GarryP

Prakanong District Office.

Property: Town House

Documents presented:

1. Passport and a copy of passport certified by the British Embassy and endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

2. Declaration of parents names, places of birth and citizenship certified by the the British Embassy and endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

3. Work Permit and a copy thereof;

4. Blue House Registration Book;

5. Son's ID card and son in person;

6. Wife's ID card and wife in person;

7. Two Passport photos of myself;

8. Marriage Certificate and copy;

9. Son's Birth Certificate and Copy;

10. Thai driver's license and copy;

11. Two witness statement forms (Thai language), one for my wife and one for my son, confirming they know me and that I live with them. The forms are provided by the Registrar;

12. Personal declaration (Thai language), which is a question and answer style form. The form is provided by the Registrar.

Time taken: 2.5 hours most of which was spent in filling out the forms. The book was printed in my presence and I walked out with it after already sending my wife and son on home.

In my case, everything was done in Thai language so it all went very smoothly. It may take quite a bit longer if the process is carried out in English. For my declaration, I was able to read the questions without any difficulty and my son then simply wrote my answers for me. A couple of questions were left for the Registrar to fill in. In fact he should have filled in all the answers, but as his questions were already printed, it made sense to have us fill it in oursleves for him to then recheck.

I should add that in my case, my son is registered as the home owner and my wife is simply a resident.

The Registrar asked if he could keep the originals of the declaration and certified passport, offering to make me copies. I let him have them for the file, although technically he should have only made copies and returned the originals.

I went for overkill in terms of documents and in most cases I would say that the marriage and birth certificates would not be necessary. There certainly is no harm in taking too many documents. It certainly beats having to go back home to bring in something you thought you would'nt need.

Finally, I can remove this thread from my favorites. Next stop, looking into citizenship.

Apologies for not responding sooner. Unfortunately, I never did find a source in Bangkok. I did stop looking though as I have been busy with my new house. I will start up the search again soon.

Is it possible to change your home address on your driving license? I will have my new home address recorded in my work permit and wondered whether it was possible to have my new address put on the back of my license now, i.e. a new license issued with my new address on it now rather than waiting nearly five years and updating the license upon renewal. The driving license is a useful form of ID so I wondered whether it is possible to update the information appearing on it.

Yes, Garry it is possible. Just pop on down to the local Department of Transport with your driving license, Work Permit (in which your new address has been recorded) and a copy of the same. They will prepare a form for you to fill out and sign and then take your picture so they can issue you a new license containing your new data. If you go first thing in the morning the whole process will take only a few minutes. It only costs 155 Baht for the new license. Other changes can be recorded too provided you have the official documents to back up such changes.

In the soi, no. On the main roads, yes. There is no choice in the matter. When going on main roads, they will not take anyone who refuses to wear the skid lid. This has nothing to do with road safety. It is purely based on economic grounds. In the area I live in the police are very active and being stopped costs anywhere between 100 to 400 Baht a time.

Thanks KT. You are quite right. My original address appears on page 4 and the first amendment of my address appears on page 23. The company did that one, but I need to do the latest one myself. Apparently it is quite simple and I can do it at the Labour Department myself. Anyway, I will soon find out as I am going to visit them on Monday. There does not appear to be much room left to make another amendment though, so perhaps I will need a new book.

First had to get my wife and son registered in the house registration book for the new house. This took half an hour down at the District Office. Then filed a copy of the same signed by my son together with a filled out application, copies of work permit, passport and son's ID card and letter of confirmation of residence at said address issued by my son (he is listed as the home owner).

I will pick up my updated work permit next week as it takes 3 working days to complete.

I found the application forms online at the Office of Foreign Workers Administration (Workpermit) website at the following link: http://wp.doe.go.th/en/downloadform

Once I get it back, the next step is to see if I can get my driver's license updated with the new address.

I don't think anyone applies for citizenship to be accepted as a Thai. There is no way in the world that I will ever be thought of as a Thai if I get citizenship. I will still be seen as a foreigner, but who just happens to have a Thai ID card. The main reasons for applying are the sense of security it provides and some of the things Tom mentions. Entering national parks at the Thai price is not a reason for the ID card, a driving license will suffice. But being able to work wherever you want and doing whatever you want without the need for a work permit would really be quite liberating. Being able to stay with your family and not having to worry that the money in your account is falling under the limit for a yearly extension. Not having to worry that the bar is raised making it difficult to be with your children.

I have lived in Thailand longer than I lived in the UK. This is home to me, the good and the bad and my family is here. My wife cannot work because of illness so if I had to leave because of visa issues she would be in trouble (she has no desire to live anywhere other than in Thailand and if I had to leave I would not be able to support her from afar). So by getting citizenship there would be added security for her.

