briley

Sorry - and I hope I am wrong - but I recall reading a note in Chiang Mai immigration saying only 7 days before for 90 day reporting.

Hope everyone can prove me wrong as it makes for a tight window.

Chiang Mai consulate will certify your marriage certificate, drop it in today (morning only) and collect tomorrow.

You don't need a translation if for immigration as they speak English!

Chiang Mai consulate can issue the letter, you get it next day. Don't know if they have a postal service.

I use a COPY of the letter I got a few years back each year with immigration and keep the original. That is what CM immigration told me to do so I don't need a new letter each year. Point about a pension is it should be guaranteed for life and go up - not down - each year.

Just done mine - 29 days before expiry and a piece of cake.

But a correction of above, 90 day reporting is now only 7 days before the time, not +/- 7 days.

Nationwide Credit card refunded a 'late payment' fee to me a few months ago, and I still have the account.

And the mess up was due to the fault of the other bank, not Natinwide.

Unless you are ancient and been married for a long time (think you have to be born before 1922 and married in the 1980's) there is no marriage allowance in the UK Tax system.

I had no trouble doing this at Mai Sai but did have to make it clear that was what I wanted and had to sign to say the immigration officer hadn't made a mistake - so I couldn't complain later.

I would double check the information in this thread before trying to fly - I can't find the Thai to Chittagong flight.

Not sure if the Taiwan flight is running these days either.

But quiet willing to be corrected!

Whilst it is easier if one has just one name on everything the world is full of people with more than one set of names. I use a different set of names on a daily basis to the one on my passport and that differs from my birth certificate. I've never had any problems.

Immigration officers meet people with two names/two or more passports on a daily basis and know the score.

Now check-in staff at the airport are a different thing and I would make sure the ticket and one passport agree and only show the one passport. Except when you have to show you can enter a country and you then need to show your second passport - then you might have to see the supervisor.

Has anyone ever been refused travel because of having 2 passports in different names?

As an aside, in many African countries you can get an official certificate to say 'xyz' is the same person as 'abc' as 'def' and so on as everyone has numerous identities.

Where's the problem?

Show everyone both passport.

Probably you need to show the check in person the one with the ticket names on.

Show immigration any passport they want.

Interbrit - a transfer of data from one computer to another failed and the original data deleated.

If you tell them you paid and have some sort of proof they accept that and credit you with the contributions. Think the minister did apologize in parliment at some time.

You can normally only pay back 6 years. 2 years 'overdue' and you pay the rate for the year you're paying, if over 2 years ago then you pay the current, normally higher, rate.

Over 6 years and payments are not accepted.

Except there was a computer 'mistake' in the mid 1990's so these payments can be made later, up to around 2009

Retirement age for women goes up to 65 over the period 2010-2020.

You do get the extra 2/3rds of your pension for being married even if your wife/husband is under retirement age, it is only the widows who get nothing if under retirement age.

to add to lopburi3 make sure you choose a date that suits you. Your extension of stay will expire the date you LAST entered Thailand. You have to renew your extension to stay in the period of 30 days before it expires.

ie if you entered Thailand on 25th December and get your extension of stay in March you have to renew in the period 27th November to 25th December and you have to be in Thailand

A widow only gets the full pension from when they reach pension age. They used to get a widows pension from the time their partner died but that was stoped, was it in 1996?

The Gov propose to change the law to 30 years contributions during the course of this parliment for those reaching retirement age in or after 2010.

Don't forget you get free stamps from age 60 to retirement age - but only if you are a UK resident and not working.

I can't find the reference but didn't someone authoritatively say that for your FIRST extension of stay if you don't have 3 months of bank account they'll give you a month then you go back to get the extension?

This is fair since it is hard to open an account from outside Thailand and you can apply for your extension after 60 days of arrival and must apply within 90 days - so it is almost impossible to have the money in an account for 3 months before application!

JohnC - blimey you spend a lot, but yes you can get the money over the counter or have it put into your bank account and there is no apparent limit.

If nationwide send the money you have to go throught their hoops of forms and phone calls but if Bangkok Bank request the money then your signature on the little slip of paper the Bank gives you is enough.

I think it is magic, but it works.

Incidentally if you go to the ATM at 6.50 am Thai time you can withdraw todays £300 and wait a minute or two and withdraw tomorrows £300. Never tried this in Thailand but it does work over midnight in the UK.

I have used nationwide to transfer 70K baht at a time to my bangkok bank account but getting the 'ftt' stamp has proved problematic at times.

I am aware of someone transferring many 100K (about 650,000 baht I think) in one, over the counter transfer and this is not apocryphal.

PS The exchange rate at the ATM was 71.551 and over the counter was 71.671 - but that was not the exchange rate quoted by the counter staff when they swiped the card. The ATM was made about 5 minutes after the over the counter transaction.

I don't consider a few setang on the exchange rate a problem.

Non-residents of over 5 years standing do not pay CGT - period (as our cousins say).

I checked the Inland revenue CGT1 book for that.

If anyone says "Plus Plus" I go elsewhere, Italian or not.

You can make a booking without paying in a travel agent but the price is the price when you pay.

The airline hold the reservation on a booking but if they get a lot of booking requests they will call the agent and ask for payment or drop the booking so it isn't guaranteed - but in practice you do get some warning.

As an extra after paying I always give a short time and then phone the airline to check that the agent has paid them and the booking is now confirmed. Stops agents who hold onto your money for the interest and might go broke in the meantime.

It is my understanding that the liquidators still hold 1p per share and that is to be held for a few more years - is it 10 years after the re-nationalision?

You should have recieved all the rest of the money due, last payment of 8.5p per share was on the 6th June 2006.

PS I haven't seen any latest letter

PPS the link to the letter is http://www.rtgroup.co.uk/news/news_pdf/RT_...nual_Report.pdf

But it did take a few attempts to connect

No - ordinary resident does not have any interest to the tax man.

You are either resident for tax purposes or non-resident for tax purposes. To become non-resident you have to be out of the UK for one full TAX year (5 April to 5 April aprox). You are allowed to visit the UK for less than 183 days in any one tax year or an average of 92 days a tax year over the last 4 tax years. (All days about, always forget 181 or 182 or 183 - gettting old!)

So long as you get a letter from the tax people you can get the rental paid without the agent/tennant witholding the tax but you do have to declare it, along with all other UK income each year. Tax man can ask for payment on account to make sure he gets his money. You can appeal against this. I've found that if your tax affairs are in order I've always been allowed to NOT pay anything on account.

I note your selling your principle residence in the UK. If you can make one of your rented properties your princple residence for a bit (about 6 months or so) it can make big CGT savings. A house that has been your principle residence and is then rented out benefits from: No CGT for the period of residence plus 36 months. Exception on the first £40,000 of capital gains tax due in addition to the normal annual tax allowance.

Note your wife gets the interest from savings to offset against her personal allowance. If it doesn't use up all her allowance and 10% tax band worth giving her half a house or so so you can then increase her income to use up these allowances. Giving things to a wife doesn't attract CGT or any other tax.

After 5 years of non-residence you are free of CGT but not too sure if this applies to houses. Must check on that!

Not denying the interest in the festival but I do wonder how the numbers add up.

Friday 22nd and the 2 millionth visitor arrives from Japan.

By Saturday (the 23rd) 2.8 million people had visited the expo.

Wasn't over 800,000 visitors on Friday and Saturday a bit high?

-SNIP-

I feel naked with only my helmet and leather jacket....

Not too surprising with no trousers