OJAS

I managed to get my SIM card identity-verified following a trip to my local AIS shop this morning (which proved a much smoother process than I had been fearing). However, one question to which you may have the answer given your comment above is "Will we need to go through this palaver again each time after we've renewed our passports?". After taking a snapshot of my passport page, the AIS staffer then appeared to extract info from it for their system, including, in all likelihood, the passport's expiry date.

Actually Bangkok Bank did message users of its I-Banking service about this requirement back on 3 April - which, I will confess, I only picked up yesterday! EDIT: Sorry about the small size of the attachment, but I don't know how to make it any bigger.

It would appear from the very brief video included with the OP that the government and banks are only planning to go after foreigners with gleeful zeal and gusto on this particular issue. On the other hand, Thai nationals will, presumably, still be cheerfully permitted by the powers-that-be to have their bank accounts linked in complete impunity to SIM cards registered in the name of any Tom, Dick or Harry they might choose.

For which the responsibility lies fairly and squarely with those clueless HMPO clowns in Corby IMHO. But, if perchance, they have, in fact, determined, for their inscrutable reasons, that fictitious police reports of lost and stolen passports (along with certified English translations + completed LSO1 forms) are now to accompany all passport renewal applications submitted from Thailand as a matter of course, then they also need to communicate this fact to those responsible for administering the gov.uk website so that those of us who are about to renew our passports are aware of this particular new requirement up front. Personally I rule nothing out as far as HMPO are concerned when it comes to crass stupidity!

Glad to hear that you finally managed to get your passport renewal woes sorted out. Given the extreme level of clueless idiocy on the part of HMPO's office in Corby with which you have been faced throughout this nightmare process, you may wish to consider lodging a complaint with HMPO about the unacceptably abysmal treatment you have been on the receiving end of, through following this link: https://www.passport.service.gov.uk/help/what-do-you-want-to-do

Here is another current nightmare thread about the complete and utter bloody shambles that is the UK passport renewal process from Thailand: https://aseannow.com/topic/1356355-uk-passport-renewal-email-received-send-us-your-passport-2-weeks-after-applying/ And here is another stating that the processing time for UK passport renewals from Thailand is now 9-11 weeks, despite 4 weeks still being quoted on the gov.uk website: https://aseannow.com/topic/1359941-british-passport-renewal-in-bangkok

Are there any other offices which insist on this IMHO rogue requirement for retirement extensions?

On that basis, cancelling non-OA visas (so as to avoid the mandatory health insurance requirement) can likewise only be done via airport, not land crossings, presumably. In that case how come all the reports on here of non-OA cancellations being achieved through surface border runs?

Yes, they are.

In that case, one thing you may need to bear in mind in connection with Clause 5 of my attachment is that Jomtien require the 800k to be seasoned for 2 months, as for retirement extensions (officially no seasoning is needed for non-O conversions, so this is a local rule which Jomtien have dreamt up). But, seeing as you have stated that you are already compliant for extension of stay purposes, this presumably won't be an issue for you in any event. Or maybe you could go down the monthly income route instead, assuming that your European country's embassy in Bangkok is one of those which still issues income confirmation letters or affidavits?

Strikes me that the best course of action in your case would be to do a border run, exiting on your Caribbean passport and then re-entering visa-exempt on your European one, which you could then convert to a non-O visa at your local immigration office before then resuming annual retirement extensions. How you go about seeking a non-O conversion for retirement is set out in the following link: https://www.immigration.go.th/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/9.FOR-RETIREMENT-PURPOSES-50-YEARS-OLD-NON-O.pdf This is how a number of retirees went about dumping their original non-OA visas for replacement non-O visas in order to avoid the mandatory health insurance requirement, so it is a path reasonably well-trodden in fairly recent times. Incidentally, would I be correct in inferring from your username that your local immigration office is Rayong?

