MrMuddle

So I guess it's "Goodnight Irene" ? :-)

Thanks to all for help and advice.

I tried to do this (transfer stamps), at my local office a couple of months ago - they weren't interested. Told me to use both passports (old & new), if I wanted to leave Thailand. Tried to explain that under UK passport rules, the old passport is cancelled when the application is received for the new one, again they weren't interested.

I have used the 800K in the bank method for several years, using the Bangkok Bank in my local town. Every year it is extremely stressful trying to get the Bank to give me a simple letter for immigration. I certainly will be moving my money if the same thing happens this year, so at present, i can't recommend them, based solely on my local branch.

Hi, My 90 day report is due April 21st. My retirement renewal is due May 27th. When I send my latest 90 day report form in, tomorrow, will I get anything back ? Possibly a 90 day form that lasts until May 27th ?

Normally, I take my final 90 report of the year, on the last possible day (90 days +7), and renew my retirement extension, (by using the 30 days early rule), at the same time. This year (possibly because it's a leap year), this doesn't work out, the day to comply with both is a Saturday ! Obviously I must submit the 90 day report, and I will make a photocopy of it before I send it in, but I am wondering will I have another 90 report (lasting until 27th May) sent back to me? If not, what do I do when I go to renew my retirement stamp?

Yours confused,

MrMuddle

This will never get off the ground, just more government BS for the masses. How many years have these sort of initiatives been talked about in the press, but never actually happen?

I'm retired, live here and have both a degree and a UK City & Guilds TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages - similar to TEFL). I would be happy to work 4 hours a week or so, helping Thai kids learn English. I would be quite willing to do this for free, as I don't need the money, and it would give me something useful to do.

The problem - I'm not allowed to do this by the Immigration Dept, and even if I did work for free, you can guarantee somebody, somewhere, in the Thai Education system will make money out of my kindness. I would like to help, and I'm sure that are many others who feel the same, but the Thai authorities, instead of making life easier, ( as in the example earlier in the topic regarding Slovenia), just make things so difficult, it's not even worth enquiring.

Beano, I have a retirement extension / visa. I'm going to cut the corners off the passport when I go for my annual renewal in May, we'll see what happens. I'll take the new passport receipt with me, as lungbing suggests. I'll also go 30 days early, in case of problems.

I've used the UK government website to request that a letter be included with all new UK passports posted abroad, in an effort to eliminate problems.

is 200-300 baht the normal rate for a residency letter? They charged me 1000 last year, (it was a requirement for my first Thai driving licence)

Thanks to all for replies / advice.

Apologies for the delay in replying, my internet hasn't been working at all for the past couple of days.

I use a USB dongle witha DTAC sim card. The device name is "RICH", but there are no other details of type, capacity or model number on it. I'm the only person in my small village with internet, (the only farang in the village !), so that option is unfortunately a non-starter. I'll have a look at TrueMove's coverage, the only problem I have with them is when we enquired in town about them, the representative told us we can only cancel their service if we go to Phitsanulok office, which is 3 hours away. Thanks to all for replies / advice.

Going slightly off topic, one of the main reasons friends of mine, (in the UK), download TV programmes from various internet sites, is to be able to watch programmes without the annoying interruptions from adverts.

Purely out of curiousity, (I DO have a life), I watched an hour of TV on Truevisions, (Fox channel), and there was 24 minutes of adverts, (mostly for their own upcoming shows). Who needs that ?

I also find it annoying that when one is watching a movie here, they keep interrupting it with on-screen adverts, usually for things I'd never dream of watching anyway.

I'm about twenty five kms south of Phetchabun City,

The problem I've found, with checking out various companies is that their advertised speeds are nothing like what one actually gets !

I use a Lenovo laptop, and also a desktop PC, to access the net.

I am hoping to download quite a lot of stuff, (BBC podcasts, various music and hopefully video files, if the download speed is fast enough. I estimate 3Gbs per month useage, and I'd be happy to spend around 1000 Baht a month for decent speeds.

Thanks.

Can anyone tell me which is the fastest, most reliable mobile internet ( I use one of those 'dongle" things with a simcard in it), for the Phetchabun province ?

I currently pay for DTAC which advertises at 400 kbps, but my actual speed is in the 7 to 8 kbps range. I am really fed up with this, any help much appreciated, thank you.

As a German i feel ashamed. Sorry.

No need to be, you're a German, NOT a nazi, there is a huge difference between the two.

The only people who would think that someone having a Thai girlfriend is a stigma, are racist boneheads who don't deserve a moment of any decent individuals time.

When you go out with her, do your absolute best to treat her as well as possible, and ensure that whatever YOU THINK others may be thinking, that it doesn't matter, you are proud of her, and don't care what they may be thinking. If you don't then you are going to lose her for sure.

Have you ever thought of making small talk with others in restaurants, or when you're out shopping, it's usually helpful to break the ice yourself, then maybe your girlfriend won't feel so alienated, and you'll get to know others. I'm sure once you do this, the perceived problems will disappear.

I'm sure a lot of this is in your head, we lived in a seaside town in Lincolnshire for 5 years, which according to a map I saw recently, has the least number of immigrants in England, and we never experienced any problems, the reverse in fact, our neighbours were extremely friendly to my wife, and made us both very welcome. We still get letters and birthday / christmas cards (to both of us), from them.

I think the problem is you, and your perception that everyone thinks that ALL Thai women are prostitutes - you know it's not true, I know it's not true, and indeed anyone with a brain knows it's nonsense. You need to put this out of your mind, once and for all.

