Pib

It's not a loss...it's not like Bt75K is being stolen, a fee, being thrown out the window, etc., ...it's just a lower exchange rate. Are you saying if the exchange rate was higher you would not have any issue in transferring the funds and wouldn't consider using an agent? Now what is a fee/loss is the fee you pay an agent. Yes, I know it arguable about earning higher interest in a person's home country, etc., which might offset the agent fee.

My "guess" is the only reason they reviewed your bank book more than one year back is simply because the bank book reflected years and years of balances....and it's easy/quick to visually review....just flip thru the bankbook pages....plus, you probably appeared to the IO as a honest person not trying to game the system. I guess if your bankbook say only reflected at least one year's worth of balances that would have been fine....but that's just my guess. Rationale behind that guess is partially due to them only being interested in the latest one year insurance coverage versus 4 years worth. Thanks for your crossfeed....your crossfeed has been the most detailed I can remember about the OX visa. They are rarely talked on AseanNow probably because very few people have them as putting a Bt3M deposit into a Thai bank is a bridge too far for most.

TAT will soon be projecting millions of space aliens visiting Thailand each year. A 60 day visa called "First Contact" is already planned.

@howerde Thanks. Your experience syncs with other OX holder posts (although few posts) I've read over the years where an OX holder typically gets a Deer-in-the-Headlights" type response when visiting their servicing immigration office although the MFA and HQ Immigration websites seem pretty clear about the OX annual re-exam/review process. And am I assuming right you have not had went thru an actual reexam/review process yet? But if you have did immigration basically just check to ensure you still had the required funds deposited and still had insurance.....and did they only look back only 1 year to confirm the required funds and insurance?

@howerde How do you handle the OX annual examination of qualifications requirement as quoted below from the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs and Bangkok Immigration websites? From MFA website: Foreigners must report, in person, to the immigration officer every 1 year for the examination of the qualifications and supporting documents. From Bangkok Immigration website: Note: After obtaining a visa, you must come back for a qualifying examination every 1 year at the local immigration office.

Although BoI has not published the rules relating to the the 5 year extension personally I expect it to be similar/basically a repeat of the initial application regarding income/investment/health insurance requirements without any fee. And below is a late June 2023 BoI response when asked about the mid term/2nd 5 year process where they say the extension process will be similar to the initial application. I expect since a person learned how to ride the LTR bicycle application process on the initial application then the extension application will be less challenging/worrisome.

Yeap....that's a possibility based on current LTR required docs/procedures which focuses on 1 or 2 years of income proof. However, I expect BoI could ways ask for additional years of income proof.

Many people buy/sell (trade) stocks continuously and each year a good portion of their total income is from Cap Gains. And many people also have investments in stocks/mutual funds that pay-out very significant Cap Gains/Dividends annually (assuming it's not a terrible stock market year) which they may just have automatically reinvested or they sell/withdraw all the Cap Gain/Dividends. But regardless of whether they have the Cap Gain reinvested automatically or actually have the gains paid into a bank acct it's still "unearned" income.

As posted earlier, pretty much any income that is "not" from employment is considered unearned income. The BoI LTR website specifically mentions Cap Gains as unearned income. Whether earned or unearned income it would need to proved thru tax/bank/investment company/govt official documents....and yes, documents available from country to country would vary. Like for U.S. folks the Form 1040 Income Tax form, Form 1099R Distributions from Pensions/IRAs/Profit Sharing Plans, Form 1099B Proceeds for Broker/Barter Exchange, other types of govt/investment docs, etc. Personally maintained docs like spreadsheets wouldn't hack it.

No. A person needs to be employed and/or ready to make an investment in Thailand. An "unemployed" Chinese is not employed and probably don't have big funds to invest in Thailand. On the average approx 30 SMART visa are approved per month. It's focused towards specific groups. https://smart-visa.boi.go.th/smart/index.html#qualifications https://smart-visa.boi.go.th/smart/pages/statistics.html

All should as they are "unearned/passive" income.....that is, income not derived from employment. Employment income is considered "earned" income. Also, see below snapshot from the BoI LTR website which talks earned and unearned income regarding a pensioner visa.

Keep in mind the bar codes on the form contain specific info which may or may not be important to the "current year 7162 exercise." If you scan the two main bar codes you'll see one barcode contains your SSN "plus some additional numbers/letters"....and the other bar code only contains the additional numbers/letters that was also shown in the first bar code. I don't have a clue what the additional letters/numbers mean but I could tell from the sequence it's not date related. Probably a code generated specifically to a person's SSN record.....or maybe a code that only applies to the current year 7162 exercise with that code being different every year. I can only guess what that code represents and how important it may be to ensure your barcoded 7162 is accepted by Wilkes Barre. You might want to consider mailing back a 7162 which does "not" contain a bar code vs the bar coded form from last year....just download/complete a blank 7162 from the Manila FBU website and send that back. And if you still get a bar coded 7162 later on (like the 1st mailing finally showing up or getting the 2nd mailing) be sure to mail that back also. https://ph.usembassy.gov/services/social-security/

