sandyf

7 hours ago, Stocky said:

Thanks. London postal it is.

It is very quick by post, I did one last Aug, posted by 3 pm on a Monday and it was back Wednesday. You must use the Royal Mail Special Delivery service, think the envelope was £8.50 and they get collected at 3pm.

I don't think you can use a prepaid return envelope these days, I have done that in the past, but current instructions are to add £10 for return postage.

"Each applicant must enclose self addressed envelope and pay an extra £10 on top of the visa fee to cover the return of passport"

Please send the documents by Royal Mail Special Delivery (You can track the delivery
status via Royal Mail: https://www.royalmail.com/trackyouritem
(https://www.royalmail.com/trackyouritem)).
The embassy will not be held responsible for lost /
stolen / damaged document. It is recommended to use the stamps to send and return rather
than a franking stamp from the post office as franking stamps will limit the date of posting.
Visa and postage fee must be paid by Postal Order made payable to: The Royal Thai
Embassy. Please write down the applicant's name and passport number at the back of the
postal order.

1 hour ago, Grouse said:

That's grim news indeed ?

I was working for a gas appliance company when the EU directive on gas appliances came out in 1990 and was tasked with the certification. As our appliances were LPG we worked with Calor Gas and my name is on the very first CE certificate they issued. In the early days, Germany refused to accept UK certificates so I had to run back and forth to Karlsrhue to get product retested and certified for sale in Germany. The cost was prohibitive so we only ever certified one product for Germany out of the 20 or so we had certified in the UK.

Anyone who thinks that this is nothing more than a paperwork exercise is in for a rude awakening, the EU-27 notified bodies will milk the opportunity for all its worth.

At this point in time the UK has no acceptable international standard of its own so many manufacturers have been hung out to dry by the UK government.

It has nothing to do with what the EU want, their international standard is not going to disappear after brexit. Many will realise an error of judgement when the reality of this kicks in. The writing was on the wall but no one wanted to read.

3 hours ago, nontabury said:

Another non Brit, telling us we should obey the Bureacrats in Brussels.

Its a simple fact of life that if you do not follow EU regulation you do not trade with them, and potentially, difficulty in trading with other countries.

The EC have recently declared all CE certification issued in the UK null and void from 19th March 2019. Whether you like it or not, valid certification will have to be obtained from an EU-27 member state.

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5a63d4b4-4387-4b66-a934-1e5089195d19

Of course Mrs May thinks that all the hassle and expense of new certification is brexit working for UK business.

On 2/17/2018 at 3:13 PM, Air Smiles said:

 

I think you are being short sighted and suffering delusions of grandeur regarding the UK's position in the world.

 

The EU have a bigger interest in ensuring the future of the EU

 

I could be wrong, so lets start by you bullet pointing the progress in the trade talks so far?

Quite.

Just after the referendum I brought up the subject of CE marking but it was dismissed as an insignificant issue. Recently the EC has stated that after March 19 2019 CE certificates issued in the UK will become null and void. This means that products that have been certified in the UK will have to be recertified in the EU before they can be placed on the EU market. It should also be taken into consideration that some non EU countries accept UK goods because they carry the CE mark, that business will also be affected.

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5a63d4b4-4387-4b66-a934-1e5089195d19

Many of the smaller manufacturers will not want the hassle or the expense so are quite likely to downsize and stop exporting.

1 hour ago, jak2002003 said:

 

If people really cared about the street dogs they would actually help them by taking them to the vets, sterilisation, re homing them and giving them a good wash.

 

Quite. Every evening my sister in law gets on her bike and goes out on the street to feed the local strays. A few weeks back she came back with a puppy she had come across that was almost dead. We usually have about 8 dogs and when one dies just find another.

She also runs a voluntary cat refuge with about forty odd cats at the moment.

23 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

I’ve been here a while and never met anyone infected with rabies. So assuming you are correct, and 80% of the dogs have rabies, they can’t be biting too many people.

Hmmm, walking around with battle scars or being rounded up and killed by the more compassionate, that’s a tough choice.
 

