Kudel

As far as the broader issue of expat groups is concerned I think there is no harm in having expat groups or even one big group. However, once they meet the criteria requiring registration as a non-profit organisation, they would need to be registered which is an onerous process that, in my experience, can take 2 or 3 years and may be more difficult to do without Thai directors. The objectives need to be approved by the Ministry of Commerce which might not approve a group that appears to be simply a pressure group pushing for rights of foreigners against the Thai government. Normally non-profit organisations are carefully vetted to ensure they are political organisations and directors need to register all their assets and be prepared to take responsibility in the event of any criminal or civil litigation against the organisation. If not registered as proper legal entity, like a chamber of commerce, it would not be an official organisation and there would be no reason for government officials to pay any attention to it as it would not be an organisation with any formal leadership or anyone willing to take responsibility for its statements and actions.

So why are certain links to website's run by people fighting the plight for foreigners being blocked on Thaivisa and so called dodgy company's run by foreigners allowed to do their bussensis on said site.

I was not making an official comment on behalf of Thai Visa. I was giving my personal views on what I think would be the legal situation. If you have issues with TV policies, please address Admin direct. I will add in another post that I believe that, if it is to be taken seriously, lobbying on specific issues like equal citizenship rights for foreign husbands of Thai citizens compared to foreign wives of Thai citizens, should be done by the Thai citizens themselves, if they agree that their constitutional rights are affected, not by their husbands through an expat organisation. The foreign husbands' constitutional rights are already being respected because they don't have any.

I should also add that some of the issues mentioned in this thread have been lobbied for by the Foreign Chamber of Commerce which was particularly active in campaigning against the more restrictive amendments that were proposed (but fortunately failed in the NLA) under the last military installed government. They have lobbied for a much faster and more transparent tracks to PR and citizenship for foreign investors and for an ID card for PRs that gives the right to work without a work permit and other rights short of voting rights. They have also argued for easier access to land. Admittedly they haven't made much headway on any of these issues to best of my knowledge but I do know that they keep on trying at every opportunity and will certainly make a case to the new government and via the Thai chambers and the BOI as well. Often the BOI takes up some of these issues and one day may actually made some progress. For those who are in business, lobbying through the foreign chambers is certainly appropriate.

People come to tv to seek advice and sometimes get the wrong end of the stick,if tv wants to be a guide or beacon and wants to hide behind certain rules or regulations when shit hits the fan let me tell you that certain things said or posted on the net are logged ,specially concerning some things advertisers claims.......

As far as the broader issue of expat groups is concerned I think there is no harm in having expat groups or even one big group. However, once they meet the criteria requiring registration as a non-profit organisation, they would need to be registered which is an onerous process that, in my experience, can take 2 or 3 years and may be more difficult to do without Thai directors. The objectives need to be approved by the Ministry of Commerce which might not approve a group that appears to be simply a pressure group pushing for rights of foreigners against the Thai government. Normally non-profit organisations are carefully vetted to ensure they are political organisations and directors need to register all their assets and be prepared to take responsibility in the event of any criminal or civil litigation against the organisation. If not registered as proper legal entity, like a chamber of commerce, it would not be an official organisation and there would be no reason for government officials to pay any attention to it as it would not be an organisation with any formal leadership or anyone willing to take responsibility for its statements and actions.

So why are certain links to website's run by people fighting the plight for foreigners being blocked on Thaivisa and so called dodgy company's run by foreigners allowed to do their bussensis on said site.

your sentiments are fine,but unrealistic.consider yourself lucky they've let you in.Go down to your local bar and sip a chang and enjoy the view!

Unfortunately, that sort of mentality wont solve any issues, neither is the mocking remark prior to your post.

I dont drink, dont play the fields and instead have 2 children in Thailand and have a wonderful wife that I met the first month I was here. That was eight years ago and would like to be able to buy some land and build a house in my name.

I would also like to open up a small business in my name and just build a future for my kids. To this day, my wife still doesnt understand why there is always immigration involved in our lives and neither does a few close Thai friends.

Nothing is for certain and I would like to have land in my name, should something tragic happen to my wife or circumstances change. As a husband, I take care of her and should I meet a tragic end or circumstances change, then she is ok and so are my children.

I am not retired and I have worked those 8 years, slowly building up my families finances and putting my kids into better schools along the way.

I would be very happy to start a small business and have the opportunity to leave it to my children to take over when they are ready. The same goes for a home and everything else we as a family have worked so hard to obtain.

Well put friend.

I belong to an expats club here in Pattaya and have participated in a large meeting at city hall that gave expats an open-mic opportunity to voice concerns, ask questions and receive answers from the Mayor, police and other officials.

Belonging to such a large and diverse group has given me the opportunity to network, share ideas and work on possible solutions to various issues concerning expats.

Those that opt to sit on a bar stool and negatively commiserate the status quo have that right, just as they have the right to make flippant and uncivil remarks on this forum.

