JohnnyBD

9 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Then, there is the convenience of using an agent. Like I said, I'm relaxing while others are in a queue at an immigration office being told they are one photocopy short, or drawing maps. 

No problem. To each his own. I used an agent for my marriage extension, and that made things so much easier. But, now I don't have to worry about paying an agent or waiting in a queue. I can just relax & enjoy for the next 10 years before I need to renew my LTR-WP visa. 😊

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

15 hours ago, gamb00ler said:

The correct loss of income (ignoring taxation and transfer fees) is:

800000 * (5.15% - 1.8%) / 12 * 5 = 11,167  for 5 months

400000 * (5.15% - 1.8%) / 12 * 7 = 7,817 for the other 7 months if you send 400K back to the 5.15% account

You are correct. 

So let me understand. Instead of keeping 800k in a Thai bank for your Non-O visa extension based on retirement, you keep the 800k in your home country where you can earn maybe 20k THB more in interest compared to what you could earn in a Thai bank, then you pay a Thai agent who pays an IM officer to approve your yearly extension without you having to keep 800k in a Thai bank. I think I got it. That's certainly one way of getting an extension. I suspect most people prefer getting theirs using the more accepted & approved methods, by using 800k in the bank or 65k per month, even it it costs them a few thousand baht more than what you're doing. And, just to add, this doesn't affect me, but it still interests me in knowing how things are done in THA. I'm on a LTR-WP visa now, but was on marriage extension for the past several years. Best of luck to you...

On 11/19/2024 at 6:52 AM, Thomas4628 said:

Now I am at step 4 - under consideration by government agencies. It says might take up to 20 working days or longer. Any experiences with the actual waiting times?

I received my LTR-WP visa in July 2024. It took 4 weeks in step 4 to get the endorsements from government agencies with no additional requests for docs. Mine was very simple. I submitted my Social Security verification letter & payment history, company pension verification letter & payment history, and my 2023 tax return. Good luck...

2 hours ago, motdaeng said:

- you got about 3.5% more interest in australia, that means about 28'000 thb (not 41'200 thb)

It's probably less of a difference for some, because I believe those using the 800k method only has to keep 800k in the bank for 2 mths prior to getting their 1-year extension, then they can withdraw 400k to use for living expenses. That way, they can xfer less and leave more money in their home country if the interest rates are higher. I am fortuante to be on a LTR visa, so I don't have the bank requirements anymore and I don't need to pay an agent to avoid the bank requirements.

21 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Was getting a TIN a requirement at Bangkok Bank? 

No, it was not a requirement. Neither bank, SCB or Bangkok Bank asked me about it.

I didn't have any problems earlier this year when I opened new accounts with SCB and Bangkok Bank. Neither bank asked me any of the questions you mentioned. Maybe it's because I'm married to a Thai, and have lived here for several years. I don't know why it's harder for some, and easier for others to open new accounts.

SCB updated the rates on their website 8 times so far today, yesterday it was 11 times. Bangkok Bank updated their rates 4 times so far today.

On 11/12/2024 at 3:06 AM, treetops said:

 

I think most use the services of Wise or similar and let them do the conversion.  Someone else worked out that was more cost effective up to around $22K USD IIRC.  SWIFT transfers better above that.

 

If you want to time the exchange to get a higher rate you can do that by holding it in Wise, and I think you can even preset a rate where they'll convert it automatically.

Thanks. I had a friend show me yesterday, how he sends with Wise, and the cost, and it worked out about the same as me wiring from Chase Bank in US (no fees) to Bangkok Bank (200B incoming fee). He did a $1,000 GBP test, and he would have gotten 44,160 THB with the spot rate being 44.59 at the time, so it would have cost him about 430B difference. I did an equal USD test of $1,280, and it would have cost me about 380B (200B incoming fee + .14 THB below the USD/THB spot rate at the time).

For those who use SWIFT wire transfers;

Please share your thoughts (pros & cons) on sending USD (via SWIFT) to your Thai bank FCD acct versus sending it directly to your THB acct. For those of you who send USD (via SWIFT) directly to your THB accts, are you satisfied with letting the bank do the conversions? No problems?

In the past, I wired to my USD FCD acct first, then watched for a good exchange rate before converting to THB, but now I'm thinking it would be easier to just send USD directly to my THB acct, and let the bank do the conversion whenever they receive it at whatever exchange rate it is that day. It used to be so easy when I had my Citibank TH accts. I could wire USD from Chase Bank (no fees) to my Citibank TH FCD acct (no fees), then convert to THB online 24/7 without having to go into the bank. Now, that UOB has taken over Citibank TH, I have to go into UOB to convert from my USD acct to THB acct. I opened new accts with Bangkok Bank because they allow online conversions during banking hours, but at least that's better than having to go into the bank to convert.  Again, just curious if most people send USD straight to their THB accts and then let the bank do the conversions, or do some still send to their USD FCD accts, and then have to go into the bank to convert. Thanks for sharing.