 

Rabies is about, a couple of years ago one of our dogs died of rabies following a fight with a street dog. If I had known a bit more about it at the time I would have recognised the symptoms. Fortunately the dog became lethargic rather than aggressive.

As you say, in the 10 years I have lived here I have never heard of any humans being infected. What many do not seem to realise is that there is greater risk from cats than dogs, the virus invariably becomes evident in a dog and kills it but cats can carry the virus for years without developing any symptoms.

The OP questioned why nothing was being done. There was a time when something was done, stray dogs were rounded up and disposed of until some people like Judy Dench made an issue out of one particular aspect. The government is now between a rock and a hard place with the world's media watching closely, little wonder they have chosen the easy option.

On 2/17/2018 at 12:45 PM, sjbrownderby said:

I am registered at a number or hospitals but only one is local to where I live. For each hospital the registration process and documentary requirements were slightly different. When I registered at the Suranaree University Hospital in Korat I had only to show my Thai ID card to register and that is all I need should I require treatment at any time. I understand that at some hospitals I may have to pay for medication but at my local hospital in Khonburi (Nakhon Ratchasima province) I do not. Most hospitals will issue an ID card after registration and Fort Suranaree Military Hospital in Korat issued a photo card ID. So, it seems that every government hospital has a slightly different way of doing things so what may apply to one hospital may not apply to another. I should say that I am entitled to the same healthcare as Thai Government employees by virtue of my wife being a teacher. 

 

I have been to a few hospitals and clinics and would agree that they all seem to do there own thing.

I went to the hospital in Bang Saen a few days ago and I registered there with my ID card. There everyone pays 200 baht to see the doctor, probably explains why there was very little queue, I got ticket No 12 and by the time I had left I doubt another half dozen had turned up.

Doctor said they would do another X ray and ECG and make appointment for cardiologist next week, charges were reasonable, 300 for X ray and 200 for ECG, same as the cancer hospital a couple of weeks ago.

18 hours ago, talahtnut said:

What you should know is that The EU has prevented UK subsidy of industry under its state aids rules, but has often provided subsidised loans and grants to businesses to set up elsewhere in the EU. The UK has seen factory closures balanced by new and expanded facilities in poorer EU countries... UK used to actually make its own cars before it joined the EEC [now known as the EU].

Can you work out who is to blame?

You are perfectly free to believe that the EU was responsible for killing off UK aviation development such as the TSR2, Concorde, Vertical Take-Off etc, and also putting the UK motor industry and some public services into the hands of foreign companies.

Up to you.

It is very easy to forget why these foreign companies ended up in the UK in the first place.

2 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

You were the one that complained about your bank.

If your happy to take a 1 hour trek to another branch, why complain in the first place.

On 2/16/2018 at 11:37 AM, Tanoshi said:

Updating your passbook is a cinch, do you mean obtaining the letter is a bit of a pain, and why?

Why ask a question and then try and distort the answer.

On 2/15/2018 at 9:31 AM, skorts said:

I have used U.K. Post Box for the last 18 months.

 

https://www.ukpostbox.com/

 

Service is great and never hand any issues. Really quick and helpful support team either via on-line chat or email. 

 

They offer different plans depending on your expected volume of post. I started off on the Lite Plan - includes 35 items of post received and 35 Pages scanned (1st Page) per month. You then decide whether to have the rest scanned. Sometimes you can see from the envelope scan and decide to shred.  Costs £119.40 (plus VAT) for 12 months. 

 

Now on PAYG as level of U.K. post has dropped and more cost effective. 60 p per item received and 90p for each page scanned. Both plus VAT. 

 

You can avoid the VAT by providing them with proof of your Thailand address etc. 

 

Items, once scanned, can be emailed to you which is which is a useful facility. 

 

Works really well as post re-directed by Royal Mail to U.K. Post box at their Poole address. 

 

Now you can renew an annual Royal Mail re-direction for up to 4 years a long term solution. 

