mistephenso

Hi All,

My wife and I are planning to move back to the UK with our daughter in a few months' time and I have a couple of questions about the settlement visa questions that we need to answer. Hopefully someone can help!?

First off, some background information:

My wife (Thai national) and I (UK national) will have been married for 5 years next month. We have a 19 month old daughter and I spend my time between Thailand and the UK.

We met in the UK about 8 years ago, lived together for about 2 years there and have spent the past 5 and a half years with my wife in Thailand and myself flying back and forward between the two. We have a house in Northern Thailand, where I stay when we are here together and I stay at my parent's house back in the UK when I/we am/are there...

I meet the financial requirements for the settlement visa and my wife has already passed the English language tests without issues.

My questions are as follows:

1) The UKBA website states that we must show evidence that 'we have met'. What do I need to do to prove this in my situation? Does the fact that we are married, have a daughter, and have spent time in both the UK and Thailand together already (I have had several year's of Non-O visas and my wife has had multiple visas for the UK) provide sufficient evidence for this point? i.e. will a marriage certificate and visa proof be enough?
Or do I need to provide pictures and/or any other evidence to prove to the person who is reviewing my wife's application that we really have met? If so, what would I need without making it 'overkill' for them (we have a LOT of photos, etc...)?

2) We will be staying with my parents for the first couple of months back in the UK, while we look for a house to buy for ourselves. Do I need to provide a floor-plan, or anything like that to prove that the house is big enough for all of us?
FYI, it is a large 4 bedroom house; my wife, daughter and myself will have our own bedrooms (one for my wife and I, and one for my daughter) and a bathroom while staying there. Do I need to prove room sizes/space available...?

3) One of the application questions asks where 'I' am currently living. At this moment in time, I am in Thailand and I will be staying here until my wife goes for her interview next month (then I will return to the UK for work).
Do I state that my current address is our house in Thailand, or should I state that my address is my parent's address in the UK - as I mentioned above, I share my time between the UK and Thailand, and I am officially a permanent resident in the UK. I just don't want them to think that we are lying on our application, when we state the last time we saw each other was very recently!?

Any advice would be much appreciated - I would like to make sure we get everything just right!

Many thanks in advance,

M

mmm som tom, gai kaeng and khao neow with a cold beer on some roadside stall anywhere by a rice field floats my boat.

Haha - 'hard' chicken (gai kaeng) is one of my fetishes too...! Who would have thought it???

I also like to eat 'gai yang' (grilled/BBQ'd chicken) with my som-tam, sticky rice and cold beer...!

Anyone looking for something to do over the next few days...!?

Well, Boon Rawd Farm are having a festival (of sorts) at Singha Park in Chiang Rai. Looks like there is quite a lot going on there (hot air balloons (although I'm not sure if people can ride in them), fairground rides and food-stalls) and it is on from the 13th - 17th Of November, from 11am to 10pm.

There are more details here if you can read Thai - if not, I'm sure the other half can help you out (assuming they are Thai )?

Friends of ours went last year (this year is the second year it is running) and said it was good fun! I'll be there on Saturday with the wife and daughter in tow, so keep an eye out for an exceptionally good looking 'farang' if you want to say hello!

Cheers,

M

P.S. And no, I have absolutely NO connection with Boon Rawd Farm or the Singha Corporation whatsoever - just passing on information that people may find helpful!?

It is 1200 to the centre of Phayao - I paid 1300, as I live a short way to the other side of Phayao (south)... Like I say, I thought it was a pretty good price for over an hour's worth of driving; especially as he had to make the trip back again at 10:30pm!

Just to clarify I need a van for 13 passengers, that has seat belts as I will be bringing a school group from Australia. I would prefer a company that has insurance.

Thanks, for the replies so far.

The booking was via the airport taxi number - I arrived quite late on a Sunday, so I had called them in advance to make sure someone would a) be there; and be willing to drive me down to Phayao....!

The guy was a good driver, the minibus was new and in good condition (it was his own) but I'm not sure about seat-belts in the back to be honest. I threw my bags in the back and sat up front with him!

