JimGant

my problem is that I cannot guarantee being in LoS during the renewal period each year,

Possibly, at least with a plane ticket showing cause, the 30-days-prior-window for renewal could be stretched another month earlier, with fingers crossed. But, worst case, if you're out of the country at renewal time, you re-enter on a 30-day stamp, which you then pay 2000 baht to convert to a Non Imm O, then onto the retirement extension. Most examples of this I've seen here have all been same-day jobs, although in CM one chap was told, after getting his Non Imm O conversion, to come back in 60 days to apply for his extension. But, this certainly seems to have been an aberration. And except for an extra trip, no real harm done.

So, sounds like the "pension" question is a non issue. And, with all your retirement credentials in order, getting a Non Imm O in-country -- if necessary because of having to re-enter on a 30-day stamp -- should also be a non issue. The only issue I see is: welcome to arthritis ville.

Under the terms of the bill, sales of alcoholic beverages to persons aged under 20 are prohibited at all times and places,

That's fine and dandy. Now, why not allow sales between 2 and 5 PM, when most of us geezers like to shop?

I got my Commanding Officer to certify my gross retirement income before I retired from the Navy last month on official letterhead stationary ... that should be good enough for the US Embassy to certify my pension meets the minimum required amount ... shouldn't it ?

As others said, you don't need proof at the Embassy or Consulate, but *may* at Thai Immigration.

And while your CO's letter may work initially, a few years down the road it may be considered dated, plus it would not reflect your inflation-adjusted increase in retirement pay (possibly necessary, when the dollar further erodes, to translate into a required monthly baht income stream.)

Anyway, by signing up with Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS), you can print out your latest 'Retiree Account Statement' on-line. This, I would think, would be fully acceptable by Immigration. Click on the below link if you're unfamiliar with this service. Login ID is your SS number.

DFAS

Thanks, PTE. Did they need a certification letter from the bank?

I've seen on this forum that, even with sufficient monthly income (i.e., 65k baht/mo), Immigration likes to see a bankbook with evidence of a balance. I believe in CM they'd like to see around 200k, according to one report.

Question: Does this resonate with anyone lately in CM? And, if so, do they also want to see a letter from the bank validating the bankbook amount?

Thanks.

Thanks. I wonder how many folks are now having to show a bank account to compensate for a dollar income that has sunk below 65,000 baht/month? (And does Immigration use the "offshore" or "onshore" exchange rate?)

Why not get a Bank of America credit card? They have a feature, inherited from MBNA, called "Shopsafe," whereby you generate a temporary, disposable credit card number, complete with CVV 3-digit security number. You designate expiration date and credit limit. It only takes seconds to generate on your computer. No cost involved, and obviously adds near-ironclad security to on-line shopping, as only one merchant can use that particular number.

If credit's not a problem -- and you pay off your monthly bill -- I'd sure consider reserving your check card for ATM use only. Yeah, they promise to refill your bank account the next day after reported fraud, but I sleep better knowing a fraudster will never have access to my bank account. (And particularly Thai bank-issued debit cards, as this forum has some horror stories about banks NOT refilling your account after fraud.)

And using a debit card number on-line..... Scary stuff.

No need to cancel the card, just dispute the charges with the card company. That'll hurt them most.

I believe once you report fraudulent use of your card, the card will automatically be canceled.

Is this a 'fill in the blanks' form provided by the Consulate? And do you actually state a monthly income figure? (equal to or greater than 65k baht, obviously)

a lease is an agreement between two contracting parties and once a new contracting party is introduced into the equation, either a new lessor, lessee or a sub-lessee the agreement is no longer necessarily valid.

Maybe so, as I've not seen any court cases addressing any of these.

But what has seemed fairly solid, on this forum and elsewhere regarding Thai law, is that the lessee is guaranteed his 30 year lease. Period. New owners may come and go -- and thus be dutifully annotated on the chanote. But foremost on that chanote is your farang name and signature attesting to your 30 year right of leasehold.

Now, what else the Land Office can annotate on the chanote, I don't know. They certainly wouldn't add any second 30-year proviso to my chanote. And liens based on mortgage? Dunno. We didn't go that route (nor could we, being married, thus requiring attestation that the land was bought entirely with her money -- making a mockery of any mortgage lien).

Private contracts between two parties stipulating 30-year renewal clauses and sublease rights may or may not be worth the effort. Again, nothing like this has come before the courts. But from my experience, the Land Office will not annotate such private contractual agreements on your chanote. And without the blessing of a government stamp, just how valid is your private contract.....

But, then, my Land Office isn't necessarily your Land Office.

Sunbelt?

