sua yai

We got married, the Amphur thing, on July 16th. The Buddhist blessing is on Friday 4th. Two days to go.

I agreed 50,000 sin sod with the mother 6 months ago. This is spread over 6 months. The money will go into a separate account for my wife should anything happen to me and she's left with nothing. It's not a lot of money and it really dosn't bother me if its swallowed up and never gets to my wife. As has been posted before, as long as makes everyone happy.

However, a short while ago we were going through the proceedure on Friday and I was astounded to hear that 13 relatives, who I knew would be at the ceremony, were expecting to go out for lunch on me afterwards. I wasn't too impressed and fortunately the situation is now resolved.

We will bring some food to the temple for her Mum who's a Buddhist nun and will perform the ceremony. No monks. She's high enough to do it herself. The sin sod and rings will be presented, prayers etc said and that's it. Her family are happy that the two of us just want a quiet night by ourselves afterwards.

The point of all that to the OP is that the goalposts can change very quickly here, so it's important that everyone understands the marriage agreement in the first instance.

I'm just sticking to mine and no one's too bothered.

Good luck.

Is that right about the carat of gold here? I've got to buy our rings either tomorrow or Weds.

18k would be better?

Just to add my tuppence worth.

Thailand has been driven by the rich, elite, borrowers for ages. Just look at the financial success of say 15 years ago and the eventual collapse of the economy around 1998. This was all brought about by "get rich quick" Thais who had no care in the world for the less well off person.

I for one would have loved to have been at "The Market for the Formerly Rich" and bought up their gold, Mercs etc etc and seen them cry in the gutter. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough money.

Heng, to suggest that the poorer elements of Thai society are irresponsible with their spending and saving is correct. But, who pointed them in the right/wrong direction? They've got lots of role models to look up to havn't they? And most of the rich <deleted> just reneged on their debts anyway - just like the country did with The IMF etc.

In these circumstances, who can blame a farmer for wanting to better himself and his family after generations of poverty? A mobile phone? A television? Electricity bills? I thought a measure of how well a country was doing could be seen in how widesperad these add ons to life were.

But I think no. Another weekend gone in Hua Hin. Again, I'm sickened by the droves of Benz driving Bangkokians who flock here to show off their wealth and treat everyone with disdain. Bearing in mind the awful state of the economy now, I certainly will be laughing first when that paupers' market opens up again. Because,believe me it will.

If the rich, advantaged twerps can't set an example for the rest of the country, they deserve everything that's coming to them.

Any investment in propery has to be planned long term. I bought my place in London 14 years ago for 53,000 pounds. It's now worth about 300,000. Whilst I was doing well working, I put any savings I had into the capital debt with the building society. The mortgage is now only 30,000 - 165 pounds a month. Rental income therefore only needs to cover this amount, some endowement policies and letting fees (incidentally I pay 16%. !0% letting and 6% management), income tax liability which is negligible if you know what you're doing and of course saving for a rainy day - void rental periods and maintenence. Then there has to be enough to get by here. I've never found it easy to make ends meet, but I'm still doing OK 7.5 years in los later.

When I reach 50 (in a couple of years), I might consider selling. Someone else mentioned CGT. Currently, the way around this in the UK is to go back and live in your property for2-3 months (some have suggested shorter to me, but I think the above would be safe). Pay your utilities, council tax and get on the electoral register again. That way, when you sell, you claim the property as your primary residence and there's no CGT.

As I've got no pension coming to me, considerations such as tax liability on the sale are vital as the lump sum and the interest it attracts will be the only income I'll get.

Not sure about Khao Takieb, but there were much worse floods in HH 4.5 years ago. The rain was as heavy as this time, but it went on for about 8-9 days. The centre of town was a no go area, with flood water up to your waist. It was a big effort to get across some of the streets around the temple. There was a very real risk of being swept away.

Just seen Chownah's post and that is equally true.

I've always got "worries", not least of which at the moment is that my current tenants are entitled,for the first time in 6 months, to give a month's notice as of tomorrow.

Trying to find tenants from the 27th Nov is no joke.

There's nothing I can do about it, but it might mean no income for a couple of months.

To the OP, only you can really determine whether the worry's worth it. It's my view that you'll get headaches from property anywhere. The investment potential is extremely good, but for most positives in business, there's always an element of risk.

Many will disagree, but I believe building up a portfolio of assets is an important part of life, especially if you intend to have a comfortable retirement since it's not what you have earned but what you have saved that counts.

The younger you start "asset building" the better and property is a wise foundation on which to start your portfolio. 

Property prices in the UK have peaked and will probably be stagnant for some time but they provide a safe haven for your hard earned pennies and in the long term will provide a solid if not lucrative investment and yes finding a reliable, long term tenant is the hard bit.

Property in Thailand has also peaked (although there are deals to be had) but in reality IMO cannot provide the same long term, stable, security that a UK property will.

If you are young, say mid 30s and plan to work overseas for the foreseeable future, I would say a first property in your home country is the wise move, the 2nd property overseas can come later.

