PunkRockerGuy

On 8/17/2017 at 7:42 AM, jeab1980 said:

Oh come on please not again how your dressed has sod all to do with anything. Its been discussed a thousand times and no doubt will be again.

The only place if your stopped they will ask for your passport is close to the border crossings themselfs and then only if its army or actual immigration police in attendance. I went to Nong Khai last week as you turn of the Highway to continue on highway2 to the border theres always a police stop there. They pulled me asked for driving licence. Asked where i was going told them need another 90 days in passport. Never asked to look at passport and smiled sent me on my way. Mukdahan never yet seen a police block.

Quite true, for the most part.  Again, I have ZERO experience with border runs or tourist visas in most of Asia as I have business in a few countries, but when my wife called our local Immigration office the Captain clearly stated a few days to a week of overstay for Japanese, Americans, British, etc., was NO PROBLEM, BUT, had I been of Indian, SE Asian, African, et al. persuasion, she said they do indeed take those overstays seriously.  We are, unfortunately, still living in a racist and prejudiced world.  And, I'm a white guy, but Immigration knows my education background and degrees, my jobs within the Thai government, and I admit, I am unfairly privileged.  I have some African friends from Rwanda who also have Doctoral degrees, but they had a hefty amount of difficulty with Thai Immigration and Institutions who were supposed to help them extend their visas since they worked for said educational institutions.  Sad, but true. 

On 5/1/2017 at 4:05 PM, kurtmartens said:

Yeah well.  No point in arguing with Immigration, won't really get me anywhere.

It's quite straightforward.  Every day you overstay is 500 baht/day.  As long is it is only for 1-4 or a few days and you did not purposely try to overstay, they just ask you to sign 3 places that depending upon the Immigration Office, states you did it accidentally,  etc., and the local office gets to pocket the fine money.  It has happened to me 2x when I miscalculated the 90-days vs. 3-months time period to make sure my "Retirement Visa" bankbook has at least 800,000 baht in it.  They now go by 3-months (i.e., if you put money into your bank account to ensure 800,000 baht for renewal of Retirement Visa on 02 March, they calculate your renewal date valid beginning 02 June, etc.) and not 90 consecutive days.  If you are on decent terms with your Immigration Office, they classify it as a clerical error and you sign your name when you hand over the fine.  No big deal.  I believe I have overstayed by accident or emergency 3x in 16-years and my record is in good standing with the MOI. 

You might ask me why I don't keep 800K year round in the account .... well, with the prevailing interest rates, I like to make that money work for me either in US stocks, cryptocurrency swing trades, or invested into capital in one of my companies.  So, I had previously counted 90-days backward from my Visa renewal date, but when getting close to renewal time, I went into ask a few questions and they told me, whooops .... add 2,3 more days due to the 3-month timing.  So, no harm, no foul.  And, as mentioned before, if you go over 90-days, you are banned from the Kingdom for 1-year.  If arrested and charged, 3-years, I believe.  As you can imagine, everything higher than 90-days, it gets increasingly worse.    

Don't fret over a couple of days if you've talked to your local office and cleared the overstay with them. 

I think I have that beat here in Lopburi.

I just renewed my 1-year visa on 03 June.  Filled out the 1-page, 2-sided form.  I never have to get a queue number or wait in line as Lopburi staff seem to think of me as a friend.  It took less time than to drink down my Iced Coffee for them to stamp my passport with the 1-year stamp, show me as reporting for 90-days, and take my picture with their webcam.  Even though the Office Captain has changed, I was treated like a VIP and they are always super friendly.  

I never have to show up in person every 90-days as they email me a copy of the 90-day reporting receipt that arrives about 2-weeks prior to the hardcopy mailed by post to arrive at my house.  

It's a once-a-year trip for me since about 2014, although my wife and I do stop in occasionally with company gifts from our Japanese business trips or Japanese food products we grow or import and distribute to the grocery chains here in Thailand.  

When I first came to Thailand in 2002, Immigration was a nightmare, nevermind the Labor Dept and Tax Depts in Bkk.  Here in Lopburi, everyone is friendly and bend over backward to make things as smooth as possible.

Just my experience, others may vary. ?

I don't mean to say that the only way is to always be able to show 800, 000 when renewal time comes, but it is the sure-fire technique. And, if you came to thailand to live, or any country for that matter, without a high-paying job waiting for you, or without at least $50, 000, then you will end up with all this immigration nonsense and border runs, etc.

