Pib

The wife and I got emails today/21 Nov from the SSA notifying us that the our 2023 Cost of Living Adjustment Notice/Letter was available in our SSA online account inbox. Sure enough....we logged on and downloaded our COLA notices. An 8.7% increase and Part B insurance premium dropping from $170.10 to $164.90. So, I expect those who receive their COLA notice only by snail mail should see it arrive in your mailbox over the next 2-4 weeks. I know for me, SSA snail mail to my Bangkok residence usually takes around 2 weeks.

Thailand - a "provisional" province of China.

Use the USPS tracking app downloadable from Google or Apple. Or use the USPS tracking website below: https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmAction_input All other tracking websites/app you might use, to include the Thailand Postal System app/website get their USPS tracking data from the USPS tracking system and also use their own descriptions of what a particular tracking code/status means. Additionally, USPS Tracking provides more detailed info than the Thai Postal tracking. The Thai Postal system tracking number you get when you mail an item to the U.S. is a valid USPS tracking number also....it's not just for Thai Postal system tracking only. Just get your tracking straight from the horse's mouth....the USPS Tracking System.

Hopefully more people who have submitted a LTR application (or even just have a draft) might chine-in to say what their "Staff Name" column and "Status" column are showing. Short of BoI publishing some reference explaining what the Staff Name and Status columns entries now mean, we'll just have to do a "group Sherlock Holmes evaluation" to try to figure it out. I may call them again late this week to check on the status of my application and at the same time ask about Staff Name and Status entries. Anyway, since my application shows Screen 3 and Pending......and as as of early last week per call to BoI my application hasn't been looked at yet, let's assume Screen 3 really means Pending Review. Based on ThailandRyan's and mudcat's inputs that Screen 8 means a Status of Approved and Screen 7 means at a Status of Preapproved. And another Status column entry I've seen in the thread is "Qualifications Approved." Don't know how that might be different from just "Approved." Now if some others could chime-in regarding what their Staff Name and Status columns are showing, especially if any are showing Screen 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6 along with a brief overview of any issues with their application like the BoI asking for more Docs, that would really help to Sherlock Holmes what the new Screen number means. I check my application status multiple times per day to include late in the evening/early night and for me these these new Screen numbers started appearing on the morning of Sat/19 Nov which was right after the special 3 day holiday on 16-18 Nov in the Bangkok metro area. Although the BoI announced they were closed (at least to the public) during 16-18 Nov I expect they still had a few people working like maybe IT type folks who maybe did a software upgrade late 18 Nov/early 19 Nov while everyone else was in bed....typical for software upgrades to occur during the O-dark early morning hours. Anyway, for those of you with applications in the system, please chime-in with what your Staff Name and Status columns are reflecting with a short explanation of what you think it might mean based on how your application is trekking thru the system. Help the Sherlock Holmes effort. ????

Or maybe Screen is just short for Screener....as in the BoI rep reviewing an application. As in Screener 3. Screener 7, etc., and not representing status/progress of the application at all as Screener 7 or Screener 3 could be reviewing an application that just arrived today or arrived a month ago and is close to approval. Summary: I don't know what it means...just another guess on my part. But ThailandRyan's guess sounds very plausible to me.

I got another wild guess, repeat, wild guess as to what "Screen 3" might mean. Maybe it means your application is close to approval as represented by "Step 3" in the application process when you View your submitted application. See snapshot below where I Viewed my application and clicked on Step 3 just to show what Step 3 means word-wise and it talks where to have the visa issued....at an embassy or at the BoI. When I applied I said I wanted to have my LTR visa issued at the BoI in Bangkok. So, maybe Screen 3 is tied to Step 3 and it means the BoI is now at the stage of generating an approval notice instructing you to take some steps to schedule/pay for your LTR visa issuance. Boy, wouldn't that be great! But I'm probably dreaming because I have a hard time believing my application would go thru so easily without being questioned is some way...without the BoI asking for some type of additional info/docs like maybe my medical insurance not satisfying the Boi or just something. Plus some other posters with a Screen 3 entry are involved in providing additional docs in response to a BoI request. Repeat, I'm guessing. Who knows what Screen 3 means as it's probably a program update/renaming of internal Boi review processes to make use of the system easier/faster for the BoI personnel to process applications.

