sandyf

You should have time, mine has always come back one week after it was posted.

I am sure that I have seen someone post that he sent it in by email using the credit card form and then got it back by EMS. Nothing lost in sending an email to find out as that could be done from outside Thailand.

I have just noticed that on the latest version of the letter request, the embassy are asking if you have insurance.

17 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

My son has no problem with standard household electrics but looking into motorcycle wiring looms, OK dad you can sort that he says.   

This is when it starts to become important. I have changed plugs and sockets on 50 core cable, the wires had a base colour with a line on them with a different colour which gave about 100 combinations . Even some of the people I worked with had difficulty to tell the difference between a plain red wire and a red wire with an orange line on it.

11 hours ago, mommysboy said:

If the Cons. had any integrity whatsoever they would revoke Article 50, because we neither have a PM or administration that is likely to see the process through the important first two years. It is also the only strategic position the Gov. can adopt to avoid complete defeat at the next election, as there is a growing sense in the country that no deal is the worst possible deal.  It would spell the end of the Tories for 30 years or more imo.

 

This utter fiasco has gone on long enough and is now tangibly hurting the country.

Exactly, it was always going to be that way but too many with their head in the sand and the country has ended up between a rock and a hard place. Unlikely anyone will have the bottle to stand up and suggest pulling Article 50, it has already been reported that May and Merkel have agreed to start negotiations as planned.

The real question is how they will end up. Many are of the opinion that it is all or nothing but that is only an interpretation. Leaving the EU, the single market and the customs union are all separate issues with their own parameters.

Anyone who says the referendum meant leaving the single market is saying the the referendum was intended to stop immigration from the EU. I didn't see that in the referendum bill or the ballot paper so it is purely an interpretation. That interpretation also ignores the fact that about half of net migration is from outside the EU, something that TM failed to control as Home Secretary.

There is no immigration problem with the customs union so why leave, Turkey is in a customs union with the EU. Outside the customs union will ensure that there is a hard border involving Northern Ireland , something that is likely to upset TM's new found crutch.

The common factor between the EU, single market and customs union is the ECJ, Teresa May's pet hate, and we can only hope that more reasonable minds will prevail.

On 5/31/2017 at 2:26 PM, KenKadz said:

Anyone know when will the new vaccines become available to the general public?

They are available now, been for mine today. It is not the general public but vulnerable groups such as elderly & young. My sister in law got it for diabetes.

The age limit is 65 and available to foreigners with a yellow book. From what I can gather vaccine stocks are limited and I saw people turned away that did not live in the hospital area.

1 hour ago, AlexRich said:

 

All of the above, however, I think that we have seen the revenge of the Remainers, the young have came out is strength and have given the "hard Brexit" a kick into the long grass. May ignored the 48% and the one's the did not vote ... as did many commentators on here ... the "put up and shut up brigade". They've came back and kicked her in the teeth.

 

 

Shot herself in the foot and proved you can't keep voting to get the result you want.

I also bank with HSBC and a couple of years ago got an email asking me to come to the branch and discuss the account. I said I was out of the country and they said to make an appointment when I returned to the UK which I did a few months later.

They wanted to query why I had changed my address to a commercial enterprise. I explained that I spent a great deal of time abroad and was using a mail forwarder to improve postal service when out of the country and generally they were quite happy with that.

There was a discussion over my circumstances and I said that I mainly lived in Thailand. They said that it was not bank policy to service accounts for people that were not habitually resident in the UK but it was at the bank's discretion and they would allow the account to continue. They asked for my address in Thailand and details of my Thai bank account. As far as cards were concerned they said that they would not be prepared to send them to Thailand or to the mail forwarder, I would have to have them sent to a UK residential address or collect at branch.

I should point out that I have my pension paid into the account and may have been an influencing factor in the decision.  I have been back to the branch a few times since without any problem

Good luck.

"Schengen visa for 50 days. " - Is this the period of validity or period of authorised stay?

Outward and return tickets should be within the period of validity in case you need to re-enter the Schengen area to catch the return flight that day. If the tickets are within the period of validity then no further proof should be required.

On 6/7/2017 at 1:44 AM, rasg said:

Donutz is the most qualified on here about Schengen visas by a mile. He helped me with a lot of the info that allowed me and my wife to take a trip to Iceland earlier in the year but I have a question.

 

My wife's Schengen visa was for 8 days. Our trip was for 8 days. How can a Schengen visa be granted for 50 days? You then want to, to and fro to another country etc but you want to flyout of Helsinki 60 days after the beginning of a 50 day Schengen visa. Presumably you will have to enter Finland to get to Hlesinki airport to fly back to BKK after the visa has expired? How will that work?

 

Am I being stupid or do I have that right?

Schengen visas are valid for periods of up 90 days but it is unlikely that you will get the 90 days unless your itinerary indicates that it is necessary.

I have done 3 Schengen visas for my wife in recent years, Spain issued 14 day visa for a 7 day stay, Germany issued 3 day visa for 3 day stay and Malta issued 3 week visa for a 5 day stay. No real consistency.

These are the definitions from the handbook.

Period of validity: the period during which the visa holder may use the issued visa: Example: a visa is valid from 1.1. – 30.6, and during that period the holder may enter and shall leave the territory of the Member States.

Period of authorised stay: the effective number of days that the visa holder may stay in the territory of the Member States during the period of validity of the visa. The period of authorised stay may be from 1 up to 90 days.

Number of entries: refers to the number of visits that may be carried out during the period of validity of the visa while respecting the length of the authorised stay:

Example:

– one entry: a visa is valid from 1.1. – 30.6 and allows for one entry. During that period the holder is allowed to travel once to the territory of the Member States; once he has left the territory of the Member States, he is not entitled to re-enter even if the total number of authorised days of stay have not been used.

