IMA_FARANG

I opened my first account with Bangkok Bank in 1980 in Bangkok.

I now have two accounts now, one for my Be1st ATM card, and one for my pension Direct deposit from the U.S.

I guess you can see Bangkok Bank is my favorite Thai bank.

I see your post and what you are asking, but you need to understand  a Dual Thai-British citizen has a right t enter Thailand on his or her Thai passport.

This right can not be denied if Their parent (at least one)  is Thai

It is almost always preferable for a dual Thai and foreign national to se their Thai passports  to enter Thailand.

But you probably know  all that already.

I have in the last two years flown from Bangkok to  Vientiane  with Lao  Air from Swampy.

However the flight from Swampy to Vientiane  means an extra one day hotel  stay in Vientiane  as it arrives to late to apply for a Thai visa that same day.

I don't think at that time Vientiane  required an out of country flight ticket to get a tourist visa at the Thai consulate   there, but I don't know about now.

As I recall it is only about a one hour flight from Swampy to Vientiane .

You will need a Lao entrance visa, but you can get that at the Vientiane  airport on arrival.

Your name on a Birth certificate in Thailand  does NOT automatically make you the father of that child.

It is usually the MOTHER who enters the supposed father on the birt certificate in the hospital as the child is born.

There is no legal requirement that she has to state the correct father's name.

However, if you are legally married to the mother (with a valid Thai marriage license) then the mother's birth certificate is generally accepted.

under Thai law a legal Thai marriage license is accepted as a valid marriage  "De Jure" and "De Facto", or under law and in fact.

In Thailand the mother's birth certificate is not necessarily legal, but if there is a legal Thai marriage license, as I said before, that is often accepted as legal.

This is different from many European countries.

There are ways here in Thailand to PROVE you are the father, such  as DNA testing if you want to go that route.

But the best chance is  if you can show that you are or were legally married to the Thai mother at the time of the child's  birth.

You were trying to "jump the queue " by going directly from a Tourist visa to a non O visa.

As Ubinjoe said above the usual process is to go somewhere and get a 90 day Non O Visa, and use that time to establish your financial requirements and then EXTEND that 90 day Non O for one year for a retirement visa/extension.

It is a two step process at least, and it can be done that way.

By trying to "jump the queue" as described  above you raised suspicions at immigration

The "rules and requirements" are not that difficult for a normal person to understand.

I am just an old farm boy from he U.S. and if I did it without the "help" of an agent, I'll bet you can.

Certainly not if you don't  try.

I remember the "honey wagons" that hauled the sewage from the private  "septic tanks" in Bangkok when there was basically no public sewage system in many parts of Bangkok.

They used to haul the sewage out to the outskirts of Bangkok and spread it as "fertilizer" on the fields.

The "honey wagons" traveled out to the outskirts of Bangkok early in the morning before most of the other  traffic was moving.

the "honey wagons" were still being used in 1977 or so when I first came to Bangkok.

Much of the original series of posts seems to have been from 2014.

I don't believe they are still relevant in 2017.

You do not NEED to have a Social Security "proof of income" as currently the immigration will accept the U.S. embassy income statement.

However, there are ways to have proof of your monthly Social security pension from the U.S. if you are willing to do a little work.

You CAN get a yearly notification, even here in Thailand mailed to your Thai address, as the Social Security will provide  you a form stating your monthly pension  statement either online if you have a on-line Social security account, or they will provide you with a yearly form intended for you to file with your yearly income tax return.

you can even have such a form that states your monthly pension sent to a family member in the U.S. and have that family member forward it to you in Thailand.

In short, if you are cautious you can provide documentation of your monthly Social Security Pension  here in Thailand that you can photocopy here and provide to Thai immigration if they ask for  it.

I know, as I have a direct deposit Social Security pension  direct deposited to My Bangkok bank account monthly, and I receive an annual summary of those deposits  and amount of Social Security Pension by international mail direct form the Social Security Administration in Baltimore each year.

