eppic

Thought I'd try a related question here rather than starting a new thread.

 

We are on an extension of stay (retirement) that expires on Feb 10.  We expect to do some traveling before then, so if we return, say early Feb, would we need to depart again by the 10th to avoid overstay? Or would we get 30 day visa waiver instead? 

 

We are leaving Thailand for the Philippines but will need to make some trips here to tie up some relocation loose ends.

 

So what happens when you enter just before expiry of extension of stay? (will start separate thread if necessary)

 

If a trip to the CW immigration hellhole is required, we will NOT do that, but just make sure to return after Feb 10th and enter on visa waiver.

 

Anybody?

I go to  a Dermatologist at the St.Louis Hospital every 6 months to have any precancerous spots removed. She uses liquid nitrogen and was educated and trained in the UK. Many years in the sun and the damage is already done. Long sleeve coveralls and hat when l am working in my yard. Impossible to avoid sun completely but doing the best l can.

May I ask the name of your doctor? I've been seeing a doctor at Bumrungrad but can't say I am happy about the skin checks, which don't seem very thorough.

FWIW, you can also count me among the melanoma (and BCC and Bowens) crowd. By far the worst part is the mental aspect, as every time I feel a little lump or notice a new lesion I have to face the prospect of possible death - really screws with your head and you never feel safe. Don't really want my toddler to grow up without a father.

Problem with melanoma is it's mostly all or nothing...if it recurs, be which can happen even 20 years later, odds are very much against you and most treatments (such as chemo) are useless. The new targeted treatments can help a small percentage, and maybe more in the future, but for now metastatic melanoma is almost always a death sentence - so stay out of the sun, and get checked regularly if it's too late for that (note, I also had a Thai doc misdiagnosed a mole I asked him about that turned out to be melanoma - could end up killing me yet).

Melanoma is one of the most preventable cancers so no excuse to expose yourself given what we know these days.

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My wife (UK and Phil. citizen) will be renewing her UK passport because it is out of space. She would also like to do a name change (take my last name).

 

We want to make sure the extension transfer process goes smoothly and minimize hours at Chaengwattana, so would be interested to see if anyone else has gone through the process. We also potentially have the option of transferring the visa extension to her Philippines passport, which will still have her maiden name, but not sure which option would be least hassles.

 

Anyone with direct experience with this? If it's extremely troublesome she may wait until we relocate from Thailand to do the name change.

 

As someone who has been married to a Filipina for several years, let me congratulate you on your good taste (far superior to Thais, at least for me - 15 years in Asia and never met a Thai I wanted to date). If you do decide to marry, just make sure you do it outside the Phils...we got married in Bali before she got her UK citizenship, but would have been easier to wait. Just a word of caution since you are relatively new to the Phils.. my wife told me of a common saying, abbreviated as the ("Four M's"), about why very young girls go for or even prefer much older men - I won't translate but you might want to look it up. I am sure you have mutual true love, so no doubt you will prove to be an exception.

Getting her to Thailand on a visa waiver shouldn't be a huge problem as long as she has a return ticket - we have had a number of my wife's relatives and friends visit - but you can expect she will get quite a grilling upon her exit from the Phils (entry to Thailand is the easy part). Best of luck.

If you think about it, the rule seems especially harsh for British women (particularly mothers) married to foreign husbands. So, mother raises the child and can return home, but not with husband who supports the family? In our case we would be OK because of adequate assets/ investment income, but many would be royally screwed. I guess she could return and claim benefits? Would that make the xenophobes happy? Bizarre, really.

On 5/29/2017 at 8:18 AM, theoldgit said:

 

I'm pretty sure that the post you're responding to is indeed true, if you're referring to any income from within the UK they can only be counted "Where an application relies on the earnings of the applicant, they must be in the UK with permission to work and their hours of work must not exceed any limit specified in their conditions of leave. Earnings from employment undertaken by the applicant when they did not have leave to enter or remain and permission to work (excluding those whose leave has expired within 28 days of the current application) cannot be included".

 

There have been numerous cases reported in the British press where the applicant has had the offer of a high paying job in the UK and because the sponsor hasn't met the financial requirements, the application was refused and in some cases when the applicant was already in the UK, was removed.

