XINLOI

Hello,

Sorry to say but they (Thai) under 18 cannot legally own the land, they are not considered an adult yet. The local laws may not allow them to own it, but the parents can give the land to them but they still can't do anything until 18 or 25 y/o which confuses everything. I have bought for my child a fair amount of land but it is in the Thai parents (wifes) name. Hope this helps you some.

Probably you do not know...but...if you got your last passport after 2006 you also got a nice page with a beautiful eagle on it...This page is a tracking device that can be scanned to know where you are traveling....Next time getting into America...if you are questioned...you know why.

I am not inventing this...I have a close friend working for the CIA in America..and he has very interesting things to talk about his work...and the US.

I will adopt the Thai citizenship without doubts if I can...

Not quite. The RFID chip in the passport contains the same information as in the passport page, the same information that is scanned as you enter most countries, including Thailand. The data on it is entered by an encoder when it is first implanted into the passport. It does not "track" you as you roam the world. Nor does the reading of it in any country that uses RFID technology enter any data into the chip. RFID doesn't work that way.

What happens in other countries does not get back to the US when you return. They would have to manually go through the pages to see what stamps you have, then enter that in your record.

Furthermore, the RFID chip gives out the same information that is given when you scan the code on the bottom of the passport. If there was a nation sharing some sort of entry/exit data with the US for some nefarious reason, then it would be just as easy to do this with the data from the scanned code. They would not need to invest in RFID readers.

The RFID chip can be read by ANYONE that has a reader, with or without your knowledge. That is a security issue I would like to see changed. I can see even more identity theft coming in the future......lol

A new law called the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) will, from 1 July next year, require all financial institutions around the world to report directly to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) all the assets and incomes of any US citizens with $50,000 (£31,000) on their books. The US could withhold 30% of dividends and interest payments due to the banks that don't comply.

So you split your assets up among a variety of banks in Thailand and never let a balance exceed 50 k usd so the banks report nothing...it would be wise to have several accounts anyway since eventually the Thai version of FDIC only insures each bank account up to 1 million baht.....unless you are a very wealthy person I don't see the problem. As for spending 5000 usd to pay someone to file your taxes then somebody is either very lazy, dumb, or rich. As previous poster said there are all kinds of tax software programs available.

Can't imagine giving up my usa citizenship and unlike someone in the article who says she doesn't know any Americans who are NOT considering it I frankly don't know any who ARE considering.

Sounds kinda fishy to me or some kind of unsubstantiated rumor. What about the FBAR, which nails you,if you have more than 10K in assets anywhere in the world, then they hijack you, if you have more, for 50% of your assets. By the way, the banks here and everywhere else are already ratting you out to the FEDS. Can you provide a link to this new means of extortion?

Giving up your citizenship will not ease any burden acquired in the USA, they will still hold you responsible, tax or otherwise. I had considered it but the hidden truths convinced me not to......

My GF & I just got BHt 91000 back for a Vigo bought last year. Thank you Yingluck.

My wife and I, got 98000 back for the pickup, we purchased on the plan.

US Visa and Amex cards certainly work here and I would think Mastercard does as well (I don't have a mastercard so can't say for certain) though some businesses charge an additional fee for credit cards, particularly Amex. I am not sure that the benefits of having a Thai credit card are the same as a foreign one. I am under the impression, perhaps incorrectly, that native cards do not offer the protections of a US card. Personally, I don't use debit cards for anything other than ATM withdrawals as any fraud/thft against a debit card is far more inconvenient than if the same occurred with a credit card.

Some replies seem to suggest that having a credit card is unnecessary or undesirable. I disagree entirely. The degree of purchase protection offered and savings on certain purchases not to mention things like airmiles are great reasons to have a credit card, just perhaps not a Thai one.

Some hospitals give 10% credit for purchases of medicines with a debit card also.......

