zeekgarcia

47 minutes ago, Crazy Noobie said:

When you say Medical, what are you referring to, Nursing, Doctor or what?  As they charge a different tuition price.  My kid attends the University in Chiang Mai and is going for a B of S, in Nursing. Already finished two years.  Tuition is 65,000 baht per semester (for foreigner). A Thai pays 35,000. Dorm shared room is around 5,000 baht. But since I live close to the University, my kid lives here, so food & rent is covered by me. So the only outlay is the tuition, plus books and uniforms.

If your child is a foreigner, what does a foreigner have to do to get a license to work in the medical field here?

About a week ago I went to the same bank as my friend but to a different branch and was able to do a cash advance using my foreign visa debt card with no problems.

So based on my friend's experience it seems like the two bank branches mentioned in the OP at Big C Mae Hia have colluded together at least on that day to not do cash advances.

On 5/8/2022 at 1:54 AM, 4MyEgo said:

I have to ask, is there any particular reason you, or your friend don't have a Thai bank account ?

 

I find it much easier and cost effective to transfer one large sum annually, preferably when the exchange rate is a good one, (no control over that), all about timing.

 

Once the finds are in my Thai account, I use my Thai debit card to withdrawal the funds I require and put it away in a "safe" place, until I need to top up again as I usually do a lot of internet internet purchases which are also very cost effective as opposed to using my fuel to drive to the store and pay more for those products.

 

Got to be one step ahead of the game, however if there is a reason you cannot obtain a Thai bank account and debit card here, please share the reason with us, e.g. I don't know if times have changed but I got mine yonks ago without a hassle and pay 200 baht per year for the card.

 

Simple why pay fees when you can do a cash advance with your foreign debt card for free.

59 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Which financial service institution, and associated ATM debit card does your friend have?

 

Which banks? Bangkok Bank and SCB?

 

Banks, not branches, have a relationship with Visa and Mastercard, which relies on universal application of rules, features and benefits.

1. US visa debit card

2. both

3. The first bank you mentioned is their Thai bank and they have done the cash advance/over counter withdraw at the same location for year or so already but earlier this week the same branch told them as of May 1st they cannot do it anymore for debit cards and go to the second bank you mentioned and they told them the same. 

But as we have seen others here in CM have done this type of withdrawal at the same bank but a different branch this month. 

It would seem like Thai bank branches would be glad to do this, when the person states do this cash advance and deposit the whole amount into their Thai bank account which is also at that branch. 

On 12/28/2021 at 8:29 AM, mtls2005 said:

OK, thanks for the follow up.

 

Visa Cash Advance does give a better rate than WISE in addition to being fee-free, and a similar transaction ($15,000) today would net ~ 8,000 THB more. A significant amount. Definitely the way to go assuming the branch can do it.

 

My Fidelity ATM Debit Card is limited to $2,500 for a "Teller Advance". ????

 

Unless Fidelity change they also charge a 1% fee for teller advance but not for atm withdraw.

On 12/23/2021 at 9:51 PM, gamb00ler said:

 

I think you can open an International account with Schwab using a Thai address.  I do think they have a minimum balance requirement of 10K $USD.  But I heard that a long time ago so it could be outdated.  The Schwab website is substantial and will likely answer your questions better than I.

 

I have a US based brokerage account so the limits I give may be specific to it.

The limit for ATM withdrawal is $500 per withdrawal.  There are more limits such as per day but I didn't record them.  The limit for withdrawal at the bank counter is 15K $US per day.  There is no foreign transaction fee and all ATM fees are reimbursed at the time the transaction is processed.

 

Personally I maintain a mailing address in USA that I use for Schwab and other institutions.

What schwab US account do you have because the US  High Yield Investor Checking atm limit is $1000 and the over the counter/cash advance limit is $1000 unless you contact them and get them to raise it in which they ask for what purpose.

11 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

Yes.... on Wed. May 4, '22.  In fact, I did both a Visa and a Mastercard "cash advance".  Was done at dark blue bank branch at Big C Extra mall on superhighway.  Went smoothly and quickly, as usual.

Am I correct that you were using a debit card and not a credit card?

Please let me know if I am wrong, thanks

14 minutes ago, gamb00ler said:

Yes.... on Wed. May 4, '22.  In fact, I did both a Visa and a Mastercard "cash advance".  Was done at dark blue bank branch at Big C Extra mall on superhighway.  Went smoothly and quickly, as usual.

