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Posts posted by Bredbury Blue
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Had the same problem in 2006. Foreign company I worked for terminated me on the spot (took them to the labour court and won compensation). I therefore had to quickly transition from their WP/Non-O to a Non-O (support thai wife). As it was complicated I used a law firm (friend's firm). Worked well, so if you can afford it employ the services of a lawyer. Costs, but takes the stress out of it and will be done properly.
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17 hours ago, Upnotover said:
No issues with documents, all the same as normal. But whereas last year the process took less than 30 minutes today it was 1 hour 40. Last year the entire process from documents to stamp was handled by one person. This year that person did the initial part of the process, checking all the documents and taking the 1900 baht, then handed everything to the girl behind her and told me to wait, which I duly did. Eventually another assistant chap called my name and I was good to go. Three people instead of one. Not that I am that bothered but I missed my appointment for a re-entry and no way was I queuing for that as that also took 90 minutes last year - I'll get one at the airport next week.
Which process is normal I have no idea, I'm guessing it's just an example of consistent inconsistency as applies to many things.
Question for anyone:
Can he only apply for re-entry at CW or at the airport, or can he apply at any Imm office (like Samut Prakarn, which is quieter that CW)?
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2 hours ago, GanDoonToonPet said:
Yes that's a very small increase for 16 years of contributions. It could be that some of those years don't actually increase your pension. Did you call FP to check before paying?
Good news is you paid the cheaper class 2, so didn't waste much, and you're on course for the full pension. 😊
See my response to Britmantoo.
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2 hours ago, BritManToo said:
It's very easy,
Voluntary contributions made to years before 2016 (new pension start) rarely make much difference to your pension expectations. Its years after 2016 that make the difference.
If you had asked the Future Pensions "what years should I buy to increase my pension?"
They would have told you.
I received a letter from the pensions lot telling me exactly how much to pay for each year with a gap. The years were from 2008 to 2023. Each year paid counts as one of your 35 years. It wasn't alot to pay so I paid it. It was very easy, the only problem is, with the 05 April 2025 deadline, the NIC/Pensions offices are swamped and can't cope.
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Another storm in a teacup.
I must have been here too long as I'm always referring to other whities as farlang.
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54 minutes ago, GanDoonToonPet said:
OK then...guess we'll both have to wait until next year to see our NI record updated 😟
Interesting development.
Until recently my NIC page on the HRMC website, showed (i) i had 16 years of gaps, showed (ii) my "Current estimate based on NI record up to 5 April 2024" and (ii) "Forecast if your contribute NI until 5 April 2025" pension amounts i would receive were £30.10 and £23.87 respectively less than the the full new State Pension amount for 2024.
The backdated payment for those 16 years of gaps i made in January 2025 (for the cheaper Class 2 contributions) still hasn't been credited to my account according to the website, but, the website today now shows:
(i) that 4 of those 16 years that were gaps are now full years,
(ii) my "Current estimate based on NI record up to 5 April 2024" is now only £5.11 less than the the full new State Pension amount, and,
(iii) my "Forecast if your contribute another year before 5 April 2025" is now showing the full new State Pension amount - very confusing!
It could be that the payment i made for 16 years Class 2 has been credited to the 4 years at Class 3, but that does work as the amount i paid would be insufficient to pay 4 years at Class 3.Looks like i'll have to do another call to Future Pension Centre (+44 191 218 3600).
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On 4/20/2025 at 11:06 PM, GanDoonToonPet said:
I'm in the exact same situation as you, except I'm just about to call them to check that they've received my payment (it's been just over 8 weeks as they advise).
Current time from making payment to updating NI records is 65 weeks!
When you last called HMRC, did you inform them which years you want to allocate the payment to?
I did.
I received a State Pension statement letter from PT Operations North East England, BXG 1AN, UK in Sept 2024 which itemised the 'Class 2 NICs shortfall rates' i should pay for the 16 years of gaps. I paid that amount in January. When i phoned +44 191 218 3600 and spoke to a lady in Glasgow in February, i gave her the letter reference, explained the total amount for the exact 16 year period.-
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7 hours ago, topt said:
Class 2 is for self employed and those who are/were working abroad (see link below)
Class 3 is for voluntary payments and is far more expensive than Class 2....
https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions/who-can-pay-voluntary-contributions
Then I meant the other way round (i.e. website says pay Class 3 but on enquiring i was informed to pay the cheaper Class 2). Thanks for the correction.
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45 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:
We like walking from cafes to temples. The mrs loves Chiang Mai because of that. So that sort of thing.
Then you should love Ayutthaya. An hour away is the giant Buddha at wat muang in Ang Thong.
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I'm in a similar situation the OP.
