XGM

2 hours ago, NanLaew said:

There was probably a misunderstanding about "register the car as early as Wednesday" when it sounds like apply for the registration on Wednesday.

 

Good news on the 1-week plate delivery though. Car sales are down so I can't imagine it taking the 4 to 6 weeks (and more) of the good old days.

 

What did you get BTW?

I got a Honda HRV (EL Grade).

On 11/28/2020 at 10:00 AM, jackdd said:

This doesn't make sense, because when you register the car the DLT will issue the blue book and the white license plates. Red license plates are used for unregistered cars.

So if the car gets officially registered on Wednesday you will also get the white plates then, unless maybe you requested some special numbers.

We will go to DLT to register, but will only get the book and the plates a week later (an improvement from 45 days ha), because "they need to print them". Makes any sense? This is in Chiang Mai BTW.

17 minutes ago, jackdd said:

This doesn't make sense, because when you register the car the DLT will issue the blue book and the white license plates. Red license plates are used for unregistered cars.

So if the car gets officially registered on Wednesday you will also get the white plates then, unless maybe you requested some special numbers.

Yep, didn't make sense to me either. I didn't request any special numbers. Perhaps by "up to 45 days" he meant I might want to register it later. I'll get some clarifications on Monday.

Got a new car today, dealer says we can register the car as early as Wednesday when the documents are ready. Well since it is the weekend waiting a couple of working days is certainly acceptable. As for white plates, they say "up to 45 days". Can't understand why that step should take so long.

On 11/18/2020 at 3:11 AM, yabbra said:

So how many Certificates of Residence do you need when buying a new car?

I was thinking one for changing over the new plates at the transport office & one for the car insurance.

So is it none, one or two?

I was told by the dealer they do need a Certificate of Residence to register the car.

This isn't required for insurance.

 A follow up question. My current car has Bangkok plates. if I want to transfer the ownership of the car to a buyer, at Chiang Mai transport office, is that possible? or should I change the plates to Chiang Mai plates first? I've paid the road tax for 3 years at this Chiang Mai transport office, never an issue or a request we change to CM plates.

3 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

I've never had to prove my address when on marriage extensions. 

We always bring both the rental contract and a drawn map to the location. Maybe this is redundant but they always collect that. We were asked for even more supporting documents once by a stricter official. Anyway, this is off-topic.

7 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Well it's your proof of address and where the car is going to be kept,  when the car is received you take paperwork to your local DLT province and register the car there.  

You can change the number plate if you want to. 

I'll clarify. I currently live in CM but moving out in a month. I might buy the car either here or in Bangkok. So the car won't be kept in CM either way. I don't mind having a number plate from either province, I just want to know that if I get the Residence Certificate now, in advance, I could use it for the car registration at another province as well.

1 minute ago, fredob43 said:

You must have some sort of paperwork to show your address. You need that to get your Visa. In my case I am married to a Thai so have a yellow book so I used that. 

Thanks. I'm also married to a Thai and I'm using the rental contract for my extension every year, however Land Transport won't accept just the rental contract.

1 minute ago, fredob43 said:

paperwork to show where you live

What paperwork is that? AFAIK it's either a WP, a residence certificate issued by immigration, or an embassy statement.

2 minutes ago, fredob43 said:

Not 100% what your asking. But you can buy any car out of province. But it will be registered there. If new it will have the local No: plates on, that they like you to change in your own province. (Not a problem if you don't) Doesn't matter where your personally living, you just need some sort of paper work to prove what your address is.  

I specifically ask about the Residence Certificate that is a requirement if you don't have a WP (and I don't). If for example I get a residence certificate in CM (where I currently live), and use it for the car registration at a Land Transport office at say Bangkok, is that ok?

For the purpose of registering a vehicle on my name (either transferring ownership or with a new car) at a land transport office at a certain province, can I use a Residency Certificate issued at another province? and how recent should it be?

At the American / British systems long division is taught on Grade 4 / Year 5.

46 minutes ago, cardinalblue said:

Air pollution will decrease future expats of re-locating to CM...

Most of the current aging expats especially on a fixed pension have really very limited options of escaping the AP...they have family and/or lack of funds  or both to uproot full or even part time...

 

Many financially viable expats seem to opt from 1-3 months (feb - May) to other desired places whether inside or outside of Thailand...

 

10 years from now, there will be very few expats remaining during the increasing AP season (the combination of moving here less, re-location during AP, dying off due to natural causes and those whose deaths were premature due to AP exposure)...

 

Most expats (not the apologists) are smart enough to understand the devastating effects of AP on the respiratory system - acute and chronic...

Agree with that. Ignoring air pollution is really living in denial. Solutions:

- Skipping the North during Feb-May as mentioned above.

- Leaving altogether.

- Staying indoors throughout most of the day with a good purifier during this period if this kind of experience is agreeable with you.

