JimGant

Geez, your Will can be in any language you like, assuming it can be translated into Thai so that it can be processed by the courts or other Thais with an interest (e.g., your bank manager). That the OP says, let the translation wait until he's dead -- makes good sense, particularly for the following reason: If you make a Will with a lawyer, who says he'll make it in two versions -- and he's a crook -- his Thai version may have a few goodies to his benefit inserted, and as you can't read Thai, you'd never know. But, if you have it translated by an independent party, like, after you're dead, with no interest or possible benefit in the Will -- well, certainly a better chance of having a legitimate translation of your original Will. So, just having a Will in your home language, properly witnessed, and whose location your executor knows -- should suffice. Have it translated later, if needed. Oh, yeah -- if there's a dispute between your home country language Will and its translation into Thai -- the Thai version wins. But I would assume, if your executor is attuned to your real wishes, that he could ask the court for another translation. But, I digress too much -- as a translation by a disinterested party, and not the lawyer preparing your Will (if any), shouldn't be a problem.

What a lot of hoopla. The Thaienquirer's supercilious reporting is kinda amateurish: Look at us, we'd never report such horrible scenes: Well, good reporters vacuum up everything available. Then, it's up to their news organization to do the editing. If too bloody to show, then the worst scenes are edited out. Any remaining scenes come with the warning, "If you're squeamish, please look away now" -- or similar. We see this every night on US news shows. Not to take any pictures, even if allowed to, 'cause they're too horrible -- would call for a change of occupations. And, having said all this, I'm sure CNN edited out the worst of the pictures. But, that they showed any seems to be the bone of contention. FOX news must be smirking at all the heat their nemesis is receiving. Thank you CNN for being such a supportive employer. And for believing your reporters' version of the situation. Sorry the world is so full of horrible events. But keep hiring reporters with initiative -- and please, in your editing, don't completely whitewash the situation due to over sensitivities. We need to see for ourselves the horror of these situations, at least in part.

Yeah, same in America. Democracy really is overrated. Thailand needs a few more Rhodes scholars as future army generals -- to insure solid leadership after the next coup.

Actually, his current permission of stay is "until" Oct 6, 2027. And in keeping with the way re-entry permits have worked, he should be stamped in with the "until" date reflecting that of the current permission of stay. But I think you're dead on with the concept. And, yeah, the reporting notice is for aliens "staying in the Kingdom longer than one year." Ergo, if you stay in the Kingdom for less than one year, this notice doesn't apply to you. My take, anyway.

Makes sense, that if you never spend an entire year in Thailand, you don't have to do a one-year report. Same concept as with 90 day reports, i.e., never spend 90 days in Thailand, never do a 90 day report. Thus, only us non-travelers will be submitting the new TM95 one-year forms.

Why would I doubt you received it? How the stamps look, and how filled in, might answer some questions I had, and one did: The square "permission of stay" permit looks like a typical one, with an 'admitted' date and an 'until' date, and a 'signed' block. However, that you got a five year permission of stay is the question I've had all along, as some earlier discussion seemed to indicate us non-travelers would have to go to Imm every year to get a new one-year permission of stay. Your example shows otherwise. And the other guidance you got says we non-travelers will only have to "notify" Imm every year of our address, which, if by mail, is no hardship (and if online, even better). So, thanx for providing the pictures, as it now suggests that, if I don't have to visit Imm every year, even tho' I don't travel, an LTR might be worth it.

No!No!No! When they attempted to tweak the system several years ago, it was out-of-order for years to come. No, IT is not mature in Thai gov't organizations. What if you just kept doing 90 day reports? For most of us, they now work just fine online, and only take 5 minutes. Might be simpler than visiting your Imm office once a year, although they did say "notify," which means maybe using the mail system will suffice.... Going in person is certainly not a great selling point for the LTR. Anyway, like with the rest of these early teething pains, this will sort out. I'm just curious about the first LTR holder's reception at Swampy -- hopefully, escorted to Fast Track,where the IOs there have been fully briefed on the LTR visa. Then, what will the 'permission of stay' stamp say -- good for one year? good for five years? good for the remaining time of your five year visa? Or maybe no permission of stay stamp needed, as you already have a five year permission of stay authorization stamped in your passport...... Ryan, go take a trip and let us know. ????

