Phronesis

"The car driver went on to tell police that he didn’t know the motorcycle was a Ducati, but made the decision to satisfy his rage by hitting the bike because he assumed it would be an inexpensive fix."

And how much did he think it would be for a life if he had killed the rider?

At 2 million baht the bike is more expensive than a human life here.

The families of the two girls that were burnt to death in the Tiger disco fire received 1 million baht.

Wow...if the public transport problem in Bangkok is described as desperate, what word can we use to describe Phuket.

With regard to school attendance, I have sought to attend my classes regularly and my Thai is now quite reasonable.

However, it should be NOTED that attending anything regularly in Phuket on a regular basis is very difficult.

There are lots of impediments to arriving on time for anything on this Island.

Chronic traffic jams, blocked roads and flash flooding are just a few relevant examples.

Did I attend my last class? No, because the roads from my home to my school were under one meter of water and doing so would have been tantamount to suicide.

With regard to the Non Immigrant B option, I arrived here on a Non B (exploration visa) granted on the basis of a letter from my chartered accountant stating that I had more than $500,000 in at call bank deposits and wanted to look for investment opportunities in Phuket.

I spent a year doing due diligence on the island but came to the conclusion that investment here is unattractive because the correlation between asset price and yield is unacceptable.

I do not want to run a sham business, or attend to the compliance tasks of doing so. Thus, I moved on to an ED visa.

I do not know of one single person that is under 50 years old and has been given a retirement visa or extension.

I will hand this possibility over to other TV members for debunking or confirmation...

Does anyone know someone who has received a retirement visa who is not yet 50 years old?

Let me rephrase your question: Does anyone know someone below the age of 50 years who applied for a retirement extension under paragraph 5 of Police Order 777/2551 and was denied the extension?

It is difficult to predict whether you would be successful with an application under paragraph 5, as immigration might consider it not unreasonable to expect that you invest 10 million Baht in Thailand for an extension under paragraph 2.5(, which amount would represent approximately 3.2% of your assets of 1 million US dollars at the current exchange rate. I suspect that for the majority of foreigners on a retirement extension under paragraph 2.22(5) with a bank deposit of 800k Baht, this deposit amounts to considerably more than 3.2% of their total assets.

Maestro

Your math is appalling.

10 Million baht is around $300,000 US dollars which is about THIRTY percent of 1 million dollars. NOT 3.2 percent.

sure sure, i heard this a year ago to nothing really changed because they all pay tea-money and i guess its going up...

i admit, if people cant do 4 hours a week of classes <deleted> they deserve no visa!

So, tea money goes up, which is passed onto the student, so the cost of the course goes up, and you still have to do your 4 hours a week.

Cheaper, easier, and less time consuming to do visa runs.

Let also not forget the potential for a huge cost blowout in the event of a road accident commuting to school. I go to school in Patong (because I liked the quality of the teachers at my school) however their is a tangible risk of being severely injured everytime one drives to Patong.

The four visa runs a year is certainly a defensible option. And, as NKM has pointed out, if one hand picks his flights can be managed for less than 30K THB all up for the year.

Retirement visa, and then annual extensions are only available if 50 years old and over, plus meet the financial criteria. Not possible to 'arrange' if under 50.

You are wrong.

Care to elaborate ....

Like you LiK, I await the answer with interest..........

Me too...

It takes a very High IQ to go native.

on the basis that intellect is judged by the way that a person can adapt then this man seems to be extremely adaptive.

could someone also explain to me why the Thai Visa police are on his case together with the other negative posters.

What has He done to incur such malice?

Is there some thing that they know that I dont about this seemingly inoffensive eccentric?

Live and let live

You have missed his point entirely:

It is that WE are the eccentrics.

Too young for a retirement visa...Too poor for a O visa...and no work permit.

He is actually a criminal not yet deported.

17 years here, Maybe took Thai nationality

Yes...whether he has residency is a very interesting question.

Ok...

I am currently on a 5 month extension to my ED visa.

I am due to do a 90 day report on 10 November.

Last week I changed my residence.

Tomorrow I am flying out of Thailand.

I have a single reentry permit stamp.

I will be arriving back by air on 30 October.

Questions:

1. Do I need to notify immigration of my change of residential address prior to departure?

2. Or can I just put my new address on the new arrival card when I come back?

3. When I arrive back will the 90 day report clock start ticking again....or does it continue on from the previous report date due to the reentry permit?

Thanks in advance.

NKM

Yes. I think that you are right. Probably cheaper especially if you snag some promo air fares with Air Asia. And of course, you don't have to worry about 90 day reporting.

Can you please tell me what countries/embassies issue the 60 day tourist visa and how much is the fee. Where have you been to get them in the past?

Why do you assume many on an Ed Visa are working illegally here?

I'm under 50 years of age. I'm self funded. I am not working here. I'm not super rich, but live well.

The only visa choices for me, and many others in a similar situation, are the 30 day visa exemption stamps, the 60 day tourist visa (extended to 90 days) or an Ed Visa.

I chose the 60 day tourist visa, but others chose the Ed Visa.

Sure, some here would be working here illegally on an Ed Visa, but I bet most are on Ed Visas as it minimises the visa runs they have to do.

As I said in another thread, "visa runs" are an industry - they turn over big money, not to mention the cost of the 60 day tourist visa itself, and then the 1900 baht extension - 4 times a year.

