oldcpu

I have read accounts of other's (on a new Visa such as LTR or DTV) that when the visas first came out, they could only open a Bank Account at Krungsri bank (in Phuket) if they could show a Yellow-book/Pink-ID in ADDITION to showing one's passport/Visa. I have also opened accounts at Krungsri in Phuket (when on a type-O/OA visa) but I can't recall if they asked for my pink-ID/yellow book (in addition to passport). They might have. I simply can not recall. I do recall at Bangkok bank branch in Phuket, when on a Type-O visa 1-year extension, and I tried to buy a Thai government bond (which I needed as part of my meeting part of an LTR visa application criteria) that the Bank Manager of that branch would ONLY let me buy the bond if I had a Yellow-book and Pink ID (which I had). Then when buying the Thai government bond, the teller at the counter filling in the online form, reached an impasse,when the form insisted I provide a Thai Tax ID (which I did not have). My Thai wife suggested they use my Pink-ID number (as the tax ID #) and the online computer form accepted that #. I eventually obtained the government bond. Over 1/2 year later, my wife out of curiousity, entered my pink-ID number as the tax ID # in an online Thai tax form (for a tax return), and the number was IMMEDIATELY rejected. A subsequent chat with a Phuket RD (tax) official indicated that for a pink-ID # to be used as a tax-ID, it must first be activated as such - and in the case of my pink-ID, that # has not been activated. .. Nor did the official think I needed to activate it as a tax-ID (but that is another story). I can only assume that the Bank of Thailand form (for buying a Thai government bond, where the Bangkok Bank teller used my pink-ID# to get me a Thai government bond) did not check to see if my pink-ID # was activated to be also used as a Thai tax ID #. I have also obtained some trivial discounts at some Thai park/venues by my having a Pink-ID, but frankly the amount saved is trivial and not worth while to get the Pink-ID. However the Pink-ID did come in handy for getting the government bond.

Obtaining a Thai tax ID might be more difficult than what some think. I posted on this a couple of times. Some months back, my Thai wife submitted an online application for me to obtain a Thai tax ID. That application goes to Bangkok based RD, and Bangkok referred it back to the Phuket RD. My wife obtained a phone call from a Phuket RD official. They wanted to know (1) did I spend more than 180 days in Thailand, and (2) what was my source of income, and (3) was I bringing any money into Thailand. My wife answered (1) I lived in Thailand full time, and (2) my income was ONLY pensions from outside of Thailand and (3) at present time I was not bringing money into Thailand. The Phuket RD official stated I did not need a Thai tax ID and that I did not need to file a Thai tax return. When asked if my Thai Pink-ID # could be used as a Thai tax ID, the official advised for me , no at present, because it was not activated as a tax ID. It needed to be activated FIRST to be used as a Thai tax ID, and the official would not activate it as they believed I did not need a Thai tax ID. My wife then noted I was on an LTR visa, and that I planned to bring money into Thailand while on that Visa. Would I then need a Thai tax ID and need to file a Thai tax return? The official replied they never heard of an LTR visa, and that they would check into this and call m wife back. That was many months ago. They never called back. I still do not have an 'active' Thai tax ID. I suspect to get a Thai tax ID, I would have to show up at the local Thai RD office in Phuket early in the morning and plant myself there for the full day, until they finally either kicked me out of the office, or gave me a Thai tax ID. I am not overly keen to do that. So this may not (at present) be as easy to get a Thai tax ID as one might think.

