JimGant

I had to go on Northwest because the Feds are paying the fare and I have to travel on a US carrier!

Ah, yes. I remember arguing that the lovelies on Singapore Airlines would make my TDY much more productive than suffering the dumpies of United or Northworst. Sighhhhh.

Good luck with the move. Korat, right? (my wife's hometown).

Harp,

Where in Thailand are you settling?

MG,

How direct a flight from Saipan to Bangkok? Have a feeling you have to transit Narita(?).

Many thank, Ray.

http://www.thaistartup.com/3yr_visa.jpg

What's the significance of the crossed -out "Extension of Stay Not Permitted"? I've never seen this on the NonImm 'O' visa stamps I've ever gotten....

I kinda remember from this forum that 90-day stays cannot ordinarily be extended, as can 30 and 60 day stamps.

So, any guesses as to the significance of crossing this out?

I was warned years ago about locking all the zippers on my bags. But it wasn't because of baggage handlers, but that someone in the lobby, as I waited in the check-in line, could slip something into my suitcase. Pretty slick, actually, as he knows which flight I'm on and then he -- or a confederate -- meets me and my baggage at the other end. All the risk is on me.

Oh, there are TSA approved locks out now (about $10 each, however) that are combination locks, but which accept special TSA keys to open. But no doubt every slick thief in the baggage room now carries TSA keys.......

Harp, yeah, fun to speculate over all this -- Humble sure threw a curve that got us all thinking. But it sure doesn't make sense that you'd need a reentry permit from Immigration as long as your multi-entry visa hasn't expired. A NonImmigrant Multi Entry visa, regardless of flavor, should get you into Thailand as long as it hasn't expired - any other scenario (unless blacklisted) just doesn't make sense.

Oh well. You and MG can give us the real skinny soon. By the way, when are you headed for Thailand?

(Interestingly, if you'd gotten a single-entry NonImm O-A, you'd have to use it by May 6, 2005. Maybe the Thais thought this 3-month 'window' was too small for some, resulting in the multi-entry changeover(?). And it is nice to have a little more wiggle room before making the big leap.)

But enuf speculation.

As far as the multi OA is concerned,I dont understand why you'd want to "fix things" at the border so that the 1st 365 day entry stamp would be "non-movable"

(as it is with a single entry)

Harp, I love it the way it is. But since I don't think they intended it as a two-year holiday, it will probably get fixed. And when it does, I'm just hoping the multi-entry option gets fixed too, and not just totally eliminated.

But it is interesting that the MFA community -- and their 'honoraries' -- apparently got the word to issue multi-entry O-A's (more than one having done it, so it doesn't sound like an accident). Just maybe they DID know what they were doing -- and the extra $75 almost covers the lost income from not getting 3800bt at the git go, plus an earlier extension fee.

Or maybe they thought we all would make an early donation like Humble!?

There is also a program known as Tricare For Life for retirees which is combined with enrollment in Medicare B. I'm not totally sure of the ins and outs of that system

TFL (Tricare For Life) was probably the neatest program ever passed for retired military and their dependents (fortunately, the bill came before Congress back when we were running a surplus). My Mom, before TFL, was paying several thousands per year for a Medicare supplemental plan. Now, with TFL, she hasn't paid a dime -- not even the Medicare deductible, which TFL picks up. And the filings are coordinated within the Medicare system, so the paperwork has been painless.

Having said that, things work differently under TFL in Thailand, since Medicare is not available. What happens is that TFL becomes, essentially, Tricare Standard (the military health plan for those not Medicare eligible). As such, there's a $150 deductible per year, and a 25% copay. I'm not completely sure of the mechanics, but I believe you pay up-front, then file a claim to a Tricare address in the States. How Tricare reacts to Thai paperwork describing procedures and costs, I don't know. (Anyone know?)

And you must be enrolled in Medicare Part B to be eligible for TFL, stateside or elsewhere.

So, I don't know if using the Medicare B savings (it goes to $89.20/mo in 2006) to pay for a Thailand health plan is prudent. Sounds like ProThai's experience indicates health premiums may not be such a bargain in Thailand for us old farts.

But his decision to opt out of Medicare B, and self-insure, sounds ok for his situation. However, for those of us eligible for TFL, it probably wouldn't make sense -- unless we could get an equivalent policy with the savings.

