expatman

Mario and Mikey,

Thanks for your helpful suggestions. I will definitely get that certificate as soon as possible, but hopefully it will not be immediately necessary as I am just trying to explore all my options.

Currently I am working with extension of stay based on employment, but the work permit and extension expire January 17 (a Sunday ! ??). My immediate boss keeps complaining "I have no money to pay you" as the maintenance contract for the government project I have been working on has not been renewed for the new budget year starting Oct 1, although I have kept working on the project (the problem comes from a higher-up official, not the actual client). A few days ago she asked me to talk to the company president (who makes all the decisions regarding money) "about the situation" so I started thinking "here it comes...". Actually there are several employees in this position - you know the Thai method of problem-solving (ignore problem and hope it goes away) - but I am the only farang and definitely the highest paid, so getting rid of me would save some them a lot of money. Of course the big boss did not say anything definite and kept alluding to what I could do "to help". I pointed out that the company is liable for 6 months severance pay according to my contract and Thai labour law. I know they don't want to come up with a big lump sum payment, but just in case they try something tricky (the HR manager is a real jerk but happens to be the boss's wife) like screwing up the work permit / extension of stay and using that as an excuse I want to be prepared so I can extend my stay long enough to take my case to the Labour Court.

So again, thanks for your help - hopefully WP will be renewed and extension of stay granted for another year - but if worse comes to worst it looks like I can hop over to Vientiane and get a non-immigrant "O" using my son's birth certificate and then sort out the situation. I suppose I could also get a tourist visa (double entry free still until March ?), but that would complicate things if company still wanted to go ahead with the work permit renewal.

Can't tell you if you will be able to get a 60 day extension in this situation. You can however get a multiple non-O visa abroad.

Can you tell me which embassy/consulate in the region will do this ?

Please don't say it has to be in my home country (Canada) !

Sorry I can't give advice based on recent experience but I hope that my little advice can come in handy anyway

I assume: You never married the mother and you don't have your name twice on the birth certificate. You do not have parental power.

The child is 8 years old so it is EASY to fix (court decision is not needed according to Thai law). You must go to the amphur where the child is residing according to tabien baan with the mother and the child and together all three, you request a bai rapp long bott (certificate of fathership). Both mother and child must approve. There is no need for a lawyer, it took me less than half a day and cost wasn't even 100 bath if I remember right

Good Luck

MikeyIdea - thanks for your suggestion - I should probably get that certificate sometime, but it would mean a trip to Buriram for all 3 of us (mother and son just came back after NY holiday) and I need to get the extension next week.

Please clarify what you mean by "have your name twice on the birth certificate". It is there once in section 3 "Father", are you referring to section 4 "Teller of Birth" (in English translation), which is the mother ?

forgot to mention - son has my last name, not his mother's - does that make any difference ?

You say you are not married and I think you mean "extension based om supporting a Thai child..

Does the original birth certificate in which I am named as the father suffice

I was in a similar situation years ago. You need to have "parental power" otherwise you are not the "legal father" according to Thai law.

The birth certificate alone is not sufficient.

If your child is less than 7y old parental power can only be decided/granted by the courts. In legal terms you must sue the mother of your child

Other members may have more detailed information

I am talking about

section 2.24

"In the case of an alien visiting a Thai spouse or child : Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 60 days at a time."

and

section 2.18

"In the case of a family member of a Thai (applicable only to parents, spouse, child, adopted child or child of his/her spouse)" : Permission will be granted for a period of not more than 1 year at a time."

Neither section mentions "support", though I suppose that would be the justification for the longer extension.

Your situation "years ago" may or may not be relevent, as my son is 8 years old. However, I recall that when applying for a Thai passport for my son my written consent as the father was required.

AGAIN : Anyone with RECENT experience on this ?

Does anyone have RECENT experience in BANGKOK with getting an extension of stay based on having a Thai child ?

For the 60-day extension it appears the only requirement is "proof of relationship". What does this mean in practice ? Does the original birth certificate in which I am named as the father suffice ?

For a longer extension (up to 1 year) it appears that besides "proof of relationship" average annual income of 40,000 baht per month or bank deposit of 400,000 baht is required. What documentation is required to prove average income - would a Thai income tax witholding certificate (for 2009) suffice ? If using the bank deposit method, how long does the money have to be on deposit before applying ? In a case of extension based on a Thai wife (but we are not officially married) the money must be on deposit for the past 2 (maybe 3) months, but I can't find any mention of time requirement in the regulations when applying based on having a Thai child.

Thanks to all we can contribute recent experiences, as I know the "rules" vary over time and place.

Try EVA or China Airlines via Taipei - these are usually the cheapest

January may still be considered high season, however

Cool found the website.

http://rdserver.rd.go.th/publish/en/index.htm

Was more after advice on what i can and cant claim though, how do work out if i have paid too much tax, or not enough etc etc

Read the website, it's all there. Allowable deductions, tax rates, simple math.

The Revenue Department has an English language website which explains everything.

I can't remember the URL but it should be easy to find by googling "Revenue Department Thailand".

