briley

Corrected ................

I was always told you could not give up UK nationality - even if you did you could always get it back. Both untrue. Sorry.

But how the heck can the UK Gov justify it's charges. £395 to give up nationality.

To add to Maestro

It is impossible to lose or renounce UK nationality - there is no way it can be done.

If you are British you will always be British - that is a cross you have to bear

TAT have got two web pages about the 2009 show - both have a timetable of events.

Trouble is they do not agree with each other!

http://www.tatnews.org/events/events/2009/nov/4589.asp#1

http://www.tourismthailand.org/news/releas...ntent-2453.html

November 21 is about right.

My calculation is 19th-21st November.

Anyone still paying 590Baht for a 2Meg connections should go down to TOT

You can either upgrade to 3Meg or reduce the charge to 490Baht per month and stay at 2meg.

But you have to agree to a 12 month contract. You must pay for 12 months even if you cancel.

Sinbin - slight error

Yes you get no increase in pension if outside the UK for over 6 months, but when you retire you do get the full rate at that date. So if you retire this year you will get around GBP100 pw (current rate) frozen at that rate even if you have been non-resident for hundreds of years.

Don't hold your breath waiting for the court hearing. I personally very much doubt it will come down in pensioners favour. But once the case is over the UK gov might have a change of heart. I'm hoping.

But for thecatman I'd start 'living' in the UK for some time before retirement. Then you retire as a UK resident and can quietly stay that way. These days I see little advantage in being non-resident if not working.

Abbyy finewriter version 9 build 1019 or later recognises Thai.

Think there is version 10 now.

maahuanao - Ask the contributions people in Newcastle.

You can get a forecast on the internet but you must register, give a UK address and use the code you receive within 30 days. Bit of a hassle when out of the UK but it is do-able. Once registered yo can do other things as well.

AFAIK you can buy the cards in many places.

But you must register the card with the door unit for it to work, and for that you need to know the codes.

Definitely worth paying the 30 years for a full pension.

But don't be too quick to pay. I pay up regularly and now have 35 years of contributions when the Gov. changed the rules to 30. If I'd been a little slower I'd have saved a bit.

Inland revenue do accept debit (not credit) card payments - can that work from a Thai bank account?

Or someone who you trust who wants to make the same amount of money transferred in the other direction. Saves both a swift charge. Used to do that all the time before ATMs.

PattayaParent - the 5 year rule came in because some rich persons decided to become non-res for one year and cash in millions of pound of capital gains.

Think it was one of Gordon Brown's babies.

Was made more complicated in the late 1990's but as far as I know

If you are resident in the UK for tax purposes you pay UK capital gains.

If non-resident for less than 5 years you might pay capital gains tax unless your non-resident period goes over 5 years

If non-resident for more than 5 years you do not pay capital gains tax

You can reduce your capital gains tax due by any tax on the gain made that you paid to the Thai authorities.

Now I duck as I am sure bits of this are not quite correct - but hopefully the gist of it is OK!

Found royal Macau to be very good booked via their web site as it was the cheapest way.

Superb breakfast, good location walk able to most casinos and on a free bus route from the casinos, the hotel and the ferry port.

http://www.hotelroyal.com.mo/index.php

OK -

Can you then tax the bike

They do an emission test each year - if your bike needs a test to get the tax disc.

Of course if it is an illegal bike then none of this applies.

Can you then tax the car?

They do an emission test each year - if your car needs a test to get the tax disc.

You can get a re-entry stamp at Chiang Mai airport - as you go through passport control there is a desk on the LHS that says you can get a re-entry permit

Mind it might be an old sign, and you do have to be flying international out of Chiang Mai

All UK banks are changing their terms and conditions following some EU regulation.

Changes what they must tell you when things change, how many days warning, what you can do if conditions change, also something about speed of transfer of funds, think to 3 days maximum.

All very well written by the bank so you fall asleep by the second paragraph.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ditto - 15 baht charge in bank of Ayuddah 2 days ago. Confirmed by Nationwide (15,015 baht withdrawn)

But no charge in Airport plaza, Chiang Mai, 5 days ago. That machine was inside their branch, the other charging machine was in Tesco.

Also told to contact bank on a number of occasions, but then the card works again next day. I assume they are having problems and just put up that message.

I have withdrawn 15,000 and 16,000 baht this week so no special restrictions

Over the years I have realized that insurance companies only insure those that won't claim. And health insurance falls slap bang in that category - they will insure you when young and healthy but not when older or unhealthy.

I have looked at insurance over the years for myself, I've been out of the UK for the majority of my life, spending at least 7 or 8 months a year away.

Travel insurance does not work as it

a) only covers travel for 90 days normally and

if you are ill they try to send you 'home' for treatment.

Any full year overseas insurance will cost me and my wife over 50,000 baht a year, and I would have had to pay that for the last 10 years at least (previously I was covered by employer).

So that is half a million baht - assuming I have saved the money it buys a lot of aspirin. And this is the maximum payout on many of the cheaper policies.

So I self insure myself.

(Where did that smiley come from, should be - or bullet point b if that does not work!)

Liverpool is by post only.

Having said that if you phone them they are very helpful and you can arrange to leave your passport downstairs and pick it up a hour or so later.

I am probably wrong but doesn't section 48(5):

"an amendment that changes the ratios of the joint payments in the regulations pursuant to Section 32 (8);"

mean change in common area fee has to have 50% of owners voting in favour of the change?

I even wonder if section 48(4) "an amendment of the regulations in connection with the use or management of the common property;" means you need 50% of the owners to vote in favour of a condo fee increase. This is because the regulations has to contain the condo fee and management of the common property comes out of the condo fee?

My understanding is that in the first meeting 50% of all the owners must vote in favour ------ not 50% of those present.

Things change if a second meeting is called almost immediately.

Alaaan - midnight to midnight but UK time, so 7am to 7am in Thailand!

GBP300 is a bit over 16,000Baht at the moment.

Take off to the north are mainly the little planes to Chiang Rai, Mae Hong Song and Pai

The except for other flights is when a flight is coming in and one is going out then the outbound goes to the North, mainly at about 11am and 6pm

I've often thought the time taken to taxi all the way to the south of the runway and then the extra flying time to turn from a northerly take off to a southerly flight path it would be better to sit at the gate for 5 minutes and push off late. But maybe I'm missing something.