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El Matador
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Big Thailand visa changes from June 1
El Matador replied to snoop1130's topic in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Unfortunately that is a Thai classic to count a lot on tourism to improve the economy. The problem with the 51% of Thai ownership for local companies is it makes Thailand absolutely unattractive for foreign investors. I totally understand the 51% ownership for condos and the exclusivity of land ownership for locals but for companies it doesn't make any sense. So they can only boost what is working already and managed by Thai people. And let's face it and be honest with ourselves, China is the new superpower and India is the next one, so there won't be any coming back in our lifetime, although they will probably make new laws in the next few years a usual. -
Big Thailand visa changes from June 1
El Matador replied to snoop1130's topic in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
In all honesty I don't see more people coming back to grey UK because they don't want to do the 90 days report. Despite being bureaucratic, the retiree visa is still quite attractive compared to many other countries. On the other hand, taxes are another story. The criterias are completely absurd. You need to work for a company which makes 150 millions of dollars each year, which excludes self employed people (the vast majority of digital nomads). -
Big Thailand visa changes from June 1
El Matador replied to snoop1130's topic in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
That is wonderful news. Haven't seen something as good for visas in a long time. I didn't expect that digital nomad visa. I guess they saw Indonesia moving positively with their digital nomad visa and finally came to the conclusion remote workers were bringing money without stealing local jobs. Have to see the details but it sound promising with that 180 days period which is the exact limit for staying non tax resident. -
The Thai tax representative was expressing in English inside the video. The key takeaways were written in English in the video and I gave additional written explanations about the video in English so people could understand the problems brought by the Thai tax representative and the French counterpart. You are missing excellent information by not putting any kind effort to understand a mixed language video. For once, you had a proper explanation of the Thai revenue administration. People will look for those explanations outside of the forum then.
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Is Vietnam going to be next retirement
El Matador replied to georgegeorgia's topic in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
You seem to forget Vietnam has a territorial conflict with China. This is why Vietnam is trying to have good relationships with Western countries and most countries in general. There is a big cultural gap between the North and the South too so they will keep the national peace at all costs and Hanoi is trying to not peace off too much the South. They have strange things like 2 different immigrations working on their own despite having national rule. And Vietnam really doesn't have the means to control its population like China. You can access American social medias easily. Sure it is communist, bureaucratic and corrupted but I wouldn't put it on the same level as China in terms of population control. And it is crazy to think how welcome American people are nowadays despite History. The biggest threat to Vietnam at the moment is China. Even hardcore Vietnamese officials know it. And the fact many Western investments are moving from China to Vietnam will balance things in the near future as Vietnam economy will catch up and won't be too dependent on China. And unless you do something extremely stupid I don't see any foreigner going to jail in the near future. -
Is Vietnam going to be next retirement
El Matador replied to georgegeorgia's topic in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
Coming to Da Nang from Saigon, I found Da Nang very quiet in comparison, but I see your point. The noise tolerance level in Vietnam is the highest in the world. They make loud karaokes in the streets. No problem at all. And they will celebrate the qualification of the U23 team to the semi finals like if they won the World Cup. 🙂 -
Is Vietnam going to be next retirement
El Matador replied to georgegeorgia's topic in ASEAN NOW Community Pub
Well there is no retirement visa and the possibility to get unlimited tourism ou business visa is gone. Before Covid you could stay as long as you want without leaving if you paid an agent to extend. They are discussing new possible visas as they didn't recover tourism to precovid levels. I expect the visa situation to improve in the near future. Da Nang is damn cheap for accomodation and food. There is an airport to visit other cities or countries which is nice. The beach is nice and it is one of the cleanest cities in Vietnam. Better than Saigon in that regard. And people are friendly. I wouldn't compare it to Pattaya. People go to Pattaya for ladies bars. Da Nang is a place to have a proper girlfriend. And you only have 2 main streets with activities. The beach one and the one in front of the river. Apart from these 2, there isn't much, although you can still go to Hoi An. The weather can change quite a lot too in this part of Vietnam. Regarding corruption, it is high in Vietnam. As long as you don't treat with the Vietanmese administration you'lll be fine but they can be a pain in the ass to deal with. This is why you often prefer paying agents who have "connections". -
The economic downturn in the UK is one of the worst in developped countries so it makes sense far holidays tend to decline. A bit suprised Thailand decided to advantage Russia over the rest of Europe for visa exemption. It doesn't give a good image of the country. And seeing Phuket as a Russian colony is not very attractive in the current context. Maybe we haven't seen better visa exemption because they try to negociate some access to European countries for Thai people. Hope they get it, I would be happy to see more Thai tourists in Europe and better visa exemptions.
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Political unrest fuels growth in Thailand Privilege Card membership
El Matador replied to webfact's topic in Thailand News
I am curious about the new numbers with the new "Thailand Privilege" card. I don't see how they can make more money in 2024 despite the price increase. Many people rushed last summer to secure the old prices. And 2024 is bringing tax problems to Thai Elite members staying in Thailand most of the year. -
Ho that would be great news. The embassy in Paris was notoriously slow to process those evisas. I lost my fee and finally went directly with the visa exemption. Maybe I'll check it again then. EDIT : they still say 3-4 weeks of wait on the Embassy website - I won't risk it. That being said, I also noticed the requirements and papers for the METV were much easier ; pretty much the same as for the SETV.
