Pib

I wish I could figure out where they get Bt4.45/KWH amount because when I use the PEA or MEA online calculator which shows quite a few various rates I can't find one that matches a basic Bt4.45 rate....but I can find a rate that comes very close if "not" counting the very significant Ft (energy) charge but counting the 7% VAT. Like below is a snapshot if using the typical residential rate at more that 150KWH per month....using a monthly usage amount 1000KWH the total monthly bill would be Bt5,231.....which represents a Bt5.23/KWH. Now if you "exclude" the 0.6689/KWH Ft charge (which you really can't as that's part of the total cost) then you could get approx a Bt4.56/KWH charge. Snapshot for PEA Electric Monthly Bill Calculator https://eservice.pea.co.th/EstimateBill/#

Yes....read the FBAR instructions. At the bottom is a link to the FBAR instructions and the specific paragraph talking the aggregate $10K level. What it means is if "at any time during the calendar year" the amount you have in foreign acct exceeds $10K you must file a FBAR. Example 1: say you transferring Bt65K/month to Thailand (approx $1,857 @Bt35/USD) that adds up to $22,284 in transfers per year....but if you are spending most of each monthly transfer and your bank balance never exceeds $10K at any point during the calendar year then a FBAR is "not" required. Example 2: you maintain Bt800K (approx $22,587) in your Thai bank acct say throughout the year for retirement extension purposes, then a FBAR is required. Example 3: you maintain $10K or less in all your Thai bank accts throughout the year....not even for one milliseconds does the aggregate balance exceed $10K....a FBAR is "not" required. Example 4: on one day (or one hour/minute/second) during the calendar year you exceeded $10K balance in your Thai bank accts then a FBAR is required. https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/shared/FBAR Line Item Filing Instructions.pdf

Typical of many govt funded projects in Thailand. Get allotted an initial BIG amount which was the amount originally requested to fully fund the project, but later come back with puppy dog eyes sayings it's not enough and more BIG money is required to best serve the country.

You can have residential (physical ) and mailing addresses on-file with the SSA....that is, two addresses on-file. The residential address is where you physically live and determines whether/how often you get a proof of life form or not. The mailing address is purely for receiving mail and does not affect when/how often you get the proof of life form. So, I expect if you would check with SSA that they really have your U.S. address on-file as your residential address....and since it's a U.S. address you are not getting a proof of life form......but once you turn 90 you are suppose to get the form regardless of where you live. Basically, they have your residential and mailing address as being the same and it a U.S. address. Earlier this week I helped a person apply online for their SS pension. At the beginning of the process they ask for your residential and mailing addresses. They first ask for your mailing address....if you select you do not reside at that mailing address then you are asked to enter your residential address also....if you say you do reside at your mailing address then that goes on-file as your residential address. Now the person I was helping only has one address which is his residential address, therefore, it's also his mailing address And when the wife and I applied for our SS pension a half dozen or so years ago via telephone interview with the Manila FBU SSA Office we were asked for both our residential and mailing address. Although the mailing address was a U.S. address at the time we still got the once a year proof of life form since our residential address was a Thailand address. Later on when we stopped using that U.S. address mailing we notified Manila of our new mailing address which is our Thailand address that is now both our residential and mailing addresses. Thailand is on the SSA list of many countries that receive a proof of life form annually....other foreign countries are on a biennially schedule. Summary: I expect if you check with SSA they really have your U.S. mailing address also on-file as your residential address. Your residential address on-file with the SSA determines if/how often you get a proof of life form.

I expect you have a U.S. address on file with the SSA. If you have a U.S. address on file with SSA you will not receive a proof of life form until possibly you reach the age of 90. If you have your Thailand address on file with SSA then you will receive the proof of life form every 1 or 2 years.

Got a link to that post?

The Thai immigration website still says just a 10 baht self addresses envelope as of 9 Sep 2023. https://www.immigration.go.th/en/?page_id=1666 Notification by registered mail 1. Photocopy of passport pages with following pages – front page showing name / surname / Passport No., ect. – current visa – last entry stamp of immigration – last extension of visa 2. Photocopy of departure card TM.6 click to view Example TM.6 card 3. Previous notifications of staying over 90 days (if any) click to view Example document 4. Completely filled in and signed notification form TM.47 click to view Example document (Don’t forget to sign name.) 5. Envelope with 10 Baht stamp affixed and return address of foreigner for the officer in charge to send back the lower part of form TM. 47 after having received the notification. This part must be kept for reference and for future notifications of staying over 90 days. 6. The above mentioned documents must be sent by registered mail and the receipt of the registration kept by the foreigner. Send the mail before the renewal date 15 days to Immigration Checkpoint in local area where the alien resides.

