Troonew

After two visits to my local SS Office, I received the following legal opinion to get answers to this very same question about Section 39. “The officer we spoke to said there was basically a policy that the foreigner had to prove that they were domiciled in Thailand in order to register under Section 39 or 40. The idea being basically that they want some proof that you intend to reside here. That's why they asked for things like a marriage certificate or title deed or entry in a yellow book. “ A few pointers were provided, which may or may not work, in absence of other documentation. 1. Show them a copy of the purchase sale agreement for your condo. 2. Make a sworn affidavit at the US Embassy confirming that your domicile is here in Thailand and that you intend to reside here indefinitely. 3. Show them a copy of your lease agreement for your current residence. 4. Bring your wife or partner with you and/or have her also make a sworn statement that you have been together for X years and that you intend to reside together in Thailand indefinitely. 5. Have a long-term visa or permission to stay long-term. The SS officers that I dealt with were very courteous and polite during both of my visits. (I had a translator before I got this opinion, but went alone afterwards.) An infographic on SS regulation, in English, is attached. Hope this helps. Social Security infographic.pdf

I was told it was 72 hours before LEAVING your respective national air space. So, in the US, for example, it takes longer to leave US air space from Chicago, both EB and WB, than it would from NYC or BOS from the East or SF or SEA from the West.

The Lawyer from Busan To follow up on the question about retirees’ eligibility to apply to the Thai National health insurance scheme under Section 39, I received many contradictory “opinions”. Therefore, I decided to get a legal opinion / finding. This legal finding will be shared with forum readers in due time. I had another experience with navigating labor law, this time in the Republic of Korea. The “Lawyer from Busan” helped me navigate my rights when I was working for Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) as a Training Development Specialist in the late 1980s in Ulsan, Korea. (I was a former Peace Corps Volunteer to Korea in the late 70s.) Labor law, retirement and severance, often depends on treaties between host country employers and foreign employees. Oftentimes, the law varies, depending on reciprocal treaty agreements between two countries. Here is an example. After working for Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI), Ulsan, ROK, the largest shipyard in the world, in the late 80s for three years, it was time to return Stateside due to family obligations – young kids. When I requested severance pay, they balked. Then, I found “The Lawyer from Busan”. He pointed out the reciprocal labor treaty between ROK and USA. It required that severance pay of “one month for every year of employment” be paid to the departing employee, be he/she Korean or US citizen, as long as he/she was not dismissed “for cause”, and regardless of whether he/she resigned or not. (Different than LOS.) I would have never have known about the obligations borne by the Korean employer (HHI), regarding severance pay, had I not hired “The Lawyer from Busan”. (Incidentally, in the late 80s, the labor strife at HHI was intense – labor riots. Today, HHI union workers are well paid, with good benefits, even better than some union shops in the United States. Korea has a strong middle class today. The United States used to have a strong middle class, the UK, the same, I understand.) The HR management at HHI was not aware of labor law regarding severance pay either. But they liked to say “NO” a lot, (Aniyo Aniyo, Aniyo - "no can do") anyway. Ultimately, the legal side at HHI agreed with “The Lawyer from Busan”. Then, I received severance pay for three months, according to Korean law and treaty obligations.

Thanks for the brilliant replies, especially to Blackcab, who sounds like he has first hand experience......I entered on visa exempt on the 16th, just in the nick of time. Blackcab is right; it is quite important for those of us who plan on returning every winter to buy into this insurance scheme because the insurance requirements are surely going to get more and more strict as we get more and more old............ That means I am going to have to "lawyer up".......And, I agree, the officials aren't intentionally being misleading, they probably don't know themselves. How can I find an honest law firm that has experience in dealing with this issue without charging an "arm and a leg"? Again, many thanks as I was about to give up. Happy holidays!

Social Security: My experience, last week, at SS office Having gained a lot of important information on this forum, but never having posted, here is my experience with applying for Social Security Benefits upon Retirement last week which I hope might give some insights for those soon-to-be-retirees. Last June, I returned to the US to get my Pfizer vaccines as I was in a vulnerable demographic. (Over 60% of the 800,000 human beings who have died due to COVID in the US, SO FAR, are over 65 years old.) Right around that time, all tertiary institutions in LOS mandated their “adjarn” teach from home. So, I did – from the American Heartland. Then, when my contract came up for renewal on August 1st, I was told I had to return to LOS and go to the Labor Department, IN PERSON, to renew my contract. They would not share the costs of quarantine. So, I retired. Since I am a boomer, that was NBD. After returning last week, a Thai friend and I made a visit to the SS office in PT. Here is what the SS said I needed for the “lump sum” application : 1) application form 2) Copy of passport, signed. 3) Copy of bank book signed and 4) Copy of “Social Security card”, signed. She, then, gave me a print out with the lump sum amount, on the spot. She said it would take approximately one month to be processed. The last document requested, though, is strange because the SS Office does not issue these cards anymore. Luckily, I had kept one from 2016 and they accepted it. But this begs the question: what happens if someone has not kept their social security card? What hoops would have to be jumped through in that case? For those who might be interested in my experience when applying for health benefits upon retirement, the SS call center told my friend in Thai that I needed to be on “a house register”, own property, AND have a long-term visa, no tourist visas allowed. By now, I didn’t qualify for either. However, when we visited the health insurance section of the SS office, in person, they said, “In order to qualify for national health insurance, upon retirement, you must be married.” – no mention of owning property or having a long-term visa. (Also, there is only a six-month window to apply as well.) In summary, the SS office in PT was very efficient and courteous but the matter of showing a social security card, when they are no longer issued, is “a head scratch-er”.