They will if you've hitched a ride in Dr Who's Tardis to travel back up to 3 days in time!😉

First and foremost, you need to be a tax resident of Thailand in order for Thai taxation requirements to apply - which means that you will need to stay in Thailand for at least 183 days in any relevant calendar year (it's not crystal clear - to me at any rate - from your posting as to whether you are currently based in Thailand or the USA). Secondly, the source(s) of the income covering your family transfers might then come into play. If exclusively American Social Security payments for instance, these are specifically exempted from being liable to Thai tax as a result of the USA/Thailand Double Taxation Agreement.

Their new forms are now available online for download: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67160776e94bb9726918ee90/Life_Certificate.pdf

Yep, seems to be a uniquely Jomtien thing. Not aware of any other office that also does this.

Might be worth bearing in mind that the "combo" method of proving finances (monthly income + seasoned bank balances) could mitigate the effect of any increases for those on retirement extensions - particularly if they are not already using this method. But, alas, not for those on marriage extensions, though.

Yep, confirmed by the following thread on the Phuket forum - to which there was a surprisingly muted reaction:

I suspect that we might, in practice, be reliant on the TRD establishing a formal process for issuing tax credits in the case of the UK State Pension and company occupational pensions at least, as alluded to by @topt. Given what HMRC have said in their DTT Digest note I have my doubts as to whether they would themselves be prepared to issue any tax credits in respect of these pension types, regardless of what Article 23 might say. This is, I think, all the more reason for the need for the State Pension and company pensions to be formally codified in the DTA - preferably in the same way as Government pensions have been in Article 19, which would, of course, eliminate the need for tax credits!

Indeed - and not helped, of course by differing tax year periods!

How do you square Article 23 with the DTT Digest note* I referred to previously? * Treaty does not include an article dealing with Non-Government pensions. Also, no relief for State Pension or ‘trivial commutation lump sum’.

The absence of specific articles in the UK/Thailand DTA covering the State Pension and company pensions has really only become a problematical issue in practice as a result of the TRD's decision to make all assessable income earned and remitted to Thailand since 1/1/24 liable to local taxation. I doubt whether there were that many expat pensioners needing to file tax returns with them before that date.

So does this mean that you have now finally given up on the lousy procedures for renewing UK passports from Thailand, of which you were fulsomely singing the praises as being the very best thing in passport renewals since sliced bread when they were inflicted on us back in 2014?

Well, there can be no question that it is RUBBISH when it comes to providing duff info on passport validity requirements for entering Thailand on its website, I think! Very much germane to this thread, I think!!

And therein lies the rub, I strongly suspect. As I understand the position, the complete absence of any specific articles covering UK company occupational pensions and the UK State Pension - and even a general "Other Income" article as you have referred to - in the UK/Thailand DTA means that Thai tax residents who are in receipt of one or both pension types are not immune from being taxed twice over in both the UK and Thailand, with no relief from double taxation being seemingly possible. Indeed the Thailand section of HMRC's Digest of Double Taxation Treaties* (page 34) includes a note (4) which broadly seems to confirm this. I informed HMRC of what I consider to be the fundamental flaws in the UK/Thailand DTA on the pensions front some months ago. Unfortunately - but perhaps not surprisingly - the tone of their eventual reply did not inspire me with any confidence that they would be initiating discussions with their TRD pals on this whole issue any time soon. * https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b05425fed915d1317445ed2/DT_Digest_April_2018.pdf

Sky News abruptly paused coverage of Pope Francis’ funeral for some troubling breaking news this morning (April 26). Around 200,000 mourners have been flocking to Rome to pay their respects to the pontiff, who died on Easter Monday after a long hospital stay with severe respiratory complications. But Sky halted its live coverage to issue the heartbreaking announcement that Virginia Giuffre has died at the age of just 41. Giuffre accused Prince Andrew of sexual assault, which he denies, and alleged she was part of a sex trafficking ring run by Jeffrey Epstein. Now she has reportedly taken her own life. Not what I'd call "troubling" breaking news, personally.