Gerald14

Oh my God,

Thaksin is back reincarnated into a woman "Badluck" Shinawat. God help the justice in Thailand.

Hey stay in yankeeland mate. Thailand won't miss you

very intresting,,,i have only the blue book ( no name inside ) as i requested 2 yrs ago,,, teh YELLOW BOOK what have a lot of atvantages was SUSPENDED by the taxsin goverment.. as i request in the townhall ,they said the same.

i know people have a yellow book,,,,but they was issued over 5 yrs ago,, at this time i never heard about,until somebody told me.

is it still aviable somewhere at this time, and not in history................

nope this is incorrect. I have applied for and received a yellow book about 18 months ago. Needed to jump through a few hoops, but did get it issued to me with some persistence on my part. Although I must say the general knowledge amongst the Amphor staff is almost nil.........lucky there was one lady with a bit of knowledge. I live in Uttaradit, but I know of others on places like Kamphaeng Phet have been issued this thing too

Unlicensed hardware ???

Thanks for the reply. Yes health certificate from a clinic is no problem, but now appearently they want swineflu teat from a hospital which is much more expensive and time consuming including xrays etc. Surely local offices can not just do their own rules?? And what if you have been infected with swineflu? You would have contracted ite here, now visa extension would be refused and you have to leave the country? Crazy people

Hi all,

interesting situation. I live in Uttaradit and have to go now to NAN for my visa issues. My friend did his extension last week over there and was required by the NAN authorities to provide a certifcate from the local hospital that he is free of swineflu. I called Immingration hotline 1111 yesterday and asked what I need and was told that no health certificate of any sort is required. This is what I know from the past when I did my visa stuff in Bangkok.

Any comments??

Just a bit added to clarify the Australian Centrelink isue. I have lived and worked 24 years and 6 months in Australia and have become Australian citizen. After 26 weeks my full age pension reduces to 293/300 parts (so I lose about 3% big deal) and one loses also any supplements like phone or pharmaceutical allowance. If I go to Australia and register with Centrelink it reverts to the full amount. Medication in Thailand is cheap, I pay about the same than in Australia when I use my concession card

Thanks for the link, david96.

I'm married (TW) with a 7y/o son (Oz citizen).

If I'm reading the info. on that link correctly:

I could have an income of up to A$ 6,000 p/a or assets of up to A$ 357,500 and receive the full AP.

I could earn less than A$ 60,000 p/a or have assets less than A$ 960,500 and receive part AP.

I would need to return to Oz and become a resident.

My wife would probably need to sell our family house, and the house her family live in here in Thailand, for us to prove residency in Oz.

While it is good to know that the 'safety net' is there if things go tits-up here, the above does not sound attractive, especially when you consider the cost of living in Oz compared to that of Thailand.

If you own a property in Australia that is non income earning and you live there it is not part of your assets as far as a pension is concerned. If you were to rent it out it would become an income producing asset. I would get the opinion of a chartered accountant in Australia regarding any Thai property that your wife owns, they would give you the correct advice.

The first point is not exactly right, 'The property you own and in which you reside is not assessable for either the income or assets test.

Do not bother with Accountants in Australia when it comes to Centrelink they do not know shiiite from clay. The only authorative person is the Centrelink Case Officer.

Be prepared to fill in a book as big as Tolstoy's War and Peace and divulge every aspect of your life if you want a Health Card or OAP.

All assets Real "as defined by the law of Torts" and cash anywhere in the world must be declared, if you do not want to commit fraud when you sign Centrelink Documents.

From past posts on here. It is your responsibility to check your Immigration Stamps. It is my opinion that you would be on Overstay if you stayed after 22 Jan. Get them to correct the mistake.

Thank you all very much Maestro & Lite Beer. I think I will apply for a reentry next month and see if this will possibly be granted to July 09 or Jan 09. I will update the post once I know

The immigration officer made a mistake when you entered Thailand on 27 JUL 2008.

If on your arrival card you wrote the details of your non-O-A visa the officer should have seen that the visa was expired and he should have given you only a 30-day visa-exempt entry stamp.

If you wrote the details of your re-entry permit on the arrival card the immigration officer should have given you an entry stamp with permission to stay until 22 JAN 2009.

--

Maestro

Thank you very much for the comments Maestro! My thoughts were that I should have been admitted until 22 Jan 2009. Question is now that I have the stamp admited until Jul 2009 in my passport is this valid?