Tax forms are usually not available until end of January at your district tax office. Unfortunately these are only available in Thai. So you'll have to get help from a Thai, many companies do this for their employees.

There is also an option to file by Internet, but I've never done this, so can't help with any info.

Tax refunds usually take at least 2 months, so don't expect one before Songkran.

What day is the fair ? I know it's on a Saturday sometime this month, but haven't seen any publicity !!

Recall that was for reporting by post where papers should be with local immigration office by day 90 (no 7 day grace period allowed).

No, not just by post. At least one person reported in person and was fined for being late.

As you are exiting the country within your permitted reporting period, there is no need to do 90 day report

What about recent reports on TV that some offices are not allowing 7-day grace period after reporting due date, but are fining people if even 1 day over ??????

It's almost time again for a trip to Buriram to haul the wife and kid back to Bangkok after the school holidays.

What's there to do there ? I've already been to the Khmer ruins (several times), the Buddha statue on top of the hill, the zoo, the butterfly farm.

Where do local farangs hang out ? I've been to the Bamboo Bar a few times (in the daytime), but never saw anyone there except the staff.

I've been working in Thailand for several years, with a valid work permit.

Each year in January the WP and visa has been extended for another year, the process usually taking a month, a lot of paperwork, and 2 trips to Immigration and Labour Department.

In January 2010 I may need to be outside Thailand on business and holiday.

So my question is how to deal with this potential problem.

Is it possible to renew WP and extension of stay earlier than the last minute ? Has anyone ever done this, or changed the date of annual renewal to sometime more convenient ?

What is a good and reliable travel agency in Bangkok with budget prices ?

JP Travel, Sukhumvit Soi 4, next to the Nana Hotel

Hi folks,

I am looking to get hold of some 1 - 50:000 scale maps showing topography and settlements for running International Award programmes for young people. These are available from OmniMap in the US, but I'm thinking surely they must be produced in Thailand? Can anyone point me in the direction of a good Map supplier (old fashioned walking maps, not GPS!) in Bangkok or elsewhere? Is there anything equivalent to a Geographic society in the country? Are these maps produced by the Thai army? Any answers gratefully received!!

Go to the Royal Thai Survey Department, which produces 1:50,000 scale topographic maps for all of Thailand

It's located not too far from Sanam Luang and the Grand Palace. First locate the Ministry of Defence HQ building which is across the road from the Grand Palace, it's the building with all the old cannons out front. Facing the MoD HQ walk right and then turn left along the side of the building for about 1/2 block until you see RTSD on the right. Stop at the guard post and tell them what you want.

I want to by a house under my wife's name.

The problem is her family have a bad habit of using her (our) assets to borrow money from the bank.

Is there some way I can arrange the ownership so they can't pressure her into mortgaging the house.

Do you have any children ? If so, put it in their name. You should be safe until the kid is 18.

Before then the house/land cannot be sold or mortgaged with court permission, and the permission will not be granted unless the court determines it is in the child's best interest.

I need some basic Indian foodstuffs (mostly of a canned/bottled variety) and I really don't want to traipse all the way down to Pahurat. Are there any little Indian food stores somewhere along the Sukhumvit corridor? I'm looking for things such as basic Indian spices and bottled chutney that I am not finding in the regular food stores.

Thanks.

Sukhumvit Soi 10 - walk a short distance into the soi and turn left after the Cozy@10 hotel.

It's a small place, but may have what you need.

Air China International has a promotional fare starting at $910 (including taxes) from Vancouver to Bangkok, travel until Nov 30th. These fares are valid only for tickets purchased on airchina.ca.

Is that US dollars or Canadian dollars ?

Last night on one of the Thai television news programs there was a short item saying that a Canadian man was found dead in his apartment off Sukhumvit Road. That's all the deatils - no name or mention of exactly where.

Anyone heard anything about this ?

...

Their is no check by the labor department to see if you have paid taxes in the past. Nor does immigration check when you apply for an extension of stay.

This is not quite true re Immigration Department

I'm working in Thailand, this year when extending my stay (for about the 5th time) Immigration Department requested a copy of the receipt you get when you file your income tax return, something they have never done before. This was in January, even though you have until end of April to file. Had to run around getting some receipts for deductions before I could file 2008 tax return and get extension of stay for another year

open an offshore account

My wife's Thai passport has expired, what docs will she need to provide when applying for a new passport ?

She has old passport, Thai ID card, and copy of house registration book (original is in Buriram).

Does she need to show original house registration book when renewing passport ?

What's the current fee, and howe long does it take at the Bangna office ?

Looking for weekend sports activities (football, swimming, whatever) for my 7-year old son who needs to get outdoors more on the weekend (but not to the mall to play games !). Sukhumvit area or close to BTS/MRT locations.

We live in a condo and unfortunately not many children there for playmates.

It affects the entire Lumpini precinct, including Patpong, Silom Soi 4, etc. Haven't heard why yet.

Patpong is in the Bang Rak police district, not Lumpini.

