SamSpade

I changed my passport 18 months ago & no new Bank Books (Kept the same Bangkok Bank Blue Saving & Orange Fixed Deposit books).

It's very sad, GF's sister's place is still unliveable, it's going to be months before they can move back in, fortunately it's company provided accomodation so they have another place to stay but all their possessions are still there... How's the Hat Yai airport area? We're flying in tomorrow and plan on getting a taxi from the airport straight to Satun. Do you think this is doable?

Which Immigration Office do you use and do you do it yourself or use an Agent? I'm all for making my life easier and so use an Agent for convenience, the only time I've needed to get anything other than a 3 month statement was when I was using a normal Savings account and ended up with some consolidated entries so needed to get an additional statement to show the individual line items [This was in Bangkok, Agent picked up on it immediately and walked me to Bangkok Bank to get the statements I needed].

I'm assuming/hoping that's for guys who are using "Agent Assisted Financing". As mentioned I did my last extension in July at which time everything was up in the air with Bangkok Bank (People who didn't have the money in the Bank were going to Bangkok to do their extensions) and the only difference for me was when I got to the Branch there were no Maneerat Staff there guiding people through the process. Oh & the Branch was a hella lot quieter...

He mentions that he plans on using Maneerat for "Convenience" and in my experience I've only ever needed a 3 month statement when I was dealing with them... but I did my last extension in July so things may well have changed since then. I always go in a couple of days before and they've always given me the same piece of paper to take to the Branch... [Apologies for the splodges, that's Passport, 2 Photos and Bank Book] OP: Suggest you confirm with Maneerat what they need then pop to the Branch on Beach Road (Turn left at the top of Soi Post Office and it's a 5 minute walk), they know exactly what paperwork you'll need.

I keep the 800K in a Fixed Depost account but use Maneerat for convenience and have always used the BBL Branch on Beach Road (Just past Royal Gardens/Baywalk Residences) to get the 3 month statement on the day. It used to take >1 hour when it was customary to use BBL for "Agent Assisted Financing" but since things changed end of June time, it's usually a lot quieter in there. Edit: You'll also need the letter confirming your balance, if you've not had the 800K in the account for at least 4 months you'll probably need to sign a form to say that the 800K can be frozen for 4 months.

It could be the application is not available in Thailand in which case change your Google Play country, install the App and then change the country back... https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7431675?hl=en I can't swear to this working on Android but it works for me on IOS https://support.apple.com/en-us/118283 In the early days I got so tired of doing this that I ended up with 3 different Apple accounts, 1 in UK, 1 in US + my main account in Thailand so if I need an App from another Country/Region (very rare nowadays) I would just log out & log into the appropriate account. Do note that you won't be able to Update the App unless you go through the process again, hence how I ended up with the 3 different accounts to make things cleaner.

Agreed...

I've just tested this out with the GF and it's a little bit annoying as the person with the phone needs to push the left or right "Microphone" Icon for the person who's speaking, but the translation is pretty instant. EDIT: Done a little digging online and it seems that this is more like a Hands Free "Touch"/ "One-To-One" mode where each person wears one of the Earbuds. I'm guessing if I wanted to set it up so we both had our own earbuds, I would need to install the One-Click app on the GFs phone and connect the 2nd set to there. BTW the translation is more or less instant, am using it to 1/2 listen to a Thai (Technically Korean but language is set to Thai) Soap that the GF is watching...

As mentioned, my old Soundcore Liberty2 earbuds support translation & the soundcore app sort of has a "One-On-One" mode albeit they call it "Face-to-Face" where one person is using the phone and the other the earbuds... Have just checked on the "One-Click" translation app that my 3 cheap (<£30 each) Chinese ones use and it has 3 different modes:- Touch Mode: Two people each wear a headset. Click or double-click the headset to translate in real-time. Suitable for acquaintances who are willing to wear your headphones. This would be the same as "One-on-One" mode Speaker Mode: One person wears headphones, and one person holds a mobile phone. Suitable for strangers who find wearing headphones inconvenient. This would be the same as "Face-to-Face" mode on the Soundcore app. Free Talk Mode: Each person wears a headset to translate in real-time, freeing their hands and communicating freely. - This is where each person uses their own headsets. The One-Click app has Thai as one of it's supported Offline languages... Currently 150+ languages are supported. Offline translation supports 16 languages: Chinese(Simplified),English(United States),Japanese,Korean,French,German,Spanish,Russian,Chinese(Traditional),Thai,Arabic, Hindi, Vietnamese, Portuguese,Indonesian,Italian. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=link.zhidou.btranslator&hl=en Looking in the App, Offline Mode is a paid for service, 399 THB for a 2 year subscription, I don't know if there's an additional charge per language pack etc... Phone/Video Calls are also a premium service, 399THB for 60 minutes…

Looks like AI is referring to the pre-2024 rules, State Pensions received after 1/1/24 would be considered Assessable Income if remitted to Thailand.