A case in point - in some countries (Canada in particular) just because one does not have sufficient taxable income, does not mean one does not have to file a tax return. In the case of Canada, as soon as one who is a resident to Canada earns income more than the 'personal exemption' that person has to file a Canadian income tax return. Further, non-residents to Canada with Canadian income (such as pensions from Canada or small trivial amounts of interest from Canadian banks) are not entitled to 'personal exemption' and they also have to file a Canadian income tax return. My Thai wife has maintained a small bank account in Canada (kept from when she lived in Canada) , with interest less than $100 Cdn/year. While she was living in Germany as a permanent resident, she went for some years without filing a Canadian tax return. Revenue Canada subsequently contacted her in Germany and advised her she needed to file a Canadian tax return for all of the past years (where due to such low bank interest less than $100 Cdn she did not file a tax return). Revenue Canada did not care if my wife claimed she did not earn enough money to pay Tax in Canada (as the withholding tax more than balanced out the small interest she obtained). They didn't care. They wanted the tax return ! Revenue Canada wanted to be THE organization that decided on Canadian tax - and not my wife's (accurate) assessment. And further they wanted to know all of her Global income and also as her spouse, know all of my Global income, as part of her Canadian tax return. I don't know the Thai RD view here (my hope is that the Thai RD view is more enlightened than Canada's) but I do know that there are countries (such as Canada) who want to make the decision as to whether one's income is taxable in a tax return EVERY YEAR and they do NOT want the non-resident individual (who has had some financial connection to Canada) , regardless of the amount earned in Canada, to make the decision whether to file a Canadian return or not file a return.

I only recently had this thread pointed out to me. While scanning the thread (and thinking to provide my VERY limited experience here) I noticed your post. Some months back my Thai wife entered my Pink-ID # in an online Thai tax form. The number was rejected (we learned later why it was rejected). I had never filed a Thai income tax return in the past (I have only lived here on visa-exempt, Type-OA visa, Type-OA visa and LTR visas), and I have never worked in Thailand, but given all the speculation going on with this subject, she thought to investigate the application for a Thai Tax ID for me, using the online link. Accordingly she applied on-line for a Thai tax ID for myself. A few days later my wife received a phone call from the Phuket office of the Thai Revenue department. She was advised that the online application goes to the central Bangkok office, and from there it was passed on to the Phuket branch of the Thai Revenue department. The Phuket official wanted to know why I wanted a Thai tax ID? My wife replied she and I had read of tax changes coming that might require such. The Phuket official wanted confirmation I spent more than 180 days per year in Thailand, and they asked for my source of income? My wife advised my source of income was from pensions outside of Thailand. She noted that I did plan to spend >180 days in Thailand and she noted at present I did not bring any income into Thailand (as I had brought a lot of savings into Thailand in years prior). The official stated if I brought no income money into Thailand (and if I had no income from sources inside of Thailand) then I did not need a tax ID and that I did not need to file a Thai tax return. My wife then asked 2 questions, ... (1) at what point would I need to file a Thai tax return on bank/bond interest from Thailand (given withholding tax already deducted)? and (2) given that I was on an LTR visa, would I need to then file a Thai tax return (and hence need a tax ID #) for pension income brought into Thailand? The official replied that they had NEVER heard of an LTR visa, and they would need to look into that and call my wife back. My wife then noted I have a pink-ID, but that the number on the Pink-ID was rejected by the on-line Thai tax forms. The Phuket official noted that in order for a pink-ID to be used as a tax-ID, it needs to be first activated (by the Revenue Department) and that mine was not activated (as official saw no need for me to have a Tax ID). The official never phoned back. So that is my 'real life' experience in this regard thus far.

What user? What thread? What regional tax offices? My experience with Phuket regional tax office, is they never heard of an LTR visa. When (Phuket regional tax office) were asked if I would need to submit a Thai tax return and possibly pay tax on pension income brought in to Thailand (with my being on an LTR visa) they stated they would check and phone back. They never phoned back. I will be most curious to see what the tax form for 2024-tax year looks like when it comes out ( in November/December) ?

$50 for 3 months ONLY from Vietnam ??? That's crap !! The LTR is good for 10 years and one is not restricted to 3 months. Further, a GREAT thing about Thailand is there are many different Visas. Why pay $50 for 3 months in Vietnam, when one can enter Thailand visa exempt for 60-days, and then apply for a 30-day extension and get 90-days (ie 3 months) and not have to pay $50. Clearly Thailand' options there are FAR superior. Not to mention other aspects of Thailand are superior (for example, the superior quality of Thailand's hospital system comes to mind). Frankly? You can have Vietnam. I MUCH prefer Thailand and not just because of Thailand's superior Visa options.

