oldcpu

There is clearly different understandings here and I suspect different branch implementations. My wife's high school classmate is a Krungsri branch manager. My wife questioned her classmate and received confirmation of the >70 policy. However in her classmates case her branch only enforces for new app installations.

I worked 27 years in Canada. The remainder in Europe ( Germany). I am no longer a Canadian resident. At age 65 I started receiving Canadian OAS, but not the full amount, but rather 27/40 of the full amount ( before clawback). I can't answer your question re getting back your 25% tax, ... as my tax bracket after retirement requires I pay more than 25% and further my OAS is being partly clawed back as my global income exceeds thresholds specified by the Canadian government. Still I am curious as to what you finally learn so please let us know your final tax consultant or advisor approach. Best wishes.

My understanding, based on reading various posts on this forum is that you will have an issue only when your Android version is no longer maintained, and your Krungsri app no longer works with that old Android version. That will force you to a new phone ( with newer Android version) and to activate the Krungsri app on the new phone you will need to go to a Krungsri branch. At that point Krungsri staff noting you are over age 70 will deny you to activate Krungsri app on your new phone. You will then only be able to access your existing Krungsri account by going to the bank in person. I am age 71 and I have a new smartphone, but I am keeping my old phone just to access the Krungsri app. However I suspect there will come a tme in the future where Samsung no longer support the old phone and the Android version will become dated. At that point in time I suspect I will have to do Krungsri transactions in person at a local branch.

I feel for the OP. As a Canadian in receipt of OAS and CPP, who is no longer a Canadian resident, it can be a major trial to keep access to one's Canadian Bank account given the collateral "damage " from Canadian bank's increasing measures to deal with scammers. I am just returning from a visit to Canada where I have opened new accounts with RBC and ScotiaBank and transferred most my funds frim BMO to those two banks. I plan to close my BMO account. Why? I can no longer, when outside of Canada, easily access my BMO account hence my reason for the change. I have yet to test the ease of transferring money out of RBC and Scotiabank ( to Thailand) but hope to do so in next week or so to do a test transfer. My wife uses CIBC and is able to access that account from outside of Canada as CIBC accpts a legit VOIP voice number for account access verification. However BMO won't accept VOIP ( Canadian) numbers for voice nor for sms verification. BMO also won't send voice nor SMS verification to Thai phone numbers. Plus BMO won't allow download of their smartphone app to an Android phone that is not North American registered in Google Play Store. Scotiabank and RBC don't have that Google Playstore limitation and do allow download and install of their banking apps to Thailand registered Google Playstore. The advantage of BMO, that I will miss, is that it was very easy and inexpensive, with BMO to transfer money to Wise as a Bill Payment. From Wise I have easily transferred money to Bangkok Bank account. I am curious about the experience of others with Canadian bank accounts in this aspect of accessing their Canadian account from Thailand and transferring their funds to Thailand.

An interesting point to note. ... If one decides not to carry their passport with them in Thailand when going about locally and mostly staying at home (I never when in Phuket carry my passport with me (unless doing banking), rather I carry my pink ID and scanned copies on my phone of my passport image page, and scanned copy of my LTR Visa page) that one should consider to also have (on one's smartphone) an image copy of the latest 'permission to stay' stamp from one's passport. .

Interesting, but puzzling. The 'permission to stay stamp' (if one has previously left and then returned to Thailand), is very clear in my passport as to when the permission to stay expires, in 5 years from when the Visa (in my case) was issued. If your LTR expires in 2034, then your permission to stay must (I assume) clearly state a permission to stay until 2029 ! NOT 2034 ... and IMHO THAT year 2029 permission to stay date, is THE year/date they should be looking at, Not at the year 2034 date of the LTR visa expiry. Puzzling.