– two entries: a visa is valid from 1.1. – 30.6, and allows for two entries. During that period the holder may be authorised to stay for a total of 90 days divided into two separate trips.

– multiple entries: a visa is valid from 1.1.-31.12 and allows for multiple entries. During this period the holder is allowed to stay up to 90 days per six-month period. The stay can be divided into as many separate trips as wished by the visa holder.

According to article today project is currently a feasability study and bidding may start at end of this year. been a presentation in Japan this week as they are keen to bid.

Apparently the EEC route will link the three airports, DM, Swampy and UT.

8 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Insufficient customers.

The high speed train isn't about Pattaya. Think belt and road.

Insufficient customers. - that's a good one, a few weeks ago it was standing room only and that was with less than half a dozen foreigners. The demand for transport between Bangkok and Pattaya exists today, not in the future.

I live about half way between Pattaya and Bangkok and have travelled in both directions for about 10 years. Over that time overcrowding has become a major problem and I seldom use the public transport any more.

In the last couple of years they have laid a second track on the Eastern line but you think they shouldn't bother utilise that investment to the benefit of the local community.

Have a look at Bang Saen. Big enough and small enough with good government hospital.

Large beach area and fair number of events held there.  Easy access and convenient for Bangkok and the airport.

39 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Yes, but suppose their was a space big enough a few pages back?

Should have been a bit clearer, I meant anywhere in the passport. The last stamp to go in the passport was an under consideration and I thought they were going to refuse as they couldn't find a space big enough. Fortunately common sense prevailed and the boss said it would be ok if some of the stamp went over an adjacent stamp.

7 minutes ago, Mattd said:

I tend to disagree with that statement, the lights do not change in their standard, the top one is red, middle one amber and the bottom one is green, so in theory even if you are colour blind to the point of not being able to distinguish the differences in colour you should be able to by their position.

Around here a lot of the lights are just red and green. I have seen traffic lights in many different formats. As I said initially you should know from the lights what is meant but Thailand must have some reason for thinking colour perception is necessary.

9 minutes ago, giddyup said:

I'm colour blind as far as the tests go, but have zero problem telling a red light from a green or amber. If you ask me is someone wearing a red or green shirt, again, no problem.

Its a bit of a misnomer, real colour blindness would mean seeing everything in black and white, it is colour perception and varies widely between people and colours. I joined the RAF in the Electrical and Instrument trade group and colour perception tests were very detailed.

On 6/3/2017 at 10:04 AM, stubuzz said:

I have a friend that has a lifetime license.

My wife has one, had it nearly 40 years and it looks like it.

Every time I went to hire a car in the UK she said she wanted to drive and I had to remind her about her licence. They won't issue a Thai IDP on the lifetime licence, you have to get the new version first. She doesn't want to change so fortunately the prospect of her driving in the UK has died a death.

2 hours ago, janclaes47 said:

So you consider it normal that people who don't see the difference between red and green, should be allowed at the wheel of a car?

In most countries it is not necessary. The traffic lights have a standard sequence so you can tell what they mean without being able to tell the colour.

Here in Thailand the traffic lights do not have any 'standard'.

23 hours ago, possum1931 said:

If there are any spaces in pages further back on the passport big enough for a stamp you can insist on the officer using it.

I have that on good authority.

As your passport fills up they will just look for available space. When I renewed my last passport, there wasn't a space big enough for a 7 Eleven stamp far less immigration.

Once you are 65 you can get a 12 month multi entry Non O visa based on your state pension, I am assuming from your post that you will get it at 65 before the age goes up.

This would be the better bet, If you stay under the 180 days and time it right you need only leave the country once during your stay.

Its no big deal, I was here for the first 6 years on a Non O, just getting another visa each time I went back to the UK. It makes a change to have a couple of days in the neighbouring countries.

People will argue that the cost of the visa at £145 is a lot more than an extension but its not really as it avoids the hassle of finances for the extension and dealing with immigration.

In the sun and rain for 6/7 years.

In Pattaya the best option is to phone Yenjit exchanger in Walking Street, for that amount they will give you a better rate than displayed on their website.

In Bangkok best rates are from the Superrich head office. Not all the branches sell currency and those that do its a lower rate.

The question here is will anyone take any notice. I suspect the EU will be prepared to weather the storm to take control of the Euro.

A global financial trade body has said it has “grave concerns” over EU plans to force the relocation of the €930bn (£810bn) per day clearing business from London to the EU after Brexit.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brexit-clearing-business-uk-eu-city-london-business-warning-latest-news-updates-a7775856.html

On 6/3/2017 at 8:05 PM, tomwct said:

I'm with all of you. Fast speed train to Pattaya maybe 25 years. The Khon Kaen underpass took ten years and financed three times because the money disappeared, so a train. maybe 30-35 years. In Thailand maybe never! It;s a Dream! Amazing Thailand.

The ridiculous thing is that it doesn't need to be high speed. There is already a line from Pattaya to the airport. The one train a day that currently runs takes an hour from Pattaya to Chonburi, about as fast as you can do it on the road. From Chonburi to the airport interchange is nearly 2 hours, just stops too much.

I wouldn't have thought it was rocket science to put on additional limited stop trains between Pattaya and Bangkok.

Global House have a selection of makes and colours and price is usually a fairly good guide. Do not get hung up on the gasket, I have used both and on some with the gasket the gasket has gone brittle and broken up. Its the quality of the plastic that is important and I would say that the tongue and groove variety was the better bet.

Go to Tops supermarket and get some of this, I know they have it, not sure about the others. Put it down in the ant trail and they will take it back to the nest and your problem will disappear, I use it a lot.

I am assuming you mean the small ants that live in the ground, it doesn't work with the larger red ants in the trees.