Bellacissa

I'm about to get my first visa and I have a couple of questions - be gentle, I'm new at this. And before anyone asks, yes, I googled.

I will be coming over on a non-o (and I'll be getting ED extensions) with my son on a dependent visa in January. The school is already paid and has all of my documentation in hand. Let's say my visa is dated 15 November 2014 and I use it for the first time on 3 January 2015 when I arrive. Does that mean that I just have to do my final 90 day extension prior to 14 November 2015?

Am I correct in thinking that the date of the visa is the last day that you can enter the kingdom, not the last day that you can be IN the kingdom if you have a valid 90 day extension? Now that they've eliminated that last extension for ED, the max stay is 12 months total, right?

I don't really want to wait until December and get my visa at the last second before we leave (moving overseas for the first time is stressful enough without last minute trips to the consulate), so if it means "losing" 45 days or so on the visa timer, I'm ok with that for this first go round. I just want to be sure that I have the math straight in my head before I start mapping it out on a calendar. If I need to wait until December, I can, I'm just a planner at heart and running right up until the flight out makes me nervous.

but when you cross the immigration line, dont display a huge amount of cash. Many people have been stolen by airport worker/immigratoin officer when they had to make the X-ray and luggage checking. So hide well your money!

No worries. I never pull out cash unless I have to. I also never keep it all in one place.

My husband and I are coming in on an exempt stamp for 15 days in September. We're both US citizens. Should we each bring 10k baht in "pocket money" just in case? I can get some exchanged here in the states before we head to the airport if I need to, just trying to decide if it's worth the trip the travel agency.

It is never asked except some situations that do not really fit your case.

Anyway it does not have to be Thai currency. Note that when bringing cash, you will get more baht from your dollars rather than getting it from ATM or doing transfers. Yes I know most people nowadays is uncomfortable with cash, I'm just telling you the purely mathematical aspect.

Thanks! I usually bring at least that much with me in USD. I just wasn't sure if it needed to be in baht when I arrived.

My husband and I are coming in on an exempt stamp for 15 days in September. We're both US citizens. Should we each bring 10k baht in "pocket money" just in case? I can get some exchanged here in the states before we head to the airport if I need to, just trying to decide if it's worth the trip the travel agency.

 

 

WHat you're saying is that Thai immigration officials are not allowed to ask a traveller any questions when they arrive, just because in the past that was the usual practice?! 

 

I was only asked two questions (in English as I was clearly a tourist on my very first visit to the LOS) when I came through in February: "How many boyfriends you have?  You need one more?" 

Hopefully, once I get started in my Thai language classes, I'll at least be able to answer "No boyfriends. One husband." if I'm ever asked that again.

22 pages later and I still don't care if someone calls me farang. Or falang. Or the other 23ish documented spellings of the word.

Can we get an updated list, by the way? I'm sure some new ones have been offered up in this thread.

I've sent an email to my school to see if they say they same thing about the attendance requirements for new students. This is the boat that I'm in since I've already paid for the program but haven't received my Non-O visa and won't enter the country to begin classes until January.

I'll let you know what they say.

On the plus side, I'd be fluent in Thai in no time flat if I'm in class for 25 hours a week. On the minus side, I'd be in class for 25 hours a week, which is about 13 hours more than when I was in college full time getting my BA. Not exactly what I had planned on, but if it's true, I'll just have to find a way to make it work.

I suppose you have paid for a regular course of about 200 hours / year.

25 hours a week is 1,250 hours a year, so it should be paid about five times more. Few if any students if any will pay for that.

Beside, schools do not have enough infrastructure to host that many classes for all their students, and do not have enough teachers

That is the reason why 25 hours a week are an unreasonable and untenable requirement, that has been set at random and circulated with the intention of looking very serious and dissuade people.

I included a question about any price increase in my email to the school. I'll report what they say on that as well. And, if I'm paying five times the amount that is required now (personally, I don't think it will be that extreme) then the school will be able to afford more teachers and more classes to satisfy the new requirements for the visa. Again, this is all conjecture right now since we have seen nothing official.

