Morty

There is only 1 beef with abhisit and it's not even something he did, it's all about how he came to power.

After the previous (free and fair) elections Samark became PM, but he was later disqualified due to conflict of interest laws.

The lower house then elected Somchai, after the whole PAD airport debacle somchai had to step down and PPP was dissolved. PTP was made but some members defected to the democrats, this gave the democrats and their coalition a majority in the house. The lower house then elected Abhisit. The gripe is that abhisit got elected by the lower house without there being a general election before. pretty much the same as somchai, but since he is thaksins boy, the UDD don't have a problem with it.

I think your understanding of what happened is somewhat simplified, What happened was that PPP, the largest party in parliament, was dissolved, several MP from that party was banned from politics. What would normally happen if someone is banned, is that #2 (or number 3,4,5 etc.) on the list from that party would take the seat. Since the whole party was banned, there was no #2 and the seats of PPP in that electorate was up for by elections. This happened while MP's from the other parties in that electorate got to keep their seats. Hence they were able to put forward their candidates a second time to compete with the PPP elected seats, and in many peoples eyes got a second round at the cost of the PPP MP's. i.e a district has 10 MP's lets say the original vote gave a result of 5 mp's for PPP and the rest for other parties, the other parties got to keep their MP's and could put forward new ones to compete for mp's they didn't win in the first round. In this situation the normal thing would be to call for a new election for the whole district, or new elections for the whole country. since this didn't happen the by elections altered the majority in parliament and gave the new PTP some MP's and all the other parties MP's they shouldn't have had. This was the reason Aphisit could secure majority and be prime minister. Democratic or not, is not up to me to judge, but it seems a lot of Thai voters feel this is not what they voted for.

I'm not taking sides here, just explaining the mechanics.

Morty

Otherwise, it would seem fairly straightforward for someone going from 'working' to 'retirement' to be able to go the 'two step' procedure, first changing from Non Imm 'B' to Non Imm 'O' via the TM86 route (the TM86 is usually used for a change from Tourist to Non Imm O visa, but there is nothing on the form, which is entitled "Application for Change of Visa," that might preclude changing from a Non Imm B to a Non Imm O).

Question. Why is it not possible to get a 1 year extension of stay based on retirement directly from a valid Non-Immigrant "B" visa? In other words, why is it not possible to go directly from 'working' to 'retirement' without having to do a visa conversion? Rule 2.22 only requires that the alien have a temporary visa (Non-Immigrant), it says nothing about 'O' or 'B' etc.

It not a problem doing that, it's just about timing. In this case the problem is the 15 days left, to change the visa he needs more then 21 days left on his permission to stay. If you plan it right you could do something like this:

You are planning to resign from your job at the end of may, and you are over 50 years old.

You make an agreement with your employer that you will leave 31. may, you sign the resignment papers stating that your last day of work will be 31. May, and bring this paper with you to immigration, together with all the other paperwork needed for a non-immigrant O visa based on retirement. You should apply for this change of visa with less than 30 days left of your work contract, and more than 21 days left on your permission to stay. If you are qualified, they will give you a 90 day non-immigrant O visa starting from 1. of June,(which is the day you would otherwise have to leave Thailand) for a charge of 2000 baht.

With a 90 day non-immigrant O in your PP, you put 800000 baht in your bank account at the end of june (more than 60 days before your visa expires) and applies for a 1 year extension, and voila! a one year extension would be granted.

All of this without leaving Thailand at all

regarding the resignment papers, they might not be needed, but some immigration offices won't issue retirement visas if you're holding a work permit.

Since you're on a one year extension, that extension is based on your work/income of more than 65000 baht pr. month.

Morty

The income requirement for an extension of stay based on work depends on ones nationality. For westerners it is 50,000 a month.

It certainly is, must have mixed up the numbers there, sorry bout that!

Morty

My visa is of the non-immigrant B variety, and it has been extended for one year for working. However, I also got a multiple re-entry permit, so I don't know if I can leave and then request a 30-day permission to stay instead of usig my re-entry permit.

Is it possible to do a border run and get 30 days, instead of only 15 days, so I can apply in country for a non-imm visa and extension for retirement?

If that's not likely, would it be better to fly somewhere and come back and get 30 days rather than having to waste several days and endure the hassle of appying for a tourist visa?

Any suggestions of where to go for a quick roundtrip international flight in the interest of saving money and time?

