bim

What has it got to do with the UK. London is one of biggest human trafficking cities on earth. Look closer to home. Thailand should produce a report on the UK.

The first thing is not London making the report, it's an NGO report. Second thing is the proliferation of "slave labour" is coming from Eastern Europe, all since the UK was soppy enough to open the borders up as ordered by the EU. But more importantly, the UK is actively doing something about it! There ia huge police anti-trafficking unit in London, there is advertising on the television on a daily basis to make people aware of it. Because of the pro-active efforts (which are very successful, just google it) of the authoirties and not just lame promises, the UK is tier on and Thailand remains on tier three. I'd be intyerested to know where your origin is? You seem to have a strong dislike for the UK so I'm guessing you're not British...

I am British and know the hypocracy of my country. Is it not a UK based organisation? So where is there report on London. BS the met is doing anything about it. They dont have the resouces. They too busy pulling people for speeding. And as for Europe. More fool them. We fell for that scam.

What has it got to do with the UK. London is one of biggest human trafficking cities on earth. Look closer to home. Thailand should produce a report on the UK.

Here we go, more faux nationalism by proxy. Perhaps it escaped your notice that the UK, whilst not exactly paragons of virtue in the Human Trafficking stakes, are regarded as a Tier 1 country whereas Thailand is Tier 3.

That means Thailand does not fully comply with the minimum standards and are (sic) not making significant efforts to do so.

Neither does the UK. And they have no excuse. Im a brit by the way

bim

This was not a UK government but a report produced by an NGO (that means non-governmental organisation).

OK then lets see there report on the UK. Its a UK organisation. So guess they wont

Can i open a current account as a holder of thai elite card easy access 5 year? Like at bangkok bank who is a partner company from thai elite.

I also plan to buy the Thai Elite Card Easy Access at the end of this year or next year.

A current account is a checking account. These are not that easy to open and are not really needed or that useful here. You would have a problem to even find a business that will accept a check

You can open a savings account and have a ATM/debit card and internet banking which will allow you do what ever you want to do.

See: http://www.bangkokbank.com/BangkokBank/PersonalBanking/SpecialServices/ForeignCustomers/Pages/Openinganaccountnew.aspx

Ah, thanks for the answer!

I thought a current account is a giro account. Sorry i'm Austrian and not perfect in English!

I just would need a bank statement for proof of residence with my thai adress on it for my brokerage account. Can this also be made with a savings account bank statement?

It's just for than when I also buy the Thai Elite Card and stay than more than 180 days a year in thailand.

You dont need proof of residence to do the 90 day reports. Just state where you are living on the form.

I may have a solution. Where I live there is a rumour going around that this female spirit is after young boys. You can avoid this if you hang a red shirt outside your home stating no young boys live here. Part of the rumour is two young boys died in there sleep. There are red shirts hung everywhere. Now start a rumour that anyone who burns trash a spirit will visit your home and take the first male in the household. The only way to avoid this is by putting trash in bins. The rumour will spread and bingo you can breath again.

1. Every rice field was burned in Nov/Dec. Why is it that farang only complain in Feb-April when the weather is different and the pollution more noticeable?

2. People need to be given a better option. Most rural villages have no garbage pickup. I never thought about that until a farang friend of mine who lives in a small village near Mae Taeng told me he burns his garbage too. His choice is to dump it somewhere or burn it. All of you posting here have your garbage picked up by someone. What would you do if you were responsible for it?

I have garbage collection and my friend who doesnt brings it into town and puts it the many bins here in town. Burning is selfish and lazy. Especaily plastic. I know some here have collections but still burn it as that is what they have always done. The police here now give fines to anyone making charcoal. One person here who did it has small children. I have never come on here and said anything negative about Thais or Thailand but this is one aspect of living here I dont understand. Forget me im a guest. There killing each other with this nonesence.

Ok and what about the rest of us from the west? We are not 'quality' enough?

Not that the Japanese aren't of course, awesome people!

I understand in one way but I am a Brit and I have never seen a tattooed beer swilling load mouthed council estate loat from Japan ever. Bring it on. More Japanese please, wonderful people. And a 15 day stamp for the Brits that turn up at BKK airport spending there hard earned welfare.

Am from a council estate myself, but am a bit confused with 'load' and 'loat', parts or your message.

