nongsangcity

No Need To Walk....there are cheap hotels who have a shuttle service from the airport to the hotel and back to the airport...ive used them on a few occasions and very good value around the 500 baht mark all in...

16 hours ago, Grubster said:

I have been living in Sakon for five years and this sounds good, I am not sure what a yellow house book is or how to get it, maybe I have one do you need one for retirement extension or drivers license?

yellow book is from your local amphur.....it has your home address in it............no need for a retirement visa or driving license

1 hour ago, Si Thea01 said:

 

 

Agreed there. I have a certain blood pressure tablet, private hospital cost for one month's supply, B2500, a local drug store, B1400, big difference.  I haven't tried to obtain it from a government hospital, will ask next time but I do know that what I require is restricted and not obtainable by most drugstores.  Took inquiries at around 15 stores before I found one that was willing and able to acquire the product for me. 

give your local hospital or clinic a go......my tablets are 30 baht for 2 months supply....but iam on the 30b scheme without the scheme the tablets are 300 b....for 2 months

17 hours ago, Sheryl said:

It is a government, but military. Not part of the network in the 30 baht scheme. The military hospitals are free only for military and their dependents. Civilians can use them, but have to pay the full price.

 

For which reason they are usually less crowded than the regular govt hospitals (I think Queen S. in Sattahip may be an exception to that) and fir us farang who have to pay full price regardless, makes sense to use them over say a provinical hospital, which is where all the Thais will go as it is where they can get free care.

 

Nonsangcity, I suggest you keep quite re the 30 baht scheme and foreigners in your province, It is not supposed to be going on, directives were sent to the provinces to that effect, and it will continue only as long as it goes unnoticed by the powers that be.

thank you for that...according to my local hospital they checked with current government and they got the all clear to carry on..well thats what they told me ??????....and ive been informed the yearly fee is going down next year as there was an increas this year..all my info is put on to a nationl data base which my hospital show me...every year i hear the scheme has stopped and every year for the past 5 years iam accepted....nothing last for ever...so hopefully i will last  a little longer....

2 hours ago, carlyai said:

 

I have seen before that you advise inpatient hospital care insurance (sorry if I've got this wrong).

For a 71 year old, what hospital or medical insurance package would you recommend?

Sent from my SM-J700F using Tapatalk
 

 

3 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Your visa status (and age) is irrelevant to what you will be charged for health care here. There is no special program or discount for elderly and/or retired foreigners.

 

Most government hospitals will charge foreigners exactly the same as the full charge for Thais who pay out of pocket. Of course most Thais do not (pay out of pocket), most are covered by either the so called "30 baht" scheme (which foreigners are not eligible for) of Social Security (foreigners can get, but only if legally employed). So in that sense you do pay more in that most Thais will be paying nothing or 30 baht while you will be paying the full fee. But a Thai who for whatever reason has to pay out of pocket for care (for example, if wanting to get care at other than the hospital they are registered at) would pay this same.

 

This is for most government hospitals.But there have been reports of a few, located in areas with many foreigners, developing two tiered pricing and there is nothing to prevent a hospital from doing that, other than that it would not be worth the effort unless they expected a fair number of farang patients.

 

Having a hospital card has no relation to what you are charged. It is just a card with a number linked to your medical records, it confers no financial benefit or entitlement.

 

Government hospitals do indeed cost much less than private hospitals, on average about 1/3 as much. But do not be lulled into thinking that means it will always be affordable. Outpatient care and very simple hospitalizations will be fine, but for a catastrophic illness or accident involving long ICU stays and specialized surgeries, you can easily wrack up bills of 1-2 million baht in a government hospital. And they will expect to be paid...in fact they will present bills usually at weekly intervals, sooner if an expensive procedure has been performed.

 

Insurance is essential. If not insured then should set aside at least 2 million baht (5-6 mill if wanting the option of using private hospitals) in readily accessible funds for use in medical emergency...and figure out ahead of time what you will do when that amount is drawn down.

 

Note that many large government hospitals have "after hours" clinics where you can chose your doctor (otherwise not possible, and interns/students  will do most of the direct care) and be seen on something approximating an appointment basis. This is well worth the added cost. If you go through the public channel, expect very long waits (as in, all day) often in uncomfortable crowded conditions. Usually the costs of such after hours clinics, while much more than the public channel, are still much, much less than a private hospital. There are some exceptions, though, One or two government hospitals'  are trying to brand their after clinics as "VIP" with prices comparable to mid-range private hospitals or even higher.