Thanks!

Since you're on a one year extension, that extension is based on your work/income of more than 65000 baht pr. month.

Normally your employer would notify the local labour office, if you have resigned/gotten fired, and you are supposed to hand in your work permit. I would think that the labour office would notify immigration that you are no longer working and as such your extension should be revoked (this is my understanding, but I have no experience with work permits in Thailand)If you're still working, you're ok, if you're not working you are technically on overstay from the day after you stopped working (24 hours). My guess is that immigration will not give you a retirement visa since you are currently holding a work permit (some immigration offices are ok with workpermits and retirement, some are not). I guess immigration want to see your resignation, so they can cancel your visa. Other than that I don't see why your visa couldn't be changed to a non immigrant O, since it has more than 21 days left to expiration.

Regarding your resignment paper, I've heard it's common for employers to get employees to sign an undated resignation, to avoid severance pay and other costs if/when they don't need them anymore.

You should also check you work permit validity, under normal circumstances the work permit is synced with your visa so that they expire at the same date.

So to sum it up, since you are still working and your extension of stay is valid. The only reason I can see is that immigration don't think you're retired (you're holding a work permit), so you can't have a retirement visa.

Morty

And? What's the rest of the story?

Lets hope he didn't have a run in with the BIB, no PP and all, and ended up in IDC

Take it you like acronyms then...

Alphabet soup! No idea what on Earth is trying to be conveyed....

Sorry about that!

It didn't occur to me at the time I wrote it.

Looking at it now, I totally agree, it looks like an alphabet quiz.

Back to the topic at hand, let's hope the guy come back and tell us what happened.

PS!

BIB = Boys In Brown aka Royal Thai Police

PP = Passport

IDC = Immigration Detention Center

Hope this helps

Morty

And? What's the rest of the story?

Lets hope he didn't have a run in with the BIB, no PP and all, and ended up in IDC

So instead of bothering with a company letter, I should just leave and re-enter to apply for a retirement extension?

Can I do a one-day trip and come back in with a 15-day stamp, then change it in country to a non-immigrant visa and get a 360-day extension at the same time?

In other words, do I need to get the non-imm visa outside the country?

Thanks

It depends on what kind of visa you're currently holding. If you're on a non-immigrant B visa and have a one year ext. your ext. expires on your last working day, and you have 24 hours to leave the country (immigration will give you a seven days ext. for 1900 baht) If your visa is a non-immigrant B multiple entry, and you do visa runs every 90 days, the visa is valid until the enter before day stamped in your PP (normally 12 months from the day it was issued).

So if your visa is of the non-immigrant B variety, and it is extended, the easiest way to cancel it, is to just to leave the country without a reentry permit. This will cancel your visa. If your visa is of the multiple variety, you can use the visa until it expires (enter before date) in this case you should go to the labour office (the ones that issued your work permit) and return it, since you're currently not working (can be some nasty surprices regarding fines/taxes if you don't), this also applies to your employer

If you're holding a retirement visa (non-immigrant O or OA)your visa is not linked to your work permit, and kinda runs it own life, and the only thing you need to worry about is the work permit.

Regarding border runs and visa exempt entries, over land you only get 15 days, and the rules says you need 21 days left on your permission to stay if you want to change it, so the only way to achieve this is to fly back in to Thailand to get 30 days.

Please state what kind of visa you're holding, it makes it easier to give you advice.

Hope this helps

Morty

I STILL say it isn't right to laugh at these people losing their money on this.

Some people like to sit on the sidelines and laugh at those who failed and curse those who succeed.

Ok I'll bite!

To those of you that don't understand why most people are laughing or even glee at your misfortune of trying to buy yourself a visa you weren't entitled to. Try to look at it this way, you're standing in line to check in your luggage for a flight to somewhere, and the line is going extremely slow, then you have this guy that walks by the line and try to check in at the first class counter, he has the same ticket as you, but he slips the check in guy some money to omit the two hour line that he should have been in. Then he get told to sod off and go to the back of the line and wait like everybody else. that's what just happened to the TPC holders.

Some of these TPC holders probably start to see that they have actually been the laughing stock of the expat community and Thai establishment as well, by trying to buy themselves into a society they don't know anything about. what concerns other foreigners here is that this paints us all with the same brush, i.e. that we are also stupid, spineless people with more money then wits.

