Madgee

Update: I delivered my passport to the MyThaiVisa agency (office not far away) on the 1st of April. It can all be done by post. Expiring passport 2 passport photos I.D. Card (Thai driving licence will be accepted as well) I signed a 'power of attorney' form allowing them to renew my passport on my behalf and a blank passport application form, they completed it. Paid 12,000 Baht. I got a message via 'Line' this morning 26th of April that my new passport is ready to be picked up (or posted to me). According to them the passport office no longer issues a letter for immigration asking them to transfer my visa details and extension of stay to my new passport. Only 26 days to renew a UK passport from Thailand with no hassle, can't be bad!

I suggest you read the article again. 10,000 covid cases a day. 1004 we're hospitalised etc. Not all the cases reported ended up in hospital. TBH, many reported covid cases in my area at the moment, it's disrupting the pool night!

1 week before Songkran last year I discovered an inguinal hernia after playing a strenuous game of badminton on a Friday evening. On Saturday I went to a local clinic that confirmed my fears and he offered to get me in for the op (open surgery) the next day! Roi-Et General Hospital, private room for one night. ฿500 clinic. (Surgeon) ฿18,000 hospital incl. ฿5000 clinic back-hander for immediate op. Normal waiting time is about 3-4 weeks. ฿400 clinic post-op check-up. I had chronic pain for 2-3 days afterwards which gradually dissipated over the next 2-3 weeks. 3 months later I was back playing competitive badminton, albeit less frequently. I still get the odd spasm but nothing that over concerns me. A friend in the UK has been waiting over 12 months for the same op. There it's a day surgery procedure.

Tax Return (2023) (publishing.service.gov.uk) Is this what you are looking for?

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Slightly incorrect. Interest earned over 1k on savings is liable for tax.

I see the Brit haters are out in force again! The German sunbed gangs with their oversized towels will be happy, it's only the Brits that can give them some competition in the early hours with the towel saga.

Mr Dolt, most of the pros I know insist that you keep the guard on! 😜

Hi Mr Dolt, I find your take on this subject extremely interesting ........................ As a novice gardener for many a year, I've always considered safety a prime concern so I will continue to use my weedwhacker with safety in mind and you be careful Mr Dolt with your way of doing things.

Extract from an email (IPC) +44 (0)191 218 7777 We can also take your claim over the telephone which may take around 30 minutes. The required information for a telephone claim is as follows: The most important piece of information they require is your National Insurance number. • Your contact details (telephone numbers, address, email address) • Marital status (including dates of marriage, death or divorce) • Spouse’s UK National Insurance number if they have one • The date you left the UK (month and year is acceptable) • The name of your last UK employer and the date you left that employment (month and year are acceptable) • If you have lived or worked in any other countries than the UK, we need the dates that you lived/worked in those countries as well as your social security numbers for those countries if you have one • The banking details of where you would like to be paid. You can contact them 4 months before you are due. I did it in January. An accommodating lady on the phone was all done and dusted within 15 minutes. Easy peasy. Much of the information required if you do it by mail is not required by phone.

I totally agree with you. Out of curiosity, I also sourced some of the parts he mentioned on Lazada. I've recommended a local repair shop to him but he insists on using a Chevvy approved garage.

My neighbour swapped his 2010 Vios with 240k km, for a 2011 Captiva with 110k km, which has turned out to be a lemon. Things keep breaking on it, the seat adjuster, tailgate lock mechanism, door mirror adjuster etc. Ordering parts has been a nightmare for him. 10 weeks wait for an oil seal, something to do with a transmission rebuild following an oil leak. (It's still got a slight oil leak!) Now it's in for starter motor problems after a breakdown, 3 weeks and counting. All the work is being done by an authorised Chevvy garage. I picked him up last time it was towed there and the adjacent field was full of older Chevvies (many Captivas) apparently waiting for parts. Just saying .......

Another one where it's all about money! Duh.

^^^^^ Op, ignore the naysayers, they're the same negative lot that always has nothing useful to say. You do what you think is right for you. AFAIK, Your ex doesn't come into this. You have legit divorce papers from the UK which is what is wanted by the UK embassy to get an affirmation to say you are free to marry. Your girlfriend also needs her divorce papers (if previously married). Read the link: Where do you want to get married? - Getting married abroad - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) Everything can be done in a day if you are fully prepared!