That's Bt50K for a 10 year LTR Pensioner visa includes a multi-reentry permit...that averages out to Bt5K per year. And you are authorized a work permit on a LTR visa...even a pensioner visa. And address reporting is once every 365 days. You only need to extend the LTR visa once at the 5 year midterm point which has zero fee as the initial Bt50K fee paid for the 1st 5 years and 2nd 5 years. And the great feeling of having a l....o....n.....g term visa without the "annual" reapplication process.....it's a good feeling....highly recommended. If you would get a Non-O/OA Retirement 1 year visa that would be Bt1.9K/year for the basic 1 year fee via plus another Bt3.8K/year fee for a multi-reentry permit for a total of Bt5.7K/year. If on an OA visa you can't get a work permit, but you can have a work permit on an O visa. And address reporting is once every 90 days. And of course you have the "annual" reapplication process/concern/worry/etc., which is one of the most popular reasons for posting on AseanNow. So, if you qualify for a LTR visa all it's benefits such as no annual renewal (just a mid term renewal), multi-reentry permit, work permit (if desired) and address reporting only once a year, then the joy of not needing to do (or worry about) an annual visa/extension can be yours. Edit: and if you qualify for a LTR Pensioner visa under the USD $80K passive/pension income provision you don't have to make any investment in Thailand, no in-Thailand bank deposit needed, etc...all you funds can stay in your home country if desired. But if you qualify under the USD $40K up to USD $80K passive/pension income provision then a USD $250K investment in Thailand such as property (like a condo), Thai govt bonds, or foreign direct investment is required. Sometimes people already have a condo in Thailand worth at least USD $250K which satisfies the investment requirement if going the USD $40K method....so, basically if they have the $40K income they will meet the income requirement for the LTR 10 year pensioner visa.

The Thai govt don't think it's silly as your money in a Thai bank helps Thai banks fund loans, make investments, etc., which helps the Thai economy. Money in a foriegn bank does none of that.

No....It does not mean you can get the visa within Thailand. Although the MFA fee is quoted in baht the fee at a Thai embassy would be based on the currency used in that foriegn country and the exchange rate used by the embassy in that country.

As to the OP's question of "Can a Non O be changed to a Non OX within Thailand" I'm not aware of any provision that allows that just like you can't change from a Non OA to a Non O visa (or visa versa) within Thailand. It needs to be done outside the country at a Thai embassy.

I think the Thai Embassy Sydney website is misleading/incomplete regarding the deposit/income requirements as it "implies" the funds could be in a Australian bank and doesn't talk other deposit requirements. Maybe Syndey is the different (rogue) when it comes to the requirements or maybe their site is just lacking. However, all other OX visa related websites I went to like the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thai Embassy Camberra, and Thai Embassy Washington D.C. are very clear the funds need to be deposited in a "Thai bank" and there are rules as to when and how much it can dropped below the required Bt3M.

Yes, the LTR visa is a 5 + 5 visa = 10 year visa. When approved you pay Bt50K for a 10 year LTR visa and a 5 year permit to stay/multi entry permit is granted. Note: Same for the Elite visa....even though you might buy a 20 year Elite visa it's only issued in 5 year increments which is the max increment immigration will issue....when that 5 years is almost up you submit a request to the Elite Visa Company for another 5 years and it's issued. Summary: immigration only issues out a maximum 5 year permit to stay even though the visa is issued for a long term like 10 years for LTR visa, 5 to 20 years for an Elite visa. Back to the LTR visa. Just before the 1st 5 years expires you apply for the 2nd 5 years which is basically confirming you still meet the LTR requirements for income, health insurance, etc. Assuming you still meet the requirements the 2nd 5 years of the 10 year LTR visa is issued "fee-free" as the initial Bt50K fee also covered the mid term extension/2nd 5 years.

Influencers: the picture/video vs reality https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-7212595/Mock-influencer-goes-viral-hilarious-parody-account-documenting-reality.html

No doubt the Elite Visa company paid this influencer.....basically a sponsored video.

Incorrect....review below tax article from BELaws for details. https://www.belaws.com/thailand/pit-for-thai-and-foreign-sourced-income/

This article from Siam Legal discusses the digital nomad in Thailand issue and gives quite a few examples of when a specific visa/work permit would be needed or not needed....but at the same time a person will probably still feel the issue "is clear as mud" after reading the article. https://www.thaiembassy.com/thailand/thailand-digital-nomad-visa-and-work-permit

When I read your comment that I bolded above, it reminded me of a comment made by one of the Elite Visa Sales Agents here in Thailand which very recently (30 July) said the "new" Elite packages may not be as suitable for the majority their Western clients who live in Thailand. It was the Sales Agent in my 30 Jul/Sunday post above which included the Youtube video made by that Sales Agent. Now such a statement can be taken several different ways but since the agent mentioned "new" packages it implied to me the new packages may offer new benefits which will be less desirable than current Elite benefits. We'll just have to wait and see until the govt Thailand Elite company makes official info public versus the leaks/bits-and-pieces/rumors/opinions/etc., that are currently floating around which this thread fits into. Comment of the Elite Sales Agent

Thank you, Sir.

Whoops....brain fart....typos....too late to correct....for the LTR requirements I wrote Bt/Baht where I meant to write $/USD.