BKK_banger

A question often arises as to how much is enough?

An appropiate comparator is income support. As this is the amount the government says you can live on who can argue?

Immigration cases do not come to court very often so the exact guidelines or arguable criteria are hard to come by but this point has been argued in court and is persuasive.

As to the other matters, I do not see any mention of a criminal conviction for prostitution. What were the grounds of deportation, overstay? Do not lie about the reasons but she is entitled to present her case as favourably as possible.

Sounds like a difficult case but not impossible.

The standard of documentation, presentation and advocacy skills of the person preparing the application will be critical. Better find yourself someone who has done this before and only takes difficult cases.

DPP,

Your name indicates you know a lot about such matters so I will bow down before your great wisdom.

I am off to the Ollie Reed pub now, I will check in on this thread later.

Yours,

Banger

And the other moron, BKK Banger, thinks it’s fine to use a made up name on a passport. Banger, I don’t think people will fall for James Bond in your case. I doubt if Austin Powers would work for you either.

Smoking weed,

Can you not tell when someone is being serious and someone is not being serious?

What kind of person are you to call someone a moron (whom you do not know) based on one light hearted comment?

Apology?

some of this is true, some of it is way over the top.

do not take in all of this, it is not all true.

the wrong kind of bar owners in pattaya get this treatment.

this guy obviousley just hates pattaya, if it was'nt for his member name bkk-banger i'd swear he was from hua hin.

OK, you got me, I actually love running bars in Pattaya. I am just trying to keep out the competition from ruining the sweet deal I have with the lovely ladies in paradise.

Actually that is not true either. The truth is somewhere in the middle, leaning more heavily in Pattaya to the grim end and in Hua Hin to the soporific.

I was not putting the guy down. But he does not qualify for an O type visa from the information provided and was pointing that out. He has not asked for any specific visa advise but an O type visa is not what he should be looking at if entry is for business.

Many apologies Lop, didn't think as deeply as yourself. Will take foot out of mouth next time before pronouncing you are being judgemental.

Best advice I can give is DO NOT DO IT!!!!!

If you are already running successful bars and joints in Amerstdam or Rotterdam then you are just the sort who will succeed here, if not you will be eaten up.

The problems:

1. You will need to be there 14/7.

2. They will all steal from you or try to.

3. The customers are scum (nice scum of course). Do not expect to have polite conversations and regular clients.

4. You will have to deal with HIV+ drug addict prostitutes working in your bar (a few anyway)

5. The police will take your money

6. If the police do not get it then the mafia will force it out of you.

7. Pattaya is a dump and you will end up broke, alcoholic and on a plane within 6 months.

Just a few thoughts. Actually it is not as easy as I describe to run a bar in Thailand in this sector. If you have experience of this in your home country it may work, if not then you are very brave.

A little judgemental of the poor guy. he has already invested in Thailand and is now considering moving here and setting up a business and house with the lady. Wedding bells (or chanting) will come eventually.

In the meantime, visas, like wills, should not be ignored.

Unless you have a skill in high demand or money to invest many people end up in self employed positions or open their own business. This is easy in thailand unless it is in an industry where regulation is rampant or you need to take credit cards etc.

I used to sneer at Sunbelt but are now using them myself and find them acceptable if a touch pricey. There are worse ways to find a business that someone else has spent a lot of sweat and tears building up.

If you want to start your own then take a tip, do not open a bar or any business you do not understand. Be prepared to spend a year or two building it up before you see profits. Build on your strengths, do not take wild leaps of faith.

I have had two British passports for many years.

This started at a time when I was travelling a LOT and many countries I visited had lengthy visa processing or I might need another visa whilst I was away from the office. My spare rested in my desk.

I also believe the name in your passport does not have to be the same as on your birth certificate. hence the little box on the form which says "Name as you want it to appear".

For years I fantasised about calling myself Bond, James on my passport. In reality it is much more advantageous as an ID document having it in your own name.

Plus it would hardly be proving a long term relationship !!!

Despite what many people experience I have to say that the UK embassy was built up to be a big boogyman / problem yet having tried it twice with 2 different ladies and my younger brother doing the visa process with 2 (quite young !!) ladies evry time it has been a breeze..

Niether time were we even interviewed, merely stood at the glass window (together), discussed our requirements, and told to collect visa in the afternoon. It seems I must have been blessed.

From what I have seen over the years the Brit Embassy is not all that bad. The 3 main sources of refusals are:

1. A poorly completed form without adequate proof attached.

2. The applicant being caught lying.

3. Not being able to prove they have a reason to come back.

When you see some of the specimens (Not meaning you LLOS) waiting for visas you can understand why their stories are not always believed.

