sandyf

No big deal to come back on a new visa, done it twice in the last year or so. You haven't said which country, many are all online now and fairly straightforward.

It isn’t a visa but an extension of stay You are wrong to reply to the OP in that manner, he was perfectly correct in saying "of extending marriage visa". Unless they have changed it recently the TM 7 requests the type of expired visa held.

It depends where you go. It's a while now but I did ME visa for 6 years and went to Ban Laem as the Pattaya mini buses went to Ban Pakard. Can't ever remember having to wait to get stamped out,usually straight to the window. Passport & 200 baht to the guy at the table, 20 minutes in duty free and back into Thailand within half hour. Got held up a bit one time coming back in, IO asked my wife to help her put some carpets in the back of her car.

Spent most of my time in East Anglia, first posting in 67 to Upwood then Wyton. Came out 77 and worked in Thetford for 6 years before moving to Sheffield.

Probably stems from the fact that at one time short term extension was at the discretion of the IO and completely arbitrary. On one occasion around 2006 I was given 5 days. Can't quite remember, but think it was following the immigration crackdown in 2014 when they were told to be a bit more flexible that 30 days became the norm for short term extensions.

Yes, 75/76, did last year 76/77 in the bay. XV sqdn 72/75.

I would say no. I went a couple of years back and quite nice to get out and about so ok for a visit but not not for me on a long term basis. The beach was covered in rubbish, about the worst I have seen and seen some grim areas around Pattaya. Touts were a real pain, walking along the road motorbikes would crawl alongside trying to sell you something. Food not too bad but didn't seem to have the same scope in variety as you get here in Thailand. It is each to there own but when looking at retirement you need to do the homework.

No Laarbruch & Honington with only a couple of detachments to Lossie, however Forres was my home town.

The majority of birdstrikes are at relatively low altitudes but migrating birds can be up around 7000 ft and potentially more dangerous as a flock. I did almost 6 years on Buccaneeers and being a low level strike a/c birdstrikes were almost a way of life.

When I was back in the UK in Sept my niece said the vaccine had become available in Thailand and suggested the whole family had it. My wife emailed me and asked if I wished to be included, I agreed and the vaccine was ordered online. My sister in law and her brother both had fever and headache for around 24 hours, I only had slight ache in the arm for a few hours and my wife was a bit the same, so a bit hit and miss on side effects. For anyone interested in the detail, this is a copy of the data sheet.

Sir Peter Bottomley (Worthing West) (Con) Sharethis specific contribution May I now ask the Chancellor to respond, not today but in time, to an injustice done to 500,000 pensioners overseas? Anne Puckridge, who was born five years before the Chancellor’s father, served in intelligence in the Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force during the war, and retired to Calgary on a pension of £72 a week. It is still £72, instead of £156. That is an injustice which needs attention, and I hope Anne Puckridge will get it and we will have proposals that will enable us to change this bad situation. Jeremy Hunt Sharethis specific contribution I thank the Father of the House for his comments, and I will look into the issue of overseas pensioners as he requested. If I may, I will write to him, but I am also happy to talk to him about it. https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2023-11-22/debates/82998B02-2E62-4E48-81C2-F2B8647C83CD/AutumnStatement#contribution-08AD7CF9-585D-4C9E-8988-9C1C9F17E9F5

Quote "It’s only scanning your personal details"

If that had been an option open to her she would have taken it.

Not for an Non O E-visa in the UK, you are required to provide intended date of arrival, flight number and length of stay, that is all. Done 2 visas in the last 18 months and not provided any flight details. Evidence of leaving the country within 30 days is a requirement of the Visa Exemption Agreement, there is no such requirement for visas. I have run into a similar problem with a re-entry permit. Can be quite difficult if you come up against a "Jobsworth".

You won't be heading anywhere, far less the departure gate if the E gates don't open. They will be programmed to only open if everything checks out, and that is not a 100%. Many struggle to get E gates to open with a boarding card far less a passport.

I was in the same position, just claimed it back every may, bit of a bonus for the holidays.

Wrong, I do not need to know your "better than thou" deflections. All that people need to know is how some were able to redirect part of their NI contributions and then receive any benefit index linked no matter where they live. Nothing to do with numbers or how they are derived, it is all about principles, something you obviously cannot comprehend.

Indeed, that was a slip on my part having recently referred to AFPS75 which came into effect in April 1975. However it does not detract from the point in question that in the initial period of SERPS only a certain part of the population were allowed to contract out. I will treat your last comment with the contempt it deserves.

It doesn't matter what others say. Your words "You can hand a photocopy of passport to hotel. They never check visas. Not their job." Immigration can make it their job any time they want under the TM30 regulations. I have stayed in Thai hotels more than most and over the last 25 years hate to remember the number of times been challenged on visa status. Mainly by ignorant hotel staff that cannot tell the difference between one stamp and another. The introduction of the pink card made life a bit easier but immigration put a stop to that for a while. I wouldn't disagree that the climate at the moment is probably better than it has ever been. Maybe a result of covid, once the vaccine certificate was out of the way reception staff would rather ignore you than talk to you.

When my wife reached the age of 55 she had the option of cashing out or remaining in and as you say think she had to make that decision within 6 months. Can't remember now how much it would have been cashing out, a few hundred thousand I think, she was certainly tempted. I took the view that it was potentially more beneficial to remain in and she did so.

Maybe selective memory then.

Hotels can have two reasons in respect of foreigners checking in, security and immigration. If the hotel is going to report the visit to immigration they need to take a copy of the permission to stay stamp. If they are only concerned about hotel security they will accept passport/pink card/driving licence. My wife always does the bookings and most of the time I am not asked for anything. Some years ago immigration had a purge on hotels and those that had previously been ok with pink card or DL suddenly insisted on the passport. Didn't last all that long.

Can only assume you haven't been here very long.

Not guessing anything, for all your past experience there appears to be a lack of understanding on how the system evolved. In 1975 when pension contributions changed from Graduated Pensions to SERPS, anyone that had an occupational pension was automatically contracted out of SERPS and part of their NI contibution was allocated the occupational pension. This arrangement was denied to those of us that didn't work for a company with an occupational pension. I think it was in 1989 that the law was changed and the option to contract out of SERPS became available to all. Individuals could set up a private pension that was funded by them and part of their national insurance collected by employers. Until the reform in 2016 the NI contribution had 3 components, National Health, State pension and Additional state pension. It was the Additional component that was directed into other pensions. So today we have people drawing non state pensions that have been partially funded from NI contributions. At the time the law changed I was over 40 and the advice was not to contract out so 100% of my NI contributions went to the state system. My state pension comprises the basic state pension and 4 other components reflecting the changes over the years.

The part funded from NI contributions.