Casual1

My experience today submitting TM 30 at Jomtein. I returned from a short trip to the Philippines yesterday, went to submit a new TM 30 today and the officer told me that i didnt need to submit a new TM 30 because i only left for a short time. She did replace the old report slip in my passport with my new one, but told me if i only go out for less than 1 month, i do not need to report again because i was returning to the same address and was only gone for a short time. I didnt ask too many questions as to why, only said ok and thank you. 

Im on a multi tourist visa, have a house, always submitted TM30 on every return from traveling out of the country. I guess the flood of paperwork per the law is becoming overwelming for them and they're starting to use common sense...evolution has begun!

There was another topic on this years ago, im just adding an updated post with a little more info. The orininal post (same topic) dated 25 April 2013 is archived and cannot be replied to.

I received the green slip from the postman saturday which he informed me i need to pick up my package at the floating market post office on monday. When i went there, they informed me i needed to go to Laem Chabang. Figuring it was another post office, i went up Suk to where google map said it should be. Well that wasnt the correct place and they helped me locate the correct building on google map. Finally found the Customs building, swap id card for visitor badge and was directed to the second floor. A cleaning lady directed me to the correct office and in there, was a small table with "POST" above it. There they were open packages and inspecting contents and applying VAT charges. I handed the my green slip and they got my package, had me open it, i had my sister send me a golf club, she wrote the value as $30. I fibbed a little and said it was second hand, but it was almost spotless and in excellent condition ( i told her to run it through the grass a couple time, but she didnt). They asked if i had the purchase receipt which i found in an email i saved showing what i paid, $57 USD. they wrote that down and the postage amount then calculated the VAT which was about 500 Baht. Down the stairs to the cashiers cage, paid up then went with the receipt back to the post department. They smiled happily and i was on my way.

Attached is a snap shot of the correct place in laem chabang port, its off the first port entrance heading north on suk.

Hope this help... be cautioned if you are having anything prohibited or "embarrassing" being shipped to you, they do a through inspection for all to see.

This only applies if you get the customs notification green slip, not a pink postal delivery slip. ( see post from 25 April 2013)

Just my experience today:

Success obtaining 5yr car and motorbike license at Banglamung (Pattaya) Motor Vehicle Registry Office.1 hour 15 minutes.

1 yr temporary was obtained on a non-o visa.

5 yr permanent was obtained on a ED visa today.

Documents i took:

2x resident certificate from Jomtien immigration - 500 baht.

2x doctor health certificate - 200 baht.

2x copy of passport, 1 for car/1 for motorbike.

1x copy, front and back, of each license.

Original passport.

Original 1 yr temporary license for the car and motorbike.

A smile!

Arrived at approx 8:10 am, queue was well into the parking lot. A lady was giving instructions at the front door, but it was all in thai. As i waited in the queue to go inside, i noticed the english sign that read something like "5 year renewal, 1st lesson-10:00am-11:30 am, final lesson 13:00-14:30.

Thinking i was too early, i sat down outside and searched the web on the iphone about this information i've never heard before. At about 8:30 am, i decided to try my luck with front door lady as i thought "im not renewing my 5 yr". She waved me to the front ahead of the thais (only about 4-5 in front of me) and sent me to get a number for counter 11. My number was 111 and they were on 102. Waited about 15-20 minutes then number called. No problem at counter 11 except i needed to sign my passport and license copies. Green card and go wait counter 4. Color, reaction, and depth perception test complete, wait room for name. About 10-15 minutes i was called, sign sign, go to cashier. 1060 baht, blue card, wait for number. Not too long and name called, photo and in 2 minutes i was complete with my brand new 5 year car and motorbike license. I went 7 days after my birthday, so the licenses are good for practically 6 years, expires in march of 2021.

Slightly off topic, but hopefully someone knows the answer because they have done it/currently do it yearly...what required forms do you need to file with the IRS at tax time if you have "said" company and only have a house in "said" company name?

Thanks

I was also told the spike in fees will probably only be for a short time, the bosses of the new boss will not like the complaints they will be getting and will put him back in line eventually.