Plus, as I said somewhere else on this forum, having the option to return stateside for some procedures -- and having all costs covered under the Medicare/TFL umbrella -- is attractive.

There are enough retired US military over here, who have, I'm sure, run the numbers. Hopefully, we'll hear from one of them.

MG,

Will your replacement in Saipan be able to 'facilitate' SS filings?

Or, alternatively, can we in Thailand go direct to someone at VARO, with hopes of the turnaround time being greatly improved over using the US Consulate connection (which sounds more like a misconnection in some situations......)

KK/HF insists he had to get one..(maybe ONLY those that go and ask if they need one have to get one??) Or maybe Thai Imm.Errrrr."saw

him coming"??

Harp, this guy's not playing with a full deck.....and you're probably right, Thai Imm 'saw him coming' and was more than willing to take his 3800bt. And if his conversation with Immigration went anything like his posts on this forum, I'm sure the Imm Officer is still scratching his head. Same for advice received at Don Muang (and Thai Embassy DC): the Imm Officer (MFA Officer) probably couldn't figure out what the real question was....

But the fact that his O-A visa expires in "Feb 06" says it is multi-entry (otherwise, as a single entry, it would expire in May 05). 3800bt wasted.

It's nice to know that since RDN's experience entering Thailand with a NonImm O-A, Immigration has now been briefed to give 365-day 'admitted until' stamps (RDN had to fight getting a 90-day stamp). And it also seems logical that now once the Imm Officer sees that the visa has 1. not expired and 2. it's multi-entry, then the only other decision he has to make is whether to reach for the 90-day stamp -- or now when he sees an "O-A" (or "B-A"), to reach for the 365-day stamp. And unless you become persona non grata, as long as your NonImmigrant visa is multi-entry and not expired, you will be admitted back into the country -- the fact that you have a hyphenate '-A' should only make a difference as to which stamp he reaches for -- not that he might have a third option.

I'm almost willing to bet how this will further evolve.

First, it has been a mistake to issue multi-entry O-A visas. If you remember, George discussed the following on another thread (from the Consulate in LA):

If the applicant qualifies for the "O-A" Visa, the Consulate will issue a Non-Immigrant "O-A" Visa for a single journey into Thailand for a period up to 90 days....

(the 90 days in question here is duration of visa, not number of days 'admitted')

This makes sense, if for no other reason than it prevents a free extra year's stay in Thailand, which certainly is an unintended effect of issuing a multi-entry O-A. With a single entry O-A visa, you'll have to go to Immigration and get their reentry permit. And when you reenter Thailand under this reentry permit, Immigration, unlike when seeing an MFA-issued multi-entry visa, is programmed NOT to push out the 'admitted until' date.

I kinda like the idea of the Multi-entry O-A, however. I hope they just fix things at the border, namely by changing procedure so that the first 'admitted until' date under an O-A becomes non-movable. That way I won't have to visit Immigration until nearly a year later, when my visa is set to expire (I'll mail in my 90 day reports). At that point, I'll apply for not just my reentry permit, but also my first extension of stay.

You would think PeptoBismol would be a huge seller over here -- but I can't find it anywhere. Maybe there are similar medicines locally, but I haven't found any.

In the States, PeptoBismol is even recommended by doctors to be taken at a regular basis when travelling abroad. It does seem, however, that my system has acclimated to Thailand, since I rarely need the 'pink stuff' anymore. But I sure would advise infrequent visitors to bring plenty of PeptoBismol (liquid and tablets), and use on a regular, preventative basis. Chances are your stomach would be just fine, short of a food poisoning encounter.

Mmmmm. A new wrinkle.

I had planned to use our joint account when I applied for an extension based on retirement (discussion on this forum has led me to believe this option is better than a 'support' extension, which I could also do, as the wife is Thai). But if there's any possibility I'll be asked to show 1.6M baht in this joint account, well, I'll just open a single account instead.

Ok, but the purpose of the joint account was "joint access" and "right of survivorship." Does anyone know whether or not I can get two ATM cards with a single account -- and can I set it up so that the wife has access and survivorship rights? Not getting a second ATM is no big deal (she can use mine), but access (e.g., her going to the bank and conducting business with my passbook) and survivorship are. In the latter case, I'd hate for her to have to go thru probate to get the assets (yeah, yeah, she could clean it out with the ATM card or Internet transfer -- but I like things neat and clean).

