icare999

i just did mine no problem in Chiang Mai I was not told anything about new rules or told i need to come in every 3 months 

so ? where was this 

On 9 April 2019 at 1:39 PM, markcm19 said:

hello, wondering if anyone knows which xiaomi air filter replacement is best for chiang mai pollution (WOW! it is BAD!), where to get one, and what a good price for it would be? I have a filter already and its disgusting and needs to be changed. THank you !

i bought 2 they are useless in some respects really good at getting ait clean quickly but only on full power and it switches to automatic autonamatically after 1-3 hours then its useless so need to put it on every time it stops on full power also very noisy. I had 4 air purifiers 2 of them cost over 25,000 but cant find spare filters for 3 of them anywhere so they were useless only 1 i could get spare filters was a daiken but not all models check you can get spare filters I use xiaomi to get air clean quickly and will try and cannibalise 3 which willk give some protection also ill but naother daiken but most places out of stock 

On 24 March 2019 at 9:21 AM, motdaeng said:

Maybe this video helps ... i've tested (at the same time) four different models / brands of pm2.5 meters.
all had slightly different results (about 5 to a maximum of 20%). but on a low level of pm2.5, all had the similar level of pm2.5!

 

 

dont buy its fine when running full fan speed and will then clean air very quickly but problem is it goes to auto mode automatically after 1-2 hours and then its not a lot of good at full fan speed its also very noisy 

On 24 March 2019 at 8:03 AM, motdaeng said:

- with 140 µg/m3, there seems to be something wrong ..

- did you check the filter, is it correct installed?

- to get better results you also need to improve the sealing of your windows and your inside doors,

it will make a big different. with the high outside level of pm2.5, before i hardly got my rooms under 15 µg/m3

if using the sleep mode (very quiet).

- now in the bedrooms (20 m2) i do get about 7 µg/m3 (pm2.5), and this in the sleep mode from a 

sharp air purifier (for 24m2) . and this with outside air about 180 - 220 µg/m3!!

Mi s2 is useless unless runnign at top fan spped and then it changes after 1-3 hours to automatic so useless apart from just getting levil down quickly at full fan speed which is also very noisy its fairly cheap but your better off just making your own google DYI or mae sure you get one where you can adjust fan speed and it stays on that speed i wish id not obught 2 of them and pasid insteasd double for a proper one 

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Everyplace online that I've looked has been sold out of pretty much everything.

 

There may be something out there somewhere, but it's going to be hard to find.

 

On the other hand, if you live in the CM region and plan to continue living there in the future, you might as well order from Lazada if you can find something there or even from outside Thailand, because sure enough, you'll be facing the same kinds of issues again about this time next year.

 

Xiano see review from crean air they say itsno good 

On 14 March 2019 at 9:16 AM, scubascuba3 said:

On 14 March 2019 at 9:13 AM, freedomnow said:

Why doesn't someone send a text message to BJ in Thai about getting all offices on the same page regarding this ? As much as he is hardline to foreigners, he is also hardline to the slobs in Imm. offices.
I'm not a retiree, just an observation that there appears to be a line open to him and from what I read that particular office is a pure headache on the make.

the muppets there are clearly corrupt with the agencies lining up out back but BJ turns a blind eye, we all know so why doesn't he

youve not been here long i guess 555 common sense logic etc is rare here and even rarer amongst immigration etc 

so much dislike and crap spoken here by a load of pathetic forang well i my thai wife and all thais we know and have known for over 30 years here are very grateful Thailand has an army able and willing to take control when would be dictators like Taksin get out of hand. Im totally fed up with over 30+ years a load of half witted forang think they have any right or say in what is not there country Thailand is not some nanny state thank goodness and Pc Liberal crap is not liked here so to all people posting here insults on army chiefs as far as c im concerned you can if you dont like it just piss off back to your own countries which are in a state of total decline and full of unrest while here all is well thanks to the army in large part  

On 10 February 2019 at 11:39 AM, spidermike007 said:

Recently returned from immigration, after renewing my marriage visa. The upside to this visa, is that only 400,000 is needed as a deposit, and it does not have to stay in the bank, once your visa is granted. The downsides are:

 

The hurdles you need to jump over, in order to get a marriage visa are stupid, ridiculous, unnecessary, draconian, wasteful, and silly. I understand the need for them to verify that you are a legitimate couple. Upon the first application. But, the dumb requirements should not relate to renewals. You should not be required to show fresh images of the house each time, copies of the marriage papers, the house documents, either come with a local Thai witness, or bring a signed affidavit from a local Thai each time, provide new maps to the house, and dozens of other requirements.

