Caldera

Thanks for this! Looks like I'm fine then, my current number is already on record with them and used for things such as transaction alerts and OTPs via SMS.

If they ask you where you live and your answer is Thailand, they will assume that you're a tax resident of Thailand.

Thailand has joined the CRS, so this is hardly surprising. If you tell your bank - that is located in another CRS country - that you are a tax resident of Thailand, they have to report information about your accounts to the Thai tax authorities.

The only thing that surprises me is that this is NEW. I've always taken my passport with me whenever I've had any business at any bank, and I've always had to hand it over for them to copy it. I use their apps and machines whenever I can though, I only go to a branch when I really have to.

How exactly did that work and how did you prove that the SIM card is registered in your name? I'm potentially facing the same issue. Longtime user of Kasikorn Bank's app with a SIM card that has been registered in my name since 2010, but to the best of my knowledge, Kasikorn Bank doesn't know that. My app is still working fine as of today for what it's worth though.

Watch out Thailand, all you'll get to see from Vietnam in the years to come are its back lights. They're educated, they are motivated, they are driven.

It's a shame that neither the Republicans nor the Democrats seem to be able to replace those old goats and field a youthful candidate that could inspire Americans.

Much safer to make a QR code payment than handing over your card.

No surprises there. Just look at Vietnam's young professionals and compare them with Thailand's - Thailand doesn't stand a chance to compete. That also can't be fixed anytime soon, as the biggest issue is the Thai education system that would need to be redesigned from the ground up. Results could then be expected when those who enter primary school will start to work, or in other words, about 15 years after meaningful reforms have been implemented. By that time, Vietnam will already be so far ahead of Thailand that catching up won't be possible anymore. Then there's demographics, I don't even know what it would take.

Isn't it always? But it's doomed to fail. Rich people have a lot of choice, and opening the floodgates by granting visa exempt entry to Chinese and Indian travelers will make many popular Thai tourist destinations too crowded to remain enjoyable.

I wouldn't recommend traveling with a passport that is this close to its expiration. Other countries are strict on the 6 months rule, which could be a problem especially in case of transiting. You could also run into trouble in case you need to make unexpexted changes to your travel plans. Many things can happen.

I think it's safe to say that the tax issue will only keep getting more of a pain here in the years to come. Now there's already talk of taxing foreign income by Thai tax residents that is NOT remitted to Thailand. Like many other countries, it seems clear that Thailand ultimately wants to tax the worldwide income of its tax residents. I know there are tax treaties in place to avoid double taxation, but just the hassle of having to file tax returns in several countries, translating documents, dealing with different rules and deadlines etc. etc. can already be stressful.

Sounds like a great idea to me.

I doubt it, that wouldn't make sense. There IS an official fee for the Cambodian visa on arrival, $30 for a tourist visa.

What would be the point? They're usually given to people who can apply for a 1-year extension once they're in Thailand.

All that idle talk for years. Just bring it on, and if it doesn't work as expected, you can always do your usual Thai flip-flop and scrap it again.

Vietnam. Plenty of short direct flights available.

Dupe

The idiocy of having nothing but a basic state pension and thinking that you're entitled to retire abroad. Stay at home, where among other things, you have access to government-funded healthcare. Try to get health insurance in Thailand as a foreigner that age.

How does this change affect those who can't or won't stay that long? Not at all, of course. But for all those who can and want to stay longer, it's great news.

You can claim whatever you want at this point, considering the absence of confirmed facts. But there's no Thai visa that currently works like that, so in my opinion, you're in fantasy land with that assumption.

But those double and triple entry tourist visas were never called "multi-entry" visas by anyone in authority, so I really don't see how anyone would assume that this newly announced multi-entry DTV will be anything but a real multi-entry visa (unlimited entries during its validity period).

With regards to the DTV, I'd caution that lots of people initially got excited about the SMART visa and the LTR visa as well. Once all the details and requirements were made available, however, many people realized that they don't actually qualify. At this point, there's too much speculation and too little known facts. Also keep in mind that the Thai authorities weren't even able to roll out the visa exempt change by today, which is a very minor change in comparison to rolling out a new visa type. I wouldn't be surprised if that will require several iterations of decision-making - leading to significant delays.

Hardly.

You've got to admire their optimism.