Pib

The article fails to address/grosses over Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) between Thailand and certain other countries which makes the pension only taxable in the other/sending country like a U.S. social security/similar type pensions. The DTA doesn't mean both countries can tax a certain income stream; instead, it DTA is geared to "prevent" double taxation of certain types of income....specify which country can tax a certain type of income. DTAs can be viewed at the Thailand Revenue Dept website below. Thailand has DTA with many countries. https://www.rd.go.th/english/766.html Below is a partial quote of the Thailand-U.S. DTA regarding taxation of Pensions/Social Security Payments which is layman's terms says it's not taxable in Thailand but taxable in the U.S.

OP, If using the Social Security "International Direct Deposit (IDD)" payment method which uses the SWIFT system and can be paid to any Thai bank acct (no restrictions) based on current payment routing as determined by the Federal Reserve Bank/its contractor bank (the contractor bank is probably still Citibank) which makes the pension payment for the Social Security Agency the last leg of the payment goes over the Thai BAHTNET system which results in the coding appearing on the receiving Thai bank end to show as BAHTNET/local transfer. Doesn't matter which Thai bank receives the IDD payment....even Bangkok Bank....the payment will be coded as a BAHTNET (BTN)/local transfer vs an international transfer. Now you can request a Credit Advice which will show it was an international transfer, HOWEVER, to get that Credit Advice your receiving Thai bank might end-up referring you to the Thai bank (probably Citibank) who accomplished the last leg of the transfer which may turn out to be a PIA. And it's always best to get the Credit Advice within 3 months of the transfer as Thai banks typically do not charge a fee for a Credit Advice unless the transfer is over 3 to 6 months old. Yeap, IDD is a good option if you want to have you payment sent to "any" Thai bank and to a standard/unrestricted acct....even a joint acct. However, it does have some downside like not reflecting as an international transfer on your bank acct statement/passbook and also if your monthly payment is approx $1,125 or more after all the exchange rate & transfer fee dust settles you will receive slightly less than if using the ACH transfer system which uses the Bangkok Bank NY branch ACH/ABA routing number vs using the SWIFT system. If approx $1,125 or less you'll receive a little more using IDD in comparison to using ACH. If using the ACH there is only one Thai bank you can use....and that is Bangkok Bank and Bangkok Bank is the only Thai bank with ACH receiving capability. "And Bangkok Bank will require a special, restricted acct for these types of reoccurring govt/pension payments." By restricted I mean it can only be in your name....no debit....no online withdrawals/outward transfers, requires you to physically visit any Bangkok Bank branch to accomplish withdrawals/outward transfers. But although these restrictions the monthly pension payment will always be reflected as an International Transfer with the Bangkok Bank unique coding of FTT...this will make getting a letter showing 12 months of international transfers and/or getting Credit Advices much easier. If your servicing Immigration Office is strict and always wants "Thai bank" proof/docs the transfers were international transfers and you want the SSA to pay directly to your Thai bank (no middle man process like you relaying from another U.S. bank, Wise, etc.,) because you are using the monthly transfer method for your annual extension then using the Bangkok Bank NY "ACH" payment method is best.

I'll offer my opinion based on my review of the LTR docs and having a LTR Pensioner visa ...see snapshots/partial quotes from BoI LTR website at the bottom of this post for more info. My opinion is based on info from the BoI LTR website of partially quoted LTR requirements announcement/law and partial snapshot of the WGC paper application form. It would appear they would look back two years/24 months from the date of your application to ensure you meet the 80K USD income requirement. Example: apply 30 June 2023 and they would look back two years till 30 Jun 2021. My opinion is also based on the posts in this l....o.....n.....g thread that showed BoI does offer flexibility in evaluation of some applications (regardless of LTR type) since people earn money in many different ways and have various financial assets. "HOWEVER," BoI knows a person would/could only probably provide document proof of "past" years "based on a 1 Jan-31 Dec calendar year period"....like maybe annual income/tax documents only generated once a year. So, actually the BoI would probably be looking at the current year earnings averaged (if any) along with the two past full calendar year earnings when required. Turn this into a "monthly" average and see if the last 24 months average-out to equaling 80K USD/year which is the WGC income requirement. "THEN AGAIN," maybe the BoI understands folks applying under the WGC category can have highly variable income which is not based on a bi-weekly/monthly employment paycheck but instead on commissions/periodic payments which say occur randomly during the year, once a quarter, semi-annually, etc. So, the BoI knows income showing for the "current" year may be low (or even zero) especially if the application submission date in early in the year; therefore, the BoI would rely on the income from the two past full calendar years. Now this is a good thing as it shows BoI flexibility in reviewing income. Once again, above is just my opinion.....and the BoI has shown flexibility in meeting requirements based on posts in this thread where folks applied for various categories of LTR visa. Below info from BoI LTR Website https://ltr.boi.go.th/documents/Announcement_of the Office of the Board of Investment No.2-2565 (EN).pdf https://ltr.boi.go.th/documents/Wealthy-Global-Citizen.pdf

I expect it predominately has to do with the distribution of some pots of money which are based on total population in area regardless of citizenship. Like funds to build/maintain/expand roads, sewers, water systems, electrical lines, just a whole variety of things. And when it comes to distribution of funds politicians always want to base that on total population in their area whether they are Thai citizens or farangs.