"I met him in the temple/park/restaurant/BTS" when they really met in The Dead Cockroach A-Go-Go or the Stale Peanut Bar may seem an innocent white lie for a lady in bar girl uniform with an unshaven punter in singlet and shorts but will sink the application. How can they believe anything else on the form?

As much as I complain about Thailand, I still love the place. Just hard not to get involved with local affairs, as it feels so much like home.

But I guess I have to accept it. Thailand is a 3rd world country with a banana-republic leadership, and I just have to keep my mouth shut?

ASIC

Asic,

There you have the reason not to stay. You will never be accepted here because of the colour of your skin and the nation of your birth.

If you were Chinese you would stand a good chance of being accepted like Toxin.

If you want to stay then you are a third class non-citizen, only a visitor, who can be tossed out if he offends anyone.

Does it matter?

I would suggest to a thinking man who can see injustice around him that it does.

For anyone interested in the definition of limited term employment agreements there was a Supreme Court case a few years ago which considered the Labour Protection Act 2541 s 118.

Supreme Court Judgment no. 5180/2542 Mr. Donald F. Milrose v Bangkok Transportation System Public Co. Ltd

"An employment agreement concluded for a determined period of time allows the employer on termination to be exempt from paying severance pay to the employee. However, in order to qualify as such, the employment agreement must specify the commencement and expiration dates and such term shall not be modified during the contract. Severance pay provisions in the law are considered as matter of public order and do not depend on the intentions of the parties."

I don't know if Mr. Milrose won.

However I know of a case currently winding to the Supreme Court concerning a Brit and an American company. They employed him here then dismissed him a few years later and refused to pay severance pay. The court of first instance dismissed the case as neither were Thai, wrongly in my view and given the final sentence of the excerpt above from Milrose.

I received a travel industry magazing a few weeka go and there he was..... an Elite cardholder!!!!!

A Korean gentleman all dolled up in a smart suit with a flower in his button hole. And who was he shaking hands with?

Yes, PM Toxin himself.

So for 1m Baht you can shake hands with the "brains" behind this. What face he must have received when receiving his card.

I have never been able to open the site www.thailandelite.com so I have to rely on word of mouth as to the benefits.

The company was being encouraged by Taksin to invest in resorts, golf courses etc. to earn income to provide the benefits.

Unfotunately Toxin knows jack shit about hotels. I stayed at his Aiyapuri (misspelt)resort in Ko Chang (3,000/night in low season) and it was <deleted>. It was expensive but with no service. The pool bar had a bartender but if you wanted more than a cold Singha they had to go to another bar and make you wait 20 minutes because they were not bothered about stocking the bar in low season. Similarly breakfast was worthy of a 600 Baht/night hotel and when I asked for a VAT receipt on check out they could not give me one.

Toxin's best idea when the Elite card wasn't selling was to increase the price to make it more exclusive and double it for residents as they may make use of it.

Even if I had unlimited visa, work permit and the right to buy the whole country and special voting rights I still would not participate in something this clown has thought up.

He is no businessman, his wealth is built upon corruption and weasel ways. This is why his businesses can be so badly run, they do not need to make money.

Yes, I particularly like Major Songphon's silk bulletproof jacket for use by Thai police. Comes in a range of colours.

Hom Mali rice is an excellent example of a Thai person's perseverance and skill in agriculture. It is a selectively bred strain of rice which has been propagated and distributed around the country. It gives good yields of excellent rice and has replaced a lot of domestic white rice production.

But it is not a real invention.

Your analysis of the housing market misses one major point / contributory aspect that may help explain why in 2003/2004 so many condo projects have started whilst existing blocks are half empty.

A concensus view amongst local bankers apparently is that teh market is ripe for offloading NPL land. i.e. land repossessed by the bank since 1997.

The typical deal involves a developer buying the land for which the bank provides a loan such that they can start construction and which also finances the land purchase.

The developer then starts construction and starts advertising. When the showroom opens the apartmenst are all sold to local investors for small downpayments. Very few will intend to purchase.

The market is being driven by speculation that prices will increase but where are the buyers?????????

I will wait until the final payments are due and the speculators default.

I have often been tempted to do something like that myself to the UK Visa Section.

There are mandatory requirements for different types of visa, settlement etc. that need to be met. The exercise of discretion is extremely limited on mandatory requirements.

For instance if a settlement visa is applied for then adequate accommodation must be available on the applicant's arrival in UK. Without going into the Housing Act 1988 and the case law it is clear that sole possession of a bedroom with shared facilities in a sanitary condition is adequate.

But how do you PROVE it? The UK Embassy would like the equivalent of title deeds in the spouse/partner's name or a tenancy agreement and photographs of the premises with letters from all occupants of the premises confirming exclusive possession for the applicant etc.

