taxin

In isaan I have no idea, as my fiancee is in the upper class of bangkok. But my fiancee said they just want to ask me for alittle sinsot.

If i was rich maybe they would ask for more

there is one born every day .........

don't pay a sin sot, it's just a scam to get cash out of a gullible farang.

tell them you won't pay and if they don't like it then bye bye.

I will 2nd to that. Dont do it ! All these people on here are telling you its tradition ignore them, its only because they got scammed !

If you insist then dont give more than 100k, and make sure its a mega party !! A friend of mine is getting married today in Isaan, he paid 100k and she was a hooker from Bangkok. Convinced him it was her 1st night on the game and he was her 1st punter !

400k, oh really

As someone said earlier, falang no understand Thai culture, so falang no pay !

I guess you havent read my other posts, Well is farang no pay maybe farang should get lost

Or even still just dont get married ! Renting is better then buying !

In isaan I have no idea, as my fiancee is in the upper class of bangkok. But my fiancee said they just want to ask me for alittle sinsot.

If i was rich maybe they would ask for more

there is one born every day .........

don't pay a sin sot, it's just a scam to get cash out of a gullible farang.

tell them you won't pay and if they don't like it then bye bye.

I will 2nd to that. Dont do it ! All these people on here are telling you its tradition ignore them, its only because they got scammed !

If you insist then dont give more than 100k, and make sure its a mega party !! A friend of mine is getting married today in Isaan, he paid 100k and she was a hooker from Bangkok. Convinced him it was her 1st night on the game and he was her 1st punter !

400k, oh really

As someone said earlier, falang no understand Thai culture, so falang no pay !

For arguments sake, let's say an early 20's virgin (or was before me) from an Isaan farming family with a clerical job.

It all depends on how much they think you have, not what shes worth !

My girlfriend is from the Philippines and she would like to meet some other Philippine girls living here on Phuket preferably in Patong area. Anybody out there?

Not sure about hangouts for Philippinos but theres a great Philippino band on Patong Beach, its in a resort called Baan Lamai, highly recommendable.

Thanks for all the comments. I don't want to do this myself, but I am very curious when I hear about farangs with little or no experience making hundreds of thousands of Baht a month.

Thats because its just that, Hearsay and rumour!

I've been in the dive business and a similar scam operated by some companies is the 'pay us $$$$$ to become an OWSI instructor and earn 80 - 160k baht a month'

Few earn even clost to those figures.

Its pie in the sky mate. A small handful find the pot of gold falang to sell to but for the most part its tall tales, and attempts to get high numbers in the door to send out on the front lines. And the cops are the machine gunners just waiting for the eager falang to pass in front of their sights.

Don't be fooled by the dangled carrot. Make your money in the west and use thailand as a base rather than that kind of work-place.

There are sales people in Thailand selling timeshare who are easily earning in excess of 100,000 baht, but they are extremely rare.

The large majority of sales reps fail miserably, simply because sales was not there profession prior to arriving in there chosen country. These are normally the ones that say how great they were and how much money they made, when really they earned nothing. Likitalot is a classic example of this.

The timeshare bubble will not burst, they will just call it something else and disguise it. Just like the Laguna timeshare in Phuket which is now called "Laguna Holiday Club", and the Marriott "Vacation Club", yes, these are the biggest culprits !

Its simple, if it involves hundreds of $$$$ in yearly fees, its timeshare !

Thanks tracerO, as you say some do deliver and have the product to back up their claims. My whole point is, some are complete rip offs and a few are credible going concerns.

I worked for the latter. Yes I did have work permit and any company i have worked for do not solicit on the street.

Last but not least, I paid over 1 million baht in tax last year so i know i contributed far more in tax at 37% than most posters for the Thai government(sorry military) to use wisely as usual. Not sure i got value for money for my tax.

I cant believe this clown is still rambling on with this utter crap ! 1 million baht in tax, likeitalot you are not kidding anybody so give it up !

Let me reiterate, all (I repeat) "ALL" Timeshare is a rip off, its nothing more than an expensive hobby !

The happy owners are the ones who have yet to know that they have been ripped off, simply because the likeitalots are always at hand to wrap them in cotton wool everytime they use there week, reminding them how lucky they are to be "in the club" and not to listen anyone else, etc, etc, then at the end of the week they convince them that they should buy another week or upgrade !

