GOLDBUGGY

1 hour ago, Wake Up said:

Just got back from vacation in South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia last August. I flew to BKK on Ethiopian Airlines.  I am from USA with an extension of stay. After exiting the plane they hand everyone a form. I went to the booth with a USA passport and I was not required to give them the form or do anything else. Just went straight on to immigration. 

Never heard of that before. Don't see why having a USA Passport has anything to do with not having to have a Yellow Fever Vaccination, when travelling in infected areas, unless you were just in transit.

Are you sure you did not have to provide your Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate? If not, it just seems more likely they missed you by mistake.  

If you are travelling within Central Africa, (more likely arriving on Ethiopian Airlines) you will have to go to the Medical Center Desk just before Immigration to be approved first. This is just there stamp on your Entry Card and is mainly to check for the Yellow Fever Vaccination. 

So before proceding to Immigration, you should get there stamp first on your Entry Card, or Immigration will just send you back, and like they did to me my first time. You need your Completed Form (which they also have blank ones at the desks they provide their) your Passport, and your Yellow Fever Vaccination Card. 

Some advice on doing this is to procede to the Medical Center as soon as you possible can, as Ethiopian Airlines usually arrives in Bangkok on the big Boeing 787 (Dream Liner). If you do not hurry you will find yourself behing a large que, as everyone has to go there. Got stuck there once and almost missed my Domestic Flight. 

I have been travelling this route monthly for about 2 years now and I had to stop at the Medical Center each trip. So this place is not temporary and is still there. 

23 hours ago, ikebukuro5 said:

Canadian embassy says 20 business days, I'm sending application on Monday , visa expires October 7th, so I have a few extra days...!

 

I just renewed my Passport at the Canadian Embassy last month. It took them a total of 2 weeks to have my new Passport and Old one back in my hands.

I did apply in person, although this was not very convenient for me as I had to get a flight to Bangkok and return and also overnight in Bangkok. But having said that I am very glad I did and I suggest you do the same.

I am glad I did do this in person as the Passport Photos were the wrong size so I was able to correct that and get new ones on the same day. If you mail your application in and there is a mistake, error, or omission, obviously it will take much longer.

I also had an Interview that very same day. Not sure why I needed one other than to prove I am who I say I am. If I was you and in a hurry, I really would consider showing up at the Canadian Embassy in person, and the first thing to do in the morning. It did take me all morning, including getting new Passport Photos. but since you do this once in 5 or10 years, no big deal really.  

I deal with the Bangkok Bank and my Deposit is also in a different location than the Immigration Office. Just go to the nearest Bank Branch with your Bank Book and they will type out any letter you need. I do that every year.  

This 90 day reporting is very easy to do. Some people do it online but I prefer to do this in Person. Usually in and out in about 10 minutes. 

Just for your information, in case you don't know, if you do decide to leave Thailand anytime during your Retirment Extension, do get a Multi Entry Visa first at the same Immigration Office. It saves you the hassel and cost of having to apply again for your Retirment Extension once you return. As you will lose that once you leave the country if you don't have a Multi Entry Visa first. . 

Another thing to consider if you do leave Thailand during this time, and you do have a Multi Entry Visa. your 90 day reporting period starts new on the day you return to Thailand. So if you were in Thailand 2 months before you left, and returned 2 weeks later, you would not have to report in 2 more weeks. Rather you would report 90 days from the day you arrived. 

20 hours ago, falangjim said:

Somehow I got to the end of that post, but my intestines are now in a pressured, explosive knot. Oh! There goes a small fart. It squeaked out, unexpected like. Now where was I? Ahhh...you're having troubles with your Thai girlfriend, whose friends 'really like you, and that's important...Oh my God, another rush of air just flew out my rearend, and that one had a bit of heat to it. Ok. Sorry. Yeah, so your holiday dream girl turns out to have an exboyfriend, and his mum has been in contact with her trying to patch it all up. But you still get the occasional booty call...*whoosh!*OMG, that one came with a turtlehead. Touching cloth as the Brits say. Ok. Where was I? Ah. She has to make a decision, and so do you by the looks of it, since you dragged your dirty laundry out onto a public forum hoping for an answer you already know in your heart (or gut) to be true. I think I'll go back and re-read the feature story about the slob in Buriram, and how his one-eyed wife has to wipe his butt. At least that couple are commited.

By the way you were talking in your post, looks to me like you need somebody to wipe your butt right now to. 

