Thai is the best nationality there is!" Former American pays through the nose to renounce US citizenship

[DrTuner]

 So I guess it's just somtam from now on then, no more burgers.

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, Fex Bluse said:

You are NOT Thai.

Do you understand that?

Not ethnic Thai (as many Thais arent ) , but he is a Thai National 

[DrTuner]

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

Not ethnic Thai (as many Thais arent ) , but he is a Thai National 

It's the same thing that's happened in Europe. Lots of immigrants with a totally different value set than the people born & bred in a country. A Björn from Sweden has very little similarities with Mohammad that arrived a few years ago, but both have the same passport. Doesn't make that much sense just to look at a nationality anymore, now you have to look at heritage. Wonders of globalism.

[VillageIdiot]

1 hour ago, Fex Bluse said:

This bloke conflicts me.

I ALWAYS try my best to support our fellow expats against the aggression in Asia.

But this guy makes is as hard as possible.

All I can say is watch out for the story when he is destroyed by the realization that the Thais just laugh at him to laugh but will NEVER consider him an equal or respect him.

He will be devastated.

There is some truth to what you say

No, a farang will never become a Thai no matter how long he has been here.

I've seen two generations of Thais come of age since I first came in the late 1970s.

My Thai wife has raised our two daughters in a traditional manner while educating them for careers in the modern world.  I'm happy to say that they've both turned out very well.

My not being Thai has never caused any serious problems in our domestic life because I feel at home here and fully accepted by family and friends.

I left the US a long time ago and never regretted the move. 

[NotYourBusiness]

11 hours ago, Hank Gunn said:

Yup, do it every year with my taxes (almost all of my money is still in the US (S&P 500 up over 40% last yr) so I pay taxes on any cap. gains, interest, and dividend income). Takes about 1 min. to write out the bank name, acct. numbers and balance. Much simpler than my tax returns actually.

Ok excellent. Well two points here. I guess it depends on the number of accounts, transactions, etc. You need to get the complete printout and scan it for maximum balance. Then add up all the accounts DAY BY DAY. This is complex for more than a few accounts. Then hopefully you haven't made a mistake, because if you did, no way to go back and fix it. You are guilty and penalty is 50% of maximum balance for the year, every year.

 

Second point is: what about all the clueless posters on this thread (and millions of other expats around the world) which seem to have no idea what I am talking about and couldn't be happier in their ignorance?

[Northman]

On 2/28/2020 at 3:16 PM, thequietman said:

KInda makes me wanna put my fingers down my throat and throw up!

 

He didn't have to actually denounce his American citizenship. One can only assume that he has been indoctrinated much like most of the Thai's I know. Scary. ????

 

I would guess he had to for tax reasons.

[edogthong]

32 Years! And he went through the school system. Now that's impressive! I wish Sweden would have the same standards as Thailand when it comes to handing out citizenships. I had to wait for 3 months to get an appointment in the Swedish Embassy in London. When I finally got there, it was full of Arabs. I didn't hear a single word of Swedish, even when they were talking to the staff yet everyone seemed to have a Swedish passport. An Iranian who used to live in the neighbourhood here on Samui had 7 different Swedish passports and claimed benefits on all of them. I never met the guy myself but apparently he was very generous with the money.

[rabang]

8 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Funny to see people say that he is indoctrinated by the Thai educational system into liking Thailand so much, while in the same post saying that the USA is the greatest country in the world.

 

I doubt many Scandinavians would want to have American citizenship, unless they are tremendously wealthy. And i think many Americans would love the "free" healthcare and education of scandinavian countries. Don't get me wrong, the USA must be a great place when you have a roof over your head, a job, an education, and health insurance (and are white), but not everybody has those things...

Not only Scandinavians but most Western Europeans would feel that way. But I don't want to do the America bashing thing many Europeans so much love. The US is still more dynamic than the old Europe living in its past, although it comes at a price. The US was the best place to be born in back in the 80s I think but it's hardly in the top-20 anymore. It can reward those who are willing and able (and a bit lucky) to work hard but many fall behind. For an average person there are less stressful environments.

[rabang]

7 minutes ago, edogthong said:

32 Years! And he went through the school system. Now that's impressive! I wish Sweden would have the same standards as Thailand when it comes to handing out citizenships. I had to wait for 3 months to get an appointment in the Swedish Embassy in London. When I finally got there, it was full of Arabs. I didn't hear a single word of Swedish, even when they were talking to the staff yet everyone seemed to have a Swedish passport. An Iranian who used to live in the neighbourhood here on Samui had 7 different Swedish passports and claimed benefits on all of them. I never met the guy myself but apparently he was very generous with the money.

Swedish immigration policies are just crazy. Giving passports to people who don't even know the language after just a few years? This might have worked fine when immigrant groups came from nearby countries or at most from Southern Europe (and there were still low skill jobs available) but the open doors policy in today's world is insane.

