new2here

Question: Did you have to surrender your old blue book? or did they allow you to keep it? does the card show your residence address? the reason i ask about the address part is that a wp book with your address inside is accepted by Land Transport in lieu if an immigration-issued certificate of residence thanks

Has anyone actually undergone this new way of WP issuance? It SOUNDS like (for renewals) the employee fills out the application, uploads their documents, then your employer somehow “attaches” themselves to your application (as you can’t renew or get a WP independently from having an actual employer) and once approved, you pay online, then get an appointment to get your face/finger prints taken. It also sounds like labour also now issues a card - and the QR on your card is simply changed each year as you renew - thus negating the need to come in yearly for a physical blue book stamp. Is this how others have found it to be? again, this is for renewals of an existing WP (obviously in book format before the new e-work permit system launched late in 2025)

I have always used and owned Sigs - they are one of the best semi-autos I’ve used . Now, to be fair, I’m far from an aficionado and really am just a layman, but I’ve owned the P226 and P225 and when I lived in the US, and held a CCW in my state of then-residence, the P225 was my concealed choice. Have always loved the Sig line and have fond memories of shooting and the ease of disassembly and cleaning.

I think for her, that’s what she’s known and has been what mom/dad bought and drank, therefore what she sticks with.. for me, I’ve had Voss (If available I like the sparking water as it gives me the soda like feeling without the sugars) but since my wife is an Evian fan, I drink it too … for simplicity alone.. and as I said earlier, I really can’t honestly say that when served cool/cold, that i can truly identify X label over Y label across the mineral water group.

I do think it’s a good place..: but so could a LOT of OTHER places too. I think it really comes down to a hard, objective assessment of where you are at in life, what you expect or foresee going forward, your risk tolerances, finances, health now and foreseeable future, family etc. I think it really can be a good place to settle down and finish out your life.. but.. I think you really have to think it through (to the best of your ability and foreseeability) and think about issues that are perhaps unpleasant - what if you have a major life-altering medical issue? - what’s your desires for end of life care? and issues that are a bit more warm and fuzzy.. what’s your day to day plans for lifestyle? are you a stay-at-home kind of guy, a golfer? what’s that look like.. I also think having a solid, well rounded social network is huge. I have friends here - good friends - that aren’t borne from my spouse or work, but from common interests etc., and to me that’s a big deal. for me it creates a balanced life that’s not all focused on one or two points. My spouse too, she’s the same. She has her gang- some are old school (HS and University) friends, some are work-based and others are from her various hobbies. And I think that’s great for her too.

My wife is a water connoisseur in that she only drinks Evian. She must go through at least 12 bottles a week. That’s fine; it’s her thing . For me, I only care about the taste. Can I taste the difference? Yes, but really only between bottled/filtered water and mineral waters.. within the mineral water spectrum, i honestly can’t say i can immediately identify the various labels. My only thing with the water is that I have to take it cool to cold - not room temperature/warm. If it’s warm to like warm the minerals become “bitter” to take on a more unpleasant metallic-like after taste.

For me, it was an issue that we talked about before we decided to marry. My spouse is civil servant - MoF - and holds an advanced degree. Therefore, for her, career is a big(er) deal - which I get. She and i got lucky as I see it, that we are both from very solidly financed families - so “money” wasn’t a huge huge issue for either of us. Her mom and dad are more than self-sufficient as are my mom and dad. The issue that was more front and center for us was children. Her mom and dad are from larger families (ie 4 to 6 kids) and I’m an only-child born from 2 only-child parents. So there was some animated discussion about family size expectations. And the agreement is that she will stay home when children arrive. I myself haven’t really worried about this issue “wife stops working” but I can sure see how it could be a problem later on. For me, my spouse and I discussed a LOT of things before we decided that we could “do this” (ie be married) her working post-marriage and post-kids, was just one of them. But I think having that discussion ahead of time made things far easier.

