kunash

If you are moving to Australia because of family ties I believe it can take a long time to get a visa.

Last I looked about 18 months ago the queue time was about 10 years!

This was when we were living in Australia and looking to bring in the brother of my Thai wife (my wife is an Australian permanent resident). He also has no special skills so could not be sponsored by a business on a 457 visa. You may be able to get sponsored but would need to look into this and the "required skills" list.

My information is a little dated so you would be advised to look into the Dept of Immigration and Border Protection website as previously advised https://www.immi.gov.au/immigration/

thanks

yes I looked on that website and filled in the visa form to see what visa I could apply for, but it came up with no results. I will try and phone them today

thanks 7

yes she has a B1 pass in English speaking and listening, and she will eventually be applying for citizenship, and yes we all live in the uk and they have iLR

Hi

I am English and live in the uk. I have a Thai wife who has indef leave to remain in uk, and is currently studying for life in uk test with a view to getting a british passport. I have 2 step children 10 and 12, who are thai.

my thai wife has a sister who is married to an Australian and lives now in Australia. she has permanent residency there ( sorry if that is incorrect term ). her husband has his own business.

eventually we may wish to move to Australia. I would like to live there and my wife would like to be with her sister. I have no skills as such , or no trade, but have many rental properties which I rent out and are owned outright. ( around 140k *aus$ yearly income).

can someone please advise who is knowledgeable about visas to Australia.

can I obtain a permanent visa to live in Australia, for my wife and kids, taking into account my assets and income?

can my wife obtain a permanent visa to live in Australia , with me and her kids, to be with her sister?

can the husband offer me a job and I obtain a visa that way, with a view to living there permanently?

any other route we can try for permanent citizenship for Australia?

thanks for any help

i had to do a complete reinstall on my computer and lost everything on my computer.

there was a post, I believe in this forum, about someone's problems re building a house in isaan - where the village elder wanted 50k. I think the poster might have been from Australia

there were 2 links to house building websites I would like to have pls in that post

can anyone pls help me with a link

I did look back 3 weeks but couldn't see it. I think it was more recent than that

thank you

hmm if you just get a black screen , right click and view source

Majestic appartments, near the speed disco (or a 5 minutes drive from the main bus station)

I think you need to pay for at least 1 month, when I stayed there about 3 years ago it was 5500 b a month

hi. I am trying to buy a uk to thai plug adapter. I have looked on ebay but no luck.

can anyone provide a link please?

thank you

hi

I understand the car rental places are on level 2 at Suv airport,BKK. when returning the car to the airport, I guess it is level 2 again.

from level 2, what level are the taxis on, so I can go to bkk?

thank you

Hi, I am married with two step children. we live in the UK. my wife has my surname, my step children have their dad's name. my wife has full parental responsibility for both her children.

my two step children and my wife and i, would like us all to have my surname.

from what I know of UK law this could be very difficult to do in England - they are 12 and 10.

this year we will be going to Thailand for a holiday.

I have booked the air tickets.

when we are in Thailand, is it possible we can go to the ampur, where my wife will change their surnames to mine, and change their id cards, showing my surname. we wont touch the passports - leaving them in the old name.

when we are back in the uk, we will ask for new passports at the embassy, showing the name change papers.

does this sound ok? just asking for opinions and advice, thank you

I will be flying out with them in July 2014, from term 2. I think the whole star alliance has moved there.

has anyone been to term 2 before? are there any hotels connected to the terminal please?

the majestic apartments are a good choice. close to the kaotey bar and the disco. 5 or 6k a month. rooms cleaned once a day. no cooking facilities,

The airport to Surin is easy in terms of driving, but if you are not use to the roads here, it can be a bit interesting at times. And driving in BKK is always "interesting".

Why not take public transport to Surin and get your car there. Then when coming back to BKK, do the same. Or better yet, hire a private driver and car each way. Not sure what the going rate is now, but I'd bet it would be about the same as 3 days rental on a car??? We use to do this all the time. It's nice to sit up front and take in the scenery without having to worry about the crazy drivers.

From BKK to HH it's easy to get a car and driver, and relatively cheap. Unless you want to do some driving around HH. And even if you do, just a get a car when you get there. I haven't done the BKK to HH trip in some time, but 4 years ago I felt like I was on a speedway...where trucks were included in the race. Trying to keep an eye on traffic, crazy drivers, road work, signs and a map is no fun.