A friend of mine and her husband, (both UK passport holders), are visiting Phuket, and have asked me about them having a mini-break in Laos. Are visas issued on arrival in Laos, (and if so, the cost), are there any restrictions on travel within Laos itself, and is it possible to fly return from Phuket to Laos? Also will they have any problems getting back into Thailand from Laos - the will be on a tourist visa, will this be renewed once they leave Thailand and come back 2 or 3 days later?

Thanks for any replies.

For members information.

The UK passport service advises that when you apply for a new passport, the old passport is automatically cancelled. UK passport renewals are not done through the local Embassy, but are applied for via the Hong Kong consulate, ( do not send your old passport when applying, there is a special clause for Thailand, and a photocopy of the photo page is all that is needed.)

It further advises that when the new passport is received, the person holding the passport can either take the old one to the local Embassy, who will cut the corners off, or do it yourself.

This is from the Hong Kong Consulsate website:

"Specific requirements from Thailand

ORIGINAL PASSPORT: Thailand is an exception to the main guidance given on our primary website. It is not advised to be without your original passport in Thailand and we recognise this. You may therefore submit a clear photocopy of your passport (just the page with your personal details and photograph). Please note that the passport being renewed will be electronically cancelled and is therefore not valid for use as a travel document from the moment you submit your application. On receipt of your new passport, you must physically cancel your old passport by cutting the corners of the photo page and the front and back covers. Failure to do so may leave your replaced passport open to abuse. Alternatively, you should visit the British Embassy in Bangkok to have your replaced passport physically cancelled."

I hope this of help to other ThaiVisa UK members. Thanks to everyone for their help / advice, replies.

TomBKK Did you have to go to the Embassy to get the letter? It's a full days trip from where I live.

Jas21, According to the UK passport website, your UK passport is automatically cancelled by them , when your application for a new one is received. I offered to cut the corner off my old UK passport, but the officers said even if I did that, they wouldn't put the stamps in the new one.

Interesting about the "proof of address" letter, I needed one for my Thai driving licence, and they charged me 1000 baht, last year, which kind of confirms my assumption that they are looking for "tea money".

Lopburi3 Thanks for that, I was worried that I was somehow illegally staying here. I always try to conform with whatever regulations are necessary, which is why I'd gone to the office in the first place, the officer we saw last year told us to, when I got a new passport.

I went to my local immigration office, earlier this week, armed with my old and new passports, plus copies of relevant pages, photos etc. The officers refused to transfer the retirement and other 'stamps" to my new passport, as they said the old one had not expired. i explained that when I applied for my new passport, the old one is automatically cancelled by the UK government and was no longer valid. The officers explained in Thai, to my wife, that if I needed to leave Thailand, that I should take both passports with me, and explain when I got there. I explained that I do not intend to leave Thailand before the visa expires, and again asked them to transfer the stamps.

I realised at this point that the officers English was not good, ( the officers were all new to me, I've been going to the same office for a few years, and have never had problems before).

What I am worried about is what happens when I go to renew my retirement visa in a couple of months. Will I be in trouble for not transferring the stamps over?

Talking with my wife afterwards, it seems that she had said (in Thai), that when we were at the office last year, the man we dealt with said we should just come to the office, and the stamps would be changed over for free. I am wondering if they expected some "tea money", and once they realised they weren't getting it, couldn't be bothered to help me. Any comments / suggestions appreciated.

I haven't mentioned which office I went to deliberately, I don't want this to come back and bite me where it hurts in the future.

The chap with no legs could be charged with bumming around.

I've just got my new UK passport, and I need to get the stamps transferred at my local office. Am I correct in thinking that I can get my retirement stamp, and my re-entry stamp put in my new passport for free?

Also what do I do about my last entry (into Thailand) stamp, will the local office replace this, or do I just use the one from my old passport for 90 day renewals, re-issuing of retirement visas etc ? Finally, will my 90 day reporting start from the day I get the stamps transferred into new passport, or does it just continue on from the old passport ?

Thank you for any help / advice.

Mr Ban would be better having a holiday, instead of wasting his time with this. Israel simply does not want peace, all they want is continual expansion of their 'territory", while at the same time restricting Palestinian food and water supplies.

I've lived in Phetchabun ( 25 kms from the city itself), for 10 years or so. The flooding where I live was less this year than in all the time I've lived here. As for the temperature, it's anywhere from 15 degrees to 42 degrees, depending on the time of year. The times I've worn long trousers and a warm top can be counted on one hand, in all the time I've been here. I can't advise on teaching jobs, but there are a couple of Universities now, several colleges, and private schools. nightlife is fine, if you like eating, but not on a par with the big cities. Good luck in your search.

Those explicit 'kissing on the lips' scenes will be the downfall of Thailand...

totster

Not sure what you mean by this, perhaps a bit of plain speaking is needed, instead of trying to be a cunning linguist !

Typical USA bully tactics, it's time other countries stood up to them and refused to extradite people. As a reward to New Zealand, for selling out one of their citizens to corporate America, I won't be buying anything they sell.

We had to buy a piece of light grey material from the local market, to use as a backdrop for the photo, the photography shops in Phetchabun only had blue or white plain backgrounds. Don't forget to fill out the form in black ball point pen ONLY. We had a he_ll of a job finding one ! The advice on the passport site states do not trim photos yourself. I drew a box, 45mm x 35 mm on a sheet of paper for the photographer to print to that size, as the sizes in the shop were all too large for UK government requirements. Good luck !