Any chance of showing those? Not exactly sure what I'm seeing when I look at the one stamp picture, above, that you provided, not being able to read Thai. Thanx.

Ah, you've got the contract for the SCIFs in the new US Consulate in Chiang Mai......????

And, in another thread, you designated Thailand as the finest country in the world to live in. What's your game? I take it you're a fellow American -- why did you expat to come here? If the horrible coup so decimated the people and the economy, that the P and P efforts were solely for personal gain -- what, pray tell, would have been a better alternative? Yeah, a democratically elected leader sounds nice, as if you ever get the right person elected. Who might that have been? (OK, I'd vote for Somkid -- but the coup makers employed him to their, and the country's, advantage -- solid decision making.) No, Thailand has some hurdles to climb -- some of them of Prayut's doing (no, Spider, he did not introduce Covid to Thailand), but not from ignorant or malicious reasons -- but from some bad advice (fortunately, he was smart enough to ignore most). I really think he has the best intent for Thailand in his being. But, let's look back in several years, after the new rulers, and make a judgement. Kinda like what we did with Truman, who turned out to be probably one of the top 3 presidents we ever had (quit chuckling -- I know Prayut's not from Independence). Anyway, sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite country. And remember -- the glass is nearly full, not nearly empty. Think positive, my fellow Yank.

Ah, it's now making some sense as to why LMG wrote the new OA health policy as it did -- 'cause they got the same convoluted guidance about the new requirements as did Immigration Offices, namely, the "400k inpatient, 40k outpatient, and 100k$ Covid coverages." Thus, LMG offered a 3.5M policy, that blanketed both the supposed 400k inpatient requirement and the supposed $100k (3M baht) covid requirement. Then, they stuck in an additional 60k to cover the supposed 40k outpatient requirement. Yeah, some inflation involved in their policy numbers, but LMG saw where the baht was headed and thus built in some protection, given the screwy guidance that policies be valued in both dollars and baht. Anyway, where the convoluted guidance came from is anyone's guess. But both the Dec 27, 2021 Police Order the the Health Ministry publication: https://image.mfa.go.th/mfa/0/tDJBi9m15g/The_Amendment_to_Additional_Criteria_for_Purchasing_Health_Insurance_fo_Non-Immigrant_O-A_Visa.pdf are straightforward on the correct wording -- and the implementation date, namely, 1 Oct 2022 (in the TGIA reference, posted earlier, they were incorrect on implementation date, stating 1 Sept 2022. Isn't anybody in charge with all this....(rhetorical ?).) I don't know if LMG is the only TGIA company writing their new OA policies using the convoluted guidance they got...... Anyone out there looked at the new policies from some of the other OA insurance companies?

If this is a contract between US Gov't and Thai Gov't/military, I would think courtesy visas would be in order: Although the above says ordinary passports would be OK, if the contractors could secure maroon "official" passports, probably mo' betta. Some of our contractors out of PACAF, working in Korea with the ROKAF, had official passports (as did us active duty Air Force types).

Never heard of it! I rest my case.

Two months ago you could find that option on the Embassy/Consulate websites. And being able to pay for the new passport with a bank draft made sense, since you had to go to the bank anyway to get the 100 baht bank draft for the return postage. Might as well get another bank draft while you're there. But, I can't find that option anymore. Maybe because they had to update their site too often with the new baht equivalent rate.... Anyway, pay.gov is easy to navigate, so no big deal. But you do need a printer, so if all your computing these days is on your mobile, maybe a bigger deal for some.