I just thought I have understood all the rules re retirement visas, when I hit another thing I don't comprehend

I have made an O-A Retirement Visa in Sydney Australia Issue date 31 Jan 2007 valid for entry until 30 Jan 2008. Entered LOS 1/3/2007 had a stamp until 28/2/2008, OK so far so good this is clear. On 23/1/2008 I went to Myanmar and got a stamp until 22/1/2009. This also is clear. When I left for Australia on 6/7/2008 I got a reentry permit at the airport valid until 22/1/2009. OK also clear but now when I returned to LOS on 27/7/2008 they stamped me "admitted until 27/7/2009"??? This is what I do not understand, does this visa go on forever for one year if I leave Thailand before expiry??? Would be nice, but I do not think so . Thanks for any comments etc

Just when I thought I know exactly how these things work I now am confused completely after my last return to LOS. I have a Non A-O issued in Melbourne Australia in 31 Jan 2007 and entered Thailand 1 March 2007 for retirement. I left 23 Jan 2008 for Mesot and got another year until 22 Jan 2009. Now in July 2008 I left for a hol in Australia and re turned 27 July 2008. I the airport they now stamped me admitted until 26 July 2009. Do these extensions for one year go on forever? I don't think so. All comments appreciated

And if your "business visa" comes with 10 million baht invested in Thai stock market, 2 accounts with Internet banking are peanuts you got in return and even that did not come trouble-free.

Think.... sorry...but you seem to have some misunderstanding about business visas...which are technically known as Non Immigrant B visas... Obtaining them has nothing to do with having large amounts invested in the Thai stock market or anywhere else, for that matter. Many farang stay in Thailand on "B" visas, provided you obtain the proper sponsorship documents from some source, because they provide one-year stays (with required visa runs or trips outside Thailand every 90 days).

Back to Internet Banking.........I have internet banking with BKK bank in BKK for the last 10 years or so. When I opened the account I had a work permit so no problem. I retired now in Uttardit two years ago, opened an account with BKK bank in Uttaradit and applied for internet banking so both accounts would be connected and money could be transferred easily from one to another. After three months had a phonecall from BKK bank HQ telling me no w/p no internet banking. So I can tell you for sure only a w/p gets access to the internte banking. After this I kept my mouth shut before they would withdraw my old facility.

Short story NO W/P no Internet Banking

Hi guys,

Thailand is not much different from the rest of the world. No license, no driving.....if you have an accident and no license you are up to your ears in the proverbial s... I would NEVER do it. Licenses here are simple to get. small test in English a bit of driving and you are done.

Anyway this is my take on this subject

Gerald

...but you'll invariably need to leave your passport as deposit,

Generally a copy is taken, rather than the original.

Wear a helmet, not doing so will give cause for the police to stop you thus leading to the question about IDPs etc.

Perhaps the case with a large hotel but your average bike rental place doesn't have a photocopier under their desk, and besides, what's to stop you shifting the bike and jumping the border? Agree with your second point.

Before you leave your home country, make 4-5 copies of the main page of your passport (picture/passprt #). This will come in handy very often in Thailand. One use will be the motorcycle rental shops. NEVER leave your passport with them. A slight ding, or dent in the motorcycle (even if not caused by you, or if it was already dented and you didn't catch it) will cause your passport to be held hostage. And, they can demand whatever inflated price they want for fixing the problem, all the time holding your passport until you ante-up. Out of 4 motorcycle shops that will insist on taking your passport, one will accept a copy. Just keep looking. You should leave your passport at the hotel lobby main desk safe-deposit box (NOT the safe deposit in your room--also risky), and only carry copies with you. If you're ever stopped by the police, the copies will suffice.

Also, I always show the cycle shops or the authorities my home-country driving license (if asked for)--never a problem.

The above advice is based on experience in renting motorcycles in Phuket, Koh Phang Gna, Koh Samet and Koh Samui.

Sawadee Kraap and hello,

I would like to ask for some advice please on an interesting situation.

Background to my situation is as follows:

1.I am married to a Thai lady who lives with me now in Australia

2.I used to work for about 6 years in Thailand but returned to Australia in 2000 to accept an IT position here

3.I own a condominium in Bangkok

I want to retire in approximately 18 months in Thailand with my wife and we have been looking at some land in the North which is her home.

I understand the retirement visa is no problem since I am over 50 and all I need is 800,000 THB in the bank.

If I stay on 3 x 1 year retirement visas, can I apply for permanent residence and what do you think is my chance to get it? I am Australian/Austrian

Thanks for taking time to look at my situation Iand any advice soemone may have,

Best regards

Gerald Pitter