 

Government hospitals do indeed vary greatly. See this archived thread for an explanation of the different tiers http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/615461-the-thai-public-health-system/

 

 

The 30 baht scheme is alive and kicking in Sakon Nakhon.....i dont work and neither do my friends...i am on my 5th year on the 30 baht scheme....one of my friend had a fall and broke his ankle badly he had 3 operations had pins in his leg and ankle......when leaving the hospital he received a bill for 60000 baht...he showed his 30 baht card and his bill was reduced to 30 baht.....i have hospital check ups and tablets every 2 months for a on going problem...and my bill is always 30 baht........for the scheme you must have the yellow house book...a yearly full medical..x ray..blood test etc etc....and a payment of 2700 baht per year...

7 hours ago, watcharacters said:

 

 

I thought I read that that program ended.

 

Incorrect?

Incorrect i have just re newed my 30 baht hospital scheme....in sakon nakhon...

5000 b a month in sakon area every where..nice small estate near me...new 3 bedrooms house 5000 b.....smaller 2 bed room single storie..with gardens etc 4000b...all with air con...fiber optic true ....good friend of mine has a huge 6 bedroom 6 bathroom en suite.in a lovely location with a lovely lake outside the house....the owner carnt give it a way was empty for 3 years my friend pays 4000b a month..and fully furnished....

6 hours ago, 2008bangkok said:

The question is what was the beer bar doing open at 6am

serving beer along with rest of the 24 hour bars and 24 hour restaurants who are also serving beer....i was there this week....

1 hour ago, maingmoom said:

I have a nice bundle waiting to exchange but not at this low rate. I think it's worth the gamble to wait.

this low rate could be a peak........i remember 10 years back i was going to exchange a few quid...the rate was 72.5...i popped to the bank and the rate had fallen to 72...i thought sod that...i will wait for 72.5......it never happened .......

Took me months and months to get mine, jumping through hoops etc.....friend in next amphur down the road.....took him 15 minutes and a 1000 baht thank you....

On 27/10/2559 at 4:21 PM, elviajero said:

• He shouldn't have a problem getting a 60 day extension, and he can still apply for a 1 year extension towards the end of the 60 days.
• In the unlikely event that they deny a 60 day extension he will be given 7 days to leave the country.

my friend went friday so he was 3 days overdue...he went late so they told him to comeback monday with his documents in full....he went monday....was hit with a 6 day overstay...a stamp in his passport regarding his overstay...his paperwork is under consideration now for a month...so hopefully all will end in smiles....

On 27/10/2559 at 0:04 PM, ubonjoe said:

If he has all the supporting documents and financial proof to apply for the extension the would probably do the one year extension after he paid the overstay fine. 

It would be best if he went today.

If  is not ready to apply for the one year extension he could take his wife with him and apply for a 60 day extension to visit her.

Ubonjoe....my friend went to immigration on friday which meant he had a 3 day overstay...he presented his doucuments etc....they told him to go back on monday as it was almost closing time...he went monday yesterday....he had his passport stamped with an overstay...he paid 6 days overstay fine...and his documents are now under consideration for one month.......

20 minutes ago, mokwit said:

Amongst Thaivisa users a bad guy is seemingly anyone who is not on a retirement visa, does not own a blazer and is not a member of a golf club. HTH.

you can have some trouble on the golf course...witnessed a bit of trouble last year.....first time ive seen a 1 iron used and it wasnt swung at a ball either...

2 hours ago, elviajero said:

• He shouldn't have a problem getting a 60 day extension, and he can still apply for a 1 year extension towards the end of the 60 days.
• In the unlikely event that they deny a 60 day extension he will be given 7 days to leave the country.

thank you so much

3 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

If he has all the supporting documents and financial proof to apply for the extension the would probably do the one year extension after he paid the overstay fine. 

It would be best if he went today.

If  is not ready to apply for the one year extension he could take his wife with him and apply for a 60 day extension to visit her.

thank you for the info....hes not ready to apply for a one year extension....i wiil tell him to take his wife to immigration tomorrow asap and apply for a 60 day extension to visit her....thank you

my friend has just phoned me to say he checked his passport and he noticed his extension based on marriage expired 3 days ago......what options does he have ? can he go to his local immigration office and get a extension for 7...15  or 30 days for 1900 bht ....does he get to the boarder pay his overstay asap...leave Thailand then return on what ever visa he can get......i just need some clear info please...

3 hours ago, georgemandm said:

Get a box cost you 5,000 thai bht and you get all the sports and free movies as many as you like as long as you have good internet at your home need 10 mgb or more 

you can buy a box for 800 baht on line...and its cash on delivery.....place your order...2 days later arrives at your adderss...pay the peson who brings the box   800 baht...marvellous

1 hour ago, laislica said:

 

 

What visa did you ask for?

