Tapster

This is very interesting, thanks.

I can't see 'Covid test' mentioned on the link you gave us.

Where is the price given?

@DBath

I'm doing the same as you, for a move to Scotland.

I have looked at this in some depth and here is my point of view, taking into account my medium-low, risk-taking profile:

• Cryptocurrentcy - so volatile at the moment, don't even think of it
• Thick gold necklace - it's not the worst idea; gold ought to hold its value for the time it takes you to travel to Spain. You'd have to know a lot about the gold market in both countries, though.
• Carrying large sums on your person - it's too late to change your mind if you have too much with you, and you meet the wrong customs officer. A Canadian friend of mine travelled back to Montreal with 8 million THB in cash; she made it but was sh*tting herself the whole way. I suppose it's not risky if you take only the allowed amount.
• Leaving cash in BKK Bank and transferring from abroad - this is Thailand! You don't want to have to fly back here to sort out some arcane banking procedure that they have suddenly invented.
• Dee Money - I'm registered with them. My calculations show that they take approx 3%, through poor exchange rates. Their charges seem low but the rates are poor. Having said that, 3% isn't the worst commission ever; it's just that 3% of a lot of money, is a lot of money!
• Having a BKK Bank credit card, and loading it up before you leave. If you don't already have a credit card with BKK Bank, you might need a work permit to get one. Other than that, it sounds like it might work, but again, if you have problems, you probably can't sort that out from Spain. Needs research.
• I didn't see anyone mention getting in touch with BKK Bank and asking how much you can transfer to a foreign bank. As long as you have proof that your money came from abroad in the first place, you ought to have no problem. I haven't done this with my bank yet, but this is what I'm hoping to arrange.
• Lastly, if I haven't made this clear before, I strongly suggest getting your money out of Thailand before you leave. I will be!
   

Good luck with your move. Hasta la vista, baby!

????

I've always thought that Rawai is too far from Patong for regular visits. I think you'd get pretty tired of the journey. For that reason alone, if Patong is important to you, I'd choose Kamala.

Rawai does have advantages to many people: several beaches to south, east and west, with different character; lots of restaurants and bars; Chalong pier for boats/diving; easy access to Phuket Town and a different style of shops, restaurants and bars; a very definite 'island feel', like really being on holiday all year!

If you really want Patong, you need to live close to it.

45k THB sounds like a lot of money for rent; I'm sure you could get a lot, for less.

As recommended above, try a month or two in each of your short-listed places, then you'll have a better idea.

????

Still no over-60 registration on the Phuket Provincial Public Health website:

https://www.xn--12cmj6ba0a7b3g4a6fud5d2a.com/

It says people with work permits only.

@LosLobo

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a try: Super Cheap, not the pipe bomb.

????

As in the title, I'd be very grateful for help buying some fireworks, especially rockets.

The one place I know, a shop virtually on Chalong Circle, seems to be permanently closed.

????

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and opinions.

Here's what happened:

I had a strong feeling, from previous experience, that I shouldn't go near the DLT, for reasons I have detailed above.

I was right!

I turned up with my Thai 'adviser'. He did nothing, and a gaggle of four inspectors looked over my bike for 20 minutes. I was charged a mere 10 THB for the inspection and then told, by a very polite inspector, that my bike did not correspond to the details in my Green Book. Sure, the engine was a Honda, but there were so many non-standard parts that they couldn't licence/register it.

My 'adviser' was a little bit embarrassed, and his unsmiling friend, the contact I'd paid for from the DLT, remained unsmiling and unhelpful.

I was allowed to drive home, even cheered by the inspectors for having such a cool bike, but I was told (in a happy and smiley, totally Thai way) that:

• I can ride the bike but I should avoid the police.
• I no longer have to pay annual road tax.
• The Green Book is now non-transferable; they stamped every page to say so.
• I can sell the bike, but the new owner cannot register it in their own name, however they can have a bill of sale to prove that it's theirs.
• If I'd paid my road tax every year, I'd have avoided all this trouble. (This begs the question: how could I have paid my tax without appearing at the DLT every time, which would have created the problems I'm describing.)

Takeaways:

•  If you have a non-standard bike, pay your tax every year, via a 'dodgy' Thai guy,  so you don't get noticed or have to go to the DLT.
• Don't believe any BS you are told about anything: take a Thai friend/contact to the DLT first, and find out what would happen in your, hypothetical, circumstances, mentioning no names. 

@pontious

I have put the sensible suggestions to the father.