To me the TPC saga is nothing more than a million baht bribe that went wrong, and as we all know, bribes don't come with a money back warranty, and seldom turns out be everything they promised to be.

I think that's why a lot of the "old hands" here on thaivisa warned against this scheme, trying to get around the phi/nong system in this country has proven to be very difficult, even for thai people, so the chances of foreigners succeeding in getting privileges they where not entitled to, was very slim.

It's not always about money, sometimes it's about who holds their hand over you.

Just ask Thaksin

Wonder how many expats will complain if a WiB tries to give them a ticket (and how many will try hitting on the WiB for a date).

If the MiBs are BiBs wouldn't the WiBs be GiBs?

I would certainly hope that they still would be B(abes)IB,s

One of my favorites would be the koh Nang Yuan in Surrat Thani. IMO one of the most unique places in the Gulf of Thailand.

A nice place to bring your GF/wife for a couple of days, if partying and bar hopping is your thing, I wouldn't bother.

To get there, you need to go by boat, i.e. ferry from Chumporn to KohTao, or speedboat/ferry from Koh Samui to Koh Tao, and then with longtail out to the actual Island.

Google is your friend

Hope this helps

Morty

Uppgifter från svenska UD visar nu att paret erkänt att man stulit totalt 250 tröjor i samband med ett inbrott. Dessutom figurerar en påstådd misshandel av en engelsk turist. Den sista uppgiften har dock inte gått att få bekräftad.

Translation

According to information from the Swedish UD (foreign office) the couple have confessed to stealing 250 T-shirts (could be sweaters as well) in connection with a break in/burglary. There is also unconfirmed accusations of beating an English tourist. Although this allegation has not been verified (by Swedish UD or Thai police).

Det var den 2 december förra året som det unga paret, 24 och 21 år gamla, greps sedan de stulit klädesplaggen ur en butik i Patong Beach i Thailand.

Translation

The young couple, of 24 and 21, was arrested on the 2. December last year, since they had stolen the clothes (the 250 items) from a shop in Patong Beach, Thailand.

Vid tisdagens rättegång blev domen för de båda 1 år och tre månaders fängelse vardera.

Detta efter det att de skriftligt erkänt sitt brott. Hade man inte gjort det hade paret riskerat att strafftiden fördubblats.

Translation

At Tuesdays trial they where each sentenced to one year and three months in jail.

The sentence was meted out on the strength of written confessions by the defendants.

Without the signed confessions the couple ran the risk of two and a half year jail time, if found guilty.

Någon rättslig assistens fick inte heller paret vid tisdagens rättegång. Anklagelserna lästes upp och därpå följde den hårda domen. Detta utan något annan rättslig prövning eftersom paret erkänt brottet.

Translation

The couple did not have legal council at the trial, so the accusations where read to the judge, who subsequently sentenced the couple. There was no hearing of witnesses or review of evidence, since the couple had already confessed.

Paret har också avsagt sig rätten att få sitt fall prövad i en högre instans.

Translation

The couple have waived their right to appeal to an higher court.

Ulricehamnsparet reste till Thailand i mitten av november och hade planerat att stanna kvar till i början av januari.

Translation

The Ulricehamn couple traveled to Thailand in the middle of November and their plan was to stay until the beginning of January.

Link to the story in Swedish

It might look like they where apprehended after the the fact, and stolen property where found in their possession (from an earlier burglary). The story is not clear on this point. It also seems they went to court without legal representation, and that they signed papers in thai without an interpreter.

Hi there,

I am in shock! I have just had a quote for a shipment from Chiang Mai to UK and it is the following:

Household goods (11 cbm) - 154,570THB + 10,819THB = 165,389 THB !!!!! And this doesn't include customs duties and taxes.

And my husband will have to do without a motorbike as this alone cost another 65,000 THB.

Has anybody recently moved things to UK - so has anybody got any approx. prices and if so, which shipment company did you use? Is this price totally unrealistic?

Please help!

I think someone has gotten a new calculator and is trying out how the multiply function is working!