 

I just do not even know what to say about the process. I felt like a street dog by the time I left. After hours of paperwork, copy after copy after copy, each page having to be signed, and then being grilling by the surly officer, I literally felt like a street dog. The level of disrespect that immigration shows married couples here, and foreigners in general, is totally uncalled for, beyond the pale, and inane. The copy woman, the guy sorting our papers, they were all nice. But, the officers? Such sourpusses. The woman who was helping us was so difficult to work with, when she finally rejected us over the tiniest thing she did not like, after nearly an hour of reviewing every document with a microscope, so to speak, and said no, I responded by saying yes. YES, you are going to do this. Yes, you are going to do this right now. YES, you are going to stop saying NO to me right now. This ends now. She looked at me and did not know what to say. I asked for the manager. The top brass came over, and we had it sorted in 30 minutes. Took nearly 3 hours. And as usual, it will be a month, until I have final approval. Is it worth it? NO. It is my last marriage visa. I will go back to a retirement visa next year, or leave the country, before I subject myself to that abuse one more time.

 

I totally blame Prayuth, and the biggest joke. Immigration has gotten worse under their tutelage and their arrogance, and their insufferable xenophobia knows no bounds. This whole thing leaves a bitter, sour, nasty, foul taste in one's mouth, and the stench can be smelled for kilometers. Thailand is moving backwards on so many levels, I do not even know where to begin. I believe at this point, that if Brittany Spears were to declare her candidacy, she would beat Prayuth, hands down. That is how much he and the army are despised, at this point. Especially after the recent stunt he pulled.

well i and all thais i and my thai wife know support him he might be loathed by you but i dont tihnk by most of population well see at election hes brought stability and peace when before was fighting and discorse I never went for marriage visa but do know people who use it and are not in reality married with regard to new rules they are fine IMO for to long al oad of ex pats without a pot to piss in have abused rules and their embassies have coluded in that ive been here over 30 years and rules have not changed for around 14 years ive alwasy found immigration with one or 2 exceptions helpful and very friendly but 1 or 2 exceptions id agree can be extremelly rude and aggresive im pissed off with so many low life forang here living on peanuts not able to properly support their families and when i ask whats going to happen to your kids and wife when your gone get answer not my problem 

forget it just go to a gold shop its fine stop being paranoid its fine 

so ive been here over 30 yeqrsw and in last 15+ years seen GBP go from around 75 to now today just bleow 40 

yet lots of people i know still keep their savings here in foregn exhange GBP accounts worried about Thia baht 

Stupid or not since brexit vote it went from around 55 to 45 and now doen to under 40

Soon i reckon 35 or less 

when will peoplpe start accepting west is dead or just keep saying banht is overvlaued and keep loosing 

I say stupid 

On 6 February 2019 at 1:23 PM, garyk said:

If you are young enough to have a 7 year old then why would you want to be in Thailand? Go back home and go to work, take the boy with you. He will have a good education and a good life.

555 im nearly 90 and was over 60 when we had our 2 children and no i dont consider myself a dirty old man many in west marry ladies far younger than them and have children 

most of people i know from USA don’t have income and boasted no problem. When i used letter from embassy the UK embassy insisted i prove i had income. It always annoyed me that UK at least were honest while US obviously were not (maybe it says something about USA). Those who say ok what do I do leave my wife in rice field most I know don’t care about their wives at all or worse their off spring and if they did they would not get married and have kids when they obviously cant afford to give them what in west would be a semi decent standard. So the vast majority of those (not all) in my books are low life. Number of them when ive asked what happens if you die and then your children cant go to that school etc and answer in so many cases is not my problem. I’ve been expecting them to increase amount for many years and it would be quite reasonable to double it to 1.6 million. However although I have no real problem with new rules and usually bring over a lot more and usually have well over 1 million when I renew my visa because i cant use money as is my normal habit i might consider changing to a marriage visa or go for elite visa to save all hassle and is in many ways if you can afford it a bargain. Only problem with Elite visa is when i go my wife and children will loose out on a million baht. Transferring 65,000 a month is a lot of hassle and anyway while most months no problem sometimes my uk account drops to near zero due to bills etc. My wife could borrow money on one of her properties and pay 7% interest but we’ve been debt free for many years now. Ill probably just make sure i comply with new rules. If one is able to borrow money say at 7% it makes cost pa around 56k baht a year but then we can use money and mostly get at least 5% so cost is only around 16k baht a year. I tend to agree that those who can’t afford it don’t belong here. There are some genuine people here who have fallen on hard times but most while not being necessarily low life simply are to poor to live here and don’t belong. Its also totally up to Thais and if you don’t like it well theirs nothing you can do and if like many you are of view Thailand is so bad in so many ways then you really should not be here.  Its totally reasonable for Thais to insist on a proper amount in income or assets. How do those moaning intend paying if they need expensive medical care which here is IMO as good as anywhere but while costs are by western standards low it still cost me around 1 million for my cancer treatment.  