This may turn out to be an example of different BOI reps interpreting their own guidance differently......or, there has been a very recent change at BOI regarding accepting brokerage accts for medical self-insuring....or gosh knows. But I do know the BOI posted requirements does say "....or a deposit balance of at least USD 100,000 in a bank account in Thailand or abroad retained for at least 12 months as of the date of application." Now I guess in may come down to what BOI defines (and what their intentions were) for "a bank deposit." IMO in today's world of many different types financial accounts and types of financial companies that "bank" can almost be considered a vague word.

Yeap....appealing to me also. But time will tell if my desire to get an LTR turns in a reality. I had been extending on an OA Retirement extension for almost a dozen years until the 2019 medical insurance requirement sprang-up. So, I switched to doing a marriage extension of stay on that OA to avoid the insurance requirement...on my 3rd marriage extension now. With the COVID pandemic making foreign travel very hard for several years and the fact I didn't have any urge to travel (my former military career burnt me out on travel) although I'm physically fit to do so I settled into the groove of doing a marriage extension which does not require any medical insurance (for now and hopefully it will stay that way...but who knows)...and the income/bank deposit requirement only being Bt400K for two months out of the year (maybe three months to play it safe during the approx 1 month under consideration period) and then the deposit balance can go to zero if desired. But although a marriage extension is not hard to do each year, lower income requirements, and the wife and I have been married like almost a half century I was still seriously considering switching to a Non-O Retirement (to avoid any need for wife's participation in the renewal process) if I happened to take a trip outside Thailand allowing me to kill off the OA visa....and I just may make such a trip mid 2023 to visit family/friends in the U.S. But when this LTR 10 year via (actually 5+5 year visa) came along and it looks like I can meet the Wealthy Pensioner requirements (but time will tell as the BoI reviews my LTR application) I find a 10 year visa very appealing in terms of providing 5-10 years of visa stability vs a year-to-year visa stability. I think it just makes Thailand feel more like a home by truly providing a long term visa vs year-by-year visas. I don't consider a year-by-year visa truly a "long" term visa....1 year goes by so fast! And I think having long term visa stability will make a person more willing to spend/invest more money in Thailand. I figure the one year address reporting will end-up being like the LTR sister SMART visa where the reporting can be done once a year in person at Bangkok BOI immigration "or" by mail-in which will pretty much make it easy to do no matter where you live in Thailand...no hassle of travel just to do a simple report. I figure once the BoI gets the time to expand/fully grow the LTR webpage it will grow into some similar to the BOI SMART visa website. And hopefully the LTR mid-term renewal process will end-up being a reduced & faster version of the current application process...like just showing you still meet the required income and insurance requirement....and since a person got thru the initial approval process doing it the second time should be a lot easier, less stressful since the person now has first-hand knowledge under their belt from the initial application. That is, you now know the ropes, how to ride the bicycle that was initially kinda hard to learn how to ride. Yes...each person will have a different view as to how well an LTR might fit their situation, needs, desires.

And I fully expect all forms the SSA "received" in July were processed shortly after receipt. But if the mail system, specifically the USPS, is not getting the 7162s delivered to the SSA within a few weeks but many times taking months, well, the SSA can't process what they don't receive.

Yeap...no augment there....Or just putting food on the table...paying for a roof over your head...buying required medications...etc....etc....etc. I'm sure they know it can cause a big, negative impact for some. But at the same time I'm sure the SSA has laws/regulations/rules to comply with (whether we agree with them or not) and would also tell you they provide notices (1st 7162, 2nd 7162, and Suspension Notice over approx a 6 month period that unless they get a 7162 from you your benefits starting with the January benefit (paid early Feb) will be suspended. But once getting that 7162 back from you any and all suspended payments will be paid within a few days to a few weeks.....no loss to you (except maybe food on the table, roof over your head, and meeting monthly income transfers for renewal of your Thailand visa.). It is what it is. It's the way they run the SSA pension railroad.

