Hornell

What a load of off-topic rubbish!

Been here 25 years, never used an agent. Renewed 'O' Visa Retirement yesterday, 20 minutes at the bank followed by 1 hour at Immigration. Job done. 1,900 baht + a couple of hundred at the bank. Why the heck should I waste money on an agent? (Yes, I know it does depend on where your are. This was Korat.)

Some years ago 5 litre boxes of wine suddenly disappeared from supermarket shelves without warning. Almost a year later, wine boxes reappeared as 3 litre ones at 50% more than the price of the 5 litre ones. Is the same thing happening to Bells whisky I wonder. For the past month or so it has become almost impossible to buy at the usual outlets and today I bought the last three bottles hidden on the top shelf of a big Lotus supermarket as a staff member said; "not know they were here; no have any more!" A related question re this thread is when or if the recently announced reduction in tax on imported wine will be passed on to the consumer. It has been a few months now since it was reported and I certainly haven't seen any change in wine prices. I know TIT but.......!

Hear hear!!!!!

"I spent time this morning, reading back through some of the posts in this thread and was struck by how much disinformation, inaccurate information and general negative slant there is. The subject of the thread is taxation in Thailand yet it has become a vent for anything and everything about Thailand that people don't like, unreasonably so." Absolutely right! I have never read so much waffle and rubbish. Close the thread, Admin!

"Stair rods last night in Nakhon Ratchasima. " Maybe, but nothing but a few drops 50 km north of the town.

That was not my experience last month when I renewed my retirement visa for the 20th time. I had gone out of the country in Jan and was told that the TM30 slip in my passport was out of date and I had to renew it there and then. I was told I needed to do this every time I came back into the country. I can't recall having had to do this before.

Website all in Thai. Mobile app asks for lots of info including Thai ID number. Farangs once again ignored.

Bkk Post today reports that Thailand is indeed considering restrictions and checks on visitors from China. remains to be see if they carry this out though.

What a load of platitudinous b-s-t! I can only speak as regards the area north of Korat in the Isaan, but in 2010 we had mega floods that were caused by the release of water from the dams to our west. There was then a gap of 11 years until last year when the same thing happened again and my local area was under a metre of water for three weeks. This year we have had limited rain, but are once again under water, although it is not so bad as last year. In 2020 local farmers lost their crops due to a drought, last year it was the flooding and this year it will be the same. One wonders how much longer farmers can exist given the pathetic compensation they receive. 'Water management' in this country is a contradiction in terms, when at the least sign of more rain than usual the dam gates are opened and water is allowed to simply spill into the surrounding countryside - no spillways - until is hits a road like the Mitraparp, which has so few drains under the road that it acts like a dam, the water build up and - ergo the floods! The late King understood water management and proposed many improvements, but it seems that few have been put into effect.

Wearing seat belts in the back seat of a car may well save a few lives in accidents, but teaching Thais to drive properly and enforcing exiting traffic regulations would save far more.

The Nation today: "The Public Health Ministry estimated that the transition of Covid-19 into an endemic could come half a month sooner than its previous estimation of July 1 thanks to the improving situation." Bit of 'left hand, right hand' here as usual!

This is such an old chestnut! I have been here for 25 years and have been in receipt of UK pension for 12 of them, which was and is 101 quid a week. I wish I had had a quid for every petition I have signed to rectify the frozen pensions issue and I fully agree with the comments that, as we have paid our contribution in full and we are no longer a drain of the UK economy, we should receive our due pension. But alas, once something like this has been enacted (thank you Gordon Brown) it is the devil's own job to re-establish it. Inertia, procrastination and (as some have commented) the feeling that for some reason expatriates don't deserve the increase, abound. I doubt I shall see this unfair ruling overturned in my lifetime, but I am content to sign each and every petition as it comes my way.

The juntainsuits govt is really going all out to woo tourists back here for the high season then.......!

I'm as confused as probably a lot of us are.....! Is this proposal for 1.2 million Baht simply a 50% increase to the current requirement for 800,000 in a Thai bank account or is it somehow tied to a similar increase to the current 65,000 Baht a month income requirement and, if so, how much would this be? (eg 95,000 Baht / month?) It all appears highly speculative at the moment.

I renewed my passport recently and was told this. I got mine back 12 days later! Must have caught a fast pigeon!

DFPhuket has said it all! Would be tourists will think once, think twice (maybe) and go to some other country.

Thanks TallGuy for a useful explanation of your retirement extension and for the links to the various documents. I had come across the Police Order in 2019 and as I had arrived in Thailand in September 1997, I thought I might qualify for the 200k Baht deposit. Alas I did not, as I didn't actually get my Retirement Visa until March 2001. What I have not been able to discover is whether the date of the Police Order is updated so that one's qualifying year of entry moves up accordingly. If it is, then this year the Order should be dated 27 September 2021 and should read that those who entered prior to 21 October 2000. Has anyone tried asking about this?

Most of the points have already been made, but here are mine anyway. I came here 24 years ago to work, retired a few years later and stayed here on an 'O' visa retirement working unofficially for the next dozen years. I had no particular ties to or assets in my home country, my children were grown up, I liked the country and the people, my pension went further and I had things to do. So I stayed. If the situation in the country now had prevailed when I decided this, I would not have done so. In the intervening period, the amount of Baht from my pension has roughly halved, while the cost of living has increased (as everywhere). I discovered (as others have done) that the Thai smile hides an undercurrent of violence, they are bureaucratic to a fault and xenophobia abounds. Immigration is indeed the burr under the 'alien's' saddle and and features differing requirements between offices, sudden changes to rules and exasperating endless niggles. It must be one of the few countries in the world to require expats to report their presence to Immigration every 90 days. I should only add that personally I have never had a problem with Immigration or been asked for tea money. Do I think that foreign retirees will continue to flock here? No, I don't. At least not until Immigration gets its act together, the Covid inspired requirements for coming to this country are eased and there is a government that was actually elected by the Thai people that makes a stab at being democratic! The economic situation needs to improve a great deal and finally foreign residents/retirees are recognised for the financial and practical value of what they bring here.