MAJIC

I think,that once again,correct tyre pressures comes down to Education,

ever tried explaining to your other half that Low Profile Tyres are mean't to look a little flat?

I don't believe any Court of Law in the World would even contemplate a conviction, or indeed an initial charge on the flimsy evidence, of the colour of one's arms,

absolutely ridiculous assumption!

No requests have been made for money.............................................................................................Yet!

You did not get a visa, but changed to a non-immigrant visa entry. No criminal record check is needed for that. Only when you apply for an O-A visa, at the embassy or consulate in your home country do you need a police check.

Correct:

In 2002 to obtain a O-A Visa, a criminal record check by Scotland Yard, UK ,was required,this could be done by Post (form downloaded from the Metropolitan Police Website),with no need for fingerprints.

The time allowed for the Issue of Clearance,under the Data Protection Act,was 40 days from receipt of Application,as I recall the fee was £40.But of course fees will probably have increased since then.

A Doctors Letter stating freedom from certain infectious Deseases (the disease list is on the the Visa Application) was obtained much quicker for a fee of £7-50.

Boss: Why were you late?

Employee: Oh traffic, mak, mak.

Boss: You just told me yesterday that you take the BTS to work

Employee: Blank stare.

Have many examples of that, but the one that really irks is when you get a bigger lie to cover up the small one. Apologies for this being quite lengthy, but it needs detail.

A few weeks ago my dog Joe was semi-asleep on the pavement outside the bar, on the dividing line between it and the bar next door. I was busy playing pool I think when the bar owner rushes in saying that Joe had bitten someone, I went for a look of course. Next door the Pepsi delivery man was sitting on a table with one of his trouser legs rolled up, half way up his shin was a tiny amount of blood, a 'don't do that again warning snap' and not a 'I'm going to rip your leg off and eat it in-front of you bite'

I explained to the bar owner and the Pepsi man by proxy that he must have done something wrong as Joe would spend hours a day in that position with hundreds of people walking around him and never even a snarl at anyone for years (other dogs yes, people no).... but no, the Pepsi man was adamant that he didn't do anything and Joe just bit him for no reason.

I returned to get my mobile and on entering the bar where I had been, two farangs who were sitting close to the outside asked me what was going on, so I told them. They both told me what I had already guessed. Joe was where he was the last time I saw him and the Pepsi man had booted him quite hard when walking past him....... aha.

I went back next door with this information ..... now it would have been very easy to get out of this for the Pepsi man. If he had said that he had been carrying a crate and tripped over Joe I would have responded with "Ok, accident, you scare dog by accident, he has had all his shots, and he isn't a bad dog, but here is a hundred baht for the hospital to take care of your gaping wound"

Did he do that, no, he went into a wild rant about 'farangs not see, farangs cannot see'.... when I pointed out the relative positions of him, the dog and the farangs and the fact that you would have to be blind to miss it he proceeded to rant on with 'dog not there, dog not there' ..... so I asked him where the dog was and he pointed to a spot some twenty feet up the road..... so I explained to him that yes if Joe was there the farangs would not be able to see him, but I asked him how if he was here 'pointing left, and the dog was there 'pointing way right' how did the dog manage to bite him from twenty feet away.

Blank stare.

I have also had this your "Dog has bit someone" scam,with ten Thai witnesses,and when the person revealed their leg,the skin was bloodless and unbleamished.

Collective lying? in the extreme,especially as I was observing everything,for the whole hour in question.

Currently holding 40 vessels and 700 seamen? Sad situation indeed.

Why oh why are these scumbags still allowed to operate freely?

I'll tell you what. Give me an F-16 and I will have this pirate nonsense sorted before the New Year.

Yes Virgina, what I am suggesting may be politically incorrect but sometimes you gotta do things the old fashion way.

Happy New Year everyone :jap:

Agreed.

This Piracy will not end until a "Blasted out of the water on sight policy" is brought in!

Handling these crooked kidnapping thugs with kid gloves will never be the answer.

It only encourages more of the same,

I Guess i'm also Politically incorrect,but I offer no apologies for it.

Hmmm.... Didnt take too much working out,maybe they need the money!

