uzynkotak

Funny that you mentioned it. I applied for Thai Elite to lock in the old price. The application is still pending but I'm not sure that I will pay for it if they approve me because of all the BS with taxes on foreign income and remittances. That's why im asking about alternatives, such as spending winters in TH on tourist visas and staying the rest of the year elsewhere.

Dont you have to provide proof of residency to apply for METV?

Do you have to be in the US to apply for a METV visa from the US? What if you maintain a mailing address in the US but spend most of the time abroad, how would they check?

I'm a US citizen, still have a few years until I can qualify for a TH retirement visa. I don't live in the US, just visit occasionally, so I don't know if I can get a Thai tourist visa in the US if it requires applying from your home country. If I decide spend winters in Thailand, how much time can I realistically spend there each year and what's the best strategy? For example, get a tourist stamp on arrival, extend 30 days, do a border run twice and extend each time, so 180 days in total. Is that realistic? Or is it better to get a tourist visa in another country like Laos? If someone stays about 6 months per year in Thailand for a few years in a row on tourist stamps or visas, how likely are they to get in trouble?

I don't vibe with most Thais either.

I've been to Canary islands and, of course, Bangkok. You are not comparing like to like. Bangkok should be compared to Madrid and Canary Islands to Thai islands like Ko Chang or Ko Samet (and Ibiza should be compared to Phuket. Ibiza is obviously a lot more expensive). Now about groceries, they are not a huge part of the budget for many people, so it it's not a huge deal that a piece of salmon or steak costs much more in TH than it does in Spain because unless you're on a tight budget, you compare that price to the cost of going out to a nice restaurant, and it's still cheaper. Same thing with alcohol. Health insurance can be an issue but not everyone needs medial care often enough to worry about that. Thailand still offers reasonable prices for health care. Finally, check numbeo.com and compare the cost of living in Bangkok vs Madrid. BKK, if i remember correctly, is about 42% of NYC cost of living, and Madrid is more than 50%.

What exactly is cheaper in Spain other than local wine and produce?

Easy visa policy? What options do they offer for long term stay, other than doing visa runs and hoping they let you in every time?

The US has a much lower (or even zero) effective tax rate for most expats. If you live abroad and earn a salary, the first $110K+ per year are tax exempt unless you spend more than 30 days per year in the US. If you live on dividends or capital gains, the first $40K (plus cost basis) are taxed at 0%, or even the first $80K if you are married and filing jointly. For many retirees, social security benefits are taxed at a lower rate vs earned income.

Unless they don't file it and you still need it to extend your visa

Yes, unless it doesnt

Cause when you're rich, every place in the world can be like Thailand. Even better because n most countries in the world, you don't have to deal with all the TM30 BS having to report your whereabouts like a criminal every time you move to another hotel.

What's the current situation with TM30 for Thai elite visa holders? If your landlord or hotel doesn't register you, can you still do yoir 90 day report? Do you have to pay a fine if they don't file it? Someone mentioned booking a hotel for one night in this case... how does that work? If the tm30 says you already checked out and stayed just one night, can you still use it for 90d report?

So then there is absolutely nothing to worry about for an individual. I don't know why so many people even mention CRS while discussing the new tax rules.

I am not familiar with CRS data but I have some experience with data/analytics, particularly payments/transactions. Based on my experience, I find it hard to believe that a Thai (or Mexican etc) tax official will be able to see my income, account balances etc. Even matching the data to someone's name and DOB is not an easy task given that one of the datasets would include basically every person in all the countries that participate in this exchange. Even if a tax official can see my accounts and balances at a certain point in time, they won't be able to figure out my income just based on that. Not to mention that this kind of analysis at this scale requires top 1% intelligence. something that the Thai government is clearly lacking.