I agree.. My feeling is that it shouldn’t be up to the “victim” if they wish to pursue legal action criminal action… that should be left to the state prosecutors office … now, on the CIVIL side, sure .. it’s up to the victim if they want to seek civil relief .. that’s fair game.. but I don’t think the victim should be able to decide if there is a criminal charge or not.. I don’t have an issue with the prosecution seeking the input of the victim before making a charging decision, but again, i don’t think it should the victims call if there is a criminal complaint filed or not.

Agreed. To me there’s going to be to costs that apply fairly uniformly across the whole kingdom - for example staff wages and fleet acquisition costs.. and as such, those costs should be applied to all postal prices across the kingdom. … but there will some higher costs that are very localized.. and to that end, to me, it’s fair to include those localized higher costs specifically to services provided in those areas, as opposed to applying them kingdom wide. As I recall, Thai Post, while a direct government entity, they are mostly self-funded thru postal fees paid… as such, it’s fair for them to set prices based on true costs to provide said services.

To a degree that concept of “I think the Thais really need an increase in wages. But only if the costs to buy food or other necessities do not increase as well.” Is where this issue comes to a point. In many industries, wages play a significant part of the end consumer cost.. so, I don’t think it’s either feasible nor realistic hope for a wage hike (adding to costs for suppliers) while at the exact same time hope for a cost/price freeze. it’s kind of a vicious cycle in that as costs rise, so does prices.. and prices rise, so do wages .. as wages rise, so do costs.

Wouldn’t it be that banks would want to close more physical branches and OPEN more ATMs? After all, due to their “pooling” agreements, bank X can still have reach to their customers without the need to have an actual company owned ATM on premises and instead service their customer via bank Ys unit.

That’s a fair point. However, i would *guess* that a substantial percentage of working Thais actually fall under the minimum earned wage threshold to even have a tax due obligation (host, this doesn’t exempt them from filing despite the income level) I think that this is also a big reason why the use of the VAT is more prevalent because it’s far easier to enforce, control and collect - but as we know, any kind of tax like the VAT, tends to be regressive in nature unless key household items like food, rent, utilities are exempt. If I were revenue, Id start “upstream” by looking closer at the businesses finances - if they report X in “payroll” costs - then they’d be obligated to show to which tax payer IDs was said payroll disbursed to.. that would then give revenue a starting point for collection purposes . You could also get the banks in play. Require a “payroll code” be applied to any payroll payments made to individuals accounts.. and report at years end anyone with said deposits… that too would help revenue identify those with taxable income over X level. Foreigners working legally is low-hanging fruit because there aren’t all that many of them, and due to the increased regulatory requirements (ie work permits) it’s easier to identify these people and make sure they meet filing/payment rules.

My experience is like the majority of others as well ALL of my cards (2 from BBL, 1 from KBank and 1 from SCB) have a fixed annual fee.. From memory, it’s around 2k to 4k depending on the card and it’s “features” That said, like the others, I’ve never actually paid that fee - but rather was exempted yearly based on the amount of spend I put on the card.. My BBL cards are the lowest I recall with only few thousands or X transactions. The others are a bit higher - but easily met with just my traditional spend. IF the claim is 6,000 for the annual fee - IMHO - that would perhaps be for TWO cards from the same bank (I applied for and was approved for my 2 BBL cards at the same time) OR a card from the issuers “premium” line which carries higher perks, but also higher fees or minimums spend for a fee waiver.

i agree .. while the math is in fact correct - you’re right that by using the top few country, you’re always going to look “cheaper than..” To me, what Id think is better is to add language in the applicable law that sets a schedule for any fee hikes - like a bi-annual review or even pegged to the rate of inflation etc.

To be fair, nearly all countries operate in this manner in that the fees, taxes are nearly universally added into the fare programmatically - but disclosed in the fare construct section of the booking. So, Thailand really isn’t doing anything different than nearly all other countries in terms of how these taxes and fees are collected.