฿65K Visa Requirement - Best Method To Transfer Money

[skatewash]

6 hours ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

I have brokerage accounts at Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and TD Ameritrade

 

The Charles Schwab and Fidelity accounts I set up about 3 years ago and as I recall, I did everything online except for possibly the signature cards, which may have been mailed to me for signature.

 

Just signing signature cards can easily be handled from outside the U.S. with a mail forwarding service or a trusted relative.

 

One thing that I find aggravating is that my brokerages, as well as my banks, all like to send something once or twice a year to me via U.S. mail even though I've tried and tried to get them not to, so it's a good idea to have some sort of mail forwarding service to ensure that their mailings aren't returned as undeliverable. My opinion is that the reason brokerages and banks send something via U.S. mail is to verify one's physical address, which seems to have become a much bigger deal in recent years.

 

As far as medallion signature guarantees go, they can become serious pains-in-the-ass since most banks don't do them and some credit unions require them in order to send an international wire.

 

I don't have a lot good to say about the heavy-hitter banks, but one thing I'll say in their favor is that it's really easy to send an international wire online through their websites. A lot of banks and credit unions require one to fill out a form and fax it to them or, worst of all, visit a branch to make a wire. Even USAA, which really ought to be more friendly in this regard, requires one to fill out paperwork.

1

Schwab is excellent for its checking account with a debit/ATM card with fully reimbursable fees.  Fidelity has free international wires.

 

It's good news to me to hear that you were able to open accounts online from overseas.  I would like to do that with Schwab for their checking account.  I tried to anticipate my financial needs before moving outside of the US but I missed opening a Schwab account.

 

I do have a commercial mail receiving agency with mail scanning and forwarding service (TravelingMailbox) just because I've found you do need to have an address to receive the occasional letter from financial institutions (despite opting for paperless).  I certainly don't want them to have my Thai address as I don't want to lose the account or have it restricted in any way.  I used to think that they were simply required to send certain legal notices (account changes, etc.) by mail, but I don't know that for a fact.  Maybe it is more nefarious than that ???? 

 

Funny story:  I own shares of Proctor & Gamble which as I'm sure some are aware had the largest proxy fight in history last year.  I had both sides mailing me several proxies and phonebook-sized bound documents despite the fact that I voted almost immediately online.  Filled up my online mailbox and thankfully I only had envelope scanning turned on, not content scanning (although they do not scan bound material).  I had a funny one-page letter from a law firm that got scanned and what it was about was a complete mystery as it just kept referring obliquely to the huge bound document.  I finally had to online chat with TravelingMailbox and ask customer service to just read me out the name of the bound document (which couldn't be scanned) so I would know what in the world it was about.  Turned out it was about the proxy fight, but the cover letter gave absolutely no clue about that.  Worst cover letter ever. ???? 

 

I have a commercial bank and a very small credit union and know from experience not to ask the credit union to do anything (it's a small-time operation).  If I need something I'll have Citibank do it.  Can't stand them, but sometimes you need that sort of bank.  I thought about joining the State Department Federal Credit Union because they have customers worldwide, but I never followed through on it.

[Thailand J]

I don't get any mail from Fidelity and Vanguard. Make sure you opt for e-delivery on their websites.

Schwab always send me a confirmation on every wire transfer, but not on other transactions.

 

Best place to keep cash: At Vanguard , the 2.3% rate on idle cash in the settlement fund is hard to beat. You can also buy into bank fixed deposits via Vanguard.

Edited February 8, 2019 by Thailand J

[skatewash]

5 minutes ago, Thailand J said:

I don't get any mail from Fidelity and Vanguard. Make sure you opt for e-delivery on their websites.

Schwab always send me a confirmation on every wire transfer, but not on other transactions.

