Bangkok45

I am just amazed as how stupid a person can be! If you already knew that it is illegal to hand over your passport then why would you want to rent a bike from the said operator who intentionally does something deemed illegal? And wanting to prove you are right? In Thailand, and being a 'farang'? If you can ride a bike sitting backwards, maybe, they'll give you a bike! This chap took idiocy to a new level!

Agreed. It is fine, just ensure that you have both passport with you.

If a pickup is what you need, go for the Ranger. I have no problems with it, though, and Isuzu is just as good. But if you are going for a 7 seater, the Fortuner is best. It serves my family and my needs well!

i am quite sure that soon more and more people will come to realise that the land of smiles, is anything but. The smiles are false to part you from your money.

Thailand now is so money orientated, that they will do anything to get it. Anything !!!! The women are no better, but they use thier bodies and smiles, and "I love you " technic, to part you from your money. Brains rather than brawn, but the end result is the same.

it is sad that these stories are commonplace now. There is no police presence at night, or early hours of the morning. They are more intent on working the day shifts to stop people without helmets and putting the money in thier pockets.

What a diference 8 years have made to this country. When I came here these stories were very few and far between, it was a joy to live here. It was cheap ( Now its expensive) The people were so nice, ( Now they are focused ), Locals welcomed and genuinly liked forieners, ( Now they falsely smile and hate us ) It was a very safe place to be, ( Now it is becoming dangerous ).

they are not interested in learning English, except for the bar girls, who NEED to learn it. And that in itself will backfie big time.

You may say, "well if you dont like it leave " Well I am on 27th November. I am going to live in a Place called Da Lat, in Vietnam, if you have never been there, believe me you will love it.

Goodbye Thailand

I feel sorry for the chap. I am just curious that on more than a few occasions it always seems that Russians tend to get into this kind of trouble.

Personally, I found Russians to be rude, and obnoxious when they had a drink too many. But I do know good upstanding Russians, too. But the latter is a small minority.

Please do not misunderstand me, I am not a racist or wishes to offend anyone. Just wondering if rudeness and obnoxious behaviour is a key contributing factor to being attack?

Hope your friend is recovering well! I have type O+ thus unable to contribute to this urgency. My prayers are with him!

Plane crash, car accidents, homicides, cancer...etc..etc. These are just circumstances that leads to our DEATH, of which, is a certainty. When it's time to go, we gotta go! Just be sure to have insurance while you are alive and kicking. Not for your benefit but for those you left behind. Live and let live!

Dark skinned, European descent, Oriental??? You are not close to being a farang. Where did you come from? Area 51? You are an ALIEN, man!

I don't know how many days you have left on your current permission to stay but if you need to get extra time you can apply for a 60-day extension under clause 2.24 of Police Order 777/2551

If I were in your shoes I would get the confirmation from the trust and then apply again, hoping to get a different officer to deal with me. If refused again, I would then use the second paragraph of clause 4 of the Police Order to appeal the refusal.

An attorney got mine done for a fee of 10000 baht paid only upon approval. From my point of view, it's a small price to pay to be rest assured and sleep easy.

Alternatively, google this company called Thaivisarun and ask for Phillip. Meet him in person at his office. You would get your extension (for a price, of course).

I'm sorry for your troubles. Chok dee...friend!

Not all Thais are keen on farangs. If you don't want drama in life why not take a vow of celibacy...hahaha. Young? Are you 13? Pursue a hobby like maybe collecting shells along the beaches of Pattaya or Koh Samui. It's orgasmic! What a joke!

This whole topic infuriates me to no end! The IRS and the "banksters" really are the scourge of this planet! Here's another option - bring the maximum amount you can without alerting the Nazi IRS and buy the rest in Thai 24K gold. Just buy chains and wear them like Mr. T on the flight home. Later, either cash the metal in or keep it locked up for future use. The metal might lose a bit of value or gain some? It's better than giving your hard-earned cash to the Vatican? Are you a Christian? Do you go to church on a regular basis? Do you believe in unknowingly donating to the fine folks in Rome?

Don't give the illegal, fraudulent IRS any more ammunition to seize your funds for their personal endeavors.

Sorry for the rant, but this s*** has gotten waaaaaay out of hand. I hope I did not use inappropriate words or terminology in this, my first, post here on TVF.

P.S. - The use of the word "Nazis", was not intended to be derogatory towards the German people in any way. It was however directly intended towards the ideology of said group!

This is the sanest reply among all! I don't declare any amount of money that requires declaration. Someone replied buying gold and wearing them. Done that, too. It's an option that should be considered. Now I just make payment to someone for services rendered or for purchase of an expensive fictitious item/machinery.