On 6 February 2019 at 12:25 PM, Just1Voice said:

I can't speak for other Embassies, but in 10 years of getting Income Verification letters from the American Embassy in Chiang Mai, not once was I asked to provide any proof of my income.  Even though I always took it with me. Nor was anyone else that I'm aware of.  Because of that, a lot of guys simply lied about their income, and now they are crying "foul", when they knew the rules to begin with. 

most of people i know from USA don’t have income and boasted no problem. When i used letter from embassy the UK embassy insisted i prove i had income. It always annoyed me that UK at least were honest while US obviously were not (maybe it says something about USA). Those who say ok what do I do leave my wife in rice field most I know don’t care about their wives at all or worse their off spring and if they did they would not get married and have kids when they obviously cant afford to give them what in west would be a semi decent standard. So the vast majority of those (not all) in my books are low life. Number of them when ive asked what happens if you die and then your children cant go to that school etc and answer in so many cases is not my problem. I’ve been expecting them to increase amount for many years and it would be quite reasonable to double it to 1.6 million. However although I have no real problem with new rules and usually bring over a lot more and usually have well over 1 million when I renew my visa because i cant use money as is my normal habit i might consider changing to a marriage visa or go for elite visa to save all hassle and is in many ways if you can afford it a bargain. Only problem with Elite visa is when i go my wife and children will loose out on a million baht. Transferring 65,000 a month is a lot of hassle and anyway while most months no problem sometimes my uk account drops to near zero due to bills etc. My wife could borrow money on one of her properties and pay 7% interest but we’ve been debt free for many years now. Ill probably just make sure i comply with new rules. If one is able to borrow money say at 7% it makes cost pa around 56k baht a year but then we can use money and mostly get at least 5% so cost is only around 16k baht a year. I tend to agree that those who can’t afford it don’t belong here. There are some genuine people here who have fallen on hard times but most while not being necessarily low life simply are to poor to live here and don’t belong. Its also totally up to Thais and if you don’t like it well theirs nothing you can do and if like many you are of view Thailand is so bad in so many ways then you really should not be here.  Its totally reasonable for Thais to insist on a proper amount in income or assets. How do those moaning intend paying if they need expensive medical care which here is IMO as good as anywhere but while costs are by western standards low it still cost me around 1 million for my cancer treatment.  

On 6 February 2019 at 8:42 AM, Soupdragon said:

Has anyone here actually been made to feel they are welcome in Thailand by Immigration Officials ???

mostly they dont make me feel unwelcome and many are very helpful polite and pleasant but a minority are basically miserable bastards which is on par with officilas in any country 

9 hours ago, Bullie said:

Pertussis or whooping cough comes to mind. broad spectrum antibiotics is the Thai answer, my personal choice would be to have my blood checked at a reliable clinic or hospital.

I would NOT go back to this pool. Many are NEVER cleaned, they only keep on adding chlorine. Changing the water and ilter regularly is expensive, you know!

water in swimming pools is never ever changed except when you clean filter by a backwah some gets lost so is replaced quite often i dont tihnk you know anything about pool maintenance ifchlorine levil is to low pool will go green and also most people dont understand a salt pool is still a chlorine pool the salt is turned to chlorine by a machine 

2 hours ago, pontious said:

The rules are relevant to ' date of application ' not extension date.