I'm not completely whistling in the dark here -- I remember someone telling me he had a single account in Thailand, and the wife had privleges to it. But he's not available right now for amplification.

Thanx.

My problem was this: I had the Adblock extension in my Firefox, and I mistakenly got it to block:

Why, doggone. Thanks, RDN. Don't know how I blocked those items -- it certainly wasn't intentional.

I turned off Adblock, since I guess I really don't understand how it works................

Firefox on this forum won't allow the quote or smilies buttons to be used. The error log in Javascript console says that "my_get cookie" and "UA_vers" are not defined (whatever that means.....)

IE works fine.

Just me? Any solutions?

Thanks.

>>but there are four VFW Posts here that I know of and each has a service officer. Pattaya, Bangkok, Udon, and Korat<<

Ray,

Sounds like a VFW post in Chiang Mai would be nice. I saw on the Chiang Mai forum where someone was trying to build interest, but don't know where it went from there.

(Udorn, huh. Crawled back thru that gate many a time..... )

Another thing is that most US based insurance plans require that you sign up for Part B when you're eligible for it. Maybe someone else can tell us if Tricare requires this.

(Switched to IE and the quote button works, unlike with Firefox. A Java thing -- anyone else have this problem? (too lazy to start a new thread ))

Tricare does require this. But since so many did not have Part B when Tricare for Life was implemented, they had an open enrollment policy that officially ended Jan 1, 2005. And the surcharge for late sign-up was waived.

Post Jan 1, 2005, you can still sign up for Part B. And if otherwise Tricare eligible, it appears the late sign-up surcharge will still be waived (but for how much longer, it's not clear....)

See this for further info.

>>I picked up the entire SSA retirement application packet at the Consulate General in Chiang Mai.<<

PB,

Great news! The SSA website leads one to believe that the State Dept would be of no use in Thailand. And since I live in CM, having the Consulate onboard is super. (Anyone/office in particular you dealt with on this?)

>>>Have you checked on the usefullness of Tricare for Life while living in Thailand? My cursory check of the system led me to the conclusion that I would rather opt out of Part B and use that money to pay for another health policy. If you know more about this, I'd be curious to hear<<<

DC,

Great question, and one I really need to know more about. I guess in the back of my mind I'd wanted to be able to use Medicare should an elective procedure crop-up and I could return to the States. But this may be becoming moot, what with the quality of medical care in Thailand, particularly at the Western-oriented facilities.

At $66 per month per person, Part B will cost the wife and I about 5000 baht/mo. And this will cover only 75% of Tricare approved procedures. So, hopefully someone will pop in here who's run the numbers and tell us whether or not taking out a policy in Thailand makes sense.................?

>>Most retirees go the personal bank account route. Separate account for mate. It has been posted that immigration will accept double the required amount if it is a joint account.<<

(quote thingy won't work with Firefox -- but it would if I switched to IE???)

Anyways,

Pro, where'd you read this? I'd been under the impression a joint account would work the same as a separate account(?).

Or, if you prefer, you can do everything by mail with our office at the US Embassy in Manila. This is the "official" way to do it. If you like, I can give you the e-mail address of the claims supervisor there.

MG,

I'm curious. The SSA site had Manilla as the one place where the Embassy was not involved with SS; instead, a Veterans Organization was the surrogate for the SSA. But maybe they hang out at the Embassy...............? In any event, nice to know I can file via mail when the time comes, which is more than a year away. And yes, the email address there would be appreciated. (The SSA site does mention about using agents for dealing with them, so I guess this is a good example.)

You will not need to sign up for Medicare at age 65. It will be automatic.

I know Medicare "A" is automatic, but "B" is an election. Are you saying you can elect part "B" three years ahead of time, when you file for age 62 SS benefits? I know a couple of folks who didn't elect part "B" and are now trying to back peddle in order to be eligible for Tricare for Life. Or maybe both 'A' and 'B' are automatic at age 65 -- unless you opt out of 'B?'

