Red Phoenix

Probably because I paid cash on arrival to the delivery guy, and only after he left and I opened the package it turned out to be not the SIM that was advertised that they had sent me. I complained and SIM was collected again next day, and I now have a 'credit' of 1.500,- THB on Lazada.

Although I am living in a small rural village in the sticks in SiSaKet province (South Isaan) I do get most of the time +25 Mbps download speed from my 1-year 30 Mbps dTac SIM. But indeed, depending on your location the speed you will get will vary,

Two years ago I could still order a 1-year 30 Mbps unlimited download dTac SIM from Lazada or Shopee for approx 1.500,- THB. But 1 year ago they were not available anymore at Lazada or Shopee. I was lucky to probably get one of the last ones at Mobile2You, but the price was approx 2.800,- THB. Still a very good deal for a full year unlimited download at 30 Mbps speed, and that last one also had free telephone-calls (which was not featured on these SIMs I bought in previous years). My current one will expire mid April 2025, and I hope that by then there will be some new deals/formulas available, otherwise I will have to settle for the 15 Mbps Unlimited download one. Note that you are correct about 'the too good to be true' deals on Lazada/Shopee from Non-Thai sellers that still offer 1-year 30 Mbps Unlimited download SIMs for approx 1.500,- THB. These are scams. I ordered one via Lazada and received a 15 Mbps capped download SIM. So I sent it back and have now a Lazada voucher for the money that I had paid for that fraud.

Here the link to the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule > https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-age.html#table-1 From birth till 15 months of ago, these lunatics recommend 29 jabs! That's one shot every 2 weeks during the first 15 months of new life. And they wonder why 'vaccine hesitancy' is on the rise...

The CDC’s 2024-2025 vaccine immunization schedule advises three doses of Pfizer’s Covid shot for children ages 6-months through 4-years old. The CDC’s vaccine schedule suggests previously unvaccinated children in the 6-month through 4-year-old age bracket should receive an initial dose, followed by another “at least 3–8 weeks after Dose 1,” and a third “at least 8 weeks after Dose 2.” The CDC added: “An 8-week interval between the first and second doses of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine might be optimal for some people, as it might reduce the rare risk of myocarditis and pericarditis associated with COVID-19 vaccines.” The CDC recommends “one or more doses” of the 2024-2025 Covid injection for all school-age children. Most US states align their school vaccination requirements with the CDC’s schedule.

> If indeed the money being paid out on your demise from a life insurance polis is not considered part of the estate, then that would probably be in your situation (still legally married and with 2 children, one of which you are not sure that will honor an agreement to transfer part of their heritance to your girlfriend) the best option to leave your girlfriend not in the cold after your demise. But do check thoroughly whether that is indeed the case and that there are no 'snakes in the grass' in the heritance rules/regulations of your home-country as well as in the polis to which you would subscribe. > Another option might be that you buy gold or stocks (but you would need the actual documents, and not have them kept at a broker or bank). The advantage of that option would be that the value of gold and well-chosen stocks would rise over time, while a life insurance policy would normally pay out less than what you paid for it during your remaining years. > You could also consider buying Bitcoin and/or another crypto-currency, and - IMPORTANT - keep access to it on a stand-alone physical wallet that you have in your possession (so no shady trader running of with your coins). The advantage of that being that the person who has the codes to access it, is considered the actual owner (it's like handing over untraceable bank-notes to a person of your choice). You need to share the codes with your girlfriend, otherwise on your demise nobody will be able to get hold of the virtual coins. Obviously there is also a risk due to the volatility of crypto-currency but it can go BOTH ways as many Bitcoin-owners made a fortune due to its exchange rate exploding. > Finally and another attractive option that would normally preserve its value (or rise) would be that you buy land or a house in Thailand on your girlfriend's name. A combination of some of these methods might be the way to go in your situation to ensure your girlfriend will not be left in the cold when you pass the temporary for the eternal...

Yes that's correct. Note that you elsewhere in the thread that you are still legally married but are not staying with your wife but with your Thai girlfirend in Thailand. In my home-country (Belgium) if you decease, your wife will be entitled to receive your pension as she has then become your widow. However, in Belgium you need to be legally married at least 1 fully year before your wife can claim your pension as widow. But every country has different rules on this matter. and the rules of the country from which you get that pension will prevail.