I only seriously started looking into citizenship a few years ago. I believe the removal of the requirement for a PR for those married to Thais only actually kicked in in 2008. Up until then I had not been interested. I thought that PR was way too expensive and pointless. But now I wish I had looked into it earlier as it would have made everything so much easier for me now that I am intending to apply. By being forewarned you can check where you have a weakness and work towards improving your situation/chances. Complaining isn't going to get you anywhere. True, perhaps the system is unfair and does not meet with UN requirements or whatever, but you have to work within the system as it stands. If it says the minimum salary is such and such, then that is what you will have to earn. Complaining is not helping. Look for a better paying job or speak to Special Branch to see what else can be done to meet minimum requirements.

Sunday afternoon ramble over.

5) You must know a better class of western person, all my lot had the surviving olds either living alone or dumped in OAP homes.

Sadly true.

Whatever the story of sick buffalos, people over here usually are more responsible for their elderly relatives than in the west.

+1

I can't help but think that the reason is money. In the west most parents would have their own independent source of income such as pension. Thus, no need for monetary support or the kids to look after them. In Thailand the vast majority do not have any income when they get old so they become the responsibility of their children. It makes sens to have your parents to live with you in that scenario as it is cheaper than renting somewhere separate for them. However, there are more than enough Thais who dump their parents leaving the to abject poverty. A dumped parent in the West would still have social security to fall back on.

I believe that whether or not you get close with the family depends on how you treat each other. If the foreigner is seen as the walking ATM then probably the further away you can get the better. But if there is a mutual respect, a meeting of personalities, etc. then a close family could be something good in the long run.

Is it possible to change your home address on your driving license? I will have my new home address recorded in my work permit and wondered whether it was possible to have my new address put on the back of my license now, i.e. a new license issued with my new address on it now rather than waiting nearly five years and updating the license upon renewal. The driving license is a useful form of ID so I wondered whether it is possible to update the information appearing on it.

Thanks KT. You are quite right. My original address appears on page 4 and the first amendment of my address appears on page 23. The company did that one, but I need to do the latest one myself. Apparently it is quite simple and I can do it at the Labour Department myself. Anyway, I will soon find out as I am going to visit them on Monday. There does not appear to be much room left to make another amendment though, so perhaps I will need a new book.

It happens to me quite often when I am on my pushbike. I don't know why but assume that either they totally misjudge how fast you are going, or just think that because you are not motorised they have right of way.

I don't do what you do though as it is just not worth it. Simply repeating "<deleted>" under your breath as many times as you want makes everything better. Just think, you know something about the driver that he does not even realize himself and that is, "He is a <deleted>".

^Someone bearing a bill past its due date would, perhaps, deserve a good beating with a baseball bat though.

If I am unable to pay a bill because it is not issued on time or delivered late, I will refuse to pay any late payment surcharge and will continue to argue on this point with the suppliers.

I pay for a service (whether or not I actually use it)and part of that service includes billing me on time. I should not be penalized for the failings of the service provider to get the bill to me. On the other hand, for a number of services no bill is required in order to make payment. In those cases, there is no excuse. You should know when payments are due, how much you owe and and make those payments accordingly. Perhaps direct debit is the way forward.

In the case of TOT, my bill was delivered after the due date. I was responsible for going to the local TOT office to pay the bill as counter service at the bank and 7-11 was not possible. It was inconvenient, but I had ordered the service so it was my duty to pay. However, there was no late payment charge.

As to the OP, you signed on for the service so you should pay for it, flooding or no flooding, use or no use. It is not the supplier's fault that you did not cancel the service and the excuse that you had too much on your mind just does not hold water.

The reason for recording the change of address in my work permit is that I will be applying for the yellow house registration book (Tor Ror 13) for my new house. In applying for such book they follow the home address it states in your work permit. Thus, before I get the yellow book I need to update my home address in my work permit. It was done once before many years ago when I moved house, but then the company did it for me as part of the renewal process. However, this time around it is purely for the purpose of the yellow book so I need to do it myself and do not wish to wait another 10 months when to do it when my work permit is due for renewal.

I will also use the updated work permit to update my driving license so that it also shows my new address.

I have searched the forum but cannot find an answer to this question.

I have changed my home address (not work address) and need to have this change updated in my Work Permit. Do I have to fill out any special forms or can I simply turn up at the Labour Department to record the change? Do I need any evidence of such change of home address and if so, what?

