kawaiimomo

You gotta love this man. I believe this a good work he's doing here

Hi there,

Several years ago (probably 5-6) I suffered from a severe and very fast hair loss in all my scalp, including some patches in my beard. The doctor back in my country say it was alopecia areata and that my immune system was attacking my folycles making my hair to fall. I had some corticosteroids injections on my scalp to stop it, and after some months the hair started to grow again.

Now I have some white spots on my neck and also a bald patch in my head again. Both have been there for some 4 months, I don't have any new white spot or patch but the old one is getting bigger (but not as fast as with alopecia areata). On the past 1-2 months I've noticed my hair falling all around my head and most of those hairs are very thin and broken. So now I have that spot but also several areas with few hair. My scalp started itching 2 days ago.

From my research on internet I believe I have tinea aka ringworm, a fungus infection. Today i went to Rajdhevee Clinic to see a dermatologist but I was not pleased with the diagnostic. He take some samples from my white spots on the neck with a standard adhesive tape (the same everyone has in the office or at home), the he checked for fungus. He told me he found no fungus, so he give me 2 creams to apply on the white spots (one is corticosteroids, the other I have no idea). About the hair, he told me that this is due to aging but I am just 32 and by looking at my fallen hairs I can tell they are not healthy ones. Also my bald patch is in one side of my head, the last hairs you lose when is because of aging. BTW he just take a look at my scalp, he didn't pull any hair or look with a magnified lens or microscopy.

So tomorrow I am going to Bumrungrad. I read here in TV that Dr Chitapon and Dr Niyom Tantikun were recommended for dermatology. I just made an appointment with the hospital but didn't ask for any specific doctor. So my questions are: Should I ask specifically for one of those doctors? Do you think going to Bumrungrad is ok or should I go to any other place? I don't care about the price but I want the doctor to really check my hair, not just to take a quick look at my head.

Thanks!

PS: I am asking is Bumrungrad is a good idea because one of my Thai friends told me that they are just good marketing and service (like translators, hotel alike, etc)

Use the canals for what they were built for,instead of slums, what a concept. Next the side walks will be for people to walk instead of noodle shops and gadget stores, Holy third world corruption batman, what is happening.

If you don't like the noodle shops in the side walks and those kind of things, why are you living here?

Why tablets - because they are trendy? Notebooks give a lot more bang for the buck

Laptops will be obsolete in a few years.

ridiculous statement

Not really - iPads are now outselling HP computers.

When Windows 8 is fully "out there" expect a lot more devices to be simple touch screen tablets.

When Android supports printing and documents are held in corporate iclouds then expect a lot more.

At the moment the only thing holding MS together is the PC/Server combination

Android is already supporting printing and you can use google docs to hold docs in the cloud.

IMO the worst thing about tablets is the lack of physical keyboard but this is probably because I learn to type in a physical one and maybe the new generations will feel comfortable with virtual keyboards

This whole tablet issue is very sad and painful to watch.

If anyone has seen an iphone copy from China, they kind of look the part, but they don't really work. They are slow, poor battery life, clunky, not well translated from Chinese and really not worth having. They are also poorly built and good luck if something goes wrong. They may have lots of books on them, but that's like getting socks for Christmas.

It feels like no one has really thought this through and just rushing to tick the election pledge box.

It has been well documented how they could be better using the money on education, which makes watching this train wreck even more painful. It will be one of the biggest wastes of money ever.

If they had been serious, really understood the problems, created a roll out strategy, training, content, wifi and support, I think everyone would be touting this as a great initiative and leading the world.

But alas, it's a bunch of buffoons creating the illusion of doing something meaningful for education, when we all know the only topic of discussion with the Chinese manufacturer is what bank account and how many percent.

I actually had one of those tablets on my hands and I must say that they work pretty well. It is running Android OS with the standard features like wifi, multitouch, etc Not sure about the processor specs but it was running fast just like any new Android phone/tablet.

BTW, probably you have a smartphone like android or iphone/ipad. 90% of them are made in China with Chinese components, does that make them less good? I don't think so

Hi everyone there,

I was trying to apply for a job in Thailand and I was contacted by a foreign company. After many interviews, and after I clearly asked if they were want me to work for them without the proper work permit I was replied: If so, would you? So I think is my duty to report the Thai government about this company wanting to hire foreigners without the work permit and without paying taxes.