The difference is that they are irrelevant and eventually will go away, either in a wooden box or via an airliner

So can you explain to us about said meeting .What have expats and tourists gained from such meetings what foreign ambassadors can not get after many meetings with Thai officials?Apparently it needed a coup to get stuff done in Thailand so what are youre so called merits in expat clubs and meetings with the mayor of Pattaya?Please let us know?

The problem is that most foreigners have no balls and prefer to remain under the radar... invisible...

The problem is that expat clubs in Thailand have some members and leaders with some very dodgy backgrounds.......

Google is youre friend.

Whats the point of having such groups ?We have al seen and read the opinion of certain Thai politicians be they red or yellow concerning foreigners in Thailand in the English language press even ambassadors to Thailand have so many times been in meetings with Thai officials expressing their concerns about certain incidents with tourists and expats at the end of the day nothing changed.

There are a few right wing nutter politicians and groups in Thailand who would to like see al foreigners out of the country period, saw a television program about said people a few years back and they make some right wing groups in europe look like pussy's after expressing their views scary people.

_{If American citizins are in trouble abroud instead of sending special forces why dont they send some of those gangsta rappers like 50 cent he got shot nine times or snoop dog and dr dre straight outa compton ........}

Let see western governments do the same to Thai nationals with investments abroad, make these rules reciprocal.

I agree, tit for tat.

Reverse logic at work here perhaps? If the USA needs a friend in Thaland, is it better that Thailand have billions invested in the USA or that lots of Americans own condos/houses in Thailand ? I think the USA has more sway with Thailand if Thai's have big money parked in America.

Most rich Thais have their money stashed away in offshore tax havens like most rich people from all over the globe.Apparently they are smarter then the avarage farang living in Thailand specially after the 97 crash

Concerning doing bussines in Thailand look how the chang brewery screwed de Danisch brewer carlsberg up the arse back in the day.

fascinating how posters continue to advocate law breaking

I find it fascinating that the guys in power are targeting the little fish but not the law firms who advised the foreigners to "brake" the law in the first place even the one's run by foreign fake lawyers .

Their crap can easely be found al over the net.

_{I think most young Thai woman would have posters from David Beckham hanging in their bedrooms instead of Tom Jones.}

_{Concerning being called a handsume man ever seen how many good looking Thai men there are in Thailand?There are even bars in Thailand only woman allowed where Thai woman can have their way with young Thai men for pay of course apparently also very popular with bargirls in pattaya.}

so how many guys are going to move to cambodia/philippines soon as a result of this crackdown?

does anyone here already thinks/plans to do it in the near future?

or are you going to wait to see what's the end result of this crackdown will be in say a month or two from now?

To do what?Said country's are also cracking down on foreigners and becoming strickter on visa rule's i think they are also getting tired of all the rif raf setting up shop in said country's .

The age of homo sex touristicus is coming to an end end they want bonafide bussinesses to invest in their respective country's.

foreigners can easily open up bussines in both cambodia and the philippines , and visa are much simpler and much cheaper than in thailand , that's a fact !!!!!!!

What kind? naughty bars catering to foreigners are being raided every other week in the phils by the authorities.Thailand welcomes foreign investment but more of the Multi national kind.

so how many guys are going to move to cambodia/philippines soon as a result of this crackdown?

does anyone here already thinks/plans to do it in the near future?

or are you going to wait to see what's the end result of this crackdown will be in say a month or two from now?

To do what?Said country's are also cracking down on foreigners and becoming strickter on visa rule's i think they are also getting tired of all the rif raf setting up shop in said country's .

The age of homo sex touristicus is coming to an end end they want bonafide bussinesses to invest in their respective country's.

Apparantly there are a lot of people soiling their pants right now on the pattaya news section some of them have burnt their bridges and invested most of their dosh in Thailand and the lovely junta wants to clean house so to speak.

crackdown on foreign business people who use Thai Nominee Shareholders to effectively control Thai companies.

that must be a silly joke......ask any thai share holders abroad to put their own money in a foreign business and country ...to build a business and tell them after not to be the owner and the controller....

nobody does that! it is nonsense!

thats why nobody invest in thailand, it is not worth it.... or only when they have family here and they want to stay here , so they do it trough their relatives...but of course they want to controll their business it is their money..... what a stupidity!

Foreign criminals have been using this setup to launder their ill gotten gains in property and such .

There is a britisch investigative journalist based in Bangkok exposing a few of these "upstanding" citizins look up his website can't provide links as per tv rules

My definition of "burning bridges" would be just prior to leaving max out all your credit cards with cash advances, take out personal loans, not paid tax for 3 years ect ect prolly get a free 100-200k out of it if you play it right

That's the way to do it, mate. Too many guys think they don't have enough money for retirement. Well, it's sitting right under their noses!

After about 10 years, do it all over again!

Well maybe you worked a little prior to leaving and in the future have a little retirement money and benefits coming your way wich will of course be confiscated at the source to pay back said bills ,me thinks to many people have been watching to many movies.That kind of living will catch up with you one way or the other.