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Congratulations CJ. That does not seem too long in the whole scheme of things.

You hear of many drivers here of mini-buses and trucks taking drugs to keep them going. Maybe this driver was one of them. It sure sounds like it.

I have lost it on a couple of occasions and given a 2 finger salute to some real pain in the ass drivers. It is a heat of the moment reaction to getting all the sh*t some Thai drivers give you with their driving techniques. Luckily nothing has come of it so far.

Probably because they have no idea what the two finger salute means. Now if you give them the middle finger, you are almost certain to get a response.

Samran, I meant savings, not income. The minumum savings is Baht 80,000.

AP, in your case you would need to get a yellow house registration, Tor Ror 13. I have not been able to get one before as my landlord could not be bothered to help. However, now that I have bought a house in my son's name, I will get my yellow book in the next week or so and start the ball rolling.

Minumum salary in case of being married to a Thai is Baht 40,000.

You will find quite a number of law firms still say you need PR. It just is not true.

Being married to a Thai for three years will make you eligible. However, if you do not have a PR, you might find it difficult making the cut-off amount of points.

Points are awarded for various things, including age, qualifications, salary, PR, Thai language ability. Thus, if you do not have PR you automatically lose out on the 20 points it would get you. As such, you need to be able to make 50 out of the remaining 80 points available.

See, with PR you would have 20 points in hand and assuming you are married, it would be easy to make up the other 30.

I will be applying next year, without PR in hand (like you), but first I need to get my yellow house registration document. I have calculated that I should be able to make the points, but then I can speak and read Thai to a reasonably high level (although I never learned to write).

By the way, minimum savings to qualify are Baht 80,000 only but the more money you can show the better your case.

As I do not plan on living anywhere else and my family is here in Thailand, I would like to peace of mind that citizenship gives. No worries about visas and changing goal posts in the future, able to work in semi-retirement without work permit worries, but mainly peace of mind.

If you are really considering staying permanently, there is no harm in trying. From what a number of helpful posters have told me Special Branch are very helpful, and will tell you straight up whether you will qualify or not and, if not, what you need to do to make the grade. Its convenient too, its in walking distance from Siam BTS station.

Edited the points.

Why is the onus on the women to learn English? Why not learn Thai if you are interested in developing a long term relationship. It broadens your horizons too.

I find repeating "<deleted>" under my breath very therapeutic and calming.

^Agreed. It is not thought of as an intrusive question, and is just something said in passing, much like "have you eaten yet" (although I no longer hear this as often as I used to). They, for the most part, have no interest in where you are going and do not expect a detailed answer. Hence, my "To see a man about a dog", simply resulted in a quizzical expression.

Now I simply mumble a response such as going out, to do some business, shopping, etc. whatver comes to mind first. I am invariably lying, but the questioner neither knows nor cares, but is happy with my response anyway.

When I decided that I would have to go over to sugar free carbonated beverages, I tried both Pepsi Max and Coke Zero. For some reason the former leaves a nasty taste in my mouth so I stuck with the latter. However, I know a few people who swear Max is the better tasting beverage.

Unless you are drinking a litre or more of Zero a day, I doubt you have much to worry about. If you are living in Bangkok, you are probably more likely to die of lung cancer from the pollution than any of those cancers purportedly caused by soft drink ingredients.

Do you drink tea or coffee? Not good. Alcohol, worse. Can't eat this, can't eat that, can't drink this, can't drink that. Why not just roll over and give up?

You can even break down just about any naturally occuring foodstuff and you will find something or other that is supposedly bad for you. Hell, both tomatoes and potatoes are members of the nightshade family and contain nasties. Strawberries, be careful with them too.

I once used "To see a man about a dog", but it just does not work in Thai.

1. I learned that I am cheap because I would rather take the bus than a taxi.

2. I learned that I am cheap because I don't see the point in spending 150 Baht on a meat pie. What a waste of money!

3. I learned that I must be weird because I do not see the point of traveling half the way around the world to spend my days eating English food for(pick your home country!) breakfast, lunch and dinner and finishing the day off in the pub. What is the point? There must be more to it than the warmer weather.

4. I have learned that people who have turned up on the doorstep of Thailand not more than three or four years ago, are unable to speak or read the language, do not mix with the locals (with certain exceptions: wives/gfs), and spend their time bending their elbows, know so much about Thailand it is really and truly amazing. I am in awe of these people.

5. I have learned that despite all the crap that gets posted on TV, there is also a lot of interesting, valuable information and quite a number of the posters are genuinely helpful people. I just can't remember what or who.

6. I have learned that when I start getting serious it is time to sign off!!!