I would imagine he has insurance (given that he was working via the airport company), but you never know with cars/buses/drivers here...?? You aren't likely to find out the truth unless you actually crash either, sorry to say...

I used a guy from the airport (who gave me his card) the other week - he drove me from Chiang Rai to Phayao for a very good price...

His driving was great and he had a Toyota minivan, which seats 13 I believe (I was the only person in it at the time)...?

I can give him a call and see if he can help out if you like? Let me know when you need it for and for how long and I'll give him a shout - you can then discuss prices with him directly for whatever you want to do.

Cheers,

M

Are you sure you've got this right??

If you are the "groom", you are getting married - if your girlfriend had to tell you that, then you have a WHOLE heap of problems other than being funny in a speech!?

...oh my...case in point ..American are you?

A brit would have seen the humour in 3 seconds

Sent via tin can and string after pigeon shot

Haha - no, I'm English too...!

But now I see why you are asking for advice on being funny. I was joking too my friend...

On a slightly more serious note, I have given a 'best man' and groom speech here in Thailand to a mixed (Thai and Farang) audience bi-lingually. If you can speak Thai fairly fluently, then you can probably get away with telling a few jokes. If you can't, then I would forget it completely!

Some of the jokes in my best man speech didn't come across as I wanted them to in Thai, but I did get a few laughs. Who knows though, maybe they were laughing 'at' me and not with me?! Not that I care now it's done, but anyway...

Just get up and thank your wife-to-be's parents for having such a beautiful daughter and tell everyone how much you love her - they'll enjoy that and, more importantly, so will your other half.

Good luck anyway!

The Discovery Channel documentary/series "Don't Drive Here!" is quite amusing is you have some spare time...!? You can see the Bangkok episode here. The first episode in Delhi is funny too - the procedure to get a driving license in India is even easier than it is in Thailand!

There is a long list of things that makes Thailand a dangerous country to drive in; especially on a moped/motorbike with no helmet!

I think a lack of education (not just in driving skills, but across the board) has got to play the largest role in the high number of crashes on the roads here though...? People just don't seem to be aware of what they are doing wrong? Or if they are, they don't want to admit to it...

Since last week Thais and foreigners can enter Myanmar with passports at Tachilek and proceed with a visa to other points inside Myanmar, no need to exit at Tachilek either.

The old system is likely to stay in place too, so if you only want to visit Tachilek, then a border pass for a Thai or a passport with a stamp and a US$10/500 Baht fee is still applicable I believe.

OK, thanks for the info Tomtomtom69 - is it just a 'visa on arrival' if I wanted to go and tour Burma/Myanmar do you know? Or would you need to apply before bowling up to the border...?

Also, how much is this visa and where does it allow you to travel?

It's a lose lose situation anyway, you take 'em to Burma they shop, you leave 'em in Mae Sai they shop.

Well, Mr 'Shadow-Goer', if I take the better half to Burma with me, I will at least know what she is spending (she has no escape there)...!

Leaving her in Mae Sai to shop on her own is a recipe for 'wallet disaster'!

It's not a superstitious 'fear', but a religious one - especially a male wearing a 'phra-khruang' (Buddhist amulet)...

You aren't supposed to put your head lower than clothes hanging above you, as the clothes are all worn below your head and it is not the 'done' thing. Even more so if women hang their undies out on these lines too!

Not the best security against an atheist thief...!?

Yes - although they don't even need a passport. Thais can use their ID card to go across into Tachilek for the day...

Just stop off in the Immigration centre on the left hand side (a few hundred meters before the border crossing, when heading towards Burma) and follow the crowds. Last time we went, my wife had to pay 30 baht I think!? Not sure if it has gone up since then, but we will be going tomorrow if you really need to know?

Cheers,

M

Is that the driver's legs at the bottom of that hole on the left (under the tarmac slab)...??

It's going to take longer than 15 days to clean up if they only use paper towels of this size...!

Time to start asking for some outside help Thailand!?