If you are legally married, your wife can buy the land and even if it's on HER NAME, you own HALF of the land because it's under common property.

In a pig's eye........ or in California.

My opinion is that you should follow the law, get a 30 year lease on the land, and consider anything you build on it to be a disposable item that's good till the end of the lease. If you can work out a deal at the end of it then consider yourself lucky. You can still sell the building and the remaining term of the lease should you decide to leave before the 30 year term expires.

I thought subleasing (i.e., 'selling the remaining term of the lease') could only be done with the permission of the lessor (landowner). If such were an irate, former Thai wife, this could prove tricky. Hence, the usufruct option, which does allow for subleasing. (But the discussions over 'lease' vs. 'usufruct' on this forum have been less than conclusive, IMO, particularly regarding the '30-year' or 'lifetime' longevity.)

Sunbelt wrote:

You can do a thirty year lease. If the owner dies or sells the land, however the contract is no longer binding.

The only thing you can be sure with a 30 year lease is you will get 30 years. Anything more is a bonus.

Comment?

sorry if my history isn't that good but what line of duty has Thailand lost its airmen heros? ... when was the last time the RTAF was used?

A couple in Laos. Thai pilots were part of the Raven operation, to mention one. They were fully integrated, having round eyed ground crews, which respected them highly. All that survived have now retired from the RTAF, having reached age 60, and many achieved flag rank. Also, many received advanced fighter training in Arizona and Texas -- with NO language barrier problems.

In 1974 a Laotian puddle jumper strayed across the border. Thai air defense alert birds (yeah, ok, T-28s) intercepted -- and straddled -- him. He banked sharply away from the one he saw, and pranged into number two. But, heck, a Kill's a Kill. Number two recovered ok.

RTAF was the only Thai military to participate in WWI. They flew with the French (whether the Krauts turned them down first, I don't know. Sure don't know why they picked the French).

RTAF folks are top knotch. But many of the finest, particularly among the F-16 crowd, are today opting to fly straight and level with Thai Airways. Considerably more money to haul trash and the unwashed. A real shame. I hope this can be fixed.

However, a number of retailers seem to prefer the latter and wouldn't "understand" your insistance on the former.

Several threads on this subject (Dynamic Currency Conversion, or DCC). My experience required that I talk to a manager, as the checkout girls (Rimping Supermarket and Home Pro in Chiang Mai) either didn't understand me, or weren't versed in how to use the DCC override button. I've had no further problems at these places when I mention 'I want Thai Baht, understand?' when I hand them my plastic.

Huge ripoff, but very lucrative for the merchant and servicing bank. I have yet to hear about any customer that's come out ahead with DCC, even long before the current onshore/offshore divide.

Would you know if Kasikorn ATMs are one of the banks which provides the onshore rate when withdrawing funds from a foreign bank account?

If they post the Cirrus and/or Plus symbol-- and that's what your card has on it too -- you then should get the onshore rate, as it's the network, not the ATM owner, that dictates the exchange rate.

which is why they want to see bank transfers.

Chokchai, you've got a tough parole officer. Which Immigration Office do you use? (Are you "grooming challenged" by any chance?)

If you use your ATM card from a bank account in a foreign country you get the offshore rate (not good). If you transfer money from your foreign bank account into your thai bank account (transferring in foreign currency) then you get onshore rates.

Not necessarily. Visa/Plus ATM, credit, and debit cards have been using the onshore rates from day one. MasterCard/Cirrus, on the other hand, were using offshore rates up until a month or so ago. Now they too are using onshore rates. Anyway, this is based on my experience, and several others. Nevertheless, there may be some rogue banks out there.

If all foreign plastic were using the offshore rates, it would be a no-brainer to wire money to your Thai bank vice using your homecountry plastic. But since foreign plastic is using the on-shore rates, you'll need to wire a large chunk of change to amortize the fixed fees at both ends in order to come out ahead of using plastic. How big a chunk depends, of course, on the fees involved with both types of transactions. And if you have one to those rare no-fee ATM or credit cards, which don't even pass on Visa and MC's 1% foreign exchange fee, you'll always be ahead with plastic, since plastic uses the Interbank Exchange Rate, which is always slightly higher than the telex rate used when wiring (34.98 vs. 34.87 yesterday).

Was this your initial retirement extension of stay application -- or a renewal? If initial, it's interesting they used your "until" date (May 22) as the beginning date, as usually they use the last "admitted on" date as the beginning of the extension period. And if a renewal, well, nice they let you renew 48 days early, when normally it's only up to 30 days before expiration.