I shipped a 20" container of household goods from Thailand to Norway in mid July, the price came to a grand total of 85.000 baht. This included all fees and road transport from my home in Pattaya to the port (Laem Chabang) I used U.A.S.C (United Arab) because they had the best dates in regard to my shipping date. I got about the same price quote from Evergreen as well, but the container would arrive a week later in Norway. Both of these companies have offices in Thailand, and are located close to Laem Chabang where your container will be shipped from. I think it's important to use a company witch has local reps since they tend to know the Thai custom officials, and know how to "grease the wheels". In my case their Thai rep came to our house and sat down with us, going trough our inventory and guiding us on what to put on the paper (there are certain things prohibited from exporting from Thailand such as teakwood, ivory, buddha images and so on) In my case they came with the container on a truck to my house on the day agreed on. I hired the local motorcycle stand (four guys) to do the loading for 2.000 baht. I did the packing myself, (actually it was done by my wife and MIL, they started two weeks before the actual moving date), and found that hassle free but YMMV.

Some pitfalls to be avoided.

Make sure your shipping date is as close as possible to the shippers shipping date, you don't want your container sitting in the port longer than necessary, and possibly being "held for ransom" by the custom officials.

All container shipments are supposed to be sealed with a special disposable lock with a unique number on it, it doesn't have a key but will have to be cut in order to open the container. Make sure you seal it yourself before the truck leaves, since this will prohibit anyone from opening your container without you knowing. the driver of the truck should have this seal with him, if he doesn't, don't load the container.

Make sure the shipper takes care of all transport/packing costs and add that to your bill, and get a quote for all included.

Last but not least, make sure you don't pay for the shipping until your container is already at sea, this should be easy if you timed it right.

(edit)

Make sure you don't leave Thailand before you have gotten your bill of lading without this paper you won't get your container released when it arrives.

The BL will normally not be produced until after the payment has been done.

that's how I did it.

good luck

Morty

The car is silvery in color, has central locking system, power steering, el. windows, automatic air-con and radio/cd player (divx, mp3 and so on). It has run 103.000 km. (40.000 km by me)

The car has bullbars, 15 inch wheels 235/70. The car has a new bed liner and seat belts in the back seats. The car is very economical , and on average use 0.8 liters pr. 10 km. The car is sold cash, and comes with the green book, or Tabien rot (should go without saying) Premium insurance and road tax is just payed and valid for 12 months, asking price is 280.000 baht.

Well! just how easy isit to get a long term turist visa in EU for a thai citizen? Or in US? I'm sure of that it can't be done by going in and out of the border. The visa rules in Thailand are indeed very generously compared with EU and US.

What a load of cr@p!

If you're going to comment on immigration rules in other countries please educate yourself before posting such rubbish.

I'm a citizen of Schengen country and married to a Thai citizen, for your information my wife and I married in my home country to where she came on a tourist visa!!

Upon marriage to me and showing a marriage cert. her visa was changed to a one year visa with work permit. Her work permit had no limitations, i.e. she could work with whatever she desired (no requirement of any number of nationals in her workplace or registered capital of her employer,her work permit was pre approved ).

There was no 90 day reporting, no reentry permit and no fees involved in this. She could also travel to any country in Europe if she so desired (Shengen visa).

Upon renewing her visa, witch we forgot about, and did three months late (try that in Thailand), she got permanent residency (witch by Shengen rules have to be renewed every three years) again no fees involved (but this is easier in Thailand?) .

Her permanent residency was renewed after three years(5 min. at the local police station for a new stamp, again no fees) By this time she was qualified for citizenship (pointed out by the local police) so she applied, and three months later she was a citizen. no fees for this either (easier in Thailand?). Both our two kids and my wife are dual citizens, Thai and my country.

After we married there was no requirement for her to show income of any sort to get her one year visa(easier in Thailand?), compare that to Thailand witch require in the neighborhood of four times a normal(not minimum witch is closer to eight times) income of male foreigners wanting to stay with their spouses.

Nope, she could just stay and enjoy here life. My family and I are now living in Thailand, as a family and I have no problem what so ever with getting my one year extensions, but my wife is royally ashamed of how the Thai immigration treats foreigners.

I would think most married men living here have wifes like this. For those of you belittling anyone not on an non immigrant visa, witch is as of now a proper visa.

Get down from your high horses, and start smelling the coffee. I think the writing is on the wall,

first they took away the visa exempt entry, the investment visa,

the non immigrant O extensions with 400K in the bank

and extension of non immi. O for fathers.

