Michael Hare

No, this was absolutely true. I think words were exchanged as my old friend who had travelled world-wide, but never to Australia, couldn't believe that a wooden pair of shoe stretchers had to be declared.

A few years ago, an eldery English friend of mine (90+ years), flew from Bangkok to Sydney to visit his daughter. On arrival, he ticked no on all the boxes. No food, no wood items etc. The agricultural people did a bag search and found he had a pair of leather shoes which had wooden shoe stretchers inside each pair. "What are these mate?" asked the agricultural officer. "Shoe stretchers, my good man, to keep my shoes in shape" replied my English friend. "They are wooden, mate and you didn't declare them" said the agricultural officer. My English friend was having difficulty understanding the Australian accent and asked if he could talk to someone higher up who could speak English. All hell broke out. My English friend was taken to a side room where a full body search was made, even an anus search. He had to pay a fine, his shoe stretchers were taken away and destroyed and my friend never went back to Australia again.

You were very very lucky not to be fined. An Australian was fined over $2,000 for failing to declare a subway sandwich. https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/aussie-traveller-hit-with-2664-fine-after-failing-to-declare-subway-sandwich-c-7516246 Hilary Swank was fined $200 for failing to declare an apple and a organge on arrival in NZ, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/mar/31/filmnews.film

I don't think you need a letter of any sort. I traveled with my son when he was then 8 years old to my home country and needed no letters. He had both Thai and NZ passports. I presume his surname is the same as your surname?

Other airports are having long queue problems. Auckland NZ airport https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/absolute-chaos-air-new-zealand-passengers-caught-in-huge-queues-at-auckland-airport/VJYLGS5JLFHCZMB6XL2GFR2CTY/ Sydney Australia airport https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/photo-of-queue-at-sydney-international-airport-sparks-outrage/R7HZZS6EU5FMJP6HTG43R42S5U/

Yesterday at Ubon Immigration when I collected my new white book, the old blue book was returned to me.

I am glad I am not living in Bangkok. No fingerprints were necessary in Ubon. Only needed 2 photographs, but I had another one taken by their camera to put into their computer files. I doubt if I will ever need another book, because it took nearly 20 years to fill up the blue book and in 20 years time I will be in mid 90s!

Yesterday at 9:30 am I applied for a new TM17 certificate of residence (white book) at Ubon Ratchathani Immigration. Submitted all my documents and photos. I was rung up by Immigration at 1 pm today to say that everything was completed and to come in and collect the new book. I was impressed. Very quick service. I was expecting at least 2-3 days. The new white book on the front cover states it is a Duplicate of Certificate of Residence.

Only one police precint in Ubon city. I am in the same police precint. I have a feeling that only the police precint in Ubon city handles PR for the whole Ubon province. My new address is not written in the red book. The police said this is not necessary. I got my new tabien baan within days of moving into my new house. Also the pink ID card.

Agreed. "do not know if one is still required to remove oneself from the old tabien baan and take the removal document to the new district office. I think I had to about twenty years ago when I moved, but I'm not sure. The procedure may have changed, too" Yes, one has to still do this. I sold my house in 2014 and moved into a new house on the same road a month later. The old tabien baan stayed with the new owner. It belongs to the house. There is no need to notify the local police station of your move and new address unless one moves out of the province. I was told this in person yesterday at my local police station. This morning I went to the Immigration office in Ubon Ratchathani to get a new TM 17 certificate of residence booklet. The blue one has finally filled up after 20 years. I left all my documents with them, paid 1,902 baht and they will ring me in 2-3 days time to come in and get the new white book.

From reading many posts here I started getting a bit worried about my change of address here in Ubon Ratchathani. I sold my house in Ubon city seven years ago and moved into a new house a few hundred metres up the same road. I notified the police at the station where I report every five years, but they never wrote the new address from my new house registration in the red book. I just popped along to ask if the new address should be written in the red book. No, they said. Only if one moves to a new province is the change-of-address written into the book.

My blue book (TM17) is nearly filled up. Only half a clean page left. I will pop along to Ubon Ratchathani Immigration sometime this year and see what they want me to do. Always takes a little bit of time as they never seem to know what to do. I think they only have a few people with PR in their area.

Exactly. Never get asked for it at the policestation and never at immigration. But I do show the blue house registration book when renewing my five year driver's licence. The guys there never seem to understand about PR.

If you fail to renew your PR once every five years in the red book, you will no longer have PR.

That may be because you and your kids had a Thai nationality first and the second nationality came later. My son got his Thai nationality when he was about 2 or 3 years old.

Thank you for this information. I have PR and so my ID number is 8. My son has dual nationality so his ID number is 5. My wife is 3 and her two daughters are 1. Most of my staff are 3, except for two, who are 5, because their parents did not notify the authorities in time.

When I have purchased vehicles I only needed my PR book. That was before I got my pink card. A passport was not needed. I have never got a residence certificate for anything.

If there is a Thai Watsadu near you then ask them. https://www.central.co.th/en/euroe-green-euroe-lawn-mower-elm-1500-size-1500-w-mkp0325318