Anyone know of some available good-value accommodation in HCMC? I lived there a few years ago, but my old accommodation is fully-booked.

I'll have a motorbike and can speak some Vietnamese so it need not be very central. I will be doing some teaching around the city.

I'd be happy paying something like $150-250/month. Cheers.

Here's a video for finding cheap accommodation in Saigon

https://youtu.be/UEhyxKuMDVg

Nice one sir.

Hi Sir, R u still in Vietnam? May I have your contact? Me and my friend are going to Vietnam for travel and wanna play some Poker there. It would be such a pleasure if we can join your game.

Just got to Saigon about a week ago. Still looking for a permanent place but have a few options. Any small stakes local games about?

I'd also be interested in some games if they're happening.

In which city is that?

I've been reading your blog... some fun stories xD

ps. new account, just to comment this

Anyone know a place that could host a game in D1/D3 HCMC?

Just bought my ticket to SEA.
Manila then Hanoi and HCMC. Plan to stay a few months. Budget is $800 a month, plus $500 that I have saved.

Scared as ****!!

Oh, and I arrive on April 29th.

you can manage for that. no worries.

I'm gonna be in Hanoi from the 27th to the 3rd or so for a visa run. Anyone know of any games or would like to play?

Most of Skins of Microgaming are facing this problem but not all. Try Triobet.

I have two questions hopefully some people here can answer;

1) Is online poker legal in Vietnam? If the authorities knew you were playing would you have a problem with them? I'm sure you can play and not get caught, but I'm asking about the legalities of the situation.

2) If it is legal are gambling winnings taxable?

Damn dude how can you even be worried about that, yes it legal to play poker.

And no you dont pay tax you are not a resident.

He's asked this in every country thread lol. Don't worry once you move to SEA you stop worrying about western concepts like the rule of law

online gambling is illegal here when it comes down to the law unless its sanctioned by the govt.

But as others have mentioned and as you already know, its not a problem.

I understand it's not a problem and you can get away with it (been in Thailand 8 years) but I'm asking about the legalities. If I'm going to build a life in this part of the world I don't want to be doing dodgy stuff.

If you live in a country you are a resident for tax purposes.

I get it, you can simply not pay and get away with it, especially in Asia. However this isn't a very good idea when you planning on spending the rest of your life in this part of the world.

I think claiming taxes on online gambling in a country where said activity is illegal may not be your best line.

I agree. I'm thinking of setting up residence somewhere else (UK perhaps) then bringing in 30k a year to live and paying tax on that. In Thailand if you bring in 1m baht (roughly 30k USD) taxes amount to 10% / 100,000 baht, very reasonable.

I get it that you don't have to pay and nobody will ask. But I'm going to be applying for permanent residence in a few years and to do that you need to show your tax returns.

Asking around other countries threads in case there is a place I can live in SE Asia where the setup is less complicated but it doesn't look there is.

I've never met anyone paying taxes on their own money they just brought into Thailand, i.e just their savings, or poker winnings, etc. Are you sure it's even possible and how would you go about doing it?

I've heard the 'if you live in Thailand over 6 months a year you're a tax resident and must pay taxes' thing, but when I read into it further that only means for income derived from working in Thailand.

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/6045.0.html

The types of assessable income are listed there. All relates to income derived from Thailand. Something like online poker winnings, or your worldwide income, or savings, isn't on the list. If you don't work in Thailand how would you go about filing taxes, afaik you need a work permit.

Also you aren't eligible to apply for Thai permanent residency if your source of income is from overseas. You need to show a work permit and income generated in thailand for 3 consecutive years.

You go register with the revenue department and they give you a tax ID number. From there you file returns, probably with an accountant, just as in falang land.

From rd.go.th - "A resident of Thailand is liable to pay tax on income from sources in Thailand as well as on the portion of income from foreign sources that is brought into Thailand" - So it's on the amount of money you earn inside or bring inside the country.

I get it's a really gray area, especially since gambling is illegal. But I've been here a while (7-8 years) and am planning on staying long term (I just bought a condo) and want to keep everything above board.

Looking at all the options seems like the best thing is to establish residency in the UK and cash out there where poker is definitely legal and tax free, then just wire money into Thailand.

Whether or not I pay tax on what I bring in from the UK is a much simpler question since gambling isn't involved as far as Thais are concerned, it's just money coming from overseas. Guess the next thing to figure out is the cheapest place to rent a studio apartment in the UK so I can open a bank account there.

Seems a lot of effort because being caught gambling could never jeopardize your long term existence in Asia. You'd just pay a fine and be on your way. I've been here 7 years too and it doesn't worry me at all.

You could go for the Thai Elite card, £12000 for a 5 year tourist visa and (even) less chance of ever being questioned on your income or taxes, being denied entry at an airport etc. Cheaper than renting out a studio apartment in the UK per 5 years.

Anyway I'd also ask on thaivisa.com forum they probably know more about this kind of thing and I'd be interested to see what they say

It's not so much the caught gambling thing, it's the tax situation. The gambling complicates it obviously. I also agree, Somchai the cop is going to want his 2k baht or something and be done with it, they don't really care.

I'm going to be able to qualify for an investment visa soon anyway so the Elite card will be redundant, although it's a great option. I think they offer an extremely no frills version now, 20 years for 1m baht, pretty decent.

Something else I just thought of is cashing out to neteller and then leaving what I don't need in Thailand in Neteller, it's not "in the country" then and can always spend it directly out of Neteller or buy Bitcoins or something.