MeePeeMai

You can add me to that list (and most of the other farangs that used to live in my building in Udon).

Last time I checked, THEFT of SERVICES (i.e. daily room rental charge) is a crime (theft) and can be reported and the suspect can prosecuted for doing a runner. However, TIT and your mileage may vary (according to your connections, inner circle, ability to hand out brown envelopes, make donations etc.)

I guess it depends on where you are then.... notice I said: and and as far as I have heard and read, it is now very difficult or next to impossible to get a Driving License or open s bank account if here on a tourist visa. YMMV

Try using a different browser.

Before everyone here gets too excited about changing over to this new DTV, consider that you might not be able to get (or renew an existing ) Thai Driving License. You might not be able to buy/sell a motorcycle or vehicle while on a DTV (without a Non Immigrant Long Stay Visa) and I doubt if you will be able to get a "Certificate of Residency" from Immigration, should you need one. After all, this is a tourist visa, NOT a Non-Imm long stay visa. I'm sure there will other challenges besides those I mentioned above. Just a thought.

THIS was a huge red flag for me. When I realized the tax the tax implications for my ROTH conversions and also the future distributions (tax free in the USA but 100% taxable in Thailand), not to mention my monthly rental income from the USA... Thailand just died for me personally and was immediately removed as my permanent retirement location.

Wow! They're only 130 baht in Udon!

I was responding to jvs' comment which is quoted below.

A pellet gun might keep him from targeting your home 555 (just a random thought).

I doubt it, the loss of revenue would be unacceptable! Then again, maybe they would just start citing drivers going less than the posted speed limit.

True, and this is why I left Thailand and I will NEVER stay there more than 179 days in any given calendar year again, regardless of the latest rumor or slip of the tongue by some government official. It's just not a risk I'm willing to take. Like I said many times before, this could turn into a huge nightmare for some of us and a big nothing for others.

I've been using Wise for more than 8 years and only recently they started asking me information about my money / banks and transfers. I never had any problems until recently... First they wanted me to verify my accounts (the same accounts which I have been transferring money from since I opened my Wise account 8 or 9 years ago), then they asked me what kind of income I have and where my money comes from, then they asked me about some of my transfers (to whom I sent the money and for what reason). I complied and answered their questions truthfully so as to be allowed to continue using my Wise account. Also, my transfers used to take 2-3 days (coming from the USA) to arrive in Thailand. Then out of the clear blue I started getting them on the same day (on a business day / not a weekend or Holiday). Then they only took a matter of a couple of hours. I was impressed... But recently, let's say starting about 6 months ago, my transfers would take sometimes several days to more than a week (for no apparent reason). I was told that there was a problem with my transfer, they are still waiting for my money to arrive, the amount I sent was smaller than my normal transfer so it would take a while longer etc. etc. etc. The last time I was locked out of my account until I answered a question they sent me which was: What is the average dollar amount you send monthly to Thailand? What are these funds used for? They should know this, they have all my records showing every transfer listed as living expenses fora long term stay in Thailand. It seems that they have gone woke or numb in the brain lately. It makes no sense to me how they are acting lately (Mike is right, it could just be KYC / AML B.S. from the corrupt USA Govt.) The latest issue (after a long overdue transfer) was that they said I could speed up my transfers if I verified my bank accounts (already done that last year). Their service has obviously gone downhill and I'm glad I don't need to use them now (since I left Thailand and I sent a lot of money there back in 2023 so I don't need to send anymore money there now). Just another pain in the butt I had to deal with just to live in Thailand. It is a lot more expensive here now that I am back in the USA (Hawaii) but I don't have any unnecessary bureaucracy or BS to deal with anymore, less stress, no more 90 day reports, and more freedom. I never thought that I would say this but I am definitely happier now and feel like I got a monkey off my back by moving back home and skipping out on becoming a 180 day Tax Resident of Thailand (This is definitely NOT on my bucket list).

Wow, that's one hell of a rant! 👍 I thought I held the trophy for the longest rants about living in Thailand (as a foreigner). I hereby hand the 1st place trophy over to you, well deserved, great job! p.s. I know exactly what you mean as I have experienced it many times myself 555

ICE all the way to my grave!

Same here. I opened two accounts at two BB branches and had to fill out IRS paperwork for both - including my FULL SS# (last 4 not sufficient).

Well my Government pension from the USA is a "State Government" pension from being a retired civil service employee... so as I understand it, Thailand has sole taxing rights to MY pension under the DTA (as long as I am a "tax resident" of Thailand). I still don't have a clear answer about my annual ROTH conversions (already taxed by the IRS) and any qualified ROTH distributions I make (not taxed by the IRS because the taxes have already been paid on everything except the capital gains portion of the ROTH IRA). Then there's my rental income from the USA and both long term and short term capital gains in my brokerage accounts. I got audited last year by the IRS (which was a pain in the arse) and I had to fly back to the USA just to deal with it. It just gets so damn complicated an uncertainty abounds. How is anyone ever supposed to relax and not worry about things in this kind of environment? "Just hire an accountant and get a tax attorney" you might say, well where am I supposed to find those (well qualified and knowledgeable) here in Thailand? Can they be trusted and might I regret hiring them for lack of experience or simply fumbling my returns?? It just looks like a nightmare and there are so many things that could go wrong if you ask me. Dealing with my Federal and State tax returns in the USA every year is already extremely complicated and expensive. The thought of doing an annual return in Thailand and dealing with accountants/attorneys/DTA and the Thai RD scared me right out of Thailand. I was happy to leave behind the headaches and nightmare of adding this into my already stressful toxic tax cake mix.

