Mike Teavee

+1 for the Eaglehawk Merlot.... 399 at most places (e.g. Family Mart) and IMHO nicer than the 5-700b bottles. I do miss a bloody good Barolo though....

I have a non-imm O (Retirement) & plan on keeping that going (I pay an agent 8,000 baht pa to do my extensions for me so it's zero hassle) but I do keep thinking to myself that maybe it's better just to add an extra 200K (on top of the 800K I keep in the bank) and buy the TE 20 years visa. The LTR is a no-brainer for Retirees who earn more than $80,000 pa but for those of us who don't, having to invest $250,000 (approx. 9.4Million baht) in Thailand means that money is not invested elsewhere & an additional 0.5% return on the money invested in your own country, pays for the 1Million baht visa over it's 20 year lifespan so you'd be "Out of your Mind" if you did go for the LTR. Lol, who in their right mind goes to immigration to do their 90 day report, if I can't do it online (Which I can & will do again next week) then I pay my agent 200baht to go do it for me.

As predicted the Herodotus quote has worn off so this week my Tattoo would be... "There but for the grace of God go I" Something I think we can all take away & chew on for a while... FWIW The week before Herodotus it was Public Enemy... It might sound good, it might say a little something, but <deleted> the game if it don't mean nothing Still like that one...

As I’ve said previously in this thread, for us “Retirees” not earning $80k pa, the 1Million THB 20 year Thailand Elite visa might be a better option. As I’m “Only” 56, I’ve decided to keep on extending the Non-O each year (costs 8k pa for an agent to do all the work for me as I keep the 800k in the bank) in the hope that I would be “Grandfathered” in for any future visa changes to the “Retirement” requirements. I would like to get another 10 years older before pulling the trigger on the 20 year TE visa.

Thanks for posting this, I read "Fixed personal income less than USD 80,000 per year but not less than USD 40,000 per year as of the date of application; and investment in Thailand in the name of the applicant of at least USD 250,000 and holding ownership in one or more of the following investments" to mean that as you would need to invest an additional $250K plus already have an existing investment in Thailand. Though always best to double check as things can get "Lost in Translation".

You should have problems as long as you remember to get the re-entry permit before leaving, but you really should do your conversion to a Non-IMM O before the Visa Exempt arrives (IIRC you need 15 days left on your permission to stay to apply for one, otherwise you'll need a 30 day extension & apply during that - apologies if this is me "Teaching my grandma to suck eggs" ???? The 15K (normally 12.5K) is to do a 12 month extension if you don't have the 800K in the bank (it's 8K if you do), but converting to a Non-Imm O Visa & getting a 12 month extension (so you get 15 months permission to stay) is a lot more work for the agent so costs 25K upwards.

I haven't seen it confirmed one way or the other but my understanding was that any investment needed would have to be new money brought into Thailand so your existing investment in a Condo wouldn't count. If that is the case then $250K is approx. 9.4million thb. Also you should get your Non-Imm O visa before your Visa Exempt entry expires but it should be good for 3 months from the date your Visa Exempt expires. If you're using an agent to assist with the conversion to Non-Imm O then they typically get you your 1st 12 month extension as part of the process (I.e. You get 15 months permission to stay) - Typical cost to do this (In Pattaya ) is approx. 25K

My father is none of the above but got a couple of small remembrance tattoos when 2 of his friends died in motorbike accidents within a few months of each other.

My father (77) has a couple to mark key events in his life before I came along but has always told me never to get one as I would regret it when I got older (56 now). I quite like the idea of having an "Inspirational" quote, but can never fully decide what I want it to be, at the moment I think it would be "Count No Man Happy Until the end is Known" but am sure that will change next week...

Nobody expects the Spanish Indecision...

I just finished watching the 1st episode & logged on to recommend this one as well... While I'm here, Inside man https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10948716/ has just dropped on Netflix... Enjoyed it & looks like it will become a long running series

For some people it does & for others it doesn't, I can't say that I fully understand it all (especially as I was "Contracted Out" for most of my career) but I decided to err on the side of caution & bought the missing years anyway (cost me £955 for 7 years in 2017) & have been paying (Class 2) AVCs each year since (I think I hit 35 years this year so will be stopping after April). It did seem to increase my pension forecast but I will be having a chat with them when I'm next in the UK to see whether I should be claiming some of the money back (1 of the years was 2016/2017 so will make a difference). Last time I spoke to the department they were very helpful so if in doubt just ask them. Edit: To add to my confusion, my Contributions say this.... You have: 39 years of full contributions 10 years to contribute before 5 April 2032 2 years when you did not contribute enough [1 of the 2 missing years was a miscalculation on my part where I underpaid by 50p so they are supposed to be waiving that] But my Pension Forecast says this... My "Plan" is to keep paying until I hit the maximum Pension, this may mean that I've overpaid but I'm OK with that, especially as for the past 14 years I've been paying a much reduced rate.

