willyumiii

You cannot change non immigrant visa classes at immigration.

You could change the reason for your extension of stay to working.from marriage but you will need all the documents required including a work permit.

You could also go out to get a non-b visa but you will need a work permit or a work permit application approval letter to get it. It would be best to plan on doing it yourself in Vientiane.

As always, thank you for your help Joe.

I should have all I need from the Ministry of Labor next week.

A couple of days in Vientiane is not such a bad thing.

I plan to stop in at my Immigration office ( Korat ) next week to make sure I have everything in order.

The officers at Korat have always been very helpful.

Thanks again Joe.

Do you know anything about the agencies In Vientiane? Do they still provide the service?

New projection for the next election: February 2116.

No drama here.

Just a few facts and a couple of questions.

I want to convert the Non O (married to Thai) visa to a Non B visa.

Can it be done with a visit to my local Immigration office, filing a form and paying a fee,

or must I go to a Thai embassy in another country ( in my case Laos), and go through a similar process to what I did to get my Non O visa?

If I must go to Laos, can I hire an agency like I did years ago to take care of everything?

I have read conflicting posts on TV recently saying that agencies can or can not provide this service anymore.

Is it reasonable to assume I can take care of this in about 30 days or less?

I am due to apply for an extension of my Non O visa in early July and I would rather not go through the process again if I can obtain the new Non B before then.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Thanks for keeping on topic ( am I dreaming?)

Wow-WHAT A PLACE.Thailand is so laid back one even needs a permit to do work.????Now I understand.

Didn't know thailand requires work permits??

What planet are you visiting from?

No worries!

Thailands PM has stated that he will stop corruption in Thailand.

Everything little thing is going to be alright.....

China, Thailand's new preferred partner in development and trade. Happy now? Wait until you starts getting your infant formula from them. China is an utterly amoral country. They'll do anything for profit. BTW, importing rice into Thailand? Isn't that like taking coals to Newcastle?

No, it is like selling ice to Eskimos!

>>FDA secretary-general Prapon Angtrakul said that most imported rice come from Vietnam and Australia and they are used to produce corn flakes.

What do they mean cornflakes from rice ?

ok ok so he meant to say Rice Crispies - stop going on about it, probably lost in translation somewhere, if the report had said cereal then no confusion, it matters not either way, I understood exactly what was meant without all these nonsense posts

"corn flakes" is a generic referring to general cold breakfast cereals, just FYI

Rice is rice, corn is corn...are you stupid????

Sensitive info kept private........interesting.

I am sure the GOP would be happier if she had made the sensitive info public!

Keep fishing...

and see if you can not come up with a decent candidate this time guys! lol

This is maybe the third of forth post I have read on TV recently that states that the proof of income letter, notarized by the US embassy was not accepted as proof of income.

Since I have been here on a non O (marriage ) visa, the notarized income letter from the US embassy is the only proof of income I have ever had to provide.

I understand that expats from most countries have always been required to show bank records or some other proof as well. But for Americans, the letter from the embassy has always been sufficient in the past..

I am starting to wonder if this is a change in policy / attitude toward US expats ot if these are just isolated incidents.

Have any other US expats been having this problem?

If so, what office have you had the problem at?

I am due to extend again in early July and have my letter already.......but it sounds like I may be asked for more proof this time???

"I have on many occasions have Thai people ask me personal/impolite questions or made comments, that I have NEVER been asked in my own country. Why is that?"

It is because you are not in your country anymore.

You are in their country. Different cultures have different ideas of what are good and bad manners.

Some of my favorite examples:

It is considered very rude to blow your nose in public in Thailand. ( It's better to suck it up and swallow it! )

It is perfectly o.k. to sit in a restaurant and pick your nose in Thailand.

Whistling is considered to be rude here.

It is o.k. to sit on your motor scooter and use the mirrors to pop blackheads on your face in public here.

It is very rude to point your feet at someone here.

The long and short of it is that you are here in their country and it is their concept on good manners that you need to follow if you do not want to be considered rude.

I do not want to hijack your thread, it is a good one.

As an American, I am interested in hearing from Americans with experience lining in VN.

My pension from the US is a good one ( I even get additional money for my dependent child and wife )

What is the attitude of the VN people toward Americans these days?

What is the exchange rate for currencies now?

Thailand is getting less attractive, but I love SE Asia.....is VN the best option for an American?

Prices, I assume quoted in Aussie Dollars (25.52 Baht), seem very low indeed.

If so, then even a better deal if you have USD?

your $s are they USD?

I didnt think you could get the pension outside australia.

I nave friends from OZ receiving their pensions here in Thailand.

This is very poor reporting.

It seems they forgot to mention Nigeria, a major player in Thailand and a very close friend!