I've been told by Phuket expats that Phuket immigration is inconsistent here. Nominally it is not required the same day, but I had a couple of expats tell me that when they went for their annual extension, the letter from the day prior was rejected. That leads me to speculate it can in some cases be IO dependent at the Phuket immigration office. When I was on a Type-O/OA, for my annual extensions, I always showed up at the bank at opening hours and had the letter stamped the same day (that very morning) and then I headed immediately to Phuket immigration. This was tricky for Bangkok Bank, as it could take up to 1 week to get the required bank statement (from Bangkok to Phuket) which was a minor annoyance. So like many others have done, I switched from using Bangkok Bank to another bank (Krungsri bank in my case) so to avoid the unpredictability as to exactly which day Bangkok Bank would have the statement that I needed to show immigration. I note that since I would go to Phuket immigration immediately after getting my Bank letter and statement, I can't say its accurate as to what i was told (by other expats - that in some cases a previous day not accepted). I don't know if there may be other reasons that they did not say. Sometimes its hard to drill down to exact cause.

Others have already answered your question re: 2,000 THB bank interest. Even if you told your bank not to withhold any tax, your 2,000 THB is far below the threshold where a Thai income tax return should be filed. Lets assume thou (hypothetical), you obtained 250,000 THB in Interest from the Thai Bank. (and I note this is VERY hypothetical, as I consider that VERY unrealistic - who would have put sufficient funds in cash in a Thai bank to garner that much interest ?? No one. That's who. No one. But for the sake of argument, assume that the case. That 250,000 THB hypothetical interest is FAR above the threshold where in an income tax return is nominally needed if that 250,000 THB interest is assessable income. However, assume the Thai bank with held 15% tax. Then one only gets 250,000 minus the 37,500 THB withholding tax, ie 212,500 THB after with holding tax. If that 212,500 THB was assessable income, it would mean a Thai tax return required. HOWEVER since the Thai bank already with drew 37,500 as tax, then per Thailand Tax law, which I quoted above, the remaining 212,500 THB has had its tax obligations met and thus is not to be included in the assessable income category, and hence even in this hypothetical case, a Thai tax return would NOT be required. Feel free to crawl through the Thai tax law like I did. I made it easy by quoting the relevant sections in Thai tax law in a previous post. I am no tax advisor, but that is how I read the law, in this rather silly hypothetical case. i suspect it highly unlikely that many (and unlikely even a few) will have sufficient interest income (from Thailand) to require filing a Thai tax return, even IF the Thai bank did not take withholding tax (assuming no other Thai income). Why? Typically we invest our money elsewhere (outside of Thailand). This is IMHO applicable to LTR visa holders and to holders of all other visas as well. In my case - Because I have Thai government bonds and interest from the bank AND if I did not have withholding tax, I actually could come close, but close is not enough. One needs to meet the threshold (to be required to file a tax return). And even if the interest (after tax) i received, reached the tax filing threshold, because I already paid withholding tax on the interest, my tax obligation on that interest is met. No Thai tax return needed. This is 100% in accordance with Thai tax law as I read it. Feel free to crawl through the Thai tax law like I did if uncertain about my assessment (and it not just mine, others on this forum have stated the same thing). Again, i am no tax advisor - but I did crawl through the tax law. Best wishes.

I don't believe what you noted you were told is accurate. It reads to me that there was a misunderstanding somewhere. The Phuket Volunteers site still indicates such is possible: https://piv-phuket.com/retirement/ I can't help but think someone is trolling for money here.

For the OP. Glad to read it worked for you in the end. I have painful memories of two separate years each time showing up early at Phuket immigration to get one year extensions on my type OA visa , with all paperwork perfectly in order. I showed up betwee 8:30 to 9:00am and it was 18:30 to 19:00 before I Ieft. At the end the Office was closed to new entries and I was sitting inside with a few other foreigners (waiting for paperwork processing) and with immigration staff as they processed a mountain of paperwork from all the foreigners that day. I think if my paperwork had not been in order I would have had to return on another day. The Phuket immigration was simply too crowded. Over 95% of the time was just waiting in line. I don't realish ever doing that again and it drove home to me why some of my friends ( of means) would pay an agent to have power of attorneys to do such visa extensions for them. Again, glad to read this worked for you.

Some years back, when I left a Thai international Airport with no reentry permit (while on an extension to stay on an underlying Type-OA visa), the IO at the departure booth pointed out to me I had no reentry permit. I thanked him and politely noted to him that was my intent to invalidate the type-OA permission to stay, and I was planning to return in over a month visa exempt and apply for a new Type-O. ... He nodded as if he knew such was being done and he stamped the exit in my passport and let me pass to the airport airside, past immigration , in the airport sort of no mans land area. I thought it very nice of him to point out to me that I was about to invalidate any extensions on my Type OA, necessitating a new visa.