 

 

Good advice, but still not fool-proof.  I have been paper-less e-delivery with Vanguard for years and still not a year goes by without receiving something by mail from them.  The volume is quite small, but not zero.  Irritatingly, this last time it was something trying to get me to try their free advisory service that I most decidedly did not ask for.  Overall, Vanguard is an excellent, no-pressure organization so it was particularly disappointing to get this solicitation in the mail.  Also, you will sometimes get notices from Vanguard that are essentially a pass-through from underlying securities (proxies) you own in your account with Vanguard.  Even though I have been doing proxies online for years and don't need the ones that are mailed to me.  Sometimes the legalities fall behind the technological possibilities.  That might explain Schwab's behavior with the wire transfer confirmations.

[Thailand J]

I get zero mail from Fidelity and Vanguard for years and years. May be it's because I have mostly ETF and stocks, not mutual funds...just my guess.

I love Vanguard. I have been a Boglehead since I was very young.

 

 

[skatewash]

24 minutes ago, Thailand J said:

I get zero mail from Fidelity and Vanguard for years and years. May be it's because I have mostly ETF and stocks, not mutual funds...just my guess.

I love Vanguard. I have been a Boglehead since I was very young.

 

 

Jack Bogle (1929-2019), may he R.I.P. was a great man, whose index funds have helped many people have a great financial life and retirement.  I like that Vanguard is owned by its customers, too.  A very good company, indeed.

[AAArdvark]

13 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Would doing a TW xfer to BKBNY (or London), vs direct to Thailand, be a way to ensure the transfer is always shown as "international" in one's local BKB statement?  My ACH transfers through the NY branch always did.

If TW considers BKBNY to be a domestic transfer, you have to contact TW to set it up.  I wanted to do a large transfer within the US, so I asked if they could do it.  The answer was that "they were not set up to do it".  But then they said they did something so that I could do it.  I don't have a clue what they did.

[TheThai]

My Transferwise transfers (over 6 months) ALWAYS show a FTT coming from the U.S.  It shows on the statement as coming thru BKBNY even so it's FTT coded.   It maybe that depending on the country of origin and who Transferwise uses to send the money thru will dictate whether or not you see a FTT code.   For now I will continue to use Transferwise until I see the coding change.

[Pib]

5 minutes ago, TheThai said:

My Transferwise transfers (over 6 months) ALWAYS show a FTT coming from the U.S.  It shows on the statement as coming thru BKBNY even so it's FTT coded.   It maybe that depending on the country of origin and who Transferwise uses to send the money thru will dictate whether or not you see a FTT code.   For now I will continue to use Transferwise until I see the coding change.

Does it really show Bangkok Bank "New York" or just Bangkok Bank? 

 

 Mine just says Bangkok Bank in the receipt's "Sent To" area because my account is at Bangkok Bank here in Thailand  and the receipt's "Paid Out From" area says Bangkok Bank.  No mention of Bangkok Bank "New York" anywhere.  Take another look at your Transferwise receipt.    

 

If it does indeed show New York on the receipt, what SWIFT code for Bangkok Bank are you using?

[JackThompson]

52 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

If TW considers BKBNY to be a domestic transfer, you have to contact TW to set it up.  I wanted to do a large transfer within the US, so I asked if they could do it.  The answer was that "they were not set up to do it".  But then they said they did something so that I could do it.  I don't have a clue what they did.

Although you'd still face some extra fees vs TW direct, it would be a great way to ensure the transfers always appeared as foreign. 

 

ACH is off the table, soon with that branch.  But even a domestic wire-xfer through that branch, including adding it's fees, would cost many folks less than an international wire-transfer (depending on your bank's international vs domestic wire-xfer rate).

[TheThai]

31 minutes ago, Pib said:

Does it really show Bangkok Bank "New York" or just Bangkok Bank? 

 

 Mine just says Bangkok Bank in the receipt's "Sent To" area because my account is at Bangkok Bank here in Thailand  and the receipt's "Paid Out From" area says Bangkok Bank.  No mention of Bangkok Bank "New York" anywhere.  Take another look at your Transferwise receipt.    