Am sure most people are aware that they can pay Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) to top-up their UK State Pension if they're no longer working / paying National Insurance in the UK but what I wasn't aware of was there is a deadline of April 2023 for back-paying AVCs longer than 6 years ago... Also worth noting that if you're not UK Resident for tax you might be able to pay National Insurance contributions at Class 2 rates (I was when I was working in Singapore & have continued to do so now I'm retired in Thailand) which would make the £800 quoted more like £155 & "Payback" would be approx. 7.5 months

I have seen reports before of guys who have had problems registering and seem to recall the advice they received was... Make sure you're not using a VPN Try it in another browser (I generally use Chrome but could try it in Internet Explorer / Edge) Try it again tomorrow during office hours (Strange I know but if there's a temporary problem then the hope is that it's resolved overnight) Have you tried clicking on forgot password to see if your account has been successfully registered (if it hasn't then you should get an "Invalid Data" error on that screen, if you are successfully registered they should send you a new password. There is also a Mobile App (Imm eServices) that you could try but the website feels much easier to use/complete to me.

You need to register 1st (click on the Apply link.https://tm47.immigration.go.th/tm47/#/register/add), if you have already registered you should be able to use the forgot password link. As you already have a 90day report there should be no need to go to Immigration in person.

True story.. We were working away & staying above a pub so had a lot of beers before going to bed & my mate was absolutely steaming. He somehow managed to get to his room, switch the TV on at full volume & fell asleep whilst trying to take his trousers off. One of the guests in a nearby room phoned the manager to complain so the manager gets out of bed, grabs the 1st thing he can find to put on (His wife's pink dressing gown) goes to the room, no answer to any knocking so he lets himself in, sees my mate passed out on the bed & the TV remote on the bed the other side of him. At that moment my mate wakes up to find a big burly bloke in a frilly pink dressing gown bending over him & his trousers are around his ankles. ????

You might want to try the online 90 day reporting site (https://tm47.immigration.go.th/tm47/#/login) appreciate it won't save you much money (just the EMS costs) but it will save any concerns about having to send your passport away 4/5 times a year.

July 16th 2018 (I can remember watching the France v Croatia cup final the night before) - I posted a pic of the Visa on this thread They might not do them anymore but I suggested contacting that agency anyway as if anybody can tell you what you need to get a Non-Imm O visa in Penang it will be those guys (or Jim across the road).

I used Banana Visa in Penang when I did my Multi-Entry 1 year Non-O (Retirement)... http://bananapenang.com/main/?page_id=76 You could email them [email protected] to ask what you would need to bring/costs etc... If you do decide to use Penang (lovely place for a few days holiday) then I would recommend staying at Chulia Mansions which is just a couple of minutes walk away from Banana Visa.

The one potential issue you may face is your airline wanting to see a flight out of Thailand during the 1st 45 days of your stay. This can easily be got around by "Renting" an exit ticket (IIRC costs $14) but just something to be aware of before travelling. If you do get stuck at the airport then some airlines have a waiver form saying you will pay all costs in exiting Thailand should you be denied entry for any reason but a mate of mine was forced to buy a ticket there & then (Birmingham UK Airport) before they'd let him check-in.

I know that Joe (Just above the image I put "& the brief period when CW was only letting you extend within 3 days of it being due") but I was showing how it was valid at the time I did my 2021 extension, had I not been using an Agent I would have been turned away & forced to come back 3 days before it was due. Just an example of value I got from paying an agent to assist me even though I meet all of the criteria required to do my extension myself.

If your account is with Bangkok Bank & you use the mobile app it’s very simple… Login, click on the 3 dots (…) in the bottom right hand corner, scroll down to “Account Settings” & select “Personal Limits”…

2Million THB per day is the maximum (you’ll need to go into your account & raise the standard limit of 50 or 100k pd) although the Branch can transfer more than this if you go in person (IIRC it cost approx 1,200b if you do it this way & that was Bangkok Bank - Bangkok Bank). Takes seconds to do & is effective immediately, can simply change it back once you’ve completed your transaction.

I don’t think there are many people who would “prefer” to have $100K in a bank account earning < 1% interest (or losing approx 9% pa if you take 10% inflation). I don’t see why your Social Security cover wouldn’t be accepted but if for some reason it wasn’t, wouldn’t you be financially better off buying a new policy… E.G I have the Pacific Cross Visa Friendly policy $100K cover for 27K pa (no outpatients & 200K deductible) for a 56yr old which is around 0.71% of the 3.8Million in the bank. Obviously not everybody can get insurance cover but if you can then it would seem to make more sense than tying the money up.

Again, some people use an agent purely for convenience & have the money in the bank, 90 day reports, TM30s etc... so are not trying to "Dodge" anything, just trying to make the process even easier peasier for them & lower the risk of them not getting it 1st time if there's a problem with their application... I mentioned the amalgamated bank book entries & the brief period when CW was only letting you extend within 3 days of it being due... I follow the extension threads pretty closely but this one completely passed me by & I ended up getting my extension 44 days before it was due before I even found out about it. There's also the fact that I've never had to spend more than 40 minutes at CW to get an extension & didn't even need to go to Jomtien for this year's. So the only reason for not using (a legitimate) agent is if the cost of dong so doesn't offer enough value to you & everybody is different on what they place value on, e.g. I used the example of smokers in an earlier post, some people enjoy smoking so the money they spend on cigarettes is worth it to them, I don't smoke so it's a complete waste of money in my eyes but to each his own.