Does my landlord in Thailand need a long-term visa for my retirement visa extension?

@Jeremy *******

why are you telling lies? You don't need a work permit to buy a condo or rent it out in Thailand.

To buy anything you don’t need a visa

If the foreigner rents it through an agency it’s legit

+++++++++

Thai definition on work:

performing any occupation or activity, whether with an employer or independently, that involves exercising physical energy or employing one’s knowledge or expertise

+++++++++++++++++.

So basically if the foreigner does anything in the way work is defined…you need a WP TIN and a visa

Change my mind

Thais are citizens in Thailand and play by different rules than foreigners

@Todd ********

yes I forecast this too. in soon future, Thailand will connect to visa with tax of foreign residents.

@Yo***

sadly I agree. No visa renewal without tax forms filed

@Todd ********

But my concern is, how can they see this? i meant, immigration officers. Even, they have 1000 different rules in own officer. Here is A, there is B, over there is c.. like this. Maybe, to hire experts to solve that problems related to tax with immigration officer, can cost more than we spend in Thailand. for instance, if the costs of agents, tax advisers, or experts etc.. related to this matters can be 100,000 THB or more a year? and Thai owned houses to rent for foreigners increase the rent so rocket high? Then it will be worthy living in Thailand?

@Yo***

to me, this is where AI will drastically change the world. All that info will be at their fingertips in an instant. We shall see how quickly different countries build out their AI infrastructure for immigration.

The visa being attached to tax filing is dead easy right now. You want a visa extension? Please show us your tax return.

To me, the leases are more complicated right now and would require dedicated officers to investigate. At least for now

The problem is this

There is no clear path on how to tax foreigners on long term visas (elite, LTR, Non-O etc)

Until it’s figured out nobody really knows how to go forward

@Jeremy *******

well ltr is explicitly tax exempt (except the worker one which is capped at 17%)

Of course you’re back as always in my comments

Not sure why

@Yo***

yes, for thai landlords, this is irrelevant. If however, you have an absentee farang owner who isn't filing taxes.... you have a problem. There is no requirement for the owner to live in Thailand at all. But they need a long term visa and a TIN tax number

@Todd ********

no you don't need any visa as a ownership of a property don't give you any rights for visas. If you rent a condo the owner can be a foreigner and he do need a long term Visa and no immigration can force you to show it. You even don't need a rental contract you can stay in a hotel or you can leave Thailand the next day. The only requirement for a non o visa is 50y+ and to show the required money.

@Todd ********

I got your point. But what if the foreigners rented houses from the foreign landlords for long term contract? maybe 3 or 5 years or so? If the foreigners, tenants, can not renew their extension due to foreign landlords, ( not tenants fault, but the landlords fault,) how can they terminate this rental contract within the terms??? So, just giving up the deposit and move out? and find out a new place of thai ownership?? So is this so easy? I do not think so. The problems in Thailand with the changing laws or rules are, always, the innocent people are on duty and sacrificed only. What the tenants did do wrong? but just because of foreign landlords who did not file the tax and got the right visa, why tenants lost so many???It is something like Tm30 issue. How many things should foreign tenants do in Thailand before they rent a house? checking if the landlord is a foreigner, if so, checking, if he has right visa and tax paid? and checking if he gave is all right and correct. So how a tenant can check if his tax is right and his visa is proper or at least he never lies? or fakes? Foreign tenants must be skilled for private detective and accountant and tax advisers and immigration advisers, or if they are not, they must hire lawyer or experts to let them check all? just to rent a house??? 🤣🤣🤣

@Yo***

it definitely adds a layer of complexity. If i was an incoming renter, i would likely be seeking out a Thai landlord. Which is probably the desired effect. Termination with cause might be the answer as the landlord is not in position to offer a legal 12 month lease. Which should allow the renter the ability to terminate. But i can imagine that lawyers are rubbing their hands with glee over this whole situation. So many billable hours. If what he is saying is true, you will need to either rent from a Thai owner, or seek out a foreign owner who can easily prove he has the necessary paperwork to offer a 12 month lease. It's gonna be a problem for some if it's true.

@Todd ********

Yes, I surely prefer Thai ownership of rent. Just I do not want to risk on my visa or extension, just because of rent. I can rent another house. but if it comes to my immigration office, it is really big headache. no need to get a high risk just for rent. 100 percent I will rent from Thai owners. 😂

@Todd ********

Do they need a long term visa also? What if they just have a tax number and pay taxes even without physically residing in Thailand? Is that not possible here? (In my countries it is possible, you pay income tax from there even if you don't live there, as long as the income is from there).

@Elías *******

i just watched the video Gary is talking about. It's probably worth a look and judge for yourself what is being said. It's only one farang agent and he is in Pattaya where they might be targetted more than elsewhere. It would seem he has been told that foreign owners need to possess a long term visa (doesn't mean they need to be here though) and a TIN to have a renter with a 12 month lease (which they may need to qualify for visa). But let me know what you think about it after. Tough to tell at this point man

On the Royal Thai Embassy KL website, under Tourist Visa (TR), they require: “Proof of payment for accommodation … the receipt must state the tax payer number of the relevant hotel/accommodation.”

If departments ever communicate with each other the taxman will earn serious money from rental payments

@Billy ********

they are definitely circling that objective now

@Gary **********

yes agent in soi 6 pattaya said that yesterday

@Gary **********

just watched that now. Interesting. Seems like he has been given clear instructions by immigration officials.

@Todd ********

didn't look like that to me. It looked like he was scaremongering to get work.

@Andy *******

clearly not. Loss of border bounces is gonna hurt his business. No scaremongering, more sounding frustrated with what he has been told

@Todd ********

you are much less synical than me. I wish I was more like you but 36 years of visiting Pattaya has informed me of who are the good guys and who aren't.

@Andy *******

haha. Fair enough. I’m just reading it at face value. Could be wrong. He seemed annoyed to me.