 

If it does indeed show New York on the receipt, what SWIFT code for Bangkok Bank are you using?

I stand corrected ... You are right.  It shows to Bangkok bank THB.   and actually it states from Transferwise LTD.  so I'm not sure what that means, whether it's some kind of monetary holding company.   But in any case ... My transactions ALWAYS show a FTT code ... so I'm happy with that and will not change my process until it shows otherwise. 

[Pib]

28 minutes ago, TheThai said:

I stand corrected ... You are right.  It shows to Bangkok bank THB.   and actually it states from Transferwise LTD.  so I'm not sure what that means, whether it's some kind of monetary holding company.   But in any case ... My transactions ALWAYS show a FTT code ... so I'm happy with that and will not change my process until it shows otherwise. 

Yeap....TW just transfers funds from "their accounts" they have with one of their three Thailand partner banks of Bankgok Bank, TMB, or Kaiskorn over to your account with whatever Thai bank. 

[gentlemanjackdarby]

10 hours ago, skatewash said:

Schwab is excellent for its checking account with a debit/ATM card with fully reimbursable fees.  Fidelity has free international wires.

 

It's good news to me to hear that you were able to open accounts online from overseas.  I would like to do that with Schwab for their checking account.  I tried to anticipate my financial needs before moving outside of the US but I missed opening a Schwab account.

 

I do have a commercial mail receiving agency with mail scanning and forwarding service (TravelingMailbox) just because I've found you do need to have an address to receive the occasional letter from financial institutions (despite opting for paperless).  I certainly don't want them to have my Thai address as I don't want to lose the account or have it restricted in any way.  I used to think that they were simply required to send certain legal notices (account changes, etc.) by mail, but I don't know that for a fact.  Maybe it is more nefarious than that ???? 

 

Funny story:  I own shares of Proctor & Gamble which as I'm sure some are aware had the largest proxy fight in history last year.  I had both sides mailing me several proxies and phonebook-sized bound documents despite the fact that I voted almost immediately online.  Filled up my online mailbox and thankfully I only had envelope scanning turned on, not content scanning (although they do not scan bound material).  I had a funny one-page letter from a law firm that got scanned and what it was about was a complete mystery as it just kept referring obliquely to the huge bound document.  I finally had to online chat with TravelingMailbox and ask customer service to just read me out the name of the bound document (which couldn't be scanned) so I would know what in the world it was about.  Turned out it was about the proxy fight, but the cover letter gave absolutely no clue about that.  Worst cover letter ever. ???? 

 

I have a commercial bank and a very small credit union and know from experience not to ask the credit union to do anything (it's a small-time operation).  If I need something I'll have Citibank do it.  Can't stand them, but sometimes you need that sort of bank.  I thought about joining the State Department Federal Credit Union because they have customers worldwide, but I never followed through on it.

I probably could have worded my reply a bit more clearly;

 

I was in the U.S., not overseas, when I opened my accounts, Charles Schwab and Fidelity about 3 - 4 years ago, and the TD Ameritrade was an old Scottrade account that I opened years ago.

 

When I said I thought it wouldn't be a problem opening one from overseas, I meant that most brokerages and banks are set up to do everything online except for signature cards (wouldn't surprise me if they've implemented some sort of scan/picture procedure by now) and receiving the debit card.

 

When I set up my brokerage accounts, I did it online and the procedure went so quickly and easily, I don't remember much about it, other than it was no problem.

 

I've also set up bank accounts at Bank of America and Citibank online (those banks have no branches in my neck of the woods) and those as well were no muss, no fuss - sign and mail the signature cards and wait for the debit card.