So will i get my money back?? Will the ones who implemented the new VIP service be prosecuted??

Im on a proper visa and attending school legitimately, just hate having to pay more for something other people get for the same extension of stay.

Im using Prolanguage, no mention of the extra day requirement yet. Going 2 days a week for 2 hours each day. Got hit with 5000 baht VIP fee for my extension of stay this week though.

Yep, just went and paid my donation. I was told that if i wanted to do it on my own, it would be 1900 baht every 2 weeks. I was shown photos of stamps for only 15 day extensions from people who went on their own last week, they waited about 3-1/2 hours i was told. I said for 3000 baht extra "VIP" service, i would go on my own and wait, but my quick math suggest its cheaper to be a VIP.

Been going to school twice a week sense October, never seen an immigration official do a spot-check yet.

I was just told by my school that i have to pay 3000 baht extra for "vip" service for extension of stay on my ED visa (5000 baht total). They told me (and showed copies) of people who went to Jomtien on their own last week and only got a 2 week extension, not the 90 day extension on their ED visa, and paid only 1900 baht. School tells me that this is a new immigration policy and not theirs, they are not getting any extra money for doing this, they dont even get the 100 baht that mysteriously disappears. I said i would go on my own, but was told for 1900 baht i would only get a 2 week extension and have to pay 1900 each time. Immigration is tell the school not to send individuals because they are too busy, but to have the school submit the paperwork and have the student go the next day, take a photo and pick up their passport.

That one circuit that appears reversed, I'll bet it's lighting and at some time a fluorescent was glowing when off, a classic sign of a switched neutral, swapping at the box was an easy fix.

Looks like a rats nest in the ceiling, grey tubes running all over the place with wires coming out at the ends and a bunch of wire ties. Circuit breakers dont make since as to which fixtures they go to. I think im gonna rewire the whole house with correct insulated wire like in the west. I read something about wire size standards in thailand, should i get the 2.5 mm wire for everything?

Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the info steve, i do have meter but not smart about breaker boxes, i can check an outlet and see if a fixture/outlet is "hot" with my volt meter, but when it comes to the box, im kinda lost unless the colors are correct. Been reading up on neutral live and ground checks. Got me a little confused about which hole in an outlet is suppose to be which...except for ground. Ive read thais dont know either and can cause problems if reversed.

Been changing light fixtures and outlets for years, testing with a volt meter to make sure there was no juice before i started, but now i think i may have been wiring the outlets incorrectly with the live and neutral hook ups (still not sure if the big hole is suppose to be live or neutral).

Again, thanks. Gonna look into the rcb or rcbo for main.

roger about the t-storms, my only defense is i was away when it happened. Would like a good system in place before the next rainy season.

So here's a picture of my breaker box. After researching for a bit, it doesnt seem to look correct.

1. Both wires coming into to box are black so i cant determine which is neutral.

2. Last breaker on the right, wire colors seem to be reversed for all the "code" reference concerning live and neutral.

Im doing this research because a couple months ago, tv quit working when a good storm rolled through. Repair guy said the power supply and led screen went bad on the tv. Also the PS3 (hooked to the same power stripe) quit working at the same time.

All help is appreciated.

Thanks. I do have a relative there with an address I can use. I've heard such good things about Schwab, I think I'll give it a try!!

http://content.schwab.com/m/q310/schwab_bank_high_yield_investor_checking/ELC44427C-02.html

Here's a great article describing this:

http://thepointsguy.com/2013/07/avoiding-atm-withdrawal-fees-when-traveling-abroad/

I'm not sure when Casual1 opened his/her Schwab account but when I tried to open a Schwab account six weeks ago I had success but then when I tried to fund it with a transfer from Bank of America they "froze" the account. I called and they said that since the account had been opened from a non U.S. IP address that I would have to come into a Schwab office to verify my identity. No exceptions to this rule. I have no trips planned back to the U.S. for some time so I closed the account.