Anything is possible but the SSA regulation still shows Thailand on an annual schedule. https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302655005

The 80K needs to come from pensions/fixed income; not wages/salary. See snapshot/partial quote below from the BoI LTR website. Read document #4 at the BoI webpage below for full details....this document does a good job of laying out the requirements. You "can" get a work permit as part of the Wealthy Pensioner visa, but it seems few retirees request such since they are retired (no desire to work again) and/or don't want to go thru added required paperwork for a digital work permit. I seriously doubt you could easily transition from a Wealthy Pensioner visa to Work from Thailand Professional visa without reapplying and meeting the requirements of the Work from Thailand Professional requirements which are significantly different from Wealthy Pensioner requirements. Pretty much like you can't switch from a Non-OA visa to a Non-O visa without first killing-off the Non-OA visa and then applying for a Non-O visa. BoI LTR website info regarding Wealthy Pensioner Income Requirements https://ltr.boi.go.th/page/laws-regulations.html

Wow...I applied in late Oct and after two phone calls to the BoI over the last 10 calendar days with the latest call on Monday I think it was I was told both times my application hasn't been looked at yet because they have a "lot" of applications.

Thanks....and where you said earlier it only took them 4 days to contact you, do you mean 4 days after initially applying? If so, they got to your application fast.

OK...thanks. Since self-insuring is one of the three allowable methods to meet the insurance requirement, with an actual policy or social security coverage, being the other two I expect a "Screen 3" entry under the Staff BoI column is a new BoI status coding method to indicate which area of an applicant's application has issues. Now as mentioned I haven't received any heads-up from the BoI yet asking telling me they have an issue with my application and please send additional docs, but my gut (and my luck) is telling me that notice is coming. By the way with the "Screen 3" entry in "Staff Name Column" what does the "Status Column" entry show for you? That is, Pending, In-Process, etc. Mine still says "Pending" like it always has from day 1. Edit: and where you said it only took them 4 days to contact you, do you mean 4 days after initially applying?

That bar code is created by Wilkes Barre. I bet when for whatever reason the person doesn't receive the Wilkes Barre 7162 that Manila emails the person a 2011 edition for completion and return to Manila. In 2019 when I received the Wilkes Barre generated bar coded 7162 but the wife didn't, after the 2nd notice timeframe had passed which Manila said was 1 Nov for them that they would assist in 7162 completion and they did by emailing the wife a 2011 edition (no bar code) with instructions to complete/scan/email back which she did.

So, the BoI actually notified you via LTR acct online notification and/or email your LTR application had a medical insurance issue/problem (i.e., they were not going to accept the insurance for some reason like maybe needing an expiration date at least 10 month out vs it being a group/open ended policy)? If so, about how many working days did it take for them to notify you? For me, I haven't been notified of anything yet after 15 working days....I've only seen a change in the BoIStaff column and that appeared just today/Sat/19Nov. And yea, my Plan B is to try the self-insure option if they refuse to accept my excellent govt/military retiree coverage which as served me so well in Thailand and will continue to do so. I would prefer to qualify under that method since it's basically on auto-pilot for the rest of my life versus going the self-insure method.

I've never been able to find a site that provides the 2020 version; only the 2011 and earlier version. Do you have a link? Even on the main SSA forms download page (link below) doesn't provide any version of the 7162....that's probably their way of trying to get folks from just downloading and returning a 7162 when the person never receives the 7162 mailing. Steers the person to contact SSA to figure out if the correct/complete address is on-file...try to figure out why the person is not receiving the form. Now you can find a version of the 7162 form on other SSA pages; just not the main download page. Main SSA Download Page https://www.ssa.gov/forms/

I don't know what Manila told you or what you think Manila told you, but it was probably a regurgitation of the paragraph on the SSA Office of International Operations which said: https://www.ssa.gov/foreign/ Now to me above paragraph means the SSA is back to using their standard schedule of sending out 7162s on either an annual or biennial basis (i.e., their pre-pandemic schedule) as determined by the foreign country you live in. Some countries like Thailand are on an annual basis and some countries are on a biennial basis. See below SSA regulation as to which schedule a country is on....as mentioned, Thailand is on an annual basis. https://secure.ssa.gov/poms.nsf/lnx/0302655005

OK, maybe repeat maybe, "Screen #" is directly linked to the "Upload area #" and now represents an area of a person's application which the BoI has issue with.

Well, you can't send the bar-coded 7162 if you never received it. All you can do is send a downloaded version. Plus if you never received a bar-coded copy and contact Manila for assistance Manila has you send them a downloaded version to them....Manila even emails you a copy (non bar-coded) to complete and return.