 

One thing to keep in mind about mail forwarding services is that nowadays, banks, brokerages, and anyone who cares can find out quickly and easily that it's a mail forwarding service even though they give one a physical address for receiving mail and packages

 

I think the best thing to do to ensure that one's access to U.S. accounts isn't interrupted is to use a family member or trusted friend's address for the physical address and the mail forwarding service address for the mailing address - should keep everyone happy: banks have a physical address and one gets one's mail scanned or delivered if necessary.

 

If I had to choose one bank for living overseas, it would be Citibank simply because of their free Global Transfer Service. It can be used in Thailand, but Citibank Thailand has a THB 1,000,000 (about USD 31,000) minimum for opening an account.

 

I've also been looking at State Department FCU and also haven't followed through; Andrews FCU is also worth looking at. The great thing about those two is that because of their clientele, they're very flexible when working with folks that travel or live outside the U.S.

 

Alliant FCU is also worth looking at; they reimburse up to USD 20 per month of ATM fees but they don't reimburse the VISA network ISA fee (can't really blame them for that). I have an account there which was also opened online and I've had to talk to them a couple of times and they've been very pleasant.

 

[skatewash]

29 minutes ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

I probably could have worded my reply a bit more clearly;

 

I was in the U.S., not overseas, when I opened my accounts, Charles Schwab and Fidelity about 3 - 4 years ago, and the TD Ameritrade was an old Scottrade account that I opened years ago.

 

When I said I thought it wouldn't be a problem opening one from overseas, I meant that most brokerages and banks are set up to do everything online except for signature cards (wouldn't surprise me if they've implemented some sort of scan/picture procedure by now) and receiving the debit card.

 

When I set up my brokerage accounts, I did it online and the procedure went so quickly and easily, I don't remember much about it, other than it was no problem.

 

I've also set up bank accounts at Bank of America and Citibank online (those banks have no branches in my neck of the woods) and those as well were no muss, no fuss - sign and mail the signature cards and wait for the debit card.

 

One thing to keep in mind about mail forwarding services is that nowadays, banks, brokerages, and anyone who cares can find out quickly and easily that it's a mail forwarding service even though they give one a physical address for receiving mail and packages

 

I think the best thing to do to ensure that one's access to U.S. accounts isn't interrupted is to use a family member or trusted friend's address for the physical address and the mail forwarding service address for the mailing address - should keep everyone happy: banks have a physical address and one gets one's mail scanned or delivered if necessary.

 

If I had to choose one bank for living overseas, it would be Citibank simply because of their free Global Transfer Service. It can be used in Thailand, but Citibank Thailand has a THB 1,000,000 (about USD 31,000) minimum for opening an account.

 

I've also been looking at State Department FCU and also haven't followed through; Andrews FCU is also worth looking at. The great thing about those two is that because of their clientele, they're very flexible when working with folks that travel or live outside the U.S.

 

Alliant FCU is also worth looking at; they reimburse up to USD 20 per month of ATM fees but they don't reimburse the VISA network ISA fee (can't really blame them for that). I have an account there which was also opened online and I've had to talk to them a couple of times and they've been very pleasant.

 

Yes, the mail forwarding addresses aren't much of a secret and banks if they wish to find out can do so easily.  Up till now, they haven't been interested in doing the checking.  I hate to burden family and friends with receiving my mail but it may be moving in that direction, especially for opening new accounts.  

 

My concern about opening accounts from overseas is the problem of proving my residence in the US.  I've heard of companies wanting to see driver's license/state ID, utility bills in your name, having a US mobile for two-factor authentication SMS codes, etc.  Things that are difficult to produce for someone who hasn't lived in the US for years.  I guess I just have to give it a try and see what obstacles arise.

 

Thanks for the information about Andrews and Alliant FCUs.

[Thomas J]

17 minutes ago, skatewash said:

If I had to choose one bank for living overseas, it would be Citibank simply because of their free Global Transfer Service. It can be used in Thailand, but Citibank Thailand has a THB

We opened an account at Citibank Thailand however their transfer service is not Free.  It costs us $150 baht each transfer to Citibank New York and that is limited to $20k US each transfer. 

