keemapoot

Yeah, they're still attractive from the no state income tax perspective, but unusable for nomads or expats with a post mail box service because they require 30 days residency per year in Nevada's case and I think also in Florida. So for foreign expats, having to deal with this is unattractive.

Yeah, possibly, though likely the Trump administration will try to bully Congress this term to get this done as he has them mostly afraid already. The SS trust fund has almost $3 trillion that Trump is salivating to get. He and Musk think that by busting social security so that it won't work at all, that the populace will support the privatization effort for efficiency reasons, in the process robbing this trust fund. That trust fund is due to be depleted by 2035 anyway which will result in a permanent 20% or so haircut to everyone's benefits. The social security system can support itself and pay all beneficiaries forever mostly at this reduced 80% rate. I think Musk and Trump will try to sell the republicans in Congress on the plan that they can privatize, get better returns with higher risk investments, rob and divert the trust fund, and leave everyone holding the bag later.

Yeah, South Dakota is almost the last resort now, as Nevada, Florida and others have become unattractive. However, the S. Dakota legislature is discussing closing this loophole too, so unknown how long this option will last.

Yes, no problem with SS benefits being deposited into foreign banks for now. And, this may not change. However, the bigger issue is getting service when something goes wrong with that deposit. For now, expats in Thailand with Thai addresses have to contact Manila, and perhaps eventually will need to travel there in person for issues. If Doge closes the office or makes it untenable to get servicing, many expats will be forced to travel to the US to a local service office (thought those are rapidly being reduced too), perhaps, and even that may be problematical without a US address in that SS service center's jurisdiction - you will not be able to schedule this unless it is in your assign area based on your address. So, this could be the start of a squeeze on US expats. The larger looming issue here of course is that all of this crap by Doge and Trump is part of a plan to discredit the agency, thereby setting up a situation of claiming the agency does not work and needs to be privatized, with Doge raiding the trust fund for other purposes likely.

This only applies to new claimants for now. However, the bigger concern for expats in Thailand is that indeed the Philippines office may be targeted for closure or have severe staffing reductions by this Doge gang. Doge and the administration does not give a crap about expats, and in fact, shows disdain for them as these and other actions on immigration show. For that reason, I'm not sure it's a sustainable long-term plan to maintain a foreign Thailand address only, because if they tighten the screws further, obtaining the ID.ME and other authentication methods might become increasingly difficult or impossible going forward without a full US address and phone number, etc.. However, even that issue has now become more difficult for nomads and expats. The USPS has a new requirement that all users of private post office box centers must provide evidence of an actual permanent address in the US, so things seem to be getting more difficult for US expats year-by-year.

To those on this thread who think this isn't a real concern, you are not keeping up with the latest developments. This is more of an issue actually for those who have even better status than a 10 year visa. It's a big issue of concern for all green card holders now. If you don't believe this, just check with noted US immigration law firms (there are many on youtube), and the reports are pouring in of green card holders being denied entry to the US for a variety of reasons. Thai citizens are mostly ok because it's not a country of concern largely for the Trump administration now, but attorneys are warning strongly that green card holders risk being detained and deported upon re-entry to the US now. This is really crazy stuff and shows how bonkers this administration has become. But, for this OP, as his wife merely has the 10-year tourist visa, it's probably not a big issue because she has no right to reside in the US anyway, so they are likely not as concerned about this category of visa holder. Nonetheless, there is a big chilling effect on US tourism now as I read this morning as foreigners do not want to suffer the hassle of visiting the US.

Thanks for that. I will just ask my doctor and my hospital to do the extra tests then when I get the blood drawn for annual checkup.

Hi Sheryl, as someone who has radically improved health and fitness in the past few years (last full blood panel 12 mos. ago everything normal), I would like to go deeper with a blood test with markers. There is discussion later in this thread about advanced blood panels, and one recommendation was made of Bangkok RIA group. Can you recommend a lab in Bangkok where one can get LDL-P (particle count), small LDL-P, LDL size, etc... Thanks.

I suppose you could implement a yearly income check of some sort for those, but I agree with Karma above, this would open the floodgates on all the remote digital nomads and others who make decent money, many of whom would love to stay in Thailand.

Sure. Good point. No way you can count on anything. I suppose the ultimate fall-back position long term might be those of us who are married to Thais, as it seems unlikely Thai immigration would ever take the position that they would make it onerous for those who are married to be with their Thai spouses and families. If they doubled the deposit requirements of the marriage extension it would still only just be at the level of a retirement non-o.

Yes, this is a small concern of mine even though my application is still pending. I think we can all see that the LTR will likely remain a fringe visa, and will not become widely known in Thailand. Things like renewing drivers licenses and other admin details might be more difficult with a relatively unknown visa. And eventually, there is another factor that one well-known Thailand-based legal advisor has noted: that of all the visas, the long-term best bet might be the simple non-o retirement one, because as requirements morph and get added like insurance, or higher deposit requirements, there is a possibility that the current holders of non-o's will be somewhat grandfathered and new regs might not apply to them. Of course, this is just speculation, but the positives of the LTR are looking dimmer in my view right now.

I just submitted my application 10 days ago, and it is at screen 3, and as JJJ... postulated above, they did ask for more and different documents already. So, it does seem as though they are not really fast tracking this. I may have additional issues over my insurance, and I agree with those whose position is that taking 100k out of indexed funds, ETFs or other investments to put in a simple interest bearing savings account is not worth it at all. If this gets to that point, I'll drop it and go back to a Non-O retirement.

Yeah, you have to check where you live to see if you can do the e-visa version. I live and work in Japan but also have a home in Guam. Even though Guam is USA, there is no evisa available. Tokyo turns out to be the most convenient place for me that I am also resident in so that is the embassy I will get my stamp at.

I just applied yesterday, and I used tax transcripts, combined with 1099s etc.. I seem to recall that someone else had maybe used tax transcripts (which are much more official than tax returns), so we will see if they accept these.