I've lived overseas for some time and paid annual voluntary contributions, and I received a letter saying I'd paid enough to receive full pension, so i stopped paying NIC annually.
Then unknown to me they brought in the new state pension, and a year ago a friend tipped me off about the deadline for paying backdated NIC by 05 April 2025.
I got myself a HRMC website account which showed under the new pension system I would fall short of full pension but could pay a lot of money to backpay the more expensive (class 2?) NICs to catchup to get full pension.
I commenced writing to the Pensions dept in June 2024 and sent the necessary form to enquire how much to pay (as i wasn't convinced by the amounts the website said i had to pay, seemed too much) and after sending 3 letters (twice I sent the form) I finally received a letter late 2024 informing how much to pay for each year for the cheaper NICs (class 3?) as backdated payment to receive full pension. So I was right, the website says I have to pay the expensive class 2 but on checking was told I could pay the cheaper class 3.
In January 2025 I made a payment for the cheaper class 3 amount ( from mu Uk bank account to their bank account) for the outstanding years between 2006 and April 2025. There is an explanation online of the banking reference you have to create when making the payment so they know it's from you.
February 2025 having heard nothing I called. 30 minutes wait, put through to a lady in Glasgow. She confirmed she could see the amount I paid and the relevant people would be in touch soon.
Having heard nothing I filled a form in online in March 2025. Form says 10 days for reply. No reply.
End of March did the 'call back form' before 05 April deadline date, required to ensure catch-up payments before 2019 can be paid. No reply yet.
My HRMC online account for NIC shows the same as it has for the past year (that I have alot of unpaid years at the expensive class 2), but my Pension page online since 05 April now shows my estimate and forecast pension have increased alot compared to the amount before 05 April, so I'm hopeful I've almost sorted out my pension problem, but i can't be sure.
I will probably call them again in a week or 2 to check out the true situation with my NIC, my payment and my pension amount.
It's not easy is it!
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2 hours ago, pgrahmm said:
. Additionally, Si Satchanalai Historical Park deserves a look.....About 20-30k from Sukhothai.....More charm than Sukhothai & about the same size....
I agree with you on Si Satchanalai. Been a couple of times over the years. Hire a bicycle outside the park for pennies, ride around visiting the ruins, every time I've been I've been one of the few people visiting (just the way I like it). Really great place. Once stayed at the Sukhothai airport hotel (really nice) which is about half way between Sukhothai and Si Satch and a great place for visiting both places.
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If you don't have an interest in old wats / historical ruins then this is not the place for you. We do, and had a great 3 nights here. Stayed at Baan Khung Thara Ayutthaya
บ้านคุ้งธารา อยุธยา on the river bank in one of their bungalows, nice place, nice people, quiet, had 3 real good restaurants within 5 minutes walk, and would definitely return.
You could also stay longer in Ayutthaya by using it as a base to visit the towns in the hour in a 90 minute radius after seeing the sights in Ayutthaya. Personally, I loved it in Ayutthaya.-
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On 2/28/2025 at 2:00 PM, 123Stodg said:
One of the most awkward language habits I often see in Thailand is when foreigners refer to other foreigners as “Farang” while speaking with each other in English. Sure, it’s a term that some Thais still use to describe Westerners, but when used by an expat or tourist, it comes off as awkward and often just pretentious.
Are these people trying to sound more integrated into Thai culture? Is it an attempt to flaunt their (often very limited) Taxi-Thai language skills? In most cases, it seems to be short-term visitors or those with only a surface-level understanding of the Thai language who use “Farang” instead of simply saying “foreigner” or “Westerner.” They may think it makes them sound more in tune with local culture, but to many long-term expats, it just sounds unnatural and even cringy.
Most foreigners who have lived in Thailand for a long time don’t use the word “Farang” when speaking with other foreigners. They understand that in an English conversation, words like “expat,” “tourist,” "Westerner", or “foreigner” make more sense. The only real reason for a foreigner to even use “Farang” is when speaking Thai with a Thai person, especially if that Thai person doesn’t speak much English, but even then there are better words in Thai which don't carry any kind of negative stigma.
So why does this habit persist? Maybe some foreigners enjoy peppering their English with the small handful of Thai words they know, hoping it adds a bit of local flair to their speech. But to others, it just sounds forced, unnatural, noob, and in poor taste.
My experience is, in your early years here in Thailand you find the term farlang offensive, but after you've been here a while, and particularly if you have Thai spouse, Thai friends and Thai family, you no longer find it offensive and it feels natural to use the word farlang yourself.
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On 1/27/2025 at 2:24 PM, simon43 said:
Yes, most expats are non-immigrants, but they maybe stay here for 5, 10, 20 years or more, renewing their non-immigrant visa each year 🙂
I think once you're on your 5th annual renewal, you should be required to take a spoken Thai language test. That shouldn't be too difficult now, should it?