That is wrong. A complete fabrication. a TOTAL fabrication. There is no such annual re-qualification. I qualified back in May last year. I have had ZERO interaction with BoI and ZERO interaction with the local Phuket immigration since. NONE. The ONLY interaction I have had the past 18-months is with airport Immigration when I enter and leave Thailand, and they look at and stamp my passport. Typically I travel out/in Thailand twice a year and if I maintain that, I will NEVER have to do a report ( compare this to the 90-day reports I had to do on a Type-O/OA ). I will thou in about 3.5 years (at the 5-year point from first getting my LTR visa), need to show proof of my finances again. I look forward to that, as I now know the technique to use (and have BoI accept) my European Cigna Health insurance, and I then won't need to keep $100K US equivalent in a bank account for self health insurance. The insurance requirements for the LTR are, IMHO, massively superior to what is in place today on an Type-OA visa extension (for reason of retirement)

Yes I agree. Lets keep fingers crossed with the LTR. In regards to change in policies with visas, one need look no further than the Type-OA. When I obtained my Type-OA, there was no requirement for proving Health Insurance. But by the time my close to 2 years (on that one year visa) was up, health insurance requirements (with insurance from the Thai branch of a health insurance company) were put in place. A number of us then left Thailand (either sooner or later) without a re-entry permit to invalidate our Type-OA visas and re-entered Visa Exempt, and then applied for and obtained Type-O visas which did not have a Health Insurance requirement. Many nay sayers claimed (and still claim) that there will come a day when Type-O visa holders will have to get health insurance (similar to Type-OA) but that has not happened yet - but it could happen. And it might not. Still, I like the LTR visa approach to Health Insurance, where one can either self insure (by proving $100k US$ equivalent in any savings account around the world), or show commercial health insurance up to a Thai specified coverage, where BoI do NOT require this (for LTR visa) to be from the Thai branch of a health insurance company. Instead if one can show (to BoI satisfaction) that the foreign health insurance meets their specified health insurance requirements, then that will suffice (where I have read some users have done that by a letter which specifically states the BoI health insurance required coverage). My speculation is as the years roll by, the health insurance requirements, and the requirement in how such coverage is shown, could continue to evolve - possibly for both the Type-OA and the LTR Visa, and maybe other visas as well. As you note, governments and policies change.

Deleted post (mostly duplicate of previous post) - see above

From us as expats on 'the outside' it can look that way - although we do only pay the 50,000 THB once at the start - no additional money need to be paid at the 5 year permission to stay renewal point. Its possible thou, the approval process on the inside at BoI may be different (possibly quicker - less paperwork for them ?? but same paperwork for us as expats ??? ). I guess we won't know until the first individuals who obtained the LTR visa, start going for their second 5-year permission to stay period. How difficult will be the financial proof then? The same ? Worse? Easier? As for the 'permission to stay' terminology being different from visa dates - that has been around for a while with other visas (albeit applied differently). A classic case is the Type-OA visa multiple re-entry , where one could get that as a 1-year Visa from outside of Thailand, and then say one obtained the Type-OA on 1-July-2018 and it was valid with a Visa date from 1-July-2018 (start) to 1-July-2019 (expiry date). My recollection is one could FIRST show up in Thailand border on on 1-July-2018 and obtain a permission to stay in Thailand until 30-June-2019. But say one then left Thailand on 25-June-2019 (say a week or so before last date on the visa) and re-enterred Thailand on 29-June-2019 (re-enter 2 days before Type-OA visa expiry date). In one's passport, using that as the underlying Visa, one would then obtain an additional permission to stay until 28-June-2020. ie one almost gets 2 years permission to stay on the one-year visa (despite last date on visa being 1-July-2019). ... further say on 1-June-2020, one then goes to immigration inside of Thailand and applies for a 1-year extension (say based on retirement). If approved, one could then get an permission to stay until about 27-June-2021 (where note the last date on the original Type-OA visa was almost 2 years earlier being 1-July-2019), again on the underlying Type-OA visa. So already, on a 1-year visa, one has obtained almost a 3-year permission to stay. Each year one can keep going back for a 1 year extension (assuming one continues to meet the requirements) despite the last date on the visa being many years in the past. And technically, the Visa is NOT being renewed - but rather the 'permission to stay' is constantly being extended (or renewed) on the basis of the underlying visa. ... and apologies if my terminology is not exact and if that reads confusing. Best I can understand, the validity dates of a visa (in Thailand) are different from the 'permission to stay dates' in a Visa although clearly there is a relationship between the two. I do understand the confusion here. It puzzled me for a while as well. And as for the LTR - yes I agree having to go back after 5 years to reprove finances for a 10 year Visa does make one wonder why its called 10-years ... but we don't know yet exactly how smooth things will be at the 5-year point (for permission to stay extension for remaining 5 years), nor for that matter at the 10 year point. We have been told there will be no more money asked for at the 5-year point.

