CartagenaWarlock

On 12/19/2023 at 12:11 AM, Neeranam said:

These agents bribe immigration officers. 

They are the middlemen who distribute money from people lucky enough to have access to earn dollars to the unfortunates who don't have the luck to earn dollars.

Compare the rate with Wise. I think they will be competitive.
https://www.visa.co.th/en_TH/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

On 12/18/2023 at 11:15 PM, 4737 Carlin said:

about western restaurants etc. - I can get all that in Pattaya.

You can get food from all over the World in Pattaya.

8 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

I find that astonishing, you have actually "taken coal to Newcastle" 

as we say in English or sand to the desert. might be easier analogy to understand for Americans 

When one has access to much younger women from the impoverished part of the nation being paraded in brothels masquerading as bars, why do you want to bring spouses from your own culture?

5 minutes ago, JimTripper said:

Forget Pattaya for an implant, goto Bangkok where the good facilities are.

Any recommended places in Bangkok?

23 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

They should shelve the idea and just tax people earning income here

Wealthy Thais can avoid capital gain taxes in the US and in Thailand as well.

What are the recommended dental implant places in Pattaya? Please post personal experiences, including costs per implant. I have a few missing teeth, and I use a flexible denture now. I have large corporate-level US dental insurance, and my teeth are taken care of during my yearly visits. However, insurance does not cover implants and only covers 50% of denture costs.

1 hour ago, Xonax said:

They all hurry to buy before 1. January 2024, where money sent to Thailand will be taxed. The real estate market will be stone dead after 1. January 2024.

They don't live in Thailand for more than 6 months, unlike the majority in the forum who could not find a decent living and possibly a bride and had to travel 10,000 miles to live like refugees (year-to-year contract), possibly using a "wify" visa.

4 minutes ago, Rampant Rabbit said:

you  spouted exactly the same crap in another topic on one of  my posts..using the exact same words "wifey visa and refugee", why dont  you do everyone a  favoure and ssip off

The truth hurts, eh? 

I saw the Jomtien Post Office packed with Russians, and they are sending clothes and shoes to Russia by post. Maybe it's cheaper now to send from Thailand to Russia than to buy in Russia. I don't understand. Russian markets should be flooded with Chinese goods by now. I'm not sure why that is not happening, and people have to send clothes and shoes from Thailand to Russia. 

6 hours ago, jaxon said:

Does being married effect the extension of stay process at the expiry of the visa.  

Yes, it does

On 12/15/2023 at 5:17 PM, ezzra said:

well fed high ranking immigration's officers...

It seems you're jealous about that because you could not live a decent life in your home country and had to travel 10,000 miles to live like a refugee, possibly using a "wify" visa, in spite of being able to earn dollars. 

14 minutes ago, bigt3116 said:

Second, they will never ask for tax payments from tourist visa holders

Not normal tourist visa holders but perpetual tourists. The IO can do a quick calculation to figure out if you have lived more than 6 months or not

My guess is that by 2005, it (entry denial) would explode for tourist visa holders. They may start asking for tax payments. For other visas, proof of tax payments may be required during renewal time. 

The lowest and most reliable Pattaya agent charges around 12.5K for non-O retirement renewal without any money in the bank. Kudos for sharing your wealth with unfortunates who don't have access to earn dollars. 

On 12/13/2023 at 9:08 PM, GypsyT said:

She also mentioned "no need for visa runs in 2024" but didn't say more (maybe she meant only me, like "going to be deported")

Now that they are going to tax people who are staying longer than 180 days, let them open up with a one-year visa. 

8 hours ago, ezzra said:

Life is cheap in this country,

That's why you have travelled 10,000 miles to live like a refugee in a foreign land, possibly using a "wify" visa; otherwise, I bet, you would have stayed in your home country or in a country that values life. 

1 hour ago, eisfeld said:

He commited theft and consumed illegal narcotics, that alone can be reason for jail time.

Only if it is proven. They won't take the words of a desperate foreigner who is unable to live his life in his home country and has had to travel 10,000 miles for a living, possibly using a "wify" visa. 

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

However, potentially making that a declaration of their new taxation scheme and actually implementing it against many tens of thousands of expats living and spending in Thailand are probably two very different things.

I believe they will start with voluntary disclosure. If you lie, you can be prosecuted. However, I'm not sure when they will do that. For non-Os, it can be during the renewal. For others, it may be when you enter Thailand. They can randomly pick a few hundred every year and do an audit to verify the veracity of voluntary disclosure. I believe you pay taxes when your earnings are more than 7500 baht, excluding health insurance deductions. Married people with children can get many more deductions, including health insurance expenses. At last, it will pay off for "wify" visa holders. Singles are doomed.

3 hours ago, yeahbutif said:

would say it pretty obvious who has insurance and who does not.. it seems so simple for the police to stamp this out .. but they won't... So all we can do is make sure we are covered.

Why would they? The contract is between you and your insurance company. Did you purchase "uninsured and underinsured coverage"? If so, the insurance company will pay for that, but then you don't have the excess. If you have excess, it means you pay the excess. Police cannot enforce an insurance contract unless a party breaks it. The police can only suspend the uninsured driver's license, but I am skeptical they will do this unless he has multiple violations. 

22 hours ago, Grusa said:

Pity about the potential jail term and/or deportation, not to mention fines and blacklisting.

There will never be a crackdown to stop spreading wealth through agents. Why? Because the bosses know that desperate people who can't seek out a living in their own country and have to travel 10,000 miles to survive in a foreign land like refugees can do that only because they are lucky enough to earn dollars and unfortunates are not lucky enough to earn dollars; hence, they need the "spreading the wealth" system to continue.