But what if you are kipping at a mate's house in his spare room until you find somewhere to rent? Enter the Gratuitous Licence. Yep, a legal argument that a Gratuitous Licence (yeah, you can kip here) coupled with exclusive possession of his spare room complies with the mandatory requirements.

Fortunately the staffer had a sense of humour when presented with a piccie of the mate's spare room and a 2 page legal argument.

If you go to the UK embassy you will not be allowed into the interview.

However a bit of hand holding is usually appreciated.

If you do go DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT, go in a barfly's outfit such as rumpled shorts and grubby singlet saying "Singha Beer" and flip flops. They may not interview you but they can see through the glass who is accompanying the young lady.

I would echo ProThaiExpat's view. Practice the true story and the way of answering every question.

I have seen young ladies turned down because they applied to go for 6 months as this is the length of the visa to UK. No employer would keep a job open even for two weeks so why should she want to come back?

I lived across the water from you in a development called santi thani and had a suzuki caribean for most of the time I was there ( about 9 months). Scared the crap out of me when going up top.

It's not just the easy roll over ( I DID flip in a suzuki samarai years ago and was on a flat road ( federal highway) in pompano beach florida), but also the lack of power. I can easily see blowing a clutch or trans going up those mountains and then it's bye byyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeee!

I'm back in the States now and drive a Jeep Cherokee 4X4.

Good luck

Mr Vietnam

The Jeep Cherokee would also be my choice in Thailand.

I used to have a 1996 model 4.0l Limited that was absolutely great at highway and rough track work. The inside was sufficiently luxurious that you could enjoy it on a long run, say to Chang Mai from Bangkok with no ill effects or exhaustion.

The offroading was great as it had the power to weight ratio right. The departure angles were not quit egenerous enough and it coudl have benefited from a mild lift.

The only downside is that the aircon is not up to Japanese standards.

It is also possible outside your budget. A well used model goes for around 400,000 Baht.

However it is one of the few large petrol engined 4WDs at a reasonable price available.

I have driven pick up trucks here and they are worse than a Defender for agricultariness.

Good point Thaiflyer.

I am often asked at the overseas checkin or the gate whether I live in Thailand if I am on a return leg.

If the carrier brings you to Thailand and you are refused entry it is up to them to take you back to your point of origin. They will therefore check your visa and tickets. If you have a re-entry permit then there is no problem. If you have no visa then you may be refused.

However many airlines carry passengers who are passport holders within the VOA scheme as they are unlikely to be refused. This may change and there are rumours of a clean up of those with 3 or more tourist visas as it is an abuse of the system.

An intriguing part though.

As of the foreigners financing the Governments projects such as the subway or skytrain, or airports, that is not the case at all. Most of that funding is paid from their own kitties. Airports are financed for the most part from the Airline carriers believe it or not. Only a small percentage is paid from the city or government.

Who do you think pays for the air traffic controllers, or for the maintenance of such planes or airport in general, or for the police security??????? There are landing fees, fuel fees, take off fees, terminal service fees, storage fees, and so on and so forth. And don't forget airport to airport taxes, which is applied to your air fare ticket, including your departure taxes too.

Daveyo

Sorry Daveyo but you may not be fully informed.

The subway was opened to great fanfare on Saturday and I saw only Thais on the TV programming (admittedly I did not watch the first bit at Hua Lamphong) as they congratulated themselves on a job well done.

When His Majesty, who is a smart and well informed person, was shown detailed explanations of some of the technical triumphs he turned round to the MRTA Governor and asked, "Who built this?"

With a straight face the Governor replied, 'Khon Thai"

Hah haha hahaha ahhah aha aha aha ahhhhhh.

He got a funny look from His Majesty.

The land was the only thing paid for by the Thais as the Japanese worried about being ripped off. The Japanese Bank of International Cooperation paid for the infrastructure 100%. The Operator has got some trade deal with Siemens of Germany for the trains etc.

The truth is that the Thais put in very little money and no technical expertise. It was built by foreigners and financed by foreign money.

I am not saying anything against this. A subway is a highly technical and difficult piece of construction and foreign experts and companies were needed to make it successful. What does amuse me is that the Thais fall over themselves to deny this is so.

Wowpow's list seems quite long for Bangkok:

"Lesbian-friendly venues include China Journal (Thonglor);

Cool Bar (Viphavadi Rd); Imageries (Sukhumvit Soi 24)

long Oey, (Soi Aree); Vega (Sukhumvit Soi 39);

Warehouse (Prachachuen)."

The China Journal is owned by the same lady who owns Hair on Film next door. She gave up a law career to enter the hairdressing profession.

I used to have my hair cut there because there was the most most stunning woman I have ever seen working there (name witheld) and my hair got shorter and shorter as I tried to woo her. I spoke English, she spoke Thai but there was no spark, none at all.

