craigt3365

42 minutes ago, observer90210 said:

or perhaps the idiom of those not stupid enough to loose everything by putting all one's eggs in the same basket ?

Naam knows more about international investing than pretty much all of us here. I wish I knew 10% of what he knows! And I've got a masters in finance.  LOL

25 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

"You've got FDIC insurance for the first 100k in the US. How about here? Good luck with that. LOL."

 

The above was your quote. You are protected for nearly 5 times that amount. You are protected for that amount in 3 years if you separate it into 3 banks. 3-5 years is a long time. So your comment was "How about here?, Good luck with that. LOL"  Well here you are currently protected for 15 million................

Currently is correct. 10M next year, 5M after that and 1M after that. Much less than in the US. Which has a great financial system. Contrary to what you say. And is not part of this topic.

2 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Stick to the topic. You made an uninformed comment, you were pulled up on it. 

 

Up to you if you want to keep your assets abroad. I was just pointing out that the Thai Government and banking was no less sound than anywhere else.

 

Did you read the link? The insurance will only be 1M baht very soon. Not the huge amount you previously posted. You made an uninformed comment, you were pulled up on it.

12 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Currently deposits of up to 15 million baht are protected under the Deposit Protection Act. Do you have any clue about things in Thailand?

 

Be nice. Good luck collecting that if stuff hits the fan. Especially if you are a foreigner.

A very good friend of mine lost his mate a few years ago. This guys farang wife has been trying for years to get back the 2M baht they have in a joint account. No joy so far.

I'll stick with keeping my assets overseas.

You should read this. Best of luck.

http://www.thaiwebsites.com/deposits-insurance.asp

18 minutes ago, smutcakes said:

Thailand is one of the only countries in the World that the Government has never defaulted on Government bonds.

How many banks have gone tits up in Thailand in compared to say umm America in the past 10 years. America has had 526. How about Thailand?

Where do you keep your money?

You've got FDIC insurance for the first 100k in the US. How about here? Good luck with that. LOL.

The big problem will be loss of value. Like in 1997. Huge currency losses then. And it's starting to rear it's ugly head again.  I'll keep my money overseas.

http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2111324/thailands-hot-money-problem-echoes-1997-asian-financial

Just back from immigration.  Hardly a soul in there.  Did the visa extension in about 10 minutes.  Love low season!

7 hours ago, juice777 said:

What's the fine anyway if I have broken the rules?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

It varies.  Depends on the position of the sun, moon, stars, etc. LOL.  I know somebody who just paid 5k.  Others, a bit less.

22 hours ago, Jingthing said:

If you specifically want an O-A visa, that is impossible to get in Thailand. You must apply for that in the U.S. For that, the 800K in funds is shown in a U.S. bank. You don't need any income if you've got the 800K. 

 

YES, there is another path towards retirement status that doesn't involve ever getting an O-A visa and is done in Thailand. I'll let others address that. You asked about O-A so I took you literally. 

As you may remember, I lost my visa this year due to lack of an re-entry permit.  I thought it was multi, but it was just a single one and used.  My mistake. 

I arrived on the 30 day visa exemption and have converted it to the "retirement" visa.  It wasn't that hard, but did take 2 trips to Bangkok.  Which I always combine with sightseeing.  No medical, no police report.  But can't use the 800k in the bank as it's hard to open a bank account with a tourist visa. LOL

1 hour ago, JackThompson said:

See report here:
https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/1008811-non-immigrant-o-retired-single-entry-savannakhet-laos/?tab=comments#comment-12398628

Savanakhet may now require the police-report and health-certificate like Vientiane (that post is a first report of this, so this is not known for sure).  Even so, obtaining those and applying there is still a more viable option than a conversion where he will be living (I speak from experience).  The medical is easy to get in Thailand.  He may want to get a police-report before traveling here, if it is not difficult, to prepare for this eventuality - unless they (using Vientiane's known-policy as example) accept a police-report from Thailand? 

 

That would have been back when Bangkok (Chang Wattana) would do this for people not living in their service-area.  If not wanting to make a trip out, staying in Bangkok until the conversion is done would be another option.  This is preferable, if the paperwork for a Non-O in the region and/or the trip to get it is undesirable.

Chang Wattana was for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to stamp my income verification letter.  I didn't go to immigration there.  Didn't have to do a medical.  Didn't have to do a police report.

I had to go back because I needed another income verification letter.  They wouldn't allow me to use the first one again, but it didn't need the MFA stamp.

1 minute ago, Chip Allen said:

Don't bother with a conversion. The woman at that desk is a mental case. Just go to Laos and spend the night. Apply for an "O-Visa" there and come back to Thailand ready to get your retirement extension in three months. Very easy and straightforward.

She's tough, but helped us out.  And I didn't need to leave the country.  2 simple and cheap trips to Bangkok which I combined with visiting friends, etc.  Very easy.

The only pain was a trip to the MFA.  Took 1/2 day, but all in all, quite easy.

5 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

That problem that will arise is getting the account opened. Many people have had problems opening an account when on a visa and even more without one (visa exempt).