21 hours ago, leither69 said:

I fell asleep halfway through this!! If there are any exciting bits, can someone summarise them for me?

No! Nothing you would find interesting.

So just continue on sleeping the rest of your life away. 

On 2/16/2018 at 9:39 PM, Berkshire said:

Great advice.  The only thing I would add--and where Thai women may be a tad different--is they are not as direct and explicit when it comes to delivering "bad news."  They'll send indirect messages and hope the guy gets it, rather than having to come out and actually say it.  Basically to avoid the guy losing face.  The OP isn't getting the message. 

She asked him to move in with her after contact with her last Boyfriend. 

What kind of Thai Woman Message does that say to you?

It may be that she appears to have been honest with you, and that is a good thing. But does that make her a Honest Person? 

What has she told her X-Boyfriend about you? Has she told him she is having sex with you, is with you day and night now, and recently asked you to move in with her? I hardly think so! Chances are that if she told him the truth now also, he would not hang around for her either. But why is that so important to you? 

Perhaps the biggest advantage you have now over her last BF, is that you are in Thailand now, and he may not be. Which raises the question that if the shoe was on the other foot, and he was here in Thailand when you may not be, what would she be telling you?

If she was sleeping with her X-BF then, would she tell you about that? Or would she hide it like she is doing now, with her X-BF, only because he is not there to see this, and thus won't know the truth? Or at least right away and until she finally makes her mind up. If she ever does. 

If you continue in this relationship with her then you need to get the truth out to all parties concerned. Which is you, her, and her X-BF. If she asked you to move it with her then this is serious enough to do that. If she refuses to do that then you have to question who she is really lying to. You or her X-BF. You should not have moved in with her until this issue was resolved. 

I can understand where you are coming from. She may be a very decent Thai Girl but a bit confused right now, as there are lots of them around to. But Thai Girls all seem to be very insecure. They want serious relationshps a lot more than 2 Week Flings. But sometimes to find this serious relationship they will go on a 2 Week Fling. What she probably wants more is a serious relationship leading up to marriage. So she may not go with the one she likes better over the one who takes her more serious and wants to marry her.      

Take care of your Overstay as soon as possible. If you Overstayed by 90 days or more expect to be banned from the country for a least a year.

So if that is the case make arrangements with your condo and the care of it while you are gone. Overstaying is against the law and if caught on the streets you could be jailed and deported.  

For your Friend to get an Extension to stay based on Marriage 

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

He can take the marriage certificate to any Amphoe (District Office) and they will be able to confirm if the marriage is still valid.

 

No chance.

 

Being married is not enough, the marriage must be "de jure and de facto".

• They will need his wife to attend immigration when he applies, unless there is a compelling reason why she can't (e.g. illness backed up by a doctors letter).
• They will want signed copies of his wife's ID and Tabian Baan.
• They will want pictures of the husband/wife at home, and there is a possibility of a home visit.
• Home visits are highly likely if it's the first application at an office. They will interview neighbours to check that the husband/wife are actually living together. The neighbours will need to provide ID and sign a statement.

Good post and very accurate.

Indeed he has no chance doing this without his wife's permission and helping him. If they are not living together as husband and wife, he has no legal chance at all.  

In my case when applying, I also had to provide witnessess stating on paper that I actually do live there and with my wife but I think this was because they did not plan to mae a home visit due to distance. 

14 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

I think that once your girlfriend has her UK visa franked on her passport you would have to purchase flight tickets to the UK..then apply to the eg Dutch Embassy in Bangkok for a schengen visa.
However..you will have to show finance..booked accomodation in Holland..full itenery of what you will be doing in Holland etc etc
Best to do a lot of "homework" before doing anything imo

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

I agree.

With her visa to the UK she sould have no problem getting one in Bangkok at the Dutch Embassy for the Schenger Visa as she has proof of an onward flight and proof of not planning to live in Holland. 

26 minutes ago, TravelerEastWest said:

"If the money was earned the calendar year before the one you transferred it to Thailand, it will not be an amount taken into consideration for as a taxable income in Thailand.
If the money was earned the samr calendar year that you transfer the money to Thailand, it is considered an amount that shall be taxable in Thailand."

 

Basically the above is what I have always understood to be true - with some exceptions.

 

I think the concept is simple the money from a prior year is savings not income.
 

How can anyone tell the difference between money earned that year, or money saved from years before? Better yet, how do you prove that if cornered by the Taxation Department? 