Why would your bank account be shutdown down when Type-O expires? I left Thailand once on a Type-OA visa, with no re-entry permit. That immediately invalidated my Type-OA visa. I had multiple Bank Accounts with Krungsri bank and multiple Bank Accounts with Bangkok Bank. Two months later I re-entered Thailand visa exempt. I still had my bank accounts. I applied for a Type-O visa and obtained it. With the new-Type-O, I went to the banks, and they made copies of the new visa (with associated permission to stay). There was no need to shut down my bank account. With regard to switching from Type-O to OA, did you get that backward? Type-O, if one plans to reside in Thailand, is IMHO a superior visa.

It gets interesting (no pun intended) in regards to interest on the money in your Thailand bank account. The LTR-WP and LTR-WGC visas do exempt one from tax on foreign income remitted to Thailand. They do NOT exempt one from income tax on any income earned in Thailand. Even on an LTR-WP/WGC visa if ones assessable income from Thailand sources exceeds a certain Threshold, one is required to pay tax and file a Thailand income tax return. ... An exception, thou, from my research, is if one's Thai income is from (the very very low) interest in a Thai bank, and if the bank applies a withholding tax on that interest, then that interest income no longer has any additional tax obligations to Thailand for income tax. A more complex explanation (my words follow) summarize a LOT of time I spent researching this: "For a Thai tax resident, bank interest income (classified under Chapter 3, Section 40(4)(a) of the Thailand Revenue Code), from which the Thailand bank has applied the 15% withholding tax (under Section 50 of the Revenue Code), offers a crucial option. Chapter 3, Section 48(3) of the Thailand Revenue Code explicitly states that for assessable income under Section 40(4)(a) (interest income) where tax has been withheld by the Thai bank, the taxpayer may elect to pay tax at the rate of 15.0 percent of that interest income, without including it in the annual assessable income computation under Section 48(1) or (2) of the Thai Revenue Code. This election means the 15% withheld tax fully discharges further Thailand tax liability for that specific interest income. Consequently, the taxpayer is not required to include it in their aggregate assessable income for the Thailand annual personal income tax return (P.N.D. 90/91). Therefore, this specific interest income does not contribute to whether the individual meets the general income thresholds that would otherwise trigger a mandatory Thailand tax filing. If this bank interest is a Thailand resident's only Thai-sourced income, they generally have no obligation to file a tax return because the tax liability on that income has already been settled at source." === Just one more piece of the complex tax puzzle, that we as expats face. .

My view here is it really depends on the DTA between Germany and the Country in which one is a resident, and not strictly German tax law, nor strictly the tax law of the country in which one is now a tax resident. All three need be considered.

I think it may depend on the type of income one gets from Germany. If one is not a tax resident of Germany, then Germany does not tax one's global income. However Germany may tax income sourced in Germany dependent on the income even if one is a non-resident of Germany (and the DTA between Germany and Thailand comes into play). In the case of German state pensions (average former German resident pensions) of those who are now non-German residents, who were once residents of Germany (and who are now residents of Thailand), the Thai-German DTA states ONLY Thailand has the right to tax those pensions. When i filed an income tax return to Germany (in 2020 after moving to Thailand in 2019) the German government replied to me with a letter advising me I did not need to file a German tax return given my German income was only my German state pension. They noted only Thailand had the right to tax that pension from Germany. I was VERY tempted to frame that letter. I did scan it and keep a copy. And I backed up that copy. lol !! Further, German civil servant/military pensions are not , by the German/Thai DTA, best i can understand, taxable in Thailand if one is a Thai resident and not a Germany resident (exception its different for Thai citizens who get a German civil service pensions). I do not know if Germany taxes civil servant/ex-military pensions but Germany might for all I know. And I don't know. As for residents of Thailand and not of Germany, who receive German state pension (as former average residents of Germany) if that money is not brought into Thailand, then neither Germany nor Thai income tax returns are required (if that is the only income). Obviously, with more / different income, there are more differences. One on an LTR-WP, in my view, can bring their German state pension (ie average resident of Germany state pension) into Thailand, and only Thailand and not Germany can tax it. The DTA is VERY clear there. Whether Thailand taxes such is up to Thailand and not up to Germany. Germany signed away the right to tax that pension in the DTA. And Thailand in the Royal Decree for the LTR-WP says Thailand does not tax it either. I am not a tax expert. I am only noting what i discovered that was directly relevant to me.

