manonthemon

Unfortunately Thailand elite is out of our reach. While we will be avoiding scams , we will have to look for alternative solutions. Going to India to get s visa is not a problem, the availability of a more permanent solution is. 

I've recently upgraded my home  internet to 3BB fiber optic with promised 100mb download and 30 mb upload. But when I run speed tests on my phone connected to my home WiFi I only get 30/25. Is this normal?

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

I would of suggested if one of  the children were attending school and were on extensions of stay she would be able to get an extension for being their parent by showing 500k baht in a Thai bank. But she would have to get a single entry non-o visa to apply for it.

Unless she was attending a university there would be no one year extension of stay for attending school. For informal schools such as those for Thai language study the extension are only done for 90 days at a time.

Thank you. I'm wondering, would it be somehow possible to enroll a child in a local school, pay the fees and all, but not send the child to classes? Do they have attendance limits before a student is expelled? I'm guessing it's a too specific question...

How about opening a company to take care of her own work permit. Any idea of the costs of opening and keeping one open?

I'm looking for a long term (one year?) visa solution for my girlfriend, who comes from India. We live in Phuket. 

We've been here 6 years. So far she's been working legally and had a non b, but now we decided she'll stay home with our kids. We though she's start studying Thai and get an Ed visa but we've been told by three different languages schools in Phuket, that they can't get a one year Ed visa for an Indian. 

We're not married, our kids are too small off school, and we don't want it send them to a Thai school anyway. 

Are we left with any options and what are they?

Today my girlfriend went to Phuket immigration in Patong to do her 90 days report. She was there two days past the date on the slip and they told her that the computer says that she should be find 2000 thb, but the officer said they 'can help her by charging her only 1000 thb'...

Wasn't there a 7 days grace period for late 90 reporting? Was my gf just taken advantage of on the island which is supposed to be the shining example of successful struggle against corruption. 

If it is so then it's the first time for us in six years of living in Thailand. In fact I had exactly the opposite experience in the same immigration office - once I didn't get fined despite being late more than 7 days. 

I recently came back from a successful visa run to KL. Very easy. 

Took a flight from Phuket on Tuesday night, checked into a hotel near the Thai embassy - Lanson Place, not the cheapest  there (approx. 1500 thb / night) but very much recommended and walking distance from Petronas Towers/ city center.

 Was at the embassy the next morning at 8:30 with a set of required documents and money for the fee (all listed on the embassy's website). There were already 5 people in line. The gates opened at 9:00 and i was out of there before 10 with visa application filed. 

A day and a half of exploring the city later (it was my first time in KL and I enjoyed this city beak from village living in Phuket a lot) i popped into the embassy at 2:45 (the gate opens at 2:30) and collected my visa - the passport was handed to me with a smile.

Back home the same day.

Total cos was approx. 10k THB (flight, hotel, visa fee) excluding food and city transport. Now will get a Work Permit and one year extension. 

Thank you for your replies. 

Is Ranong crossing still valid option for the 30 days on arrival all stamp? I remember that there was a time when they were supposed to stop issuing those there.

Hello, 

I decided not to extend the contract with the company I currently work for, which means that by the end of this month I'll be loosing my work permit and my one year extension of stay.

What to do next to be able to stay here till I find a new job? I'm Polish, 35, no Thai wife. Live in Phuket with 2 kids.

Tourist visa? On arrival stamp? Sth else?What's the best place in the region to obtain one or the other?

Thank you in advance

Is it possible to enroll my children in the government health insurance / social security I pay for myself every month as a employee with a work permit? Or is there another solution for my kids except private health insurance? 

What's the worst consequence of ignoring a 90 days report?

Who if one was not to report for a year, two, ever? How and when would one hit in trouble and what kind of trouble?

Of course as a law abiding citizen I'm asking purely theoretically, out of scientific curiosity. 

Yes, I'm only looking for a car. The Fiesta is just perfect and I think I found a reliable seller (after weeks of encountering one scammer after another)...but the transmission. 

I'm taking the car for a checkup at Ford dealer in Phuket, will ask about the warranty then. 

On 27/09/2016 at 10:47 AM, Goldieinkathu said:

@Bangkok Barry

We've already been told by them that Ford have already settled with some customers in Phuket. There's a queue according to them and it will take time. From what they told us different customers have settled for different amounts, as pointed out in the article it's a case by case basis.

They were very professional and very helpful in all aspects , I actually came away feeling hopeful for once.

We were there for almost 3 hours and had many papers to make copies of, a full history to write and photo's to attach. It was not something we could have written to them about.

Copies of our complaint were then sent to Bangkok, the Phuket dealer and they kept a record for themselves.

I have been writing all the details on the forum and will add any new info when it happens.

 

Do you think the office will take care of us if we bought the car second hand (a 2012 fiesta sport) 

I'm eyeing a 2012 Ford Fiesta Sport with a powershift transmission.

Knowing that this transmission causes many problems in 2011-2015 Fiesta and Focus I was wondering if it's still under a warranty? I think I've read somewhere that the warranty was extended for this transmission, not sure though. If I buy the car second hand, will I be able to take advantage of that warranty in case the powershift gives me trouble? 

Also, just recently Ford in Thailand agreed to buy back those faulty cars on a case by case basis, will this apply if I bought the car used? In case the transmission causes any problems?  

The current owner of the car says he hasn't had any transmission problems, he had it's software updated at Ford dealer in Phuket a couple month back, i did test drive the car and didn't notice any issues but that doesn't mean they won't show later on. 