Hahaha...Omani Muslims drinking beers and wanting to get laid for free. That's 2 cardinal sins for Muslims. They paid less by being robbed as they would have been lashed or perhaps lynched in their country. Not to mentioned the price they would pay in their afterlife according to their scriptures. Som nam na!

Good for you girl!...25 is a good age to learn about the world and other cultures and to look for the right opportunity in life!! To have good friends here and good advise is a good start. To learn the Thai language perfectly is the second step. To live cheap and not showing off that you are "different" than Thai girls, is important to be welcomed to their lives. If you like the hotel business, keep learning languages perfectly, specially Russian, Japanese and Chinese. Learn about the religion and traditions, and adopt it if you like, with sincerity. Those skills and attitude will open doors for you in other fields, like export-import, real estate, education....and more, and will put you in contact with the right people. Do not get into the "tourist" environment. If you want to live and work here looking ahead, do not act like a "farang" in vacation. Live in a city with a busy cultural and business life, and get involved in social and volunteers activities.

You are young, you have a young mind and energy, and you know that you can do it. Go girl!

Thailand is a great country!

Live life to the fullest, that's my motto. But I do not do anything without the basic SWOT analysis of which I'm sure you had done before you actually contemplated moving to Thailand. At times, we have to play the cards that life dealt us and not according to our plans. Many many years ago, straight out from my teens I wanted to leave Asia and live, study and work in England but I ended up in living 3 yrs in Limassol, Cyprus doing odd jobs...hahaha...never regretted a minute of it! Thus far, had lived a huge part of my life according to my Wanderlust.

Just recently, moved to Thailand permanently after been in and out of the country for more than 10 years for long and short stays. I agree, it's not easy peasy as some had posted (ignore the negative post..it will permeates your soul) and after 6 months of research I am finally going to settle on a business that would not make me rich but create enough income to support the good life that I live now. I will be starting a pet store...hahaha! I always follow my heart, girl. And you should, too! Never let anyone talk you out of it or derail you from your dreams and what you wanted to do.

I am not going to say Good Luck or Chok Dee because 'Luck' is 50% preparation and 50% opportunity and the 'Good' can only comes from your heart! PM me if you love dogs.

Carpe diem!

It's just a passport. It's not something holy.

It's a practical solution to living and doing business freely in your chosen location, with the identical, full rights as a native.

You have thousands of pages on this website of people trying to solve the problems of living as a foreigner in Thailand.

Assuming you want to live here permanently, I think you'd have to have your head examined not to want to be free of those handicaps and hassles.

You hit the nail on the head "Living here permanently". A lot of us do not intend to live here permanently but are just here for work or business even though that might stretch to a number of years, so Thai Citizenship is of no use or interest to us. I don't know anything about the process for getting citizenship but from what I read it is no longer an easy process. Can't you also apply for permanent residency? Is that easier?

In my opinion, the current visa system provides sufficient options for most people that want to stay long term whether it be for work or retirement. Immigration is getting tougher on all visas even for business. We are now required to provide a detailed Hospital medical certificate including tests for syphilis and quite a few other exotic diseases. To renew my visa the paperwork now runs to about a hundred pages of personal and company information. However it is still a simple process to submit all this paperwork and as long as it is in order you will get your visa, just follow the rules.

My word! Thailand's foreign self appointed hatchet men do seem to be out in force recently! Good luck to them - and I do mean that - but the very few genuinely rich and successful people I have encountered in life gave me the impression that they had far better things to do than worry about what the rest of us are up to, and they would certainly not be trawling the internet for those they can point fingers at.

Entering by land or air is the same for a tourist visa. You could do a border run if you wanted to. Bangkok immigration has a special desk for stamp errors. You probably would be in and out quickly if you went there.

I moved my factory here 6 years ago, set up a Thai Company and employed Thais. Invested serious money here for machinery and buildings and export a good percentage of what I manufacture. I make a contribution to the economy of Thailand and when I go to renew my annual visa and work permit I am provided all the help that I need by the local immigration office. No need for bullshit or corruption.

Though I'm a newbie in this forum but I certainly had lived long enough to sniff out liars and poseurs. Factory owner, contributor to the Thai economy, no problem with visa ie. Mr. Perfect! If it sounds to good to be true then it certainly is not even near the truth. Grandstanding speeches in a forum is nothing more than one point here, another point there but a lot of bull in between.

Just give a straight answer to the one seeking it!

Fly back to Bangkok

Get a 30 stamp at airport on the way thru customs

Then plan a trip to Laos to apply for new tourist visa

If you plan to stay longer than what the tourist visa permits, consider ED visa or a Journalist visa waiver (1 year).