The Internet world is full of people who make a big fuss about their case, and then get fools to pay for their problems, via 'paymeformymistakes.com'

In this case, the father is a normal bloke who is overcome by his problems with his son. He is not going to beg for help though the media. 

The poor man is very depressed by his circumstances and I don't even want to show him all the responses to this thread, because it would make him feel worse.

The immigration situation is stable for now. There's nothing in writing to prove that father and son have the right to stay in Thailand, but it seems that they will be left alone. 

The two of them are considering their way forward, in the light of the many opinions they have received.

My wife had an uncensored copy of the photo shown in the article. It was from Facebook, I think.

She showed it to one of our friends and he identified all four of the men.

555!

@ubonjoe

Thank you.

In short, you think they should cut their losses and leave the country?

But, the son cannot fly. What can they do about that? The posts here about taking a camel back to Blighty are funny but not helpful.

Even if they left the country, they could not re-enter because of being blacklisted.

They have nowhere to live in the UK, and the son can't fly out of Thailand. I think that's enough to make them stay here; at least the immigration boss has said they can leave whenever they like. They just have to keep their heads down and their noses clean.

Is there nothing else they can do? Is there no appeal to a higher immigration authority?

@Kwasaki

I hear you, man, I really do.

Thing is, I have already committed 3,200 THB that I will never see again, to my Thai guy.

The loss-of-face to my guy if I tell him that I'm now doing it on my own, will result in fireworks. I have experienced him once before when he thought he'd lost face; he was like a little boy throwing a tantrum, except that this little boy is well connected.

Then there's the possibility that all the non-standard parts (or lack of parts!) will send DLT into fits!

Over the years, I have been told many times that my bike must never see the inside of an official testing station.

If I was starting from scratch, and hadn't committed any money, I'd follow your advice, because I like doing sh*t like this on my own.

This thread has confirmed that I'm not being totally lied to, so I'll go with my guy and we'll see what happens. Spoke to him today and he seems keen to get it all finished this week. Sounds good to me!   ????

If you read my last post, you'll see that I'm going with the shady guy to whom I've already paid 3,200 THB.

The Thai language post above confirms what two Thai bike guys have already told me, to wit:

• I probably do need a new green book 
   
• My bike is no longer registered, so I can't sell it legitimately
   
• I also need to return the number plate to DLT, for replacement
   

The bottom line is that I haven't been lied to by 'shady operators'. I doubt that I could sort this out myself, so I'm going to see what my current contact can do.

All I wanted here, was an indication of what was the correct law on the subject, and how I should proceed. It seems that I have that. I don't speak Thai, so I'm certainly not going to try and negotiate this complex area of vehicle law!

Thank you, everyone, for your opinions. If I get time I'll post the outcome of my tale.

@ubonjoe

I was hoping you might see this thread. Please may I have your opinion on the following questions:

Do you have any comments on this case?

Has the UK embassy intervened in similar cases?

Who can these two men appeal to, for help?

Many thanks     ????

@jackdd

"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right: here I am, stuck on Thai Visa with you!"

It was all going so well!

Having translated the article you attached, it seems that my bike's registration has definitely been suspended. This means that I may need a new green book and new number plates; then pay the outstanding tax and a small fine.

The need for a new green book is something that two Thai guys have already told me. It seems they were correct. The guy who is helping me at the moment has my green book and the number plate. I wondered why he needed the plate, but it now makes sense, if I need a new plate, for the re-registration.

Argh! 

I'm very grateful for your input. It wildly differs from that offered by other posters, but you have backed it up with a source, and that is compelling.

Right now, I'm thinking I might be better off going with the shady Thai guys and their DLT contacts. At least I'll have a bike that I can sell, so long as the buyer is willing to continue the honorable tradition of dealing under-the-counter with the locals.

Looking forward to any follow-up posts.  I'm off for a beer.

Thanks!!

@Kwasaki

I'm warming to the idea of taking it to the DLT myself. I am getting sick and tired of being at the mercy of dodgy guys!

Thank for all the advice. 

@WhiteBuffaloATM

You are busy tonight! I have just responded to a helpful post of yours on an immigration thread of mine.

Thank you!

Yes, I intend to sort out this tax before I sell it. Not only will I get more money but I don't think many buyers would want to take on such a Machiavellian retaxing method, especially after 5 years.

I think I'm going to go to one of the govt.-approved testing garages and get an idea of how easy it will be when I go to DLT. I'm sure they'll tell me how things stand. 

Trouble is, I've already given 3,200 THB to my shady guy to start this process. I will never get that back, but by-passing him might be cheaper in the long run. He's the second guy who's said the I need a new green book after so many years. That doesn't sound right, does it?