[Thomas J]

58 minutes ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

Schwab is excellent for its checking account with a debit/ATM card with fully reimbursable fees.

You can open an account with Schwab in Singapore.  I opened one from Thailand. You have to do an interview by phone, scan your passport, then do a video conference with you holding your passport.  The biggest hassle is they require you pass a competency test for investing.  I ran the Trust department for a major U.S. bank plus worked as a broker later with Merrill Lynch and Paine Webber.  The exam is no piece of cake. Though I did get 100% on it.  I had to study. 

[AAArdvark]

25 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

We opened an account at Citibank Thailand however their transfer service is not Free.  It costs us $150 baht each transfer to Citibank New York and that is limited to $20k US each transfer. 

$ or ฿ ?

[skatewash]

24 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

You can open an account with Schwab in Singapore.  I opened one from Thailand. You have to do an interview by phone, scan your passport, then do a video conference with you holding your passport.  The biggest hassle is they require you pass a competency test for investing.  I ran the Trust department for a major U.S. bank plus worked as a broker later with Merrill Lynch and Paine Webber.  The exam is no piece of cake. Though I did get 100% on it.  I had to study. 

Thankful I wouldn't have to carry a tune or juggle balls during my video interview.  I just wanted to open a US Schwab account for their fully reimbursable ATM fees, LOL.

 

Thanks for the information.  Probably a good idea actually.  Have someone demonstrate their competence and then let 'em do what they want, without excessive rules to hamstring them.  Tough love investing; no helicopter brokerages in Singapore ????

[gentlemanjackdarby]

45 minutes ago, skatewash said:

Yes, the mail forwarding addresses aren't much of a secret and banks if they wish to find out can do so easily.  Up till now, they haven't been interested in doing the checking.  I hate to burden family and friends with receiving my mail but it may be moving in that direction, especially for opening new accounts.  

 

My concern about opening accounts from overseas is the problem of proving my residence in the US.  I've heard of companies wanting to see driver's license/state ID, utility bills in your name, having a US mobile for two-factor authentication SMS codes, etc.  Things that are difficult to produce for someone who hasn't lived in the US for years.  I guess I just have to give it a try and see what obstacles arise.

 

Thanks for the information about Andrews and Alliant FCUs.

I've been working on the problems you mention for quite awhile; some have been more trouble than others

 

When I mentioned using a family member or trusted friend's address for the physical address, I meant only for the physical address section on tax returns, brokerage account applications, etc. and using the forwarding service address for the mailing address section.

 

I've moved almost all of my old 'paper by mail life' to online at this point, so I really don't get much important paper mail anymore and what I do get, I'm sure if I used a mail forwarding service, most of that would go there rather than come by mail to my house.

 

At one point, I was considering changing my legal domicile and state of residence to Tennesee since there's no income tax and my brother lives there

 

In order to get a driver's license there, it was necessary to prove residence and one of the easiest thing that proves residence is an apartment lease. Well, I didn't want to rent an apartment, so it turns out that I could use a statement from my brother attesting that I lived with him. A bit out of the box, but that's how it's necessary to think nowadays.

 

As for two-factor authentication (TFA) SMS by phone, that is easily solved by using Google Voice as a first choice or one of the VOIP providers (I use CallCentric as a backup to Google Voice); just don't rely on Skype because Skype can't receive SMS messages unless it's a reply to one sent from Skype - that leaves out TFA SMS.

 

With the heavy-hitter banks and brokerages one SHOULD be using, they know very well the limits of SMS and e-mail TFA and have much more secure methods which are great for folks living outside the U.S.

 

Charles Schwab and BofA give their customers a fob and a card respectively that generates the TFA code on the device; Fidelity uses Symantec VIP Access, an app that runs on a smartphone that generates the codes. Not much need for a U.S. cell number if using these institutions.

