Greetings Guys & Gulls - this has probably been thrashed to death many times, but as we live in an era of constant flux, and I know there are some folks on the ground in Phuket, who are way ahead of the curve - whose opinions are critical, plus I hope this will also aid a couple other folks who might have a mirror image - perhaps.

Noted the OZ Thai Embassy encouragement - hope that is a new world that awakens ....

I am a hard-charging businessman - generally I work 6 months, then party six. Having said that, I nevertheless stay in touch with all my businesses via the net, 24/7. I have several partners and a very large RWA crew who make this all happen and are the very glue of our consireably successful group. I Spend a lot of time sailing also, so proximity to water is important. Could never figure the Arizona thingy.

I can and have worked everywhere in the world - so long as we have decent connectivity - but prefer the Asian lifestyle and simplicity. Believe me - after LA - everything is simple.

I could live in Singapore, Makati or Pattaya - simply split the duration, but I would prefer to settle for one decent island with decent (inexpensive) marina facilities as I am also building a +65' all electric, alloy cat. That boat could ruin most of my math, so I do need some decent, accurate input from y'all.

These are jsut a few scenarios - please feel free to butt in with any suggestions ....

Do I go the business visa route - we can add a lot of assets - and simply trade offshore - bringing in sufficient funds to run everything and skip the IRS mess.

Most of our fund sources are offshore & we trade globally, so residency is not an issue

Deposit funds in larger World class banks, HSBC, et al, interest bearing only - no trading.

Do the retirement thing - I dont need to setup shop or offices anywhere

The cat will be built in Thailand - starting early 2009

Thats about it for now - take care - first round is on me - everyone is invited.

BR>Jack

BTW _ Whilst checking the BP site - a popup lured me to the Penang retardo site - very interesting - especially as you folks cover Penang so often.

Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) - no URL ?!

Are you going to be doing business in Thailand and working? If yes then you will need to set up a company and get a work permit. For this I suggest you contact a lawyer to help with the company set-up, visa and work permit.

If no then do the retirement visa and extension. If you are 50 years old or over.

You are still a newbie so you can't post URL's yet. A few more posts and you will loose that status.