Lop,

Interesting that they've locked on to the two year loophole. Surprised, however, that they would still issue multi-entry 'O-A' visas, as the simplest way to close this loophole would be to return to the original policy of issuing a "single entry" 'O-A' visa.

You can get a notorized statement from your local police that their "alpha files" (the term used in CA) do not contain any detrimental. When I showed this to Thai Immigration, the form was glaced at, and returned to me - it was never copied or put into my immigration file.

The reason Thai Immigration wasn't interested in your police report is: they don't, and never have, required it. Only when applying for an O-A visa, which can only occur *outside* Thailand at a Consulate or Embassy, is a police report needed.

Peter,

Sounds like Retiredusn's lawyer may have used the honorary consulate in Houston. And I know for a fact that they have, at least historically, issued multi-entry Non Imm O-A visas. Some other honorary consulates, I know for a fact, have too -- Portland and New Orleans, to be specific. And no lawyers were needed.

Retusn's using proof of pension (his "1099-R") could also indicate that the Houston Consulate is willing to use this as support data rather than 20+ grand in the bank...... And having a clinic sign-off on your not having elephantitis or those other diseases mentioned on the Thai medical boilerplate, is maybe be all you need -- not an expensive physical.

Anyway, I'd give Houston a call and discuss your situation and, if viable, what you need to provide. They're great to deal with, and I've been using them ever since the Thai Embassy charged me the full $125 for a multi-entry Non Imm O -- but made it good for only 6 months! (reason: "[their] current policy"). Call Michel Aguilera at 713-229-0636, ext 1101. Or email Julie Richardson (she's the Vice Honorary Consul) at: [email protected]. Dealing in Texas twang is a lot easier than dealing with Vitoon Mynameuhtoolonga.

If Houston makes things relatively easy, this, IMO, is the way to go. You'll then have nearly two years in Thailand (with only one border out and in, as has been explained on many other threads) before ever having to apply for an in-country retirement extension. But if you have to deal with MFA Consulates or the Thai Embassy, it's probably better to opt for doing your extension labor in Thailand (although some have had good luck with the Embassy and the MFA Consulates -- during a full moon, I believe).

Oh, Retiredusn's info sounds a few years old, as is mine. And the rumor is that Honorary Consulates, some anyways, no longer issue O-A visas. So if you do contact Houston, please let us know what they say. Good luck.

i was unable to make change that night, and at that time of night for someone with family and luggage and real things to control and worry about why should they be subjected to having a bkk taxi driver's response to being handed eithier foreign cash or big bills. i think we all know what can happen....that is the point that no one seems to get here.

I'm not sure you get it....... As a purely domestic operation, why should DMK be equipped to convert money?. Do other Thai domestic transportation stations, i.e., bus and train, have money changers? I would doubt it, since the volume of passengers to Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos would seem too small to warrant a money changer. And they certainly wouldn't establish a money changer for your situation, namely, changing a 1000 bt note into small denominations. (When DMK gets its restaurants and bars opened, maybe change will be available there for those who didn't adequately pre-plan.)

Sure, international airports (and domestic airports, like Reagan National in Wash DC, that have many connections to international flights) should have money changers to accommodate foreigners. But not DMK, which has no international connections -- at least yet. I'm sure ATM machines will soon be available, if not already, which will handle most folks these days who need a quick baht fix. But a real live person behind a glass cage doesn't seem like an economically sound decision, particularly if its just to change baht to baht.

DMK was an unplanned workaround to a real goat rope. And by most reports, they've done a nice job, considering. And a super job by Thai standards. Shakedown bugs always exist. Take another trip in a month or so, and report back. Meanwhile, cut 'em some slack.

What airlines fly direct out of CNX

Don't let airline terminology be a "gotcha." A 'direct' flight means you keep the same flight number to destination, but that you may make an interim stop, like in Bangkok. A 'non-stop' flight, however, is just that -- one takeoff, one landing.

All the rep kept saying was, "it was our first day". i told her i did not want to hear excuses....she was unresponsive. she really never understood what i was trying to say, nor did she really seem to care.

thinking you could get exchange at your destination (as expected worldwide),

Uh, DMK is a d-o-m-e-s-t-i-c airport. Arrivees and departees are doing so from within bahtville. Hence, no real need for money exchange. Yes, someday there probably will be a much underutilized exchange booth. But, in the rush to open DMK, a money changer was priority zip. Somehow I imagine that mechanics, controllers, and even baggage handlers were given higher priority in the re-opening.........

Tim,

Were you to be getting RT in Thailand, where would you go? And relatedly, are there any radiation oncologists and medical oncologists specializing in prostate cancer that you would recommend?

Best of luck in Oz with your procedure.