SamSpade

Was going to buy another Lenovo but have been really frustrated by the Keyboard on this one. For no reason the number keys [Except 5 and 6] stop working then after a while start working again if I move the mouse across the screen quickly or sometimes it takes a right press on the touchpad... There's enough people reporting problems on the Internet to suggest this isn't an isolated problem, but all the fixes that people suggest either don't work or work for a day or 2 then the problem comes back... So I ended up buying an Acer Swift Go 14 AI SFG14-01-X2XD from Banana IT Online... https://www.bnn.in.th/en/p/acer-notebook-swift-go-14-ai-sfg14-01-x2xd-gray-4711474176196_zomlmx Seems a decent spec for ฿16,990 and came with wireless mouse + roll-up mouse mat, carrying bag and a 1,000 THB Lotus gift card so can't complain.

Was visiting the UK in October and opened a Revolut account, told them that I was not Tax Resident in UK but was Tax Resident inThailand and was only temporary resident in the UK [Which was True, albeit only for a 3 week holiday], they accepted the UK address without verification and posted the Debit Card to me, the only verification they needed was a copy of my passport and a live face scan to match the passport to my face. After this, I advised my mate who was visiting UK in November to open an account with them before he got to the UK and have the Debit Card sent to his parent's house where he was visiting... No problems opening the account or recieving the card. If the OP wants a "Bricks and Mortar" Bank Account, most of the UK High Street Banks have offshore accounts [Though not all support Thai addresses, I know Lloyds does] plus Standard Bank seems to come highly recommended on the Expat sites.

Have seen a couple of Siam Legal videos that say you can open Bank Accounts with the Thailand Elite Visa... E.g. They even provide a TE Personal Assistant to accompany you to the Bank and handle the account opening for you.

I don't know about that, but I do remember having a conversation with him about my holiday in Tenerife, turns out he'd been to Elevenerife...

Walked to Moment Cafe to watch it from there tonight but preferred the view from my Condo so walked back after the first set to watch it there

Watched it from the Pool deck of my condo… No way I’m going to go when it’s that crowded.

He is right though it's £17.75 per week for the 2025-2026 Tax year.

Just tried it with my old SoundCore Liberty2 earpods and the translation feature does work. Also a fan of the Anker products.

I was always led to believe the “7 day extension” was basically a rejection of your extension request (you cannot apply for a 7 day extension) which gave you 7 days to get your stuff together & leave. Shouldn’t be any consequences for future entries/immigration business but why waste the money & passport space, if you don’t believe you’re eligible for an extension just leave at the end of your current permission to stay.

Have you ever been to Satun? I've got the pleasure of 2.5 weeks split between Hat Yai and Satun over Xmas, assuming the floods have died down by then. GF's Sister's house, which is 10 minutes walk from the hotel we're staying at, currently has flood waters upto the 2nd floor 😞 Fortunately I only booked 1 way flights (Plan is/was to go over to Langkawi, Penang & Mallaca after the New Year) so won't lose too much money if I cancel.

Probably a long shot, but do you own a condo here in your own name? Was in Bangkok Bank and overheard a guy who stays here part year on Tourist visas being told that if he could produce proof that he owns his own condo they wouldn’t close his account.

Wow that would cause carnage as there must be loads of Non-IMM O holders who use Bangkok Bank 😳

After seeing the new Apple AirPods doing live translation, I bought three sets of cheap Chinese ones to try out before pulling the trigger on buying the Apple ones and I've been very impressed with the speed with which they can do the translation so I'll just stick with them until I upgrade my IPhone [The translation feature on the Airpods requires Apple Intelligence which my IPhone doesn't support] All three sets use the same app on your phone

I'm on a Non-Imm O and was able to open a Fixed Deposit account wiht Bangkok Bank in Jomtien without a COR as I already had an account with them but needed a COR when opening a Kasikorn account in Central Festival, Pattaya.

Whoops, sorry I missed the "Per Month" part... In that case it's 2.4Million THB so a tax return should be filed & any tax paid in Thailand can be used as a Tax Credit against tax paid in the US. At that number, I would be using an Accountant to ensure that my return was filed correctly & that I claimed all of the allowances I'm entitled to (E.g. the 100K you can claim against Pension income).

