Retiring to Thailand - How to retain address in country I'm a citizen of?

[JimmyJ]

USA citizen planning to retire to Thailand. 

 

I've used a local maildrop for my address for a very long time.

Recently technology has finally caught up with this and my address is suddenly showing up on company's databases as a commercial business, not residential.

 

I need to keep a USA address to retain my Driver's License for return visits, and many other reasons.

This could become a big problem.

 

I'll be moving out of my USA residence when I move and won't have USA property for an address.

 

How do other expats deal with this - what solutions have you found?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JimmyJ]

Do you begin using  your expat Thai address that you have moved to for all of your native country bank accounts, credit cards, drivers license (don't know if this is possible), etc.?

 

Don't know what effect that would have on my currently top tier credit with my USA credit cards, etc.

[Crossy]

Not the US, but my UK address is my parent's place, kids primed ready to take over when mum and dad can no longer cope with the 0.1 letters per month that arrive for me.

 

If you have no family do you have a trusted friend who can provide an accommodation address? (or would that give them legal issues)

 

I would be wary of telling any institutions of your Thai address, some UK banks have no issues, others will happily close your account (lost my Barclays account).

[Thanyaburi Mac]

FYI, in most states, your Thai drivers license is good for at least a 30-day visit, also OK for rentals.  Take a look at your local DMV www site, also AAA for your area.  Alternatively, get a Thai IDP,  International Driving Permit, this, too, will work.

 

FYI, my Oregon license will expire in June.  I'm a bit leery of renewing it as given the paperwork restrictions in place now, post 9/11, I need to lie a bit that I'm still an Oregon resident, which according to IRS and Social Security, I'm not, my mail from these two entities comes directly to Thailand.

 

Mac

[fred110]

Change your mail forwarding place to one that gives you a street address. They will scan your mail and send you an email to see if you want it forwarded.

[catman20]

1 hour ago, Crossy said:

Not the US, but my UK address is my parent's place, kids primed ready to take over when mum and dad can no longer cope with the 0.1 letters per month that arrive for me.

 

If you have no family do you have a trusted friend who can provide an accommodation address? (or would that give them legal issues)

 

I would be wary of telling any institutions of your Thai address, some UK banks have no issues, others will happily close your account (lost my Barclays account).

this is what i do but after 17 years out of your home country, friends can become a little less friendly to help you i think.

[thehelmsman]

There are some Mail Box places that give you an address that looks like the real thing. Instead of a PO Box they'll use an Apt. No.

I don't do it but have friends who do.

[Ahab]

There are a variety of mail forwarding services Try google.

 

[catman20]

5 minutes ago, fred110 said:

Change your mail forwarding place to one that gives you a street address. They will scan your mail and send you an email to see if you want it forwarded.

dont quite understand what you mean would you be so kind as to send me a PM explaining please

[CaptHaddock]

What state are you from?  If your state has an income tax then you should surrender your driver's license and take all other appropriate steps to avoid remaining liable for income tax in that state after you have left.  Many states take a driver's license into account, along with other factors, in determining whether you have an implied "intent to return" to the state in the future in which case you are liable for income tax even while you are away.

 

Banks, brokerages, etc. can readily identify a Private Mail Box as such even if it looks like a street address, but they accept mailing addesses and don't yet require a residential address for existing accounts.  For this reason you should open accounts at banks and brokerages before you leave, more than you think you will need, since you will find it difficult or impossible to open one after you have left.

 

Also, get a US VOIP phone number from MasterJack, Ooma, Google Voice, or some other service and provide it to all your banks and brokerages.  When you arrive get a VPN service and use it to access those accounts online.

Edited December 5, 2016 by CaptHaddock

[bprhodes]

I have been using VirtualPostMail.com.  No issues with banks/credit cards/DMV.  You can have checks sent there and they will deposit them for you.  Mail is scanned and emailed to you.  I have been using it for nearly a year and so far so good.

[Langsuan Man]

Any of these mail forwarders will eventually get you caught for not having a real street address.  Even if they give you, what you think is a street address, in reality the "forwarder" must file a Postal Service Form 1583 ( Application for Delivery of Mail through  Agent) and they go into a database showing that the street address is a commercial mail forwarder 

 

The only safe and secure way of maintaining residency is by having a relative or good friend receive mail for you at their actual residence 

[Pungdo]

I use my mums address in Australia, my older sister and her hubby live there as well and let me know whenever there is any mail they think I may need to see.