This is good to hear, so I guess the banks collude together in some locations because both of the two banks as noted in the op told them the same thing, even though I have done a cash advance using a debit card many times at the dark blue color bank in this same location but so far none this month. And my friends speak good Thai.

1 hour ago, userabcd said:

Doubt if that is the case, it is probably the small branch in the mall just not wanting to deal with it.

 

Should try one of the bigger head office type bank branches.

Found out it was the Big C South of the airport

A friend told me earlier this week, they went to their usual bank which is the bank that uses the dark blue color signage in a Big C location and they told them that as of May 1, they can no longer do a cash advance/over counter withdraw. They were going to do a cash advance and deposit the whole amount into their account at this bank. The bank told them to try another bank so they tried the bank that uses the purple signage in the same Big C and that bank said the same thing.

Has anyone done a successful cash advances/over counter withdraw with a foreign atm debit card here in CM since May 1?

If yes, what bank was this at? 

Thanks 

On 4/6/2022 at 8:50 AM, realfunster said:

True enough but I would think it not unreasonable that doctors (or any professions) primarily dealing with Thais or operating in the Thai public sector would need high Thai language proficiency to deliver their services effectively. 

 

From what I can see from the TMC website, foreign doctors are eligible to apply for a license, in a typically Thai way, the slight catch is 1 of the 3 tests requires essay writing in Thai. ????

 

Of course, there are certainly some foreign doctors knocking around and Bangkok has numerous foreign professionals operating in the private sector in law, IT, accounting, finance, engineering etc, normally this is tolerated by Thai authorities as they are under the umbrella of safeguarding quality and the investment of an international company. Primarily dealing with other international companies, the Thai language issue is a moot point for them. 

I am not sure if I was clear but they do not allow non Thai citizens that know the Thai language already to enroll in Thai medical universities and take the government test to get licensed as a doctor here.

For a non Thai citizen to get a doctor license here, they have to go study in another country and get licensed there and then come to Thailand and get licensed here. 

In which they should just allow non Thai citizens that know the Thai language to  enroll in Thai medical universities and if they pass, let them take the Thai government medical test to get a doctor license here, which would help with the doctor shortages.

14 hours ago, Hamus Yaigh said:

Many kids in our area of Bangkok went to a private English language school nearby with foreign teachers. The school would not reduce fees at all and have changed to home schooling since start of year. Many parents have now withdrawn their kids for other cheaper online alternatives going forward next term.

Can you reply to this topic or message me the info of these online schools you are talking about. THanks

Does anyone know of a doctor that scans or x-rays the head to check on the health of blood vessels to see if they are leaking, weakening or clogging?

What are doctors that regularly do this called? 

If you know a doctor that does this, please let us know what hospitals they work at and if they have their own clinic and approx how much it was to see them and any other useful info that will help a friend. Thanks

Have seen news before of pharmacies that are not licensed by the Thai government and have googled around but have not found out how to look to see if a pharmacy is really licensed. Any help would be greatly appreciated

12 hours ago, Haddo said:

I got PR but wasn't working for a Thai Co. - I was working for a UK company (media). 

You don't need to be able to read Thai, but you need to be able to talk in Thai about yourself, job etc, and answer multiple choice questions, which are written in Thai but can be read out to you. 

(well this was 10+ years ago when I got it - things may have changed) 

So how were you paid?  Did you UK company pay your UK bank account or wire money into your Thai bank account or what?

How did you pay taxes here in Thailand?

How did you get your work permit and what was your stated work?

Did you have a business visa? 

Thanks so much for this and any other info you can give!

A couple of things you need to find out for yourself

How was she able to afford buying a plane ticket and getting a visa to enter Australia?

How is she able to stay in Australia?

Also if she is not a permanent resident or citizen of Australia, you need to ask yourself is she just being very caring etc to you in trying to see if you are her ticket to be able to stay permanently in Australia. 

A thing that may help you find this out is to find out if marriage to an Australian citizen or divorce from an Australian citizen can open the way for her to be able to apply for permanent residence or citizenship.

If it does not open the way for her, then sometime soon you need to tell her this and see if she sticks around. And also tell her that if you were to get married in the future that she would absolutely have to sign a prenuptial agreement and explain to her what it is.

And if she does not stick around, you know why.

Also there is a possibility that she sees herself indebted to the people that raised her and could currently be sending them money or has a strong desire to start sending them money when she is able.

Also if she did not arrive in Australia as a student but arrived as an overseas worker, there could be a possibility that she has a kid or kids in the Philippines and maybe even a husband.