Right now to apply for the ED visa aboard, students must participate

in the class for 5 days per week and 5 hours everyday (means full time

students), my school will have to obey this rules too from the next

course as it is the new regulation, but this is not for our old

students.

I've sent an email to my school to see if they say they same thing about the attendance requirements for new students. This is the boat that I'm in since I've already paid for the program but haven't received my Non-O visa and won't enter the country to begin classes until January.

I'll let you know what they say.

On the plus side, I'd be fluent in Thai in no time flat if I'm in class for 25 hours a week. On the minus side, I'd be in class for 25 hours a week, which is about 13 hours more than when I was in college full time getting my BA. Not exactly what I had planned on, but if it's true, I'll just have to find a way to make it work.

Ubonjoe, have you heard anything semi-official about the attendance requirements for new students changing?

I just went to the website of the school I've applied to (one of the reputable ones as far as I can tell) and get this instead of the homepage:

"Error establishing a database connection."

Just a coincidence, right? :::paranoia begins to set in:::

Pro Language?

Indeed.

I just went to the website of the school I've applied to (one of the reputable ones as far as I can tell) and get this instead of the homepage:

"Error establishing a database connection."

Just a coincidence, right? :::paranoia begins to set in:::

 

 

I have no problem showing proof of funds for the ED.  I just wish there was a clear cut answer as to how much I need to show and how long it needs to be in that account prior to applying for the visa.  Maybe we'll get more clarity after the infamous date of August 29th.

Personally I don't think that any clarity will come on that or any other date in the future. Rather that a series of restrictive measures, largely already announced or expected will be codified, in the usually chaotic and confusing manner.

 

Oh, I know.  That's why I said maybe.  I'm certainly not holding my breath, though. 

 

The proof of funds has to be a typo, right?  This is the current requirement for US Citizens:

Not a typo, every embassy or consulate make their own rules, France does not want to issue ED visa and that is their way to do it. There are other examples for other cases on different embassies and consulates.

 

Thanks.  Silly me, I thought that the rules for a visa would be set by the country that you're trying to enter - not the one you're leaving. 

The proof of funds has to be a typo, right?  This is the current requirement for US Citizens:

"A copy of recent bank statements or evidence of adequate finance ($700 per person and $1,500 per family)"

The site also doesn't say anything about a particular number of hours of study.  Just that you have to have a letter of acceptance from the school and "School license or business registration, list of shareholders and school profile."  I assume the school will give me all of that when I get my paperwork.

http://www.thaiembdc.org/dcdp/?q=Non_Immigrant_Visa

I'm coming over in January on an ED, so I'm watching threads like these very carefully.  

The whole word is going in that direction folks, no one gives a S--T about anyone else

these days.

The snoty kids the "gready rich" sure aint what it was when i was a kid you only need

to watch the news to see how depresing the world is today. The human progress in the

past twenty years is amazing but very disapointing realy.

I agree to a certain extent.

My sister (a card carrying member of the "me" generation) and her 15 year old son refuse to wear anything that isn't a designer label. Meanwhile, they're living off child support and food stamps. It makes me furious.

My 12 year old son only asks that whatever I get him is comfortable and covers his a**. He could not care less who made it or where it comes from. And while we can afford the designer labels, I think it's stupid to pay for a name, so I don't.

It's all in how you raise them.

I just got my first tattoo (in Thailand, no less) a few months ago and I'm 39.  It's tasteful, means a lot to me and is hidden by my shirt unless I wear a tank top or swimsuit.  I'm not the kind that would ever get "sleeves" and I'd certainly never get a tramp stamp, but I don't think you should judge a girl by her taste in body art, either.  To each their own.

Many thanks to whoever moved this. No clue why I couldn't add a topic in this section.

I don't mind paying for October - December if I find the right place and they balk at holding it. It's worth that to have it ready to go when we arrive.

Thank you! My husband will be with me while I'm looking and he's a great negotiator. I'll let him talk them down.

It will be a big relief to get that part done before the move.

