bangkockney

To add to VisaPlus' comments above, claiming public funds illegitimately is a breach of your conditions of entry to the UK, and breaching your conditions of entry is a criminal offence. Ultimately it may mean that your leave to remain in the UK is revoked, and you may also have applications for further or indefinite leave rejected.

There are also local and European elections in the UK which do have different criteria:

To qualify, Commonwealth citizens must be resident in the UK and either have leave to remain in the UK or not require such leave. The definition of a 'Commonwealth citizen' includes citizens of British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. British Crown Dependencies are the Isle of Man and The Channel Islands (including Jersey, Guernsey, Sark, Alderney, Herm and the other inhabited Channel Islands).

Citizens of the European Union who are not Commonwealth citizens can vote in European and local elections in the UK, but are not able to vote in UK Parliamentary general elections.

Two exceptions to the rules already quoted in this thread:

1) Although also EU member states, citizens of Cyprus and Malta are eligible to be registered to vote in respect of all elections held in the UK.

2) Citizens of Fiji and Zimbabwe retain their voting rights despite the countries having been suspended from the Commonwealth.

Have a read of About My Vote

That's an interesting post you've linked to...but it's not exactly the same kind of issue we're talking about here...

The thing that I took away from it was:

In accordance with Thai bank code, the bank has to be responsible for all the money stolen and any charges incurred on the account as a result of fraudulent transactions.

It would therefore be interesting to know exactly what "fraudulent transactions" are defined as in the Code - it could well cover POS, but who knows.

I assume that the document would only be available in Thai too - haven't found it in English - which makes researching it that little bit harder.

When you can find someone living in Thailand who lost funds from their Thai bank account and had the money refunded by their Thai bank, then you can start talking....

Seems like if you kick up enough of a fuss and the evidence is overwhelming, K-Bank at least, will relent:

Thu 14 Dec 06, the KBANK called and informed me that the bank was willing to refund 50% of the amount stolen. I did not accept the offer. In accordance with Thai bank code, the bank has to be responsible for all the money stolen and any charges incurred on the account as a result of fraudulent transactions.

Mon 18 Dec 06, I sent two letters by EMS to request two of KBANK's top management executives to reconsider this case and give their response in writing to me by the end of 2006.

Wed 27 Dec 06, I received a call from KBANK informing me that the bank decided to refund me 100% of the total amount stolen by the ATM Fraudster.

Fri 29 Dec 06, I went to KBANK Klong Luang Branch and filled in a Request for Refund Form. About three hours later, the total amount stolen was transferred to my bank account by the Bank HQ.

Source

No voting rights.

You can register to vote if you are:

• 16 years old or over and a British citizen or an Irish, qualifying Commonwealth or European Union citizen who is resident in the UK

You will notice that I quoted your question about his general experiences in what you refer to as trouble hotspots (sic); not your question about his experiences as an ECO.

It is these general experiences that have nothing to do with being an ECO in Bangkok, or anywhere, that I was referring to as being off topic.

Obvious, I thought; but apparently not to all.

(snip)

Were you moved from post to post or did you actively seek the moves yourself?(snip)

You will notice you included this too; indeed a question about his experience as an ECO.

I would also consider any perceived personal risk of working for the UK Government overseas as relevant, if an ECO can be moved from post-to-post. The two questions are connected are they not?

You're welcome to think otherwise, of course, just no need for snide remarks.

PS trouble hotspot meets BBC editorial guidelines, which is good enough for me. So the (sic) [sic] is unnecessary.

Interesting though I am sure a post by VisaPlus about his experiences would be, they are nothing to do with the topic.

Please stick to the subject of ECOs; thank you.

The experience of an ECO has nothing to do with a topic advertising a job for an ECO? OK then.

Why is not relevant to ask if the system moved him from post to post, given this could happen to someone who applies for the position advertised?

Don't worry about the previous refusals - they shouldn't have an impact on the settlement decision, as long as you were sure to mention them on the application form.

I wouldn't worry yourself about an appeal now - just relax and let the process take its course. Hard I know, being so far away from a loved one, but getting anxious won't help! And you're certainly not alone in the way you feel - draw some solace from the reports of other people's experiences here too.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

Please understand that I speak only for myself. Other former ECOs will have their own views, and my own experience as an ECO is from several years ago although I have been working in Embassies and High Commissions in other capacities for the past 10/11 years. I don't think any of the former ECOs here have ever worked in the Bangkok Embassy, but I may be wrong. Personally I was an ECO in Kuala Lumpur and New Delhi. I have worked in UK missions in Ghana, Nigeria,South Africa, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Amman, Islamabad and Sarajevo.

Were you moved from post to post or did you actively seek the moves yourself?

You've also lived and worked in, how can I say, some trouble hotspots(?) - what were your experiences of Islamabad and Sarajevo, for example? Did being attached to the British Embassy / missions put you at greater risk than a general expat?

Similarly, management will differ from post to post

Did you find this to impact on the decisions you made?

Do you mean either a) a link that someone has posted; or b ) a link to a page on TV?