"The lab result showed no residue of methamphetamine in her body system"........

Oh......that is way her blood samples were taken days after the incident.

I am looking at her and read "Guilty" on her forehead.

Mr. Chalerm you are a clown.

Exactly - when was the picture taken??

Given that amphetamines (all types) will not be detectable in your blood/urine/saliva after ~5 days, it's not really surprising that they didn't find traces of anything if the picture of her doing the drugs is more than a week old...!

Thonglorjimmy where is that plate from?

I need name and address if you can.

Looks huge.

You got me there, I cheated, got the picture from the Internet - sorry width=20 alt=angry.png>

I now have some good suggestions for places to go in Bangers for a decent breakfast.... Thanks!

In answer to your questions about that ridiculous breakfast, it is from Jesters Diner in Gt. Yarmouth, UK. You need to book ahead for it to be made, but you get your money back if you eat it all within 1 hour..!? I know I couldn't.

Check out a menu here, or a UK newspaper article here. It is called a 'Kidz' breakfast for reasons unknown to me - maybe because is weighs as much as a small child??

There are 2 bars down by Kwan Phayao where I sometimes watch the footy - 'The White Bar' and 'The Meeting Point'. They are just around the corner from the 'B.M Pub' (Thanon ThaKwan)... The location according to Google Maps is: 19.165656,99.896399

I'm not sure if there will be many Thais interested in the rugby, but you can certainly ask the owners to put it on if the girls aren't watching the soaps . They are very friendly in both bars, but there are more screens in 'The Meeting Point' so I usually have a few beers there if I am out! The food is OK too (but not as good as some of the other restaurants further down the lake-front road), so you can make a night of it there if you wanted?

The other option is a restaurant called 'Hug' which is not far from the bus station (again, location as per Google Maps: 19.170155,99.896535). The owner, Boy, is a Liverpool fan (for his sins) and shows as many matches as he can during the football season. I'm sure you could get someone there to put the rugby on!?

There is also another bar called 'Mao Ze' a bit further down the lake-front road from The Meeting Point that has TVs with the football on, but I haven't ever been in there myself.

Have fun anyway...

http://books.google.co.th/books?id=_yc-Dy_u95QC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=Merchant+of+the+Orient&source=bl&ots=_3I2zUAyA8&sig=FOgv1DAfoEF7Guhwvm8gTZq_KkE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=A-OWUY_GKYPtrAfFtICABg&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

I downloaded an E-Book from KoBo but I dont know how to open it.

You can use the Calibre Library software to manage/read all of your eBooks. It is a very nice application and is free to download....!

Get it from the Calibre website here. They have tutorials you can watch about using the SW too.

Looks like Don's had an interesting life from the excerpt I read above!? And a couple of patents to his name as well...

You can send the bikes via Thailand Post - just head down to your local post office and they will let you know the exact prices.

The MIL used them to send a moped/scooter before and it cost about 2000 baht if I remember correctly (your bigger bike will be more though, i would think)!? This was about a 300km journey....

I can tell this: i had my entire balcony covered in beer bottles, easily a full truck worth of bottles, my land lord cashed them in for me for a total of 14 baht. OTOH i was offered to work at a karaoke bar as a boy-toy for woman, mama-san said i was 700 baht bar-fine, of which i got to keep half, on top of what i got for action. Probably not applicable for a 60 year ole man tho

Sounds like you got ripped off then - it is 50 satang per beer bottle (brown glass), or 10 baht per kilo of clear plastic here. Just think how rich you could have been with a truck full if your landlord hadn't taken all of the money...?

Either way, the old boy scavenging in bins is not likely to be making much each day. I don't have suggestions to what he can do, but I do feel a bit sorry for people living like this. You can't help everyone though unfortunately...

The video is here - nothing to do with Russians...

And what about the 10th to the 14th of April - are we to expect 'blackouts' and 'brownouts' on those days instead??

Or has the duration of this maintenance changed now?

You can view the last 10 years for Baht vs. GBP here - or against the US Dollar here...