Could anyone, please, provide some info on where to report about this $*&@?

Thanks a lot and best regards :-)

PS: Really sad that foreign companies do this as I already had an offer from a local Thai company willing to provide me with all the needed documents to do this legally, the proper way.

Thanks for replying raro.

Employing Thai people is not an issue,in fact I will need some 10 people helping me with the programming.

With this BoI promotion can the foreign company have 100% of proprietorship on the Thai company?

If I understand well, rep office would not allow to perform work? Or just would not allow to do business with local companies?

What about setting up a branch, can anyone throw some light on that?

Again, thanks for your help. very much appreciated.

Hi all there,

I am currently living here with no work nor work permit.

An UK based company I know is willing to set up a branch or representative office here just for providing me with the visa and the work permit. This is a software company and I would be programming here in Thailand for them in the UK.

Which is the best option for this company as they want to have full property on the Thai company (no Thai limited as they can only get the 49%). Is the representative office a good option? Branch? Would you recommend them to hire a local lawyer or company to do the paperwork and all this kind of stuff?

Thanks so much for your help

Not an obstacle for the visa, but you won't get an extension of stay in Thailand unless you're earning at least 50,000 baht a month. That means you will need to leave Thailand every 90 days and obtain a new Non-Immigrant visa every 15 months (assuming you time your last entry on each visa to be just before it's expiry date).

If you have demonstrable software development experience in a field where there is demand (and mobile is one), then you should be able to find something for more than 50,000. Try the big 3 telecoms firms in Bangkok (AIS, DTAC and True) - they are constantly looking for qualified Thai staff (don't know how many non-Thais they hire). Chiang Mai also has a collection of independent mobile application developers.

Thanks for the info about Chiang Mai, I was not aware of that :-)

Thanks again, everybody.

Now I know how much I should ask for while applying for a job

About the hormones, she does not take anymore. She (and me) think she took already too much :-P Anyway she also works ;-)

Thank you again, you're very kind and helpful!

EDIT: BTW, if I get a job in a Thai company and they arrange visa and work permit, is still the salary an obstacle about the visa?

Do Spanish PP holders get longer stays?

I am sure it is not the case. Sadly Spain does not have any agreement with Thailand...

There is no official time limit on the number of visas you can get, you can just apply for a new visa in a neighbouring country if need be.

Many people come over on a tourist visa and look for a job. You cn try to get a double entry tourist visa, with extensions that owuld be good for up to 180 days before you would need to leave the country.

But finding a good job is hard. You need to have something special that a Thai doesn't have.

Thank you very much for clarifying things to me :-)

About the job, I guess 9 years of experience developing for mobile phones would be enough. Anyway I would be fine even if I have a standard thai salary, as I don't expect to leave the country anymore. I really don't care having a 30,000 baht salary, I think it is pretty fine for living there...

Thanks again ;-)

Hi there,

I'm 32 with spanish passport and working as mobile software developer. My Thai girlfriend is a ladyboy so marriage is not an option for us. I want to move to Thailand and work for a Thai company.

I am thinking of applying for a 3 month tourist visa and then going to interviews unti I get a job and they provide me with visa and work permit. My main concern is about visa runs or how to stay in the country for long time if it takes me some time to get a job there.

My main interest is not coming back to spain to renew visas and this kind of things. So my question is what is the best option for me to stay in the country. If I am not wrong you can only stay up to 9 months with visa runs; after that time is it mandatory to come back to my country to apply for another visa or I can do that from any Thailand neighbouring country? (maybe I can cross to Vietnam or Malaysia and get a new visa from there?)

If anyone has some other idea I forget, please share it. I am really lost and need some advice and help.

Thank you very much in advance!!

Victor

Hi there John,

I'm from Barcelona and obtained a tourist visa for an ex-.gf about 4 years ago. You can avoid all this time and patience consuming process, you can obtain an invitation letter just by going to a "notario", he can notarise the letter assuring you are the one inviting your thai national. In my previous case all I had to do is to bring a scan of her passport, they already had templates for this kind of letters, this is done on the day; your only problem must be making a soon appointment because these "notarios" are always busy and being in Mallorca won't help either.

Once you got the letter, send it via courier and then your gf can go to the embassy to be interviewed and present the letter, round trip plane ticket and bank account document. Be advised that the questions in the interview can turn very personal as they act like if they were interrogating a suspect, as I was told. In my case they also demand her to have at least 2,000 euros in her bank account (if you trust her you can just transfer the money to their account and then she returns it to you, they are not checking this).

