Hugh Jarse

I am currently in dispute with Nationwide UK over this very charge.

If you go onto there website and click on fees and charges for SWIFT transfer it will say £20, and if you verbally ask one of their staff what the charge is, you will be told £20. However, tucked away in the terms and conditions you will find reference to them using a third party (HSBC) to facilitate the transfer and they may(will) levy a charge against you for doing so.

All a bit underhanded in my book, and on top of that, because I wasn't expecting this extra scam of a charge, it put me overdrawn and incurring interest charges, albeit miniscule amounts. So at the moment as a matter of principle I am trying to get the charges taken off

I no longer use Nationwide (Proud to be the same as every other bank) for O/S transfers because of their excessive charges and gave up on Bangkok Bank 6 years ago when they demanded c.£20 for a small transfer of less than a million THB. Lloyd's Bank have recently reduced their SWIFT transfer rate to £9.50 (was £17.50 'til November this year) so I use them ; takes about 2 days.

Very helpful post. Did mine this week. Only needed to present 2 photos. New rule is that when you sign the photocopies you must now use blue ink only AND then print your name underneath. They love to see us jumping through hoops! As always helpful ,friendly staff there to assist .

Do you have a non-Immigrant visa, else you must make a conversion first or get one from a consulate abroad.

Paperwork:

1. Two application forms T.M. 7 with two photographs size 4x6 cm. and Visa Fee 1900.-Baht
2. Copy Marriage Certificate
3. Copy Kor Ror 2 from amphur office, marriage registry (not older than six months, even if marriage certificate is under 6 months old)
4. Child's birth certificate (if any)
5. Copy wife’s house registration (first page showing address and the page showing her details)
6. Copy wife’s identity card
7. Copy passport (all pages with stamps), non-Im visa, arrival card.
8. Interview the husband and wife for confirming status of husband and wife
9. Map to residency (names of roads and house marked in Thai and GPS coordinates)
10. 3 Pictures, one showing you outside the house with wife and house number visible, One in bedroom, One showing time relaxing.
11. Copy house book from residence (signed by owner and a signed copy of their ID Card, as this may not be the wife in some cases) or rental contract.
12: Copy of the letter from the MFA showing you were able to marry

With money in bank option.
1. Letters from your bank same day or day before stating bank records, and a transaction list for the past two months.
2. Bank account must be in Husbands name, joint accounts will not qualify.
3. Letter from bank must show transaction during previous two months.

With Income in Thailand option
1. A copy of work permit (All stamped pages)
2. Personal income tax (PND.1) for latest 3 months and personal income tax for previous year (PND.91) with receipts showing it has been paid
3: Copy of Company documents stamped and signed, Documents must be under 6 months old.
4: Letter of employment, stating location of employment, role and renumeration.


With Income from abroad.
1. Embassy letter stating your income.

All of the above in two copies, if not in BKK

TM.7 can be downloaded here, print both sides on one paper.

http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/base.php?page=download

The Hellfire Pass itself.

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The Pass was given it's name because, with the increasing workloads, work continued into the night, lit by firelight, creating an image considered to be similar to hell.

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In this pic, the railway sleepers can be seen still in place in the ground. The torment of those who carried out the task of placing those sleepers is dreadful to contemplate,

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A view from the site of the railway. Again, a time for thoughts of those who never enjoyed this view.

Why do Honda only do black interiors? The hottest and least practical colour for hot climates?

music is a bit dreary.

What would you prefer?

Kylie Minogue singing "I should be so lucky"?

after the first minute, I was expecting the "Funeral March". Or maybe the good ol' song. "why are we waiting....?"

Or the great Monty Python's :"Always look on the bright side of life....te boom te boom...."

Thanks all for the answers. Will give the online reporting a go, or perhaps mail-in (or both) and hope one hits the target.

Is the on-Line reporting now working?

He'll be like a lamb going to a real free press slaughter.

A free Press in the USA? Uug!

So he loses a shit load of money, advises people not to retire here, then re-marries!

For purely practical reasons, try bringing up kids as a lone parent!. He probably has no problems either with getting his new wife entry clearance to the UK where he will no doubt settle and his kids get a free education. A sad case indeed , a man who trusted too much before realising that there is little recourse to due process and an independant ,unbiased legal culture.

The good news is that this has gone viral and has been reported as a "don't invest in Thailand" campaign. The prime minister will not be happy about this documentary and will hopefully act to help these guys, not because he cares, but because he won't want to lose face and put off would-be investors. But then as we all know, when it comes to the islands like Phuket and Samui, there are seriously powerful families that rule above the police and government.

EArlier this week the PM was optimistic about attracting more Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Thailand . I wish him every success and moreso, in his efforts to stamp out corruption , in Phuket and elsewhere.

For people trying to find it on iPlayer, it starts 89:19 in on the Victoria Derbyshire episode.

I player only available in the UK.... Any workaround?