What browser are you using?

a) Right click the link and select "Copy Link Location" (firefox) / "Copy Shortcut" (IE)

Paste this link into the body of your email.

b ) Just copy the URL in your browser's address bar: highlight it, ctrl+c to copy, then paste in your email body.

Banks are legally obliged to notify HMRC of interest paid, but not amount of capital held. HMRC are aware of interest rates, so can make an educated guess.

No need to track these things on the web; at financial year end the banks themselves report activity on all accounts (unless exempt) to the tax authorities.

This is why lying to the tax man can get you in real bother as they have the info from source.

When my home country tax office tried to collect tax, i told them site is not in that country and money does not enter the country, when Thailand tried to do the same, i told them the same thing but vice versa.

No problems at all:jap:

In what country is the bank account that you draw your income down to?

Downloading torrents is no problem.

Streaming live sports feeds isn't going to work reliably. For that you'd need to get one of the premium options so you get a guaranteed minimum speed. I have 3BB so I can definitely say 3BB 12Mbit can't do that, no way. I don't know about True. It used to be great but I hear it's now degraded...

I have 3BB vanilla, 16Mb and have no problem streaming media online, even when routed through several nodes. In my experience, no need for the more expensive premium.

I fear a clean, fresh install of windows will be your best solution.

Sounds like you've got corrupted registry entries, especially seeing software errors.

Back-up and re-image, you'll be glad you did in the end as the change in performance will be significant.

Brother DCP 7030, going cheap in Thailand at the moment. Tesco for example.

Scanner, Copier, Printer

Hardly intrusive letting you know that you're definitions are up to date - it's not like it notifies you with a full-screen message

You can turn the notifications off.

Th uninstaller most definitely does work however, a user trying to uninstall something whilst it is running will always fail.

Each to their own I guess.

Do you already have a job?

If you're close to higher rate of tax and these earnings push you over the limit, it would therefore be more efficient to incorporate.

Not hard to regulate as the money must hit a bank account somewhere in the world.

... anti-natal...

Surely one can't object to birth?

Do you mean ante-natal?

Scouse.

typo

Although I'm sure most women during labour become anti at one point or another!

"Just get it out, NOW!"

And, coincidently, there's a series in The Guardian entitled anti-natal, written by a pregnant columnist.

hi , if its not on the list then why is it needed for indefinate leave to remain! if its not on the official list then the requirement to have the life in the uk test is invalid and should be withdraw by the ukba! what standard is this test at ? your telling me even the ukba dont know ! thats impossible ! lets see what they have to say ! my life and many others will be depending on thier answer! this is getting interesting , thanks for your replys!

I think confusion is arising because there are two different requirements:

1) The study of citizenship material.

2) Showing you have English speaking and listening skills at level A1.

I hope you see the difference?

These are not interchangeable as far as I can deduce. However you are right, we need official confirmation.

^ Not if you only use the ATM cards at a bank location. Risk is greatly reduced. I do agree that using an ATM at a Mom & Pop location is a high risk endeavor.

Yes, most CC / Debit cards have automatic fraud protection up to their limit, but this does you little good if your card(s) have been compromised and you are out of you home country traveling, after which your CC's get shut off, leaving you in a pickle. Don't ask me how I know!

Inside the bank is safest, yes. Any machine outside is still open to tampering.

I too have been victim, not in Thailand but back in the UK.

And it was a debit card too, yet the bank clearly saw there was no way I could have had anything to do with it, so returned all the money. They did however, try to charge me crazy fees for being overdrawn without authorisation

There has just been a case in England where two juveniles found guilty of serious assault were spared a prison sentence. In the Judge's words it would serve no useful purpose!!.

The Hon K Clarke is busy formulating plans to empty our nicks.

The septics on this forum have forgotten that Tony 'Poodle' Blair is not running the show anymore and our extradition procedures are under review.

This toe-rag is English and will be tried under English Law. I doubt very much that the evidence presented by the Thai prosecutor will stand up, most of it has been written on the back of a fag packet!.

The UK of GB & NI will not be sending one of HM subjects back to Thailand, stop fanticising about muay thai training bouts in Big Tiger -<deleted>, its pish!

Why is this directed at me, I'm not fantasising about anything! <deleted>!

Interesting question, is the start date of the visa the date the decision was overturned or the date the applicant re-submits their passport?

Honestly, don't know.

VGA cable and a stereo jack to dual RCA is all I use.

Part of the reason I NEVER use a CC in Thailand, or any other country that is known for CC fraud. SEA is known for this type of thing, so if you don't use the cards, you can't get scammed. Only place I'll use a card in Thailand is in an ATM machine. Oddly enough, Malaysia is numero uno on the list of countries rife with CC fraud.

All Credit Cards are covered for fraud, you will get a refund of the money.

Debit Cards, unless visa debit, do not have this automatic protection. It is at the discretion of the issuing bank.

And, ATMs can be one of the most dangerous places to use your card - your details can be skimmed and your pin recorded.