[dotpoom]

You could rent a studio in the back of beyond in USA at a cheap rent and pay post office to forward mail to wherever you want (or the landlord)  if have no friend to do for you. 

[DoctorG]

Same as some others above. Used a friend's address for years with the added benefit of having somewhere to crash for a few weeks on home visits.

[F4UCorsair]

Whatever idea you settle on, tell no one that there may be any implications associated with using a US address and being out of the country long term.

 

People, even friends, don't like to think another is 'getting away' with something to which they don't have access.

 

Keep your cards close to your chest!!

[JimmyJ]

1 hour ago, fred110 said:

Change your mail forwarding place to one that gives you a street address. They will scan your mail and send you an email to see if you want it forwarded.

 

 

What I meant by " Recently technology has finally caught up with this and my address is suddenly showing up on company's databases as a commercial business, not residential." is that I do use a mail drop with a street address (and not "111 Main St. - Suite 112 - #399", but simply "111 Main St. - #399 [#399 is my box number but #399 could also mean "Apt. 399"]).

 

I've been doing this for about 20 years in 2 different states I've resided in, using a few different mail drops, and nary a problem (only one address recognized as a mail drop once by one company).
 

I've used my current drop for 10 years.

Starting about 6 months ago, it started being recognized as a drop and not a residential address by several different companies/situations.

 

This is not good.

 

I could try to find out if another drop is still unrecognized by whatever database is being used by most companies, but I'm afraid it may cause more problems so for the time being I'm keeping my mail drop address but I'm afraid eventually it won't be usable at all.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by JimmyJ

[JimmyJ]

33 minutes ago, dotpoom said:

You could rent a studio in the back of beyond in USA at a cheap rent and pay post office to forward mail to wherever you want (or the landlord)  if have no friend to do for you. 

 

 

"... in the back of beyond..."

 

Don't understand what that means.

?

Edited December 5, 2016 by JimmyJ

[malt25]

1 minute ago, JimmyJ said:

 

 

"... in the back of beyond..."

 

Don't understand what that means.

?

 "... in the back of beyond..."

In the middle of nowhere. Extremely remote place. Beyond the black stump.

[JimmyJ]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

I would be wary of telling any institutions of your Thai address, some UK banks have no issues, others will happily close your account (lost my Barclays account).

 

 

Glad you mentioned this - I thought one eventual solution would be to just use whatever Thai address I end up actually living at for banks/credit cards/etc., but was wondering how financial institutions would react.

[scorecard]

44 minutes ago, Pungdo said:

I use my mums address in Australia, my older sister and her hubby live there as well and let me know whenever there is any mail they think I may need to see.

 

I use friends' address, at my request he opens all mail and decides which items I should see, he takes smartphone pics of each page and e.mails them to me.

 

In reality it happens maybe 3 or 4 times a year.

 

Easy. 

[CaptHaddock]

10 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

 

 

What I meant by " Recently technology has finally caught up with this and my address is suddenly showing up on company's databases as a commercial business, not residential." is that I do use a mail drop with a street address (and not "111 Main St. - Suite 112 - #399", but simply "111 Main St. - #399 [#399 is my box number but #399 could also mean "Apt. 399").

 

I've been doing this for about 20 years in 2 different states I've resided in, using a few different mail drops, and nary a problem (only one address recognized as a mail drop once by one company).
 

I've used my current drop for 10 years.

Starting about 6 months ago, it started being recognized as a drop and not a residential address by several different companies/situations.

 

This is not good.

I could try to find out if another drop is still unrecognized by whatever database is being used by most companies, but I'm afraid it may cause more problems so for the time being I'm keeping my mail drop address but I'm afraid eventually it won't be usable at all.

 

 

 

So far, using a mail forwarder's address in the US doesn't matter, except in the crucial case of opening a new bank or brokerage account.  For that purpose you will need a genuine residence address.  For all other purposes including the IRS, but not the SSA, the mail forwarder's address is fine and causes no problems to date.  That could change.

 

That's the reason that you need to open a lot of bank and brokerage accounts before you leave.

 

[louse1953]

43 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Same as some others above. Used a friend's address for years with the added benefit of having somewhere to crash for a few weeks on home visits.

Yes,it is good to have friends.

[louse1953]

17 minutes ago, malt25 said:

 "... in the back of beyond..."

In the middle of nowhere. Extremely remote place. Beyond the black stump.

In the never never.Back of Burke.Tee nooooooon.

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, thehelmsman said:

There are some Mail Box places that give you an address that looks like the real thing. Instead of a PO Box they'll use an Apt. No.