 

Might not be the cheapest way to get your post but being able to access your post on-line anywhere in the world makes it worth it. 

 

 

 

 

I have been using this service for about 6 years now and I also have their residential address facility, as some entities will not send to a PO box number. The amount of mail I get doesn't make it a cheap option but the service and convenience outways that by a long way.

Three years ago I took British Airways and their agent to the small claims court, something I couldn't have done without that sort of service.

The only problem I have encountered was when L&G sent out a life certificate which had to be signed for by the addressee but that was quickly resolved.

Anything I need to keep I have put in the Physical Store and then about once a year I have it sent to my son's home and I pick it up from there.

Its a good long term solution.

17 hours ago, talahtnut said:

A 100 years ago the automobile was thought a 'delusional concept', and you would die if you exceeded 30mph..it would never catch on...

On the other hand, remainers, lacking imagination, have continued, desperately flogging the old deceased carthorse.

You will be telling us next that it was those that preferred to belong to the EU that killed off previous imaginative and innovative development.

Brexiteer imagination, or lack of it, has already put that automobile production in jeopardy but of course when it all goes wrong you have already worked out who is to blame.

7 hours ago, Kadilo said:

Just to confirm, if you use the postal route do you have to send original documents or do they accept copies of your income statements? 

When I used the postal system I only ever sent copies, never a problem.

If they will do it by email, the idea of seeing originals goes out the window.

14 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

So your issue is with your bank supplying the letter, not with Immigration.

So change banks!

Show me where I said there was an issue with immigration and as for changing banks that is a ridiculous suggestion.

On 2/14/2018 at 2:16 PM, BritTim said:

Each visa type has its own set of requirements. It is unlikely that the OP provided evidence from a prospective employer that a work permit had been applied for on his behalf. I would imagine documents showing family relationships were provided instead. I think it much more likely that the overworked Vientiane consular official just made a dumb mistake.

Quite.  

Three different people at the MFA came and asked me the same question, "What documents did I send with my visa application?"

On 2/14/2018 at 9:50 AM, Sami81 said:

Thank you for this.

We will try the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Consular section.

I appreciate the help. Thank you.

Last August I was issued a Non B instead of Non O by the embassy in London. I didn't notice until I returned to Thailand, not that I could have done anything about it in the UK. When I applied for an extension based on retirement, immigration refused to accept the visa and said I must get it changed at the MFA. When I went to the MFA they said I must leave my passport so they could investigate and they would let me know when it was available for collection. I explained that would be a problem as immigration had only given me 36 hours to get back or I would need a new bank statement. He asked us to wait and he went off to try and find out. When the office closed at 15.30 I thought I had had it but shortly after he came out and said he had found someone to sign it off, so I went and filled in the forms and they stamped my passport with the change.

If you go the MFA, the info desk on the second floor may well try and tell you that you have come to the wrong place and to go to immigration down the road, just tell them you need to go to the visa office on the 3rd floor and they will let you up the stairs.

2 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Updating your passbook is a cinch, do you mean obtaining the letter is a bit of a pain, and why?

Passbooks are meaningless, immigration does not even look at them.

As for the letter, I would be grateful if you knew a TMB bank in Chonburi that knew anything about it. The first time we asked at the main branch they hadn't a clue and advised my wife to go to Sri Ratcha as they were more used to dealing with foreigners. That's an hour away so we went to the bank before going to immigration. The bank does not open till 9 and although the manager knows what is wanted he is a bit like a headless chicken and takes about an hour to deal with it. That means it is about 10.30 before you can get down to immigration and by that time the office is full so it is doubtful you get seen by the time they close for lunch.

Last year wasn't too bad, the office was nearly empty because there was no one to sign off the extensions, downside was we had to back the following day to collect my passport, two and a half hours driving for 5 minutes in immigration.

There is no doubt for many it is much easier but anyone unfamiliar with the process should be aware of all potential problems before deciding which way to jump.

2 hours ago, wgdanson said:

Yes it will, as long as not a zipped file. You must do each and every bank statement as a separate jpg.