Trouble is, I don't think they have the resources for a specialist lawyer.

That, or a good 'fixer' would be the best option at this stage, I think.

I'll put it to them tomorrow.

Thanks for all the advice.

@Kwasaki

That sounds like good news. I really want to believe you!

I'd like to go to the DLT myself. I've dealt with them successfully several times.

What about the undeniable facts that my bike doesn't have a speedo, odometer or petrol gauge and that it does have a very loud exhaust?

How can DLT ignore all that if they complained about my wife's non-standard exhaust, on her PCX-150?

????

@blackcab

I was looking at Thai Airways today and they have direct flights BKK to LHR for approx 17k THB one-way. That's about 385GBP which is pretty cheap

oops! ... looks like someone already told you that!

@johng

Thanks for the opinion.

The green book is real. It has all my details in it and the details of the German guy I bought it from , etc. etc., down the line.

Right now, I can't find a shady guy I can trust! (Ah, Thailand!)

My previous, reliable shady guy has disappeared.

So, you don't know anything about the 'can't take the bike to DLT' issue, or the 'don't have to pay road tax after 5 years' non-payment' issue?

????

The attached photo is my chopper.

It is mainly custom but in the green book it's registered as a Honda NT 650; the only Honda parts are the engine, the front of the frame and the wheels.

In the past, when I had it re-taxed, I was told that it could never be taken to the Dept of Land Transport because it was too non-standard. I believed them and so I'd pay approx 4,000 THB a year for tax, to a shady guy who knew another shady guy at the DLT.

Fast forward five years to 2021. I now want to sell the bike.

I haven't had the bike taxed in 5 years (naughty me) and I'm told by the shady guy that this means I'll need a completely new green book.

I'm told by a different shady guy that 5 years without tax means that I never have to get the bike taxed again as it's free if you go 5 years without tax ... this sounds very unlikely but I've now heard it twice.

It seems reasonable that the DLT would have a problem with the lack of original parts; they wouldn't pass my wife's scooter because it had a non-standard exhaust.

But what's with needing a new green book?? And do I really have to take the word of shady guys who are now asking for 9,000 THB for the bike to be taxed up-to-date.

Can anyone please tell me what's the score with non-standard bikes?   ????

@jackdd

If they leave, I don't think they'll worry about coming back. They have no ties here.

Immigration have left them in a weird situation and they need it sorted.

@pagallim

Thank you very much. I'll tell them tomorrow.

????

Firstly, this is not about me. The family involved aren't on TV, so I said I'd post this on their behalf.

The facts:   

British family in Phuket; a man and his adult son.

The son had a bike accident in 2020 and has since been recovering from a traumatic brain injury. He needs a carer and that's his 70-year-old father.

The son has a letter from his Thai neurosurgeon saying that he cannot fly.

For some reason the hospital lost the son's UK passport, in November 2020. This meant that the son's visa was not renewed. I don't know what type of visa it was. However, the No.2 immigration officer at Phuket Port Immigration said to the father, and I paraphrase: 'don't worry, it'll be fine. Your son will get a new visa because of his health problems, and you'll have a visa as your son's carer. Come back and see me when you have the new passport for your son'.

This is where I think problems began.

The passport took a very long time to come; it arrived late April 2021. The father had let six months pass since he'd last contacted immigration. 

Yesterday the father spoke to the Lieutenant Colonel at Phuket Immigration, the No.1 guy. Apparently, too much time has now elapsed since the last contact with Immigration and further visas will be impossible, for both father and son. He went on to say that father and son are not going to be deported; they can leave whenever they like and pay the required overstay fines at the airport.

The UK embassy in BKK have not been told this story, since an earlier enquiry before things got to this stage, received a response explaining that the UK cannot get involved in Thai immigration matters.

I don't want to think badly of the UK embassy but what are they for, if not to help British citizens with problems in foreign countries.

All the two guys in this case want, is to stay in Thailand legitimately, so that the father can care for his son.

It seems that they can stay, but in an illegal sort of limbo, that they are not very happy about. I certainly wouldn't be happy in such a position, either.

Surely the goodwill shown by Immigration, back in 2020, can be extended to provide visas for these two men. The son cannot even fly out of Thailand.

Please can anyone give any advice on this case?

Has the UK embassy intervened in similar cases?

Who can these two men appeal to, for help?

Aaaand ... the lesson is ...

 ... asking for an opinion about beer is like asking opinions of economists: you get more than one differing opinion from each one!

I am outta here. May you all enjoy the beer of your choice. I'm taking up an easier hobby: herding cats!

????