I note Tim K you posted about experience in Phuket. My post is a bit off topic, but when I was on a non-immigrant Type-O visa a couple of years back, I opened a few different accounts with Krungsri (branch in Central festival in Phuket) with no problem. It was not difficult at all - although I note the Bank Manager at that time was a friend of my wife (where that manager has now moved to a different branch in Phuket). I also have a yellow book/pink-ID but I don't recall being asked for that to open the Krungsri account (maybe I was - maybe I wasn't - I just can't recall). I also deposited a moderate (more than basic) amount of money which I think helps the Bank Manager who can show they attracted new customers who deposit a bit more than the average amount. I like the Krungsri account for if one keeps a total of 5-million THB in the bank (in different 'forms') with the Krungsri Exclusive, one obtains a LOT of perks (use of their VIP lounge, 2 passes to Thai Airways lounges every year + 2 Dragon Pass lounge access passes every year), plus 8 passes every month to two different health clubs in Phuket (Club Asia (in Royal Phuket City Hotel) and Alpha Club). The main reason thou for me opening a Krungsri account at the time was I could get yearly printouts (needed for the Type-O visa year extensions) much quicker than I could from Bangkok Bank. The 'total' amount in the bank can be in different currencies, mutual fund via the bank, etc ... (it need not all be in cash). Obviously that perk is NOT something of interest for most, as many on a Type-O prefer NOT to even hold 800k THB in a Thai Bank. With a substantial amount of money in Thailand now, it also means I don't have to worry about bringing money into Thailand for a number of years, until this entire 'tax residency' speculation aspects are more clear. Back on topic : While I don't know anyone personally on a DTV visa, I am reading this thread with interest, and I hope more people with a DTV visa post on it and share their experience. I have many friends who don't live in Thailand often pepper me with questions and its nice to have a bit of information on other visas. A DTV might be suitable for some of them.

Renting can be a good approach as long as rents don't sky rocket. In the (foreign freehold) condo where I live (and purchased in 2016) typically monthly rents were 75,000 to 80,000 THB per month for a one year lease (year 2016). During COVID years this dropped to ~55,000 to 75,000 THB per month. The asking price today (year 2024), for a one year lease, for the same properties, is 120,000 THB/month. That is a BIG increase. Many renters simply moved out due to the price increase (and new renters with more money moved in). I purchased a foreign freehold condo in the complex where I live in year 2016 and I am glad I did. Asking prices then for a foreign freehold condo in my complex were about 18-million to 19-million THB. The CJPM/Committee have done a good job in maintaining the complex, and asking prices now are 23-million THB per unit. This is always the risk with real estate, and that is especially true in Thailand. I know of condos in Thailand whose prices have fallen by 50% since their original offerings (by the developer) as the complex was never maintained well by the CJPM/committee management. Those owners of condos are disappointed at the price drop. And I also know of condos (mine being one) where price has increased. Its VERY difficult to foresee the future here. Also, if buying a condo in your Thai wife's name, that means it will be a Thai freehold. My experience is that the liquidity of Thai freehold (especially for luxury condos) is much less than the liquidity for foreign freehold. If it was in your name, the condo would be a foreign freehold. So if you and your wife want to sell a "Thai freehold" condo, it might be on the market for a long time before it sells. In contrast a foreign freehold on average sells much faster. And I assume you have taken into account the risks that (1) if disaster should occur and your wife pass away, you have one year to sell the Thai condo (as a Thai freehold condo can not be owned by yourself as a foreigner), and after the 1 year if not sold the government will auction it off at a dirt cheap price, and (2) if another disaster, such as your wife and yourself having irreconcilable differences, then she could evict you from the condo. So there are major risks with a foreigner having their Thai wife purchase a Thai condo in the Thai wife's name - and these are aspects that need to be considered as well.