My Bangkok Bank passbook also shows my monthly deposit of pension coming in each month.

That also will be accepted by immigration as Proof if they question me.

as I  said you do Not NEED this proof at present, but if you want to there are a number of ways to show evidence of your monthly income if you are a cautious person and willing to do a little work to get that proof.

IIt can be done

I have never done a disabled run to CW in Bangkok, but I have been their in a (supplied) wheelchair from the entrance for a visa extension while recuperating form an operation.

You CAN get a wheelchair at the entrance to CW if you need one, but you will need a helper to push you around immigration.

Not sure about other offices throughout the country, but I know that at CW wheelchair access is possible.

Been there, and done that.

No comment required.

Retirement visa/extension annually?

Been there and done that.

Income declaration at U.S embassy and U.S. Social Security pension, but never asked for Proof.

You will need to marry your "common law wife" as the rules in Thailand to get your marriage recognized as your legal wife and to get her to share your life with you are that  your marriage must be " de Jure and de facto".

Which means  in law and in fact.

To get her to Thailand as your wife you will need to prove that she is your wife in fact and in the eyes of the law.

You will also have a financial requirement (funds in Thai Bank in your name or a income pension) to qualify for that retirement visa/extension for YOU.

All this is possible and can be done with  time if you work for that goal.

But first you need a marriage lscense to make your marriage legal here in Thailand. 

She needs a passport from her own country and they are VERY strict about young women leaving the Phillipines  to avoid the problem of young women being taken out of the Phillipines  and abandoned later in another country.

It happens all over the world and the Phillipine government is very strict about that not happening.

Good luck, but you face a long and hard process.....just so you understand at the start what the problems will be.

Just my opinion, but I could never see the value in either Permanent  R residence or Thai citizenship.

I was born  in the U.S, , but I have lived and worked in various countries around the world in my 70 years on this Earth.

Now I am here in Thailand as a retiree, and for the time being that is all I want or need.

Others may disagree, but that is my opinion.

Just for record.....when I did my first retirement visa/extension I was asked to show my Thai bank passbook.

I was then getting a monthly income from the U.S. which showed as a Foreign Funds Transfer to my Thai bank account. (code FFT)

The immigrations officer (a female) asked to show her my Thai Bankbook which she then photocopied.

She went through the photocopied pages and with a yellow marker  she underlined each monthly FFT incoming funds transfer.

She was satisfied that I was making regular incoming  funds transfers. and she wrote O.K. on the  top of the photocopies and put a big checkmark next to that O.K.

She then staples the photocopies to rest of my retirement application and then told me to see her supervisor at the next desk for final approval.

I remember that quite clearly, as it was a tense moment for me being my first  retirement approval, and I was nervous.

I was approved for a one year retirement visa/extension.

Which consulate and what nationality?

I am a U.S.national, and when I received my new passport a couple of months back, they also handed me a form letter asking Bangkok immigration to transfer my current visa from my old passport to my new passport.

I went to CW in Bangkok and presented this form letter where they transferred the old current visa info to my new passport.

if you are NOT a U.S. citizen, then this info may not apply to your particular case however.

Not to be rude,, but if you ask a clear and specific question, I will try to give the best clear and specific answer I can to that question.

I don't honestly know your specific answer, but I myself have applied in person for re-entry permits previously in Bangkok at CW immigration office.

As I recall there is or at least was a special office cubicle for that.

Took only a couple of minutes, and can be done at the same time as you get your extension..

Just for the record I went today 21 June 2017 and got a 30 day extension on my visa exempt entry from Malaysia on 27 May 2017.

The fee is still 1900 Baht for the 30 day extension

I did this at CW immigration in Bangkok. and I am now here until 21 June 2017.

The only reason I  posted this is to show everyone it is STILL POSSIBLE  to do it legally

As I I just said I did it today.

For the record I entered by AIR from Malaysia and this was my FIRST visa exempt entry in 2017 that I extended today.

Not sure about  your country, but for  Americans you will be given a form letter along with your new passport when it is given (at least at the embassy in  Bangkok).