Just remember to lay down a strong foundation for the future.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Couldn't agree more with the above. I've been over here for 7.5 years now and essentially living off the rent from my property in London. It's a 3 bedroom place with a garden, just a 10 min walk over Lambeth bridge to Parliament.

As a result, I get a good monthly rent. Tax is almost nil if you know what you're doing with your tax return, but letting agent fees are high as is the cost of maintenence and allowing for void rental periods.

Whilst the income gives me a decent lifestyle here, I never seem able to save money long term. As soon as there's a few quid in the"reserve account", it disappears on new washing machines/microwaves/ redecorating etc etc.

Still, although property prices have stagnated in the UK and are doing well here, I wouldn't sell up in London to buy in Thailand. If I do eventually put it on the market, I would be able to safely invest the money back home, have more monthly income from interest and hopefully never have to touch the capital.

I'd always rent here. Just my opinion given my set of circumstances.

I think you'll find that all distances in London are measured from where a cross used to stand near Trafalgar Square and Charing Cross station. Something to do with Queen Elanor years ago. There's a plaque on a traffic island that marks the exact spot.

My ex g/f was being her usual self towards the end of the relationship - disappearing without trace for up to a month or so. It was generally known that she was going to Germany.

Anyway, one time she was "in Buriram" I asked the owner of my house to give it a good clean and change the bedding. When I got back later there was a school writing book on the dressing table, so I took a look through. There were attempts at improving her English, but the main section was written in Thai so I got three seperate friends to translate. Only one finished it. The other two wouldn't as they said it was "too bad".

Basically, there were two pages that were a prayer that she must have got from a monk asking that she be successful in playing the German and myself off against each other. She also asked that she would be able to get all our money.

I confronted her with it when she returned and she went beserk and tore the offending pages up and set them on fire.

I'm glad to say that she didn't get all my dosh - what there was of it at the time - and she's has been living in Germany for the past two years, fleecing the unfortunate over there, no doubt.

The thing is that whilst I paid little attention to it, she definitely took it seriously as did the other Thais.

I almost forgot. There were other things under the matress as well. Leaves and so on, I think. The owner threw them away before I saw them saying they were part of the overall plan.

One aspect of these skin complaints that I didn't notice getting a mention is stress.

Years ago I started getting skin problems on my hands and ankles. It really got quite bad and the affected areas were easily lacerated leading to infections. The local hospital initially diagnosed psoriasis and I was prescribed medication as has been outlined already by others. Nothing was working, so I was referred to a dermatologist who came down from BKK every two weeks.

He took a quick look/see and immediately said it wasn't psoraiasis, but a type of excema. Naturally, I wanted to know what has caused it, but it's notoriously difficult to pin down. The doc did ask if I was under any pressure though. At the time, I was going through a very tricky time with my ex g/f, the bar we were running wasn't doing as well as expected and the hours were killing me, plus I was having problems with my property back home and that was my main source of income. All in all, not a great first year's introduction to living in Thailand.

Now, some 6 years later, I'm happily married, have sold the bar, I eat and sleep better and have cut back on my boozing.

Net result - no problems now at all.

I'm not saying that my, or anyone elses' complaints are brought on simply by worry, but I'm absolutely certain that in my case the situation was worsened by anxiety and dissolute living.

Just a thought.

Interesting story.

Having fallen foul of the law here a number of years ago, I quickly learned that the bail period in Thailand is 12 days. That was confirmed by my Embassy and lawyers.

As far as a work permit is concerned and that getting you off deportation, I think you're lucky.

I thought it was standard proceedure for the airline to possibly/probably refuse you to board on a one way ticket without a valid visa - ie, you're entering on 30 days.

Imm at BKK airport are always "the last line of defence", but I would doubt you'd have trouble with a tourist visa.

As has been pointed out numerous times on this forum, the onus passed to the carrier quite a while ago. If they let you board under these visa circumstances and you're refused entry, I think they're obliged to take you back from whence you came.

Dowry in India is certainly paid from wife to husband. Unfortunately, there's such a thing called bride burning there where the h's family demand more money after the event. If her family dosn't pay up, she's set on fire. It's got to the stage where, in parts of the UK heavily populated by Indians, a wife who dies in a house fire immediately points the police in the direction of the hb and his family.

Couldn't agree more with opothai. The costs to the b's family used to be horrendous. Hence the old saying after a child was born - "oh no, not another girl". In the main, the costs are now shared.

I got married here 3 mths ago. After much negotiation, my wife's mother agreed to a sin sod of 50,000 to be paid over 5 months. There will be no party on 4th Nov at the blessing when her Mum, who's a Buddhist nun, will perform the ceremony at her temple. The first installment is due then.

Do I feel like I've bought my wife? Well, yes a bit. However, after the Amphur thing we're living very happily together and it's given me time to sort my finances out both here and back in the UK with my business.