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I was very close to put 1 million bahts in a Thai Elite visa last year. Glad I am avoiding the big tax headache. Still watching the mess from far away with easy tourist extensions in Philippines. Thailand is a good country to stay for less than 180 days at the moment ; much easier for visa and taxes if you just stay pure tourist. The rainy season is quite expensive now. Their timing was perfect : they annunced that tax change just after selling Thai Elite visas like hot cakes before doubling or tripling the price. Probably there won't be any crystal clear answer before at least 2025. So this thread will live for a long time with partial answers.
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Well you are basically betting the Thai government will do something intelligent. It may happen but I never bet on politicians doing something which won't be annoying and bureaucratic. If the country was managed with a clear pro business mind, Thailand would be above China in terms of GDP per capita. So I always keep my expectations very low with them.
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Thanks for the clarification. The sentence was very confusing. Well I did a bit of simulation. (Without taking into account double tax treaties) Transfering 1 million bahts every year would cost 8,3% in Thai taxes. I think it is the most simple strategy to minimize taxes (before going into he 25+ % tax income bracket) without going into difficult accounting. That being said transfering a big amount of money into Thailand before becoming tax resident is probably the best strategy for those who plan to leave long term in Thailand, especially if you wanna buy a condo. Buying a condo when you are tax resident really sucks now.
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War a real threat and Europe not ready, warns Poland's Tusk
El Matador replied to Social Media's topic in The War in Ukraine
I get the impression many Europeans are ready to sacrifice a substantial part of Ukraine and allow the decline of the democratic world to stay in their comfort zone. Well even if we submit to Putin's revendications, there will be a massive Russian defense budget in the coming years so Europe will have to match it by paying much more for its defense. People don't seem to realize we are entering in a new forced Cold War whether we like it or not, and a Russian victory will only accelerate the process. Putin also considers the Baltic nations belong to the Russian Empire and shouldn't exist like Ukraine. So what are the European plans to protect the Baltics in case of a Trump election ? Without having to send men, there could be an intermediate way to send many more weapons with some political will and some dedicated European military industry boost. The current production of shells in Europe is actually pathetic. Europe has wasted too much time in that aspect and is counting too much on its unstable partnership with the USA. -
Maybe the 90 days visa waiver will come into life at some point and it would make things much easier as you could do 2 in a year and call it a day. Otherwise the METV is good and you do a bit of holidays in Vietnam, Malaysia or Bali to avoid questions. I honestly hate those 30 days extensions inside Thailand as they can waste you a day so I would plan 2 small vacations and use 3x60days on the METV for easiness. It is the clear the 180+ days are creating tons of insecurities in terms of immigration, bureaucracy, and taxes. So it is a good idea to save the headache related to it.
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If anything goes wrong in China there could a massive bubble in the condo market as Thailand would be a great plan B. It is honestly way cheaper than mainland China at the moment. Prepare to see more and more streets where everything is written in Chinese and Russian in the next few years. I saw that a bit in Nha Trang and Phuket. But they are doubling down hard to expand it quickly with the new government.
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Thailand and Russia Strengthen Industrial Cooperation
El Matador replied to snoop1130's topic in Thailand News
Disappointed by the direction Thailand is heading. The zealous politic towards Russia and China + extra taxes this year make it quite unattractive. They could be smart and enjoy the benefit of being quite neutral between the West and China/Russia like India or Vietnam do. They choose the road of corruption and easy fast cash instead. Russia is a dead horse in the long run. Wait till around 2030 and Phuket will be run by Russians behind the curtains. -
PM Srettha urges ASEAN to hike minimum wages
El Matador replied to snoop1130's topic in Thailand News
Basically he's saying "Don't compete more with us because my politics are anti business friendly and a failure". The guy is delusional. Thailand should attract businesses moving out of China but Vietnam is currently the biggest winner by far. Thailand manages to be less attractive than a communist country for foreign businesses. It says quite a lot. -
Haven't checked those threads in weeks. Seems Thailand is lots of headaches now. Tax reform, passport check at airports (although not a big deal), ban of cannabis, massive opening for China, India and Russia but still nothing better for European visa exemptions. This new government put good effort to make its country unattractive. Malaysia and Philippines are the best for a base in South East Asia for visa and taxes. Visiting Thailand with a METV during the dry season seems the least bureaucratic and painful option those days by far.
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Why are fewer Chinese tourists visiting Thailand?
El Matador replied to webfact's topic in Thailand News
I think we don't have a clear economic picture of China at the moment. Statistics about youth unemployment are now forbidden. It showed it exploded before it got forbidden. All those factories moving to India or Vietnam must have an important impact. The possibility of a potential war in Taiwan is something businesses have to get in mind before investing. I am very doubtful China still has a 5% economic growth rate. They must be near the recession line IMO.