If that’s 200,000 THB then you wouldn’t owe any tax, your minimum personal allowance is 60,000 which when added to the 150,000 Nil rate band gives you at least 210,000 before there’s any. Possibility of tax being due. (Unless I wanted to reclaim withheld tax from interest on my Thai bank accounts) I wouldn’t bother filing if that was the case, at the very worse you could be fined 2,000 for not completing a tax return but fact is you would be so far down their list of people to investigate for not filing a return (numbers I’ve heard is at least 1.2Million THB in remittances) that they’d never bother with you. If it’s 200,000 USD then you should file a Tax Return even if none of the monies is taxable in Thailand. If some of it was from a private pension then you should pay the tax in Thailand & claim it back on your US tax return.

Visa Exempt Tourist Visa DTV I know a lot of us opened our accounts on a Visa Exempt but that's not only no longer the case, but nowadays there's a risk that unless you've moved to a long term visa or have bought your own Condo and have the yellow book, your account could be closed down. Recent Siam Legal video covers the Visas that can open a Bank Account here...

My understanding is that this is a Jomtien immigration requirement so likely that other agencies in the area will have the same requirement. Could try Thai Visa Centre and get your extension done in Bangkok. BTW, it only takes 1 minute & you don’t speak to immigration, Mr Football takes your pic in front of the Retirement extension counter and then you’re on your way.

If I were to move back to Europe, I think Portugal would be my #1 choice. Though recreational usage of Cannabis isn't legal, possession of small amounts (up to ten days of personal use) has been decriminalized.

I thought you had to sign a form at the Land Office confirming that you have no financial interest in the monies used to buy the house. NB... This is from AI... The form you need to sign at the Thai Land Office is a declaration stating you have no financial interest or claim in the property being purchased by a Thai national (e.g., your spouse or partner). While it does not have a formal English name used universally, it is often referred to by foreign individuals as the: "Declaration of No Interest in Property" "Letter of Confirmation" (a general description of the document's purpose) "Spousal Consent Form" or similar, as it is a required document for a foreign spouse to consent to their Thai partner buying land/property in their sole name.

I've read that it's very difficult to get an NT Tax Code when living in Thailand because it is/was very easy to avoid paying tax on monies remited and so effectively pay no Tax anywhere. There's a similar thread running here... ... In which @alanrchase mentioned he got an NT Tax Code many years ago, but I don't know if he got this whilst living in Thailand or in another country before moving to Thailand. I do wonder,if you did manage to get an NT Tax Code would you be taxed in Thailand on all of your UK Income irrespective of whether you remitted it to Thailand? And if so, how this would work out if you had an LTR visa.

I think the OP is asking if anybody has managed to get an "NT" tax code which I believe is not possible living in Thailand as it is/was so easy to avoid paying tax here and so you wouldn't be paying tax anywhere. OP: Ignoring your personal allowances you will always pay tax on your UK Pensions, Rental Income & Bank Interest in the UK however you can offset this against any Thai taxes on the same income. Things you won't pay tax on are Capital Gains (Excluding Property), Dividends (Treated as Disregarded Income on your Tax Return), Interest on Government Bonds/Gilts (Non-UK Tax Residents do not pay tax on the Interest/Coupon paid). BTW: It sounds like you're planning to go down either the Drawdown or UFPLS route, which treat the Tax Free portion of your pension very differently, your pension company has probably recommended it already, but if not, I would recommend having a chat with PensionWise to discuss your plans (Had my call with them last Tuesday and it was very useful) - https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement/pension-wise

If I were ever to get depressed sitting in my 21sqm room I’d just go sit in another room in my condo, or go sit on the balcony & gaze out over Wongamat Beach or jump in a car & go to Koh Larn, Samet, Chang etc… As you seem to be somebody who by their own admission is on a limited budget, I’d respectfully suggest living in multiple counties might be outside of your resources, if I were in that position I’d concentrate on finding a nice room somewhere outside of the more expensive areas where I wouldn’t get depressed even if that meant moving up-country (I quite like Udon Thani). For tax reasons, I will be spending <180 days in Thailand next year, but it’s my 60th Birthday year so I’m probably going to spend a lot more money than I would if it were any other year… Looking at 1 month in Maldives. 3 months split across UK & Europe, 2 months in Bali… figure it’s going to cost at least £10K per month but you’re only 60 once so why not.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt13234384/

Same with me (albeit 800K for the retirement extension). Letter was issued with no mention of funds being frozen & this was at the same Branch where the week before my friend had to lock his 800K in for 4 months because he’d only had it in his account for 3.5 months.