Probably does not pertain to your question, but just for info to Americans here in Bangkok.

You take that form letter to CW immigration and they either transfer your visas or make a notation in your new passport that their is an active visa in your old (canceled) passport that is still valid.

I have done it before.

It is a joke, but it is not funny.

I am a 70 year old man, and in the U.S. it is now nearly impossible to get health insurance at that age for a reasonable price.

Since Donald and his fools canceled "Obamacare"" as they call it that is out too.

Not that it ever would pay outside the U.S. anyway.

I just had a operation in February in Thailand to repair a broken bone in my left arm caused by a fall, and it cost me 200K Baht for the  operation and roughly another 100K for other associated medical and hospital expenses. I had the funds in my Thai Bank and paid the hospital In Thai Baht

I still get a U.S. Social Security pension which keeps me here in Thailand for the time being.and pays my living expenses.

How long is not known.

A couple of years ago I suggested that certain high income foreign expats be allowed to establish businesses on-line in Thailand.

As long as their business was conducted ONLY on the internet from Thailand, they would be allowed to live in Thailand.

The "quid-pro-quo" for that was that these foreigners be required to pay Thai taxes at a preferential  rate to the Thai government on that part of their on-line income that was transferred to Thailand for their use to live in Thailand.

I was thinking of such people as writers, movie producers, artists, and such that may earn a high salary.....professionals in their chosen fields.

This could be done WITHOUT them working for a Thai company and therefore NOT NEEDING a Thai work permit.

The benefit to the Thai government would be that they would have access to these highly paid professionals and their money that was transferred into Thailand in tax revenue.

The advantage to these highly paid  foreign professionals would be that Thai tax rates are lower than tax rates in Europe or the U.S.A.

As they would only be taxed on the income they actually brought into Thailand they would generally pay tax at preferable rates by moving to Thailand to live.

I saw this as a win-win situation both for Thailand who would get  apart of their on-line income as tax revenue for Thailand, and the high paid foreign workers would for their tax revenue be given the right to live in Thailand if they ONLY earned their income on the internet.

Of course, no one ever listened to me.

It never happened, probably because the idea was to new and officials, in Thailand and elsewhere, are scared of new ideas and innovation.

I should have known better.

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

They only check for visas if a person does not have a return or onward ticket within 30 days of arrival if from a country that qualifies for a visa exempt entry.

 

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But yes they may, though the statement above is correct.

Depends on the airline and the airline boarding  policy they go by.

It is an IATA regulation that if you do not have a Thai visa in your passport they must ask you that question.

For some airlines that question depends on how you are dressed, 

"Backpackers" and younger people are asked more often than  middle aged and elderly people.

If you do your retirement or marriage visa/extensions in Bangkok at CW you can get the correct size photos make in less than 5 minutes on the first (BOTOM) floor where you can also get photocopies made i n the same shop..

5 photos will be done for 100 baht, a photocopy of your passport page is 2 Baht for each page you want copied

If you want they will even fill out the application form for you in Thai, but  you will have to sign it with your own signature where indicated. Filling out the application forms will cost you  30 Baht.

That's how that copy shop makes its money.

Some posters do not seem to know the difference between 90 day reports and overstay on a Thai visa.

12 hours ago, ToS2014 said:

I agree with most of your thoughts; however, the USS Cole was stationary in a port being resupplied.  Much more to come but I would be concerned about my future career if I were the CO. 

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I would say the U.S.ships  CO just ended his Navy career.

On ‎2‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 8:34 AM, the guest said:

Banks are not allowed to open an account for tourists. 

That is not true, although many banks will tell  you that. Often they will tell you a lie that they can not legally do it.

I have two Bangkok Bank accounts.

One was opened here on a Non O immigrant visa, the other was opened later on a tourist visa.

I understand the fact that I had my first account for well over a year BEFORE I tried to open the 2nd account with a tourist visa later.

That probably had a lot to do with opening the 2nd account.

Just my experience.