I never thought her visa wouldn't be approved since she only was about to stay around 5 days here. But now I'm in a relationship with another thai national and we are going to ask for a 30 or 60 days visa for next month, so I would appreciate if you can share your experience here too. I'm kinda afraig about the embassy denying visa after buying plane ticket. What to do in that case?

Regards and good luck,

Victor

You can use a tourist visa while looking for a job, just don't tick anything but "tourist" in the arrival card.

I know of foreign software developers who have a work permit, so don't worry about that. It will be up to the company that will employ you to apply for the work permit.

Good luck finding that company! :-)

Thank you, tombkk.

I wish all the forums on internet where full of people willing to help like this one :-)

Thank you guys!

I'm a mobile software developer, Ive been already looking for jobs and there are quite a few. I guess a farang can work on that although a thai national can also do the job. I remember reading something about technical jobs and specific knowledge as works an alien can do, and I have wide experience in the field.

About the visa, is it ok to use a tourist visa while looking for a job and doing interviews?

Thanks again, best regards

EDIT: Oh! I don't see teaching Spanish as an option to me. I don't think I have the skills to teach a language even if I'm a native speaker.

Many people go to a visa-shop,

they arrange everything !

They put 800 000 for 1 day on your account and

than you go yourself to immigration and done .

cost you 25 000bht

Real simple and immigration accept this .

This would be illegal, as the money needs to be there for at least 3 months. Anyone going allong with this should consider that if found out, it can have very serious consequences.

I'm from Spain and moving to Thailand as soon as i get a proper visa. I'm kinda lost and I cannot afford to set up a limited company there.

What about companies like Siam Legal? For some 270 pounds they obtain a 1 year non b visa for you. How they can do that? They use their UK branch to make letter for embassy? I just need a visa to stay long time in the country until i find a job. Is this my best way to go?

Thanks and sorry for post stealing ;-P

Another way to look at it is that you spend enough time in Malaysia so that you can reasonably claim that ALL you work is done in Malaysia and that you come to southern Thailand solely to spend time with your partner.

Thanks for your reply jazzbo, I think that's the best way to go on the begining of my life there.

If you are married requirements are halved, ie 1.0 million ltd company + 2 Thai employees, in your situation you could never "own" the company anyway, for a Thai ltd company, majority state hold is always with a Thai national(s) totaling 51% of the company, the most you could hold is 49%.

I don't know why did I think I could marry a kathoey on Thailand... As they cannot change gender on id it's same sex marriage, and seems to be the same even if you marry her in a foreign country. So even if I live with her I'm going to have the same farang rights as before LOL So still in need of the 2 mil :-(

The company I contacted and well know here on the forums asked me for 20,000 THB plus 1500 company stuff plus 7% + 3% taxes + some 3,500. It's a nice bit of my salary but I still could do well but save little money. And since I'm going to be working on a project basis maybe some months I won't have any income, so 20,000 those months is going to be some real money...

Thanks for all your input guys, really appreciated :-)

Best regards

Thank you for your fast and clear reply :-)

I have further questions, hope you can help me with those too.

I have a Thai partner but not married. I understand if I marry her I just need 1 mil baht and 2 thai employees. What if she start and owns the company instead of me? I guess it would be even easier for a Thai national to set up a company. In that case, could she make a WP for me and employ me?

Anyway I was not aware that the 2mil baht could be properties like offices. If I start a Thai ltd co I'm going to need a real office address, I guess. Do you think a condominium or apartment could be owned by the company or just offices? I know you cannot use a house as office, what about using the office as place to live too?

About the agencies, 15-18% looks too much to me, not worth it. Anyway I would like to check some of those agencies, can anyone provide names please?

Thanks again :-)

Hello there,

I want to move to southern Thailand, probably Lanta in Krabi. I develop software for mobile phones and all this kind of jobs are based on Bangkok area. Recently I got an offer to work for an UK-Malaysia company and I could work from home, home being Thailand. But several problems arise with work permit and visa.

I'm from Spain, so no amity treaty for me. I cannot afford to pay 2 mil baht and to employ anybody, to set up a company there. I read about employment agencies you pay them to employ you and you can invoice and pay taxes through them, is that legal or at least safe?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, Thanks