[ericthai]

On 2/28/2020 at 3:45 AM, genericptr said:

How many naturalized Thai citizens are there and does Thailand even allow dual-citizenship? Something tells me the Thai government is very eager to avoid naturalizing foreign citizens, especially those will multiple passports.

I have several friends that became Thai citizens and still kept their homeland citizenship, according to them Thailand had no issue with it.   

[roaming2019]

18 hours ago, Somtamnication said:

Kudos to him; I did it after Bush 2 was elected. A letter from the IRS clearing me of taxes and  you are all set! Easy Peasy. The only regret I ever had was no more chocolate frosties at Wendy's!

Good riddance

[roaming2019]

9 hours ago, Bob12345 said:

Funny to see people say that he is indoctrinated by the Thai educational system into liking Thailand so much, while in the same post saying that the USA is the greatest country in the world.

 

I doubt many Scandinavians would want to have American citizenship, unless they are tremendously wealthy. And i think many Americans would love the "free" healthcare and education of scandinavian countries. Don't get me wrong, the USA must be a great place when you have a roof over your head, a job, an education, and health insurance (and are white), but not everybody has those things...

nobody knows down the line what happens but as of now  without america the whole world will become a big pile of dog poop 

[ThaiBrian]

It used to be free, its gradually going up. The U.S. is 1 of 2 countries (the other one is in Africa that doesn't enforce citizens) that forces you to pay taxes wherever you are in the world. Good for him. Better now that you can still afford to, than later. 

[meechai]

6 hours ago, Farang Muang Phrae said:

No offense at all, I find it very educational to see how other people think, actually.  I didn't renounce my American Citizenship to get anyone's approval anyway.  I did it first and foremost because I refuse to share my loyalty with any another nation other than Thailand.  I have always said I would renounce my American Citizenship once I got my Thai citizenship, I kept my word.  I'm very proud of what I did and I am extremely proud to be Thai.    

Your choice to make

Main thing in "your" life is your happy with your life & you make your own choices.

 

I imagine some feel the same as you about loyalty to a land mass but for most this is 2020 & that Nationalistic type of loyalty is

from another time in history. These days many see it is possible to just be the best "human" you can be where ever you are.

 

They swear loyalty to other humans not things like a single land mass run by who know what kind of people that you may or may not agree with.

You can I hope share your love/loyalty to both your wife & your children? It is possible to share loyalty no?

 

But again....your life...your choices

Good Luck to you

Edited February 29, 2020 by meechai

[J Town]

On 2/28/2020 at 3:08 PM, webfact said:

it took years to be recognized as Thai until recently.

Wake up, homey - you will NEVER be recognized as Thai. You may have a document and speak like a native but your face says otherwise.

[CartagenaWarlock]

On 2/28/2020 at 10:44 AM, BobbyL said:

Pretty rash decision. Maybe for him it makes sense, however his children could have really benefited from dual citizenship and a US passport in their future. 

If his children are smart cookies, they really don't need US citizenship to start with. They can always acquire US citizenship later in life. More than 100 publicly listed US companies, including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Citi Bank, Pepsi, etc.  are headed by first generation Indian Americans - both male and females. Thousands and thousand doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants, authors, journalists, etc. are first generation Indian-Americans so much so that  average income of Indian Americans is twice the average income European Americans. First generation Indian-Americans have proved that there is no need for US citizenship to start with, or school where English is taught by native speakers, or get an education in a Western country to succeed in life. 

I have four passports (US, Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and Spain). I have applied for a 10-year Indian tourist visa and I have a 20-year Thailand Elite Visa. I am a first generation Trinbagonians-American (hard to pronounce :)) and I have amassed three millions in USD in my lifetime. So it is not where you're born with and the passport you're entitled to due to your birth to succeed in life. Every thing is possible if one wants to achieve it. 

Edited March 1, 2020 by CartagenaWarlock

[Hank Gunn]

9 hours ago, NotYourBusiness said:

Ok excellent. Well two points here. I guess it depends on the number of accounts, transactions, etc. You need to get the complete printout and scan it for maximum balance. Then add up all the accounts DAY BY DAY. This is complex for more than a few accounts. Then hopefully you haven't made a mistake, because if you did, no way to go back and fix it. You are guilty and penalty is 50% of maximum balance for the year, every year.

 

Second point is: what about all the clueless posters on this thread (and millions of other expats around the world) which seem to have no idea what I am talking about and couldn't be happier in their ignorance?

First, I don't know why you'd need more than 3 or 4 bank accounts as an expat, possibly one from an employer if they have direct deposit then one or two additional accounts for your personal use. As a retiree in Thailand, I have two: a fixed-deposit acct. that has 800k baht for my retirement visa and a savings acct. with a debit card for my "day to day" spending. All I have to do is report the 800k ($24,800?) and then the balance of my savings acct. Since I have online banking for that second acct. I just log in, and report the balance. There's no "need to get the complete printout and scan it for maximum balance". If you can't do that for whatever reason, then it's as simple as going to a bank branch (once a year) and get a printout. But 1999 is calling and telling you there is such a thing as online banking. Again, this all takes a matter of 2 or 3 minutes to fill out.