Exchange for anywhere in the world, rubbish, not a chance !!!! And if you do find someone who will exchange with you its a far lesser standard than yours, always ! And then it costs you another $200 fee to swap, add this to your maintenance of $500 plus the yearly fee of $100 to the exchange company just to be a member (this is the biggest rip off of them all) then you have a poxy hotel room which as has cost you $800, a room you could probably pick up for $300 !

Maintenance, what the <deleted> This is NOT maintenance, this is your rental fee for using the timeshare, yes the one that lkeitalot said you OWNED !! The fee you will be stuck with forever, the fee that will sure rise once likitalot has already upgraded the sh#t out of you over the 1st few years !

Yes tracer0, this is the Laguna timeshare you have heard of, and they are starting to target Thais so watch this space. Foreign ran timeshare company scamming the Thais, not a clever idea !!!

The timeshare concept does not work, its hugely expensive and is sold on lies ! Likitalot, you know it is so stop making yourself sound like a complete moron !!

No she came with her dad to visit a friend who he works with in saudi arabia, he works for the phillipine government(she is half thai half philipino) will it make any difference? thanks

What makes a difference is what her passport says, if it says "Thai" shes Thai !

As for how much money shes got this is not what they will be looking for, they just need to be sure that she has every intention to go home after the 2 weeks.

They will want to see how much time you have spent together, that means together as in being in the same country. 2 trips to Thailand is not a lot, there are people with dozens of trips who are getting knocked back everyday.

Did you meet her in England ? If you didnt you could still tell the embassy you met her in England on her last journey, but then again lying to the embassy is not always a good idea, they are very good at spotting lies and you could blow your chances.

They will ask to see your bank statements (I think its the last 6 months) and proof of residency in the UK. This will need to have your name on such as a mortgage statement or council tax bill, if its in your folks name you might have a problem.

If shes smart, speaks ok English and can follow simple instructions at the Embassy (i.e. capable of filling out a form in English) she will be OK. Most simply cannot do this and happens to be the main reason for girls being declined.

Hello all

i'm quite new to all this so please bear with me, any help will be much appriciated

we are hoping my thai gf can come to visit england next month she is financially secure(more money than me anyway) and has a good job with a large company. she has visited the uk before and i have visited her twice, i will be sending the usual invitation letter and so will my parents as i unfortunatly stiil live at home :(is it possible just to sponsor her for a place to stay or do i really need to send bank staments etc?as i said she has more than enough money. I have looked on many websites but they all seem a bit vaugue as to exactly what needs to be in the letter,also is ther anything else i can send to reinforce the fact she will be going home in two weeks?i'm sure you have been asked this many times but i just want to get it right first time. thanks again

Was it you who she visited when she was in the UK last time ?

Ladies and Gens,

I am planning a trip to Samui between Oct 1 to Oct 15. Can someone living in Samui tell me just how much rain there'll be? How many sunny hours per day? Is it raining all day long for days? Is the beach calm enough to swim and dive?

Thanks for any information.

I stayed in Samui for 9 months and I could have counted on my hands the amount of sunny days there were ! I would say its more a question of how many hours of sun per WEEK you might get, not per day ! And when it rains it rains non stop with no breaks.

One plus point with Samui is the sea is very calm, compared to the likes of Phuket or the west coast where its quite rough in the rainy season.

Does anyone know the situation with flights from HK to Phuket ?

Or am I looking at HK-BKK-Phuket ? Who is the cheapest ?

Thanks !

We were able to contact the Thai Consulate in Peneng Malaysia late in the day regarding the business visa applications. They will be following the more restrictive guidelines as well. In addition, they advised us that their Consulate NO longer will issue DOUBLE entry tourist visas.

This is getting very exciting ! So in other words all these people who will now be attempting to get B visas through non existing companies, sorry "not quite ready" companies will also get knocked back ?

Hey, I could make some money out of this !!

I have an existing company which can support B visa applications, anyone want to buy a B visa ?

Serious bidders only please by PM !

Jeez people, 4 responses ! I was only joking !!

Genius - no one was buying the elite cards and now look people are considering this option now.

1 million for life..... not so expensive now is it ??

I can see it now around the Bangkok & Pattaya bars, with signs outside "Seeking partner, investment required 1,000,000 baht !"

Only 2 weeks to consider though, so be quick !!