 

I never sent a zip file, I had incorporated everything into a single PDF.

Apologies, I should have been a bit clearer, comes from trusting to memory at my age. 

In the middle of last year, Outlook as it is now known did an update which altered the way in which attachments were handled, may have been via Onedrive and it is this method the embassy server will not accept. I suspect their security sees it as attaching to an external drive rather than just receiving an electronic document.

The attachment method can be changed and I have now changed mine back to the way it was prior to the update, just sends a digital copy. I do not know which versions were affected and it is possible some may not have seen a change in the attachment method.

On 2/13/2018 at 11:33 AM, Kadilo said:

I take it you can just scan your documents and credit card payment form and that it is acceptable to them. 

It is very straightforward at the UK Embassy, done it for several years, even for a marriage extension. 

Email application is very convenient but you must pay by credit card and I know from experience that the embassy server will not accept attachments from a Hotmail account.

Although there is the £50 charge for the income letter, there is a great advantage in that you do not need a bank statement. Since the brexit referendum I have had to use the combo method and getting the bank statement for the extension is a bit of a pain.

10 hours ago, talahtnut said:

Leaving the EU may kick start an industrial renaissance..it will have to if it needs

to trade with the world..Bumbling along safely in the Mafia EU, is not the answer.

Bit of a delusional concept. The cost of research in modern technology is prohibitive and a country that cannot afford to support essential services is not going to fare very well.

The UK kicked what lead it had into touch and now only enjoys a slice of the pie through joint ventures, something that is now at risk over a pipe dream.

Brexit was already on the cards when TM put Hinkley Point C in the hands of foreign companies.

From my previous post. "If China has made a deal it will be for a reason and it is almost certain the UK will not be the greatest beneficiary."

Bought some boxes of Archa a few days ago and the price is still the same as this time last year.

On saying that, when we were in Tesco the alcohol shelves were a bit bare, normally a precurser to a price rise.

20 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Transport in H H sucks of the most suckiest that I ever found in a so called tourist resort.

Mind you, I haven't been back to Samui in a few years and I understand their round the island songtheaws are a rip off now. The taxis always were.

We went to Samui about 15 months ago and had been warned about the taxis so hired a car for most of the week. Got the car from the airport and when we took it back the day before leaving, the girl on the desk offered to run us back to the hotel a couple of miles away for 300 baht, said it would be half the price of a taxi.

Been there, wouldn't go back.

9 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

they've been using this form for a while now.

That depends on what you mean by "a while".

I got the old form on an Air Asia flight late Dec. and they still had the old forms at DM immigration when I landed. The TM6 reform was effective 1st Oct, that is when the Thais stopped using them, but the actual form changeover has been a lot slower.

On 2/12/2018 at 9:13 AM, Henryford said:

Why do that when you can get 50/10 VDSL for 590 a month.

You cannot get something that is not available.

I was on the 13/1 at 900/month but they could not maintain the speed and it would drop off , so I had to change down to 10/1 at 590/month, the only benefit of that service it does not drop off when the speed is low.

There is no alternative where I live. I was with TOT but that was worse and couldn't go back even if I wanted to.

BREXITEER MP Nigel Evans said Remainers were on their "last death rattle" in their attempts to thwart Brexit after International Trade Secretary Liam Fox announced Britain had signed several multi-billion deals with China.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/913105/Brexit-news-latest-update-today-Liam-Fox-China-trade-deal-UK-EU-European-Union-video

Why on earth would China want to buy from the UK when they can source elsewhere. My niece often brings me pate and cheese from China, all good quality, of Russian origin and about a quarter of the price of similar product in the UK. Last time she also brought a couple of the large(150g) packets of Mackies crisps, Whisky and Haggis and Smokey Bacon flavours. Made in Scotland and sold in China at about 40% of the price, obviously partial to some UK product but are domestic customers subsidising exports. 

If that is happening now in non EU trade it does not bode well for the future.

If China has made a deal it will be for a reason and it is almost certain the UK will not be the greatest beneficiary.