Ubonquest

When you apply at immigration for extension based on retirement, what exactly does i/o looks for in the bank book? When the book shows the required amount is met, does he want to see the actual transactions made from overseas. If I brought the money in Thailand with me and open an account or if I made a withdrawl from the ATM and deposit regularly to meet that amount, wouldn't this be enough? The reason I am asking is that my bank in the US doesn't have electronic money transferring. If I need to do one, it involves some paper work and needs to be pre approved. That will be a big hassle to do that from Thailand. Thanks.

Thank you jacksam.

I don't quite understand this TM30 requirements because I didn't know this and my friend who is the owner the house never did either and never submitted the TM30. Does it mean she has to submit this form when I move in? I am going back to Thailand beginning of November but she won't be there, she is overseas and probably won't be back for a while. I will be living in her house. How do I solve this? Thanks.

Thank you ubonjoe

Can you get a re-entry permit at land crossing immigration post instead of getting it at the local immigration office?

Thank you everyone for the clarification.

I would like to open a bank account in Thailand but would like to know what type of accounts, and how many accounts do I need in order to meet the immigration requirements. I will opt for an income plus money in the bank. Secondly does the money in the bank needs to be seasoned? Thank you

I will be flying to BKK but my main destination is Laos. I will fly to Ubon then take the bus to Pakse through Chong Mek. My air ticket will be from mid October to end of March 2015. I am a Lao born but carry only an American passport. I won't get a tourist visa due to the visa exemption. Will I be able to board the flight without the Thai tourist visa? Thank you.

Sure, I did miss that, the Thais living in Buriram, Sisaket and Surin have a lot of Khmer ancestry, in fact i recently read that in Buriram about 40% could speak Khmer, so with that information I would venture to say that 60-70% are of ethnic Khmers

You can find many only Khmer speaking people for example in Kantharalak, Sisaket province. Then the "Lamduan Festival, held in Sisaket on each second weekend of March.shows a lot about the ancient history.(Khmer, Lao and Sauy).

You'll even find only Khmer speaking people near Uthumphon Phisai/ Sisaket area on the way to Surin.

People in Surin are well -known for chasing elephants in Cambodia. People in the north east only speak "Lao", which doesn't make them to people from Laos.

http://www.thai.nu/sisaket#.UxLHgeOSzTo

Yes, it doesn't make them "to people from Laos'' but modern day Laos as we know it was a French creation, before that the independent Kingdom of Lan Xang was the fore barer to the modern Lao nation and its territory covered the majority of modern Isan and BOTH sides of the Mekong river...they may not be "Lao proper" in the sense that they live in Laos, but yes they are very much "Lao people" one must remember that only 3 million Lao people live in Laos, but 18 million Lao people live in Thailand. Historians generally agree also that if if weren't for the french taking the right bank of the Mekong river in an agreement with King Chulalongkorn, modern Laos would most likely be part of Modern day Thailand, and independent Laos would not exist

I beg to differ. It was the French who had given the left side of the Mekong which is present day Isan, to Thailand, otherwise Isan would have been part of today Laos.

Sure, I did miss that, the Thais living in Buriram, Sisaket and Surin have a lot of Khmer ancestry, in fact i recently read that in Buriram about 40% could speak Khmer, so with that information I would venture to say that 60-70% are of ethnic Khmers

You can find many only Khmer speaking people for example in Kantharalak, Sisaket province. Then the "Lamduan Festival, held in Sisaket on each second weekend of March.shows a lot about the ancient history.(Khmer, Lao and Sauy).

You'll even find only Khmer speaking people near Uthumphon Phisai/ Sisaket area on the way to Surin.That on the other hand explains so many Cambodian influence.

People in Surin are well -known for chasing elephants in Cambodia. People in the north east only speak "Lao", especially in Sisaket, Ubon, area. which doesn't make them to people from Laos.

http://www.thai.nu/sisaket#.UxLHgeOSzTo

People who speak Lao, are descendants of Lao people with Thai nationality.

Sure, I did miss that, the Thais living in Buriram, Sisaket and Surin have a lot of Khmer ancestry, in fact i recently read that in Buriram about 40% could speak Khmer, so with that information I would venture to say that 60-70% are of ethnic Khmers

You can find many only Khmer speaking people for example in Kantharalak, Sisaket province. Then the "Lamduan Festival, held in Sisaket on each second weekend of March.shows a lot about the ancient history.(Khmer, Lao and Sauy).