All in all, not a bad deal I feel. Especially after talking to friends who have not paid any sin sod, but seem happy after forking out small fortunes on parties. Where did that money go? Pissed up against the wall, I would suggest.

Just a small point.

Posters here on 30 day or tourist visas are regularly ripped apart for overstaying. As more senior members point out there is no excuse.

So why should a person who has qualified for a longer term visa requiring 90 day reporting not "be shaking in their boots" because they're late?

They've not complied with imm requirements and should have to pay the penalty as everyone else does.

200 baht a day? I thought you had to have a bit of money to even qualify for the non O's etc. Surely that can't be a problem?

I've been asked once and had no ID at all. Was back in 5 mins with the passport and accepted the profuse apologies from the Tourist Police for wasting my time.

BTW. I've heard that the regular police technically have no right to demand to see your passport without due cause. Only Tourist Police and Immigration can demand it under any circumstances.

The regulars will always find a reason, however, so at best it's only a theoretical point of law.

Does anyone know if this is the case?

The Tom Hanks scenario can happen in real life. A Swedish chap flew to, I think Taiwan, a few years ago. He was refused entry and sent back to Thailand. Also refused entry at Don Muang. He had no money, except to make a call down here.

Fortunately, some Brits were going back home for a holiday and found him in the departure lounge and lent him some money. He's already been there for a week. Eventually, money came through from Sweden and he made his way home. A week in the departure lounge at Don Muang? Not a good idea.

On a more serious note, I hope the OP's problem gets solved quickly.

Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia for starters. You just pay for a visa on arrival when you get there.

Exactly. If you draw 40,000 a mth from ATMs, far better to live off your first 400,000 and "top up" the balance as necessary through wire transfers using your savings back home for the second year etc etc.

I'm sure that you'll find that's a more economical way of doing it anyway.

I've just been through this on another thread with lopburi3 and he gave good advice.

I think he's doing so again. If your boyfriend has no means of support back in England it could be that you're both in for a hiding to nothing financially.

I've been here 7 years, getting by on 30 day, tourist and one multi non O visa from England.

I do, however, have a steady income from my property in London.

Now I'm married, I'll be applying for a multi non O in Penang. I do have the funds to take care of myself and my wife.

That part of your equation is not really clear.

As far as the first multi entry non O is concerned, tell him to apply to Hull. Shouldn't be a problem and there's no need to prove funds. Just a guarantor's letter that they'll bear the cost of repatriation, if necessary.

PS - I'd better not tell the missus. Maybe she'll hold me to ransom over my visa in the future. Only joking.

Thanks again. That puts it all into perspective and your suggestion of the multi O seems more than sensible.

It's not a bad idea to get out of town every 90 or so anyway.

Thanks again for the reply, Lopburi. Don't worry about being "short", it wasn't taken that way.

As far as working locally is concerned and I've posted on this a while ago, if I'm doing so, it presupposes that I've got a non B and work permit. Why then, would I be applying for "marriage status"? My long term stay here is legalised through work. That's why I was asking about transferring money from a business abroad to meet the monthly income requirements.

Another aspect is that I'm off yet again to Ranong tomorrow for 30 days and needless to say I'm sick and tired of it.

Concieveably, the multi entry may well be my best bet next month.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to get at. I'm not attempting to find a way around the imm laws, just find out what they'll require. A trip to Prachuap, as you suggested, could well be in order next month as well.

OK, so if I opened a Thai bank account and transferred 40,000 a month from the UK, that would suffice?

It's not that I was unwilling to have done so in the past, I simply wasn't married until 2 months ago and had thought that an income of over 40,000 a month from wherever in the world would be OK. That's the issue I was getting confused about.

If you could clarify the above re transfers, I think that everything will be cleared up for me.

Again, thanks.

I'm still confused about a couple of points re the "marriage visa". It would appear that I have two options :

1. Go to, say, Penang and apply for a multi entry Non O on the basis of marriage. Documents required - passport, marriage cert, copy wife's ID card. No need to prove income of any sort.

2. Get a single entry on the above basis and apply later in Thailand for the year's extension. Now there's a need to show funds and is where I get confused.

I don't have 400,000 in a Thai bank acount, so would have to rely on the income of 40,000 pmth.

Now, if I can satisfy the Brit Embassy that I have this income through my business in the UK, will a letter to that effect satisfy the Thai authorities? The other thing to mention is that I don't transfer anything over to Thailand. I use ATMs to access my money from back home. I do not have a Thai bank account. It's easier for me to manage my business by leaving the money where it is.

So, another question would be is imm going to be further satisfied if they saw a monthly income of say 70,000 in the UK (from bank statements), 45,000 of which I drew out of Thai banks here?

Thanks.

I thought a Baht of gold was simply a measure of weight. Similar to going with coinage to a bank in the UK and they'll weigh it. The exact amount is then known.

Also, a bit of gold is useful if you're down on your luck and need to pawn it as a lot of Thais do. And it's a status symbol- wear your riches on your person.