Now they take away the tourist visa, Knowing the Thais I know it ain't gonna stop there. It won't stop until and unless re precautions are coming their way. To the old farts I have two words: start packing and sell whatever isn't packable cuz I guess next year the retirement is axed, and then goes the marriage extensions and the non immigrant B extensions. In a year or two (with a redressed TRT at the helm) we're all sitting here asking ourselves what happened?

In the mean time, by all means, convince yourselves that you're safe, and that it's the visa runners they're after I on the other hand would like to leave this country with dignity witch to me means I take the decision, instead of being told to leave, within seven days.

To those that think it's hard to get a visa for Thai's in the EU (don't know about the US) you are totally wrong, and if Thai's can show a level of income that is eight times the minimum vague there, they will get a visa by themselves.

And to the high horses brigade (you know who you are) there's a special on humble pie at Villa this weekend, try it out it might fill you!!

good luck to all, I think we need it!

Morty

Not affected yet, but want to leave in dignity, when the time comes.

Can someone please tell me under what circumstances would people be held at Bangkwand Prison in Bangkok, famously known as the Bangkok Hilton?

I previously assumed that only serious offenders, i.e people dealing in narcotics were sent there. Can someone in the know enlighten me what other type of offenders would be sent there?

Thanks

I think it has to do with the length of your sentence. If you get sentenced to more than 25 or 30 years you go to Bangkwang.

Deathrow'ers are held there as well

Morty

Hey Morty,

I am sure you are a law abiding guy and have nothing to hide ...... but just for fun why don't we have the police come to where you live and give it a check.....lets see how comfortable you will be and how much you will end up paying

Comparing apples and oranges are we?

For your information, I'm not running a business in my home, I'm not having time restrictions on opening hours, and I'm not required to have a license to live where I do, and as far as I know, there is no age restrictions on who can be inside our house. Even so, I, as any foreigner in Thailand, will frequently have police checking me in my home (immigration has been there several times to check that I actually live there, no fee payable though ). If I had someone trying to make problems in my house, I would certainly have the BIB come over and get the person(s) out of there, and if something got broken, I certainly would press charges to get compensated. I would not take the law into my own hands and beat the cr@p out of someone. Other than that, I fail to see your comparison.

Please explain

Morty

What you try and do is settle the matter amicably and quietly.

I totally agree with you on that, what I was referring to was what you do if that fails.

The last thing you want is the police strolling through your establishment, that's a real evening killer.

This is only true if you break the law, in Pattaya any bar owner knows that police will come to your place on a regular basis and test your staff for drugs, check that nobody inside is under aged, check your licenses, check that your CCTV works, and of course respond to unreasonable punters, in fact the police love to get involved in that, since there is money to be made, and compensation to be had for the bar owner. In this particular incident I guess police involvement would have been a real killer both for the bar (serving alcohol outside legal hours) and the punters (I'll keep my thoughts to myself on this one)

Morty

I'm baffled!! I've been reading the whole tread, and I've also read Norwegian newspapers, and strangefully they didn't mention anything of drunken berserks or vikings . It seems that this guy is a real tourist, and not a back to back TV kinda guy, being here on a two week holiday. As such he didn't know that he was in one of the worst neighborhoods of Pattaya. As a long time resident here, I can assure all of you not familiar with this area, that this is not a neighborhood where Pattayans would want to spend any time after sunset (unless you like to hang out with petty criminals, and tattooed, moneyborowing, football hooligans).

As I understand it a tourist was severely beaten by a bar owner in his bar, approx. two hours after the regulated closing time and ended up in hospital, at 3 30 a.m.

The "upstanding" not so law abiding bar owner/lawbreaker fled the scene, thai style , and went to BKK even though he has a potential crises on his hands, or maybe this is not a crisis, but a normal business decision. That wouldn't surprise me, as the business is located in Soi Buakhao and that's probably why it didn't have CCTV either

In a normal bar if something like this happened, the normal way to handle it would have been calling the police wouldn't you think?

I f you as a bar owner don't see this, you should not run such a bar at all. and you should at least be responsible enough to take responsibility for any and all damages you made to a tourist obviously in the wrong bar, and of course STOP PADDING THE BILLS! and beat up tourists, It's not what we refer to as customer service

A shameful Pattayan

For 100K I don't know, but you could allways have a look here

My advice would be to get yourself another TV, then you can go and get it now before the holidays/election sets in and have peace of mind until you leave. Doing a border run near the end of the year might be stressful. You also have to consider that some borders will require an onwards ticket out of Thailand with in your new 30 day time frame, witch you don't have since your ticket is for jan. 31 next year (this is only valid if you go for a visa exempt entry) having a visa will allow you to enter the kingdom without onward ticket. and will give you sixty days.