No religion any where in the world should be tax exempt.

They make huge profits selling fantasies.

The cost of producing fantasies is very low..no materials, and no labor.

Are we surprised those who profit from this do not want to be taxed???

Uncle Albert says...

Those are some pretty influential friends!

Most people could not even find them on a map!

Go Thailand!!!

OP:

You ever hear of global warming?

No, never, is it some kind of high temperature weather than could affect my bonfires ? Like make them dangerous or something ?

No, it's a phenomena where carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and wood get trapped in the earth's atmosphere which acts like a blanket, and causes the planet to heat up.

It's blamed for things like melting glaciers and ice caps, extreme weather, rising sea levels, population displacement, crop failure, famines, etc.

I've enjoyed a bonfire or two in my lifetime as well, but nowadays I would question how viable a form of recreation it is from an ecological standpoint.

I was being sarcastic..

Decomposing wood and organic matter release the same amount of Co2 into the atmosphere as the same material will release when it is burned.

Burning just releases it faster.

Science rules..

I would not rely on advice from a bunch of grumpy, old, sarcastic, and critical expats who have no real knowledge of Thai law for advice.

Why not stop by the local police station and ask them, or call the police in the area you want to have your bonfire?

Maybe there is a permit you can get to cover your butt?

Maybe it will cost a couple of hundred baht to get it?

Seriously, I would not ask the TV ( Thai Viscous ) gang for advice about Thai laws!

They can tell you how they think the laws should be, or how the laws are "where they come from",, but probably no accurate information on what the laws are in Thailand.

Good luck!

Ms Diana your article is plain hogwash and made up. go do something else.

I feel we owe a big thank you to TV for the great job they do of selecting what "news" they want to feed us!

This one is almost good enough to be one of "Stickboy's" pieces!

"A Thai patrol police officer able to recognize an American accent??"

Yes.

You see, the Thai people are able to watch American movies from Hollywood now.

They're called "talkies"....

I highly doubt that a Thai cop can tell the difference, regardless of how many movies he has seen. Can you tell the difference between a Thai person from Isan and someone from Bangkok speaking standard Thai?

The difference in accents to you and me is perfectly clear, but not to someone who isn't at a very high level of English. Europeans with excellent English ask me all the time if I am from the U.K. because, they tell me, of my accent. I am American with a strong Chicago accent, but most Europeans I meet can't tell the difference, even though they've most certainly had extensive experience with all those talkies you mention.

People from African countries that were "colonized" oppressed and exploited, speak English like their oppressors taught them.

With a British accent.

Educated American blacks do not.

It is easy to hear the difference.

> he might have assumed was Ghanaian or Nigerian, living and working in Thailand—and she

>responded with her black American accent, he immediately switched gears and insisted that it wasn’t a problem.

It's hard for me to believe that the cop could understand the difference in accents.

I get the point of the article, and overall it's an interesting difference in treatment to hear about. That said, it seems very silly to me that they are contrasting "black" vs. "African" to mean black = African-American, African = black African. That would be as silly as saying "white" vs. "European", where white = European-American, European = white European

When I lived in Japan, people from west Africa would often claim to be from the U.S. because it got them better treatment from Japanese people. Many folks in Japan (like many people in the world) think black American = rap, sports, total coolness. It was bizarre to me that Japanese people couldn't tell the difference in accent whatsoever when these folks from west Africa would claim to be born and raised in New York. If the Japanese folks couldn't hear the difference in accent, I can't imagine your average Thai cop patrolling the park can tell the difference in accents either. If they can't tell the difference in physical features, clothes, and mannerism between west Africans and African-Americans, I'd say the cops have about zero chance of getting the difference in accents.

It is easy to tell the difference.

Nigerians talk like Britts.

Black Americans do not.

Well US citizens do seem to have an over-inflated sense of personal rights, coupled with a propensity to sue.

BTW not intended as Yank-bashing, just how much of the world sees you.

As an American, I agree that Americans have been treated "a little better" than most foreigners in Thailand.

I feel it is due to the fact that the U.S. has given Thailand a lot of economic and military assistance for a very long time and the Thai government is very aware of it.

With the recent cooling of this warm relationship since Thailand has decided to put democracy on hold,

It will not surprise me if the preferential treatment is put on hold too...or even vanishes!

When will those elections be held???

I wonder if his hands were tied behond his back?

It seems to be common that Farangs hang themselves with their hands ited in Thailand.

They are talented people.

Great..another opportunity to turn a thread into a Muslim bashing thread.

Get back to the topic.

Why are you to good to help those in need?

Regardless of where they or you come from.

People are peopleand all have the same needs and wants.

Isn't helping those who need help the "christian" thing to do for all of you good christians?

or is there a foot note I missed that says " only help christians like me"???