There are a lot of 'dodgy' people here who have no money and no WP. More than a few have warrants from their native countries. They scrounge around somehow and make the monthly 'visa run' usually on public transportation. The problem for Immigration; how to rid the country of this vermin but not run off some of the 'good folks' (with money, internet job maybe, etc.) in the process? Not an easy problem to solve. If I'm reading things right coming back in country by plane and you're okay.......the vermin can't afford this.

Yep ! Hit the nail right on the head there Blue !

And its this vermin that create the negative vibe such as claims that the economy will be affected, no tourists will come to Thailand, better to live in Malaysia, etc, etc...

I think this is fantastic news for the nation and will truely put Thailand back in its rightful place on the map, as the REAL Land of Smiles !!

Man what I wouldnt do now to be sat in the Cathouse on Soi 4 listening to all those whining cheapos complaining !

http://www.thailandelite.com/member_type_indi.php

Is this a scam or is it legal?

Notice on the Elite website the following..... "Special Offer Until 30 Sep,2006"

Thats it, its a scam, conspiracy !!!! These rules are not really going to come into effect on the 1st October, its so we will all rush to buy Elite cards, what a great move by the Thai authorities !

If its not a Thai Elite card conspiracy, I wonder how much the card will be after 30th Sept ?

We were able to contact the Thai Consulate in Peneng Malaysia late in the day regarding the business visa applications. They will be following the more restrictive guidelines as well. In addition, they advised us that their Consulate NO longer will issue DOUBLE entry tourist visas.

This is getting very exciting ! So in other words all these people who will now be attempting to get B visas through non existing companies, sorry "not quite ready" companies will also get knocked back ?

Hey, I could make some money out of this !!

I have an existing company which can support B visa applications, anyone want to buy a B visa ?

Serious bidders only please by PM !

Haven't had a chance to read all previous posts so if I'm going over old ground, apologies but here are a few thoughts.

1. Seems as if many decent, law-abiding, financially solvent people are being caught up in this. So, how about scrapping the age limit for retirement visas? If someone is fortunate enough to be able to comply with the income/savings requirements what difference does their age make?

2. Putting restrictions on VOA means everybody switches to tourist visas. Result - embassies/consulates will be swamped & we're back to zero, ie. back to back tourist visas instead of VOA. Therefore, logic says that tourist visas will be targeted next. The next option is setting up a dummy company to get non imm b + wp, followed by a crackdown on these. (Companies with foreign shareholders are being investigated now regarding land ownership issues).

3. The purpose of the new regulations is supposedly to target those working without non-im b + wp. Clearly this isn't going to achieve that. The only way is to make hiring illegal workers economically unviable by fining employers heavily.

4. The govt is struggling to get the new airport open on time so introducing new immigration rules which will slow things up even more seems odd. I sincerely doubt that immigration will be able to enforce these changes, at least for the first few weeks.

I am on a non-im b but have many friends who are border-runners. Let's give these guys our support & not sink to this "I'm alright Jack" attitude.

Cheers

Border runners out I say

If you have a job get a visa & WP, immigration will happily give you a 1 year extension after your B visa expires (so long as you or you or your company are paying tax). If your job does not support having a valid WP then tough !!

You should count yourselves lucky that you are still getting 3 !!

Kind regards

Jack Alright

LOL.. and if you don't work? aren't married? under 50? don't want a Bussiness or condo?

Then do what Thailand wants you to do ! Go home, come back on holiday, enjoy and spend lots of money ! But dont enjoy for too long

Haven't had a chance to read all previous posts so if I'm going over old ground, apologies but here are a few thoughts.

1. Seems as if many decent, law-abiding, financially solvent people are being caught up in this. So, how about scrapping the age limit for retirement visas? If someone is fortunate enough to be able to comply with the income/savings requirements what difference does their age make?

2. Putting restrictions on VOA means everybody switches to tourist visas. Result - embassies/consulates will be swamped & we're back to zero, ie. back to back tourist visas instead of VOA. Therefore, logic says that tourist visas will be targeted next. The next option is setting up a dummy company to get non imm b + wp, followed by a crackdown on these. (Companies with foreign shareholders are being investigated now regarding land ownership issues).

3. The purpose of the new regulations is supposedly to target those working without non-im b + wp. Clearly this isn't going to achieve that. The only way is to make hiring illegal workers economically unviable by fining employers heavily.