Hi @gejohesch, for sake of clarity > You can write in your will that you want your entire heritance going to the noodle-shop lady, and that intent will be honored but it will relate only to the part of your inheritance that remains after the legal inheritors have received their part (and it will be minus the inheritance tax that will apply for non-blood related beneficiaries. It is not necessary to know the exact settlement, as the principle is that the INTENT of the deceased will be executed but AFTER the legal inheritors have received their by-law foreseen minimum part.

Hi @gejohesch > You did not mention your nationality in your OP, but your nationality will have large consequences for any inheritance related actions you take. I am in a comparable situation like yourself in the sense that I am not married with my lovely Thai girlfriend that I am now more than 10 years already living with, and obviously when not being legally married with her she is not entitled to anything from my inheritance when I demise. Of course I could make a will and simply state what I want her to receive after my demise. But I have deliberately chosen not to make a will, and as a result my whole inheritance will go in equal parts to my 3 children (I am divorced, so my ex-wife will receive nothing). And the reason I did not make a will is that in Belgium - and in most European countries - the recipients of your inheritance will be taxed on the part they receive. And that inheritance tax becomes progressively heavier the further the recipient is away in blood-family ties. So that means in my case that my 3 children will pay the lowest inheritance tax on their part (something like 5 to 10%), but my Thai girlfriend when I put her in my will will have to pay 30% or more on what I donate to her. As I fully trust my 3 children, I explained the situation to them and told them that I wanted each of them to give 25% of the part they receive from my inheritance (after taxation) to my Thai girlfriend. So when that is done, my inheritance will actually come in the hands of 4 persons (my 3 children and my Thai girlfriend), but my Thai girlfriend will not be confronted with the high taxation but instead 'piggyback' on the low taxation that my children have to pay on my inheritance. >> So if the same applies to you, and you can trust the legal inheritants of your inheritants to act according to your wishes, you could consider a similar approach.

For sake of record > I am not familiar with the inheritance laws/regulations in Thailand, but am well acquainted with how this works in Europe. And - in case the rules/regulations would be largely similar- there are two considerations that need to be made. #1 - When you have children, they are entitled to their legal part of your inheritance. And in most European countries your children cannot be disinherited. So when you write in your will 'that everything you own should go to your girlfriend', that will be executed but only for that part of your inheritance after the legal parts that your family members will automatically be entitled to, has been executed. #2 - There is also the matter of inheritance taxation, and that tax is progressive the farther you are away from blood relatives, practically that means that your children will pay the lowest tax tarif on their part of the inheritance, but your girlfriend (with which you are not married, and she has no family blood-ties with you) will be taxed highest on the part of the inheritance she will receive. #3 - To escape that inheritance taxation and possible claims by relatives on parts of your heritage, you can provide already all or parts of the future inheritance to your girlfriend while you are still alive. However, such gifts would have to be received by her, at least 1 year before your demise, otherwise she will have to give them back when the inheritance is to be executed. And as mentioned higher then first your children will get their legal part of the full inheritance (including the gifts you made less than 1 year to your girlfriend), and the whole of the inheritance will be taxed (so even if your girlfriend gets her gifts back, they will first be inheritance taxed). Once again, I am not familiar with Thai inheritance laws/regulations, so it is well possible that none of this will be applicable to you. But as you are a US citizen, it will be the US inheritance laws/regulations that will be applicable for you (and I presume that your Thai lawyer was well aware of this and informed you about possible caveats/misunderstandings re making your will and wanting your girlfriend to get the full inheritance).

The self-certification form sent by Kasikorn that you need to fill in, allows to state that you do not have a Thai TIN when you provide a valid reason. An accepted and valid reason is that you can state that your income is already taxed in your home-country, and that you would therefore be exempted from paying taxes on it in Thailand. Also note that the 'certified' passport-copy you need to provide is simply bad english-thai speak and it simply means that the copy of your passport ID-page needs to carry your signature. > It's a Big NothingBurger as several members that went to their Kasikorn branche have already found out. We should issue a complaint that we as their 'valued customers' did receive such a confusing and alarming e-mail, that didn't even mention that you can settle the whole thing at your local KK branche and that you only need to bring your Passport and your Tax ID-number from your home-country.