I've been here 10+ yrs, had spouse visas, work visas from companies I created, and now a nice Non-O visa. Haven't had any serious problems or issues with Immigration yet.

And, I might note, I have never paid a bribe to anyone in my time here.

I agree with OMG. I came to Thailand after doing a stint of consulting for Korean government agencies and private consulting. I lived in s. Korea for 2 yrs andbefore all this trendy snail masks and k-pop were even conceived. I came to thailand with only the money I made while in S. Korea, which was about 14.0 million baht. I immediately put 4 million in a bank account afterafter I got here and settled down about 2003.

1. If you truly don't mind lying to your government, they will certify just about any income document (whether real or not) after you raise your right hand. However, don't do this lightly.

2. I had have had millions of baht scattered between 5-6 thai banks since I came here. I have never had even 1 baht go unaccounted for. Every Thsi bank has given me a credit card with a work payment ... most credit limits were 350, 000++ baht, and service was always good, although a bit slow. I do admit, I was always firm and demanding though from their customer service.

3. Just make sure you get 800, 000 baht in a separate bank account, to make sure funds don't get confused. Or, do as I do, drop 1.0 million into a Thai bank account and forget about it until you go to reserve your Non-O.

4. I just don't see the reasonable planning that goes into coming to Thailand with just a very small amount of funds and tries to stay here without a sufficient income.

Take my uncle as an example, he was 65 when he retired in the U.S., with just a small, maybe $35, 000 USD maximum in the bank and a paid-off small 3 bedroom ranch just 1 yr after my aunt died of lung cancer. He's not going to spend a few thousand dollars to fly to thailand, look for an apartment to rent while he looks for a house to buy, etc... it makes far better sense to rely on the small savings he had, plus SS... now, if he had planned for a few yrs, saved up his money and then planned his move.

Does anyone have a clue how many Americans vacation in Thailand compared to Aussies and Europeans? I don't see that many when I'm there.

China's economy including exports is struggling. The Russian Ruble has crashed. Japan's economy is struggling.

I think it's currency values and economies that are doing at least some of this. Also, Thailand has become expensive. For people on a budget there are alternatives.

I'm American, but now officially retired after a massive Japanese import 2013 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX just took all the pep out of me, and having bone grafts and steel implants in both shoulders, implants in my right forearm and 2 experimental surgeries on my right femur, along with the 4 day coma and still enough pain to keep me on large doses of morphine and 2x/month hospital checkups. I traveled 30+ countries for business and start companies before landing in Thailand in 2002 working for some government officials which shall go unnamed ... plus I started one new Law Firm here in 2003 with a Korean partner.

I would never consider Thailand a tourist destination of mine, specifically WAY too hot (I like 20C at night for a good 6 months of the year and not much more than 26C in the day). Thailand has far too much corruption, scams, disorganization, always changing rules, etc., for me to come here for vacation. I am only cause I am married to my Thai wife, and we have businesses here and in Japan, and being back in the States was never a big pull for me after the Bush's. I traveled in lived in Bali for 6months and loved it ... hopped my first surfboard there at age 45 or so back in the mid-2000s. Tahiti, Samoa, Maldives, nice temperate countries like Ecuador where you have 4 different seasons if you travel 300 km N,S,E, or West.

I merely accept Thailand, and enjoy my wife and her family here. Vacation? Not a thought in a lifetime.

And, yes ... company owners or Directors are not eligible to use the fund.

You are absolutely eligible to use the Thai SS benefits program. With a WP you pay 5% of gross salary and like in my case of almost dying in a severe Ninja 1000 SX super sport accident ... it saved me about 1.5 million baht in med expenses and I received top notch care at even Ramathibodi university Hospital from Thailand's #1 ortho surgeon.

If your employer does not have such a SS plan, you can always pay into the private fund with all the same benefits. I believe the rate is 7-7.5% and you won't even notice it. I'm retired from all my companies now, but my wife handles all the expenses but I know I pay just about the same as when I had the WP.

May sounds like a weird question - but do you like 'bokeh'? You know that nice effect for portrait shots where the background is all fuzzy and the subject seems to really stand out. Or those cool blobs of bright light from out of focus lights in a night shot.