Haha ooopps loud and lout. I type too fast. It wasnt a dig at all council estate people. I have many friends from said estates and many are decent hard working people. I should have said sink estate. Or is it chavs they call them. Either way they make me ashamed to be British. Am sure you have met a few in your time.

I have opted for the 5 years as i never played golf snd rarely have spa, my interest is more for the 5 years visa as i was on retirement and had to renew every year with multiple entries cost me quite an amount as it was done through an agent, also with the 5 years there is no need to pay the 20k every year. I only once used the limousine on arrival it is a very good experience when you are alone but not when you are accompagnied particularly with a Thai wife or family; it can cause some embarassement when you have to use the fast track. On departure only the member is allowed in the CIP lounge for free ; here at least you can pay for them to get access.

You paid thb500k for a 5year visa against a yearly charge via a agent who did it for thb20k/year?

You throw away thb400k.

Uh?

That's a new type of "calculation", apparently. Never saw that one. Thanks for sharing

By the way, personally I have a 20 years card. You know? The one at 2 million

And I think it is a great deal

Oh, and also, speaking about "throwing money", I just threw away 1458 Euro (54,000b) for a 125gr of beluga that I ate alone in the plane... Not that cheap, but delicious

Money is very easy to throw away, but when it comes to Thailand Elite I think that it is more of a good buy

Easy to say; it depends on what you have in mind and how long you think you are going to live when you reach a certain age ! My calculation brought me to 2035 if i went for the 20 years. So many things can happen...

I think Gerrys point is for him and many of us that use the TE visa the cost vs convience of using the visa is a no brainer. To pay 20,000 bht to some agent when you can obtain a visa yourself sounds like a waste of money to me and sounds a little dodgy to me. Im not sure why you worry how others choose to spend there money. For me it was a life saver as I am not old enough for a retirement visa and despite it being my only option now I would still consider renewing after retirement age because it is so easy to use. A real piece of mind worth every penny to us who use it.

You can obtain the visa yourself at 1,900 THB but it takes you a longer time and hassle when you dont live continuously in Thailand and have to move in and out , you have to apply at the same time for a multiple entries morover you have to renew your visa near by the time it is going to expire which is not always easy to fly there each time at the specific time which also cost you money and take your time when you are busy elsewhere. With a retirement you cannot do any buisiness nor apply for a work permit where as with a T.E the assistance you get is valuable and you feel more confident that you dont have to rely on a gf or any other which could cost you more in the long run. Finally the T.E cost you 500k isnt? you should calculate for 5 years the average cost of your fare+agent fees at each visa renewal.

Interesting. Then I am pleased for your choice. I can come and go as often as I please or stay as long as I wish with the TE visa. And yes I did factor the cost. Its less than I was paying in council tax alone in the UK. I am retired but not over 50. Have no need for a work permit as I dont work nor a marrage to stay in this wonderful country. Living the dream. Sorry you didnt mention what visa you are on.

I have opted for the 5 years as i never played golf snd rarely have spa, my interest is more for the 5 years visa as i was on retirement and had to renew every year with multiple entries cost me quite an amount as it was done through an agent, also with the 5 years there is no need to pay the 20k every year. I only once used the limousine on arrival it is a very good experience when you are alone but not when you are accompagnied particularly with a Thai wife or family; it can cause some embarassement when you have to use the fast track. On departure only the member is allowed in the CIP lounge for free ; here at least you can pay for them to get access.

You paid thb500k for a 5year visa against a yearly charge via a agent who did it for thb20k/year?

You throw away thb400k.

Uh?

That's a new type of "calculation", apparently. Never saw that one. Thanks for sharing

By the way, personally I have a 20 years card. You know? The one at 2 million

And I think it is a great deal

Oh, and also, speaking about "throwing money", I just threw away 1458 Euro (54,000b) for a 125gr of beluga that I ate alone in the plane... Not that cheap, but delicious

Money is very easy to throw away, but when it comes to Thailand Elite I think that it is more of a good buy

Easy to say; it depends on what you have in mind and how long you think you are going to live when you reach a certain age ! My calculation brought me to 2035 if i went for the 20 years. So many things can happen...

I think Gerrys point is for him and many of us that use the TE visa the cost vs convience of using the visa is a no brainer. To pay 20,000 bht to some agent when you can obtain a visa yourself sounds like a waste of money to me and sounds a little dodgy to me. Im not sure why you worry how others choose to spend there money. For me it was a life saver as I am not old enough for a retirement visa and despite it being my only option now I would still consider renewing after retirement age because it is so easy to use. A real piece of mind worth every penny to us who use it.

