Michael Hare

Try contacting retired General Pichet. He has an organic fertiliser business not far from Na Yia. https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/292928/from-battlefield-to-field-of-dreams?fbclid=IwAR05jbuFBCggX3mw8SzCBnwfubttZe4P9WlKbIIzvOfFhLL1BDkRocuMkj4

My pink card has exactly the same writing in number 3. In February, when I flew on Air Asia from Bangkok to Koh Samui, the Air Asia check in people refused to accept it. The big boss read the back of the card and got a bit stroppy saying I was not allowed out of the province. I pointed out that I had PR but he refused to listen. My wife was with me and she didn't want to make a fuss so I just handed over my driver's licence. This was the first time in 12 years of using this ID card on domestic flights that I have had a problem.

I flew in May down to Krabi. Ubon to BKK on Thai Smile. No problem with the ID card. Bangkok to Krabi on Air Asia. They wouldn't accept the iD card. I had to show them my driver's licence. At the hotel the ID card was fine because it is in Thai with one's address clearly written on the front. On Friday I am flying up to Chiang Rai from Ubon. Ubon to Bangkok on Nok Air and Bangkok to Chiang Rai on Lion. I have never flown on Lion before. I have a feeling that they will not accept the ID card. Nok Air does.

I only use SCB at three branches here in Ubon Ratchathani. When I got my pink ID card, a teller at my main branch just got on the computer and changed my ID to the pink card at the other two branches. Works well. I had encountered a problem with my passport ID when I lost one of my ATM cards and went to get a new ATM after getting a lost card report from the police station. This particular bank account was opened over 20 years ago under an old passport. The bank did not accept my new passport as ID as the number was different. They wanted to see my old expired passport. I told them that was gone. Finally the teller called the manger over who knew me and he said the new passport was okay this time, but in the future whenever I had a new passport I should take it into the bank to show them so they could put it into their system. I am so pleased that the ID card can be used now.

Once I got my pink ID card about 12 years ago, I replaced the passport number on all my Bank accounts with the ID card number. Made sense, as the ID card number is for life, and the passport number, in my case, only lasts for 5 years. My ID card number (which is the same on my house registration and driver's licence) is used for tax purposes. I don't have social security.

I definitely will continue to wear a mask out in public. I haven't had the flu or even a cold since mask wearing came in. I think hospitals may get more overburdened with covid cases in the next few months.

No one told me anything. I think I am the only caucasian living in Ubon who has PR. All the other PR holders are older Vietnamese and Chinese. Perhaps there are a few Filipinos.

Agree with you there Arkady. Fees will go up soon. I lived in Thailand from 1974-1980. I got married in 1979 and my wife and I returned to NZ at the end of 1980. She automatically got PR by being married to me, a Kiwi. I think that there may have been a short interview at one point. After 14 years in NZ we decided to return to Ubon in 1994 with our 6 year son (he already had dual nationality). We weren't sure how long we would start. When it appeared that we would be here for years, I decided it would be best to get PR. I thought it would be like NZ, a simple straight forward process. I had no idea of the amount of paper work that would be involved. I just took it one step at a time and I got my PR.

I remember the whole situation with Purachai very clearly as it was at that time that the cost of the category I was applying for PR under, went up from 25,000 baht to 96,000. Being a Kiwi, I was particularly upset to know that Purachai got NZ PR and could buy a house in NZ. What a hypercritic. His family did very well with NZ education. One son has a high profile position in Bangkok. A daughter was in venture capital in NZ and has now gone into exploring BitCoin. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/blackbird-ventures-principal-tip-piumsomboon-quits-to-pursue-bitcoin-opportunities/NRAGA33T7VHCMQUHOOYNBY7NV4/

When I applied some of my documents were not quite in order. They needed signatures on all the tax forms and photos of me standing in front of our house with my son and daughter. They rang me up from Soi Suan Plu and told me what additional documents they needed. Maybe they were kind to me having to all the way down from Ubon.

It seems very difficult to get PR these days. Back in 2002 when I first applied, I did everything myself. I was applying under the cheapest category available to me, which was based on being married to a Thai and with a dependent child. I live in Ubon Ratchathani and I flew down to Bangkok and went to Soi Suan Plu four times. The first to apply, the second for my wife to be interviewed, the third for the Thai language tests and the fourth and last time to get my PR and pay the money. The whole process was straight forward and took two and half years. My wife only went once, the second time.