfer funds within Thailand.  If you are employed you can also transfer funds, i.e. salary to a US account.   If you are retired you do not have that option with Bangkok Bank.

In 2017, I received my first multiple entry OA visa from the Thai consulate in Los Angeles.  I applied there as all of my funds are tied up in the US and US laws make it difficult to move them... I renewed my OA visa in 2018 in Thailand using an agent, which was far more costly than obtaining my first OA visa directly from the consulate.  My visa is set to renew in Mar, 2019 and with market conditions, it will be cheaper for me to fly back to the US to obtain my visa than to transfer 800,000 baht to Thailand to meet the income requirements.  I can understand the US embassy position, but the fault for many using Social Security and other pensions, the fault is Thailand's unwillingness to accept alternate documentation in an electronic format.  A PDF statement is acceptable to consular officials but immigration is so far unwilling to realize that it needs to update its procedures to become more current with what other Thai government agencies deem to be adequate documentary evidence.

I have indirect bilateral hernias.  With the diagnosis, preoperative work-ups and surgical fees, the cost range is from 250,000 - 485,000 baht in May 2018.  This is for a government hospital and a private hospital.  The same operation, open inguinal hernia surgery, in the US can be had for $3,800. (The Thais double the price for foreigners, even if you are here on a retirement visa!)  Think about have the operation done in the US before coming to Thailand!

I've run into an a completely different scenario in Bangkok.  As a newcomer, I went to the US embassy to obtain a certificate of residency to open a bank account.  The cost was $50.00.  Bangkok Bank made copies of it and returned the original to me.  I then used that to obtain both Thailand automobile and motorcycle licenses as I had held those licenses in the United States.  This was done at the Department of Land Transport in Chatuchak and they retained the original.  I had those licenses in a matter of hours. 

I then went out and bought a new motor scooter and provided the dealer with copies of my passport, driver's licenses and the certificate of residency issued by the Embassy.  About two weeks later I received a call from the titling agent that the copy was not acceptable at the Department of Land Transport in Chatuchak and they also wanted one from Thailand Immigration Department.  I then went to Immigration and applied for a certificate of residency from them.  They informed me that it would be processed by mail and it would take 3-4 weeks for it to be done here in Bangkok.  The cost for this was 200 baht.  I am now into my third week of waiting for my certificate of residency... 

Obviously I have been stopped by the police as my motorcycle does not have a license plate... plus I only have the minimum insurance on it as I can not get comprehensive insurance without a copy of the Green Book.. In retrospect, I never would have bought the scooter knowing what I do now..  And right now I am renting a scooter, while my new one sits.  Talk about adding insult to injury!