Hardly a pension
Most Brits refer to the state pension for seniors as the “old age pension”, but that’s a very generous description. It’s merely a top-up which is dependent on the number of national insurance contributions you have made during your life. Still well under 200 pounds a week, assuming you get the maximum, it’s hardly a basis for celebration and is one of the poorest state schemes in Europe.
Frozen in Thailand
As is known by every British expat in the Land of Smiles, retirees here receive a frozen state pension from the date they become non-ordinarily resident in the UK. The grievance has been debated endlessly inside and outside the UK parliament with no positive result. Brits residing in most Asian countries are in the frozen state, but those in the Philippines receive an annual if paltry increase. Does anyone know why there’s a special arrangement for the archipelago?
Digital nomads
Odd that they should be included in the latest proposals for a 10 year Thai visa as most just want the freedom to travel rather than be based indefinitely in one country. The new rules state they must have a master’s degree (whatever for?) and may receive tax free privileges which they don’t need anyway because payments from employers are usually made straight into their bank accounts. Somebody needs to do some research on these nomads.
Good Italian restaurant
We are hearing good reports about Frankie’s on Jomtien’s number two road. Basically Italian but with an international mix too. Lots of weekly specials and the pizzas are crispy and delicious. The lasagna manages to avoid that heavy and doughy touch which you find elsewhere. Good selection of imported wines and, as usual in high-class Italian eateries, the desserts are to die for.
Illegal SIM cards
Thousands of illegal SIM cards have been seized by police in recent crackdowns on online fraud and gambling. They were mostly linked to the details of Thai and foreign individuals who had been scammed by the “call center” enterprises which specialize in trying to get hold of your personal details. Use of such cards allows the scammers and fraudsters to hide their identity. Thais even have a name for them: “ban chee mah” or horse accounts.
Courier mail wins
To send a slim document to Europe using courier mail (DHL for example) will cost you around 1,400 baht with delivery more or less guaranteed in about four days. The Thai post office offers international EMS for 1,050 baht but takes at least two weeks to arrive. That’s because those packages have to wait their turn to go through a screening machine in Bangkok. The odd thing is that an ordinary airmail envelope will likely arrive in about a week.
Covid extensions a rarity
Thai immigration offices seem to have mostly abandoned the 60 days Covid extensions which have been a feature of the extension of stay system for almost two years. They can still be given until late March, but are a discretion and most punters are finding it hard to convince the immigration officer of their case. None the less, some well-connected visa agents can still arrange but not for 1,900 baht. Of course.
Land borders still closed
In spite of optimistic predictions, Thailand’s land borders remain closed to most traffic except goods and returning guest workers with permits. Maybe that’ll change soon but it hasn’t yet. If you want to leave the country and come back quickly, your best bet may be Cambodia which has greatly reduced its entry bureaucracy. But you will still need to apply for Test and Go to return to Thailand with its insurance and health testing requirements.
Self-insurance
A reader asks if self-insurance – showing extra cash in the bank – has yet been introduced for longstay visas in Thailand. The answer is no. The government has suggested that the annual O/A retirement visa might have such a provision from the autumn, but no specific details have been released. It’s best to wait and see as much discretion may be vested in individual immigration offices. The assumption that all such offices act in unison is a false premise.
 |
 |
 |