Yesterday went past the old confuzion bar and it has been renamed The Sports bar. It was closed though.

Lived in Boston in the US. Wonderful place as is Berlin before and after the wall. Thailand is number 1. Something spiritual about this place. UK is the worst place I have lived.

May depend upon which side of the wall you were on. Agree with you about life in UK though. I left when it began to emulate East Berlin.

Far too many brother's. Not to be confused with Bro's, of course.

Jerry

Jerry I could not agree more. I was pulled up by three people in uniform at Euston Station who came out of nowhere (Non where Police, they came later) who told me I could not take pictures within the station because of terrorism. I was seeing my son off who lived in Manchester. The same thing happened to me and my mum in 1987 whilst on a day visit to East Berlin. The film from my mums camera was ripped out of the camera. Imagine how pissed I was to find out years later the UK government and its allies funds terrorists around the world. My wife and I decided 7 years ago to get the hell out. And I believe we live under Marshall Law. The nearest thing ive seen to Marshall Law here are Marshmellows for sale in Tesco Lotus. And only because they sound similar. Thank god I have this wonderful country to call home.

Lived in Boston in the US. Wonderful place as is Berlin before and after the wall. Thailand is number 1. Something spiritual about this place. UK is the worst place I have lived.

Double standards again from the US. Has many friends and Allies that are not only not democracies but are brutal regimes especailly there good friends the Saudis.

I have opted for the 5 years as i never played golf snd rarely have spa, my interest is more for the 5 years visa as i was on retirement and had to renew every year with multiple entries cost me quite an amount as it was done through an agent, also with the 5 years there is no need to pay the 20k every year. I only once used the limousine on arrival it is a very good experience when you are alone but not when you are accompagnied particularly with a Thai wife or family; it can cause some embarassement when you have to use the fast track. On departure only the member is allowed in the CIP lounge for free ; here at least you can pay for them to get access.

The Thailand Elite PE visa is indeed the most valuable benefit of being a member.

If your main concern was to have a convenient visa, you made the good choice with the Easy Access option.

I think you are right about the airport assistance.

If you travel with your family it may not be of great help, since you probably want to stay with them.

On my side, I always travel alone and I am a rather heavy user of the airport services... I love it

Enjoy your membership

I think that the service would be much more useful if it included, say, accompanying immediate family or one guest?

It's a bit rough expecting your spouse and kids to walk to immigration and join the queuing proletariat, while the TE holder rides the golf cart, is whisked through the fast lane, and then waits for them in the limo. After all, the fast lane and golf cart are not expensive to provide in a country like Thailand.

Or is there another membership option that solves this problem?

There is the "family membership".

If you have a full membership (2 million), your wife can be member for only one million.

A foreign wife, of course.

For Thai wives... I don't think it would work.

But the suggestion should be thought about by the Thailand Elite managers.

Everything comes at a cost though...

Gerry just a thought but my wife has dual Thai / UK citizenship. Can she still apply?

personally I go soon with retirement visa and with the money saved I will rent a nice house with swimming pool and jacuzzi and will party all nights with my ladies. it sucks to be young! :-)

I too am nearly ready for the retirement visa but dont need the hassle in obtaining one. I have a beautiful wife and even after paying for the Elite visa still have more then enough money left over and pay no rent and have a lovely home to call our own. Renting is hardly saving so am not sure what your point is. Am sure the ladies will soon leave when the money runs out hey

if people are happy with the elite card, I would not be surprised to see the price to increase soon.

then all of you will be very happy to pay 1 million or 2 millions to stay in Thailand.

you are just all screwing yourself.!

That Envy will get the better of you. I hope they do increase the price in order to bring in a higher class of visitor to Thailand. Anyone who has seen the recent BBC 3 doc on Bangkok Airport will know what I mean. I feel blessed to be able to have the option of Thailand Elite to stay in this wonderful country and come and go as I please. After all we dont want Thailand to become the Benidorm of South East Asia.

Thanks, Gerry the 20k per year doesn't bother me, and I guess in 20 years there will be some other program around.

The Thai 5 year DL does bother me but I asked at the DL issuing center and there isn't a conspiracy or any thing like that, it's just when the DL issuing act was written these program didn't exist and the visa type wasn't included in the regulations. It's a case of because it isn't specified as being eligible then they can't issue a 5 year license against it.