Depending on where you stay now, you should either go for Penang or Vientiane, I'm assuming you got your current TV in your home country, and thus would not have any problems getting a new one in either place. If you're not a DIY kinda guy, Penang would be the easiest, since you can fly there, and use an agent to get your visa, and you don't need a visa to enter MY.

good luck

Morty

I had a "moment" on one of my first visits to Thailand, many years ago. We were down at Koh Samui, and we used to eat our breakfasts at Will wait in Chaweng. they made a banana shake that was to die for. I asked a friend how to say banana shake in Thai she told me it was kuoy pann , needless to say that order didn't go very well. I later found out that banana actually is kluoy. Ever since, whenever I talk about bananas I make sure I pronounce the L.

My family and I are goiing to Thailand soon (9th Nov) and I'm wondering what visa to get my two girls. They are 10months and 2 and a half, their mum is Thai but they were both born in England and have GB passports. My wife and the girls will be staying with her parents for 64 days. The embassy says they need a visa so I was wondering which one I need.

Multipe entry will give them 60 days but then I will need to do a visa run or risk being charged for going over. (is that right?)

Non-imagrant "0" visa would give me 90 days and is the proper one to get as they are staying with family, but is evidence needed? will it take longer to get. Plus it's about £20 more each.

Which visa should I go for?

Plus I will be travelling with them but I will be leaving after a week to go back to work. I will then go and pick them up and stay for another 3 weeks just after xmas. Do I need to get a visa at all (as long as I have the relavant flights) or do I need a multiple entry visa as I as going and coming back?

Any help or comments with any of this are thankfully received.

Cheers

I'm in the same situation as you, my daughter, who is now six years old, is born in Norway, and only holds a Norwegian PP. She travelled with me to Norway in March, and we came back in June. She entered without visa on a 30 day stamp, since we didn't see a point in paying for a reentry permit for her, (I'm holding a non im. O extension with reentry permit) Since my daugthers PP was about to expire, we had to get a new one from the Norwegian consulate in PTY. My Wife and I then went to immi. at Jomtien with the birth cert. (International version) as proof of her having a Thai Mother,and old and new PP. She got stamped in with a one year stamp on the grounds of beeing a thai citizen, she was then on overstay, since we had to wait for the new PP, no questions asked concerning overstay fees. the only "hassle" is that she (meaning my wife or me) has to make the 90 day rapport at immi. for her. Total cost 1900 thb. Witch was the same the as the first time she entered Thailand, in 2005.

On a side note, we didn't fly on a direct flight, but trough HKG/Macau, and Air Asia was asking for a return ticket for her, I showed them my visa, and her birth certificate, and then they ran arround a little to check on things, but after five minutes the "problem" was settled (she had a previous one year ext. stamp in her PP) and she was also a dependant on me, and clearly entiteled to ext. on those grounds. So she was allowed to fly to TH on a one way ticket.

In your case, travelling with their mother, a Thai citizen, I don't think there will be any problems at all.

Morty

I think this could be the way to do it if you're under fifty and married. Given that you have the means to do an "early retirement" but don't have any income to secure an embassy letter against. i.e. have savings, but no income.

also to my post. One my friend tell me story how his travel visa to germany was rejected. Him show pretty good sum in bank near 4millions bahts, property, and lot of visas in his passporte and new eu country long term residence business visa. his visa was rejected - because was said by immigration officer - 'you travel so much'.

Rubbish!

If your friend has a visa like you state, i.e. "long term residence business visa"

I take it to mean your friend has a work permit, or is granted his residence permit as a member of a family of EU origin. Either way he does not need to apply for visa to other EU/Schengen countries.

I suggest you read this link relating to Schengen visa

www.skillclear.co.uk/schengen.asp

at the bottom it states:

"When your residence permit is issued you also get a schengen visa. Remember this means you can only work in the country for which you have a permit but can visit all other countries on business meetings and as a tourist. You might be able to do a little work in schengen countries but not full time.

You will be allowed a maximum of 90 days a year travelling round the EU under the schengen visa but then must return to the country where your permit is rather than back to your homeland."

and then you tell us why he had to even apply for a German visa?