 

As I understand it, and I'm pretty sure I'm correct, your income cannot be counted, though joint assets and cash savings could be. 

 

This whole thing is a mess and defies logic, hopefully it will be addressed who ever takes over the reins next month.

 

 

Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement_August_2015.pdf

I was going by memory and was quite certain that in m case, we would (or should) not have an issue.

 

I believe your interpretation is correct for earned income -- it appears this must be sourced in the UK for applicant and/or sponsor.

 

However, there is also an asset test that can be met with savings/investment accounts and it clearly states that these accounts may be held in other countries -- they can be joint or in applicant or sponsors' name, but need to have been above the minimum level for at least six months.

 

Alternatively, a combination method can be used with assets and investment income, and it appears (not completely clear) that the investment income could also come from outside the UK.

 

In any case, upon re-reading the actual rule (sections 6 and 7), I am still confident that we could easily qualify in our own situation, as could most any "Thai millionaire" or even a couple with equivalent of GBP62.5k in savings, which is the specific example to which I was responding.

 

I realize this wouldn't help many or most people, and the rule that earned income must be from within the UK seems especially egregious.

 

Following link for publication of May 2016:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/525708/Appendix_FM_1_7_Financial_Requirement.pdf

As far as I am aware the threshold is based on the British person's income only. The Thai wife could be a millionaire but that isn't relevant, so the policy is entirely racist and not economic...

Actually, I am pretty sure this is not true -- I checked into it a couple of months ago.

I am American, my wife is a British citizen. She is currently not working, but raising our small child (British/American) and has only some investment income.

I believe I could settle with her in the UK if we wished, either based on my own income or my assets. At least that's how I read the rule. It would be quite a shock to find otherwise. (We will return to US or UK mostly for child educational purposes).

Not sure if this would change with the new rules as proposed.

6 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You could submit their applications for their extensions as your dependents when you do yours but they would not be completed until your extension stamp is done so that a copy of it can be attached to them.

Do they already have non-o visas or a previous extension? 

 

They already have extensions, but they were done months after mine and the process required many hours at CW (not fun with a small child), so I just wanted to be sure we could do the new extensions concurrently.  Sounds like we can, thanks for your always-helpful response.

This is related, but slightly off from the main topic:

 

Can follow-on visas/extensions (terminology nazis please leave it alone if not technically "visa") be obtained for one's family (foreign spouse and child) at the same time as the retirement extension?

 

More specifically, would it be necessary to first go through the entire extension process, THEN queue again to use the newly stamped extension for purpose obtaining follow-ons for the family?  If so, it would result in a very long day(s) at CW given the snails-pace processing that miraculously accelerates just before "quittin' time"; more likely it couldn't even be completed in the same day.

 

Direct response from someone that has done it would be appreciated so I don't needlessly drag my family for many extra hours at the CW cattle waiting area.

 

It occurred to me that there MAY be an additional option: converting the baby's initial 30-day waiver to a non-O, as I did for my original non-O. Ubonjoe (or anyone else) do you know if this is possible? Although another day wasted at Chaengwattana is probably more painful to me than an overseas trip (or a root canal), it would still be helpful to know if this is a viable option.

Thanks for the responses, but I think the relevant issue has been missed.

We already have a U.S. passport for the baby. Two others (UK and one more) obtained soon. I do know we can leave Thailand with only the birth certificate.

I also realize that the baby can stay indefinitely in Thailand, but AFTER we leave the first time, that no longer applies. And we WILL leave, as I indicated, already a trip scheduled to Singapore to visit friends and at least two others in the near future to visit grandparents and other relatives/friends. We are simply not the type to go many months or years without overseas travel.

So the question is specifically about getting a non-O visa for the baby so that a legal extension may be filed for upon return to Thailand.