Good!

let's hope he will stay in Dubai?

where his Meddling,Rabble Rousing,and Incitement to Anarchism & Terrorism,in Thailand can be kept to some semblance of a minimum.

About 3 years ago, the British Embassy reckoned there were 35000 Brits living long term in Thailand. That covers, retirees, English teachers, company managers on 2 - 3 year contracts etc.

Anyone want to extrapolate from that single data point?

Did you mean 35,000 or 350,000

The reason I asked is that another Thailand based Website Forum has estimated:400,000?

Many expats - especially the "retirees" - certainly overestimate their value to the economy.

Hey may bring in some money but their presence can be disruptive rather than beneficial.

When you look at the amount of money and then relate that to a population of over 60 million and a comparatively wealthy economy - it is a drop in the ocean

Furthermore they put a strain on bureaucracy, police and health care with their disruptive behavior and drinking and ensuing poor health.

THe national health care system is grossly understaffed and many doctors are drawn into private health which is patronized by the wealthy and the (insured) foreigners

any "boom" in the property market serves no advantage to locals who simply can no longer afford to buy houses.

and as for the "Costa Del Crime" types - well their influence is appalling

Prostitution, theft, drugs etc are all given a boost by their presence.

(As for "Trickle-Down" - that is very reminiscent of the sort of thing that occurs when the proponents of this erroneous concept have a moment to themselves)

Are you in Thailand? When my daughter needed to go to hospital earlier this year (on insurance) she went to a private room in a private hospital - many rooms were empty and the doctor came to see her twice a day (the nurses station was next door and came in every half hour - I stayed also - there were more nurses than patients on the ward). Most Thais on the "National Health Syatem" (30 baht medical????) go see the Dr get a pill/jab/stitch and go home - without private patients paid for via personal wealth or insuranmce (wealthy Thais and foreigners/tourists) the hospitals could not afford to subscribe to the 30 baht scheme and would quickly fail.

Not sure I have seen that many retirees drinking and behaving in a disruptive manor - or expats for that - seems to me to be mostly the tourists that fall into this class - oh and the drunk Thai yobs too of course. Though, of course, the tourists put NO strain on the health service as they are NOT covered by it. Police earn far more from foreigners in extorsion than the foreigners cause the police to cost the state. Lets face it there are far too many cops in this country and most are lazy, useless and doing pointless jobs that should not be jobs for the BiB (like crossing guards at school times, bank security, and so on).

Are you so naive that you believe that Thai Drs go private because of expats? Hospitals here are private businesses (even if they are government funded) and ALL Drs are private. They are paid by the hospital. Again if it was not for the tourists, wealthy Thais and expats that can afford to pay (insurance or fees) then the hospitals would have to close because 30 baht scheme is a loss maker for the hospitals - and these Drs would be in the USA, UK or other country earning ten times the salary they do here - is that a better solution?

Expats and tourists can no own land - so any boom in the property market is caused by wealthy Thais and the easy availability of credit to Thais here. If this was of real concern more investigation into shanti town fires just before new construction projects would be ordered - it ain't the expats playing with matches you know.

If you think expats (or even tourists) caused prostitution here you really have no idea - for every hooker on a tourist arm, you can find a score that only service Thais. Look in Thai prisons and see what percentage of drug dealers, traffickers and users are Thais compared to expats or tourists and see where the problem is - Thai tuktuk/taxi/lorry drivers have been taking yaabaa for years to keep themselves awake to keep their hours up. 15 years ago 75% of the world's heroine came via Thailand, if that was all expats, then they sure got wasted a lot! Indeed as this thread is about expats, we can take tourists out of the picture, how many drug trafficking/dealing expats are there compared to Thais?

"As for "Trickle-Down" - that is very reminiscent of the sort of thing that occurs when the proponents of this erroneous concept have a moment to themselves" - other than getting the gibberish award for vernacular hyperbole, what is the point of this statement. It means nothing and has no arguement attached. The concept of trickle-down with respect to money coming into a country is well documented and known - this is why countries all over the world try to encourage foriegn currency into their ecconomies. If you know different, put forward your conjecture.

Good Post!

I wasn't expecting instant answers to my Posting,they are very difficult questions especially with no official figures(as far as i'm aware of?)