 

I hope this is of help to you.

Almost 4 years ago I married a Thai, I am a Brit but had retired to Spain and had a NIE (Foreigners ID Number).

You can probably do this on line.

The visa she will need is the EEA Family Member, not a Schengen.

 

To grant a 90 day EEA Family Member visa for my wife, the Spanish Embassy required that she had acceptable :

Police Clearance Certificate (from the DSI in BKK)

A health clearance certificate (best got from the Police Hospital next to the DSI in BKK - they know the correct and required wording)

Copies of your marriage cert translated to Spanish and approved by the MoFA. Only the Cert is necessary so very simple. Expect to pay the standard 800Bt/page if you use the Spanish University in BKK.

Then, the MoFA Madrid, required that our translated marriage cert was validated by a Law firm that they specified in BKK, the fee was 1,600Bt

Of course the usual copies of your PP etc.

Getting the visa was not hard for us, the time was spent getting the clearances. etc.

Once landed in Spain you must both go and register at the town hall and then apply online to your local foreign office and make an appointment to start the procedure to get her a Foreigners ID and finally the permanent resident ID Card.

Once you start the procedure, the Spanish Emb in BKK advised us, you must complete it however long it takes and don't worry that you exceed the 90 days.

It took us about 5 months which was fast compared to others that I know.

Once this is done, your wife will need to reside in Spain for a little over 6 months min/year to maintain centre of life and residents status.

My wife was not required to learn Spanish.

Also, she jointly owns property with me in Spain, we bought a condo together this year.

Because I'm retired and had also had an English translation of the marriage cert and supporting docs,

I sent a certified copy to the overseas pensions office in the UK and they reissued my form S1 (transferring medical resources to Spain)

and they included my wife.

She is therefore registered with the Spanish NHS.

I had done the S! as soon as I started drawing the state pension and at that time my partner was a Brit woman, below pension age, and they included her details so she got NHS cover via me!

 

Cheers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thanks for your message.....it was my friend who applied for his wife to have a 2 week holiday in spain.....they gave up  with all the requirements that spain wanted....they presented the same info to the swedish office and they used a swedish friends address etc....they were succesful with the info they supplied and after flying and spending one night in sweden they left next day and flew to Malaga....where they are now...

2 minutes ago, heybruce said:

1.  I haven't spent 30 minutes, and I can post when it's convenient.

2.  How much time do you spend posting non-answers to questions?

29 mins maximum......

5 hours ago, heybruce said:

Typical Thai Visa; if I asked where to buy shoes, I'd get a dozen posts telling me it's better to go barefoot.

the time you have spent on here you could of driven the 30 mins to your transport office....plus its a nice day for a drive....have a nice day..

On 17/10/2559 at 6:04 PM, dick dasterdly said:

Exactly.  A good example of why I've given up on asking the local bank staff for info. re. 'unusual' things.

Thailand to a T.....if they dont know how to do things they just say No It Carnt Be Done.....I had to talk through the situation at my bank to a person who said no it carnt be done....after hours of talking she managed to get me a formal statement from the head office to allow me to go to Immigration and apply for an visa extension....at the end i asked her to say thank you to me ???? she said what for ??? i said you have learnt a new skill and you can now ask your head branch to process a simple task....

Spain is almost a no go area.....my friend couldnt get his wife a visa for a 2 week holiday there and they have been married for years and with a child who has a British /thai passport.....they are in Spain Now but they had to use Sweden to get a visa,,,,,...

I use the local transport/tax office....so simple walk in buy road insurance for the bike...2 mins max....go to the next counter hand in your insurance .book for the bike...pay for the tax etc....maybe 5 mins...but usually less....and out you go...never taken me more than 10 minutes in all the years ive been doing it.....no need to be driving around looking for some place to do it...leaving your info etc for a couple of days then going back....In Thailand try and do everything yourself..you can do things usually ok with out your thai wife/girlfriend helping you...or supposed to be helping you..55

3 hours ago, Jonmarleesco said:

I'd recheck your figures. I know HMG's maths is dubious, but ₤140 a year for 10 years, plus another 10 years, for a pension at today's rates of around ₤116 a week?

 

Whatever the outcome, you'd need to arrange payment to the DWP, not to HMRC.

 

And it's no longer 30 years for maximum pension; 35 years, now.

its paid to the HMRC...my wife pays them by direct debit every year at 14 pounds a month....class 2...

12 minutes ago, bark said:

Why even bother to apply. The pound is almost worthless now. They say that by the year 2020, it will

be on par with the Thai baht.

Worthless ?...wow i wish i had a sack full of crisp new English 50 pound notes..