Many offices now want the money to be in the bank for 60 day for the first extension even when using the combination option of income and money in the bank. I think it is the same at Jomtien when applying for the visa.

He will not be able to do the visa application in Bangkok unless he has an address for there. They have been turning people away and telling them to do it at their local office. 

Many embassies and consulates allow mailed in applications to get a single entry tourist visa. The only financial proof needed to get a single entry tourist would be the equivalent of 20k baht. For a ticket out of the country if required a low cost one way ticket would be accepted. 

He may also need ticket out within 30 days to board his flight to here without a valid visa.

Now it's all coming back.  I tried to open an account at several banks near Jomtien Immigration.  No luck with that visa.  Ended up going the income certification route.  Needed 2 letters as they wouldn't take the original one!

1 minute ago, EcigAmateur said:

 

As I said, maybe good for old people who do not have internet and need help from anyone who pretends to know better, otherwise nobody not totally insane would accept to pay at least 1000 more for the smallest item available.

You obviously know nothing about the owner of that site.  He's guided me though several purchases.  Recommending different options depending on my needs.  I also shopped around and his prices were very close to what was offered elsewhere, even better on a few items.  And his follow on service is excellent.

Also, I'm quite far from town.  Easier to do it online.  Gets delivered right to my door.

6 minutes ago, KittenKong said:

 

I have already mentioned to him that agents here will be able to smooth the path of any application, for a fee. But he is keen to do it as cheaply as possible. So perhaps we will keep that as a last resort. There are also some time constraints about which he is not yet certain.

 

How much did it actually cost you in fees to do the Bangkok part?

This isn't an agent, it's Jomtien immigration.  And you get an extra 3 months visa as part of it.  I was offered 16k but I heard a friend just did it and paid 25k.  Not sure why the difference. 

I spent about 8k doing it on my own, counts bus fare, taxi, etc.  2 trips to Bangkok.  If your friend needs help speaking Thai, I can give you my wife's phone number.  He can call he if he gets stuck when he's at the immigration office in Bangkok.  She went through the entire process with me.  Relatively painless.

His first stop should be Jomtien immigration. They've got a nice handout that lays out the entire process and the lady will step you though it.

I screwed up earlier this year and left without a re-entry permit.  I was pretty sure I didn't have one and was going to buy it at the airport.  The agent told me I had one that was still valid.  It was late at night, I've got 7-8 in my passport...I should have looked closer.

Anyway, came back, got a 30 day visa exemption, and went through the process to get a retirement visa.  It took 2 trips to Bangkok.  But wasn't too bad.  Nor very expensive.

Joe here can step your friend through the entire process.

An option presented to me was to have Jomtien do it all.  Quite a bit more expensive, but 100% hassle free.  Might be worth a few hundred dollars to go that route.  Have your friend go to Jomtien immigration and talk to the head lady in the office in the back on the left.

47 minutes ago, chado said:

For instance?

An official store for the manufacturer or one of the bigger named shops.  Banana IT, Power Buy, etc.

If you do buy at a shop, go to a reputable one.  My buddy got a phone with used parts inside, including the battery. 

Lazada is great.  Buy from them direct.  Fulfilled by Lazada.

14 hours ago, xylophone said:

Don't recall tasting any of those, craigt3365, but that whole area does have history and the Primitivo and Zinfandel grapes originated from the Crljenak grape from Croatia, so some pedigree if you like.

We spent a few weeks in Georgia a few years ago.  Love their natural wines.  Fermented in clay pots underground.  Amazing when drank right from the containers.

Macedonia has really good wine much to my amazement.  Apparently, they are a very large producer of wine.  Per capita. LOL

18 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

If that guy cannot see that what he is doing is not 'care' (unless he has taken them to the vet, got them vaccinated, cleaned and groomed and micro chipped) it is adding to the problem.  

And spayed/neutered...

17 minutes ago, JAFO said:

Maybe so but I would question were they really feral Soi dogs or roaming pets.  I find most aggressive dogs are pets that are out and about.  

 

Not far from me is a guy who has 5 dogs. He feeds them. They hang around his house. Sometimes they roam.  A few are Alpha males and are aggressive but these are pets and not feral Soi dogs.

If a dog roams, it's not a pet.  Even if it hangs around someplace to be fed.  We've got a group of them outside our village that the guards use to feed. Were they pets?  No.  We got the guards to stop the feeding and the dogs disappeared.

I understand what you are trying to say, but it's a fine line between the two.  Probably not able to really differentiate between the two easily.

A true pet is never allowed to roam free.

17 minutes ago, LannaGuy said:

What pees me orf more is the old Thai ladies who feed these muts as some sort of 'kindness' when, in fact, they contribute greatly to the problem.

And the foreigners who think they are doing a good thing.....

13 minutes ago, JAFO said:

 In my time here I find most feral soi dogs are not an issue.  Sure they roam and crap/piss everywhere but they don't bark much.  It's usually the pets of owners that are the problem.

The many who've been bitten and attacked by soi dogs might argue with you on this one.

27 minutes ago, wildewillie89 said:

I would still be of the opinion they are doing it illegally but the police just turn a blind eye to it. 

What's illegal about it?