I like to keep my distance to the person in front of me while standing in line (at a Lotus or 7-11 for example), because I don't like to Invade others "personal space" and I would hope that others respect my personal space. I also believe in showing manners and being courteous to others but that does not work here in Thailand. You leave enough room for someone to jump in line ahead of you and you can be sure they will do so and not even think twice about it. I also hate it when there's 3 or 4 of us standing in line (only one register open) at 7-11 and an employee will come along and open the register next to us and serve a Thai customer who just walked up (all the while ignoring all of us who have been standing in line for a long time). They do the same thing on the roads, leave a small space between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of yours, and some jackass will force his way in front of you just because he can and then he wants to jump in front of another car in the same lane he just came from (trying to beat you) as if it's a race or something. I wish I could throw wet farts on demand whenever rude people jump the line in front of others who are already standing there waiting. One of my pet peeves in Thailand.

I guess because I am just one of those "fools" who believe that if they follow the law or abide by the rules (and carry a copy of said rule/law) that I will not have any real issues. Hell, that philosophy doesn't even work at the Immigration Office... so I guess I'm rather slow to catch on to the "way it is" vs "the way it should be". I do see lots of cars from Laos everyday in Udon Thani so I suppose that they have a reciprocity agreement with Laos (accepting each others licenses) but then again, they share a large border and many border crossings. I also remember trying to use my Indonesian License (SIM) here in Thailand (prior to getting a Thai License) and was told no, not possible... "either get a Thai license or use your license from the USA along with an IDP from the USA." Cheers Moonlover!

Notice I said "MOST of them" I never said "ALL of them". I have personally tried driving in / using my Thai license in Indonesia (not accepted / I was stopped and fined at a Police checkpoint - razia Polisi) I also tried using it in the Philippines (same result as above - stopped and fined), told that a Thai license is not valid for driving there. I tried to rent a motorbike in Malaysia using my Thai License and was told no can do (without an IDP). I was in fact carrying a copy of the agreement spoken of above in this thread (in both English and Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Malay and Tagalog). Basically they didn't seem to know anything about the agreement (or didn't care). On top of that I have read numerous stories from others who have attempted it in some of the ASEAN countries listed, and had the same result as I did. I don't doubt your "reliable and current source" but I have yet to try driving in Laos on my Thai driver's license. If I get shot down 3 times in a row, I usually just give up trying at that point.

555, that was an "agreement" which was reached long ago and seems to have vanished. Ever tried using your Thai license in one of the 10 ASEAN countries listed?? Good luck, they won't accept it in most of them (without a valid IDP along with it).

Obviously you didn't read my post. I was told I would receive a 2 year IDP but they only gave me an IDP valid for 1 year (because I am not a Thai National is what they said after they gave it to me).... not because my driving License expired in about .2 years and 4 months from the date I applied/received the IDP.

5555, Wouldn't that be a real kick in the nuts!!

Yep, they usually add aftermarket tuning, a performance chip, performance fuel pump or oversize pressure regulator, larger than OEM fuel injectors and open up the intake system to get more performance and so that they can "roll coal" as they say in the USA. It's obnoxious, dirty and unhealthy but hey, it's their country, the police don't give a damn so it's none of my business. Let them choke on it.

Earlier this year, I went to get a Thai IDP for both motorcycles and passenger cars (Udon Thani office). I wanted to travel to Jawa, Bali and Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan to rent a vehicle during my trip, so I needed an IDP. I have 5 year Thai licenses which both expire in 2026. I was told I would get a 2 year IDP. Got there with all my photos and copies, filled out the forms, paid the money and received a 1 year IDP (I was told that the 2 year IDP is only for Thai nationals). Then I was informed that a Thai IDP will not permit me to drive in Bali (or anywhere else in Indonesia), Taiwan and 1 other country (can't remember which one it was). It was said that it works in Malaysia though. After finding this out, I decided against travelling in SE Asia this year since I couldn't legally drive in Indonesia on a Thai IDP. I could have ordered an IDP from AAA in the USA, but who knows how long that would take or if it would even show up in the mail. That would have expired in 1 year also. My point is to check which countries accept a Thai IDP and when it will expire before getting one. I was surprised (to say the least) to find out that it would not work in Indonesia. Now it's just another souvenir to add to my collection of useless documents that I never used.

If nothing else, it's just another complicated hoop to jump through just to live in Thailand (which might be ripe for corruption or at least personal interpretation and selective enforcement by whichever RD person / office you will be assigned to). For me it was simple, that was the last straw. I'm not jumping through any more hoops just to be allowed to spend my time and money there (nor am I going to cough up 35% tax because I am well into the 35% Thai tax bracket). I don't want to worry about the double tax treaty and how that is implemented or what that nightmare process that will end up being either. The list goes on and on for me, but in escaping the tax trap and the possible nightmare that comes with it, I'll surely be one of the 1st to leave Thailand (I was only in Thailand for 169 days in 2024). Best of luck to all and I hope it all blows over, but I'm not willing to just sit and wait to find out what happens. I'm sure there will be many more leaving next year.