I would get one, anyway possible or use the ones from outside Thailand. If you make big ticket purchases for home or office, you have a small measure of protection. If you make a purchase in cash and the item goes tits up, you are out the money and all the rest of it. Better a secured account than none at all. The money can be banked against visa requirements also......400k or 800k....

Hello, Be very careful about the retirement extensions. I just went and tried to extend my retirement visa and it was disallowed. The respnse was go to Laos and get another but going there I found another change that occurred in the last 3 weeks. If we are already living here in a state of retirement, they allow a 90 day extension, with the same requirements as needed to get the original. I was allowed to extend my old visa two times but then they stated my old one was expired and I had to get a new one. It is all in the Thai Embassy Laos website: vientiane.thaiembassy.org/vientiane/en/consular/consular_check/. Udon Immigration was useless in getting or giving information. getting a new one for me would mean a trip back to the states.

Most of their buisness is done on a walkin basis, first come first served. You can do both concurrently

Also are supplements expensive? I currently use Whey Protein in my diet, was wondering if the supplement industry in Thailand is a prosperous one.

Very prosperous from what I have seen. I wouldn't trust the suppliers, makers and sellers though, sorry to say. No controls on any product here.

"This is an interesting thread and I am very interested in people's opinions. What I'm wondering though is the opposite. Is it worth having the whole ceremony thing as opposed to simply marrying at the Amphur as I did?

My wedding ceremony was worth it. I was absolutely floored by my new extended family and the 400 people who attended the ceremony, most of whom I could not talk with..... The entertainment was provided by one of the local pop stars and If I could I would do it over again.......lol

He is either going to marry her or not marry her.

Marriage is done at the Amphur office.

If he marries her

He will be the father of their children and have parental rights.

He will be able to get a VISA to visit his wife.

He will be able to inherit her stuff if she dies.

But what about inheriting land/property? What happens to that if she dies before him?

The man would inherit the land/property but them you have 1 year to turn it around and sell it and then depart the country. Unless you change the visa to another type. Got this from hunting survivorship for social security in the states,

100% you can get this in the supermarket. Its used to make whipped cream. One point, you need to read carefully. CO2 is also sold and that's got "death" written on it. When you buy out the entire shelf of their NO2 the easy answer is, "i'm making a cake... a big cake..."

At least that's what my friend used to say 555

You can also get it at the hot rod stores. It is used to help double the HP output of a gasoline engine. The most common place to find it here, is with the "drift racers". Gotta get some power out of those rice rockets with the help of turbos and superchargers........lol

Try Osram electric supply. They have it all. I get all my electric needs from them. The box stores carry only what the customer will buy.

You could use concrete posts and not worry about the clips. The wire ties are cast into the post and there would be no need for the staples. You could use romex staples, that hold electric cables and the stores do have them. Staples like you have posted, I have never seen in Thai.

You might have purchased a tri band phone that does not support the protocol used here in Thailand. To use cells in other parts of the world, you need a quad-band phone, which covers all the network bands

Thats why we always need to be prepared for the unprepareable (not a real word, but fits anyway) Anything can happen, and does happen. If you would have hit him, you would have at least spend a few days in jail, and maybe would have to pay his family and police a bit of money, no matter whos fault is was.

Depends if you have a bailbond option on your insurance. Besides let the insurance handle it and if he was so obvious wrong. I would not worry. I got a dashcam too for things like this.

you wouldn't need a dash cam for this one

ramp to the highway is off limits for 2 wheeled vehicles.

A clear traffic sign (one of the few in Thailand) at the start of the actual ramp. So no matter what he is at fault.

To we westerners, yes he would be at fault. But we are in Thailand and if you hit or injure him, you/we are at fault and not the Thai. A Thai hitting a Thai, one pays and one recieves, our accidents, we pay and sometimes dearly. Always be prepared for the unexpected and look more than once in any direction. The Thai's are only living for the day. That is why they drive and act with impunity and do the things they do.

Using the word "felony" is probably indicative of the writers home country !

Think it was once an English term for a serious offense that is no longer used, but the USA like to use it.