Thanks...maybe it's just a programming update. Question: I edited my post above just when your post came it. In my edit I talked about how Screen 3 "might" be linked to Health Insurance which is the #3 Upload area. If so, do you think your health coverage might be the issue as I said mine might be. I'm grasping at straws right now....just guessing....it could simply be a programming change affecting "all" applicants.

Wow...this thread is going silent...been nothing but the sound of crickets for five days. ???? Anyway, my application has now been in the system for 15 business/working days...I'm not counting weekends or holidays like the 3 day special holiday for 16-18 Nov in the Bangkok area....BoI was closed during the 3 day holiday. This morning/Sat/19 Nov I noticed my applications online status changed a little under the STAFF NAME column. Since the application submittal day that column has reflected "StaffBoI 004" but this morning it now shows "Screen 3". This change may simply be a programming update which simply renames some things or maybe it means a BoI rep has now begun looking at my application and it's at a certain point of the review process....like on Screen 3 of 99....who really knows....I'm just guessing. There is no Notification Alert nor have I received any email....just that change under the STAFF NAME column. Would be interested if any other applicants listening-in see a change of status under the "STAFF NAME" column? Edit: I just noticed that "maybe" Screen 3 is related to the "3rd Upload Documents" area which is for health insurance. if so, then maybe the BoI has issue with my U.S. govt/military health care coverage which provides excellent coverage worldwide and has no expiration date. Just guessing.

Nothing wrong in using registered mail, but many times it results in delivery delays as many people have reported, to include yourself. While using registered mail gives a person a "warm fuzzy" (at a price) of where the piece of mail is in its trek, registered mail or regular mail or FedEx delivery or Pony Express Rider delivery does exactly the same thing in terms of getting the 7162 into the hands of a SSA rep who reviews, accepts, and scans the 7162 into the SSA IT system. It's not like showing a registered/EMS delivery confirmation to an immigration officer to support your case that you "did" mail them a 90 day report who then says OK I will not fine you for a late report, but you still must fill out a 90 day address report form right here at my desk so I can process a 90 day report receipt for you. The SSA does not "fine" a person for late delivery of a 7162. But if that SSA rep never opens or rejects the registered envelope for some reason then sending the 7162 via registered mail provides zero added benefit over regular mail because having a tracking number showing delivery does not satisfy the SSA requirement of actually receiving and processing a 7162. The SSA does not care how you get the 7162 to Wilkes Barre---they just need to receive the 7162. If the 7162 never arrives (or is rejected) then a registered mail tracking number does nothing to satisfy the SSA...the only thing that will satisfy them is an acceptable 7162 or possibly going through an identity verification & interview during a phone call in lieu of a 7162. Plus the SSA knows when they suspend a person's benefits due to non-receipt of a 7162 that it's a temporary suspension only....and suspended payments are sent within a few days to a few weeks after satisfying the 7162 requirement. It's not like a person's benefits are terminated....must reapply from scratch to restart the benefits with a total loss of missed payments....the payments are merely suspended pending 7162 receipt. For me, after seeing many posters reporting long delays when using registered airmail for their 7162 and my own personal controlled registered and regular airmail tests over several years I've posted about several times where registered airmail always took 2 to 3 times longer to arrive, I'll continue to use regular airmail to send our (i.e., the wife and I) 7162s to Wilkes Barre. It was my own personal tests that drove it home to me that registered airmail usually results in longer delivery times. And "maybe" even start sending a second copy a week or so later after sending the first....heck, regular airmail only cost Bt49....spend Bt98 to send two copies via regular airmail vs one copy for Bt325 via registered airmail. Just as likely that one or both regular airmail arrives Wilkes Barre just like one registered airmail. I might include a note on the 2nd copy saying this is a duplicate copy in case my first mailing didn't arrive due to poor mail service from my country.

For those concerned that did not receive a 7162 back around July you might want to play it safe and just download & complete a 7162 (download from SSA weblink at bottom) and then mail it via "regular airmail" (not registered airmail) from your local Thai post office....mailing will cost approx Bt49. And it should arrive Wilkes Barre in approximately 2 to 3 weeks. Heck mail it a second time a few days later for another Bt49 to play it safe. Spend Bt49 to Bt98 to avoid possible suspension of benefits staring in Jan 2023 (i.e., no early Feb 2023 payment). Social Security Administration P.O. Box 7162 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-7162 U.S.A. https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms/images/SSA7/G-SSA-7162-OCR-SM-1.pdf