Staying in Thailand

[ubonjoe]

Citizenship has the same requirements as PR you still have to be working to get it....

Is it really necessary to have a work-permit and labour in Thailand to apply for citizenship? I pay taxes on my world-income here (pension and investment income from abroad).

I´m currently on a retirement extension. Also married with a Thai for 12 years.

You must be working and have a work permit. These Guidelines and documents required for application for Thai citizenship by naturalization will confirm that.

Pensions are exempt from Thai taxes as well as most investment income. I don't think there is any treaty that overrides that. You can look here for info: http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

[hvdkerkh]

The answer is yes , working , possession of a Wp and paying taxes on earned income are all required.

Suggest you look at that double-taxation prevention treaty again and claim back all that tax paid into the Thai coffers !

Just as a matter of interest which country has this agreement that allows Thailand to raise taxes on income which is derived from without the country.

Thanks for the info.

I had my situation checked by an independent tax consultant and confirmed by the revenue office in Holland.

E.g. for pensions and annuities, the following line from the treaty is relevant for my case:

¨pensions and other similar remuneration paid in consideration of past employment to a resident of one of the States and any annuity paid to such a resident, shall be taxable only in that States¨.

Residency in this line is to be interpreted as tax residency. For Thailand you become tax resident if you live more than 6 months (in a given tax year) in the country.

Sorry for getting off-topic with this tax issue in this thread.

[belg]

no work = no PR

[Khun Falang]

My current visa is one based on retirement and I renew my extension of stay every year on my yearly trip to Thailand. I understand that based on my Retirement type visa, I will never qualify for PR. I am now also married to a Thai lady. But we live in the US. So it is not practical for me to convert the visa to one based on marriage. I understand that annual extensions based on marriage mean (possibly) showing up at the immigration with the wife, showing recent pictures of our home and life in Thailand etc. But we live in the US...

Is there a way for me to convert my 1 year visa to one based on marriage and even thought we now live in the US, somehow get credit of time towards the PR status? I do spend 1 to 1 1/2 months a year in Thailand. It would be nice to have the PR status.

Any advice and information would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[ubonjoe]

Until you move here, get an extension of stay, find a job, get a work permit and pay taxes for 3 years you cannot apply for PR or citizenship.

[Concerned expat]

Hello to everyone! How things developing now? Could someone tell if being a director of Thai company (some annual tax paid with this 1mil. co) with other private funds in Thai bank and ownership of a condo give additional privileges to obtain something like multiple entry business visa? Not working as employee, just running a company business on intermittent visits.

[ubonjoe]

Hello to everyone! How things developing now? Could someone tell if being a director of Thai company (some annual tax paid with this 1mil. co) with other private funds in Thai bank and ownership of a condo give additional privileges to obtain something like multiple entry business visa? Not working as employee, just running a company business on intermittent visits.

With supporting documents you should be able to get a multiple entry non-b visa from an embassy or consulate. But there are a few that will not do multiple entry visas.

[Concerned expat]

Hello to everyone! How things developing now? Could someone tell if being a director of Thai company (some annual tax paid with this 1mil. co) with other private funds in Thai bank and ownership of a condo give additional privileges to obtain something like multiple entry business visa? Not working as employee, just running a company business on intermittent visits.

With supporting documents you should be able to get a multiple entry non-b visa from an embassy or consulate. But there are a few that will not do multiple entry visas.

Hello Ubonjoe,

Would it be legal to obtain multiple entry non-b visa and still running company business? I have some experience with Thai lawyer, but could not get all the available options with answers provided. Legal fees were paid to establish the company and obtain registration, company stamp and some other paperwork. Later on I was told about possible change into 2 mil. THB company for additional fee and requirement to hire 4 Thai employees.

From my point, hire of Thai employees would be out of the question due to the absence of professional accreditations or limited English for the ones who could be used to do contract jobs.

[ubonjoe]

Hello to everyone! How things developing now? Could someone tell if being a director of Thai company (some annual tax paid with this 1mil. co) with other private funds in Thai bank and ownership of a condo give additional privileges to obtain something like multiple entry business visa? Not working as employee, just running a company business on intermittent visits.

With supporting documents you should be able to get a multiple entry non-b visa from an embassy or consulate. But there are a few that will not do multiple entry visas.

Hello Ubonjoe,

Would it be legal to obtain multiple entry non-b visa and still running company business? I have some experience with Thai lawyer, but could not get all the available options with answers provided. Legal fees were paid to establish the company and obtain registration, company stamp and some other paperwork. Later on I was told about possible change into 2 mil. THB company for additional fee and requirement to hire 4 Thai employees.

From my point, hire of Thai employees would be out of the question due to the absence of professional accreditations or limited English for the ones who could be used to do contract jobs.

If you can get the non-b visa it would be legal. It is what you are doing while here is what matters.

There is a fine line on what you can do without getting a work permit which is what 2 mil of registered capital and 4 Thai employees is for. As a director even signing documents can require a work permit. You cannot be there on a daily basis.running the company.