555 another forang who knows it all place ios full of forang who tihnk they are still in west and rules in west apply here im totally fed up with them but they eventually learn its Thais who make rules not them 

2 hours ago, Thailand said:

Goes to show they have no idea what they are doing, what a shower!

no his extension was from march 3rd after new rules came into force he applied early which is allowed but hes extended from 3rd march after march 1 

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

That is the law. You have the option of sending 65k baht/month from a foreign source or the 800k option. I just can't understand why anyone would choose the 2nd option.

because in last 20 years baht has gone up in value i used to get 75 baht to gbp now 40 and id trust here much more than west or your one of those who havent noticed west is declining east is rising west is becoming a shithole while here is fast overtaking it 

1 hour ago, Spidey said:

My advice would be to leave the 800k in your bank in your own country and send it over at the rate of 65k per month.

and why should that be better over last 20 years at least against GBP baht has risen i used to get 75 baht to gbp now 40 and soon i reckon 35 

On 4 February 2019 at 11:37 AM, spidermike007 said:

It does appear that this administration, and especially the biggest joke, are trying to do everything in their power to discourage ex-pats from staying here. Does it not? These imbeciles should be making our lives easier, and making visa policy simpler. Rather they seem to be tightening the noose, every chance they get. To call them ignorant, fearful, xenophobic, non-visionary, and misguided would be a vast understatement. Biggest Joke said he would make things easier and simpler. He is doing just the opposite, and barely even disguising his contempt for foreigners. He is the single biggest threat to the ex-pat community right now. 

 

One can only hope that come election time, all of this nonsense will be over, and both Prayuth and especially the biggest joke, will be sent out to pasture for the rest of their lives. They are not doing anything that benefits their nation, and they are picking on good men, who are bringing a lot to the table. Dumb and dumber. What can one say? 

so i guess 20k gbp is to much for you perfectly reasonable to expect ex pats to have enough and it should after all these years be increased to at least 1.5 million 555 i doubt your country will give long term retirment visa without at least 10 times that amount in bank or on so low an income 

what a load of BS I very much doubt many at all will leave because of this they might claim they are but probably just all cheap Charlie’s who really don’t have a pot to piss in. If you don’t have an income of 65,000 baht a month then i don’t reckon unless your married to a Thai and have family you should be here. Also if your retired and cant law your hands on 800k baht  baht (still only 20k) or have family ot friends who will lend to you then what if your ill again on caveat if you don’t have health insurance. Its perfectly reasonable for government to insist on a certain amount of money. Anyway if your married (I am but use retirement option because i don’t want hassle) then its only 400,000 (around 10k gbp)

Go on flame me but theirs to many low life forang here trying to exist on little. 

While it used to be possible to live ok here on as little as 20-30k baht a month prices have gone up a lot and 800k baht requirement has and is staying same for now around 13-14 years. Would people have preferred they raise it to 1.2 million or more to reflect properly increase in living costs here ? 20 years ago I could live with my thai wife for 30k gbp a month quite well but then petrol was around 12 baht a litre bus fare in Bangkok 3 baht or so rice ½ price etc etc so they probably should have raised it to at least 1.5 million.

Visa elite looks attractive now at 500,000 for 5 years or 1 million for 20 years and if I thought id survive 20 years id go for that since it inflation proofs future rises etc and saves a lot of yearly hassle. However ill just pay up since then money will be there for my Thai family.

Also 400k can be considered a bond so you have enough to pay for medical although that wont cover very serious illness (my excellent cancer treatment was over 1 million). Id be more concerned about them insisting on medical insurance since I and many at our age simply cant get it.

3 hours ago, Khaeng Mak said:

Sheryl

I am in exactly the same pickle. I just did my extension a week or so ago. I then transferred my money offshore and put in an invest account that has a 6 month term and A ONE MONTH grace period if I want to break the term and get at my money.  I have other fixed income investments that provide me with money for my monthly expenses but it might be impossible for me to get my hands on 400K before 1 march.

 

Many other people on this website are making fun of my situation and posting some horrible and poisonous comments.

 

I am not broke.

 

I am not an illegal person as one other poster called me.

 

I am just an old guy with a family and I must manage my money closely.

 

I need absolute clarity regarding the same issue as you.  Do I need to transfer the equivalent of 400Kthb back into my FCD account before March 1.

 

Sawan called immigration yesterday and again this morning for me.  The said they are not aware of any new rule.

 

Where to from here?

 

EDIT: I should (for clarity) add that the investment income I get each month and use for my living expenses is less than 65K thb.