If you want that effect - you need a camera with a large-ish sensor - as this allows you to control depth of field (what's in focus and what is not). Any DSLR or the Lumix GX7, Olympus EPL's, Fuji x100, E-X2 and the Canon GX1 can do this trick as they have decent sized sensors. There's also the added benefit of less noise in low light shots. The Sony RX100 can also do a decent job of bokeh and low light - but not quite up to the others as it's sensor is a bit smaller.

If bokeh and low light are not your priority - and you only need small size photos for web use and viewing on screen - then as others have said why not go for a good camera phone? Nokia are the best but the new Sony Xperia Z2 due out next month is even waterproof for your trips out.

Or a waterproof compact such as the ones from Olympus or Lumix?

I very much prefer my SONY alpha-77VQ and its multitude of inexpensive lenses for my "bokeh" and other interesting settings as all SONY bodies on SLRs have anti-shake built-in, so no crazy over-priced Canon, etc lenses, . I shoot a lot at night to still photo local punk rock bands often at outside late night venues and when my pics and or video (I use the alpha-77 as a backup hi-def video cam sometimes) get posted online on Facebook, my websites, G+, etc... A lot of folks are overwhelmed with the images or video.

I got divorced in Pattaya, got the house sold and received 50 % of the proceeds, even tough she had a Thai lawyer. In Thailand it's 50/50 by law, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

We merged our 15-year legal business PAPPA Co Ltd with One Stop Service Center Co. Ltd. legal division. Please see www.PAPPA.co.th and www.onestoplegalservice.com. com.

In our vast experience we have had more than 200 foreign husbands hire us to get property and other assets back from their Thai wife in a divorce.

We have always received at least half of the value of the assets of the marriage and most of all of the value of the assets contributed by the husband with funds he held prior to marriage.

We have been able secure up to 100 percent of the property in a divorce provided that

1) the money used to pay for the property was a pre marital asset which the foreigner had and could prove by inbound bank wire transfer forms.

2) the legal marriage was less than three years.

3) the wife receives some compensation. Generally, land the husband bought upcountry for her family. Sometimes it is a bar or salon he bought during the marriage for her.

More often than not, we have been able to mediate and negotiate with the Thai wife and settle the divorces within 60 days.In the cases that went to court, we have been able to conclude in generally 6 months in favor of our clients.

If not more, we get at least 50 percent of marital assets less any child support necessary.

You fail to mention much of the paperwork by themselves and you could just handle court-related activities as needed.

PRG

Two years back, I was ready to "Split The Sheet" and Siam Legal wanted 14,900 THB for uncontested and I did not want the house and car. Just walk away. Well, we are still together.

It will cost more to settle the house. If you have all the documents needed you should get half. I had a friend who owned 25 RAI and house in Buriram and the Court made his wife pay up half, actually her new boy friend paid it.

With marriage it is not the initial investment, it is the maintenance and up-keep !!

Welcome to LOS !!

Interesting. I have NEVER come across a case of a falang being awarded half of the proceeds of a house sale following a divorce. If you have any more details of the Buriram case, I am sure lots of guys out there who have sunk a big chunk of their savings into the family home would appreciate hearing them. I would for one, as I was under the impression that the documents one is obliged to sign at the Land Registry effectively sign away any claim to ownership.

Presumably, the new boyfriend who paid the falang his share of the house and land was also a falang?!!

There is a case that an American got 100% of the land and house back from his wife. My lawyer told me they use that case as an example in law school so it should not be too hard for your lawyer to come up with a copy of it.

Perhaps then I am the 2nd American guy who got 100%. Although many do not want to admit it, Americans have a few extra rights when it comes to land and house ownership. My case was Bangkraui and I did get 100% back in my 1st marriage to a Thai female. I also teach Law at an one of the major universities and we do indeed use 2 other American case studies, now that Thai courts do recognize precedent and the case process. I also teach my own example, which is fairly unique. Again, if you're willing to do a little legwork, ask some questions, there is NO need for a lawyer at those insane fees I saw quoted.

PRG

I think you still can ask for divorce and also the house might have to be sold and share the money.

Yes. Exactly. Unless the wife is willing to buy you out.

Two years back, I was ready to "Split The Sheet" and Siam Legal wanted 14,900 THB for uncontested and I did not want the house and car. Just walk away. Well, we are still together.