Perhaps the safest way is that if you are working in Thailand full time and live here of 160 days a year, but also have money from other sources, just live off your money you earn here, and dont touch or move any money into Thailand then. If you don't bring any money into Thailand , you can't be taxed on it.  Or I don't think so? A very Grey Area!

6 hours ago, Get Real said:

This is out of what I believe I know.

 

As far as your visa status, that is absolutely irrelevant to paying tax in Thailand.

You stay over 180 days per year, your considered as a person that shall pay tax in Thailand.
You stay under 180 days per year there is no tax to be payed in Thailand.

Regarding the source of your income, there is also different how this rule will be applied.

Pension is what I know not taken into consideration for an amount that you need to pay tax for.
Regarding money on your bank account or an income from other source, it has to do with when that money was earned.
If the money was earned the calendar year before the one you transferred it to Thailand, it will not be an amount taken into consideration for as a taxable income in Thailand.
If the money was earned the samr calendar year that you transfer the money to Thailand, it is considered an amount that shall be taxable in Thailand.

I am sure another poster can clarify this if I am wrong, or cement the facts as I see them above.

No doubt this Tax Law is rather confusing. It can be interpeted several different ways. But back tracking some it goes like this:

Any money earned and owned by you, prior to moving to Thailand, is your free and clear. So no problems transfering money to buy a Condo or such, as it is not considered for tax purposes. 

They have 2 catigories for Personal Income Taxes in Thailand. Either being a "Resident" or being a "Non-Resident". To be a Non-Resident means that you actually resided in Thailand less than 180 Days. But this does not mean you are not subject to taxes. You are required to pay Income Taxes on all money earned in Thailand. That is stardard for most countries. Go work in the USA for 3 months and you will find the same. 

The other catigory is being a "Resident". To be a Resident for Income Tax purposes in Thailand you have had to live in Thailand in the tax year for 180 days or more. If that is the case then Thailand is considered your home. You are subject to all income earned in Thailand as well as all world wide income. Part of the confusion lies in when or if you bring this money into Thailand. How would they know this money was earned money, or money from you previous savings account?  Well, and as far as I can tell, they wouldn't know. 

Generally speaking, most people who  live in Thailand longer than 180 days a year work in Thailand also. Even Overseas Work where you work a 28 //28, with travel time you would be in Thailand less than 180 days a year, so a "Non-Resient", and not have to declare this income. But this doesn't address the many people living here on Pensions, Stocks and Bonds, Dividends, or Saving Accouunts. That is the Grey Area. 

Many of these payment have withholding tax from the country they are earned. Thailand has many tax treaties with many different countries. So as long as you are paying income Taxes to somebody else on this income, you shouldn't be liable to taxes in Thailand also. But???

17 hours ago, poanoi said:

thanks for reply everyone,

and i got a question: many years ago i applied for marriage visa,

but the immigration officer kept demanding more and more proof that i had transferred money from homeland to thailand, and so time ran out, and i had to abandon the attempt.

what do i do if the immigration officer resort to stalling me so i cant get extension in a timely manner ?

A Extension based on Mrriage requires more proof and time to get, as some investigation work needs to be preformed and I believe the permission is granted from Bangkok, and not the local Immigration Office.

For a Retirement Visa all that is required is your Passport (Proof of age) and a letter from your bank stated you have the required funds in the Bank Account for the required time (in your name only). This bank letter should be dated for the day you apply.

I know others will argue this is not needed and can be dne sooner, but I was actually sent back to the babk to do this once because the letter I had was from the day before at closing time. A Extension based on Retirement is done in one day at the local office. One based on marriage can take a few weeks. 

Consider yourself lucky that it happens to you one time a year at a Christmas Party.

I have lived in places here that it happens every day and twice as much on weekends, where 12:30 am is the starting time to turn the music up. Noise and Thailand go hand in hand. So get used to it and count your blessings. 

All you can do is move. It is not grounds for early termination and if he does he will just lose his deposit. Which regardless if he is a good tenant or not, he still stands a better than 50/50 chance he will lose his deposit when he moves out anyway. Many Condo Owners consider the deposit as there money right from the start. So in reality moving now won't change a thing for him as far as getting his money back.  

I once moved into a modern complex of housing which had a nice swimming pool and club house. But shortly after I moved it the swimming pool was shut down due to a leak in the bottom of this pool. With no swimming pool the club house soon shutdown also. 