As far as the financial benefit to Thailand of Farang Expats here is concerned,some would be as follows:

.

1.Improvement of their Housing Stock,which includes Building your own/Buying a new one,and improving one already in existance.

2.Businesses opened by Farangs (Taxes,Fees,Documentation etc)

3.Creating Employment for Thais

4.The Huge Grey Economy (Enough said)

5.Family Care,which includes Spouse and Extended Families

6.Everyday purchases

7.New Vehicle Purchases in particular,paid in cash.

8.Investments

9.Travel outlays (sightseeing the Country) and visits back to Country of origin.

10.Income from one's own Country,spent in Thailand

11.Visa Fees,Driving Licences etc

12.Private Medical Care

13 Legal Fees

14.Banking Fees

Some of these benefits to Thailand, will be crossing one and other,

but i'm sure some new ones can be added to the above list

Many thanks those that have tried to shed some light on the subject,and please continue with your inputs,and perhaps a broader picture may eventually emerge?

Happy Christmas & New Year to all at Thai Visa.

May you all get what you most wish for!.........................................................................................................................................Happiness?

I realise that this question: "How many Expats are living in Thailand" "And how much do they add to the economy"

may be difficult questions to answer,but are there any official figures?

And even more difficult to estimate,How much they add to the Thai Economy.

But perhaps with the wealth of Knowledge on Tv,some answers or estimates may be forthcoming.

My apologies if these questions have been already been dealt with?

Surprised the Poll didnt include Scandinavians,prominantly.

I would have thought they have a high presence in Thailand?

Feminism didn't Destroy Real Men as the article states! (wishful thinking?)

Feminists Destroyed their own Femininity,

Times have now changed, yet again,and the cycle has thankfully gone full circle.

I don't think Men take Feminists seriously anymore,its Dead but no one's told them yet !

A familiar sad story,but look on the bright side,at least you found out her devious,unscrupulous,lying nature, before you spent a Cartload of money on her.

Finding True Love,with a Bargirl in Pattaya,is a highly unlikely commodity,and thats all it is to them.......a Commodity! to be sold to the highest bidder.

Move on,before you really get hurt badly,

Good luck

We have had this question of Thai Citizenship before on Tv,and apparently its quite a long arduous journey,

taking somewhere in the region of 5 years to complete.

Personally I cant see the remotest attraction!

"He can come back after that," he added.

I love it ,you just couldn't make it up!.... could you?

Unfortunately there is a lack of forethought and business planning,and no assessment of business potential and projections.

One dosnt need a Degee in Economics to work out that.....1 Shop in a particular area gets 100% of the profits while 4 Shops together will take 25% of the profits each,or some will take more than the others,maybe because theres a nice looking female in one,or some other reason,but too many in one area or next door to each other will eventually mean Bankruptsy for some.

Another reason for business failure is not understanding the difference between Stock money and Profits,so the business is reducing stock, only to end up with very little on the shelf,so not much to sell = not many customers.

Seen it many times.

Carefully worded,by Abisit!

And why promise anything to the Reds? they certainly wouldn't give any assurances,or indeed deserve any,from the Government.

Hi Guys,

First of all to Mr Majic I can assure you i am not a troll or a gremlim or anything else mythical, although i would like to know what this term actually means, i think its about people who start topics just to pee others off but not really sure.

Also you asked more questions than the tax office did! Ok so I'm sure that anyone who was waiting for their settlement visa around june this year might remember me, and i spent alot of time asking Mr 7by7 for help but to catch you all up abit here goes.

Ive been in Thailand since 2000. met the blokee in 2000 as well.

started working in Chonburi as a TEFl teacher in 2001, blokee came with me.

married in 2006 still with same blokee, had been together and living together ever since 2000, do not own any property...it might be love but I'm not daft in the head.

2007 first daughter born, blokee was there.

2008 second daughter born blokee there too.

2009 came to the Uk together to see if blokee liked it.

