BKKNono

On 9/26/2023 at 6:58 PM, Pib said:

Today I visited the BoI LTR section and also the BoI immigration who are across from each other on the 18th floor at Chamchuri Square.   I first went into the BoI LTR section to ask if the 1 year address report can be done online or via mail.  At this point I'm dealing with young reps who basically initially meet people visiting the BoI LTR section and do their best to provide answers.   After about a 10 minute discussion the result boiled down that the report must be done in person or by some one you designate (regardless of where you live in Thailand).  No online or mail.  OK this is inline with what BoI told me several months in some back and forth emails which I posted earlier in this thread.   Note: later in my story as I ask the question again to some different folks I get a different answer much more to my liking.  Read on.

 

So now I go across the hall to Immigration to get a Certificate of Residence (CR) since I buying a new car....this was my primary reason in going to BoI Immigration today.  Here's how it went: when I first walked into Immigration's doors I saw the place was packed....95% of the waiting/queue area filled with bodies, but at that same instant I noticed all the immigration officers counters were manned but no customers standing in front of any of the counters....I wondered if something was going on.  Anyway, the immigration rep that meets you at the entrance asked what I needed....I said I'm here for a CR and I have a LTR visa.  When the immigration rep heard me say I have an LTR visa, he said Oh (like it had a special meaning...or maybe I reading too much into it) and then he immediately lead me over to the immigration information counter where I told the officer at that counter what I needed and I asked how long to get one...the officer said one hour with a Bt500 fee.  The officer looked at the form I had completed (a form that Cheang Wattana supposedly uses) and said at BoI immigration they use a slightly different form....I filled out their form which is 95% identical to the CW form.  The officer then directs me over to counter 8 I think it was.   I walk directly to counter #8 and the officer checks my forms...the officer wants the form I had just competed, copies of key passport pages like the first page and page showing my visa, and my latest 1 year address report.  The officer then asked for Bt500 which I paid and then directed me over to counter #10 that is the counter that actually issues the CR.  Now this # 10 counter officer also wanted a copy of my latest TM30 which I had a copy of.   The officer then said the CR would be ready in 1 hour.  I come back in 50 minutes and it's indeed ready....CR in hand. During this whole process I was never issued a queue ticket....it was like I was being Fast Tracked or maybe I just got lucky.

 

I then asked the counter #10 rep the 1 year address reporting question to see what answer I might get...she just directed me back to the main information desk (but she went also) where I talked to an immigration officer who confirmed with another officer that "Yes, you can do the 1 year report by mail to them....use the address on the SMART visa website."  But no online capability at this time to do a 1 year address report.  That was good to hear.

 

OK, with the conflicting answers regarding the 1 year address from the BoI LTR side and the Immigration side I go back to BoI to ask the 1 year report again.  Initially talked to the young rep again and explained the conflicting answers.  He asked me to set down and he get a senior BoI LTR rep to come talk to me about it.  That rep arrived in a few minutes and said a person can do the 1 year report at their "local/nearby" immigration using the TM95 form (not the TM47) and immigration offices had been notified/asked to support...but he also kinda implied some immigration offices may not be up-to-speed on the issue and direct a LTR visa person back to BoI LTR immigration.  And as mentioned above BoI immigration also said the report can be done my "mail" like described on the SMART visa website.

 

And then I asked the rep about the recent tax news regarding Thailand now possibly taxing a person's home country income.  He said the BoI has talked to the Revenue Dept about this and basically those with LTR visa are exempt....probably best said just reposting below snapshot from K2938's post from a few days ago.

 

 

I'm now done...out of the building I go....got my CR and got some courtesy questions answered regarding the 1 year report and tax issues---of course subject to change.   I got good support today at the BoI LTR Section and across the hall at Immigration.  Cheers.

 

 

 

This year I "naively" submitted a P.D 91 for the overseas income remitted into Thailand. However the RD came back confirming as a LTR visa holder, overseas income is exempted from tax. Since the tax exemption for overseas income is written in the law (Royal Gazette Decree No 743), LTR visa holders are not concerned by the RD recent announcement...unless they amend the law.

I've got my LTR WFTP stamp this morning at BOI Chamchuri Square. Arrived at 9am and finished in less than an hour. Process was pretty much the same as described by @ThailandRyan, your BOI agent will give you the endorsement letter and escort you to the immigration office side with all your documents.

From there, you wait for the immigration officer to call you and will send you to another to counter pay the 50,000 THB fee by banking app QR code. A receipt is given by the cashier, you return to the waiting area and after few minutes the immigration officer calls you back with your passport stamped.

3 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

The program still shows I am pre-approved and I can not obtain the certificate from using the 3 dots to the far right.  I was told I would be given the certificate at my appointment as it is needed at some point in the process, not sure where but maybe when I head to the Immigration side to get the passport entry stamped for the time period of 1 year.  Like I said I will fill folks in later today.  I can't believe that I will be the first one doing this here at the BOI One Stop Center, and wonder how there processing went.  

Well I did this process on Sep 22nd and was told to go home... (Lesson learned from not calling them to confirm)

But if you have confirmed on the phone your appointment then it should be ok. I have confirmed mine for Tuesday and was told to just bring the TM94 / STM8 forms and 2 recent pictures + passport.

Here is my timeline (and it's not very encouraging...):

- Requested pre-screening review on Aug 16th

- Received pre-screening reply "acceptable documents,  go ahead with your application" on Aug 30th after asking for an update on the 29th.

- Applied on September 1st

- Received request on Sep 5th for passport picture and local Thai insurance certificate with the 50,000 USD coverage (I have local IPD  for 2M Baht)

- Received 1st approval on Sep 15th.

- Managed to book an appointment via the website for the 22nd (all forms were in Thai asking for current visa in Thailand)

- Received a second approval email on Sep 21st (Same forms in Thai to book the appointment, booked again for the 22nd and downloaded Appointment Confirmation and Endorsement Letter).

- Here comes the fun part: The Booking Appointment confirmation and Endorsement Letter were having the wrong dates. I still went to BOI on Sep 22nd...

- A BOI representative brought someone from their IT team to explain me they're having a system glitch and I shouldn't have been able to book the appointment yet. Then  I've been told they're not ready to affix the LTR visa yet and I should wait for an update 1 week later.

- Well it's been a long wait since then, no update, nothing, nada.

I understand it's a new visa, but designing a stable IT system should have been done ahead of the bells & whistles "Please apply we're ready!"