thonglorjimmy

I think this poor chaps problems could well be a wake up call for many of us, I certainly wish him well.

I don't normally advise people to try a Google search, after all this site is here to offer advice, but in this instance you might you might like to, I'm sure you'll find plenty of comments. Maybe try a local Facebook search as well.

@cyril sneerAt the end of the day it's something you and your wife have got to sit down and seriously discuss together and decide what's right for you both, it's no good relocating if one of you is going to be miserable, the same applies to staying here. Fellow members of this forum have their own opinions, but many of them will muddy the waters. My wife and I seriously discussed relocating some years ago, the trigger point was when I had a heart attack and she was worried about affordable healthare options, we went as far as staying in the UK for a while and my wife took her English test whilst there, in the end we didn't proceed, but we may possibly do so in the future. What does the UK have to offer that Thailand doesn't, the NHS is far from perfect but it is there and available free of charge. Immigration rules are the consistent around the UK, none of this 90 day reporting lark and wondering what requirements an individual Immigration Officer will dream up next year, the rules are the same in Brighton, London, Leeds and Glasgow. Yes, property is very expensive to buy or rent, power costs are through the roof, and there's things like Council Tax to factor in, I believe food prices are very much on parr with here, especially Western Foods, and yes Somtam is available, or at least the makings, wine is consderably cheaper. You'll need to factor in the high cost of an initial application, well over £3,000 for the visa application and the NHS surcharge, this needs to be paid again after 30 months. There's the final Immigration fee after five years, but no NHS Surcharge, after which your wife would be on the way for a British Passport, some believe that is worth its weight in gold. Despite the naysayers on here, many to return to the UK, many of whom believe they've made the right decision. The biggest problem, as I see it, is Liz Truss. Good luck with your family discussions.

I rather think you've rather missed the irony of the question you've responded to.

Didn't Cameron, along with his buddy Clegg, also introduce the 150% charge for Expats who need the services of the NHS when in the UK, I believe that Expat pensioners got free treatment until those two reprobates slipped that rule in.

Thanks very much, so it looks to have cost you an extra £85 over the actual fee of £1,523 that was in place in March, excluding the Wise charge. Not as big a hike as I expected, but big enough.

@theoldgit- thanks

I inderstand that the UK Government have set the statutory cost a Family (Settlement) visa at £1,533, according to the UKVI Website applicants in Thailand are charged USD 1,933 at todays rate, so about £1,595, just over £62 more than the Statutory rate. I'm led to believe that, just to make it interesting, the price reverts to THB during the payment process. I was wondering if any member has applied recently, paying with a UK Card and what were they actually charged in GBP, or even with a Thai card what were they charged in THB? I'm aware that exchange rates fluctuate throughout the day. Thanks in advance

As I understand it, wages haven't actually fallen it's just that due to inflation, they're just worth less. As Harold Wilson famously said in the late 60's it "does not mean, of course, that the pound here in Britain, in your pocket or purse, or in your bank, has been devalued", that remark was the start of hisn downfall.

My experience differs, I've never been asked for any map of my homes location here in Hua Hin when extending my stay based on retirement, either hand drawn or a Google Map.

I imagine most of those who decide to move in that direction all have their own compelling reasons.

Oh, that's ok then.

I suspect that was in response to the claim there was only two in that period, I don't find either acceptable, do you?

I've been to far too many funerals in Thailand, and yes I've witnessed fellow mourners discreetly handing over an envelope containing some cash to help the family at a difficult time, but I've never seen a presentation cheque being displayed on such a crass scale. And yes I've shared food and memories with families, we call them wakes in my country.

Really a photoshoot of the handing over cheque the "grieving" family in a temple, just when you thought people couldn't stoop any lower.

Thanks, the old git posted similar information earlier, with additional parts of the website regarding the double taxation and claiming the personal allowance retrospectively. I note you left that bit out, do you know if that would not apply in her case? It seems to me that she would have to apply for the PA at the end of every tax year, at over 100,000 Baht it's not an insignificant amount to try and get back, I wonder how many widows lose out?

I think this may have been asked before, on my demise my wife is eligible for a widows pension of 50% of my Civil Service Pension, my State Pension will die with me. I had assumed that even though she doesn't have a UK Passport, and it's unlikely that we'll ever return to the UK, she would still be entitled to the Personal Allowance to set against her widows pension, but I'm not sure and the HMRC will not give me a straight answer, but simply refer me to their website. The tax saving by receiving the PA is around £2,500, so worth finding out. Any ideas where I can get a definitive answer? Thanks

Mine, at least one in my local office, also asks for monthly credit advices for a twelve month period. I'd hoped that the 12 month statement that Bangkok Bank will now send by email would suffice, but I fear that most, if not all, IO's will require a statement that a local branch obtains from HQ, along with the bank book and copy supplying identical information along with credit advices also giving duplicate details of the FTT transfers. Whilst obtaining the duplicate statement isn't really a problem for me, apart from the, albeit neglibile, cost of the statement in their preferred form and fuel for two round trips to the bank, I do hope that at some time in the future IO's may drop their policy of being as awkward as possible to applicants, maybe even enforce Police Orders consistantly throughout the country - I can but dream.

So Schengen countries will soon be off your list then?

@LetmebefreeAn interesting, and slightly worrying post, thanks for taking the time to share your story, I suspect there might be many of us who wondered "what if" and maybe others that have been down that road themselves, and maybe don't want to admit it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes you well and would be interested to see how it all pans out. Good luck

Even that route can prove difficult, from the passport Fast Track appointment booking website: Sorry, there are no available appointment Due to high demand, there aren't any appointments available at the moment. Extra appointments are added each day, so check again later for availability.

Credit card or debit card? They've been offering a debit card for account holders in some countries for a while, not here in Thailand though.

Indeed it's important to get the facts right. The Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a private Members’ Club, so members already pay a pretty large subscription to play there when they wish. International and interstate visitors, who are members Reciprocal Clubs are extended playing rights aligned to their Club’s reciprocity agreement with Royal Melbourne, not by their nationalality. Likewise residents of Florida can obtain a discount for Disney World Theme Parks, based on their residency, not on the colour of their skin, because they are likely to be more frequent visitors. My daughter lives in Florida and can obtain a discount despite the fact she hold a British Passport.

Whilst the information you've copied from a commercial travel and property website seems pretty accurate, it's worth noting that there's very little conistencey in the application of rules between various Immigration Office's Maybe it might have been prudent to copy the caveat from the website you copied from, thanks for taking the time to copy though. We are NOT the official Thailand Immigration website If you want to contact Thailand’s Immigration Department please Click Here.