And on maybe on your 5th annual renewal you should get more benefits for passing a spoken Thai language test...like do bi-annual renewals and not annual, na
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On 1/15/2025 at 12:36 PM, chickenslegs said:
If you have been working in Thailand you may be able to pay Class 2 voluntary contributions. So you will pay a lot less. It's great value. Class 2 would be around 180GBP per year, compared to around 800GBP for Class 3.
I think you should phone the International DWP office to get better information. Sometimes extra payments do not get you extra pension.
I checked online and it was a huge sum for unpaid years at class 3.
I'd been paying class 2 over the years I've been working here, so I wrote to them, not mentioning what it says online, and as i expected with working in Thailand, they wrote back quoting a very reasonable amount at class 2.
I would therefore recommend the OP writing (or calling) to get an assessment, as the website assessment seems to assess on the basis of working in the UK, and act quickly as there is a 5 April 2025 cut off date for backpaying some of the earlier years.
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On 5/30/2024 at 10:28 AM, MalcolmB said:
Hi, I was directed here from the Visa section.
I am getting married later this year and would like to be able to do a speech in Thai.
I have just started learning the thai alphabet, chicken, egg, bottle, buffalo etc.
Any good tips about how to learn quickly. Online courses etc. My girlfriend speaks good English so I am lucky there, she will help me.
It should take about 3-6 months I think.
So how has your thai progressed in the 6 months.
Presumably you are now married (congrats if you are) so how did your speech go?
Interested to know as a fellow student of thai.
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On 12/21/2024 at 11:15 AM, Bredbury Blue said:
Downloaded and tried out BirdNET App, used for identifying bird calls. Seems to work fine, and identified plenty of bird calls around my garden.
Enjoying sitting in the garden and using the App to work out the bird sounds I hear so often but don't know which bird is singing it. Pleased to work out one sound I hear frequently is the coppersmith barbet. Must make the most monotonous call of all birds, as described by wiki
The call is a loud rather metallic tuk…tuk…tuk (or tunk), reminiscent of a copper sheet being beaten, giving the bird its name. Repeated monotonously for long periods, starting with a subdued tuk and building up to an even volume and tempo, the latter varying from 108 to 121 per minute and can continue with as many as 204 notes.
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Downloaded and tried out BirdNET App, used for identifying bird calls. Seems to work fine, and identified plenty of bird calls around my garden.
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6 hours ago, GypsyT said:
Look AQ repors, it's there
Now wouldn't it have just been easier to state which provinces instead of stating AQ repors (I have no idea what that even means).
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Isaan is a huge area, and not one person posting mentions where the burning is going on.
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On 11/27/2024 at 8:57 AM, kevozman1 said:
That's just not true though. Women are different in various regions. Women are different in various generations within a region. As Thai women is the topic I will drop my two points with them: they must be attracted to you, and you must be able to deal with their emotional bombing (they don't like a pussy). If you can do that then you have a good chance of having a woman who will go above and beyond for you much more than most other women out there.
Still single?
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On 11/25/2024 at 6:32 AM, KhunLA said:
Someone thinks too much. Fantasy vs Reality ... who comes up with this stuff.
Take the word 'Thai' out. It's a woman, hopefully, if that your preference. No different than any other woman of the world.
Same everywhere, emphasis on 'potentially' ... as all people aren't ...
... beautiful (sounds a bit shallow)
... caring, good luck with that
... devoted, divorce rates not different
... values family and home life ???
More important, do you want to be married and or .... why ?
You're marrying the woman, not the family. Why would you support anyone else ? Is this something you do in home country ?
Cultural compatibly and the rest is just made up BS. You're 2 people, you get along or you don't. The rest is just BS excuses people use when things fail.
Like all relationships, either works or doesn't, no need for excuses. What makes you happy, what makes her happy, and if not like minded, it will fail.
Culture, language, other people have nothing to do with it. The fantasy of marriage is a failed institution, and why so many fail.
2 people finding out everything there is to know about each other and still liking each other ....
GOOD LUCK WITH THAT ONE
My advice ... if never wanting to be divorced, never get married. That piece of paper is a fantasy, and for many, a curse.
Brilliant response.
"Take the word 'Thai' out. It's a woman...No different than any other woman of the world.
Culture, language, other people have nothing to do with it."
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22 hours ago, owl sees all said:
You were once one of the most regular posters on the footy threads. What happened to you Bluey?
Simply I had enough of some of idiots on that forum.
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Renewing Retirement visa.
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted
Never obtained reentry permit at Swampy. Can you remind where exactly is the airport desk(s)?