Just a thought....

thanks for that link Crossy - they are the cheapest prices I have seen

Craig - there are no rental companies in Surin. but I believe you can hire a '''car''' from the local farang bar, in surin. not sure how reliable and not sure about the insurance for it, so I would rather stay clear of that.

when I am in surin I would like to do a lot of driving. lots of places to visit. I do have a motorbike, but we are a family of 4 , so would prefer a car. ( we are currently based in the uk, so wont invest in a buying a car yet )

i would rent for about 8 days i think. the fortuner looks nice for under 300 pounds. i would then take it back to the airport, and get a private taxi to the hotel and hh, then may hire again in hh.

bkk to hh easy do it lots of times never had a problem

is there a sort of ring road around bkk from the airport, with a turn off to hh?

why cant Thailand have the same sat nav system as the uk ?

thanks for all the replies.

i guess i can always ask the rental guy to input the town name and airport name, for the return trip.

i have had a look at the site, (where you can get directions and a map from the airport to surin )

http://www.placesonline.com/asia/thailand/map.asp

and the journey seems quite straightforward (famous last words )

hi.

i have done a search but cannot see any major car rental companies operating in Surin. are there any? or where can i hire a fully roadworthy, fully insured, car from please? in surin

my first experience of a farang in thaland was when I first went to Rayong. he came into the petrol station f'ing this and f'ing that towards his '''girlfriend'', drunk, and shouting at the poor girl behind the counter. he was English. I felt quite shocked at his rudeness. not sure where he was heading but maybe a little further south perhaps

where I live in Thailand I always use my local family store for my beer. I always go in with a smile, and talk a little to them. they are very nice to me. the small store gets other types of farangs come in, for beer, etc. I have seen them go in. no smile, don't talk, and just not very friendly. my wife uses the store as well, and the store owner always says to my wife how lovely and friendly I am, and that she likes me.

Thailand has many great western people living there of course, but of course it has a lot of <deleted> as well. so I guess thai people will have mixed views of western people in Thailand, depending on their own experiences.

Normally while travelling around Thailand I would get a coach or taxi. And When in my home town of Surin I have a motorbike. But the more I read about safety on the Thai roads, I now would feel safer if I had some protection around me.

I take it the airport would have Hertz. Would the cars have sat nav? can you type the names in English, into the sat nav? I guess from the airport to Surin is straightforward. I could purchase a road map as well, plus I would have my wife with me who speaks Thai.

if the car breaks down I guess we would have roadside assistance? or not?

what if I wanted to drive into BKK,. we will be visiting intercontinental, ploenchit rd. (after surin) from memory, from the airport it does seem quite straightforward. off the toll road, down the hill, take a right and you are there. but then that is when I would need the sat nav. so, is sat nav reliable? I would hate to get lost in bkk while driving.

then, after surin and after bkk, we will be going to hua hin, then back to intercon.

getting to hua hin should be ok. but from memory HH to BKK (intercon ) can be a nightmare. bkk traffic is bad at the best of times.

maybe I should just get a taxi?

Help anyone please?

I refer back to my last post and wondered if anyone could please confirm whether I should have any of the documents, statements, bills, letters etc. notarised or certified by a legal entity before I leave next Wednesday?

I am concerned that I am not 100% certain on this score as there seem to be some conflicting opinions.

Many thanks in advance.

no need to

hi.

Last Monday my wife and two step children were granted their iLR visas, which is wonderful news.

For citizenship will I need to carry on collecting utility bills, bank statements, self assessment papers etc etc (same as iLR) or not?

apart from a life in UK test, will I need to provide anything else?

thanks

I hear that next month Surin airport will open. Nok air will have a flight from BKK to here. this will be good news if true.

hi. I am planning a trip to HK staying on the Kowloon waterfront for a few days.

I have been here once before. I remember taking a bus around the island to Stanley market - which I enjoyed. I bought some nice art work here.

I am looking to buy some more artwork (pictures). cheapish, locally drawn art.

where is a good place to go to buy this please?

what is the best shopping centre to go to ( anything similar to central world in BKK )? mainly for fashion for the wife.

anything else to do?

thanks for replies

dont do it. had to have mine done as a 27 year because of a thrush infection that wouldnt die. man i miss my skin

Which along with proven lower prevalence to HIV infection is another good reason to have it done.

You can't be serious....-

I have seen a documentary about this. risk of HIV infection is lowered if you have had the snip. it is something to do with the skin that attaches the end of the penis to the outside skin part. in circumcised men this piece of skin is removed. this piece of skin has a weaker lining than normal, and so infection can penetrate the skin easier.

I have now read the home office guidance notes again on claiming public funds, and am now confident. even if my wife was claiming public funds, that would not be grounds to refuse a visa, if she can support herself.

I remember what the man at DWP told me. He said that if you have been claiming, your wife's visa will be refused. after everything is done and dusted I will give these departments a ring, the ones that told me I cannot claim, and tell them what is what, in no uncertain terms. it makes me angry they say such things