Since May this year there has been talk of Thailand amending the ruling that came in on 1st January 2024 such that income remitted in the same year it was earned or the following year, would not be tax assessable. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3028760/thailand-to-amend-tax-on-foreign-income-remittance Unfortunately the Government collapsing put this on hold, hopefully it will get back on the table when the new Government is elected in February & fingers crossed we might see something Q2/Q3 2026.

I spoke with my pension provider about this & just needed to complete an "Expression of Wishes" form with them for my partner (Not married) to recieve 50% of my Final Salary pension (max they can recieve) on my death. I have other UK assets that I would want to go to her when I die so will do a Will and include the pension element but if all that I had in the UK was this pension then I wouldn't bother with the UK Will. FWIW I'm taking my Defined Contribution pensions in cash in Feb but have also completed an "Expression of Wishes" for her to recieve those if I die before then (Hopefully I'll live to see 60 🙂).

The new Government will be elected mid-end of Feb 26 so I wouldn't expect any changes to the Tax Laws to come in before May 26, could take a lot longer as the Government probably has higher priorities.

Thanks, I should add that the Deposit/"Booking Fee" is approx 600K (No refunds), the 10Million would be a downpayment on the remaining balance so whilst I might be able to get it back (by selling the Unit on) It would be an investment in Thailand... And you could probably say the same about any investment in that you could always sell it once you've got the Visa. I will reach out to BOI just wanted to ask on here to see if anybody has been through a similar scenario. Thanks again, have read several posts of yours on this thread & really appreciate your contributions, can't wait to join the LTR family🙂

Apologies if this has already been asked & answered (We're almost up to 5,000 posts on this thread) but if I were to buy a Condo (In my name) off-plan which completes in 3 years and agree to pay the developer 10Million THB upfront, would that count as the $250K investment (I would have receipts from the Developer) or would I need to wait until the Condo completes & I have the yellow house book in my name?

Looking at Once Wongamat, no doubts about the developer & by buying 4 years before completion date (Sept 2029) pretty sure it will be worth more than I pay for it before it's completed. Problem is waiting till Sept 2029 before we can move in so we're looking at buying an existing unit as an alternative.

Thanks Johnny, my preferred plan was to overpay in GBP via Swift, let their bank do the conversion & get a refund from the Developer/Estate Agent 🙂

I'm from the UK, looking to buy a Condo in my name and would appreciate any tips on how best to send the money over. Torn between an Off-Plan Unit or an existing Condo, in either case I would send the money directly to the Developer/Estate Agent (Both are well known brands so not concerned there) but I'm struggling to see how I would send the exact amount required without getting my UK Bank to do the currency conversion for which they charge an "Up To" 2.75% fee! Options seem to be:- Pay the Swift fee Send the Developer/Estate Agent an approximate (making sure it's over) amount to cover the Condo then get the remainder back from them. Open a GBP Foreign Currency account with my Thai Bank, send it to myself then pay them from there. Use a CHAPS payment (I think I need to physically go into my UK bank to do this). NB. Wise is not an option as they have a 2Million cap on transactions + no guarantee it will end up as a Foreign Transfer. To anybody who has bought a Condo in their own name, how did you send the money over?

Not sure I understand your question, but most pensioners get their extension using... 800/400K in the Bank Combination of money in the Bank + the State Pension Additional Income (Private Pensions, Rent, DIvidends etc...) on top of the State Pension "Agent Assisted" financing.

No, Property Tax cannot be reclaimed but I was advised to mention that I was looking to buy a Condo & so would need to pay Property Tax when applying for a TIN.

I had the same problem with Banglamung Tax Office (I live in Wongamat so use the Naklua Office for registration and Jomtien office for filing) in 2022 so I told them that I was buying a condo and needed a TIN for paying property tax + I needed to reclaim withheld tax on my savings and they relented.

It seems you cannot change your address to a Non-UK address so will need to close the old account and open a new one... https://help.revolut.com/help/profile-and-plan/profile-plan/profile-settings/how-do-i-change-my-country-of-residence/ BUT... Thailand is not one of their supported countries so you won't be able to open the new account... https://help.revolut.com/help/profile-and-plan/profile-plan/verifying-identity/what-countries-are-supported/

Just had my booking at Signature hotel cancelled due to “Natural Disaster”. a bit surprised as all of the rooms (and reception) are on L2 & above but not totally surprised given the pictures I’ve seen of GF’s sister’s house 5 min walk away (which is why we stay in this hotel). Oh well, looks like it’s a quick visit to Satun and then off to Ko Lipe for Xmas 😊

Apologies if this has been mentioned already... The Last Frontier Follows Frank Remnick, a U.S. Marshal in charge of the quiet and weathered barrens of Alaska, as he needs to deal with a prison transport plane crash full of violent inmates inside his jurisdiction. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26862142/