Thanks for your 'on the ground' experience sharing. From what you wrote, for +90% of foreign bank-customers that received that confusing and alarming e-mail, it is is just a Big Nothing-Burger. Why Kasikorn bothers and scares its foreign customers when they only want your 'name/nationality/passport number/place of birth' and only need your TIN number when you work here, is beyond comprehension. They could have prepared the papers to be signed, and simply asked their foreign customers to hop in before 20 December. Or would this once again be a case of each Bank -branche having different requirements?

I apologize for providing incorrect information and you are right, the W9-Form that Kasikorn sent out is a US IRS document.

I think the Thai IRS would be alerted that a foreign Thai bank-account holder did not apply for a Thai TIN. Unfortunately it's not up to use to decide whether a Thai TIN is needed for our tax-situation, otherwise everybody would say 'not needed' and leave it at that.

Interesting suggestion. Kasikorn might just leave it at that, but it might 'wake up sleeping dogs' at the Thai or Belgian tax-authorities so I am not inclined to try that out...

The W9 Form that Kasikorn added to the e-mail is the US Internal Revenue Service document. It is in PDF-format, and that format is not accepted to be added as attachment to this post. Send me a PM with your e-mail address and I will send it to you (but obviously only needed when you are a US citizen or are US tax-eligible).

The forms to be filled in require providing both my Belgian tax number and a Thai Internal Revenue TIN-number. Obviously Kasikorn has no interest in how much time I spend in Thailand. Kasikorn just needs to be in compliance with CRS banking rules. It are only the Belgian authorities that might be interested in how much time I spent in Thailand yearly, because Belgian (and most other countries) regulations, stipulate that when you are residing in a foreign country +180 days a year, that you need to make your foreign address your official residence.

It's just bad Thai-English speak as 'certified' means that the copy of your Passport ID-page needs to contain also your signature...

I am a Belgian citizen and my official residence is still in Belgium although I am actually living here on my Non Imm O Visa extension. Unfortunately, I have only one Thai bank-account and I need that Kasikorn account to comply with the financial requirements for my annual Non Imm O 1-year extension (+800K). Opening another Thai bank-account in the vain hope that they will not ask these CRS-imposed bank requirements would be a pain, as all Thai banks will eventually go along with these requirements. From what I read thus far, two things have been clarified already: 1 - The e-mail specified a 'certified copy of your passport', but turns out that this is just bad Thai-English speak as they only want a copy of your passport ID-page with your signature. 2 - Kasikorn provided a (helpful) TIN request form, so you do not need to go in person to the Thai Revenue service to get hold of it (many people that did this, where even turned away at some offices as 'it was not necessary for them'). Obviously you DO need the Thai TIN-number to meet the bank requirements, as non-compliance may and probably will result in your bank-account being closed down. As you have only till 20 December to comply with their 'request' I will already apply on-line for the TIN-number. The Thai IRS will provide the information that I have a Thai bank-account to the Belgian tax-authorities (the main reason for this whole CRS set-up to avoid tax evasion). As the money on my Thai bank-account did come from my Belgian account and has been taxed already, it should not result in any additional taxes being raised as I am under the tresshold-limits that would make me eligible to pay Thai taxes (the Belgian taxes being higher and already levied). True, the Belgian tax-authorities may tax me on the interest of my 800K on my Kasikorn bank-account, if the Thai tax I paid o that is lower than what Belgian authorities would apply, but the amount of administrative hassle for getting hold of a very small amount would make it not worth pursuing for them (but you never know in bureaucracies). A possible negative consequence of this whole operation for me could be that Belgian authorities would now have some 'reasonable suspicion' that I am not living in my home-country where I still have my residence. Of course I could say that I travel a lot and am not in any foreign country +180 days a year, but when they request me to provide a copy of my passport pages, that would of course be conclusive proof that I am more than 180 days a year in Thailand, and that I should thus be written out of my Belgian residence and fall under the Belgian embassy in Bangkok. But there is very little incentive for them to do this, so I hope that it will never come to that. In short > somewhat of a headache, but as it looks now, it's a relative small effort to comply with Kasikorn's request and not doing so - resulting in the closure of my Thai bank-account with them - would be a far bigger problem. And note that the logical next step in this saga would be that the Thai Imm Offices would require your Thai Internal revenue TIN-number when applying for a Non Imm O Visa or the extension of it...