 

Most other companies that still use SMS will work just fine with a Google Voice number - the only one that gave me fits was BofA and it took me months to figure out why it wouldn't work. The only reason I put forth the effort was to have a backup method in case I lost the SafePass card.

 

Companies like Paypal and Fakebook work fine with GV and I can't think of one off-hand that doesn't work with GV.

 

If one absolutely wants a U.S. cell number for dealing with TFA SMS and verification calls, it's not that expensive but a bit more trouble to do that.

[Thomas J]

21 minutes ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

f one absolutely wants a U.S. cell number for dealing with TFA SMS and verification calls, it's not that expensive but a bit more trouble to do that.

T mobile its like $3 per month but limited to voice and SMS calls. 

[Pib]

Just now, Thomas J said:

T mobile its like $3 per month but limited to voice and SMS calls. 

I have such a Tmobile SIM...the $3 a month one.  However, since it's a prepaid vs postpaid SIM it doesn't work with all banks for security codes.  

[Pib]

I've had the best luck in using Google Voice for bank security code/2FA.  However, it don't work for all banking I do with multiple banks.  Like when I signed up for a CapOne bank account, GV would not work to verify me as a new customer.  But after around 4 months of letting the GV number season in my profile it started working. 

 

And just today I got an email from Bank of America which I use to have a bank account but now just retain a credit card from them.  The email talked some changes they are making 15 Mar 19....like one of the changes is quoted below regarding their Zelle service.  Zelle is purely a US domestic transfer system...but pretty soon GV and other VOIP numbers will not work with it for enrollment.

 

Quote

 

You can't enroll in Zelle with a landline, Google Voice or VOIP (voice over internet protocol) phone number. (Section 3.C.3 Enrolling in the Service)

 

 

[Thailand J]

2 hours ago, Thomas J said:

You can open an account with Schwab in Singapore.  I opened one from Thailand

Schwab Singapore is about 1 year old. 3 years ago I opened a Schwab International account with their office in El Paso. The account is considered US account and it came with United Missouri Bank  account, which can be an option for me to receive SSA in a few years.

 

Does your account come with a Singaporean bank account? Is your Schwab Sg account subject to FBAR reporting?

Edited February 8, 2019 by Thailand J

[gentlemanjackdarby]

34 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

T mobile its like $3 per month but limited to voice and SMS calls. 

Yes, T-Mobile is the least expensive way to have a (prepaid) cell number in the U.S.

 

I've been with them for years since they are the only truly world-wide cell provider in the U.S - from what I've seen, T-Mo offers service in even the most God-forsaken countries.

 

If one has post-paid service with them in the U.S., they also offer texting and unlimited data (at 2G, good until one gets a local SIM) outside the U.S. at no cost; however, it's not meant for extended use.

 

For purposes of SMS TFA, SMS service is usually all that is required, although if setting up a Google Voice account, one can opt for a voice call for verification if one chooses 

[gentlemanjackdarby]

36 minutes ago, Pib said:

I've had the best luck in using Google Voice for bank security code/2FA.  However, it don't work for all banking I do with multiple banks.  Like when I signed up for a CapOne bank account, GV would not work to verify me as a new customer.  But after around 4 months of letting the GV number season in my profile it started working. 

 

And just today I got an email from Bank of America which I use to have a bank account but now just retain a credit card from them.  The email talked some changes they are making 15 Mar 19....like one of the changes is quoted below regarding their Zelle service.  Zelle is purely a US domestic transfer system...but pretty soon GV and other VOIP numbers will not work with it for enrollment.

 

 

Google is constantly working to make GV 'play nice' with other phone systems.

 

When I set up my BofA account 5 or 6 years ago, I just couldn't get the SMS TFA with GV; as far as I could track it down, it was because Google didn't have an e-mail-to-SMS gateway.

 

When I tried to get a TFA SMS from BofA about 6 months ago, it worked fine.