2010 applied to uni (at the grand old age of 38) and got offered a place.

applied for settlement visa and got refused on the grounds that they didnt think we could support ourselves without claiming benefits.

waited for redshirts to leave bangkok and then applied again...this time my parents sent in details of their every bank account, stock and share, they have a nice sized 4 bedroomed house and they wrote that we could live there if we needed to for as long as we wanted, i had letters from a recruitment agency who i used to work for stating that they would give us both work.

i sent a copy of the uni academis timetable which shows that students are only at school around 25 weeks a year leaving me lots of time to work.

explained that we would share the childcare with my parents.

got the visa and left on the 7th of octobr.

started uni on the 11th of october.

Husband started work arount the first week of november with the agency as we said he would.

now, to get to the point, student finace england are a bit crap to say the least, i sent my application from thailand, in July, i sent the kids birth certificates that show they were born in Thailand, I sent my employment contract to show i worked in Thailand and i sent my address WHICH WAS IN THAILAND, i even rang to check i was still classed a home student and entitled to student finance...no problems they said, i checked on the computer last friday and the first payment of my loan was going to be in my bank today, then on Saturday everything had been blocked, i rang them, they said ITS BECAUSE I'D LIVED IN THAILAND, well why didnt you tell me that six months ago you dozy t***s, i never lied and said i didnt!

so, now I'm ina bit of a pickle! Should I stay at the parents place so we dont mess up the blokees visa or should i apply for the child tax and working tax credit so we can get our own place? I rang the hm tax office and they said i could claim those two and they wouldnt effect his immigration status but after all the trouble we went to to get his visa and prove that we wouldnt claim benifits I'm not sure i want to.

anyways got to go now and cook the blokees dinner.

thanks guys

skeets

My Questions No 1, Was of relevance to your case in particular.(so was the rest of the questions)

So you have been out of the Country for a long while,hence you can't get a Student Grant (although I find it hard to reconcile the length of time studying abroad)....Nevertheless,do you honestly think you can walk into the UK? and get everything handed out on a plate ? (if so you have been reading too much Daily Mail (Wail) or the Sun,workingmans: Comic.

First of all for those that have been absent from the UK for a long lenghth of time,and wish to claim Benefits,there is such a thing as the HRT TEST....(No Relation to Hormone Replacement Therapy).........i was,.........but now im not going to make this easy for you,so look it up!

Mr Majic

Blokee ? So does that make you a Blokess ? (which for an apparently a Perpetual Student,you should have known is not in the English Dictionary)

Clue: You cant apply for Working Tax Credits unless one or other partner is working (in your case your Blokee) ,which would need to be checked out with the Border Agency,to see if there is a contravention of the (Blokees Visa)

What is the problem?

Basically: land dispute!

Rich Farang bankers ripping off poor Thai farmers.Stand Chrt, HSVC, UOB, CIMB, B of Scot, Citibank etc, are just some example that sucks poor Thai farmers dry with high interest rate.

So where does Kasikorn...Siam Commercial...Bangkok Bank... and Bank of Ayuttya....and any other Thai Bank come into your narrow minded equation?

Do they give free loans to Thai Farmers?

Hi Skeets

If I may ask a couple of relevant questions before I try to give some advice,unfortunately we do get a lot of Trolls on TV,who spoil it for everyone,i'm sure you will not take offence,so some questions up front will bring about the right answers,from the many helpful members.

1. How long were you living outside of the UK?

2. How long have you been Married to your Thai Husband?or known him?

3. I presume being a Student you have no Job at present,hence the Benefits Query?

4. So if no Job, how did you claim supporting your Husband for his Visa Application?

5. Had you,your own accomodation to take him to?

6. Which Visa did your Husband enter the UK on?

It's always best to get the preliminaries ascertained to begin with, in order to get the proper advice.

Well in the UK it means V for Victory,which was Winston Churchalls sign in many a photo shoot during WW2.

Stationary it means: Two, as a signal.

Reversed and drawn towards the body,means:"Up yours" derogatory of course.

My Wife's explaination as to the meaning in Thailand is: "cant tell you, dont know in English"

Hmmm.....now I am curious!

Thai girl said ' date='i have a V for a guy like you,,i dont understand what you mean ,she wrote it down just as she said it,,, i have a V for a guy like you, any one know what it means??[/quote']

Vagina?

(Sorry, someone had to say it. )

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