You'll even find only Khmer speaking people near Uthumphon Phisai/ Sisaket area on the way to Surin.That on the other hand explains so many Cambodian influence.

People in Surin are well -known for chasing elephants in Cambodia. People in the north east only speak "Lao", especially in Sisaket, Ubon, area. which doesn't make them to people from Laos.

http://www.thai.nu/sisaket#.UxLHgeOSzTo

you really think that the general Thai populace actually think any different to her? After being here for a long time, it is blatantly obvious that we are not welcome here, we are tolerated because we pay, we are just as unwelcome as foreigners are in our home countries... You will meet individuals that dont fit the mould certainly, but to Thais as a "collective" we are not welcome but our money is, perpetual paying guests, that is all we are and all we will ever be.

The sooner you accept that fact the better.

I agree with you to a point, although Thai prejudice against farangs is not in the epic proportions as you are trying to suggest.

Strange actually because the most blatant in your face prejudice I have experienced in Thailand has come from the more educated prominent Thais, mostly middle aged women in fact, but thankfully these incidents have been very few and far between.

Even some of my neighbors whom I have known for years, still regard me being rich and believe I should pay more in Thailand than the poor so-called downtrodden hard working Thais and I should be entitled to nothing. There is no convincing them otherwise, although I have tried. It`s just a stigma that has stuck and refuses to fade away.

We never know what some people are really thinking about us, even those who appear nice and are always polite with us face to face. If all the ex-pats were one day given their marching orders to leave the country, I doubt that the average Thai Joe public would give a toss.

Obviously the prejudice is there in some of the people, this is the down side to living as a foreigner in a foreign land. It makes us realise how foreigners, especially those of other races and cultures, must feel in our own countries, to be part of the communities, but to never be really excepted into them.

Your last paragraph sums up as how foreigners feel living in your countries. Some welcome us, some don't.

I wonder if the philippines helped thailand during the 2004 tsunami incident. I don't think so but the philippines is so poor i don;t think they could even afford to send a team.

As a Filipino, it's hurt for me to read that people saying that my country are poor. You don't know the factual history of Philippines. We filipinos are hardworking and Philippines economy matching the pace of China as the two fastest growing in Asia but since Philippines is near in the Pacific Ocean we experiencing lots of typhoon ( cyclone ) every year and earthquake billions of money are spending for calamity aid. Two thirds of all the gold in the world is in Philippines and one third is devided among the rest of the countries of the world. Politicians in different country knows that Philippine is the richest country. During the interview President Bush was asked which is the richest country in the world and he said Philippines. They knew where are the money deposited. Like freezing of the Romanov Swiss account it was freeze up to day. And lots more.

Your people are suffering and all you care about is your country being called "Poor country"?

I was in Ubon last June. I had food poisoning, I knew it for sure, and was sick for three days. One lady said "what food poisoning? there is no such thing. It's the weather".

It'a a Thai thing. Stubbornness and pride. Years ago, neighboring countries such as Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia were encouraged to know at least French language and high school students learned French as part of their curriculum. Now they embrace English like most of the countries in the world. Thailand was different then but has not changed much as far as having students learning a foreign language in class. The new generation of kids living in Esan don't want to speak Lao as their parents, some of them are ashamed to do so, that is how much they have been brainwashed by the system. Every thing has to be Thai.

Farang , simply means foriegner, that is no racist term in itself, but the manner and tone in which it is used can be offensive, in my opinion. To use and old phrase, its not what you say its the way you say it.

Actually "Farang" is a term describing a "White person, or Caucasian". So regardless of where you are from, if you are Caucasian, you will be called that way. Just like in Western countries, when people see an Asian person, some will call them "Chinese" with their pejorative term, depending on whether you are in the US, Australia, France etc.. BTW, I am not Chinese, but guess what they call me.

I first thought that Janie was mixed blood but I watched a Thai talk show recently claiming that her parents were Thai and she was born in L.A, thus made her a US citizen. They showed her photos when she was very young and she looked real Thai.

All half Thais I think? Gorgeous mix halfies!

Yes, I think you are right.