 

I'll have to look into the forthcoming Zelle changes; I use Zelle with one of my banks using a number from my preferred VOIP service, but it was verified last year and seems to be working fine as of now.

 

Thanks for mentioning the Zelle changes

[gentlemanjackdarby]

2 hours ago, Thomas J said:

We opened an account at Citibank Thailand however their transfer service is not Free.  It costs us $150 baht each transfer to Citibank New York and that is limited to $20k US each transfer. 

I'm not questioning your experience, but I checked the Citibank Thailand website to make sure I understand.

 

Parts of it are not working on my device and I'm getting a javascript error, but on the website, it says that Global Transfers are free; it's the destination countries and their limits I can't see, but I know that one can send to the U.S.

 

It may well be that the limit that Citibank USA allows from Thailand is USD 20,000 - Citibank does make it clear that Global Transfer limits may differ between sending and receiving countries, e.g, Citibank Thailand says that it's sending limit from Thailand is USD 45,000 but that may be limited by the receiving country. USD 20,000 sounds just like a limit the U.S. might place on that type of transfer.

 

Of course, it may just be that the Cititbank Thailand website needs to be updated.

 

I'm mostly concerned with transferring money to Thailand, but I have to say, the ability to transfer back to the U.S. up to USD 20,000 for THB 150 (about USD 5) looks awful good when considering wire transfer fees here in the U.S.

[Thomas J]

2 hours ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

I'm not questioning your experience, but I checked the Citibank Thailand website to make sure I understand.

 

Parts of it are not working on my device and I'm getting a javascript error, but on the website, it says that Global Transfers are free; it's the destination countries and their limits I can't see, but I know that one can send to the U.S.

 

It may well be that the limit that Citibank USA allows from Thailand is USD 20,000 - Citibank does make it clear that Global Transfer limits may differ between sending and receiving countries, e.g, Citibank Thailand says that it's sending limit from Thailand is USD 45,000 but that may be limited by the receiving country. USD 20,000 sounds just like a limit the U.S. might place on that type of transfer.

 

Of course, it may just be that the Cititbank Thailand website needs to be updated.

 

I'm mostly concerned with transferring money to Thailand, but I have to say, the ability to transfer back to the U.S. up to USD 20,000 for THB 150 (about USD 5) looks awful good when considering wire transfer fees here in the U.S.

Well I can assure you that you can do what is essentially an ACH and on top of it is within the Citibank system.   You can have a dual currency account.  Baht and USD.  You can deposit baht and covert a maximum of the equivalent of $20,000 in baht from baht to USD and do it several times per day at their buy rate.  You then transfer at the same time as the conversion from the baht account to the USD portion.  You then are allowed to transfer a maximum of $20,000 USD from the Citibank Thailand to any payee or combination of payees.  The cost per transfer is $150 baht.  In my case my transfer is to Citibank New York.  Despite being part of the same organization the transfer fee applies.  Additionally of course you are paying a "fee" when you convert because the buy baht is less than the full exchange rate.  I also have an account with Chase.  If you wire $5,000 USD or greater in a foreign currency, the wire is no charge.  That is a bit misleading because they exchange again at their exchange rate which I found was less than if the money was transferred here to Thailand as USD and converted by the Thailand bank. 

[gentlemanjackdarby]

27 minutes ago, Thomas J said:

Well I can assure you that you can do what is essentially an ACH and on top of it is within the Citibank system.   You can have a dual currency account.  Baht and USD.  You can deposit baht and covert a maximum of the equivalent of $20,000 in baht from baht to USD and do it several times per day at their buy rate.  You then transfer at the same time as the conversion from the baht account to the USD portion.  You then are allowed to transfer a maximum of $20,000 USD from the Citibank Thailand to any payee or combination of payees.  The cost per transfer is $150 baht.  In my case my transfer is to Citibank New York.  Despite being part of the same organization the transfer fee applies.  Additionally of course you are paying a "fee" when you convert because the buy baht is less than the full exchange rate.  I also have an account with Chase.  If you wire $5,000 USD or greater in a foreign currency, the wire is no charge.  That is a bit misleading because they exchange again at their exchange rate which I found was less than if the money was transferred here to Thailand as USD and converted by the Thailand bank. 