One option is tosearch www.HMA.com and go from there. Easy.

don't increase the number of students but the QUALITY please

Also improve the English language skills of young people who have been let down by succesive governments on this front. Once these students graduate many will go into the building, car servicing ,carpenty, hotel services and numerous other fiedls where they will have to interact with foreigners and communicate with them. Thailand is desperate to attract foreign investments as the economy continues to falter. English language skills must be central to any technical and vocational training.

What would be the point of studying thai language or culture.....???? In another 30 years it will be part of china anyway once China invades and takes over after Democracy has been totally bastardized to operate exactly like communism.

In any case.... you might as well learn Latin....it's a dead language too.

Cynical bstard. and what bllocks you talk. No such thing as "democracy" anywhere in s.e Asia or indeed the USA!

Check out The Atlanta Hotel at the end of Soi 2 Sukhumvit. Old world charm, pool , gym, library, travel shop and a good restaurant. Sex tourists, Katamites , dope fiends are not welcome however.

Complains about extortions of billions of Baht in the last years of tourist and expats and no one cared. Congratulation But now they want to clean up. But anyway these people entered with false passports... I dont think that it was really Immigration blame if someone entered with good forged passport. Happens daily around the globe....

That's not what happened. Uighur militants entered Thailand without any passport, by paying a bribe of about 18,000 baht for each entry. While in Thailand, they were able to obtain fake Turkish passports which had been provided by ISIL. It is estimated that 50,000 Uihgurs have passed through Thailand in this manner. Thailand was both a safe haven for terrorists, and a hub for ISIL's trafficking of its militants.

And the source of this information please?

Yes, suspended, dead, kicking up the daisies.

Whatever happened to the Red Bull heir who wiped out the police officer in Thonglor last year, dragging him under his Ferrari before fleeing to his home ?

Some were there at 4am yesterday and still there at 4pm when I left! People in their seventies and in wheelchairs should be shown more respect than to be left out all day like cattle!

Indeed, this is an example of administrative ineptitude/callous indifference of the first order. An e-mail to General Prayudt' PA is in order here. Anyone have it?

Sterling will keep getting stronger. Personally think Thailand's economy is in dire problems, the junta don't seem to be in control.

will hit a 6 year 'high' for £ against baht v soon. At some point 'something' will happen and we will see well over 60

If you think Thai econony has problems read this weeks Economist magazine about the far worse situation in Indonesia and Malaysia.

No way i'm paying 60 quid for a letter to prove income from those shites, I'd rather keep a bit more in the bank here for an extension and you get a better interest rate anyway. The only reason I would ever go to the Embassy would be for a travel document if I lost my passport, I expect they screw you for that as well.

I agree it is an outrageously high charge for such a simple bit of administration: downloading a template letter with your name on it after a clerk has checked the source of the income. I always complain and get the usual response "... fees are set by parliament"! The entry clearance fees are daylight robbery too. No wonder UK government has lost any respect from its nationals here and in other parts of the world.

Nothing has "happened to it;" it has been off my "list" since my first visit in 2006. You can actually have a good time on LK, if you try hard enough.

The OP was talking about the deterriorating quality of the breakfasts, hes not talking about 'good time' on Loi Kroh.

Agree though that there is some scope for improving the breakfasts at the MD.

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As you stagger out of the pub at night, barely able to stand, you may not look like a mug, but you do look like a confused drunkard, which amounts to the same thing - an easy mark for these folks. You, my friend, seem to have a drinking problem. You also have a serious anger management problem, going by your comment that you want to punch out someone who's done nothing against you. Or perhaps you're just one of those drunks who thinks he's Steven Seagall as soon as he's got 4 or 5 pints inside him. Learn to turn the other cheek, or you're a heart attack waiting to happen.

...and when driving/riding on the roads and pavements, Always give way!

Word of warning if you choose to live in Thailand your UK pension will not be increased year by year as thailand and the UK do not have an agreement in place so unless the rules change what you get in your first year will be what you get every year after unless you choose to move back to Europe or a Country that has a pension linked agreement with the UK. In April 2016 everyone of pension age in the UK will get a weekly income estimated to be around the £150 per week my birthday falls short by a month so I will end up with just £116 per week Life's a Bitch !!!!

Yes, the freezing of UK pensions for Brits., living here is unjust (put mildly!) and there is a campaign going on that is screaming for change and fairness. PM me for info.

I've noticed it too, treacherous.

Out of interest, where are those planning an escape going to, and how long do you plan to be away?

We've done Hua Hin (within driving distance, 10 hours later you're there), Samui (direct flights even if they're really expensive), Phuket (flights), Ko Chang.

Important criteria: Needs to be on the ocean. All inland places are just as polluted as up here.

We usually come back at or around Songkran, April 15th. The last 2 years that's when the first rains fell, and air improves quickly after that. Not immediately, but in a week or two.

and Air Asia have flights to Surat Thai and thence to Samui or the beaches adjacent.

First time this year Doi Suthep disappears/is not visible. And I live not that far away at canal road.

Time to leave and go southbound....

If you are able to do so. I hear that New Zealand is a good place to be now.