15 minutes ago, Eudaimonia said:

 

I'll withdraw my comment as HMRC claims, "There is no legislation on this, but you have to be resident somewhere for tax purposes," and "you would revert to your citizenship."

 

https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/customerforums/sa/f139bcb8-1018-ef11-a81c-002248c88d50

 

I think the HMRC support person is wrong there, but these can be complicated cases that require careful planning. It's certainly safest to always be a tax resident in some friendly jurisdiction.

I knew a work colleague who was from the UK, but lived in Thailand. He told me he didn't pay income taxes anywhere because he worked in Saudi which was a non-income tax country, he stayed in Thailand less than 180 days due to his job, and he had no income from the UK. If what he was doing was legal, then it appears he wasn't a tax resident anywhere.

33 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

183 days is the cutoff in Cambodia, then there's the fact that there is no personal income tax filing system in Cambodia at the moment. They plan to introduce it but they're not there yet. It was delayed until the end of this year with no new announcements yet.

Then there's holidays to other countries to consider, a simple 5 to 10 day trip to Vietnam or some other nearby country any time during the year would leave you below the number of days threshold everywhere for the year in question.

It's not hard.
 

Sounds like your plan is staying less than 180 days in Thailand, less than 183 days in Cambodia and several days in another nearby country, then you won't be a tax resident anywhere. Am I understanding correctly?

Just wondering... What are the benefits and/or the reasons for wanting to transfer a savings account from one SCB branch to another SCB branch within the same city? I understand wanting to, if one is moving to another city, but transferring an account for example, from Asoke to Phrom Phong, just 1 mile away, I don't understand the benefits and/or reasons for the transfer. Please enlighten me. Thanks.

1 hour ago, Agusts said:

 

My point is how do they separate £1 from another. I could say this £1 I'm transferring was interest I received in 2014, the £1 I received for interest of 2024 is the other one I left it in my bank account...!!!! 

 

It's quite impractical to try to identify and isolate this "earned" date on long held accounts..., even 5 or 10 year from now, I could still say it was my salary I added to my saving account in 2014...!? 

It was easy to separate. I opened a new acct online in Jan to put my 2024 income. I left 2023 income in my old acct. I opened a new acct to put my US Social Security. Then, I got my LTR-WP visa in May. I transferred only SS money so far this year, so I think I'm pretty safe. I know it's a pain, but better to be safe until we know all the rules.

I agree. The simpler one's finances, the better odds of being approved quickly. I was fortunate to have traditional pensions in order to qualify. I submitted my two pension verification letters, pension payments history, 1099-R tax forms, US tax return, and the LTR approved AXA Thailand insurance certificate & policy. My LTR-P visa was approved within 6 weeks with no additional requests from BOI. it was very easy...

15 hours ago, mickflick said:

Of course I can use one of these agencies for 81,000 Baht. Then it will probably be sorted out very quickly, as everyone can imagine. But I don't see that as a good idea, because my case is really simple and there are no doubts about it. Has anyone had similar experiences?

Why not just buy the insurance from one of the LTR approved providers. It only took 6 weeks to get my LTR visa approved. I used AXA Thailand, which is one of the LTR providers, and it wasn't expensive. I have insurance with Aetna through my company, but after reading about the problems people were having trying to use their existing policies, I decided to do it the easy way, even if it cost me a little extra.

You should be ok. Look at your bank book. If it's like mine, it should have a 10-digit account number, not starting with 0. Even though my bank code is 0172, my THB account number is 172-x-xxxxx-x, which is 10 digits. I only make international wire xfers to my USD acct which is a 19-digit number.

When I make local incoming xfers to my THB acct, I use the 10-digit number, without the 0.

41 minutes ago, jaywalker2 said:

I received a check as part of an inheritance issued by a US bank in US dollars. I have an account in the US so I can deposit it by mail but I decided to go to SCB where I have an account and see if they would deposit it. I remember reading that they weren't going to handle checks anymore and, in fact, the service representative really didn't know what to do but after consulting with another staff member and calling the head office she told me they could deposit the check for me but it would cost $15 upfront, another $45-100 if they had to "send it out for collection" whatever that means and that it would take 45-60 days.  Of course, they would also screw me on the exchange rate.

 

I suppose I'll send it to my US bank and deposit it by mail now, which will probably take about 10 days but I'll save on the fees and the exchange rate conversion. You would think technology would have made things more convenient not more expensive and difficult.

Why don't you check if your bank has a mobile check deposit feature. OK, so you checked and the amount is over the limit. Please disregard my post.

3 hours ago, Thailand J said:

Not only that I can invest the $100k in stocks, I also moved my 800,000B non-o retirement visa deposit into stocks. S&P500 is up double digit year to date.

With insurance, paperwork is also very simple.