I tried to put this in the condo rental forum, but it wouldn't let me start a new topic there.

I will be moving to Thailand on a Non-O ED in January. However, I will be coming over for two weeks in September on a visa exempt stamp and would like to go ahead and find a condo in Pattaya to lease for a year. Basically, I want to have the place ready to go when we arrive in January to make the transition as easy as possible for my son.

Is that possible on a 30 day visa exempt stamp or do I have to wait until I'm here on the Non-O visa to sign a rental agreement?

Can you tell me what paperwork I will need to rent the condo? I'm a US citizen, married to a US citizen (but he won't be living in Thailand for the first year) and I have a 12 year old son that will be living with me as a dependent. I assume I'll need copies of our passports, bank statements and proof of income from my husband. Is there anything else that I should have on hand?

It's just a word. It can only offend you if you allow it to. I come from what is arguably the most politically correct country in the world and having to dance around descriptive language is a pain sometimes.

When my son was five, he got hauled into the principal's office because he had put his arm up against another child's arm and said "Your skin is blacker than mine. I wonder why?" and the other kid yelled "That's racist!" I had to come up to the school and explain that he didn't mean anything racist, he was just wondering why people have different skin tones. My son was totally bewildered and had NO idea what he had done wrong. But, the other kid had apparently been taught from an early age that anything related to color is racist. Guess what, it's not. If it's used as a description and not in a derogatory way, it's not a racist comment.

I imagine that the Thai kids are using it as a descriptive term. And even if they're not, it's not something you're going to change, so just go with it and don't take it personally.

Just happens to be that all "white" people (Male and Female) are called Falang.

I was curious about this. I wasn't sure if there was a separate word for women. I've heard my husband called farang, but it's never been said to me specifically. I wouldn't mind, though. I don't think it's any different than calling someone in the states a southerner or a New Yorker. It's just a word to describe a particular group of people.

I'm an independent. We don't have a primary. Do you enjoy being judged because of people you had no part in electing? Yeah, I don't either. I'm not saying it doesn't occasionally happen, but I hope that most people are intelligent enough to realize that we didn't all vote for the people you hate. Why assume that we did?

then dont tell us you only had two choices. the vast majority of your country votes for the two wings of the american corporate party and as such endorses the murderous behaviour of american foreign policy over decades. the OP asked why the anti- americanism? . folks are telling you why. unfair to you personally? thats life, get over it.

Ok, fine. Judge me. You have that right. I won't lose any sleep over it. The optimistic part of me hopes that most people are not quite that narrow minded, though.

Ppl confuse regular Americans with American (foreign) politics. But in general Americans from all walks of live etc, etc are the nicest ppl you can meet. And of course like in every country there are some bad ones around

Sent from my Galaxy S4 4G LTE

If they were so many wouldnt vote for people like george bush and sarah palin and the rest would insist obama stop the drones. but they dont. its easy to be nice on the surface. its a bit tougher to have some courage and quit voting for murderers

This time around, we were given two choices. Obama and Romney. Trust me, the lesser of the two evils was elected. And Palin is the biggest political joke in the country. She'll never get elected for anything higher than the school PTA.

Surely people don't REALLY hate Americans because of the things our government does. I have to assume that most people are smart enough to know the difference between the regular people and the politicians. People are not really that naive are they? That would be like saying I hate Brits because of something Tony Blair or David Cameron did. I would never presume that you agree with the governmental body of your home country just because you live there. In fact, I would assume most people disagree with their own government a good portion of the time.

you dont have to vote for those two in the primaries. the reason the system continues is because americans support it. you are judged by the people you elect to represent you. americans have supported a murderous foreign policy for decades and it doesnt let you off the hook to say you had no choice. like it or lump it, the world looks at your country's behaviour and judges u for it

I'm an independent. We don't have a primary. Do you enjoy being judged because of people you had no part in electing? Yeah, I don't either. I'm not saying it doesn't occasionally happen, but I hope that most people are intelligent enough to realize that we didn't all vote for the people you hate. Why assume that we did?