We were told that this swimming pool will be repair right away. But after a year, and my lease expired, they still never did a thing to fix it. I came back 2 years later to visit a friend and it still was not fixed. The washing machine which was provided with the house never did work, and the landlord never replaced it. So I had to buy my own. I moved out with proper notice, but the landlord still kept my full deposit because she said she needed this money. 

That is how it works here!  Of course you can fight it, if you have the time and trouble to do so. Easier to just walk away, which I am sure most people do.  

3 hours ago, Koratjohn77 said:

Actually you'd be surprised the little things that will show up on your NCIC report, and it doesn't have to be a serious crime either or even a high misdemeanor offense.  Little traffic citations do show up on your NCIC report as well.  And I've never even been arrested before.  

Never heard of a Guy having a Criminal Record for a Speeding Ticket.

Tell me more!

1 hour ago, Koratjohn77 said:

When I originally got my first visa back in the states years ago I actually did have to provide an FBI criminal background check from within the United States only because at first I was considering working here but I ended up not working here or anywhere at all because when my pension was finalized I ended getting paid a lot more than I thought I would.  I didn't calculate all the disability compensation that I was going to receive on top of my normal pension when I was retiring and planning our relocation to Thailand.  Once it was all finalized I knew then ok good I'm not going to have to work.  I'm so glad that I didn't end up working here because that probably would have been a disaster and I hear it's not easy for those who do work here.  All I have on my record are a bunch of traffic citations going back like 20 or 30 years living in the United States.  Lol after we moved here I still had 2 speeding tickets pending which I had an attorney take care of after we were gone.  One of them drug out till 2015 before it finally got taken care of that's why I don't like having to provide those things.  I had a lot of traffic citations over the years but they never prevented me from maintaining a TS security clearance throughout my career so they must not be considered to be that bad.  Here in Thailand I have nothing on my record.  

To have a Criminal Record you first need to commit an Idictable Offense which can be as serious as a Felony like Muder or Rape, or even a Misdemeanor which is up to one year in prison. In otherwords a more serious crime.

I beleive Traffic Violations fall under a term known as "Infraction" which are offenses that can usually be settle by paying a Fine and not going to prison. Infractions do not carry a Criminal Record. This is why you still have a clean Criminal Record for Traffic Citations.  

1 hour ago, Koratjohn77 said:

Police background check?  I've never been asked for a police background check in all the years I've been here on a marriage visa.  Did you have to get a police background check done?  

Sorry! My Poor Choice of Words. 

I did not mean a Police Criminal Background Check. I mean the right for the Police to come to your Residence to check that you actually live there with your wife and to question other people in your community. I did not mean that you needed to provide proof that you do not have a Criminal Record.

Again sorry for the confusion. 

Actually it may look that way to you, but it really isn't what is happening here. 

In the past I have applied for several extensions to stay based on marriage and each time I had to bring a witness to the Immigration Office (or two) from the village I was staying in. They never requested the Head Man of the Village, but that wouldn't have mattered to me because my Wife's Father is that. My point being that this is the standard protocal for getting an extension this way. 

The Police background check on you is just an added option they can use to see for themselves if you actually live there with your wife, as your Extension based on Marriage makes this a requirement. But they don't have to do this if they chose not to, and in fact are saying you time and trouble by not coming out there. 

In all my Extensions based on marriage they never came out to my place even once. But this did not stop my requirement to still bring in a witness, and whether they came out to check for themselves or not. I switched to a Retirement Extension now because I can, and there is a lot less fuss and bother as I don't need a witness anymore. My age on my Passport is now my proof.   

I think Thailand is like any other place and maybe even more so in Thailand. Without a good education nobody is going to give them a good job.That is how and why they end up working in the Bar as a WG in the first place. That is the first problem you will encounter. 

The second problem is the a Bar Girl Life is a pretty exciting one compared to a Parking Lot Attendent, sitting in some booth all day everyday and bored to death for little money. So even if she does find a job like that, the chances of her staying long is very little. Easier for her to go back to a bar.

Of course there is the option of setting up a small business for her, but that to is a big mistake. With no experience in this field of work she is bound to fail at this also. So you will just see your money fly out the window as fast as you put it in. 

Of course if she was really serious she could go back to school. She seems like she is quite young still. Then continue on through University. But even then you still run the risk of the second problem and she still might end up back in the Bar. 

I know many men have found a WG and have enjoyed many years together as husband and wife. Then there is many more where it all went the other way. There is no easy answer for the solution you need.