JimGant

Rib Room, at the top of the Landmark. Besides excellent food, excellent ambiance, as the 31st floor, obviously, has a good view. https://www.landmarkbangkok.com/dining/rrb-rib-room-bar-steak-house/

Oh, yawn. FBAR is a reporting system for American citizens with over $10k in foreign banks. You're apparently referring to FATCA, which Thailand has signed up to, and which has turned out to be non onerous -- and effective. But, quit blaming the Yanks -- the Europeans have the son of FATCA, namely, CRS. The whole world now is making it hard for those poor money launderers to thrive. So sad.

Just got back from Bangkok, where I had a fantastic steak, along with half an American lobster. So, just wondering, is there any restaurant in CM that offers such a combination? I could live with the lobster being a clawless langusta. Yes, plenty of seafood restaurants with langusta. But are any equipped with decent (and, yes, expensive) steaks? There must be a niche restaurant out there somewhere...... Thanx

Yep, I too was hit with this last week, for no apparent reason: Nothing had changed -- same desktop computer, same internet connection, same receiving account. Must be a large scale "random" check, driven by the "KYC" police. Annoying that I had to go find my cell phone. Then my passport. Then scotch tape, so that I could get my passport to lie flat for a picture. Anyway, after several photo failures, it finally took. Wondering if this was the future, I sent another amount the next day -- and no more asking for security photos. Maybe again in a couple of years..... At least I'm still allowed to use my desktop for transfers, as I like the large screen and keyboard that fits my fingers. But, maybe someday soon, Wise will switch entirely to mobile apps.... Sigh.

Probably, as that would tell them you currently reside in Thailand, which is a requirement for renewing your passport by mail. The US State Dept has, in recent years, been guilty of using the terms "visa" and "visa extension" interchangeably -- samo samo Thai gov't. Can, and does, cause confusion.

https://www.pay.gov/public/form/start/790155895

You now have to use the US Gov't's secure payment site to pay the $130 for the passport. However, a bank draft is still needed for the return postage. This info came out several months ago, when, apparently, they got tired of revising too often how much baht on the bank draft equated to $130; easier just to require the payment in dollars.

I wonder how many zits you're allowed to have before it doesn't compute.....????

Yes, if your Will is in English, because you prepared it yourself, then the Thai version is just a translation, needed for the court. As such, any conflict between the English and Thai wording interpretation defers to the original (English) version. When you have a Thai law office prepare a Will, in both Thai and English, it's assumed the Will was prepared in Thai, then translated to English. As such, the Thai version holds precedence.

What bank? Obviously you, a farang, has his facial scan successfully recorded at the bank. Thus, another piece of the puzzle to this thread...

That's key, because a bank has no legal obligation to freeze your account, if it doesn't know you're dead. And, unless you die in the bank lobby, how would they know you're dead? So, make your wife a co-signatory on your solely owned bank account, so she can waltz into the bank before you're cold and, with your passbook -- which has her signature only visible with black light -- withdraw most of the funds (she can't close the account). Better yet, make sure your accounts are all online types, so the wife can log into your account and transfer the money. No co-signatory requirement here -- functionally speaking. So, my wife, as sole beneficiary and executor of my Will, has instructions to empty my account soonest. No other potential beneficiaries out there that might complain. No debt. Bank doesn't know I'm dead. Thus, no aggrieved parties to file a lawsuit. Fait accompli in its finest form. But, until Thailand gets Pay on Death (POD) type beneficiaries for financial accounts, we're stuck with having to improvise. And saving 50,000 baht in probate fees, and putting a dent in some slimy lawyer's car payment fund -- sounds good to me.

Is FR just for mobile banking -- or will this eventually extend into IBanking? Or is Bangkok Bank considering doing away with IBanking altogether, as have some other Thai banks? I ask because Wise asked me to do a FR, using my passport as the baseline, before I could proceed with a transfer from my desktop, i.e., no mobile banking involved.

If you're a Yank, just plug the Thai tax into Form 1040, Schedule 3, Line 1 of Nonrefundable Credits. No Form 1116 required, if refund is less than $300 single ($600 filing Joint). Two minutes vs two days of wandering Thailand streets between tax offices and banks.

Based on all the dialogue, above -- if you're getting SS retirement checks prior to moving to Thailand, do two things: Don't notify Manila you now live in Thailand; and, two, keep your US bank account open to receive your SS direct deposits. Then, you can move whatever amount of SS dollars to Thailand you'd like, using a service like Wise. Get a mail forwarding address, and update your My SSA account with it (they don't require a physical address, so your move to Thailand is not noticed. You look just like an RVer, moving from camp ground to camp ground). Updates to your SS, then, are either by mail thru your mail forwarding service -- or downloaded from your SSA account. Completely legal. Only need to notify the SS administration, if you're getting retirement payments, if you move to Cuba or North Korea. Otherwise, the only SS recipients that need to notify SS of leaving the States for over 30 days, are SSI recipients (i.e., the welfare group). This is where the confusion occurs about having to let Manila know of your move to Thailand -- if you're getting retirement, not SSI, no legal requirement to notify Manila. And no "are you alive" letters. Ethically, I have no problem ducking this item, since when I croak, the wife's notification to get her Air Force survivor benefit alerts SS of my death. Not sure how easy it is to begin SS from an online account, if you've moved to Thailand. Believe they ask a lot of questions to verify your US existence. But I may be wrong; in which case, certainly initiating benefits online would beat going through Manila (based on all the sour reports earlier in this thread).

