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Yes i was following that story, i remember the intensive care was 80 000 baht a day who knows what the total cost was including all the tests etc, he was flown back to the UK earlier this week

Transfer stamp to new passport, i know they were not required but she insisted(you are not in any position to argue) . after lunch when i went back she was slowly going through my documents again, this time 2 supervisors came across and told her firmly to do it, the supervisors told my friend in Thai that it would be easier to do at the airport when coming back to Thailand even though i had no plans to leave

I did mine at CW last Aug, it was a 5 hour ordeal, they also wanted the last 90 day report (tm47), she then kept telling me i could do it at the airport for some reason, eventually a supervisor came to see what was going on, and told her i had all the documents so transfer the stamp. but when the supervisor went back to her desk, she then said i needed a copy of my TM30. so had to do down stairs to print it off, by which time it was lunch time, when it was my turn she went through everything again lol. i had hoped this was just a bad day for her, be prepared for anything at immigration

The changes to the non o do not change until September, the only thing that changes on 1st June are visa exempt and visa on arrival, non of the embassy websites show the changes yet the London website was last updates in 2022

How are they going to pay for national conscription https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/26/rishi-sunaks-national-service-pledge-is-bonkers-says-ex-military-chief It does not matter who wins, there is no money, defence spending is being raised to 2.5%of gdp from the current 2% no answer where they are going to find the billions for that, the NHS is a bottomless pit, only 2 options raise taxes or cut public spending. I was always concerned that the state pension would somehow be linked to a sliding scale, the higher your private pension less state pension

I use Nord VPN and have had issues for the last week, not streaming. but usual websites BBC banking etc, and it slows right down, i have to disconnect and reconnect, which lasts about 5 min then starts again, if i do not use the vpn then the websites work fine

No personal experience, but not easy to get, you might get more information on www.immigrationboards.com (free to join) lots of very useful information look at section immigration for family members or www.freemovement.org.uk they have sections on this topic, though you might have to pay

Yes when you renew your 2 year license, you get a 5 year license, assuming you are not on a tourist visa or visa exempt entry if so then you get another 2 year

As i understand it the initial 2 year license is a provisional license, the 5 year license is a full license, would the UK know that? I can not remember the wording on the 2 year license' https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence Using the link above it says you can drive on a full license, does not mention provisional as an option

Nope it is obvious, Ukraine has no functioning air force it has no integrated air defense system, Russia strikes where it wants, how can you win a war if you do not control the air?

Ukraine lost the war a long time ago it has gained no lost land and continues to lose, the Russians have killed between 400 000-500 000 Ukrainian troops, it is in full control of the areas it wants, what will be left of Ukraine will be the bits Russia does not want. It will be about as useful Albania

A medical certificate from Thailand is accepted, https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/retirement-visa A medical certificate issued from the country where the application is submitted, showing no prohibitive diseases as indicated in the Ministerial Regulation No.14 (B.E. 2535) (certificate shall be valid for not more than three months) - Applicant must provide a medical certificate issued in the UK or Ireland or Thailand, showing that applicant has no prohibitive diseases (Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Elephantiasis, drug addiction, or third stage of Syphilis) with less than 3 months from the date of issue with official GP stamp and address. The medication certificate form can be downloaded below. I did mine in Thailand the hospital did do the blood tests, i have read others just pay a few hundred baht and get the form signed, The NHS will not sign the form, there are private doctors who might sign the form put may want to carry out tests

yes correct no point asking Irish embassy, needs to be the first country you plan to enter or the one where you are going to spend the most time

i have 4 million available in the bank as a back up, I have all the blood tests done every 4 months from a lab, if anything looks even slightly out then i would go to hospital straight away to check it out, if it was not looking good then i would fly straight back to my home country, in addition i try to eat a healthy and balanced diet with at least 2 hours of exercise a day, and have cut down drinking to once a week, though i expect i would return to my home country aged around 70, no way would i want to be here with age related illness, thinking dementia etc

I do not believe this will work, as your other half holds a visit visa, she is not resident in the UK, she can travel to Ireland as it is in the CTA, no issues, just passport showing her UK visa, the rest of Europe requires a schengen visa it can only be done from a country where she has residence, edited i have taken out the bit about Irish embassy as the info was wrong

I know the feeling i have an O-X visa and am trying to convert, the MFA website says you can convert to another type, however immigration here are separate to the MFA, and i was told by Chang Wattana immigration, that MFA rules are not their rules so that ended that attempt, The embassy in your home country will not be able to cancel it, only the MFA can. As you point out nobody in Thailand knows about the O-X, from getting a driving license (told a O-X visa was not an immigration visa so they could not issue a 5 year license) was sorted after a lot of visiting different offices, last year at CW trying to transfer the stamp to a new passport was nightmare took 5 hours. I tried a few agents all said could not be done with one saying they might do it but would be a problem best stick with the O-X. So last November when i returned from overseas, i was going to tell immigration that i did not have health insurance hoping the would cancel it and give me a 30 visa exempt entry, he saw the o-x stared at it and said he had never seen one and called a supervisor who told him to stamp to the 5 year point for me (March 2025) It was busy so had no chance to say i have no health insurance, they have never asked to see the insurance or bank book, and i have been in and out of Thailand a few times. My next attempt will come later this year when i need to go to immigration for the yearly check of documents, i am intending to tell them i have no health insurance, and this is where it could go wrong, but i am counting on them, giving me 7 days to leave the country, which i will already have a ticket for, an then re enter and get a 30 day visa exempt and use non o retirement route, i never thought it could be so hard to get rid of it.

I always thought that it was the person reading the scan that was important, not just a cheap scan that might be read by someone less qualified in that particular field.

It can be done from up to 15 days before up until the date due, you can not do it online during the 7 day grace period(you need to go in person), before you are fined 2000 baht

Duplication

Immigration are closed on Friday https://bangkok.immigration.go.th/en/contact-goverment-complex/

Consider self insuring, ditched mine when it increased 80 %, watch out for exclusions that come when you age increases

https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence

The plan is to raise the threshold over the next year or to, the first stage has come into effect on 11 th April The plan is to raise it to 34000 GB supposedly some time in 2024 and at some point 38700 GBP in 2025 The last 2 figures can be adjusted or disregarded depending which party is in power and what they want to do Bashing foreigners in any country is always a vote winner unfortunately https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06724/

He has miss understood a few months ago the UK and Thailand agreed to TALK ABOUT various things ie trade blah blah on the ,list was short visits to the UK for Thais. with no visa. Currently nothing has changed she has to apply for a visit visa This link explains https://asianews.network/thailand-uk-announce-upgrading-of-relations-to-strategic-partnership/

You would need to speak to a lawyer, as to what is required, they might want to see the original marriage certificate and official translation, not sure they would accept copies, but will make life easy for your wife if all is done correctly now, hopefully someone who has done it will come up with the answer Also if you pass away in Thailand they are going to want death certificate/translation, if it goes to probate you need someone/ firm to do it, guess all depends on how much your assets are worth against the cost, of a UK lawyer dealing with it