I note your point about you not wanting to pass to the Thai government all the details re: your wealth. I know others who feel the same as you. My having typed, that, I also note that for some of us, proving to BoI we meet the LTR visa requirements, did NOT by any means, require us to show how much our total wealth may be. Also even if the Thai government did find out about all my 'means', at least in my case, I see nothing wrong there. I follow both the law of the source country of my income, and I follow Thai law. If (and i emphasize "IF" ) global taxation were to come about, it would make no difference to me as to what Visa that I was on, ... Type-O, Type-OA would be hit just as hard, if not worse than an LTR (where an LTR has a Royal Decree about taxation and remitted income). Its very clear you are concerned how this could impact you, if you went for the LTR visa. Frankly - that is good !! ... and I believe it important (like you are doing) that expatriates examine their tax situation with regard to Thailand and with regard to the source country of their income, and include that consideration whether they apply for the LTR visa. But it is very important in this process, not to over exaggerate any aspects, but be as factual as possible. I have posted this before, ... when the LTR visa first came out, i snickered and asked, who on earth would go for that? Then a friend in Canada (with a Thai spouse) who is contemplating moving to Thailand, asked why I did not apply. When I "off the cuff" told him I thought it a bad visa, he (knowing my financial status) went through each point with me, and in our discussion proved me wrong. I did thou, need an open mind. As we both agree, it really boils down to one's own situation, and its also important for both of us not to extrapolate our own situation on to the situation of others. Thailand has many expats, we all do not fit in the same shoe, and the LTR visa is not a 'one size fits all' visa. Best wishes.

In Pattaya, I know a few (and I live in Phuket). I know more in Phuket. A lot depends on the circle of expats in which one is acquainted and with whom one 'hangs out'. Also, an important point, after a certain point of being well off, expats also do not go about broadcasting their amount wealth. To do so is simply dangerous as an expat. Also , another factor is family. If an expat of "more than adequate means" (or wealthy possibly per your definition of wealthy) has a Thai spouse, that is also a very big factor where they live, especially when retirement comes, and especially if they have no children. The foreign expats who I noted (who have more than adequate means) are married to a Thai spouse where the spouse is university educated, and where the spouse comes from a Thai family that is by no means poor. .

I should , I think, qualify this by noting Amazon, from what I have read, are moving past the ezw3 format, to a more new KFX format with stronger DRM controls (with one book spread across multiple files), making it difficult for those buying an eBook, to back up their book 'locally' on their home computer. I think newer Amazon Kindle eBook readers (like the Kindle Paperwhite Signature) that I have ordered, use a KFX format, which for any who wish to locally back such up, may have an issue. I read in some cases, Calibre with the DeDRM plugin and KFX plugin, may be able to 'unlock'/'decrypt' some eBooks using the KFX format to allow saving to an ePUB , PDF or other format, but many (majority ? ) of eBooks on the newer Amazon Kindles in KFX format, can not be locally backed up (at least not yet) by Calibre. Having typed this, ... it was not a consideration for me. The Kindle will allow other formats (such as mobi, ePub, PDF, lit) to either be copied on the Kindle and viewed, or converted to an ezw3 format and viewed on the Kindle. There was a lot to learn (for me) on this eBook reader topic, and one thing is 100% certain : I am still learning here.

I have been puzzling also over this. My speculation is, with emphasis on speculation, is that Thai banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign credit unions have a higher standard of regulation than Thai Credit Unions, and that funds in Thai banks, Foreign Banks and Foreign credit unions are more guaranteed, than funds in Thai credit unions. I speculate (again) that BoI are aware of this, and figure Thai credit unions too much of a risk for a foreigner want to use for self health insurance. Again, speculation is the operative word. And further, I am not claiming BoI are correct in their approach. Rather, like you, I too am puzzling over this.