Dr. Naomi Wolf: "What Pfizer Had Internally Documented is the Greatest Crime Against Humanity in Recorded History.” ""What the centerpiece of the Pfizer papers is has to do with reproduction, human reproduction. And it has to do with destroying human reproduction..." Source: https://lionessofjudah.substack.com/p/dr-naomi-wolf-what-pfizer-had-internally = = = Naomi Wolf about Pfizer's Crimes Against Human Reproduction: "What Pfizer had internally documented is the greatest crime against humanity in recorded history. You would think that the Pfizer papers, internal papers would be centered on breathing and respiratory conditions because COVID is a respiratory disease in many ways. But there's very little about that. It's not what they were looking at." "What the centrepiece of the Pfizer papers is has to do with reproduction, human reproduction. And it has to do with destroying human reproduction. There's a chart that has like 15,000 women bleeding every day, 10,000 women two periods a month, 7,500 women no periods at all, meaning no children, not fertile. This many women hemorrhaging, this many women passing tissue, 10 year old girls bleeding upon being injected, 85 year old women bleeding upon being injected." "There's a section of the Pfizer documents that has, concludes that 62% of the adverse events are in women. And that of those, and this is Pfizer's conclusion, 16% are quote, reproductive disorders, end quote, compared to 0.2% for men. They told women not to get pregnant in the trials, but some did anyway. 270 women got pregnant. Pfizer lost the records of 234 of those women illegally. The 36 women whose records survived, over 80% of them lost their babies." "They also have a chart in there that shows babies getting very sick from nursing vaccinated mothers. Pfizer knew that the lipid nanoparticles traverse every membrane in the human body, so they traverse the placenta. Independent midwives and Dr. James Thorpe have all independently shown me, and as a journalist, I stress independently because when multiple people show you the same thing, it's confirmation." Read full article here: https://lionessofjudah.substack.com/p/dr-naomi-wolf-what-pfizer-had-internally

Two or three packages of Walkers Salt & Vinegar crips, gulped down with a lukewarm pint of Shandy...

The HART group Who are we? HART is a group of highly qualified UK doctors, scientists, economists, psychologists and other academic experts. We came together over shared concerns about policy and guidance recommendations relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to be concerned about the lack of open scientific debate in mainstream media and the worrying trend of censorship and harassment of those who question the narrative. Science without question is dogma. Specifically, we identify a need for public policy to reflect a broader and more balanced approach across a number of key areas, such as: Impact of masks and mandatory lockdowns on wider society; Assessment of the long-term impact of school and university closures; Re-evaluation of the evidence on transmission and the role of asymptomatic spread; Re-evaluation of diagnostic testing, track and trace and associated data analysis; The psychological impact of the government’s COVID-19 advertising campaigns (in particular the ‘sick until proven healthy’ directives); An urgent evaluation of the evidence base for safe and effective (non-vaccine) medicines to treat and prevent illness from SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, and more research where considered necessary. Source: https://www.hartgroup.org/

Anyone tired of hearing "the vaccines saved 20 million lives" fairy-tale? Quote > "UK's Imperial College has produced a new fantasy number to test people’s gullibility. This time they are claiming that 19.8 million lives have been saved by vaccination. Imperial College now have a global reputation for making provable wrong claims based on modelling and they appear to want to bolster that reputation. Previous harm caused by Imperial include Neil Ferguson’s models in 2001 that led to the culling of 6 million cattle and sheep allegedly to prevent spread of foot and mouth disease which cost the UK economy £10bn. Subsequent predictions have included 50,000-150,000 deaths in humans in 2002 due to CJD because of the BSE outbreak (there were 177 deaths), 200 million deaths from bird flu in 2005 worldwide (there were 78); 65,000 deaths from Swine flu in UK in 2009 (there were 457)." Source: https://www.hartgroup.org/imperial-fantasy-of-20-million-lives-saved

Yep, the shots really prevent you from catching covid...