Appears the new boss's first priority is to have his office renovated....labor issues/problems to be discussed later on. Not a good sign. BUT WAIT!!!...the new boss's spokesperson will probably say the office renovation will create many new jobs.

Just as soon as aircraft are bought for the RTN aircraft carrier docked at Sattahip and the RTAF get a couple of F-35's the aerostat can be patched (unless some submarine engines need to be bought). A lot will depend on the Thai military getting other countries to buy more durians and rice. Durians for weapons.

This policy should fly like a lead balloon. Hey country XYZ I want to buy 100 billion baht worth of planes, ships, and tanks from you but before that can occur you must agree to buy 200 billion baht of stuff from me like durians, rice, etc. Sound like a fair deal (Thai style)?

Yea...I love TAT math....2.1M divided by 8 equal 262,500. TAT math that typically adds a zero or two, rounds-up unrealistically, counts anything moving as a tourist, etc.

Generally any document you provide in your extension package must be signed by the person the document reflects. Like a copy of the wife's ID card would be signed by the wife but not you......a copy of your passport would be signed by you but not the wife..... a copy of the marriage certificate (Kor Ror 3) and marriage registration (Kor Ror 2) would be signed by you and the wife since both names are on those docs. This is how it work when I did three marriage extension of stays at CW in 2020-2022. But if the IO asks you sign a doc that only applies to the wife/has her info on it, then sign....make the IO happy.

You are having basically the same problem I experienced last December when getting my LTR visa. When I would click on the Print Immigration Bureau 1 and 2 icons nothing would happen other than a white screen pulling up like it was trying to connect to a server to download the forms. I tried numerous times over several hours using different browsers....got no joy. Called BoI above the problem and they said their system must be having a problem as the forms should just pull-up. BoI emailed me one of the forms and an AseanNow member provided the other. Below are the blank forms. Blank TM94_Form_Immigration.pdfBlank STM8_Immigration.pdf You will also need to bring the endorsement (approval) document which is a two page doc....one page being a letter and the other a spreadsheet-type doc. THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT DOC....KEEP COPIES TUCKED AWAY FOR POSSIBLE FUTURE USE/NEED. Now I can't remember if that was initially provided by email from BoI or I got it off my LTR acct. But BoI will need that key endorsement document for your appointment and will ask you to logon to your acct and download it if you don't bring it to your appt. You should be able to download this doc right now....one in Thai language and one in English language by logging onto your LTR acct, selecting Check Status and then under the Action column click the Print button which should then present you with the two forms circled below which are the Thai and English endorsement forms although the titles don't imply such. And I would definitely just have the LTR visa stamped into your current passport which has 7 months left on it versus aborting your current LTR approval in order to get a new passport first and then reapplying for the LTR visa. Since you made the LTR inking appt for tomorrow I assume you live in/close to Bangkok so another trip to Bangkok months from now to have the LTR stamp transferred form your old to new passport shouldn't be much of an issue for you? Good luck tomorrow.

Elite visa agents (officially known as General Sales and Support Agents) which are under contract with the Thailand Privilege Company (TPC) do not give/issue visas. The GSSA only acts as a middleman between the applicant and TPC...like a hand-holder, a guide, question answerer, a salesman, etc. Whenever an applicant is approved by the TPC for a Elite visa the applicant's GSSA earns a 10-15% commission....a slice of the Elite visa fee. Example: a Bt1M Elite visa would earn a GSSA a Bt100K to Bt150K commission. GSSAs also use sub-agents to help round-up Elite visa applicants. This very healthy commission is a key driver in finding many websites and Youtube videos talking very highly of Elite visas as these websites/Youtubers are trying to get a person to apply thru them as a GSSA or sub-agent. When a applicant applies directly with the TPC (which is a very simple process) the TPC does not have to pay any commission as no GSSA was involved. Whether applying directly to TPC or via a TPC GSSA does not change the Elite price paid by the applicant.