Along those lines (of your post), so to make a post for others to read and to take into their decision making process about LTR: Please note that - if one's finances are aleady appropriately structured, and if one already has excellent health insurance, the LTR is a GREAT visa. The LTR is about MORE than just taxation contrary to what some appear focussed upon. - the LTR is no more expensive than a Type-O/OA with multiple re-entries, and it is arguably LESS expensive. It also has some great perks (no more 90-day reports, no more 1-year treks to immigration to renew one's permission to stay, no more (for some) paying an agent every year to obtain one's 1-year permission to stay). - despite the LTR not being only about tax benefits, some (not all) of us may benefit from the LTR visas tax benefits. - many of us on the LTR are very happy with this Visa. - I have not read of one on the LTR visa, who obtained the visa, who is massively unhappy with the LTR visa (contary to reading about many on the Type-O and Type-OA where reading of complaints on those visas is common). But maybe some (on LTR) will now post why they wish they were on a different visa? Who knows? On thing for certain, I think everyone agrees, the LTR visa suits the financial position of some very well, and does not suit such of others. This is not a one-size fits all visa. The LTR visa is obviously only one of a number of Thai visas. Fortunately the Type-O is a decent visa IMHO.

Yes. I think for anyone who worked in Germany, that the German health care system (with its mix of private and public) adds a new dimension with additional considerations, when it comes to considering health insurance and in turn, the LTR-Visa requirements for Health Insurance. My hope is all participating in this thread, and for that matter, all expats in Thailand, find the best (and safest) health care approach that suits their financial and health situation.

That is unfortunate. One would hope that having the amount assured in 3 savings accounts would be ok. Banks have a limit on how much they will insure, and not everyone has the money, nor even if they have the money, want to put too much money in any one given bank. I still have vivid memory of 2008 ... I was living in Germany then, and I had an inkling as to what was happening, BEFORE it became public, strictly based on watching the news and me having a bit of a paranoid perspective. I quickly liquidated some of my stocks (to cash) and made several trips to different ATMs, and at one point had ~15,000 euros in cash hidden away in our small apartment in Germany in various spots. My wife thought i had lost my mind (she was probably right), but i did not have total faith in the governments reacting as quick as they did to bail out the banks. I recall then the day before the big announcement went public (about the 2008 financial crisis), at Frankfurt airport, on a business trip, being bussed (in a crowded bus) from the aircraft to the terminal. The bus was full of people in suits, and it was noisy at first. I was ranting in an average tone (not loud) to my colleague at what I thought was about to happen (re; ATMs possibly drying up for funds, or restrictions on withdrawals being put in place) , and how I thought the behaviour of the bankers to allow this to come about was criminal. The bus suddenly got quiet, and I realized many were straining to listen to me. I promptly shut up at that point, suspecting most of those 'in suits' were all bankers. I could tell more stories about this, but I am very far off topic. Fortunately, the governments did step in to rescue the banks, and year 2008 is just now a memory. As soon as bailouts became known, i deposited the money back in the banks. And I no longer keep money in cash in my place. Its just too damned risky. Rather i diversify into different banks and brokerage companies. So - yes, i fully appreciate keeping $100k US equivalent in one bank, is just not something many wish to do.

I think everyone (?) agrees there - that one can read edocuments on many devices, such as phones, and tablets. ... We start next to get into the more 'subjective' aspects, as to weight and appearance and file formats, battery life, robustness, etc .... An image/size/weight of a reader that is superb for many, might not be so great for a person with a bit of an outlier viewpoint. Fortunately, there are MANY great ways to go about this. .

BoI asked me for statements proving the money in cash had been in the account for at least 2 years. Because I went through a few iterations of different accounts, having to show the 2 years, that number is sort of stuck in my mind. ... Of course that was when I applied (and obtained) the LTR-WP. This being Thailand, things can change.

As noted to you already, the $100k US$ equivalent, need not be in Thailand. However, it must be in a bank account (savings, or chequing). I don't know if term deposit accepted, I suspect not. It can not be in an account capable of trading equities. I went through a couple different accounts (where i can trade equities) and BoI rejected them both. Also, if the account is in a foreign country, with statements not in English language, I suspect the statements will need to be officially translated to English language. That was important to me, as I did not want to use my bank accounts in Germany to show the $100k US$ equivalent, as I believed official certified translation to English language would be needed, which I considered a PIA, given I could point to funds elsewhere.