Haha, the above may actually work. ;-)

I use TravelingMailbox.com, which is a commercial mail receiving agent (CMRA). They provide me with an address to use, receive my mail, scan the envelopes so I can read online, scan the contents of the mail if I request it, and forward the mail to me if I request it. I find that 99.9% of the time simply reading the scanned contents of the mail online is enough and I don't need to have the mail forwarded to me. The exception to this is when I get a new credit card. I have it sent to them and forwarded to me in Thailand as I do not wish my US financial institutions to know that I don't reside in the US.

There are other CMRAs that do the same thing. I pay about $12/month (on an annual basis) for this service from Travelling Mailbox which I have used for more than 8 years.

I'm signed up for electronic communication with every entity I do business with and even then I still receive snail mail. For example, if I change my phone number at my IRA custodian they will send snail mail notifying me of the change, which I guess may be a legal requirement or at least a security precaution that they follow.

It has nothing to do with where you are a tax resident and nothing to do with where you live or how long you have lived there, but everything to do with the fact that you are a US Citizen. As such your worldwide income is subject to taxation by the US Government.

Yes, you need to declare on your US tax return interest income generated from keeping money in a Thai bank, which is often a requirement for obtaining and maintaining a long-term extension of stay in Thailand.

Yes, you may be able to claim a Foreign Tax Credit for any taxes actually paid to Thailand on this interest income.

No, you cannot claim the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) on this interest income because it is specifically not "earned" income.

These answers are further explained at the following links:

%20you%20are%20a%20U.S.,is%20exempt%20by%20U.S.%20law.

%20exclusion%20applies%20only%20to,Here's%20a%20simple%20example.

So on your latest stay in Thailand, you were able to get a Residence Certificate before you had done a 90-Day Report? Good to know that Hua Hin allows this. Some other immigration offices do not.

@Barry ******

How and when did you do your last 90-Day Report?

@Barry ******

Where have you received a Residence Certificate from immigration without having done at least one 90-Day Report first?

You have arrange for fit to fly and covid-19 RT-PCR test yourself at a testing center. You can get a fit 2 fly certification from Dr Donna via video call. You have to upload this to your Thai embassy or consulate to obtain a certificate of entry. You will need to book alternative state quarantine ASQ hotel in Thsiland and book your flight. The requirements are at your Thai embassy website. It's not easy but possible.

Highly recommend listening to this podcast and checking out the excellent site run by the guest linked below.

@David ********

True, if your amphur thinks farang should have pink cards. Relatively easy for me to get my yellow book, but my amphur doesn't think pink cards apply to farang (foreigners from local countries like Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia are allowed) and won't issue to me.

@Jinren ******

, lol, not that it's important really but I believe the O stands for Other and the A maybe stands for Approved. It's usually just referred to as a Non-OA which is short for Non-Immigrant Visa Type OA.

It's sometimes referred to as a "long stay" visa as it gets you one-year permission to stay whenever you enter Thailand during its period of validity (until it expires). So in pre-covid times when it was relatively easy to leave and re-enter Thailand you could leave and re-enter Thailand a few days just before the Non-OA visa expired and get another year's permission to stay.

So, in effect, by timing your leaving and entering Thailand correctly you could get almost 2 full years of permission to stay from a single Non-OA visa. Nowadays because leaving and entering is difficult most people if they are not willing to leave and reenter will only get a single year's permission to stay on a Non-OA visa.

In any case, at the end of a year of permission to stay, you could apply for an extension of stay for the purpose of retirement at your local Thai Immigration office, and meeting all the requirements for that extension you could get another year of permission to stay.