4. The govt is struggling to get the new airport open on time so introducing new immigration rules which will slow things up even more seems odd. I sincerely doubt that immigration will be able to enforce these changes, at least for the first few weeks.

I am on a non-im b but have many friends who are border-runners. Let's give these guys our support & not sink to this "I'm alright Jack" attitude.

Cheers

Border runners out I say

If you have a job get a visa & WP, immigration will happily give you a 1 year extension after your B visa expires (so long as you or you or your company are paying tax). If your job does not support having a valid WP then tough !!

You should count yourselves lucky that you are still getting 3 !!

Kind regards

Jack Alright

Ok - here is my question.....

I travel to Thailand every 30 days for a 26 day stay ...! Ok explain. I work on oil rigs all around the world and after 4 weeks work away i get 26 days off which I spend in Thailand.

How does this new laws affect me..? My visists are not continual as i leave the country every 26 days for 30 days..?

If anyone has some decent stuff then please let me know...

If your names Dave from Dagenham and you heard it from your thai birds brother in law who sells som tam to a immagration worker every lunch time, let me know whats happening mate.

Cheers

Darren

I am in the same situation. I think you are OK unless you want to go on holiday outside thailand somewere. I cant see it being enforced for long..

Yes, that word "enforced" again. One thing is having a law, enforcing it is another. In a month from now all this panic will be for nothing !

Get yer flights booked everybody and lets enjoy Thailand.

Mr. pommy bar owner without a visa or work permit, tell your Thai missus your staying and cancel the visa application at the UK embassy !!

Albatross at Canal Village in Laguna (it's actually in the resort). Ask for Robert, who's a Dutch guy who has managed to sort me last minute really good deals.

I will second that, Roberts a great guy and well worth the drive upto Canal Village if you dont live in the Surin/Bangtao area. He is advertising on his site London for 20,800 baht.

NEVER buy an air ticket in Patong unless you have to, they are ALL a rip off !

Another cut through the crap question.

Are we all clear now with the difference between "visa on arrival" and the "visa exempt stamp" ?

Then we can get back to productive Q&A's from the pros !

Great job Sunbelt !

I just call the visa exempt stamps... 30 day stamps

The visa on arrival stamps... 15 day stamps.

Get three of the stamps in a 6 month cycle and you need a real visa.

Cuts through the crap.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Thats intersting, so a visa on arrival only gives 15 days, compared to a 30 day for an exempt stamp ?

Seems a little unfair, do it the right way you get 15, do it the lazy way you get 30 !

Should it be the other way round, and if it was would there be so many problems ?

I suppose thats Thai logic at the end of the day, and we wont go there !

its a tragedy that this drunken farang got a bullet sandwich for his bad manners.

but punters must learn to treat thai with respect and dont get to pissed up.

different country , different rules and it never happens to people that play within the rules.

reason being , there's plenty of pissed up farang's with bad attitudes that need sorting out.

now dont spit the dummy punters as its not good that this guy got a bullet, but we all must remember were we are, and what's going down.

Its the Thai savages that needs to learn not to murder people in cold blood whenever they lose Face. I don't care if the farang guy spat in his face and called his mother a dirty monkey wh*re, a bullet in the head is never a suitable retort.

Im hoping for the death penalty for the shooter.

dont know about that my friend as if you spat in my face and called my beloved mother a dirty monkey whore id frigging blow you away in 2 seconds.

and im a placid aussie fella.

hang around los a bit longer and you will learn how things work here.

retorts like that get people killed and thats just the way it is and always will be.

the conclusion being,

if you cant understand this very principal, you must never come to thailand.

chances are you will go home in a pine box.

Yeah, and blow your mates away in the 3rd and 4th second respectively !!

I see it all the time in Phuket, young blokes thinking they can have a go at the weedy Thais, not so weedy when they can bust a cap in yo' ass !!

Tourist shot, killed on Phi Phi

Police say a 24-year-old Belgian tourist has been shot dead on Thailand's popular Phi Phi island.

Police Colonel Boontawee Toraksa says the man was gunned down in front of a budget beach hotel as he came back from a local bar with two other westerners.

"Witnesses told us three young men approached the Belgian and shot him in the head," he said.

Colonel Boontawee says the two others are unharmed.

He says the Belgian, whose identity is not clear, arrived in Phi Phi last week with a brother.

Police have declined to give further details.