Chompoo is half English, Janie half American and Yaya half Norwegian .

_{After seeing what the refugees get away with in Australia I think they are much better off than me. They arrive there by boat, they have already destroyed their passports so they cant be identified, they are given shelter and fed then they are put onto social security and given housing, free hospital/doctors and never have to renew visas etc. They can work if they want to but most just refuse to because they are getting paid to do nothing by the govt anyway. Here with no passport you cannot get into the country, you must renew your visa every year and have a good reason or have heaps of money in the bank. You will never get govt help, you cannot just go out and get a job and the govt will never help you with accomodation and social security, no free hospital/doctors, you need a wp to work and only then in jobs that they allow, the overtones are extremely racist in Thailand but I accept that and love being here. I have seen just how much the refugees going to Australia are getting away with and yet they are bitching about it, go figure. If you did the same thing here that they are doing in Australia(burning down the facilities , bashing others, protesting etc) you would be kicked out of the country. Has being here changed my opinion of those going to Australia, yes, they are a pack of whinging bastards that just want everything for nothing. Do I like Thailand, yes I love it here, doesnt mean I agree with what they do but I love the people and the country plus with all the crap that the immigrants are causing in Australia I would much rather stay here anyway.}

The difference between you and the boat people is that they went to Australia as refugees, you come here to retire. I agree with you to the fact that there are lots of lazy people who abuse the system, i.e in France, Germany, Sweden.... I am not Australian but during my travel in the land of Down under, I've seen people from other nationalities sitting around, enjoying their life and probably never worked from the day they set foot there.

Hope it gets better and your luck changes.

Hi, thank you for your reply and insight. I do think having a good holiday comes down to a lot of luck and being in the right place at the right time. Unlike some people in this thread seem to think I do have an open mind... I'm willing to try pretty anything and explore and try to experience new things. However I did over plan this holiday and probably booked the hotels too late. I also tried to fit too much into 1 trip. Bangkok for 3 or 4 nights, then Samui for 2 weeks, then Chiang Mai for 10 nights would have been a much better experience in my opinion and suited both my GF and I far better. She would have had the tanning in Samui and I would have had the whole elephant and tiger experience and exploration in Chiang Mai. Plus our traveling and messing about would have been VASTLY reduced.

I've seen a lot of very strange westerners whilst in Thailand who seem to be in a World of their own and I can only think some of them populate TV. There's no doubt now in my mind that Thailand is over rated. Of course it can be an amazing country and offer great experiences, but so can a lot of places. Anyway that's slightly beside the point... Thanks again for your reply

I think you should stop claiming that you are open minded. When you travel overseas, you should take it as it comes otherwise you won't enjoy it, regardless where you go. Even you already have doubts about Switzerland, just figure!

Hello. I am in Ubon. Can I do border run to Chong Meck. I don't need a Visa, just need to go there at the end of my 90 days. Thank you.

Hi. I am planning on coming to Thailand with a single entry Tourist visa. After the 30-day extension I will do border run into Laos to get a multiple entries Tourist visa. I am 62 years old and not wanting to get the O-A retirement yet.

- Will Immigration grant me the multiple entries Tourist visa as often as I apply for it? Or is there a limit to how many time I can apply for it?

- When Thai immigration "stamps my passport out", can I just return to get "stamped in" without having to go into Laos and apply for a Lao tourist visa. I am trying not to get my passport filled up with Lao visas.

- Let say I have a double entry visa with a validity of 60 days. After a month into my first two month initial visa, I leave the country and return just

two day before the end of the validity date to start my second part of the visa. Will I need a re-entry permit before leaving the country?

Or am I allowed to leave the country as often as I want to?

Thank you for your help

I am a US national on a Tourist Visa in Sydney for 3 months. I'd like to stay in Thailand for a long period of time. I have multiple questions and will greatly appreciate your help and suggestions.

- Can I apply for any Visa type from Sydney or does it have to be done in the US?

- This probably came up before. Once I get the 60 day Tourist visa, will the Airlines board the plane without a return or onward ticket?

- Once in Thailand, what is the best type of visa to get in order to stay there longer, like a year?

Thank you

In the case where you have a Non-O, multiple entry Visa and you have to cross to Laos every three months, the Passport pages can fill up pretty fast, not to mention the Laos Visa fees for each entry there.