I then opened a Fidelity Cash Management account which is virtually the same as the Schwab account. It refunds all my ATM fees and as I mentioned earlier I get the XE.com exchange rate. Make sure you are opening these accounts using a U.S. IP or you risk raising red flags and having the account suspended. A U,S, mailing address is a must as well.

Good point gdringjr, I opened my Schawb account back in may 2011, i do remember i had to call Schwab to verify some information when i got back to america.

As someone mentioned earlier, Schwab is great. They are similar to the USAA account that was also mentioned, in that Schwab refunds any ATM fees that other banks charge, including international banks. They have low fees for wire transfers as well. So I have a Bangkok Bank account for my Thai bank. When ever needed have a wire transfer made, via online, to Bangkok Bank in NYC in USD. Bangkok Bank does the conversion to Thai Baht and it is deposited in my bank in 2 business days.

First time I did the wire transfer I had to call to confirm it, but since then never a problem to make the transaction online.

Can you open a Schwab account from Thailand? Or do you have to be in the US? I know USAA allows you to open an account with them even if you are here. Not many US banks allow that now.

USAA refunds ATM fees also, but they charge a 1% foreign transaction fee.

With Schwab, you can open an account online from any where, i opened mine while i was on vacation in thailand, but you need a USA address, wether it be a relative or friends if you dont want to open a foriegn account,which i think requires a $10,000 deposit.

Capital One 360 can be opened online, not sure about a foriegn address though as again, i still have a USA address and will use a relatives when i'm moved over permanently.

Both have 0% foreign transaction fees and both refund all ATM fees and do not charge for ATM withdrawls.

Thanks for that. Big Banner did a good job and the decals were laminated with water/UV protection.

If you dont mind me asking, what did they charge you?

Schwab and Capital One 360 offer No Foriegn Transaction Fee Debit cards and rebates all ATM charges. Schwab offers a VISA Debit card which has a better exchange rate than Mastercard, Not sure which debit card Capital One 360 offers. Schwab needs signed documents to setup ACH transfers,Capital One 360 can all be done online. Both did not require a minimum deposit (*), Schwab has you open an investment account, but does not require any money or activity with that account.

* I've been told that if you do not have a USA address, you have to open a foriegn account with Schwab which requires a $10,000 deposit.

A search of the forums should give a little better review of each bank.

yeah, i used to use sling box from my house when i would go away on trips, but i have crappy internet up here, and the wife had crappy internet in her old condo in thailand. my mom got the hopper last year and the wife got better internet when she moved into a villiage house in pattaya. now its just like watching regular TV on the ipad. I'm gonna bring the PS3 over this summer, hope they have the app by then and we'll see how it goes. I've been watching hockey with gamecenter in thailand for the last couple years, its pretty good, no lags or skips now that we had better internet in thailand.

Hello TV members,

Not sure if this will pertain to the EU members, but 100% reliable for the US members as i used this back in Sept 13 without any problems.

Dish Hopper works in Thailand for ipad, iphone, and PC, and will soon have an app for PS3. All without a masked IP address.

http://about.dish.com/press-release/products-and-services/dish-app-delivers-hopper-experience-playstation3-and-playstation

So far this service is free. You'll need to know someone state side that has Dish with the Hopper service. I used my mother's dish hopper system which is ok, until she logs on and uses the streaming video portion to watch something while shes away from her house. All i had to do was download the app to the ipad, log on using her user name and password and the quality was great. easy to use channel guide, etc.... i even played a US televised hockey game at my friends beerbar with an HDMI cable to his TV. He's Brittish and was wondering why there were no yellow and red card issued during the game.

If i have great success with this, i may get rid of my cable and true vision service, go back to the free thai cable the wife had at the house.

hope someone finds this info useful other than myself,

Cheers

So without getting into too much detail:

Trip period is from 4 Feb - 1 Mar = 26 days

My house rent is not included

I'm happily married

Food total (eat out and groceries) - 8800

Utilities (cable 6 mo, electric, water, phone reload) - 3730

Entertainment - 37000 (estimates as i know what i started with and counted my money the next morning) (this includes eating and moto taxi's)

-Most were night out with the Gents (4 nights I stayed home, liver pleaded for mercy), (4 nights were crazy) (About 1/2 pattaya city, 1/2 dark side)

Misc (wife tea money, vet bill, gas, motorbike repair)-10000

So over all total for a trip of about a 7.5 on a scale of 1-10 = 59,530

With 3 months till the final move, I would like to get this down to about 45000-50000 a month (not including rent).