 

Second, what about clueless/ignorant people? If someone wants to move half-way around the world without doing any due research as to what they need to do, and that includes everything from transportation, housing, living expenses, as well as tax ramifications, then that's their problem. If a person is too stupid/ignorant, to do their due diligence before making a major geographical move, then that's their problem. And I might add, why are you asking me such a silly question? Why would I care. I simply stated that filling out the FBAR takes all of 2-3 minutes and is not a great burden.

[Orton Rd]

Disappointed he did not clear up what religion his parents were and did he become a Buddhist or not like most of his fellow Thais? Don't really understand the fuss about the IRS, this bloke seems to scrape a living selling hammocks, there is probably nothing to tax anyway. Why does he think Thai is the best nationality? obviously not if it took so long for him to become Thai, any old Thai tart ending up in the UK can get citizenship and a passport in 5 years. The best nationalities to have are the ones where you can travel the most withoutout a visa, and that is more like the USA and Japan, Thai is well down the list.

[lust]

49 minutes ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

If his children are smart cookies, they really don't need US citizenship to start with. They can always acquire US citizenship later in life. More than 100 publicly listed US companies, including Microsoft, Google, IBM, Citi Bank, Pepsi, etc.  are headed by first generation Indian Americans - both male and females. Thousands and thousand doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants, authors, journalists, etc. are first generation Indian-Americans so much so that  average income of Indian Americans is twice the average income European Americans. First generation Indian-Americans have proved that there is no need for US citizenship to start with, or school where English is taught by native speakers, or get an education in a Western country to succeed in life. 

I have four passports (US, Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, and Spain). I have applied for a 10-year Indian tourist visa and I have a 20-year Thailand Elite Visa. I am a first generation Trinbagonians-American (hard to pronounce :)) and I have amassed three millions in USD in my lifetime. So it is not where you're born with and the passport you're entitled to due to your birth to succeed in life. Every thing is possible if one wants to achieve it. 

You heard it, folks. Just follow your dreams. 

[Farang Muang Phrae]

10 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

You are NOT Thai.

Do you understand that?

I'm sorry but you're wrong.  I am Thai and along with millions and millions of other Thai people I am EXTREMELY proud to be Thai.  

[Is this real]

His actions demonstrate that he never received a good education.  Would he have done this if he had?

[Fex Bluse]

1 minute ago, Farang Muang Phrae said:

I'm sorry but you're wrong.  I am Thai and along with millions and millions of other Thai people I am EXTREMELY proud to be Thai.  

Good luck

[lust]

Just now, Farang Muang Phrae said:

I'm sorry but you're wrong.  I am Thai and along with millions and millions of other Thai people I am EXTREMELY proud to be Thai.  

Yeah, we noticed.. what exactly are you proud of, though?

[JustAnotherHun]

3 minutes ago, Farang Muang Phrae said:

I am EXTREMELY proud to be Thai.  

How can one be proud to be Thai or German or Brit or whatever? Is to be a citizen of somewhat a special skill?

[Farang Muang Phrae]

4 minutes ago, Is this real said:

His actions demonstrate that he never received a good education.  Would he have done this if he had?

Smarter people than me have done this.  

[transam]

4 minutes ago, Farang Muang Phrae said:

I'm sorry but you're wrong.  I am Thai and along with millions and millions of other Thai people I am EXTREMELY proud to be Thai.  

How can you speak for millions and millions of other Thai people.....?

 

I don't know how my own countrymen think.....????

[Old Dissenter]

On 2/28/2020 at 3:20 PM, zydeco said:

This doesn't let him off the hook with the IRS.

Will they be coming after him?

[Bob12345]

8 hours ago, roaming2019 said:

nobody knows down the line what happens but as of now  without america the whole world will become a big pile of dog poop 

Isnt that partly because of all the problems in the world that America created?

[geriatrickid]

On 2/28/2020 at 3:22 AM, canuckamuck said:

He had something greatly valued by many people and he paid to get rid of it. If there isn't more to the story than the guy is a true representative of the Thai school system he was brought up in.

He is no longer subject to  the US tax system. For those who have wealth, it is worth something. On the other hand, he lived in Thailand since the age of 2. He most likely has a limited education and is a holy roller so more concerned with his religion than anything else.

[moto77]

On 2/28/2020 at 10:16 PM, Hank Gunn said:

It’s actually over $100,000 now and I seriously doubt this guy makes that much, so worries about US taxes that many in this thread mention are a moot point.

Thanks for the update Hank. I was lazy to check.