You keep harping on about 'Most of your charging is done at home overnight' ...... My neighbour desperately wants an EV (stupid man) mainly because he thinks they are fashionable but cannot charge it at home as his car would be parked on the road away from his house. How about those living in condo blocks with very few chargers or even not allowed in the car parks? Respectfully, you use this point over and over again, that's your situation so sometimes start seeing it from another perspective. I'm not doubting the (at present) attractiveness of owning an EV for some but an EV certainly is not suitable for me and many others.

The cost of a new UK 54-page passport is about 6250 baht if applying from Thailand. I believe that the MyThaiVisa agency (used by many) charges 12000 baht incl, all done by post. I will be using this service later in the year. Considering it would cost me a flight to BKK, an overnight stay and travel in BKK, and then again to pick the passport up, far cheaper and much less hassle!

Any income above the personal allowance of £12,570 is subject to tax. I'm afraid that includes income from a private pension.

Err, I'm not quite old enough to receive my UK state pension yet so stop your wild assumptions about people's state of finances. Cornflakes for brekkie eh..... Go on, you'll be telling me they're Kellogg's next! Enjoy your (cold) day.

Good idea that you stay where you are. One of the reasons I came to Thailand was to get away from people like you!

You can inform the DWP that you are in the UK and you will receive the latest pension increase up to the date you leave, it then reverts to what it was before you entered the country, that is provided you tell them you are leaving (back to Thailand)! As a previous poster stated, they do call you periodically to check if you are still in the UK. Remember that because of the increase you might be liable for more tax.

Some of you don't get it, do you? I don't care if you falsify documents, say you live in Timbuktu or use a mail forwarding company etc. as a way to claim your pension increases along with the various other benefits: You commit benefit fraud by claiming benefits you’re not entitled to on purpose. It's that simple. just because you believe it's wrong for the Gov. to freeze pensions (as I also do) it doesn't mean you have the automatic right to commit fraud. As I've stated many times before, UP 2 YOU. Over and out.

Yes, there is, stop using a fraudulent address! You are committing fraud, pure and simple so stop trying to justify it as a right. As I have said before on many occasions, it's up to the individual to decide to do what they think fit. The same as many, I firmly believe that everyone who is entitled to the UK state pension should be treated the same, regardless of where they live, so the frozen pension stipulation is wrong and should be rectified. That doesn't give a valid reason to blatantly commit fraud but obviously, it does to some. Thailand doesn't have a social security agreement with the UK so it is what it is. Will anything ever happen to those who commit benefit fraud in this way? I very much doubt it! I know of none so although the legalities are there, they are not enforced .... at present. I do know of one person (my next-door neighbour) who inadvertently gave his Thai address on a tax form and was asked to pay back the overpaid amount totalling a few thousand pounds at an agreed £20 a week which was deducted from his private pension amount at source. His state pension remained at the amount when he was discovered to be living abroad and not frozen at the time he first resided in Thailand 5 years previous. He was not threatened with legal action. Maybe he would have been had he not voluntarily agreed to some payback, who knows!

For those who say it's not benefit fraud to claim the state pension increases (which is classified as a benefit) or scumbags that fraudulently claim the heating allowance, please note and digest the first few lines of the link given: You commit benefit fraud by claiming benefits you’re not entitled to on purpose. For example by: not reporting a change in your circumstances providing false information https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/outlines/benefit-fraud/ https://www.claims.co.uk/knowledge-base/personal-finance/benefit-fraud A person who knowingly gives false information about your residency at their address is also committing fraud and is likely to be prosecuted more heavily than the non-resident. Those who insist that the UK state pension cannot be reduced or stopped once given are correct but........AFAIK it can be suspended while being investigated. With the new powers that the DWP & HMRC have regarding people's bank accounts and personal information which can be shared between departments, I can visualise many more cheats being discovered over time, especially if reported! Off with their heads!

I can understand why people feel aggrieved about pensions being frozen and commit fraud by declaring a UK resident address, up to them. Openly admitting to taking the heating allowance.... Scumbags.

I've got to disagree with you on that one. A 4-page application form of which a fair chunk is non-applicable for renewal. It even includes 'Get It Right' help boxes for each section!