Expenses that i know i will have when i'm permenant is gym fees, weekly/bi-monthly trips to BKK for hockey night.

And as always, this is my experience, yours may differ.

Cheers

Made it !!!

26 hours and alls well, the cats were a little pissed, but they're coming around now and settling in.

So the only issue i had was at animal control at the airport. i never got the US FDA stamp or medical certificate. i was "counseled" by the thai guy about how important it was to have a "government" certificate. i said i thought i had what was needed as i had a state of Alaska health certificate, but he said no, needed a US government certificate. but he let me go, just took an extra 10 minutes of "counseling".

So all paid up, 100 baht per cat at the animal control, told to go see the customs people on my way out. there the customs guy told me it would be 1000 baht import fee per cat, said i only had to pay one time and could bring the cats back and forth as many times now without paying again, said just show my receipts.

so here's a re-cap of my process and required documents:

Taiwan transit permit - 2 months prior

Reserved space with the airlines - 2 months prior (they needed total weight and carrier dimensions)

Vet certificate, rabies, and distemper vaccinations - 1 month prior (get a US FDA certificate also)

Thai import permit - 1 month prior

100 baht per pet at Animal control

1000 baht per pet at customs

went to the local vet and got some frontline for the cats, the wifes dog had some ticks so got him a shot, total bill was 700 baht

Again thanks Jay and to everyone for the info, should have listened to the post about the FDA certificate.

Received the Thai permits today (17 days from submittal) along with instructions about where to go, how much i have to pay (100 baht per cat), and required documents. 12 days until we travel. I'll update once i get to Thailand.

Just wrting an update, here's what AQS said about the rabies vacine:

--------------------------------------------------------

Dear Sir/Madam,

If take vaccination on 5 December 2013, no need vaccinated 21 days prior to departure.

Thank you.

--------------------------------------------------------

So i was gonna take them in and have their check ups done in early Dec, but the Vet informed me that the international health certificate was only good for 30 days, so we postpones until 6 Jan 2014 (today).

Exams completed, all shots up to date, i sent a copy of the international health certificate, each rabies vaccination, and each 1/1 import permit application to AQS along with a note describing what i am seekng. I did not get the USDA endorsment. I got a reply back from AQS asking for a copy of my passport and a photo of each cat. I complied and recieved an email stating that the import permits will be sent to me by emal within 20 days.

looks like I'm all set for the trip, I'll update once i recieve the permits.

thanks to everyone for the useful info on this thread ...again, this is MY experience, others may have different experiences.

Thanks Jay, I'll ask my Vet what we should do about the rabies shot. did the BKK airport vet wave the wand checking for a chip? the older cat doesnt have one.

I don't see on the Thai AQS website where chips are required at all.

Just asked the wife and she said the Thai airport vet officer never asked/mentioned it. From my observation through the window, he checked the export and import docs, verified cat's shots were up to date, and visually checked the cat for general health appearance and disposition without removing cat from the travel cage. Honestly, the whole airport vet process seemed a fairly benign formality but it was nice to let my wife deal with them, I stayed outside guarding the suitcases on the cart.

J

Thanks for the info Jay, i"ll up date as i make progress.

Just to be clear, Charles Schwab Bank is different from the brokerage. You can use the bank for deposits and loans just like any other bank.

Link

Yep, this is correct, but I (only my experience, others experience my be different) had to open a brokerage account to open a checking account in the US. Still no fee or minimun balance to open either account in the US. unsure of the $10,000 minimum International because well, i'm not interenational.