Then try another office. When I showed my PE visa to my local office the guy behind the desk not only knew all about the PE visa he said that the 5 year is no problem after my annual one expires.

It should not be a problem to get a 5 year license people on tourist visas have gotten them. At many offices it is just the difference of having a certificate of residence from immigration instead of one from your embassy.

I am on the PE visa and have the 1 year license and was told I can swap for the 5 year one when it expires. My certificate of residence was obtained from my local Amphoe and it has to specify it is for a driving licence. They keep the original copy of the certificate when you get the licence. I had a full UK licence and also got my Bike licence at the same time. Really easy process that took all of 1/2 hour. All the Amphoe asked for was my wifes blue book and a statement from her and the head of my Moo that I lived here. That took longer to get than the driving licence but all worth it in the end.

Hi all,

I'm a newbie on this forum and I was brought here as I was looking for some more info about Thai Elite Visa. I am thinking of contacting them in June a bit before my visa expires; I'm from Switzerland and 46 years old. No thai gf.

It seems that at a time of difficulties to obtain a decent visa unless you're over 50, TE looks like a nice option.

What concerns me more is the upfront fee and the lack of visibility as to how long the current governments will support TE. I mean, could the latter be cancelled and so the visa later in time?

I downloaded the contract on their website and which says at time that the fee is cannot be paid back and at others:

" In case of the termination pursuant to Clause 2.4 (3) above (Termination due to government policies)

,.... the Company shall refund the remaining Membership Fee (if any) to the Member, within thirty (30) days after the Card has been returned

• to the Company, less the following balances (if any) and costs:

  (i) The Penalty Charge and/or outstanding fees; and

  (ii) The costs of Privileges which have been used by the Member during the validity of Membership.

I'm not sure how to understand that. Does that mean the company will pay us something back if the visa were to be cancelled?

Thanks for your input

The termination applies to the privilages only not the visa. Since its inception in 2003 no visa has ever been cancelled. I too had the same reservations as yourself but the application process was very easy and straightforward.

Bim, I don't think that you're making sense. You wrote "I would rather live here than in a Police State such as the UK"???

Firstly, no part of the UK is a police state. This is your feeling and it is incorrect on so many levels.

Secondly, Thailand is in fact under the control of the ARMY. This is reality.

I'd rather see protesters exercise their rights in the streets every day rather than watch the ARMY step on my neck. The ARMY is a tool to protect Thailand against foreign threats, let's not forget that.

Enjoy you peace, watch your wife's freedoms erode and just wait. In due time, the corruption this dictatorship is involved in will soon present itself.

The ARMY jeeps you see driving around town aren't your friends. ARMY JEEPS!!!

Then allow me to elaborate. Try demonstrating in London without Police consent and see how far that gets you or reading out the names of the War dead at the Cenotaph which will land in you jail. The UK has the highest concentration of CCTV cameras of anywhere in the world and a Government that can openly spy on your email and phone calls. I have witnessed many times tourists in London harrassed and pictures deleted on there phones or cameras. I too was a victim on Euston Station taking a photo of my son whilst seeing him of on the train an event that reminded me of a visit I made to East Germany many years before and the same thing happened. Now where I live the Thai Army did indeed visit last week and where very pleasant and not one had a gun. I hope they live up to there promise of removing corruption from Thailand. No one has mentioned here that at every election my wife votes in there are party officails paying people to vote for them. That is what has to go. The UK just use fear lies and pander to prejudice for your vote. Unlike the intimidating Police at Heathrow with guns my experience landing in Bangkok could not have been more different. Since the 1911 Parliament Act the UK has been tiptoeing towards a Police State and only now is it in Full Gallop. You must walk around with blinkers on. And they are welcome to the prison they are now building because once the these laws are in place they will be near impossible to get rid of. Even the PSCOs walk around like little stassi. Ifor one will never go back.

Thought I'd report my passport renewal experience.

Applied for appointment 27/12/14

I got reply 29/12/14, appointment made for 7/1/15

Submitted application in about 5 mins at Trendy on the day so all very quick.

Got a call on 23/1/15 to say passport was ready for collection.

Was in office for about 2 minutes when I collected the passport today.

All very quick and much easier than anticipated.

Who do you contact to make the appointment. Thanks for the info BTW