Although foreigners can not vote, it's an issue since it's currently a factor in determining voting districts/boundaries/borders.

In the upper right hand corner of your post there are three dots. Click those three dots and a menu will open up. If 30 minutes has not passed then the Edit option will be one of the choices in that popup menu like in the example below.

Any estimated date as to when the correct post count ranking will be fixed? That is, promoting folks back to their original rating after everybody got demoted to Newbie?

Yeap...I agree. Take responsibility for emojis given vs just more anonymous hiding behind the keyboard. Let the receiver know who gave them.

It's now 5 days later....Any update on above process? Done?....still in process?.....estimated finish date? Thanks.

Yeap....this new popup ad is way over the top...annoying as hel!

OK, this will probably mean the Ministry of Inactive Posts will need to add 110 desks....maybe even build another wing to the building as the little known ministry continues to grow rapidly.

Thanks. One more question: Must reindexing complete 100% before anyone's rank get's restored OR some people have already got their rank restored at the 66% reindexing point?

Hopefully you will call soon to request the letter. Will be good to see another person confirm they can get the letter by calling and getting it sent to the email address you have on file in DEERS. Remember the office you are calling is open from 5am to 5pm "Pacific time" Mon-Fri which means they open at 8pm Thailand time.....Thailand time is 15 hours ahead of standard Pacific Time. When I called them it was around 10:30pm Thailand time which would have been 7:30am Pacific time. I was talking to a human within minutes.

When reindexing is complete will folks previous membership rank/rating be restored? Or, AseanNow is not sure, it will not restore previous rating/rank, etc., although we might get awarded a bunch of boy scout badges which will make a North Korean general jealous?

Update: Known LTR Visa Approvals as of 5 Feb 2023 "based only on posts in this thread I saw." Added in bold text "digitalnotmad" who recently received his LTR Work From Thailand visa...he applied mid Dec 2022 and got BoI approval notice mid Jan 2023. See his post above for details. Congrats to digitalnotmad!!! Poster & Date Final Approval Notice Rec'd 1. BKKNono - 15 Sep 2022 2. ashkale - 28 Sep 2022 3. ThailandRyan - 28 Sep 2022 4. pepper402 - 29 Sep 2022 5. gajah - 30 Sep 2022 6. Alotoftravel - 4 Oct 2022 7. James7 - 4 Oct 2022 8. & 9. Misty (and family member) - 4 Oct 2022 10. mudcat - 4 Oct 2022 11. & 12. stuarty (and wife) - 4 Oct 2022 13. Boomer6969 - 5 Oct 2022 14. aublumberg - 12 Oct 2022 15. JJJJJJJJ - 8 Nov 2022 16. F Groenen - 22 Nov 2022 17. smic - 28 Nov 2022 18. Paul3456 - 30 Nov 2022 19. anotherexpat4444 - 7 Dec 2022 20. User3847385 - 8 Dec 2022 21. & 22. Zuman - 16 Dec 2022 (and Mrs Zuman on 27 Dec 2022) 23. lextsy - 21 Dec 2022 24. Pib - 23 Dec 2022 25. Saraburi121 - 23 Dec 2022 26. khunjeff - 26 Dec 2022 27. TaiMaiTai - 4 Jan 2023 28. digitalnotmad - mid Jan 2023

It's probably a little early to know since the international 3 Feb payment date was only two days ago on Friday and sometimes people may not notice a missing payment for days/weeks later, I expect the forms everyone mailed back "did indeed arrive and were processed" although mail tracking and calls/emails to SSA customer service may have indicated the forms were MIA. I'm a firm believer that many times the SSA left hand don't really know that its right hand is doing (vice versa) when you ask either hand although either hand will give a firm answer like it really knows what it's talking about. And who knows, maybe this year since it's the first year since the COVID pandemic mailing problems have subsided that the SSA has decided not to cut off anyone if the form was not received "although the SSA would never-ever admit such." But maybe next year the SSA will enforce their 7162/7161 rules (or not).

I don't have a Skype acct so I can't speak to details or managing/using your Skype number. But typically when dialing from one U.S. number (like your Skype number) to another U.S. number you do not need to dial 1. However, it should still work fine even if using 1. Just dialing 800-xxxxx or 1800-xxxx should work fine. One way to find out....just dial it both ways. I know you said in your other post you don't use the Skype mobile app, but I would think using Skype that way also would make making and receiving calls much easier....I know it sure does with my VOIP services.

VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol. A fancy name for call services like Skype, Google Voice, MagicJack, etc. Just signup with one of those services. You can google how to do it. And remember you can call any country like to the U.S. from your Thai mobile number....but you can't just dial it like 1800-xxx-xxxx because you first need to proceed that number by long pressing (i.e., a second or two) the zero on your mobile phone and then a + symbol will appear which has told the network you want to dial a non-Thailand phone number.. Now you can dial the U.S. country code of 1 followed by the area code (like 800) and the remaining 7 digit number . Another example of how to do it say if you use AIS mobile service is at this weblink. https://www.ais.th/12call/en/service-AIN.html

Update to above regarding ways to receive the Tricare Benefits letter by "calling" and requesting the letter. You can receive it via email within hours of requesting it. See below related thread on how to do it....for details.

Update to above: I did receive the Tricare letter via email approx 7 hours later. The letter was a password PDF attachment to the email. And a second email showed-up at the same time which provided the password to open the PDF document. The PDF attachment was a 3 page document with the first page being a Privacy Act Cover page, second page reflecting case number info (kinda like a document documenting the order you placed for the letter), and then page 3 the actual letter. Redacted page 3 letter shown in 1st snapshot below. So, you can receive the Tricare Proof of Health Care benefit letter by "calling" the DMDC/DEERS Benefit Support Office as shown in the 2nd & 3rd snapshots below (please note the specific days/hours you can call). Or, if you have a DS Logon acct you can download the letter from the milConnect DEERS website. And just for those unfamiliar with DS Logon it's the DoD version of login.gov, ID.Me, etc., and to login to certain DoD sites like milConnect which allows you access to your DEERS record. Using DS Logon is the only way to log onto certain military/govt sites. In my opinion, DS Logon can be a temperamental system and once you have a DS Logon acct it's also easy to get locked out....I avoid using DS Logon unless I absolutely have to. So, if you need below letter you can just call the DMDC/DEERS office at the phone number shown at the bottom. 1st Snapshot 2nd Snapshot https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/ 3rd Snapshot

I used a U.S. VOIP number to call. But if you are using a mobile Thailand number (I.e., AIS, True, DTAC) you just can't dial 1800xxxxx...you need to precede the number with an exit/country code. See below for examples. https://www.wikihow.com/Make-International-Calls-from-Thailand#:~:text=Dial Thailand's exit code%2C which,this case%2C it is 001. How to if using DTAC as your mobile service provider. https://www.dtac.co.th/en/idd.html

https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/ BENEFITS SUPPORT Call the DMDC/DEERS Support Office (DSO): (800) 538-9552. Keeping your DEERS records current helps speed your TRICARE medical benefits.

Update: I called that milconnect Benefits Support 1800 phone number about 30 minutes ago...around 10:25pm Thailand time. Got thru no problem. Listening to the interactive system offering different reasons as to why I was calling I selected Healthcare and then Letters and within about 5 minutes I was talking to a very nice human lady. Told her the benefits letter I needed (I.e., the one I posted in the main LTR visa thread). The rep knew exactly the letter I needed. After verifying my identity with various questions, info from your military ID card, and confirming/updating my current DEERS info she submitted the request as another department actually sends out the letter. Surprisingly (to me at least) they will send it to the email you have on record in DEERS...and/or will send it via snail mail. The rep said even by email it will probably take a few days to be sent. Time will now tell if the Tricare benefit letter arrives, how it arrives, and how long it takes. I sure hope it does show up via email...that would be sweet. And if this Call Them Up method truly works it gives a person a method of getting the letter without needing/using DS Logon.

OneZero, Question: Did you call milConnect Benefits Support phone number at the bottom of the milConnect webpage to see if they could "mail" you a copy of your Proof of Health Benefits Coverage letter vs using the online DS Logon method? If they can/will then a person should receive it within 30 days which should be fresh enough for LTR application purposes. And "if" they can provide the letter based on calling then maybe they could also email it to whatever email address you have in DEERS. I'm kinda doubtful on the email method. but a person could ask. And yea, DS Logon can be a pain even if only already having a DS Logon credentials--believe me, I know based on my usage of DS Logon as person can easily get locked out for 30 days due to the system glitchy software. But supposedly for anyone still on active status with a CAC ID card DS Logon works pretty good....but for retirees which must used the standard User ID/password/2FA authorization method to logon then DS Logon can be unforgiving. https://milconnect.dmdc.osd.mil/milconnect/

I think I figured out what is happening Elon Musk just bought AseanNow and he thinks members with higher rank ratings get paid more and is demoting everyone to a Newbie member at minimum wage. Somebody needs to explain to Elon that AseanNow members/posters, whether a Newbie member or Grand Master member, don't get paid for their posts. Oh that Elon, he's such a penny pincher.