I recall on another thread the discussion on using Bangkok Bank New York for direct deposits. But was the exchange rate question ever resolved? Seemed to me there was still a question that a SWIFT wire was still the better rate. Also, the question as to whether or not Immigration would consider this as applicable towards the "wired" money needed for annual 400/800k baht in your Thai account(?). In any event, I'll still have my US bank account for sometime to come, so direct deposit will not be a problem -- at this time.

Approaching age 62, I just finished searching the SSA website for clues as to what I'll need to submit to start benefits -- and to whom and where. I had been under the impression I could do this at the US Embassy in Thailand. But according to the SSA website, I am wrong. Plus, the option to apply on-line and sign electronically is only available if you reside in the US.......

So, it looks like the closest place to file is at the US Consulate in Hong Kong (Korea and the Philippines would be the next closest). Has anyone been through this -- and if so, any recommendations/advice?

My Thai wife is a US citizen, with her own earned SS benefits, so she should have no problems. But I wonder what hurdles my friends with Thai wives who've never been out of Thailand will encounter iin order to get spousal benefits? Translated and certified birth and marriage certificates, at the minimum, I would guess(?). Plus, as nonresident aliens, such wives would have 30% of their SS benefits withheld for taxes(?).

And while you can have your SS check mailed to Thailand (bad alternative), direct deposit is still not yet an option here in Thailand (as of the latest SSA website update, July 2004). (Yet, if you live in such gardenspots as Haiti, you can......)

Ok, so it looks like I'll have to travel, at least the minimum distance to Hong Kong, to sign up for Social Security. I'll have my official 'raised seal' birth certificate with me, plus, as retired military, my DD 214. Do I need a Social Security card, or will anything official with my SS number on it do (like my military ID)? Certainly I'll discuss ahead of time with these folks what I'll need (including an appointment); but just trying here to preclude finding out I need something that requires a long lead time.

And will I have to go back to Hong Kong when I turn 65 to apply for Medicare B? (yeah, I know, Medicare doesn't extend to Thailand, but I do need to enroll to get Tricare in Thailand)

Thanks.

Thanks for the info on 'boots' What did you do when you got booted? Just seek the nearest cop?

You said: "The latest I hear is that they will be moving the airport to the Sankamphaeng area, so I doubt the parking will be expanded before then."

Now, that's a new rumor. Why, then, are they spending all that money upgrading the current airport?

Twice now when I've gone to the airport, there was no parking -- even double or triple -- available! And I can't see where they may be expanding the parking lot.....?

Anyone know if parking expansion is included in the airport construction currently underway?

Speaking of parking -- I thought I saw a yellow "boot" attached to a wheel the other day. Does Chiang Mai boot illegal parkers? And what in the world (other than the red and white curbs) would illegal parking be, as it seems there are no real rules regarding this?

Humble,

Any notarizations required with your paperwork for OA?

As for the penalties the law is designed to be a last ditch method to catch organized crime figures and those not in that category would probably never come onto the radar screen; much less be faced with the penalties in full. You will note that it has to be "willful".

Good point. As long as you're reporting all your foreign earned income, as required, you're not 'willfully' trying to hide the existence of these income-producing accounts. So, not to worry, as you're not costing Uncle Sam a dime. This is in the same category as 'you're going to be fined big time for failing to file your income tax form. 'Yeah, ok, I forgot to file, but I overwithheld, so you owe me. What's the fine going to be?' Even the IRS has to consider 'intent.'

Plus, the chance of getting audited these days is minimal. Taxpayer Compliance Audits, where you're randomally selected then grilled extensively on everything, are still on hold, as far as I know. Plus, when the US and Thailand signed their mutual tax treaty a few years back, it was understood that Thailand was then unable to comply with 'required' accounting to the US. They were supposed to have met this requirement by now, but don't think they have. Think about it -- does anything you've done financially in Thailand have your US taxpayer ID (usually, your Social Security number) on it? Probably not, so the US can't do any effective cross-linking.

Still, even if you're not reporting your 500 bht bank account interest to the IRS, it might be worth your while to do so in case Thai authorities question why you're not paying Thai taxes on this. By itself, you're well below Thai threshhold for income taxes -- but do they look at worldwide income to determine threshhold? Dunno. But if you can show you've paid US taxes on this, then you're home free per tax treaty.

But all this is secondary to the real worry -- where can I buy a beer between 2 and 5PM?