 

I could perhaps borrow the money (or put it on a credit card) to make the top up to 400K. But that is a ridiculous and very expensive option. Thus my urgent request for help.

you wont get clarrity here or from immigration if you can borrow money then my advise is do so even if on expensive credit card but better if you can from a family or friend and offer 8% which on 400,000 is 16000 baht for 6 months. If you have assets it should not be to difficult and 16,000 a small price to pay  or make sure you transfer 65k + as month might be an alternative. Thye wont im sure trat you as an overstay so stop paniking or whne you get 400k back consider a elite visa for 500,000  

3 hours ago, MJKT2014 said:

Surely the retirement extension laws, if they applied to existing extenders (hard to believe??), need 2 years to implement for renewals or should not be changed at all for existing renewals? The IO cannot be expecting all law abiding retirement extenders to follow the news everyday can they? Some will not be aware of rule until next renewal with plans based on old.

I have always been using my 800k saved for 3 months in advance for living off/usin after extension and will top up again above 800k at 3 months before next renewal. All my real money stays outside Thailand. I didn't plan on going to an Imm office again until next renewal so will have no finances in place when I do go to adopt to any new rules they haven't told me about and changed on me since my last visit besides the 800k in a Thai bank 3 months prior as it was every year.

I used to top up to 800k 3 months before and then usually as soon as I got my extension spend 800k on a car or gold or investment. Problem was then always finding money again to top up again 9 months later which meant selling and investment (gold or a condo or something). Im seriously considering elite visa route given I will now need to tie up money for 6-7 months and keep say around ½ million so not to fall under 400k rule. It has a lot of advantages but at my age I probably wont last 20 years but might last more than 5 years. Also it means ½ million or 1 million less for my family (although that’s a small fraction of what they already have). While they wont need it much like inheritance tax in UK I hate simply giving any government any money.

So my options and probably many like me are:-

Go for Visa elite and have hassle free 5 10 or 20 year but loose between ½ million and 1 million. No more getting up at 5am once a year to get a Q number for my renewal etc. It also has a great advantage of safeguarding against future changes and if I went for 20 year for 1 million provided I lived that long (very unlikely) only 50,000 baht a year or say 5%.

Go over to  marriage visa or support a thai child visa but it’s a lot of hassle.

Fund 800,000 for ever and at least it would go to my family. However I totally distrust fiat money which can go to zero in next financial meltdown. Shame you cant show it in gold.

Borrow 1 million which at prevailing rate would be around 7% (my wife could easily borrow that on some of her land) but weve been totally debt free for 20 odd years and reluctant to have any debt at all.

On reflection while elite visa is really attractive and fairly easily affordable I cant bring myself to simply give away ½ to 1 million which would not then go to my family.

So ill almost certainly fund extra but 5,10 or 20 year elite visa is very tempting. If I go for that id probably have a massive heart attack next day. 

I used to top up to 800k 3 months before and then usually as soon as I got my extension spend 800k on a car or gold or investment. Problem was then always finding money again to top up again 9 months later which meant selling and investment (gold or a condo or something). Im seriously considering elite visa route given I will now need to tie up money for 6-7 months and keep say around ½ million so not to fall under 400k rule. It has a lot of advantages but at my age I probably wont last 20 years but might last more than 5 years. Also it means ½ million or 1 million less for my family (although that’s a small fraction of what they already have). While they wont need it much like inheritance tax in UK I hate simply giving any government any money.

So my options and probably many like me are:-

Go for Visa elite and have hassle free 5 10 or 20 year but loose between ½ million and 1 million. No more getting up at 5am once a year to get a Q number for my renewal etc. It also has a great advantage of safeguarding against future changes and if I went for 20 year for 1 million provided I lived that long (very unlikely) only 50,000 baht a year or say 5%.

Go over to  marriage visa or support a thai child visa but it’s a lot of hassle.

Fund 800,000 for ever and at least it would go to my family. However I totally distrust fiat money which can go to zero in next financial meltdown. Shame you cant show it in gold.

Borrow 1 million which at prevailing rate would be around 7% (my wife could easily borrow that on some of her land) but weve been totally debt free for 20 odd years and reluctant to have any debt at all.

On reflection while elite visa is really attractive and fairly easily affordable I cant bring myself to simply give away ½ to 1 million which would not then go to my family.

So ill almost certainly fund extra but 5,10 or 20 year elite visa is very tempting. If I go for that id probably have a massive heart attack next day.