hotandsticky

15 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Yes, but no cards.   And Wise isn't a bank.

Why would you need a card if you just need to use WISE as a money transfer facility. I do have one but, like 'noobexpat' I set it up from the UK.

It doesn't need to be a bank. It is a financial technology company and that is good enough to receive funds, exchange them and remit them to a Thai bank account.

3 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

No kidding. I can't wait reading the reports here in January and February...

Don't hold your breath.

7 minutes ago, PassportBro said:

I wasn't on about sausages but rather someone posted a photo of what he believes to be apparently yummy and looking delicious. I disagreed.

 

I also am indirectly encouraging those that eat this food regularly to think about their health.

 

When I think of good food I don't think of British despite a few restys having Michelin stars. I mean why would you mash peas? That's just disgusting.

I suspect that you have been around here previously.

(Restos, not restys).

2 hours ago, PassportBro said:

That looks disgusting tbh

If you don't like the other ingredients just eat the sausages.

If you don't like sausages then get of here. 

2 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

I consider myself to be somewhat of a sausage and English breakfast aficionado.  The best breakfast available is cooked daily by yours truly.

 

After more than 14 years of research, I can attest that the best sausages available are from Manston.  Their English breakfast pork sausages are probably the best, but I only have these sage and red onion ones in the fridge at the moment.

 

For clarification, they don't come anywhere near the quality and flavour of the many brands of boutique style sausages available to me at home. But they are miles ahead of the tasteless plastic skinned dogfood otherwise available in Thailand supermarkets.

 

 

Just using fancy names like 'Epicure' doesn't necessarily make a product better than, say, Prime.  Manstons and Prime are as good as anything available locally.

10 hours ago, kimamey said:

He doesn't need to become  PM. He wasn't PM the last time PT were in power, his sister was. It didn't stop him being in control. 

Agree......but he wasn't here then.

Pulling the puppets strings from Dubai is wholly different to what we have now.

Fortunately, most of the electorate don't like it either.

8 hours ago, david555 said:

Are you sure ?  this is" Amazing Thailand "....you forgot ? ☺️

As sure as I possibly can be...

.......but you "T. I. T. " , Amazing Thailand is perfectly valid... ????

1 hour ago, Nick Carter icp said:

I did mean KFC as an example of non Thai food , rather than specifically a KFC , I will amend my post for you 

 

"Rice and noodles 3 times a day gets rather repetitive after a few days and foreigners are often eating food other than rice and noodles within a week *

????????

1 minute ago, dddave said:

Overhydration, also called "water intoxication" can be a real risk.  In the early 1990s It lead to a tragic death in the Boston Marathon.  A young woman from Ecuador, a recent medical school graduate was running the marathon.  It was predicted to be a hot day, in the high 80s.  Prior to the race start, she decided to aggressively hydrate by drinking a large amount of water in a somewhat short time period.  Ten minutes into the race, she collapsed into convulsions and died at the scene.  Long story short, water in excess, consumed too quickly can dilute the electrolytes in the blood to such an extent that they do not transmit the necessary electrical stimulus to keep the heart  beating.  

Such a rare event that it certainly doesn't prove anything.

11 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

The ones that like various different foods and not eat the same thing everyday ?

No.

These pals of yours:-   "foreigners who are often in a KFC within a week" 

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

Very possibly, the OP had the intention of doing so. My warning on the subject will then prove to have been unnecessary. There have been cases in the past when officials arrived for a house visit and were not amused to hear that the husband was out of the country.

Yes, I could see that a futile house visit would be irksome.

Simplistically, there is no legal reason why the OP could not undertake his trip - it could easily be business/work related. However, commonsense, and courtesy, dictates that a discussion with the IO takes place - and maybe supply an accompanying note explaining the necessity of the trip.

11 minutes ago, BritTim said:

As others have stated, such a trip is better avoided. If you do decide to make an overseas trip during the under consideration period, make sure you have informed your local immigration office in advance so they know the period when you will be out of the country.

I am sure he will/will have addressed that with the IO at the time of submitting the extension application. 

2 hours ago, youreavinalaff said:

I'd be interested what issues you've had with VFS.

 

There's not a great deal they have to do.

 

If you upload the documents before hand there's almost nothing for them to do.

 

 

VfS have also improved their service levels significantly over the last 5 years or so 

One failing (in my opinion) occurred this week when my missus went to submit biometrics. She had her IPad with her and was told that she couldn't go in with it. Unfortunately, they did not offer a storage facility so she had to leave floor 28 and find someone who was prepared to look after it for her. Nothing mentioned in the appointment letter and this was an (unusual) occasion where the staff were not helpful.

13 hours ago, Kalasin Jo said:

As usual it depends on the office, even the officer. I was trying to show them my income over a year. First they were confused because my British State pension was at the time paid to me every 4 weeks, so 13 payments in a calendar year. Then, as my British  State pension is less than the requirement even for a marriage extension the guy was genuinely appalled and said " but your country is rich, much richer than Thailand so why British government not pay good pension". Finally he asked so where does the rest come from. I said from UK investments. At that he asked for evidence of the payers and for the link to the payments arriving in Thailand. It was all very friendly and polite but at that last point I gave up and said I would head yo Savanakhet. 

All their requests were perfectly reasonable. They have every right to seek evidence of the source of the income.

As Brits we lose out with the 13 payments (if sent direct to Thailand) because the annual income is irrelevant, it is the regular MONTHLY amount that is calculated.

I transfer 65k in on the first of every month via WISE. My pensions and investment income go into my main UK bank first. 

17 hours ago, sandyf said:

So the fact you can do it in 15 minutes makes it simple for a first timer.

I don't see a problem with the Thai E-visa, that is simple, but many would disagree.

It is not difficult for a first time use, the stages are straight forward. Obviously, they would not be as quick as we are because they will likely be unfamiliar with some of the required information. Parents details for example.... Your suggestion to have a couple of practice runs is a very good idea to get them familiar with what is needed 

Of much greater importance is understand what documents to upload to achieve approval for the application. The full guidance notes are wordy and complex; understanding what the 3 key criteria are is vital. 

57 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

Well I guess I have been wasting my time with TM30's and TM47's if they don't know where I am

Yes you were.

Immigration have no idea where I am on a day to day basis. They know where I am registered and when I am in the country.

46 minutes ago, BritTim said:

Assuming the bank book does not contain consolidated entries, what is it about a 12-month statement that shows "evidence of money going in and out" that the book does not show?

I would have thought that you would be aware that Immigration often look to see money going in and out. It is not sufficient to stick 800k in a bank account and think that is it. The smarter IOs will look for evidence if how you support yourself. 

We went through a period of paranoia for a while when they were obsessed with Farangs working on retirement extensions.

16 hours ago, bob smith said:

Why do you want to know? 
 

I thought you didn’t like me?

Why the secrecy?

7 minutes ago, Sharp said:

Google and take notes from Dr Barbara O'Neil 

I find her very easy to listen to. Sounds like one of your old Aunts.

A bit Godly but a lot of commonsense - I am now taking Cayenne pepper with lemon water.