# Am i missing something (Visa, Koh Samui)



## buzza991 (Mar 11, 2013)

First off a hi to everyone on the forums, i have been reading a number of threads with interest over the past few months and cannot see my questions have been asked or addressed before however apologies if i have missed it.

I am looking to move to Koh Samui in May time leaving from the UK however i have a couple of queries:

VISA - I dont appear to fall into a specific catagory of VISA and the information is slightly ambiguious... I am wanting to move to Samui for at least 12 months most likely longer, i will not be working and do not need to however the only VISA catagory i can find is a 90 day visa and then 30 day border runs... this is going to be rather disruptive every 30 days is there nothing better i can look at?

I recieve an income £4000 - £5000 as dividends from my companies in the UK, i will be sending a couple of e-mails a month and dealing with our accounts signoff but that is it, i am not sure if i should disclose i will be doing any work at all? 

Transport - The price of rental cars is a joke, i refuse to pay £700 + for a fiat punto per month! is it worth just looking when i get there

House - all sorted and rented from a private chap, looks all good but any pitfalls to be aware of?

Hobbies - Does any one know of a gym or other activities i can be doing on Samui? I am going with the G/F (thai girl) but i imagine i might get bored quite quickly!

Reason i am going, my companies are now at a point where they run seamlessly and do not require day to day input so i just need to relax on a tropical island for a year or so (lol) 

any and all advice is welcome


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## Mweiga (Sep 24, 2010)

buzza991 said:


> First off a hi to everyone on the forums, i have been reading a number of threads with interest over the past few months and cannot see my questions have been asked or addressed before however apologies if i have missed it.
> 
> I am looking to move to Koh Samui in May time leaving from the UK however i have a couple of queries:
> 
> ...


Visa : You don't give your age but if over 50 you can do the 1 year non-immigrant "retirement" visa which requires minimum balance of 800,000 THB in your Thai bank account 3 months prior to application.

If under 50 years there are various options as you've no doubt been researching but one with minimum hassles is the double entry two month tourist visa obtainable at the UK Thai embassy - you can extend this visa by one month at the local immigration office in Thailand , then after these first three months are up you make a trip to a neighbouring country (short sightseeing visit or something) and re-enter Thailand to utilise the second entry which you can extend again by a further one month. This gives you six months with only a couple of visits to your local immigration office on Samui and one visa run out of Thailand.

Work : The odd email to your office back home won't be considered work - don't talk about it. Most expats living out here for years probably run their financial lives on the internet anyway.

Transport : For the annual cost of car rental you can buy a pretty decent second hand one and have no trouble selling it for a good price when ( if ) you decide to leave. However , consider other forms of transport like motorcycle and / or public transport. Samui is not a large place with basically only one main road system round the island and already seriously clogged with traffic - just wait till you see Chaweng !

House rental : You don't say if you're making a formal agreement or simple between friends with nothing in writing type of arrangement - all depends on your relationship with the private renter and normal common sense prevails.

Hobbies : You'll find the odd gym and other recreational activities available. If you're not already a scuba diver , why not take this up - it's a major pastime on Thailand's resort islands with several well run dive shops on Samui and you've got the best dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand just an hour and a half north by boat around Koh Tao - itself a great little island to spend tome on.


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## nikkisizer (Aug 20, 2011)

buzza991 said:


> I recieve an income £4000 - £5000 as dividends from my companies in the UK, i will be sending a couple of e-mails a month and dealing with our accounts signoff but that is it, i am not sure if i should disclose i will be doing any work at all?
> 
> Reason i am going, my companies are now at a point where they run seamlessly and do not require day to day input so i just need to relax on a tropical island for a year or so (lol)


Hello buzza991,

Assuming you are a British citizen you will still be entitled to the UK personal allowance so your UK dividend income would be within the personal allowance threshold resulting in no tax liability.

However, even though there would be no tax liability as you are a Director of a UK Company you will still be required to file a UK tax return each year.

Also, the existing HMRC UK residency rules are set to change with effect from the 2013/2014 tax year which will involve the statutory residency test (SRT). 

Ties such as home, work, family etc. in the UK may class you as UK resident for tax purposes regardless of where you reside. 

Residency is a complex area so it is very important that your individual circumstances are dealt with correctly to protect your residency status and exposure to UK taxation.


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## cnx_bruce (Feb 2, 2010)

1. Everything is worth looking for when you get here. Your chances of getting a fair price when booking or buying from afar are minimal. Get here are drive/ride around to get a feel for the place, and in the interim read widely in this and other expat forums

2. Be sure to google the name of the "private chap" to see if there are any horror stories about him. Don't think for a moment that all expats are your friend and more trustworthy than Thais. There are plenty of western villains here and plenty of sincere honest Thais


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## TrangDoan (Mar 13, 2013)

- House/ apartment rental: May i suggest you to have lease agreement in writing to avoid any problems later on. The duration of rent could be in 1 yr or 6 months according to your negotiation but for 6 months, higher rent
- Visa: you could think of 1 year ED visa which you will apply for visa from Thai Royal Embassy in your country residence


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