Mike Lister

Some of you guys seem to think the native population comprises 50 really rich people and 79 million poor people, it's far too funny for words sometimes. Anecdotally: My physiotherapist just returned from her second holiday in Korea; a Thai neighbour retired, takes his family to Japan skiing every year; my doctor just earned 50k Baht for performing 4 hours of surgery on me month ago, she does this 300 times a year; an old friend in Phuket bought a new merc this year, she runs her own construction company; another female friend is a hotel manager, she took her family to London in the summer; another friend runs a coffee shop/restaurant, she and her husband holiday overseas every year.....these just off the top of my head, none are rich, they are all middle class Thai's, there are millions of them.

It's worth a shot, that's for sure. Moving a way from reliance on overseas tourists is a very very good thing. People will always find money to do the tihngs they want to do and most find a way to take a holiday somewhere, no matter how short or near.

You can ONLY be Thai tax resident by spending a minimum of 180 days in Thailand, in the tax year.

Read the thread, you are highly unlikely to have to pay tax at all on your pension.

Please post a source for your graphs, a link please. The reason that exports are not expressed primarily as a percentage of GDP is because GDP can fluctuate which gives a misleading figure, as in the case of Consumer Loans as a percentage of GDP. They can of course be expressed that way but it is not a good representation, a USD figure is more representative..

The number of inbound tourists has been counted the same way for ever, if they are wrong currently, they were always wrong by a proportionate amount! Exports are not expressed as a percentage of GDP, they are expressed as an actual amount or a year on year increase. Currently exports are up on the year, the fourth highest they have EVER been! https://tradingeconomics.com/thailand/exports

And, compensation in the gold mining case is way under USD 1 bill., GDP of Thailand is USD 520 bill!, it's nothing. https://hardstories.org/news/thailands-largest-gold-mine-reopens-as-thousands-seek-justice-in-class-action

No you didn't! https://www.giejournal.org/article/S0016-5107(06)00753-X/fulltext#:~:text=Introduction%3A Sometimes colonoscopy is hindered,from types of looping formation.

Rubbish, do your homework. https://app.bot.or.th/BTWS_STAT/statistics/BOTWEBSTAT.aspx?reportID=853&language=eng

I knew there was a reason you were on my ignore list, I just couldn't recall what it was.

What visa do you have that you think you are able to renew? And on what basis is the visa issued?

I'm sorry itsari but that's still not relevant to what's being discussed. The Thai pension or Social security system has been like that for a long time, similarly, wages for workers have been similar for ages. Those two things are not a sign of a good economy, they are a sign of a good government. If the economy was in the pits or if it was doing wonderful things and booming, those items would be exactly the same.

The first requirement is to have a wife, the second is to have 400k in the bank, 2 months prior and 3 following your extension date. I do not know is there is a monthly option, others will tell you. No, health insurance is not mandatory. Expect a visit from Immi on your first extension, they want to see that everything is real! 4 photographs (varies by location), one of you and wifey at the front, one at the front gate showing the house number and two inside the house, new pictures every year. Complete a slew of forms, duplicate required, sign every page of both and develop RSI. Passport gets stamped for month month, noting that your application is pending approval. Visit Immi on the date of your rewal and get stamped for a further 11 months.

Here you go, Thailand Tax Clearance Certificate. https://www.rd.go.th/english/23518.html

Yes, as I recall there is already a law that covers this point but it is not enforced currently.

You're asking me what action Immi might take in a hypothetical scenario in the future, that's difficult to answer! Potentially the answer must be yes. Years ago the US had a similar system for green card holders, I couldn't leave the country unless the US Revenue had cleared me to do so, the airlines simply won't check you in.

NOBODY renews their visa here, you can't do that. All EVERYONE can do is extend their stay for a specific purpose. I have a one year extension of stay, based on marriage. Every year I extend my stay in Thailand for one year for reason of marriage. I don't know what other do but it will certainly be a variant of that. A visa is a physical piece of paper that is fastened into your passport, an extension of stay is a series of stamps. The starting point is whatever reason you gave for acquiring the visa in the first place, if you you want to extend your stay for a different reason, you have to go through a process to change that reason.

I don't know how else to explain it to you! When you reach the expiration date of your visa and you want to remain in Thailand, you can't renew your visa, you can either leave, buy a new one and then return, or, you can extend your stay in country based on the reason you stated when you acquired your initial visa. Once that visa expiration date is reached and you have acquired an extension of stay, you no longer have a visa. A visa is nothing more than permission to enter the country for a defined period of time, an extention of stay is permission to remain, after the expiration of that visa. Are you getting there yet?.

Time. Every visa is valid for a defined period, one month three months or one year. When it expires you have two choices, get another visa or extend your stay on whatever basis you specified when you acquired your visa. If you no longer believe the initial basis is appropriate, change it to a new reason for stay.

But the metrics are exactly the same, flights opened, 2.5%, flights closed for 9 months, still 2.5%. OK, I accept you argument that the cumulative effect of lots of 2.5% ers from different countries, do add up. As much as anything I'm playing devils advocate on this in order to reinforce the fact that Western expats, in particular Brits, are not the salvation of the Thai tourist industry, which many posters seem to think they are. The reality is that Asian expats are the Thai's target market, they are the bread and butter of the industry whilst a smattering of westerners provide greater profit per capita but will never be in the majority, or even close to it.

There is a big difference between a visa and an extension of stay. I initially acquired an OA visa but that expired after two years, for the past twenty years I have lived here on an extension of stay, I no longer have a visa for Thailand. Initially, the basis of my stay in Thailand was for retirement, a few years ago I changed that to marriage. If a requirement is introduced tomorrow to require all holders of OA visa's and all visa holders here by reason of retirement, to obtain health insurance, I remain unaffected. I'm pretty certain the system is designed to capture new visa holders, those coming through the gate today rather than people who have been here for a while, it's a type of grandfathering system, which is exactly what they have done with visa fees in the past. That said, everyone should have health insurance. I used to until my Thai insurer was bought by another company who refused to renew my policy because they were exiting the single consumer market. Fortunately I have funds, I've just this moment paid my credit card bill, 171k for an operation in the university hospital, an amount that is very similar to what my insurance premium would have been, had the policy not been cancelled.

How are you going to use an agent to avoid Immi checks when you leave the country?

No, but conceivably, Immi will easily see from your passport when you leave the country, how many days you've been in Thailand and then ask if you've filed a tax return or similar.

My question was not about the pay scales of workers in Thailand, my question was about the Thai economy.

The SET is in the doldrums because foreign buyers have switched to US markets where the S&P is now at a record high following the Fed's announcement to cut rates three times in 2024. Tourism is on track for 28 million, that's not bad news by any measure. Exports appear to have averaged around USD 24 bill a month since May, that's pretty good. Foreign Currency Reserves are back up to USD 219 bill, that's over 9 months of trading when only 3 are required. Government borrowings remain at 55% of GDP, the same level it was at 25 years ago. Please tell me why and how the Thai economy is down.