Yeah that's what you'd think but it just doesn't work like that. Well not in the UK that's for sure.

Creditors can't just take your assets especially if they don't know where they are.

After 7 years, all adverse credit data is removed from credit reference agencies.

Banks are insured against that shit and the morons they sell the debts onto aren't the sharpest tools in the shed.

Wel friend in my last years of being a sailor one co worker of mine who was living in the phils for years because the company allowed this ,had to take a few courses back in the motherland ,

I remember standing with him in line in Brussels airport 3 years ago and he got picked out of the line from the airport police and was not allowed to leave the country before he paid his alimony and some outstanding debts .

biometric passports and the didgital age and such....

I often wonder how people who have credit debts with visa and master card in their respective country's can get such cards via Thai banks i say bullshit.

Such things will catch up with you one way or another just a matter of time.

My definition of "burning bridges" would be just prior to leaving max out all your credit cards with cash advances, take out personal loans, not paid tax for 3 years ect ect prolly get a free 100-200k out of it if you play it right

That's the way to do it, mate. Too many guys think they don't have enough money for retirement. Well, it's sitting right under their noses!

After about 10 years, do it all over again!

Well maybe you worked a little prior to leaving and in the future have a little retirement money and benefits coming your way wich will of course be confiscated at the source to pay back said bills ,me thinks to many people have been watching to many movies.That kind of living will catch up with you one way or the other.

Does nobody appreciate that the older you get, the more younger ones there are to choose from?

Yes but then they fall of balcony's or die with their boots on and their nanny state embassy's are to clean up the mess they left behind with taxpayers money.

Every thing is about perception and opinions i have mine and others have theirs.

I don't take a lot of people serious on tv because on one topic they will boast about loads a money and same people will be yakking in the visa section because they can't scrape the money to meet certain requirements concerning visa let alone pay silly money for those international schools.

Now i may not be an expat myself but have met many on my journeys to the "holy" land and most where talking out of their respective @rse concerning life in the land of smiles not much different from a lot of posters here.

Op stay away from the stuff that contains efhidrine ,a few years back a few pro soccer players in europe died of hartfailure from using this stuff apparently it gives a big energy boost also but the heart goes in overdrive.

Al very nice buying over the counter meds in Thailand but also be prepaired to pay the price when push comes to shuv.

I'm in a similar boat as the op.

Living in Australia, 39yo, Thai wife, 1 small daughter.

We often ponder packing up and moving to Thailand.

The main issue would be income living there. I would still need to earn enough to be able to save for retirement. No idea how that would go in Thailand. Would mean re starting a whole new type of career, from the ground up.

Visa issues...well that's maybe ok with a Thai wife, but who knows in the future. Here in Aus, Thai wife has no real visa issues.

Schooling for daughter...sounds a little worrying from all I have read on here.

Safety of daughter. Maybe I'm over reacting on that one, but I know she's safer here in Aus, and I trust Aussie doctors more for that matter.

Then let's not forget slimey things like Thai corruption, and extortion from locals trying to make a quick baht even though their bike hit yours.

All in all, as much as it sounds great moving to Thailand, think staying put here, schooling the kid here, earning here, saving here etc etc etc here is probably for the best. Then one day, Thailand here we come!

Maybe some longer Thai holidays are what's needed!

in my experience id trust doctors here much more than in UK

schooling much better here if you use one of excellent international schools but not cheap and much much better than a lot in UK (at least coma red with a lot of UK government schools)

safety in over 30 years i am still convinced here is far far safer for kids than UK or USA but like everywhere you do need to take a it of care

earning here is almost a no go unless you have a job with one of big multinationals

corruption sure but its only got really bad in last 5-10 years IMO due to Taksin and before was more like a tip extortion not really exist unless you call trying to get you to buy or overcharging extortion but then that's as bad or worse in UK and much worse in USA only its from slick telesales and rest

So you never had a problem paying 500,000 baht per year for a top international school in Thailand per child?

And al corruption in Thailand since the birth of modern Thailand is al Thaksins fault i don't believe for one second youve been living or been travelling to Thailand for 30 years.

Try the tapwater.

Maybe because they don't like people from Wales.

_{Oh god and al those eminent tv members complaining they had to sort out their garabage and pay councel tax to have it picked up in their home country's.}

I am getting old and foolish...

reading the headline ("EU raises humanitarian assistance to migrants in Thailand")

I was thinking, the EU was actually starting to help EU citizen, who are in trouble

while staying in Thailand f.e. having serious health problems,beeing victims of criminals, having accident, jailed f.e. for not having proper visa.

silly old man I am. I should go to see my doctor ....

-Health Insurance and sufficient funds before moving to third world country.

-when moving to foreign country you are subject to the laws of said country also concerning getting the proper paperwork in order to legaly stay in said country,EU rights do not apply in Thailand.

No need to see doctor al said info can be found on website's from EU country embassy website or ministry of foreign affairs and you are not a refugee.

Scarface ,say hello to my little friend!!!