Good move. I also bought AXA insurance for my LTR visa instead of going the $100k in bank route. Do you keep 100% of your available monies in the stock market, or do you keep some in fixed income? Everyone's situation is different. Some people like to keep different asset allocations (example; 90/10%, 80/20%, etc. stocks/fixed income) due to their risk tolerance or individual situation. So, for those who like to keep some of their money in fixed income anyway, going the $100k in bank route makes a lot of sense. Capital One bank is currently paying 4.10% on their high yield savings, Chase Bank was paying 4.40% on theirs, and one can still get short-term CDs for 4.50%.

44 minutes ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

So that costs something like $3,000 or more in lost income since you could probably earn at least 3% more in another kind of investment than in a bank account.  

Capital One bank in US is paying 4.10% right now on their high yield savings accounts, but I'm keeping my money in Fidelity right now.

Yes, i could earn more in another type of investment, but I like to keep a small amount of cash available so I don't have sell assets just to raise money.

14 minutes ago, Middle Aged Grouch said:

LTR is a global flop. One needs to re qualify annualy and go to part of the immigration hassle process each year. Really not worth as it really does not make it much simple. You send them what they ask and then they come back a week later asking again for some absurd document or health coverage.

I dont know where you are getting that one has to qualify annually. It was very easy for me. They accepted my Social Security and company pension which was more than the $80k minimum required. I was approved quickly. I'm good to go until 2029 when my "stay permit" expires. I will just need to update my docs again in 2029 to get the next 5-year "stay permit". I won't even have to do the annual reporting because I go home every year, and that resets the 1-year reporting clock.

3 hours ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

Is the requirement really to have $100k CASH in a bank account?   Are T-bills, other bonds etc. not allowed?

Yes, $100k USD or the equivalent in other currencies such as; {THB, Pound, Euro, etc.) in a bank account for at least 12 months prior to applying for the LTR visa. I had $100k+ in my brokerage account, but they would not accept it. So, I used the insurance method to start, and will move the money to a bank account before age 70 when the premiums go up.

6 hours ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

Ok but so what exactly is the difference between the required paperwork when you first apply and when you do the 5 year extension?

No one knows for sure, because no one has done a 5-year extension yet. But if I had to guess, it would be pretty much the same, maybe a new passport pic, my Social Security docs, Pension docs, and insurance docs or $100k bank docs in lieu of insurance. It was easy the first time, all of it was done from the comfort of home, just had to upload the docs online.

1 hour ago, TerraplaneGuy said:

I see.  To me it’s still kind of funny because a visa is itself a permission and shouldn’t need to be extended during its term.  Imagine if a one year visa (like O or OA) only gave you “permission” for 6 months and you had to apply again in 6 months just to complete a year.    The bottom line to me is, how many years can I really count on with confidence?   If I have to apply for a second permission, I know they always have discretion to deny me.   So for me, this is effectively a 5 year visa.   Not saying it’s not worthwhile.   

My LTR "visa stamp" in passport is good until July 2034, and my "stay permit" is good until July 2029. I was told and also sent an email from the LTR Visa Unit that a couple of months before my "stay permit" expires, they will notify me to upload my qualifications again to confirm I still meet the LTR requirements. After that, I will be able to schedule an appt to go get my new "stay permit". It sounds like it's a pretty simple and easy process. I love the fact I won't have to do any reporting again until 2029, because I go back to my home country each year, and that restarts the yearly reporting clock.

43 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

Yes, a fee of 0.5% isn't bad. I guess the exchange fee they give you on converting from a USD acct to THB acct is the T/T rate and not the same higher rate normally given on cash exchanges, which is a fee closer to 1%. 
 

As a comparison, Wise is charging 0.54% right now on USD to Baht conversions. But when you deposit USD into your FCD account at BBL then you are still being charged an additional 0.25% on the incoming wire, so you need to add that to the 0.5% exchange fee and that's your actual total fee to go from USD to THB. Plus, you are often charged an outgoing wire fee of at least $25 (if not more) by most overseas banks. Thus, another possible added cost of getting the money into your Thai FCD account from overseas. 

 

I think some Thai banks like UOB will waive the incoming wire fees when you are a wealth banking customer. But I forget how much money you have to keep on deposit in order to get that privilege.

I agree with your comments. Luckily, I don't pay any outgoing wire fees with Chase Bank in US due to my relationship level, but I do pay an incoming wire fee with BBL of .25%, and get the T/T rate which is about .455% lower than spot rates, so for example, a $2,500 USD wire xfer will incur a 200B incoming wire fee, and I will get about 375B less with the T/T rates versus the current spot rates.

31 minutes ago, RSD1 said:

But the exchange rate they give you always has a fee built into it. That means the exchange rate is often about 1% lower than the interbank rate. That's the fee. 

I just checked the exchange rate converting my USD acct to THB acct at Bangkok Bank. It was 32.78 vs the current spot rate of 32.93 a few minutes ago, which is .15 difference. That works out to a ittle less than .5%. So, if I had completed the exchange, that $1,000 USD would have given me 32,780 THB. That was only 150B difference from spot rate. Not bad