DRG

Has anyone done a TW transfer to Krung Thai Bank? Does it show as an overseas transfer?

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I deposit every month to Krung Thai Bank from my bank in the U.S. None of my deposits show coming from overseas. How are they going to treat that? As far as I know only Bangkok 
Bank show deposits as a foreign transaction. (FTT). My deposits show up as BDS22.

Very strange. I have been making deposits from my bank in Jersey, Channel Islands, to my KTB account for more than 10 years. In the bank book the transaction code is XISDT and on the statement I download, it is shown as 'Overseas transfer' with the amount in GBP deposited.

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My wife has had ILR since 2003. We moved back to Thailand when I retired in 2006. We have visited th UK at least every two years for a short holiday. We have just returned from our latest holiday but we made a mistake on dates and were two years and one day since our last trip. Emirates gave us a hard time at bkk and Dubai but let us on. We saw a delightful lady Border Force officer at Gatwick. I said that we were possibly a day over the two years. She consulted her boss and stamped us in. I asked about the residency rule and she said that they know that many ILR holders spend more time away than in the UK, particularly retirees. They don't look too closely.

Presumably they have more important problems to address.

Does anyone have dealings with Criteria Wealth Management based in Guernsey? I used the know one of their account managers when he was with Lloyds. I was told that they have a number of clients in Thailand. Can anyone give them a good reference?

"If you do not have a UK driving license you will also have to have a IDP as well has your 5 year Thai driving license You will then be able to drive in the Uk for 12 months without a Uk license".

The answer above is not correct. Best to go straight to the UK government website to get the real info. You do NOT need an IDP. The government website states clearly that you can drive for 12 months with your license from your country of residence.

If you have not got a UK license you will not be able to hire a car in the UK ,also if you are stopped by the police and have not got a UK driving license they will ask to see your IDP as happened to me in York 2011. It does quote that on their website but I am only reporting on what happened to me.

I'm afraid this is simply not correct. I hired a car from a major company in the UK just two weeks ago using a Thai drivers license. There was no question of an IDP or any other requirement. And the OFFICIAL UK govenrment website says you can drive on your home country license, as I have done in the UK many times.

I am going over next month and hope to hire a car at Heathrow using my Thai licence. Which rental company did you use? What proof of address documents did you need?

[i tried one of the solutions from some tips i found on these pages and maxing out my connection with each download. Try filesharing.

Already there. Multi-barrel approach!

I use Deluge on Ubuntu (have done for two years) and have always had great download speeds on my 3mb, now 4mb, TOT line - until now. TOT are "shaping" the hel_l out of my torrent downloads - such that I am getting about 10% of my potential download speeds. The only good bit is that they don't "shape" uploads so my box.bz account has a great ratio. Thank you TOT, you are the best!

Isn't it strange, I also use Deluge and only have the 2M package from TOT, perfectly adequate for most of my non-torrent needs. For me, public tracker speeds are down to probably 10%-20% of historical values, Box.bz seems fine maybe 80%, but everyone has different taste in download material. It is luck of the draw and must depend on the quality of the peers you connect to? I'm coming to the conclusion that there is no definitive solution, too many variables. Just try the tips on these pages and one may work for you.

We have no confirmation or have any idea how they would determine this figure for other than government type pensions and have only heard of it happening at the UK Embassy.

I get an occupational pension from a former UK employer. This has UK tax deducted at source. The only way to avoid UK tax is to opt to pay tax on this pension in Thailand and thus avoid UK tax through the double taxation agreements. I get an annual statement which shows gross and net figures. The net figures tally with my bank statements.

When I have presented the pension statement and recent bank statements to the UK Consulate, which I understood was required for the "income letter", they have always used the net figure. This has been the case for the last three years. Using the net figure makes sense to me since it is the money which is available to me to support myself.

Frankly, I thought the primary source of information for the UK consulate was your last three months bank statements. Other information provided (like pension statements) was to confirm inward payments were of a regular nature (as thus could be classified as income) rather than one offs.

As well as my occupational pension I get other regular inward payments to my account, some of which are taxed and some are not. The UK consulate has always been happy to lump them all together for the "income letter" provided I can show they are regular payments.

I see what you mean. If you ask for confirmation of all regular income not just pensions then I can see that bank statements and other documents may be required, and the net pension figure may be used.

On the double taxation point, I too considered paying tax in Thailand as the rates look more favourable, particularly with the current exchange rate. But it seems to me after a few hours trawling HMRC documents and helpsheets that even though we are non residents, pensions paid from the UK are liable to tax in the UK. I am by no means an expert, but it looks as if we would still have to declare the UK pension and consequently tax will be payable. All the double taxation agreement ensures is that any tax paid to the Thai authorities can be claimed as relief against our UK tax liability. So I reckon don't bother and keep a low profile.

I'm going this week, I will report back.

I suppose that if the tax has already been deducted at source, and shown on the evidence, they are correct in showing the net figure as that way they way they are correctly confirming the income available, will have to wait and see.

As you say, I suppose it depends what evidence you give them. If you show your last monthly pension advice with the tax deduction they could put the net figure. If you show the annual notice from your pension provider there is no way they can calculate the net amount without knowing your PAYE code.

I last obtained a letter from Barry Kenyon, Honary Consul in Pattaya in October 2009. As in previous years I gave him copies of the latest letter (April 2009) from my pension provider in the UK. It doesn't show how much tax is deducted so Barry put the gross amount on his UK Embassy letter. Has this procedure changed?

Thanks for the info. I will be moving in Feb/Mar 09. I have made some contacts via the George and Dragon Pub and Friends Bar in Korat. Anything more would be most welcome.

I expect to be moving to Korat after living in Pattaya for two years. Does anyone know of any organised golf groups in Korat playing friendly competitions? Or any regular farang meeting places frequented by golfers who play regularly?