I suspect there is a growing concern among many, that those who Thai immigration are able to determine spent >180 days in Thailand in a given calendar year, could be flagged as possible tax residents and that information could be passed to the Thai RD. Clearly that is speculation, but it is not unheard of for immigration to have communication with the Thai RD. If there is such a communication, then the "Tax residents the RD are aware of" could be more than just those who hold a Thai TIN. I believe this is an aspect many of us will be observing to see how it all plays out in the coming few years.

Hopefully, for those on an LTR visa, that the BoI statement in their marketing of the LTR visa, which on the BOI web site states: "Tax exemption for overseas income" is hopefully proven correct. There is a lot of debate about this in the LTR visa thread, and some on that thread are even saying (speculating is likely a better word) the opposite of the Expat Thailand statement based on their interpretation of Royal Decree 743 (which authorizes the LTR visa), ... where those with a different view claim that money (from the income of an LTR visa holder) is not taxable if it is brought into Thailand in the year it is earned, but money from previous years (after 1-Jan-2024) will be taxable. I am NOT one with that opinion. An unofficial translation of the Royal Decree for the LTR visa for Wealthy Pensioner and Wealthy Global citizen category reads: " Section 5 income tax under Part 2 of Chapter 3 in Title 2 of the Revenue Code shall be exempted for a foreigner categorized as a Wealthy Global Citizen, Wealthy Pensioner, or Work-from-Thailand-Professional who is granted a LTR Visa under immigration law for assessable income under section 40 of the Revenue Code derived in the previous tax year from an employment, or from a business carried on abroad, or from a property situated and brought into Thailand." Note that translation states the tax of assessable income from the previous year is (tax) exempt. It does not state the income is not assessable. So if income is assessable, it may be necessary to file a tax return, dependent on how one reads such. Further, a tax return is typically filed for income of the previous year, and NOT filed for income of the current year (CLEARLY NO ONE one files a tax return for income of the current year as the current year is not yet over), so I believe that adds further lack of clarity. To say there is some uncertainty here would be IMHO a very accurate description. I find the "Expat Thailand" claim quoted interesting but I do not believe it dispels the confusion (rather it just adds to the confusion), as it provides no basis for their video statement other than that statement that is the interpretation of the "Expat Thailand" representative talking in the video.

I usually 1st try to pay by Thai credit card (gives points), unless they have a 3% charge. My Thai wife always asks before I pay, asking if they have an extra small charge for credit card payment. If they have a 3% charge for credit card use, then I will typically pay by bank transfer from a Thai bank account of mine. And if my small bank (currency) notes is getting low (ie I have none or very few 20-baht or 50 baht notes) I will pay by cash with a 1,000 baht note, so to get smaller notes as change in return. I like to use the smaller notes for tips, as I prefer to give tips in cash (as opposed to adding to bank transfer or credit card).

In my case, back in 2016, I opened up a bank account at the Phuket town main branch of Bangkok bank when o a 30 day visa exempt. But I noticed for the past couple of years, a big sign indoors at that branch that they will no longer open new accounts for foreigners who are in the country visa exempt. I believe that is why if one doesn't already have a Thai bank account it is typically superior to 1st get one's Type-O visa from outside of Thailand and then as soon as one is in Phuket immediately open the bank account when on that account. I have read ( for some other provinces) it may be possible to open a Bank account when in Thailand on a visa exempt status by paying an agent to handle the application, but I do not myself know of any agents in Phuket.