Thank you - very helpful

[AAArdvark]

23 hours ago, gentlemanjackdarby said:

At one point, I was considering changing my legal domicile and state of residence to Tennesee since there's no income tax and my brother lives there

If your current domicile is in a state that has income tax, it is not easy to change domiciles.  I have dealt with this issue for many years.  The original state wants their taxes and they are god.  You have to prove to the original state that you actually live in the new state and doing simple things like getting an address and a driver's license doesn't cut it.  The most common way to prove your claim to a new domicile is showing that you paid the new income tax.  This then become a classic catch 22.  Some state, of course, are easier than others.

[skatewash]

40 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

If your current domicile is in a state that has income tax, it is not easy to change domiciles.  I have dealt with this issue for many years.  The original state wants their taxes and they are god.  You have to prove to the original state that you actually live in the new state and doing simple things like getting an address and a driver's license doesn't cut it.  The most common way to prove your claim to a new domicile is showing that you paid the new income tax.  This then become a classic catch 22.  Some state, of course, are easier than others.

I moved from Maryland to Florida for just this purpose before leaving for Thailand.  I did all the usual things, moved registration of my vehicle, driver's license, voter registration, library cards, banking, and filed final partial-year state income tax, etc.  The one extra step I took was to file a declaration of domicile at the county courthouse in Florida in case I ever got a request for continued state income tax filings from Maryland.  Nothing proves you don't live in a former state like proof that you do live in another state.  If I had left for Thailand from Maryland I believe it would have been much harder to prove that if necessary.  Never heard from Maryland again.  Still glad I did all that just for the peace of mind even if

all of it wasn't necessary.  

 

Some bonus considerations beyond the obvious state income tax one:  you essentially get to choose which state you would like to vote in (and continue to vote in after you leave the US) -- you have a chance to pick a perpetual battleground state like Florida rather than an essentially one-party state like Maryland.  Moving to a new state allows you to get a fresh US driver's license and I believe the one in Florida allows you to renew it completely online one time.  A good way of keeping your US driver's license alive longer.

[gentlemanjackdarby]

5 hours ago, AAArdvark said:

If your current domicile is in a state that has income tax, it is not easy to change domiciles.  I have dealt with this issue for many years.  The original state wants their taxes and they are god.  You have to prove to the original state that you actually live in the new state and doing simple things like getting an address and a driver's license doesn't cut it.  The most common way to prove your claim to a new domicile is showing that you paid the new income tax.  This then become a classic catch 22.  Some state, of course, are easier than others.

Some states with an individual income tax go to much greater lengths to hold on to their taxpayers than do others - California, New York, New Jersey, and Illinois are the worst that spring to mind.

 

Paying income in another, or multiple, states by itself alone is not enough evidence to prove that one is a resident of that state -  it's quite common for folks who 'move' to another state to still have ties to their old, tax-hungry state - things like owning real property, having an interest in a business, spending more time in that state beyond what a normal tourist or one who has relatives, etc.

 

The best way to ensure that one becomes a bona-fide resident of a new, tax-friendly state and that it is not questioned by the old, tax-hungry state is to DO things, as you've pointed out - 'skatewash' laid it out very well in the post below yours (Post 89), but I'll add a couple of things that he didn't mention in my reply to his post.

 

And one other thing that a lot of folks overlook - 'legal domicile' and 'residence' are two very different things and folks get tripped up on that.

 

It's possible to have more than one residence, but one can have only one legal domicile

 

As far as individual state income taxes go, residence is the factor that makes the most difference most of the time and it's quite possible and somewhat common for some folks to owe income tax in more than one state because they maintain residences in each.