They only call it an "abuse" of the system because it's saving the foreigners time and money.

What's stopping "the Russians and other foreigners" you mention still working here illegally on a tourist visa?

NKM...how many back to back double entry tourist visas have you had...and where were they issued?

I don't do the double entry visas. I have friends in the various nearby country/cities so I get single entry visas and visit friends regularly.

Some of them are ex Phuketians.

I believe the back to back double entry visas raise suspicion.

I think because I change Embassies, and have also changed passports since living here, I've slipped through. Never had a problem.

I had some concern a while ago when they said tourists will only be allowed to stay 180 days, in a calender year, or something similar, but it either never came in, or isn't being enforced.

Anyway, I'll keep doing what I'm doing as it's been working for me.

Out of interest, on average, what do the schools charge and what is the cost of the Ed Visa?

NKM

Can you just clarify for me:

You fly in on 30 day VOAs and then get a 30 day extension. That is you leave Thailand 6 times every year??

Student visa costs (not including first visa run):

25K school fee

3K course materials

3.8K two extensions per year

3.8K reentry permit

Plus fuel and time to attend class, attend immigration (minimum eight times each year..extensions x 4 + 4 90 day reports)

To get to the other side.

Oh..sorry...that is chickens...

Apparently the governor is either deranged or a xenophobic arsehol_e.

No...he is just reflecting the beliefs held by his voting mandate.

Good. More than abused the loophole, its being raped.

It is not a loophole for me, it is the only available visa option.

I am a self funded retiree who is not yet 50 years old.

I have no intention of marrying, starting a business, or investing 10 million in a condo.

I am a millionaire, in US dollars, but Thailand doesn't want me because I am not fifty years old.

Hmmm...better start reviewing those threads on PI and Cambo...

Have you been along to immigration and asked for a retirement extension?

Age 50 is just a guideline, up to immigration if they give you one earlier.

I do not know of one single person that is under 50 years old and has been given a retirement visa or extension.

I will hand this possibility over to other TV members for debunking or confirmation...

Does anyone know someone who has received a retirement visa who is not yet 50 years old?

Why do you assume many on an Ed Visa are working illegally here?

I'm under 50 years of age. I'm self funded. I am not working here. I'm not super rich, but live well.

The only visa choices for me, and many others in a similar situation, are the 30 day visa exemption stamps, the 60 day tourist visa (extended to 90 days) or an Ed Visa.

I chose the 60 day tourist visa, but others chose the Ed Visa.

Sure, some here would be working here illegally on an Ed Visa, but I bet most are on Ed Visas as it minimises the visa runs they have to do.

As I said in another thread, "visa runs" are an industry - they turn over big money, not to mention the cost of the 60 day tourist visa itself, and then the 1900 baht extension - 4 times a year.

They only call it an "abuse" of the system because it's saving the foreigners time and money.

What's stopping "the Russians and other foreigners" you mention still working here illegally on a tourist visa?

NKM...how many back to back double entry tourist visas have you had...and where were they issued?

Good. More than abused the loophole, its being raped.

It is not a loophole for me, it is the only available visa option.

I am a self funded retiree who is not yet 50 years old.

I have no intention of marrying, starting a business, or investing 10 million in a condo.

I am a millionaire, in US dollars, but Thailand doesn't want me because I am not fifty years old.

Hmmm...better start reviewing those threads on PI and Cambo...

Is it a same sex marriage?

I hope the Americans have frozen all his assets already so they can be seized if he is convicted. Anyone know how much Hunter is/was worth?

At least 800.000 THB if he was on a retirement visa.

There are 42 language schools in Phuket.

They are being called to a meeting with immigration on 17.10.10.

Immigration want to do away with the student visa because of its abuse by Russians and other foreigners working illegally on the island.

So...if you are like me...and are currently staying in Phuket on a ED visa...don't get too comfortable.

Governor, If you want to improve safety on the Kamala to Chern talay road, why not remove the concrete spills from the most dangerous corners on the mountain. They have been there for two years. Last year I personally witnessed more than 6 serious motorcycle accidents, all foreign tourists on motorbikes. The cars come past, and the riders are forced to ride over the concrete spillage and come off.

A couple of burmese day labourers, and a few hammers and some scutch combs and problem could be solved in a day. But no...you spend the tax dollars on some pretty signs...

Oh...and by the way, the newly laid tarmac on the Bang Tao to Nai Thon road has already been turned into a death trap with concrete spillage on two of the blind corners...

Perhaps you could get some signs made up:

BEWARE CONCRETE SPILLAGE AHEAD BECAUSE CEMENT TRUCK DRIVERS DON'T GIVE A SH_T AND NEITHER DO THE POLICE OR GOVERNMENT!

We come into this world naked and we go out the same way. The fundamental trait a person carries with them between those two events is integrity.

Yep...

The only thing that anyone has in life is their integrity.

It is tested each and every day as the world around us pulls and tugs at us to get its way.

Youth, wealth, possession all get taken away from you.

The only thing you can hope to have when you draw those last few breaths is your integrity.

Good luck...

Wow...thank God I am not in the market for large quantities of Thai rice.

It would be a horrific position to be in to have to chose between the lies of the World Bank and those of the current Thai government.