It will cost more to settle the house. If you have all the documents needed you should get half. I had a friend who owned 25 RAI and house in Buriram and the Court made his wife pay up half, actually her new boy friend paid it.

With marriage it is not the initial investment, it is the maintenance and up-keep !!

Welcome to LOS !!

Interesting. I have NEVER come across a case of a falang being awarded half of the proceeds of a house sale following a divorce. If you have any more details of the Buriram case, I am sure lots of guys out there who have sunk a big chunk of their savings into the family home would appreciate hearing them. I would for one, as I was under the impression that the documents one is obliged to sign at the Land Registry effectively sign away any claim to ownership.

Presumably, the new boyfriend who paid the falang his share of the house and land was also a falang?!!

Technically at the Bureau of Land Management you do sign away rights to the home. For we lawyers or corporation owners, it can be a different story, but in divorce court, 50/50 is the rule. Some of your rights do return luckily in court

I am a lawyer, as all of you might know by now, and the absolutely the easiest, quickest way if you both are in Thailand and agree to the divorce you merely both goo to the Amphur where you were married out of and bring your legalized copy of our passport photo page and fill-out some forms which the staff will tell you where to put your info and sign and your done. Oh, and bring your original marriage certificates, or get certified copies of such. In my own case, I called a "sheriff" of the county (one of the benefits of working for Mr. Chalerm and Ms. Yingluck ] and he found my now ex-wife's 13 digit ID # which I needed for court as she stayed back in America overstaying the Tourist Visa I obtained for her in 2009 and continues to live and work illegally somewhere in the U.S.

If you know your wife's Tabien address, but she no longer lives there (such was the case in my example), you certainly DO NOT NEED AN ATTORNEY to settle this in court as she will never get the court summons, therefore never showing up in court, and you win by default. Just bring a good Thai friend who can help you fill-out all the necessary paperwork. In my case it was my new Thai gf who handled that and I co-own a crapload of her assets through my corporation and no need to re-marry ...

The legal fees I saw referenced on here are HIGHWAY ROBBERY and these lawyers should be ashamed. When I owned my law firm pre-2009, my fees were barely 40% of what I saw quoted.

PRG

Well over $6200 for "damage" to jet ski? Or does that cover speedboat also? Too bad the farang will always lose in these situations. Rule #1 -- rent nothing in these resort areas.

http://www.bahtsold.com/ads/jet-ski-for-sale

They are not cheap, Second hand or new, 190.000 - 590.000.- +

I'm not sure I would call those prices expensive. My 2014 Kawasaki Ninja 1000 SX is well above 700K and just scratch or deform one of the side lockable panniers and it costs 69,000 baht ... and I would expect any watercraft of a fast rate of speed and decent controls, and an even bigger displacement than my 250kg bike should they experience substantial damage, certainly costs more than $200 (6,xxx baht) ... and include non-use opportunity cost while being repaired.

Umm, maybe my banking terms are not up to snuff, but what in the world is "seasoning" concerning a bank account??

It means the money needs to age like a fine wine.

So for the 800K, when the seasoning is three months, the balance in the bank account can't go even ONE BAHT below 800K for the entire seasoning period before the immigration meeting.

The intent is to prevent short term loans, in theory anyway.

ah... got it now. I knew the rule, just not the term, "seasoning". Thanks !

I put the 800k into a term deposit and just leave it there. That way, whenever I go to renew my extension I know the money has been there long enough to meet the requirement, plus as it's "locked" in it's not readily available to be blown on spontaneous purchases and earns a wee bit of interest as well.

Somewhere along the line I had it in my head that "term deposits" or "time deposits" were not acceptable. The reasoning was that the 800K was money that one would be using for living expenses.

But I was told a that a high interest account (I can only withdraw twice a month or there is a 500 baht fee) is OK. In practice, I witdraw once every couple months and put the money in an "everyday account" whicj earns much lower interest.

Never had any problems at Jomtien Immigration using the high interest account and good to hear that time deposits are also acceptable. Anyone else use time deposits for their 800K baht?

You could have zero baht for the previous 10 months the first year and Immigration could care less .. and 9 months for each subsequent year ... they only care about the bank statement for the aforementioned 2 months or 3 months, respectively.

Umm, maybe my banking terms are not up to snuff, but what in the world is "seasoning" concerning a bank account??

