MikeN

^ Given the circumstances and the apparent ill feeling between them, i doubt that his opinion would be 100% unbiased or correct.

It always gives me a bad feeling when I read a farlang giving opinions based on his preconceived ideas and extrapolating them onto everybody else.

Not every Thai woman is a scheming money grabber, no more so than a woman anywhere else.

but for your info, I have known her for nearly 20 years, long before she married him, as she is the sister in law of a good friend of mine. We dated on and off when I was here on holiday (before she married him) and got back in touch after I moved here, so i am certainly not rushing into things.

I have not invested any "big money" in her, nor in her land or house ..... one of the things I have insisted on is that she gets a divorce before we go any farther (as I said in the OP !) She paid for the land herself, and off her own bat suggested going 50/50 in any future house (which will NOT be a fancy and expensive baan falang !)

As for why I am asking here, I thought that perhaps out of the thousands of members there might actually be somebody with personal experience to relate but it's just mostly speculation and wild conjecture.

@khunPer I did find something that says because foreigners cannot own land, any land purchased by a Thai woman married to a foreigner is sin suan tua (personal property) not joint marital property (sin somros) as it would be if married to a Thai husband.  Apparently, until about 20 years ago a Thai woman married to a foreigner could not buy land because half of it would be his so when the law was changed to allow them to own land it was specified that it was hers only and not to be split 50/50 in a divorce. BUT, I have also read that it is subject to the normal split......

@Captain 776 Thanks for that tip about Siam legal.

1 hour ago, blackcab said:

 

Your wife does not even need to transfer the land to make it worthless to her husband. She can grant her sister (or anyone else) a usufruct for life. This will have the practical effect of making the land worthless and almost unsalable (assuming her sister is not aged or very ill).

Well in that case, would a usufruct to me be as good ? We have touched on the subject when talking about a future house, I was ambivalent about it as if things between us went downhill I wouldn’t want to stay there anyway but if it helps to keep his hands off it then it might be worthwhile.

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

You shouldn't be sleeping with another man's wife, end of.

Who said we were living, or sleeping, together ?

1 hour ago, scorecard said:

Where divorce is mutually agreed the divorce can be processed, very simple / quick, at the local amphur office, very small fee.

 

Given the length of the separation, meaning that by Thai law she doesn't need his agreement to divorce, could she not get the divorce at the local amphur office?

 

Just asking?

 

 

Yes, she was under that impression but the amphur office told her she would have to go to court as he was not willing to have an uncontested divorce. He was at home in Europe at that time.

 Hopefully now he is back here he may change his mind and just sign the papers.

@CharlieH ....No, only married here.

@Mavideol I hate to admit it, but at the back of my mind I do wonder if he has somehow heard that she has land and somebody to build her a house, and now he sees a chance to make a few baht out of it.

 Som (The GF ) tells me he is a scumbag who only married her for the visa, but as a “woman scorned” she may not be completely objective about him.

 Som did not ask what visa he is on here now, it cannot be a marriage visa ( that would have needed her cooperation) so hopefully he is on a retirement visa and if he wants to play dirty at least she can take half his 800,000 and stuff up his visa extension next time !

My GF is still legally married to another foreigner, although they have been separated for at least 10 years when he went back home, vowing never to return to Thailand apparently. Her marital status has never worried me, but a year ago she did ask for a divorce which he refused. That was about the only contact (via Messenger) that they have had for years. Now she has just found out through a Facebook contact that he is back here.

 As I understand it any property acquired during marriage is split 50/50 ? Does that include anything bought with her money after the separation ? She has bought two blocks of land that we were planning to build on sometime. Would he have any claim on this land if they were to get a divorce ? I know he cannot own the land, but I would hate to see the guy take half the value in cash. I don’t know what he is worth in terms of assets here, probably not much so she would not be getting much from him.

 I did think of suggesting to the GF that she transfer the land into her sister’s name until she gets a divorce, but if he wants to be an <deleted> that could be years.

 I would certainly want to get it sorted before we start thinking seriously about a house on the land. I have told her to see a lawyer but she seems to think there is nothing to worry about ....mai pen rai  No dear, this is serious !

OP, my concern would be that when you get your 12 month extension it is dated from the original expiry date, not the renewal date ( at least, that’s the case with mine from CW). In other words, if it is due on April 1 but you get your extension early before 1 March it will show April 2020 as the next due date.

 When that date comes around the IO might think that since the new rules will have been in force for more than a year by that time you should have been sticking to those new rules.

3 minutes ago, GregKeo said:

Searat7 you obviously didn't get your moniker from expertise in sailing. That vessel was never a yacht! 