Why all the whiners and negativity on this forum? If things are so bad, what are you doing here? Oh, yeah, you left your former home because -- you thought you were being mistreated, in some form or fashion. And the grass is always greener. Well, Thailand is a great place to live. The folks are pleasant and fun to be around. The weather, being warm, suits my arthritis. Things are much cheaper than in the States, tho' that wasn't a necessary selling point. And I've everything here that I need -- health care, internet, movie channels, US sports, ad infinitum. Why would I ever want to move back to Wash DC, where you can't walk the streets after dark, and where there's bleak winters and local income taxes. And insurrectionists in the streets. No, I'll take Thailand, hands down. I just can't believe the preponderance of posters on this forum are so "glass three quarters empty" on Thailand...... I hope it's because the positive folks don't want to waste their day pushing aside whiners' complaints. Oh, three hours a year at Imm, plus 5 minutes on the computer every 90 days. Beats getting mugged in DC.

Yeah, speed bumps ahead. But, overall, Thailand looks solid and ready to move forward. Read the following from the World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/thailand/overview Nice, balanced reporting, and just updated last month. Overall, a thumbs up for Thailand. Don't know why folks on this forum can't do more research, instead of relying on your uneducation and gut feelings. Oh, Nigel the newbie -- welcome to the forum. Appreciate your valid insights. Don't let the unwashed here get you down.

Give us your interpretation. I need a good laugh.

I'm sure he meant .5% (one/half percent), since he could just stick it in a plain vanilla Bangkok Bank savings account and get .25% (one/quarter percent). .05% is .0005, or one/twentieth percent. Not realistic, although I guess it wasn't too long ago you had to pay some banks interest to hold your funds, as the rate of return was negative. Those days are gone, with the arrival of inflation.

Yeah, never thought of that. Someone could steal my password and log in to my 90 day account, and do my 90 day report for me. Horrors.

That's way too much, if your financials are in order and the agent is merely a facilitator. In CM, the current agent fee for hand holding, and maybe queue jumping, is 3000 baht agent fee (Best Friends agency). I'd pay more for never having to go to Imm, but that service is not an option, as long as I'm ambulatory.

Of course. The Chinese are businessmen -- the Jews of the Orient. So why would they give money away, when they can get the same results with an interest-bearing loan vs. a giveaway. Certainly, the US Treasury would look a lot sounder with drawers full of IOU's, and not empty drawers once housing giveaways....

Another program launched without adequate adult supervision. It really sounds like the smart thing to do is to do your normal annual extension, and hope that a year later LTR will be tried and true.

Churchill never experienced Trump. When uneducated and/or easily-swayed folks have the vote, well, democracy doesn't work as intended. Thus, the best form of government: A benevolent dictatorship, where the leader is smart, educated, fair-minded, and with high ideals. Hard to find? You bet. But, Lee Kuan Yew comes as close as you can find. Actually, the fair-minded folks dub Singapore as a "managed democracy." (So too Malaysia.) But just try and hold a political rally against the PAP -- you'll be carted away faster than same type rally in Thailand. Malaysia's even harder on such rallies. So, maybe Thailand as a managed democracy is what it's all about here in SE Asia. Now, if Thailand could just find its Lee Kuan Yew..... Oh, and if you ask the Singaporean in the street (unless he has long hair and chews gum) if he's unhappy that he can't demonstrate in the streets against his government? You'll get the same shrug that you'll get in the streets of Beijing -- who needs to demonstrate, as our leaders have made our lives much better over the last few decades. (Probably the same answer in the streets of Hanoi or Saigon.) So, what's so great about a Western style democracy in Asia? Oh, yeah -- the uneducated and/or easily swayed get to vote. And, like with a box of chocolates, well, you know the rest of Forest Gump's retort.

Sir Tim Clark would be a nice choice. His track record reminds me of Juan Trippe......

Are you typing the password in yourself -- or relying on the saved password that most browsers (or at least Firefox) automatically fills in for you? Sure a lot easier with the latter method, as that cryptic password is prone for screwups.