It is used in the USA for persons who have comitted a crime or crimes, that the jail sentence, is longer than 1 year and they also like you to wear orange jumpsuits......lol

To have 400K in a Thai bank in todays terms of money is a small amount, and for those who want to live in Thailand by taking the typical interest of say 5% on 400K it is going to cost you about 1,600 Baht per month in loss of interest. You may get a little back from the Thai bank say 1% giving an overall cost to live in a fanatic country of 1,300 Baht. Obviously this is set aside in the difference in the cost of living between the western world. Therefore why the heck people moan I will never know.

Where on Earth can you get 5% interest on savings now ?! Typical ? Don't think so, unless you are thinking of some high-risk equity-based scheme...

If you are willing to lock up your funds for certain lengths of time, 5% is on the very low side. My 800K, I lock it up for 4 months and get 10%. There are lots of legal options here, if you look in the right places and shop around....

For basic use and applications, OSX needs no tutorials. it pretty much does what it's told to do. If you look closely at the two OS's, windows 7 is a very cheap copy of OSX, Microsoft tried to copy the OS to get it, "user friendly". Coming up on 20 years behind a Mac, will trade it for no other machine out there for ease of use.....

Aeroflot gives its longhaul pilots that fly the polar routes, their vodka in shot glasses. Flew many times from Seattle to Moscow. The passengers would all bring their bottles and like previous posts, you could hear them rolling around the floor when consumed. Add China Air and Thai Air to the list too.....

Cheers for the replies guys,

Looks like pilings it is.

Yes, the contractor has recommended up to 21m.

Does the 180k quote seem resonable for 14 pilings?

Sounds about right. Concrete is very expensive here Bt 1800/M3. Don't let them water it down too much, you'll be wasting money that way, too!!

Hi, CM2

I was installing fencing until the rains came. A block fence, with little or no foundation will cost you 500 baht for each section, post to post or about 3m. This is labor only. Blocks, rebar, cement, mortar and forms (rented) vary with local areas and availability. The problem with these types of fencing is that they wash out easily and fall over. Ever seen a fence here that wasn't leaning or fallen over? My piece of land is 2 rai and a block fence would have cost well over 500K bht to build.

What I settled for was a premade post and panel system that is engineered and not done like you see everywhere. To do the same job via this method, the total cost for materials is 117 K and the company that makes them, delivers and installs the posts and panels for you. You need a small crew of guys to drill the holes and it must be dug well. The posts must be all vertical and not twisted. The panels come 3M max length and you can choose how high you want to go. The panels are about 50 CM wide and slide between the posts. A crane is needed for both operations and when done right looks beter than anyblock wall, I have seen anywhere. Hope this helps you a bit.

She said even though currently both India and Vietnam export more rice than Thailand, she believed the two countries would export less in the second half of this year, for they would have smaller rice harvests and less rice in their stocks.

Looks like she's got the dial-a-drought app on her iPhone.

Most of the people in my immediate area did not have a sucessful rice harvest this year, so it is really hard to believe they have/will gain it back. Maybe in buying their own rice back to eat...lol We have maybe 5 bags of sticky rice left but the Jasmine , we have been buying for 3 months now. Harvest from 76 Rai........

Is there a reseller in your area? They may be able to help you. I am getting ready to purchase a new mac myself and I hope it will all go smoothly. I live near Udon Thani and there are 2 resellers there and both are legit

Hey, if Google's looking at Kenya and South Africa, then Thailand ought to be right there in the running.

Plus, from what I recall, the Thai Army has a spare blimp or two that they'd probably be willing to sell to Google, at an inflated price, since the Army can't seem to keep the darned things in the air.

But of course, the blimp(s) came from America in the first place, so I'm sure that's why the Thai Army can't keep them airborne...

America really does use them, believe it or not. They use them in Afganistan to supplement their surveillance of the local areas. Maybe the ones they sold Thailand, were shot full of holes. I wouldn't put it past them to do that....lol