I have lived in Thailand with a permission to stay on a Type-OA initially for reason of retirement, and later on the underlying Type-OA on an extension for reason of marriage to a Thai, and then more recently on a Type-O for reason of retirement. Last year I switched to the LTR. I have no regrets. I prefer it over the Type-O/OA. I believe the LTR makes sense if you plan to reside in Thailand for another 10 years AND if you have the money/income. Clearly due to the financial demands it's not a visa for everyone, and the initial paperwork demands are greater than that of a Type-O/OA. But if one meets the requirements, I believe the duration and perks make it worthwhile.

Thanks all for the clarification that the reduction back to 400k THB (in patient)/40k THB (out patient) is coming (soon ?? ) , but not there yet. ... I confess, my being on an LTR visa now, I don't track this as much as I used to. Its a bit puzzling to me why they are waiting what seems to be a long time to make it official, given that it was announced around the same time as the new DTV visa and at the same time as the time duration changes to Visa Exempt.

My recollection (for type-OA) the following. Originally, in year 2019 (?) the policy introduced where: For In-patient: health insurance policy must have coverage at least 400,000 Thai Baht per policy year. For Out-patient: health insurance policy must have coverage at least 40,000 Thai Baht per policy year. Then, around year 2021 or 2022 this was changed to: In case of Thai insurance policy: the applicant must have a photocopy of medical insurance policy, which expressly covers medical treatments of general sickness and COVID-19, with minimum coverage of 100,000 USD or 3,000,000 THB. That was a MASSIVE increase. and then either last year or this year (possibly the reduction you are thinking of), it was decreased back to For In-patient: health insurance policy must have coverage at least 400,000 Thai Baht per policy year. For Out-patient: health insurance policy must have coverage at least 40,000 Thai Baht per policy year. I don't recall reading of any other reductions. Perhaps others will chime in if they heard of such. Many of us, dissatisfied with the above insurance being required to be from the Thai branch of a Health Insurance company (where we already had superior health insurance from outside of Thailand), deliberately left Thailand without a re-entry permit on our Type-OA visas to invalidate such, and then we re-entered Visa Exempt and immediately applied for a Type-O that has no such Health Insurance requirements. My hope is that the BoI LTR visa Health Insurance requirements (where foreign health insurance companies are accepted if one can provide documents to BoI's satisfaction) or self health insurance ($100k US equiv in a bank account anywhere in the world) are acceptable will be eventually applied to the Type-OA visa ... but that is just a hope. The more flexible BoI approach with LTR visa, is very helpful especially for those of us who are into our 70s or older.

I would not restrict it there. I have read many state 'no taxation without representation' ... where I think those who state that tend to come from one country. But my understanding is those who type that want the right to vote in Thailand if they are taxed. Also, I think many if they are taxed in Thailand, they would like the right to own land in Thailand. So I would expand the benefits if one' wishes to include the benefits most people want. In my case I am happy with my Foreign freehold condo, my foreign pensions mostly from countries with DTAs with Thailand, and my foreign subsidized health insurance (as part of my pensions), ... but not everyone is in the same situation as myself.

and if you read on, note that I also typed " ...I will continue to watch this carefully to stay compliant with Thai laws. "

Thus far that is the sense I am starting to get as well. They don't want more paperwork than necessary (likely IMHO as they are already overloaded with paperwork). My wife attempted to apply for a Thailand tax ID for myself, and the response she obtained from the local office of the Thai Revenue Department (TRD) was I did not need to file a tax return and hence not need a tax ID. Of course things can change, and I will continue to watch this carefully to stay compliant with Thai laws. (As an aside note - this is contrary to some countries, such as Canada, where Canada want a tax return even if there will be a 'null return'. In the case of Canada, the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) want to make up their own mind if one has a 'null return'). However Thailand is NOT the same as Canada.