A couple years ago i was overly disgusted with the ATM and FTF charges from my hometown bank, about $10-$13 for a 10K baht withdrawl (ATM charge and FTF). I did the research on Thaivisa , could never find the Aeon ATM in Patts. Charles Schwab, Capital One, USAA, and Statefarm made the cut as to research more. Statefarm and USAA only reimbursed a limited amount of ATM fees, cant remember what the FTF fee were, crossed them off the list . Charles and Cap One gives everything back and no FTF, CS has a visa debit card and CO has a mastercard debit. Visa card gives a better exchange rate over MC. Cap One has better interest rates for "holding" your money. Cap one is easier to set up transfers between bank accounts online (even non-cap one accounts), CS has you fill out paperwork with wet signatures to tranfer between accounts. so heres what I did:

• Opened Charles Schwab account for myself (checking and Brokerage, no money in the brokerage account, i'm in the USA, travel to Thailand 2-3 times a year) took about 2-3 weeks before the account and paperwork was all finished and normal banking routine were available to include transfers. I load up this account before i leave for LOS trips. Visa debit card, better exchange rate,
• Opened Charles Schwab joint account for me and the thai wife (checking and Brokerage, no money in the brokerage account) ,she lives full time thailand and was going to university at the time (told Schwab this over the phone). Got 2 AMT cards, sent one to her. when she needs money, i easily transfer money from my CS account to "her" CS account, she can withdrawl it instantly. CS refunds all ATM charges at the end of the month. if i'm quick and lucky, i move the refund amount back to my account as the wife see it as "her money" if its in her account.
• Chales Schwab has no banking or brokerage fee for having an account.

• Opened a Capital One checking and savings account online because they had better interest rates for "holding" my money over Charles Schwab. Mastercard debit, not as good as Visa exchange rate.
• Opened a Capital One credit card (MC) account because they offer cash back on charges and chasing airline miles and thier rules were getting ridiculous .
• Set up transfer to both Charles Schwab accounts, takes 3-4 business days when i move money to a CS account.
• NOTE--- when i set up the transfers between different bank accounts going thru Charles Schwab, they required paperwork and signatures, even the wifes sig on the joint account. When setting up transfers using Cap One, all can be done online with a routing and account number. all transfer currently work seemlessly between CS and CO and vise-versa, but takes 3-4 business days.
• Added wife to Capital One CC and gave her a card (able to put here photo on the card, she thinks its cute) for when she needs to buy something expensive or needs car work. BLAST AWAY, I'm not broke, she's calls and asks before she uses it.
• Capital One has no account fee.

I use Capital One for all my banking in the US. load up money to MY Charles Schwab account for trips and to transfer cash to the wifes Charles Schwab. I set up another Capital One 360 (old ING bank) savings account because Capital One (yes, 2 different entities ) dropped their savings interest rate to 1/2 of what Capital One 360 is offering. Capital One 360 does offer a no fees checking account, same as Capital One, but i have everything setup and dont want to re-setup transfers and checks and ATM cards etc...

when i use my Capital One ATM card in LOS (not often), its a 50-50 percent chance that they refund the ATM fees automatically, a call at the end of the month with ATM reciepts in hand usually clears it up.

I will soon retire from the military and move to LOS full time. I will tell Charles Schwab and Capital One that i am being "reassigned", not retiring, to thailand and give them my contact info for thailand. or just give them a relatives address and a Magic Jack phone number.

Sorry its wordy, but didnt want to leave anything out. i did this all about 2 years ago, the rumors of "stopping the free stuff" was floating around back then also, but havent seen it yet. I recently set up a Roth IRA with Schwab and got a call from their broker who wanted to "chat" about my investment ideas. During our "chat", I ask why CS gave out free banking and how could they afford to keep people like me, who doesnt make them any money and actually COST them money by refunding my ATM fees, on the books? he said they always make money and have no intentions of dropping deadbeats like me because he said..."you've just opened an IRA, we'll make money off you now!!!"

Capital One CC cash back has already paid for one of my airline tickets to LOS .

Thanks Thiavisa and all the members who put out good info.