I don't do it but have friends who do.

I think a problem in the UK would be that a lot of companies, agencies or whatever, automatically check addresses against the Electoral Register by way of a Credit Reference Agency. 

[skatewash]

You absolutely DO NOT want to tell any financial institution in the US that you do not reside in the country.  Nothing good can come from doing so and plenty of bad.  Look at opening a checking account at Charles Schwab because it allows you to be reimbursed for all ATM fees (ATM withdrawals from foreign ATM cards in Thailand cost 200 Baht each, which will be reimbursed by Charles Schwab).  Look at getting a credit card that will not impose foreign transaction fees (there are not many of these but I believe Capital One offers one).

A friend's or relative's address is the best solution, but for people who cannot avail themselves of that option or do not wish to be a burden on their friends or relatives, there are a number of commercial services that will do a very good job.  I have used a company called Traveling Mailbox for four years and have been very happy with the service.  Mail arriving at that address is scanned and the contents are emailed to me very quickly.  95% of the time that is all that I need.  Mail can be forwarded to me in Thailand, although this is rarely needed.  They can also deposit checks I receive to my US bank.

Before you retire to Thailand, you may wish to set up residence in one of the states that do not have state income tax (i.e., Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming).  This ensures you are able to cut all ties that may raise continuing tax liability issues with your current state (if it has a state income tax) before you exit the country.  I moved from Maryland to Florida before moving to Thailand for this very reason.

Any company that offers you a mailing address is registered as a Commercial Mail Receiving Agency (CMRA) if they are operating legally.  As part of getting such a mailing address you sign documents authorizing the CMRA to receive mail for you.  They are required to notify the US Postal Service of this.  The USPS maintains a list of all CMRAs so it is possible for any business (including financial institutions, of course) to find out if your mailing address is a CMRA or not.  If they want to know this information, they can find it out.  As your experience shows, some go through the effort to figure this out, others don't.  The trend seems to be that there is growing interest in doing so.  This is the reason that a friend's or relative's address is best.

[akentryan]

3 hours ago, JimmyJ said:

Do you begin using  your expat Thai address that you have moved to for all of your native country bank accounts, credit cards, drivers license (don't know if this is possible), etc.?

 

Don't know what effect that would have on my currently top tier credit with my USA credit cards, etc.

I use my niece's address in Fla. I also maintain a US bank account and credit cards. Credit card renewals go there and she forwards them on. Reimbursement checks for health insurance claims go there and get deposited. I am not sure they would continue with a foreign address. It can be a real pain in the ass for whomever the "lucky" chosen one is. I did name her as the beneficiary on my life insurance which is some compensation.

[JimmyJ]

27 minutes ago, CaptHaddock said:

 

That's the reason that you need to open a lot of bank and brokerage accounts before you leave.

 

 

Unfortunately it's too late, due to the reason I've stated.

 

CC companies are suddenly recognizing it as a commercial address and want a residential address.

I applied to 2 - one of them wants a utility bill with a residential address, so a friend's address won't work - at least for that company.

 

Also if I give the other cc company a friend's address and they accept it - every other place has my mail drop address and I'm afraid I'd have to change the address to my friend for all of them - when making the address change if some  companies I now do business with want utility bills also, everything could collapse so I'm sticking with my existing mail address for now.

 

Incidentally, I have great credit so was shocked when I encountered these recent problems.

Normally no problems getting new credit cards, etc.

 

 

Edited December 5, 2016 by JimmyJ

[watcharacters]

1 hour ago, catman20 said:

dont quite understand what you mean would you be so kind as to send me a PM explaining please

 

 

 

www.earthclassmail.com

 

Not cheap but it works well.

[CaptHaddock]

2 minutes ago, JimmyJ said:

 

Unfortunately it's too late, due to the reason I've stated.

 

CC companies are suddenly recognizing it as a commercial address and want a residential address.

I applied to 2 - one of them wants a utility bill with a residential address, so a friend's address won't work - at least for that company.

 

Also if I give the other cc company a friend's address and they accept it - every other place has my mail drop address and I'm afraid I'd have to change the address to my friend for all of them - if some  companies I now do business with want utility bills also, everything could collapse so I'm sticking with my existing mail address for now.

 

Incidentally, I have great credit so was shocked when I encountered these recent problems.

Normally no problems getting new credit cards, etc.

 

 

 

I thought that you are still in the States and still have a genuine residential address.  Is that not the case?