And all of this can apply to any person in Australia or any other developed country that is not a permanent resident or citizen because we have to face it, that it is the dream of many people around the world to be able to become a permanent resident or citizen of a developed country and sadly some will lie and deceive to become one

Could a digital nomad get a work permit from a foundation and then pay tax on the money they have coming in from abroad to be able to apply for PR?

24 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

Eat a healthy, balanced diet and you should not need supplements.

8 minutes ago, BE88 said:

Perhaps you have forgotten to eat natural vitamins such as the plentiful fruit in this country ?

looking to boast somethings and it seems like the best way to do it is by taking some extra vitamins  and herbs.

On 7/18/2021 at 9:33 PM, clivebaxter said:

I find lazada is cheaper than shops, got zinc today 155 baht cheapest in shop is 215

what brand did you buy? Because I am trying to find out which brands of vitamins and herbal medicines are good 

What brand or manufacturer of vitamins and herbal medicine is good?

Looking for some vitamins and herbs in capsule or pill form on lazada and shoppe but there are so many and I do not know what brands or manufacturers are good.

Any help will be great!

*looked on iherb but they do not have some of the things I am looking for like Fa Ta La Jon (ฟ้าทะลายโจร) and Gra Cha Khaw (กระชายขาว)

48 minutes ago, smccolley said:

I was working worldwide in the Telecom industry, designing and building 3G and 4G back office systems. I stopped in Thailand in 2006 for a holiday. 7 days into a 12 day holiday I decided I would live here. I told the new friends I had met to "hold my barstool, I'll be right back". I flew back, did some networking and soon took the president of a small company out to dinner. Said I would do anything, just had to do it from Thailand. I did take a huge pay cut, because as a small company I never wanted to be the overpaid guy who would be first to go when money got tight.

 

I moved here 3 months  later, took over all deployments from Egypt to Fiji. Worked my butt off and we were bought out by one of the largest networking companies in the world in 2013. I still live in North Pattaya even though we only have offices in Bangkok. I am now making a bit more than I used to in the US (post dot-com bust). I hope to retire in about 3 years and will stay here forever. I'll never be rich but I would also never be happier.

Because you replied I am guessing you make over 80k baht a month, therefore what types of education or training did you go through to learn how to do these things?

And are you a local employee of a company here in Thailand meaning they get you a work permit and you pay taxes etc here in Thailand?

Thanks for any info.

1 hour ago, elcaro said:

Work online as full stack developer. 

No education, but year of experience. Work 30hours a week 110000k, with bonuses some months 150000.

But I believe this is not classified as working here, unless you have some setup where you are paying taxes here on your income, if so please let us know how you do this because this is required to apply for PR or citizenship. And thanks so much.

2 hours ago, jessc said:

Be an entrepreneur, build business that allows you that amount of take home a month (how a lot of us do it).

 

The legally mandated minimum wage in Thailand varies a bit by province, but is generally about 10k a month. The legally mandated minimum salary in Thailand for a foreigner working on a work permit is 50k a month. Because foreigners working here should be doing jobs that the average Thai person - or even the average Thai university grad - is not qualified to do (and thus not taking jobs away from otherwise qualified Thais). 

 

So, if you want to have a job and earn a salary that's 8 times the minimum wage, you should be qualified to be a high level manager, a professional, a specialist, etc., and be at least functionally multilingual. The possibilities are too numerous to write down. But the main thing is, there should be a reason on paper (not just personality) why an employer should hire you as a foreigner (with the attendant extra costs and hassles that come with employing foreigners) over a similarly situated Thai person.

 

As someone who has employed foreigners before, you actually do need to justify the hire of a foreigner in these terms to the labor department and immigration. (Yes, I am sure there ways to get around it, but that's not how I have gone about it).

Thanks for your time but one of main the important things we are trying to find is what are these numerous possibilities, we know it is possible because the requirements for a foreigner not married to a Thai to apply for PR or citizenship is to earn at least 80k baht a month from working here in Thailand with a work permit and paying taxes etc. for 3 a consecutive years. 

They are not interested in trying to start their own business because they do not know what to do or have the money to do it. 

But it would be very helpful if you could list some of these numerous possibilities that you spoke of that would not require one to open their own business. And thank you so much ???? 

18 hours ago, Pravda said:

In the past, before covid I was "working" online and making around 100k a month.

 

I was dropshipping on Amazon. I will not tell you the product I was dropshipping, but it wasn't Chinese junk from Aliexpress.

congratulations but working online I believe is not classified as working here, unless you have some setup where you are paying taxes here on your income, if so please let us know how you do this because this is required to apply for PR or citizenship. And thanks so much.