Lumpini covers Nana, Thonglor covers Cowboy

Then following you (bad) experience, you can put your complaints in writing in a clear and concise manner to Qatar Airways customer relations in Doha and if, they consider you case to be genuine and unfortunate you will be credited a generous credit of airmiles to you Qmiles frequent-flyer account.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

Don't count on getting any response to a complaint letter. The only time I flew on Qatar airways it took me 2 days to get from Bangkok to Aden, and it was the worst air journey I have ever taken. See details in the complaint letter below, which I mailed to the Qatar airways Bangkok office, with a copy to the Doha head office. I received a reply from the Bangkok office saying they forwarded my complaint to their head office, but then I never heard from them again !

Here's the text of my complaint letter :

Managing Director, Qatar Airways

21st Floor P.S. Tower, 36/74 Sukhumvit 21 Road (Asoke)

Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Dear Sir,

Recently I booked a return flight from Bangkok to Aden, Yemen on Qatar Airways. The outbound flight on March 31 (QR613 / QRIY4454) was the worst flight I have ever taken in over 25 years of international travel. The service provided by Qatar Airways was far from the “5-star service” which you claim in your advertisements, and you certainly did NOT take me “more personally.”

Here is a history of what happened on that horrible journey :

1. The flight was late taking off from Bangkok, supposedly due to late arrival of the aircraft. (However, while checking in I noticed a sign from the previous day saying the same flight that day was late departing for the same reason.)

2. When the plane arrived in Doha it was even later (although the captain had promised to try and make up the time).

3. When the plane arrived in Doha there was an additional delay, supposedly because there were “no parking spaces available”. This is a pitiful excuse, as all planes were parked on the open tarmac.

4. When I finally arrived at the terminal building 15 minutes before departure of my connecting flight to Aden there was no customer service representative at the gate to assist passengers. Where was the personal service you claim to offer ? I had to push my way through the crowds to get to the transit desk, but by then it was too late, the flight to Aden has already left.At the transit desk they took my ticket and passport and said new flight arrangements would be made. For over 4 hours I was left without any information, although I repeatedly asked every hour or so. Finally I was given a hotel and transport voucher, told to come back the next day at 10am and told that I would be put on the 12 noon flight to Cairo with a connecting Yemenia flight to Aden.

5. When I arrived at 10am the next morning at the information desk there were no tickets there for the onward flights, and a representative from Qatar Airways could not be located. Again I waited and waited without any information being supplied. Finally a few minutes before twelve noon I was told there were no seats available on the Cairo-Aden flight (this should have been known the day before !). I was also told that I would be flown to Jeddah by Qatar Airways and from there I would take a Yemenia flight to Sana’a, stay in Sana’a overnight, and take a morning flight to Aden. I was not given any tickets, only a sheet of paper which appeared to be some kind of ticket requisition authorization. I was further told that I would be met in Jeddah and Sana’a where local representatives would take care of all arrangements.

6. On arriving at Jeddah Airport my passport and the ticket requisition was taken and again I was left alone without any information. Finally someone came back and I identified my suitcase (which I saw was tagged as being checked through to Aden). Then I was taken to the departure lounge and told to wait for the tickets. By the time last call was made I still did not have any tickets, so I went to the departure desk and told them they couldn’t leave as my suitcase was already on board, but I didn’t have my tickets yet. At the departure gate I was told I could only get a ticket to Sana’a but could pay cash for the Sana’a to Aden flight ! I refused this extortion attempt and said I would take the Jeddah-Sana’a ticket and deal with the manager in Sana’a. Finally I was allowed to board the plane, where my suitcase was waiting for at the foot of the boarding stairway.

7. On arrival in Sana’a there was no Qatar Airways representative to be found ! After I tracked down the Yemenia manager who allowed me to use his personal mobile phone to call the Qatar Airways representative who claimed to know nothing about my problem, although I had seen a copy of the telex sent by the Sana’a manager to the offices in Jeddah and Sana’a. Finally the Qatar Airways manager said he would call back, and after about 2 hours transport and hotel arrangements were finalized. The Qatar Airways manager promised to meet me the next morning at the airport to provide the ticket to Aden.

8. When I arrived at Sana’a Airport the next morning the manager was not there ! A clerk showed up about 30 minutes before departure time, but she knew nothing about my problem until she checked the telex machine. Finally after some frantic scrambling around and heated discussions between the Qatar Airways clerk and Yemenia Airways staff I was allowed to board the flight and arrived in Aden more than 2 days after departing Bangkok.

The return flight from Aden to Bangkok on April 21 was uneventful, but due to all of the above-listed problems caused by inefficiency of your staff I should be refunded one-half of the purchase price, representing the outbound portion of my trip. This amounts to Baht 35,329 / 2 = Baht 17,664.50. On this particular trip I was traveling on business for a short-term consulting assignment for a World Bank sponsored project in Aden, and since your incompetence caused me to miss one day of work you should also pay me USD 450 for the lost income.

Copy to :

Managing Director, Qatar Airways Head Office

Qatar Airways Tower, Airport Road

P.O. Box 22550, Doha, Qatar