After searching I haven't found a clear answer so here goes (details to follow):

1. Father (US passport) in Thailand on non-O extension of stay (retirement)

2. Mother and wife (UK passport) here on extension of stay, following on from my extension.

3. Our extensions expire Feb 10, but we intend to renew them before then.

4. We have a two-month old baby (US/UK citizen) born in BKK that has not yet left Thailand

5. Singapore is my former home of many years, and we regularly travel there, although I recently gave up my PR there.

With that background, my question is about getting our new baby the legal right to stay in Thailand.

We have a late January trip to Singapore, unrelated to visas, so are interested in getting the baby's non-O there. Yes, I am aware of Singapore's reputation with regard to visas, but again, it is a place I have ties to and visit often. I can think of no reason I would ever go to Vientiane (or Penang, honestly), especially with a baby, so a visa from Singapore would be ideal.

However, in addition to the well-known issues with visas from Singapore, the embassy website lists no category for non-O visa except Thai spouse or O-A (Singapore citizen or PR only), neither of which apply in our case.

So my options are as follows:

A. Attempt to get the visa in Singapore, which would require a painful, time-wasting consulate visit and probably one or two extra nights trip extension for processing in the (unlikely?) event it can be done there.

B. Just wait until my next trip to the U.S. sometime this June or July, which would require 2-3 baby overstays on 30-day extensions. The non-O could probably be obtained easily in the Portland honorary consulate near our home there.

C. Some other, simpler/easier method I am missing. A visa-run trip with a baby is not an attractive option for obvious reasons.

Unless this has changed, it is my understanding that no overstay fines would apply for the baby, but I still have a strong preference for keeping things legal, if at all practicable

So, with that, do we have any informed opinions or recent experiences? TIA

I have used Uber several times here in central BKK, as well as GrabTaxi. In fact, many of the Uber Black drivers also work for Grabtaxi (GrabCar) as well. On a recent ride, the driver tried to get me to switch from GrabCar to Uber using the explanation that I could pay automatically with the Uber app -- of course he failed to mention that the price would go up significantly, so I politely declined his helpful offer.

My main issue with Uber and to a lesser extent Grabtaxi is a lack of available vehicles. On most occasions I get "car not available" and on others its a very long wait for arrival. Also, despite what you might assume, many drivers have poor English ability and poor Thai skills as well (Thai friends complain that many drivers are not Thai).

Despite the minor negatives, I would use Uber or GT without hesitation if I can actually get a car - but unfortunately availability is very limited, at least in my area (next to Four Seasons / Ratchadamri BTS). The premium is 110% worth it, so I hope Uber Black is not shut down and that availability improves.

Have a look at repossessed car auctions. Usually quite a bit cheaper than tents and you can hire a car mechanic to check out the car before the auction. A good car mechanic for half a day costs you maybe 500 baht. 3-4k for a car check is way too expensive in my opinion.

Sounds like a good option, but unfortunately I am at a pretty big disadvantage given that I speak minimal Thai and don't have a long-haired dictionary. I don't mind paying THB 3k if it includes a scan of the body for accident damages, seems like a reasonable investment for a 600K investment - can't say I have a mechanic I know, trust, and can communicate with.

I would even pay 1500/bt day for someone to help me do the car shopping and translating, if I could find someone I could trust (and that speaks English).

Having given up on getting delivery of the HR-V I ordered long ago, I have decided to look into the nearly-new market. Specifically, I am looking at perhaps a 2013 Focus Titanium+, which can be had with low mileage at about 50-55% of the new price (has the 6 airbags that are mandatory for me for Thailand driving).

Of course, I have the usual skepticism with used car dealers, but given that expats seem to want an enormous premium (about 150K over tent prices) for their vehicles, I am open to the idea of buying from a tent. However, before doing so, I would definitely want a complete inspection done (especially for frame/flood damage).

That being the case, I came across a Bangkok business called TestCar that does complete inspections and full reports. So, my question is, has anyone done business with Testcar or any similar business, and if so what was your experience? I will include a link (if allowed), but I am not promoting this company,just asking for any info about it or any similar services:

http://www.testcar.co.th/english.report.php

I think 3-4K for an inspection is certainly worth it, assuming the results can be trusted. Any comments/experiences appreciated.

