Pib

Medicare is not accepted as it does not provide coverage outside of the U.S. except in certain emergency situations for a limited timeframe....like on a short trip/vacation and certain types of medical emergencies occur. And since a supplemental Plan F (a.k.a., a Medigap plan to cover certain things/copays that Medicare does not fully cover) is just a supplement to Medicare which typically covers the Medicare copay/coinsurance requirement (i.e., the 20% that Medicare don't pay) I seriously, seriously doubt any Medigap type plan provides any coverage outside the U.S. except for certain emergencies during trips/vacation up to 60 days. Medigap type plans which supplement Medicare pretty much have to follow Medicare restrictions as to what can be covered and what can't. Heck, since 1 Jan 2020 Plans F is supposedly no longer available to "new applicants" due to a law change which said insurance companies can no longer offer plans which cover the Original Medicare Part B deductible. Supposedly, companies started offering Plan G for new applicants which is basically the old Plan F minus the Medicare Part B deductible coverage. But hey, if you can provide a Medicare Plan Supplement policy that states in the policy they provide worldwide/Thailand coverage 365 days a year I expect BoI would accept it. So, assuming your Medicare Supplement Plan is not acceptable you would need to get a U.S. or Thailand policy which provides at least $50K worldwide or Thailand coverage.

You need to meet "all", not just one, of the income requirements as shown in the BoI LTR snapshot in BritTom's post above. I expect a fair amount of people could meet the 1 million in assets requirements if they were lucky enough to own some real estate that they inherited or bought, have some BIG savings like retirement savings/stocks/bonds, etc. Heck, I have family/friends back in the U.S. who are millionaires on paper from real estate they bought/inherited many years ago (but have no plans/desire to sell), but who live on modest pensions/savings. But the Wealthy Global Citizen visa also requires at least $80K income per year. Heck, a person could be assets rich on paper like owing some real estate worth at least a $1M somewhere worldwide but not having a lot of annual income. And they also need to show at least $500K investment "in" Thailand like real estate, direct investment, or Thai govt bonds. I expect if a person bought Thai real estate (even if bought years ago but still owned) worth at least $1M at time of purchase that would kill two birds with one stone by meeting the $1M in assets requirement and the $500K investment in Thailand requirement. But after killing those two birds the $80K in annual income bird still has to be killed.

The number of people who have applied 1 Sep 2022 - 18 Apr 2023 is on the BoI LTR website....one of those sliding charts on the side of the computer screen. I asked BoI if the chart reflected "total" applications or only those "approved" applications; BoI answered it was "total" applications. But I would expect (just my guess) it's only those applications that pass an initial sanity check (i.e., complete or mostly complete applications vs applications missing various required proof/documents or don't even come close to meeting requirements). Basically where the top of the chart says "Qualifications Endorsement Applies".....that means the total number of LTR Visa applications without indicating how many were approved. Also, keep in mind that BoI and relevant application reviewing agencies only "endorse" an application; it's not finally, finally approved until you pay the Bt50K issue fee via going to BoI Immigration in Bangkok or via the e-visa system if currently residing outside of Thailand. Snapshot from BoI LTR website as of 17 June 2023

And for those who don't receive a form over the coming month or so and just can't wait to send in a form the Manila SSA website currently has a blank 7162 for download and completion. I've also attached it below....downloaded from Manila SSA Office 17 Jun 2023. https://ph.usembassy.gov/services/social-security/ HOWEVER, BUT, I would "not" complete this form until you've waited at least another couple months because SSA does a 1st mailing which is going out now and then a 2nd mailing in the September time if they didn't get your response to the 1st mailing. And Manila will not even deal with any missing 7162 until 1 Nov of each year which is after a person should have received a 7162 via the 1st or 2nd mailing. The SSA really wants the "bar-coded/partially completed" 7162 returned that they mail-out. Blank SSA-7162.pdf

Yeap.....after I asked about the date I checked my mailbox (I live in Bangkok also) and I received my 7162 today/Saturday/17 June. But the wife did not receive hers....hopefully hers will arrive over the coming days....but last year hers arrived the same day as mine. And from looking at last year's 7162 both mine and the wife's 7162 was generated on 27 Jun and we received both on 8 July. This year, SSA seems to be back on their normal schedule of generating 7162s in late May/early June.

At the top of the form what date did it show as being generated/printed? Assuming a 10-14 days mailing time from U.S. to Bangkok that date should be in the late May/very early June timeframe but it could have been much earlier if the SSA didn't promptly mail them.

It would be best to ask BoI via their Contact form or email address, but I expect translation via certified sworn translator is acceptable "if that is what is used in your country." BoI has been answering inquiries pretty fast (within hours to a few days). Be sure to identify your country and how they use certified sworn translators in your inquiry. I expect BoI has dealt with applications from "many" countries and know what type of translations are available in each country. https://ltr.boi.go.th/ Now in BritTim's response that's the procedure for getting a document "legalized" which is typically used for those folks wanting to register a marriage with the Thai govt were the marriage was accomplished outside of Thailand.

Last year's (2022) thread on same subject showed some people began receiving them o/a 8 July.

Well, after a couple years of the SSA not mailing "Are You Dead or Alive" forms due to the COVID pandemic both the wife and I received a SSA-7162 today/8 July 2022. We live in Bangkok. Apparently the SSA is back to mailing the forms on a regular annual basis for us Thailand-based old folks. Will complete and mail the forms back today.

For those of you who use a Mitsubishi "EP" Series water pump, repeat, "EP" series, like the one pictured in the attachment, Do you get constant/steady water pressure? I currently have a Mitsubishi "WP" Series water pump (came with the house). The WP series is where the pump motor sets on top of a small booster tank, but the design/operation of the WP Series pump is for the water pump to turn off and on as the pressure in its tank reaches approx 30 psi (pump turns on) and 40 psi (pump turns off). The specific psi pressures vary by tank model. While I get an "average" 35 psi water pressure, the pressure is always pulsating every second or two due to pump turning off and on which causes the water from shower heads, taps, hoses, filling up the commodes, etc., to pulsate. And with the commode tank refill you can clearly hear the pulsating. This is normal operation for Mitsubishi WP series pumps, and in fact, other manufacturers pumps based on the same design...a very common design used in Thailand. Yes, I know I could also switch to jet-line type pump that feeds into a large pressure tank which would help reduce pulsating; instead of one or two second pulses I would have pressure changes/pulses which go up and down much slower. However, I would like to get a pump setup that gives me "constant/steady" pressure. The Mitsubishi "CP" series appears it might provide constant pressure (and looks very similar to a EP model), but it appears the CP series is designed to fill up tanks on top of a building where a separate sensor switch is needed to tell the CP pump to turn off....this really wouldn't work for my home setup...plus, I want a pump that is more self controlling. The Mitsubishi "EP" series seems to fit that bill of steady pressure/flow with its built in "flow sensor" but since I see it also has a pressure switch build-in also which is designed to kick-in at at approx 30 to 40 psi (varies slightly by model), I'm concerned the EP may also provide pulsating water, but to a lower degree. This pressure switch may just be used as a safety feature or used under certain circumstances and the flow sensor does all the real controlling. Due to the language barrier and knowledge of the sales assistances in stores, I can't get an answer that confirms to me the pressure/volume from the EP series pump is constant/steady. So, it would be greatly appreciated from you Mitsubishi "EP" Series pump owners/users as to if your EP series pump provides "non-pulsating/steady/constant" pressure/flow. Big thanks.