Amphur Wills used to allow avoidance of probate -- your executor would just take this Amphur official document to the bank, land office, whatever -- and the designated beneficiary (ies) would collect whatever the Will has designated for his benefit. This 'poor man's Will and probate' was understood by bank managers, land office bosses, etc. The rice farmer had a nice, legal, cheap avenue to handle his estate. Enter the lawyer mafia. The probate fees well-exceeded Will preparation fees. But if Amphur Wills avoided probate, how would the lawyers be able to get money for their Mercede's payments? Ah, put out the word that probate is required by law (nothing in the Civil Code says this) and scare bank managers and such to no longer honor Amphur Wills. This worked, to some degree, although small town bank managers, who knew the parties involved, often still honored Amphur Wills. Anyway, if Amphur Wills won't avoid probate, there's really no need to have one. Yes, it does "register" your Will -- but to what effect? If you still must go through probate, what difference does a registered Will have compared to a non registered Will? Anyway, as discussed on many of these Will threads, just have your beneficiary, likely your wife, who's also your executor, just clean out your bank account(s). If she's co-signatory to these accounts, so much the better (but not a requirement). And if the bank doesn't know of your death (and why would they, if not told), they have no legal obligation to freeze your accounts, so no legal liability. And if it's your beneficiary cleaning out these accounts, who's the aggrieved party (other than the lawyer with no probate fee for his car payment)? No one is going to press charges. So, brief your beneficiary/executor accordingly.

When was that? And from what country? I used Wise on 6 June to transfer $20000 from the US. Nothing had changed in the process since I signed up with Wise years ago.

That reference to SMART Visa reporting that Pib posted had reporting restricted to in-person (or by someone you designate) at OSS Center, Bangkok. But if you do a little more research on that SMART link, you'll see that you can also report by registered mail. This is probably the route they'll follow for LTR reporting -- and since I used to do all my 90 day reporting by mail, this certainly is no hassle, particularly if it's only required once a year -- a situation for us non-travelers.

Here's a curious observation: Wealthy Global "Application for Qualification Endorsement....." is clear that they want last year's income, and the year before's income. And this is proven with tax returns. And each year must exceed $80k. They also ask for how much income so far this current year -- now doubt looking at projection. Thus, besides with the other financial requirements, you're pretty much needing to be a $80k per year rich dude for two plus years. Now, I just did my application, but was curious about tax returns I needed to provide. So, I asked BoI in an email, and here's their answer: So, I submitted 2022's tax return, with 1099's -- and also a projection of 2023 income, based on official pay stubs/projections. All above $80k, so no problem with its acceptance. But what if 2022's tax return had been below $80k? Would that be a show stopper, like it apparently would be for a Wealthy Global dude? Hmmmm. But their answer to my question said, "income of past 12 months" also acceptable. So, if my past 11 months' income was, say, $65k -- and if I had an IRA account with some substance -- why not cash out $15k (or whatever needed to reach $80k) in order to meet the application requirement? It's not like that $15k is lost -- it just goes in your pocket or savings account. Yeah, some taxes involved. But if you really want a WP LTR visa, and its advantages -- leaning on your IRA may be an option. [Of course, if you drain it too badly, at the five year renewal date you may come up short. But maybe your investments will tide you over in your IRA account.] Now, an IRA to take up the slack needn't be just for the 12 month example, above -- using the calendar method for the $80k can also use your IRA to take up the slack. But I found it interesting that BoI's answer to me certainly seems to make the $80k a factor of 12 months, not necessarily of a calendar year. And this does give some flexibility, particularly if you've got some low months you're able to compensate with high months of income.

Called Forxiga here, but it's the same patented AstraZeneca product. I paid 2000 baht per 30 (10mg) at Pharma Choice in Chiang Mai. Availability no problem. My insurance (Tricare) fully covered it. I self prescribed, after watching a commercial on US TV, where they asked if you'd rather be playing golf, or sitting for 6 hours in dialysis. Duh. As I'd had stage 3 CKD for quite awhile, a quick Google on Farxiga showed "greatest breakthrough fighting CKD in 20 years." After cross checking with my other medicines for conflicts (fortunately, none) and reading the side effects (some, but uncommon), I've been on it now for a couple of months. Hey, even insurance didn't cover it, it this keeps me out of dialysis, certainly worth it. Oh, I guess it's also prescribed for Type 2 diabetes; but haven't researched its effectiveness there, not having diabetes.

'Cause you're required to carry a hard copy of your latest TM47 in your passport. And for some Immigration offices, like CM, you need a hard copy of your TM47 for your annual extension renewal.

And they'll transfer your current extension of stay stamp, identical to the one in your old passport, to include extension number and date issued.

Yeah, all we can do is watch Charles Bronson's "Death Wish" (and follow on sequels) and wish that somehow real life could imitate Hollywood.

Why is this aspect of the situation, which I believe, not foremost on the news? Oh, I get it -- would alter the mind set of, "poor, disadvantaged black kid mindlessly attacked by a white male." The real story here: Don't become a good samaritan, if there's any chance the race card would be played. I hope some passengers on that train will come forth and say, they're thankful someone stepped forward to confront a scary dude. Just sorry it resulted in an accidental death (or, maybe not, if future rides on the train result in less confrontation with scary weirdos).

Sounds like, after all the trouble you went through, that just having whatever additional tax you needed being done as an EFTPS estimated tax. Unless, of course, you don't have a US bank account to tap for this...

Gosh, you've got my juices flowing -- a zoot suit and a nose piercing might be interesting.... ????