@IMHO, to be fair to Golden Farang, I did mention the Focus (nearly new, low mileage 2013 can be had for about 600k) and my logic in an earlier post...I think you must have missed it. Yes, I also understand the negatives of a Ford, but at a 45% discount it may be worth considering:

.....So, I have been looking at alternatives with my must-have features (6 airbags, leather seats, reasonable city size) and am thinking about nearly-new vehicles like the MY2013 Ford Focus Titanium+, which can be had for about 60% of the price of the HRV-EL thanks to very rapid depreciation of Fords. Doesn't have everything I want, but would suit my needs for running around the city a few times a month when BTS is not convenient. Currently have an Accord rental, which is nice to drive but a pain to maneuver and park here in central BKK.

@Robert24, the CRV was initially on my short list, but I rented on for a trial and found it to be too boat-like in handling and generally too bulky for regular driving/parking in Bangkok. It was nice on the highway though. If I lived outside the city, I might have considered it along with the CX-5. The HR-V is really an ideal size for the city IMO...But frankly, after getting lied to and royally screwed around by my Honda dealer, my preference is definitely to look for a different brand in the likely event I am forced to cancel the HR-V delivery. Who knows, the CX-3 may be launched it Thailand soon. Thanks for the suggestion though.

was aking for a test drive at the Pattaya Honda dealer/Jomtien branch - just the usual "no have test car", I asked when you will get one? "dont know", I just turned around and left, in any "normal" country they wouldnt be able to sell any car,,,,,,,

a white EL model was just picked up by an older farang guy, while I was there

Is it really the norm for there to be no test car available at dealers' showrooms in Thailand? Maybe they were just being pig-headed or plain lazy & not willing to deal with the foreigner, as has been suggested elsewhere in this thread. As you say, in more customer-orientated societies, it's be "no test drive, no sale".

Outside "our" dealer - quite a small showroon really - are HR-V EL, Civic, City, Jazz & Mobilio, all marked as Test Drive vehicles. The dealer insisted we tested the HR-V before we ordered, although that'd obviously have been a "must" for me anyway if they hadn't suggested it first.

When I asked to test drive the HR-V at my nearest dealer, Honda Pathumwan (Siam Square), I was told I could put my name on a waiting list and come back in a few weeks. Nice. So I went to the motor show and managed to get a rather pathetic circle around the carpark, but at least better than nothing. And it didn't stop thousands of HR-V bookings during the motor show, I am certain the vast majority never test drove the vehicles they ordered...Thais buy for reasons other than performance anyway (which generic white Honda or Toyota, stripped of most safety features, would you like to buy, sir?)

We ordered an HR-V EL model in metallic silver - one of the colours for which they don't charge extra - 2 weeks ago. At the time we said we wanted delivery after a planned trip to UK in May. The salesgirl told us it might be a good idea to accept delivery before our trip. She said " ... we'll have used our quota and maybe cannot get more for a long time ... ". Perhaps she was alluding to this supply problem that's been mentioned.

Maybe colour ordered affects the delays.

If we don't get delivery on their suggested date, we could just walk away - deposit was 3000 baht - but, to be honest, a delay of a month or more would suit us & fit into our original plans. Change of make is possible - Mazda? - but the nearest Mazda dealer is 80km away as opposed to 25km for the Honda dealer - that's a big influence, IMO.

See what happens in late March.

A bit earlier than we really wanted but our dealer called yesterday to say that our new HR-V EL is ready for collection and we just need to sort-out the paperwork, which we'll do next week.

Maybe this particular car was already in stock with the dealer so only needed preparation once ordered by a customer and then moved to the local shop.

Don't know where you are, eppic, but we're using a dealer near home in a smallish town in Khon Kaen province. Maybe sales here have been slower and the dealer - with many branches in the area - hadn't sold them as quickly as anticipated. Must admit, I haven't seen many on the roads here and of those I've seen, most have been BKK registration.

If I remember, when we sign the papers I'll ask the dealer if there are problems with new orders now.

Thanks for the update. I am in Bangkok, and as you have speculated, perhaps that is the issue since I now know a number of people who ordered well after me but received vehicles before me, and they seem to be outside BKK (I don't think it's a color issue).