 

Thank you!

Thank you,

I understand that holders of multiple entry non b visas need to leave the country every 90 days to extend their stay. If thats not an option for an Indian will she be able to get a single entry non b followed by a one year extension of stay based on work permit, assuming that the company provides all necessary documents?

Hello. Is it possible to convert a tourist visa to non b visa when in Thailand?

Someone I know was offered employment in Thailand, she's in her home country of India now. The company's lawyer asked her to come to Thailand on a tourist visa which they will then convert to a non b.

Just want to make sure if that's possible and will she be able to later get a one year extension of stay based on employment to avoid border runs.

I was there that night - crowds of people, pubs, bars and restaurants filled the the brim, live music, laughter, fantastic atmosphere. When the first shot was fired nobody really noticed - sounded like a firecracker which are quite common here.But when more shots followed, I saw people ducking for cover and running to safety.

And to find out the day after that it was cosp shooting one another? Completely mental!

Yep,I'm a fan of Gecko, this it worth recommending and im actually considering buying it.

I've just receibed a single entry non b visa in Vientiane, based on a work permit application and company papers from Phuket.

I arrived to Laos a couple of days before applying for my non b visa at the Consulate in Vientiane. That's why I reached Vientiane on a bus from Luang Prabang, in the middle of the night. From the bus station I got a tuk tuk to the consulate, by asking to be taken to the Lao Singapore College, a sort of local landmark, next doors to the consuate. I reached the front gate at aroud 4am, the consulate opens at 8:00 so I found an empty tuk tuk nearby and took a nap on the passengers seat.

The line started forming at aroud 7, by 8 it was about 50-100 ppl long, much less then I was warned it would be. Once the gates opened, everybody orderly proceeded to the consulate widows, I got my papers checked and received a slip with number 001 and was asked to come and collect the passport the next day. The 2000 for the single entry visa would also be collected the day after. 15 minutes in and out. (plus 4h waiting outside )

The next day I shows up at the Consulate at aroud 12:00, the official opening time is 13:30 but the gates were open by 12:30. Inside a messy line started forming in front of the window where visas were to be collected, the atmosphere was that of eager anticipation, a bit tense , with some people wanting to queue according the the application numbers and some on the first come first served basis. It's the first option that is the practice - even though the queue numbers displays weren't working, the officer refused to serve some people with higher number and processed my application Nr 001 first. I paid 2000 baht and got my visa.

Some things I noticed:

There are signs announcing "no visa agencies" all over the place yet the place is swarming with visa agents.

You can get your application filled in for l00 baht outside the consulate, 50 baht inside, or you can do it for free yourself.

The official list of fees on the consulate's wall states that multiple entry non b visas are only available for residents of Laos.

There is a baguettes and coffee/drunks right outside the consulate. There also coffee stand inside the consulate.

I used exactly the same set of company documents I had used 3 weeks earlier in Kolkata to apply for a non b and had my application refused (received my passport with visa but stamped "void".) No such issues in Vientiane.

There is a lot of cafés and restaurants around the consulate (many of them Korean). There are also some guesthouses - I staid a 5 minutes walk away in an ok place with bathroom, aircon and fridge for 500 Baht.

I didn't feel like exploring Vientiane. Only went to cinema in what seems to be a new shopping mall - the least crowded mall I've seen in Asia so far.

The place is swarming with tuk tuk and taxi drivers. They wanted 100.000 kip or 400 baht for a ride the the train station. I bargained it down to 70.000 and made my way back to bkk by train.

Hope this helps someone. Cheers.

PS. Typed this on my phone so sorry for typos if any.

A lbit further up north the Pasak road is the Gecko Community School. I heard from both children and parents that its lovely, I think they currently only run a nursery though. You should find more info here http://www.geckoschool.org/

I hear good things about Gecko Community School - not sure if it qualifies as a non international school though. It's a small school run by passionate teachers, most of teaching is done in English but they have Thai teachers too. My friends' kids started loving going to school since they joined Gecko. It's located in Thalang, on the backroad to the airport. I think they accept kids aged 3 to 7 but worth checking for yourself. http://www.geckoschool.org/

I did have one, took it to Kolkata along with other required documents but got the Voided visa and in the meantime the letter expired (it's only valid for a month) so now my lawyer has to apply for a new one at the labour office all over again.

By the way, as forum ppl predicted - no problem getting the 30 days on arrival stamp with the Void visa in my passport.

Hello,

I'm thinking of applying for a non b visa based on employment in Laos. I will be visiting Luang Prabang later this month and thought to use this opportunity get my visa - where should I go - Vientiane or Savannakhet? Vientiane is closer, is it a good place for a Single Entry Non B Visa application with the aim of getting a one year extension of stay later on?

Maybe its worth mentioning that I'm applying for a visa based on papers from a new company that had recently applied for my WP. I had a lawyer collect all the required documents and applied for a Non B in Kolkata but received the visa with a VOID stamp on it (posted about it before but for some reason the post was deleted). I don't know what was wrong with my previous application and haven't heard any explanation from the consulate in Kolkata (yet?). That's why I'm looking to go to a place which creates the least possible hassle with visas.

Hello,

I need a birth certificate for my 3 years old child - born in Bangkok to non-Thai parents.

It seems that I lost the birth certificate I got from the appropriate office when she was born and I'm left only with an attested copy but with expired attestation.

1 Where and how can I get a new original?

2. Is it possible to get it in Phuket where I currently reside?

There's the monthly Lighthouse Market at the Boat Lagoon. April 1 and 2.