Phi Phi is known for its postcard-perfect beaches and was used as the location for the 2000 Hollywood film, The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

today's bangkok post

Is it me or does every story about Pi-Pi always end with a reminder that a particular movie was filmed there ?

Ok - here is my question.....

I travel to Thailand every 30 days for a 26 day stay ...! Ok explain. I work on oil rigs all around the world and after 4 weeks work away i get 26 days off which I spend in Thailand.

How does this new laws affect me..? My visists are not continual as i leave the country every 26 days for 30 days..?

If anyone has some decent stuff then please let me know...

If your names Dave from Dagenham and you heard it from your thai birds brother in law who sells som tam to a immagration worker every lunch time, let me know whats happening mate.

Cheers

Darren

Each entry stamp is counted as 30 days. If you have more than three of the stamps in a 6 month period, you must get a visa at the embassy before arriving. You would have 168 days in that cycle which is not a 6 month period so you would need a visa on your 4th trip from a Embassy/Consulate.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Another cut through the crap question.

Are we all clear now with the difference between "visa on arrival" and the "visa exempt stamp" ?

Then we can get back to productive Q&A's from the pros !

Great job Sunbelt !

News from the new regulation:

This is coming from the Chief of Immigration.

1.Retirement Visa extension. If you have a foreign married spouse who is a dependent they will be able to get this dependent visa now. ( change of what has been happing the last couple weeks)

2.Retirement visa extension: If you have children under 20. They will no longer be able to get a dependent visa based on you having an extension of stay on retirement. They want these kids to get it based on education so they go to school.

3..Investment Visa extension: Will no longer be available after Oct 1st for new applicants on 3 million Baht.

4. Investment visa extension. For existing extension of stay holders of 3 million Baht, we are now being told this will now be grandfathered in and they will be able to get the extension forever as long as they renew. (Yes I know reversal from several hours ago but the government is aware that people bought condos before on this scheme and now will allow it.)

5.Now the news for frequent visitors: We have checked this upwards and backwards all day and it has been confirmed by a copy of the new regulation we have. If you have a visa on arrival more than three times in six months, you cannot come into Thailand without a visa from an Embassy/Consulate. When you enter Thailand, even if you are here just 1 hour, this counts as 30 days. If you come back 6 weeks later for 2 days, this again is 30 days. If you arrive a month later for 4 days, still counts as 30 days. When you leave, you cannot enter Thailand for 3.5 months without coming back with a visa. The reason is to force people who are supposed to have work permits to do so and pay tax.

Another example; you arrive for a week, this counts as 30 days, One month later 3 days and its 30 days, two months later and its for a two week period, still another 30 days. You can reenter Thailand in 6 weeks without having a visa.

6.On extension of stay based support of a Thai national (Marriage visa), before if you applied for this extension of stay, you would get a 30 day consideration stamp. Once you return in 30 days you would get the one year extension. Now it will be the same as an extension of stay based on business with the norm of three 30 day consideration stamps. Immigration will go out and check to see if it’s a real marriage or a sham before issuing the one year.

7.On an extension of stay based on being a Monk. No dependents will be allowed to get an extension of stay based on being a dependent.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Thanks much for this information! I'm wondering how this affects those of us (visa runners) who have signed apartment contracts. Will we be released from our contracts early & security deposits returned....?

Would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Lawrence Lynch, the 'dream weaver' - I remember him from the Louis Theroux documentary.

Lawrence Lynch (right) and his wife Tapanee, along with some Thai clients.

Women pay 400 baht (US$10) to join Lawrence Lynch's agency

We've arranged around 750 marriages over nine years, and I can count the number that have gone wrong on two hands

Lawrence Lynch

"The girls pay just 400 baht ( £6; US$10) to join," he said, "but that's a lot of money to some of them."

His foreign clients pay a lot more - £1,650 (US$3,000) - but for that he offers 12 months membership, unlimited introductions to the women on the site, translation (crucial this, as many of the women speak little English) and help arranging hotels, travel, visas and marriage documents.

Should this guy be reported to the Embassy and closed down ? This guy is clearly fixing up hookers for a fee, are farang pimps allowed in this country ? He doesnt allow prostitutes, what a complete load of crap !!

£1,650 per client, taking into account only the ones that hes hitched up (750 of them) I make that 1.2 million pounds ! Hope this guy is paying taxes !!