This isn't controversial.

These are the FACTS, already stated.

First extension application -- two months seasoning before the immigration meeting (800K banked method)

Subsequent extensions -- three months seasoning before the immigration meeting (800K banked method)

Jingthing is 100% correct. I have maneuvered between "Thai Wife" Visas when married, work permits when I ran my law firm for 8 years and some side work that is kinda secret, but if ya know me, you know my freelance work .

However, I was a U.S. & Thai Immigration Lawyer for many years and it remains 2 months the first time, 3 months therein out.

PRG

This isn't controversial.

These are the FACTS, already stated.

First extension application -- two months seasoning before the immigration meeting (800K banked method)

Subsequent extensions -- three months seasoning before the immigration meeting (800K banked method)

Back in 2005-2009, I owned a house in Bangkruai in a L&H Development, which the concrete foundation cracked after 13 months and I was told that was normal. I being a lawyer and owning a law firm in Bkk was prepared to sue, but believe me, the evidence required to prove poor construction materials and processes in innumerable.

Anyway, I bonded with a 7-week old Golden Retriever at Pattama Farms amongst 9 female puppies within 3 mins. I paid the 7,000 baht (US price would have been 17,000 - 30,000 easily), took her home. Poddy/pee trained her in 2 days as I do with any puppy but I can tell you, she had complete run of the downstairs floor (of a large 3 bedroom house, 2 floors), but there is no way that she could get enough exercise with just 2 daily walks in the village streets ... she needed the 0.94 rai of land we had to chase imaginary birds, random squirrels, and cats from across the street whom the Thai owners did not discipline and they shit and pee'd in my yard every day and it made Goldie ever vigilant and upset.

So, yeah .. A decent-sized dog needs a property to roam and be King/Queen of, and get the real hard running exercise in. I could walk Goldie without a leash which was against L&H policies, but the security guards liked to pet her and she would not move without my command, so I was lucky ... and about air conditioning ... yup, I left the downstairs 2 units on 24 hrs/day for her comfort set at 27 C which was about 5x,xxx BTU, and my monthly electric bill there was only 5,000 - 6,000 baht. That was an ex-wife story, so right now I live in the largest of our 3 condos, but I would think of having a dog in this cramped 3 bedroom condo ... the dog would tear it apart. In fact, I'm going back to buy another GR puppy soon ... right after we sell the other 2 condos and I rehab from a deadly crash of my 2014 Ninja SX which broke both my shoulders, fractured my right leg femur right through my riding pants and fractured 7 of my fingers. I have a 24 cm screw in my thigh right now and have to use a wheelchair ... ah, such is life

PRG

I was the one who posted a "what if" question regarding pornography laws in Thailand, and now fully realize my post was in violation of Item # 16) Not to post about gambling, betting, pornography, illegal drugs, fake goods/clothing etc and other activities that are officially illegal in Thailand.

And, I do indeed apologize for the infraction which is explicit and my responsibility to read more carefully. My apologies.

So that I do not make any further mistakes in posting, could someone explain to me why members can discuss what a bargirl makes for “going with customers” (which is mostly semantics for [sex]) and I have seen the occasional post discussing girls’ “rates” for “various activities” that were graphic enough that even in the legal field a judge would read the post as talking about prostitution, … but we cannot discuss if sex acts (paid or unpaid) n film is illegal or legal?

I’m just curious as it would seem the legal debate could go hundreds of sub-threads. I won’t mention anything close to this topic ever again if I still misinterpret Guideline #16 again.

Not sure if this right place for this post, so please forgive the mistake and place in the appropriate forum, if necessary.

I seem to remember years ago, the semi-famous Ed Powers came to Thailand before IMF even, and did some Dirty Debutantes filming which back then required large cams and lighting set-ups in hotel rooms. And I have stumbled across the occasional Thai-based in hotel room porn with what seems to be 2 semi-famous (though not terribly attractive in my opinion Thai girls who work with the same film crew guys each time. Thus, I wondered if just the act of filming "sex" on camera is illegal or not in Thailand. Or, further yet, what if payment/commission was promised at a later date if an internet distributor or DVD distributor bought the film. Any ideas if the girls involved are in any hot water? What about the guy filming, especially if it was just for his private collection??

Just curious ....

Punkster