Since this tread is about investment visas, they are also available in the EU these are the UK requirements:

Duration:

A British Investor's visa will initially be granted for a duration of 12 months. A successful application will be based upon the demonstration of your assets and upon your intention to invest in the United Kingdom. The investment does not need to be in place before the British visa for immigration is issued, however, investment funds must have been transferred to the United Kingdom within three months of your arrival.

Upon the expiry of your initial 12-month grant of leave, you may apply for a UK visa extension for an additional three years. In most cases, this application will be successful if the 3-month transfer of funds period was met, your total investment is still worth in excess of £1 million, and any reduction in its value has occurred only through share price fluctuations.

If visa extensions are granted then candidates may apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK (ILR), usually known as permanent residence after four years. 1 year beyond this, successful applicants may apply for British naturalization as a UK citizen.

Eligibility:

A business visa application must be applied for from outside the country and will be subject to the satisfaction of the following criteria:

- You must be in possession of at least £1 million to invest in the United Kingdom. At least £750,000 of this must be invested in Unit Trusts and/or private companies. The money may not be invested in off shore companies, property investment companies, or in banks or building societies, however, the remaining 250,000 (or more) may be invested as you see fit.

- You may not seek employment or undertake work in Britain other than managing your investments.

- You must consider the United Kingdom to be your main home and accordingly spend at least 50% of your time in the country.

- Documentary evidence of the funds at your disposal and your planned investments will need to be provided.

Dependants:

As with UK Entrepreneur visas for those wishing to set up a company in Great Britain, the investment based business immigration route is intended as a permanent settlement option. As a result, spouse immigration and dependent immigration are provided for by this service. Family immigration is permitted for your spouse or unmarried partner and any dependent children, and like a marriage visa or De Facto visa, often referred to as an unmarried partner visa your dependents will have the same rights to education, healthcare and the opportunity to seek and undertake employment as British citizens.

So, the way I see it both EU and Thailand has more or less the same requirements for an investment visa: Cough up 20-25 years of local vages, invest the money in the local economy, and you are set.

Total net profit during the first nine months of 2007 financial year ... stood at about Bt8.33 billion, down from Bt2.16 billion

something doesn't make much sense for me.

The correct reading should be:

Total net profit during the first nine months of 2007 financial year ... stood at about Bt8.33 billion, down Bt2.16 billion

Basically 3rd Quarter figures compared to one year ago are:

Income

Tickets sales increased from Bt 33.5 Billion to Bt 35.8 Billion

Freight sales decreased from Bt 6.3 Billion to Bt 6.2 Billion

Mail charges decreased from Bt 264 Million to Bt 250 Million

Giving a total income increase from Bt 42.1 Billion to Bt 44.5 Billion

Outgoings

Personnel Charges increased from Bt 7 Billion to Bt 7.3 Billion

Fuel costs decreased from Bt 14.8 Billion to Bt 14.4 Billion

Inventories and supplies stayed the same at Bt 2.3 Billion

Leasing of aircraft increased from Bt 1.2 Billion to Bt 1.6 Billion

Flight Operations increased from Bt 9.4 Billion to Bt 11.5 Billion

Depreciation of assets increased from Bt 3.8 Billion to Bt 4.4 Billion

Marketing increased from Bt 730 Million to Bt 850 Million

Insurance decreased from Bt 350 Million to Bt 114 Million

Pay to board of Director decreased from Bt 4.6 Million to Bt 2 Million

Other operating expenses increased from Bt 1.3 Billion to Bt 1.6 Billion

Giving a total expense increase from Bt 41.1 Billion to Bt 44.4 Billion

Total Profits decreased from Bt 959,396,459 to Bt 113,795,430

Source: SET

tut tut! Surely you know the posting of financial facts on TV is frowned upon by those who prefer to make sweeping statements (or guesses) on the cause of a Thai companies increase or decrease in profits.

And your point is?

The flag carrier of Thailand is economically declining, with increasing arrivals (according to TAT). Add to that their soon to be outdated fleet, and the incapability of operating newer planes like the 380, and you don't see a red flag. As a vise man once said: your millage may vary.

Then again, if your main concern is the not Thai people, and you have the means to pay your way, you shouldn't give a hoot.

PS!

Also take into consideration all the jobs lost in the airline industry as a direct consequence of this.