31 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Somehow the direct link to the post isn't working

This is their Facebook: https://facebook.com/ตรวจคนเข้าเมืองจังหวัดเชียงใหม่-Chiang-Mai-Immigration-307273909883935/

Then scroll down to the post from 31st July, 10:24pm and click on "more"

Found it, thanks.

26 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Chiang Mai immigration even wrote on their Facebook page that people have until 5th October without incurring a fine (this might of course be handled different in other offices)

Didn't find it on their site, can you provide a specific link?

On 7/22/2020 at 2:49 AM, Keyser Soze666 said:

The dilemna is her English and Thai is very good both verbally and written, although she seems to understand written English more than written Thai. The reality is unless she makes her own way in later life I won't be taking her to live in the UK, so seeing as her forseeable future is here would it therefore be better that she improves her Thai language skills rather than English? I also believe in the Thai language programme around 25% is in English, so there will be some English classes for her too.

 

The other thing too is the school we have in mind for her the Thai programme is a lot cheaper than the English one. I realise that you should never pinch and scrape when it comes to your child's education, but in the current climate it would be useful to save the money, but it will not be a deal breaker, I will pay for English if that really is the way to go. And yes, I will ask my daughter too but looking for some 'adult' advice first.

If as you mentioned she is more likely to live here, Thai skills will be more important.

You might want to consider using the amount saved due to lower costs for ongoing English private lessons to make sure she stays on a reasonable level there too.

On 7/20/2020 at 4:58 AM, innosiem said:

localcryptos

Not familiar with this one - could you comment on how they compare with the other two (localbitcoins and paxful)?

9 hours ago, guzzi850m2 said:

Yes it is cheaper, looking at both schools homepages, Tara looks better for sure and the app 150k difference per year I can manage.

 

I will again stress that Phoenix is very good for primary students because they have Thai language which is very hard to master.  

If Thai is important for you at the higher grades as well then GIS seem to take it more seriously - when the kid registers as Thai they get 5 "Thai language" classes a week. In many International schools kids only get 1-2 hours of "Thai language" and 1 hour of "Thai culture".

44 minutes ago, guzzi850m2 said:

I am looking for a cheaper school, max 350k a year but can't find any, guess I have to try find the money for Tara or Mooltripakdee, the later only up to 16 years old, Tara is up to 18 year.

Since my son is in Phoenix, we can save the enrollment fee if choosing Tara, hmm.

Mooltripakdee is way cheaper but my feeling is the place is managed more like a Thai school than International. They aren't accredited either. I'd assume the average students / academics level is lower too. They don't even bother evaluating kids who join from International schools. TPIS have strict tests. GIS have an evaluation to see if the kid will need English support and on what level. I think Mooltripakdee better be compared to Thai bilinguals / EPs schools. And in that category, you'll find them expensive.

I'm bumping this up if you don't mind guys - after collecting all the info and visiting several schools, what we're still missing is a first hand opinion of a parent who has / had their kids at Tara Pattana. Searching through the forums, I haven't seen even one. We got plenty of good reviews about GIS however the location is the one negative for us.

14 hours ago, 86Tiger said:

Has any one every looked into or have experience private tutoring at home?

 

I have 3 to school, still couple years away but I could pay a private teacher salary in US for what these school are charging for 3 kids.

Recruiting, evaluating and supervising the teachers is work by itself. Do you have the time?

For a very limited period, with a focus on couple of subjects (say English and Math), that can make sense. But over years? there are many subjects you need to teach - especially at secondary school ages - and lack of social interaction with kids from their age group is probably not recommended.

The rule was that health authorities can, according to their judgement, order any one who arrived from a "red" province (that had at least one case during the last 28 days) to enter quarantine.

Currently though, there are no red provinces. The whole country didn't experience even a single case for over 30 days.

Dial 1422 for the covid19 call center to get a formal up to date answer.

2 hours ago, teevee said:

My 13 year old son goes to GIS and loves the school and his diverse mix of friends at the school (he went to a BKK british curriculum school for 8 years before we moved from BKK).

I personally looked hard at all the local international schools and choosing GIS 2 years ago has worked out very well. Based on the last 2 years, I think its a very good school with some great teachers.

Its worth pointing out that both the Head of School and Head of Secondary are both leaving at the end of this academic year which is pretty strange and a bit of a worry but time will tell.

As for fees, for this past year for Year 9 the fees were +/- 140K per term for 3 terms per year. 

Also worth noting, I prefer GIS’s IB programme for years 12 / 13 over the A Levels at most of the other British Curriculum schools. 

 

Thanks a lot for your reply. Mind elaborating on why you prefer the IB program over A levels?

2 hours ago, Xaos said:

hows the fees looks like

 

Phoenix vs GIS ?

I didn't look into Phoenix since it's only for younger kids. But Tara vs. GIS fees are pretty similar. GIS ask for a higher initial enrollment fee but the cost per term there is a bit lower.