It's the Thailand Privilege Card Company Ltd which is a "state enterprise" under the Ministry of Tourism & Sports and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Appears Chinese nationals will have a less stringent background check with the new packages. I'm assuming other nationalities didn't have to have their name routed thru Interpol so maybe the background check for all nationalities will now be the same. https://www.thailandelitevisas.com/thailand-privilege-introduced-new-elite-visa-packages/

Yes, four packages that are massively more expensive than the previous eight packages. See the two websites below for more details versus the govt/NNT news release. https://www.expatden.com/thailand/thailand-privilege-card-review/ https://www.thailandelitevisas.com/thailand-privilege-introduced-new-elite-visa-packages/

When I look at the new packages chart from above weblink I get the impression Thailand Elite now wants to not focus on "quantity" in terms of new memberships but on "quality" in terms of the probable wealth a new member has because in my book these a "HIGH" prices and will significantly reduce the number of new applicants per year regardless of Thailand Elite saying new memberships are selling like hot cakes. While hot cakes may indeed be tasty if the price goes way up many people will just stop buying or switch to/stay with a cheaper alternate.

I wonder how that "by invitation only" will work for the 1% of total members per year (100 quota)? A partial quote from https://www.expatden.com/thailand/thailand-privilege-card-review/ Will some HiSo need to recommend you? Do you have to be a known wealthy person like maybe Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, the Prince of XYZ, etc.? Maybe fill-out a self-nomination form to be considered? Enter an invitation lottery drawing? Maybe only available in a Willy Wonka Golden Ticket invitation chocolate bar?

As of 30 Aug 2023 at 1430hrs Thailand When you go to the official Thailand Elite website at: https://www.thailandelite.com/ the above new membership packages are "not" reflected. In fact, they have now removed a lot of info on the old/current packages. It's a shame this information is first released through other websites/agents versus it first being released on the official website or at least being released at the same time. Seems Thailand Elite is letting its General Sales and Support Agents (GSSA) delivery the news first which in turn probably get potential customers to first contact GSSA entities which in turns earns the GSSA a 15 to 20% commission on each membership sold.

So, from looking at above Thailand Elite Hawryluk Legal Advisors webpage given by K2938, there will four membership packages consisting of the ones listed below. A package like say the previous 20 years at Bt1M package will be history. New Packages: * Reserve Card: By invitation only at THB 5M, it offers a visa validity of 20 years, 120 privilege points annually, and privileges from The Reserve Club to supercar test drives. -- That averages to Bt250K/year or approx Bt21K/month * Diamond Card: Priced at THB 2.5M, with a visa validity of 15 years and 55 annual privilege points, it extends benefits from free domestic flights to wealth advisor services. -- That averages to approx Bt167K/year or approx Bt14K/month * Platinum Card: At THB 1.5M, offers a visa validity of 10 years and 35 annual privilege points, granting members from VIP seating to health & spa treatments. -- That averages to Bt150K/year or Bt12.5K/month * Gold Card: This membership card, at THB 900K, ensures a 5-year visa validity and 20 annual privilege points, ensuring privileges from airport transfers to shopping. -- That averages to Bt180K/year or Bt15K/month

Yea...but now it will come with "privilege points" whatever that turns out to be. Maybe the points is like a Elite wallet amount that is deducted from when using Elite services like limo service in the Bangkok area, a golf outing, a massage. maybe discount coffee at Starbucks, ..... And I love how the slide says "By invitation only" and being briefed by a guy in a "gold" colored coat. Gives it that really "elite" touch.

No shortage of different answers coming from BoI regarding address reporting. Maybe BoI has very recently changed their policy due to feedback they are getting, maybe a case of different BoI employees being on different pages, etc. Maybe time to ask BoI again to see if this weeks answer is different from previous weeks.

You can renew up to 45 days early at CW. You do not lose any time off your extension by renewing early. I did 14 retirement and marriage extensions at CW thru 2022....I typically applied for renewal 40 to 45 days before as I like to get things done and out of the way....plus, it would give me plenty of time to resolve any unexpected event.

Paperwork-wise and not having to get the wife involved a retirement extension is easier....not to imply paperwork required for a marriage extension is hard (as it's not) especially if married in Thailand. If your marriage occurred outside Thailand then you'll need to go thru the process to get it registered in Thailand then it will be easy for ensuing years. If the annual income requirement is a major factor, the marriage extension income requirements are a lot less than a retirement extension. Each person's situation and opinion will be different regarding whether a retirement or marriage extension best suits them. Kinda like buying a car where budget, options, design, annual upkeep, etc., all come into play and people's choice will vary.