OOOPS, that was when I found she hung the other way and the whole salon was staffed by lesbians.

Unrequited love......

Good luck Amanda, once Thai women are experienced there is no going back for men, I wonder if the same holds true for ladies???? Let us know.

My wife and myself imported a secondhand gearbox a few years ago from Aus for my wife's car.

We spent two days at Klong Toey in the Customs House or sheds or in the Port.

For those who have not been there the Customs House consists of two open halls about 150m long with a central staircase and reception.

You go to a desk to have your papers checked, chopped, next go to the far end of Hall 1, get a chop, now far end Hall 2, get a chop, back to desk at far end, get a chop, etc. etc. etc.

You may see some characters hanging round in the Hall. these guys will do the running up and down for you for 300 to 500 Baht per day. THEY ARE GOLD.

The tax was set based on the class of goods and the CIF value declared on the documents. Some haggling took place on the class. 5,000 Baht in import duty as secondhand car spares. Funnily enough they never questioned the authenticity of the invoice.

At the end of Day 1 after 8 hours of running up and down my wife was at the point of mental and emotional collapse. She started crying, sobbing her little heart out. An older lady at a far desk saw this and came over.

I will translate the next bit into English:

"What is the matter, dear?"

"Boooooohh hhhpooo, I wantttt a gooo hooome."

"Why?" gives me a nasty look as in what have you been doing to the poor girl.

"Beeeeen alllll dayyyy. I wannna die."

"never mind. come with me it will all be OK."

She carries her off to her desk, sits her down, gives her a slice of cake. She then opens a drawer, pulls out a box of 30 chops and stamps up all the forms.

"Here you are, all finished. Just go to the Port tomorrow and pick it up."

At the Port the wife goes by herself and picks up the gearbox. A Customs guy wanders over, checks her documents and says, "This looks new to me"

He was a bit shocked that such a nice little girl knew those kinds of words.

Needless to say she drove off and left him to it. Not one penny paid.

And the motto is, if you want to do it yourself don't bother, get an agent.

When you register a company you need to give both the name and the chop which have to be unique to that company.

These are easy to have made in Thailand and can be quite intricate. If you took a photocopy of your design to a chop maker he could make it in a few hours.

The chop is a closely guarded tool and will usually be locked away from those tempted to borrow it.

If you receive a letter with a chop on it then you do not need to concern yourself with the authorisation of the signor as long as you have no reason to doubt the authority thereof.

Of course forgery of documents, signatures or chops is a major crime in Thailand and quite stiff penalties are handed out. Nevertheless it is rampant......

If one was to look into the background of many Thai politicians you would be likely to find a good and sufficient reason to decline them a visa (apart that is, for a visa for Burma perhaps)

And whilst on British MP's it would be extremly difficult to name just one who has acquired the infamy of many (very many) Thai politicians.

What is all this negativity about Thai politicians that posters automatically accept that they are dodgy and a Senator was refused because of his infamous criminal past?

The sad fact is that he was probably denied for being unprepared for the application or the interview.

I have read many Notices given at the Brit Embassy to explain the reasons for an applicant's rejection. I have never seen a criminal past mentioned on any rejection.

Admittedly these rejections have been mostly for young ladies of modest means. There are requirements and they can easily be satisfied with a properly compiled application.

And if you were the joker in front of me in the queue on May 26th looking for a settlement visa for his nice young boyfriend then shame on you. Don't you know you need photos for the form? And how about the other 4kg of documents, you only had the form.

My wife got a settlement visa in 2 weeks and was not even interviewed as such. They only asked where her marriage certificate was in the files of info and when she wanted to go. Always be prepared....

Unfortunately our friend the Senator has a mighty opinion of himself. Queuing with the voters??? No way, he is far too big and important.

He is also not very well informed on what it takes to get a visa. Did he pop in, fill out a form and expect a visa?

If the Brit Embassy are shown:

1. Proof of income

2. Proof of funds

3. Employment, proof of it

4. Ties to Thailand which will bring him back

5. A valid reason for going (which can include tourism) compatible with the visa type.

in addition to the form then it is extremely unlikely to be refused. Every refusal I have seen at the Embassy has been for lack of one of these five areas. The form is not enough by itself.

Just turning up and claiming to be a Senator and expecting the Embassy to kowtow is irrational.

I suspect he was also uncomfortable sitting in a room which has a large proportion of smelly sunburnt Englishmen accompanied by Isaan working girls. These are not the types he would wish to sit with.

If he had any sense he would have had his driver pick up the forms and submit them for him. Then he could have made an appointment and seen the staff quickly.

If a real big shot he could have called on the Ambassador at the same time whilst he waited.