JohnnyBD

Our UOB joint THB acct shows up on my phone app, on my wife's phone app, and on both of our internet banking user accts. Our SCB joint acct does not show up on either of our phone apps. We asked and they said only our individual accts can show up on our phone apps. They do not have internet banking anymore.

To OP, It sounds like you are sending small amounts ($100 USD) using SWIFT, and your bank is charging an outgoing wire transfer fee of $30 or more. Kasikorn charges an incoming wire fee of 500 baht, so that can get really expensive if you're sending small amounts. Better to send a larger amount to Kasikorn and use the money, then when your balance starts to get low, send more. Many foreigners in Thaialnd use Wise to send money from their home country, and it seems to work well for them. I get money in Thailand in two ways. 1. I wire USD from my US Chase Bank (no wire fees due to my relationship), to my USD account with Bangkok Bank. I convert it to my THB account whenever I'm ready. Bangkok Bank charges min. 200B, max 500B incoming fee at .0025. So, if I send $2,400 USD, Bangkok Bank charges me $6.00. Chase doesn't charge me anything. My wire transfer take 1 day to post, but that's not a big deal because I keep enough to live on, so I don't have to rush to send money. I could send USD directly to my THB account, and let Bangkok Bank convert it automatically when they get it, but I prefer to watch the rates and convert it myself. 2. I watch the MC & Visa exchange rates, and get THB from the ATM using my Chase debit card. There's a 220B ATM fee for each transaction, but Chase reimburses me for the 220B fee. I also select NO, Continue Without Conversion" so that the Thai bank doesn't charge me their 5.5% conversion fee. That way I get the best exchange rate. Good luck...

If your SIM is registered in your wife's name, that's acceptable as per the rules UOB sent me. We went to the bank with my passport, marriage certificate, wife's ID & AIS bill and we signed some forms before April 25th. I opened accts with SCB & Bangkok Bank last year, and they must have made us sign the forms then because we never received any notices from them.

Made $2,400 USD xfer via SWIFT (no outgoing fee with Chase Bank due to my relationship) to Bangkok Bank minus .0025 incoming fee of $6.00 = $2,394 converted at 34.14 = 81,731 THB. Most US banks charge an outgoing wire fee of $35 to $75 USD, which would make Wise a better choice. I just use SWIFT since I pay no outgoing fees. Wise was 81,614

What changed since you posted you wanted a divorce on 10-21-2023? https://aseannow.com/topic/1309955-divorce-yesno/

That's really interesting. I would love to hear JimGant's take on that point.

Dear Drjack54, No insults intended, but I always wondered how many people % wise live in Thailand on ST visas doing border runs or flights in & out, and for what reasons. Maybe under 50 who don't qualify for retirement, or not married to a Thai so don't qualify for marriage. One guy told me he's been here 8 years on every different ST visa while doing border bounces, etc., but he just received the 5-yr DTV on a company he just made up. ST = short-term

Thanks for the excellent analysis and summary. 😊

UOB charges 500b incoming wire fee regardless of amount wired SCB charges 300b min., 500b max incoming wire fee depending on amount at .0025 x amount Bangkok Bank charges 200b min., 500b max incoming wire fee at .0025 x amount

https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/SCB.BK/

You missed the part about the agent putting the 800k in his bank account temporarily for his 1-year extension.

Thanks for explaining.

Thanks for explaining.

Forgive me for going off topic, but can you explain how agents get the 1-year extensions without the 800k in the bank. I would really like to know how that works. Thanks.

Thanks for the very detailed explanation. So, all US citizens are required to report and pay taxes on Traditional IRA taxable distributions on their US tax returns if they exceed their deductions, subject to credit for taxes paid in Thailand. Someone seemed to suggest that one could notify the IRS that they are a Thai tax resident and then would not have to report those distributions on their US tax return. That doesn't seem correct.