Jump to content

TingTawng

Member
  • Posts

    229
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by TingTawng

  1. As the title states: Does anyone have any idea on waiting times for an initial interview for a UK visitor visa? I just want a ball park idea of whether the BKK centres are booked out solid for months, or there's a fair amount of empty slots, including this month too.

     

    I've tried contacting the uk.gov line at 69p a minute and they literally couldn't answer this question.  They said to complete an application first on VFS Global's website, then you get to the page where you can book an appointment, and it's only then that you know how full the calendar is. I've got quite a bit of experience with VFS Global - including having to fly to Chiang Mai for a visa because Bangkok interviews were booked out solid for 3 months.  I didn't know that until I completed the application and made payment. 

    Anyway, if anyone can help, I'd very much appreciate it. 

  2. 2 hours ago, pontious said:

    The banks are shut from 13 -16 October - I expect  that is the reason.

    Well I was promised a transaction in "seconds" according to their website.  On completing the transaction, they've told me 17th October.  I've been using TransferWise since 2016 regularly (several times a week).  This is the first time I've seen such a discrepancy in transaction times.

    • Thanks 1
    • Haha 1
  3. 39 minutes ago, Seppius said:

    I just did a similar transaction today, instead of instant, it took an hour, but went in ok.

     

    Is it possible to cancel and try again? There is turmoil (as they say) with the pound again, could be the reason

     

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11304709/Pound-plunges-Bank-England-boss-says-pension-funds-Friday-balance-books.html

    I tried again and it initially said "seconds" - when I finalised the send, it's now saying 17th October 2022. 

     

    They've guaranteed me a rate, but 5 days? This is slower than the slow banking system. 

  4. On the subject of Wise, I just made a transfer from GBP (UK bank) to THB (my Thai bank).  The estimated time was "seconds".  OK, great.  Then when I made the transaction, I'm now told it won't appear for FIVE DAYS.  Anyone else experiencing / experienced this?

     

    The email literally says "We’ll pay out your money shortly. And it should be there October 17. " - my definition of "shortly" is not 5 days.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  5. 8 minutes ago, drbeach said:

    I think there is a good chance of an additional 1 month extension, or 2 at the very most. The number of flights out (and destinations served) is very limited. I don't see how all the foreigners still in Thailand can get out on the limited number of flights that are running UNLESS more flights are allowed to come into Thailand, which aren't repatriation flights, during the month of July.

     

    That's my take on it...there's not even many destinations served.

  6. Just now, spiekerjozef said:

    Nope, I think we now all have to pay if we wanna stay longer...

    Well I would accept that given we already have to pay to extend visas...my main concern is that there's the possibility that the Thai government just stay silent in the next 4 weeks, and thus many of us have to leave Thailand without a way back in...I'm happy to pay from within Thailand than leave Thailand and have no way back into Thailand.

    • Like 2
  7. 3 hours ago, DaLa said:

    Thai immigration will be overseeing operation Barmaid at selective outlets. Non Thai nationals will need to bring a copy of the Royal Gazette with them and read out the declaration. They will also need copies of their black green and pink books , 2 translated copies of their last high school report and have a bank statement showing they have 3 million baht in a Thai bank for the last 90 days. The bank statement must not be older than 8 and a half minutes.

    Don't forget that all of those documents have to be photocopied in duplicate with your thumbprint on each copy.

  8. 2 minutes ago, Phil McCaverty said:

    It's 54 deaths because they have come down like a ton of bricks on covid-19, unlike the US and UK. Would you prefer their figures?

    The active cases are so low now (213) that they can actively monitor each active case, and test those close to each individual case. 

    If they are unsure if the wider population have the virus or not, then they need to ramp up testing a lot more.  That's a lot more affective than not knowing where the virus is and having contradictory lockdown measures (no alcohol, but you can eat together).

     

    • Like 1
  9. 16 hours ago, dabhand said:

    The Daily Mail on the case.  A few more pics, including one of the aforementioned NI flag.

     

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8273263/British-man-arrested-Thailand-suspicion-murder-prostitute-dead.html#comments

    This line made me laugh:-

     

    Quote

    After visiting a strip of bars which were all closed due to the coronavirus lockdown, the pair went back to his bungalow for the night.


    Strange night out from the get-go.

  10. 2 hours ago, J Town said:

    My greatest fear is someone high up on the food chain wants to grab this opportunity to remove all the "sins" in Thailand. Close up Walking Street, remove Soi 6-like venues, turn it into an "family friendly only" nation.

    Notice for the other measures they explicitly talk about alleviating them if X happens before Y - with the booze ban, it's just "extended until end of April", "extended until end of May".  You can bet they are weighing up whether to ban it altogether, or have already decided to.  This could be down to something as ridiculous as some companies saying bad things about the government or plain old control-freakery...or both these things.

    • Like 2
  11. 13 minutes ago, DrTuner said:

    Expect another exodus of expats once the quarantines stop and flights resume. By that time Thailand could be a dry fundamentalist Buddhist state ran by an oppressive military junta. Just like the western neighbour.

    My thoughts exactly.  Expats leaving, no tourists arriving, and still a strong Thai baht just to ensure the complete and utter desctruction of the tourist economy here.  Good job government.

  12. 2 minutes ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

    What we have to remember is that the wholesalers are banned from selling too... The brewers are in the same boat and have run out of space for stock so have stopped brewing/distilling...

    It's almost like the oil industry - if only we could buy beer futures and take delivery on it to alleviate the storage problem.

    I think the Thai government have trolled us well here - extended our visas until 31st July, and banned alcohol until then (probably).

  13. Thanks for the replies.  I realise this is a general question and "it depends on the location" is probably the answer, but is a condo in Thailand a reasonable store of wealth for someone who's a bit nervous about only holding cash in the bank? Or should you only seriously think of a condo if you are planning to either rent it out or live in it pretty much full-time? I'm going to be living in Thailand full-time, though already have a property I'm living in (family home in Thailand, married to a Thai, wife is the owner of the property) - I do think it might be a good idea to convert some of my cash into a tangible asset as a bit of a hedge against fiat currency.

  14.  

    • Thais love buying NEW property
    • Thais don't really like second-hand property
    • Ergo, surely the 2nd hand market for property is a buyer's market?

     

    Furthermore, isn't it a lie that a condo is a good investment? Sure, you might make some rent off it (though rents have flatlined in BKK for 10 years), but you're surely losing money on the actual condo value itself (IF you can sell it!). I've seen a few ads claiming that their apartment values are predicted to rise X% a year, but....when you sell it, it's 2nd hand (to state the obvious).  Surely as a seller of a 2nd hand condo (i.e. you're not a developer), you're looking at a smaller pool of buyers, who are already going to use the reputation of 2nd hand properties against you? Especially when "new" is what everyone wants, and there's always new condos being built.   Is it because of the low build quality as to why 2nd hand properties seem to be a lot less disireable? Do old apartments cost a lot to maintain compared to new ones, hence their lower value?

     

    I understand that location is very important, and maybe in absolute prime locations, a 2nd hand condo might even compete with price to a new one, but what of middling locations?

     

    I ask these questions as I'm looking to buy, but I don't see the point in paying an unnecessary premium because a condo is new if build quality isn't so vital (and if it is, what are we suggesting here - that condos have a shelf-life and really don't expect a block of flats to last more than 40 years or so?). 

     

    OR, is it that new condos have leapt in value so much, it's not that 2nd hand properties go DOWN in value, they just go up at a much slower rate than new properties (but still beat inflation)?

     

    Sorry if some of these questions are obvious, not got any experience with buying condos in Thailand.

×
×
  • Create New...