After seeing your post, I had my translator check with the salesman, and of course there is still no new update -- one month after the original promised delivery date, there is absolutely no estimate of arrival time.

At this stage I have essentially decided to cancel the order. I'll also be taking a long holiday in a month or so, and I don't want the car arriving while I am gone (or just before, for that matter). I don't fancy parking my brand new vehicle in the condo garage for nearly two months immediately after delivery. So, I have been looking at alternatives with my must-have features (6 airbags, leather seats, reasonable city size) and am thinking about nearly-new vehicles like the MY2013 Ford Focus Titanium+, which can be had for about 60% of the price of the HRV-EL thanks to very rapid depreciation of Fords. Doesn't have everything I want, but would suit my needs for running around the city a few times a month when BTS is not convenient. Currently have an Accord rental, which is nice to drive but a pain to maneuver and park here in central BKK.

EDIT:

P.S. As an aside, as I recently have spoken to a couple of dealers about getting a nearly-new car, I have actually found the used car dealers to be far more competent than the new car dealers. They spoke much better English, were more able to answer questions about the vehicles, and seemed a more helpful overall. Not sure what that says about the new car salesman in Bangkok, but they clearly have minimal motivation to sell -- they seem to be just order takers (shockingly ignorant of their product), so I would assume they are very poorly paid, or at least they should be.

I was in a Honda dealership today and asked them about ordering a new EL model,

the sales person told me straight away that it's not available for at least 6 or 7 months

due to a shortage of sunroofs, only the other models can be ordered right away.

The impression i got was it's not even worth placing an order for that model at the

moment.

This is consistent with information I have received from multiple sources. I understand the delay for new orders, but mine was originally scheduled for a delivery a couple of weeks ago, so was looking for ways to at least get a reasonable delivery time, not July or August.

Based on what I've learned here and elsewhere, it's either try to pay to get back on priority list, or get another vehicle. I'll start shopping for an alternative while I am waiting, then cancel the HR-V if/when I take delivery....6-7 months gets too close to the next model year to even consider staying with the current year HR-V, will be other options by then.

Thanks to those that provided constructive suggestions, we can probably retire the thread before it deteriorates further (as most tend to at TV)

Apparently social media can get some response, because my Thai friend posted a nasty comment about the delays on Honda Facebook page, and reply (translated badly) indicate that Honda will try to resolve the issue before the next motor show in March, otherwise it could be a disaster for future sales. Public shaming is clearly more effective than private complaints to the dealer/salesman.

So MartinL's post on the March timeframe makes sense, orders will probably backlog even further when the next motor show starts.

I also called the salesman (on a different number, so he wouldn't know it's me), and he mistakenly answered. Hard to communicate, but sounds like he also indicated that delivery should be before end of March, better than "a few months", although that would still be a two-month delay...could be just blowing smoke though, really no reason to believe them at this stage.

We ordered an HR-V EL model in metallic silver - one of the colours for which they don't charge extra - 2 weeks ago. At the time we said we wanted delivery after a planned trip to UK in May. The salesgirl told us it might be a good idea to accept delivery before our trip. She said " ... we'll have used our quota and maybe cannot get more for a long time ... ". Perhaps she was alluding to this supply problem that's been mentioned.

Maybe colour ordered affects the delays.

If we don't get delivery on their suggested date, we could just walk away - deposit was 3000 baht - but, to be honest, a delay of a month or more would suit us & fit into our original plans. Change of make is possible - Mazda? - but the nearest Mazda dealer is 80km away as opposed to 25km for the Honda dealer - that's a big influence, IMO.

See what happens in late March.

You might want to check with the dealer to see current status. The letter from Honda HQ to dealers was dated 20 January, so you ordered just shortly before all future EL orders were suspended. If you are interested in June delivery that might actually work out for you, but wouldn't be surprised if it's even longer if the "few months" delay is accurate for orders already past promised delivery date. I would be very surprised if you get a March delivery, regardless of what the salesperson told you, but maybe you will be luckier (or more savvy with the queue system) than I was.

I will talk to some other dealers as suggested by some here, but nearby BKK dealers were already giving May delivery estimates as of two weeks ago.