My pension situation is complex. I worked in Canada for 27 years paying tax to Canada then (qualifying me for a partial Canadian pension and Old Age Security), worked for a company in Germany for a bit less than 5 years paying tax to Germany then (but paid extra to Germany to get 5 year credit to qualify for a very small German pension which I now receive) and worked for a European Government organisation for 13.5 years (my tax money went to Ireland then before I retired - although I never worked in Ireland - this is a complex European organisation thing) and I now receive a pension from that European organisation. I won't go into all its tax aspects here. On the 'private' side, next year I will start receiving money from a Canadian Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) (sort of like a US 401k) which will be taxed in Canada (per DTA), ... and also some money from a private German Health insurance/pension scheme that my wife had my buy many years back (which I forgot about - and I assume taxed in Germany). The Canadian pension and Canadian RRIF money will be taxed in Canada (per my understanding of the Thailand/Canada DTA). The German pension will be taxed (or not taxed) in accordance with the Thailand/German DTA (and in accordance with the Thailand LTR exemption on assesable income). The private German Health Insurance pension scheme pension I assume will be taxed in Germany < not sure > Its small and I even forgot about it, until I received a letter a week ago from them reminding me ... The European government organisation pension will be taxed or not taxed in accordance with my Thailand LTR visa. I have always planned to have it taxed, so not being taxed by my having a Thailand LTR visa would be a nice financial perk/extra. So regardless as to how this plays out, it won't affect my future plans for Thailand. My wife is 13 years younger than myself, so my main long range financial future plan is to ensure she is looked after when I pass away (hopefully I don't pass away too soon).

I am curious about this, as a (very small) part of my different pensions comes from Germany. I struggle sometimes with the wording of "a Contracting State" and "other Contracting State" in the DTA (for example in the DTA between Germany and Thailand). Further to that example, if I read Article-18 in the German/Thai DTA, para-2, and when at first I tried to fill in 'Germany' (or 'Thailand' ) in place of 'a contracting state' or in place of 'other contracting state', at first I incorrectly read: (2) Notwithstanding the provision of (1) pensions and other payments for past employment created by Germany (ie a contracting state) shall be exempt from tax in Thailand (ie 'other contracting state'). Clearly that is inconsistent with what you have determined - and I then checked again. I note in para(1) of Article-18 of the Thai/German DTA "a contracting state" is referred to the one in which one is a resident. ... so it could be at first I confused "a contracting state" with "other contracting state" ... ie is it instead maybe it is saying (1) Pensions and other payments for past employment .... derived by a resident of Thailand (ie a contracting state) may be taxed in Germany (the other contracting state) only if such payments are deducted as expenses in determining the profits of an enterprise of Germany (the other contracting state) ... (2) Notwithstanding the provision of (1) pensions and other payments for past employment created by Thailand (ie a contracting state where one is resident) shall be exempt from tax in Germany (ie 'other contracting state'). And if that second example is the case, then the DTA talks about Thailand pensions (for German pension recipients who reside in Thailand) and says nothing (ie and saying nothing it provides no DTA protections) about Thailand taxing German pensions , but rather only infers Germany won't tax the German pensions of those abroad from Germany who derive German pensions. So with no protections, Thailand could tax such if they wished. I almost wonder if it would be useful for a separate thread for expats who derive income from different countries ... where such could be hashed out.

History in Thailand has shown that if one has multiple VE entries into Thailand, then at the Thai border the IO can be concerned one is illegally working in Thailand while not being on a proper work Visa. They are known to have denied entry in such cases. This too is fact. FACT. It is very prudent to keep this fact in mind if attempting to conduct multiple entries into Thailand on VE. There will be suspicion by the IO. If one is prepared for a denied entry, then fine. But if one has multiple belongings and finances based in Thailand, prudence suggests caution. Being denied entry, because one ignored historical fact, could cause massive inconvenience and unexpected expenses. Those who decide to push the VE approach to the maximum can do so, but beware of the risk. If the IO at the border suspects you may be working in Thailand ( even if you are not ) they can deny you entry regardless of this change to the VE entry durations.