 Have you never heard of a motor yacht ?

52 minutes ago, sfokevin said:

I think TransferWise works fine... Very convenient app, low cost and to date all transfers have shown up on my BK Bank as foreign...

Transferwise use Bangkok Bank as their local intermediary, that’s why your transfers show as international. If you were using another bank here it would be a domestic transfer from BKK Bank into your account.

 As for the cost, because of their sliding scale fee structure means they can get quite expensive for larger amounts. I did a practical test, sending AU$1500 by both my bank internet transfer and Transfer-wise and despite TW’s better exchange rate and using their cheapest payment option I ended up with more baht from my bank because of their fixed, flat rate, fee.

According to your Wiki link, it’s what we called a choko in Australia. You don’t need seeds, just leave the whole thing somewhere dark until it sprouts then plant it out.

https://m.wikihow.com/Grow-a-Choko-Vine

23 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

What rigmarole. Just go to your local Post Office and the new passport comes back within a week.

Well in my case, DFAT stuffed up which meant I had to supply more evidence of identity, and then the application seemed to disappear somehow. Only after putting in an official complaint did anything happen but one thing that is consistent whether you apply in Australia or overseas is that you have to apply in person. So how did Assange apply in person while hiding in the Ecuadorian embassy ?

After the rigmarole I had to go through to get a new passport, in Australia, I am curious as to just how he managed to get one inside the Ecuadorian embassy. Did embassy staff go visit him to verify his identity and witness his signature ?

52 minutes ago, AAArdvark said:

Going cashless will put beggars out of business.

I was reading a story in the Australian media, some buskers are now carrying terminals so that people can use cards as the cashless society means many people don’t have cash to pay them.

 While I did mainly use EFTPOS and Paywave back home, I did still carry small change too. Here I have never used my debit card in a store, only online where it requires an OTP to authenticate the transaction.

17 hours ago, mfd101 said:

My experience of visiting the Embassy on expat business (ie stat decs etc) is that they are very efficient (in & out quickly) and have pleasant & courteous professional, locally engaged staff.

What Stat Decs ? Shows that this is an old article, as do some of the other “facts” ......Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull ?

On 2/20/2019 at 6:02 AM, Joe Mcseismic said:

None of that is evidence. They are just your opinions.

I know you have no evidence because the BE still stands by their original statement as to why they stopped the letters. They have issued no new statement.

You think the other three embassies followed suit because they were lazy, too, or, is it more likely that none of them could do what TI requested?

 

Your so-called "evidence" is a joke.

In the case of the Australian embassy, it is not just Statutory Declarations for income here in Thailand that have stopped, but all Stat Decs for certifying your address, etc, and also in some other countries too. I don’t know if this is because of a change in the law in Australia, or just an administrative decision by Foreign Affairs, but embassy websites I checked at random say that Stat Decs are for use in Australia, or on Australian issued forms.

 From the Aus embassy in NZ :

Notarial Services are provided by the High Commission (Wellington) or Consulate-General (Auckland), where the documents are of Australian origin, or are for use in Australia

 The Tokyo embassy website:

Notarial services are only available where the documents are Australian in origin, or intended for use in Australia. Ensure you provide correct written instructions to our staff. Fees apply.

And of course the BKK embassy:

Please note that Australian consular or diplomatic officers are only permitted to witness an Australian Statutory Declaration being made for use in Australia by an Australian entity.

So for us Aussies at least, it’s not just here in Thailand that the changes apply, and it’s probably just coincidence that it happened around the same time as other embassies decided not to certify income statements for whatever reason.

1 hour ago, golfpro47 said:

When I bought my first House I transfered 30,000GBP in one go  never had a problem. 

That may well have been the case for you then, but I think 50,000 $AU is the trigger amount for AUSTRAC nowadays. I think I remember seeing that figure somewhere, but could be wrong.

 “imposing a number of obligations on the financial sector, gambling sector, remittance (money transfer) services, bullion dealers and other professionals or businesses (known as ‘reporting entities’) that provide particular services (known as ‘designated services’). These obligations include collecting and verifying certain ‘know your customer’ (KYC) information about a customer's identity when providing those services.”

$50,000 of overseas assets is also the point where you ( Aussies) are supposed to tell the taxman, I don’t know how much communication there is between AUSTRAC and the ATO regarding possible money laundering or tax evasion.

 But getting off topic now ........

Re #1, if you have online banking already you should be able to do internet transfer to Thailand, but there is usually a $10,000 limit per transaction so you may have to do several transfers. I can do it through Westpac at $5 a time but some banks charge much more per transaction. You could also just go into the branch when you get home and do one transaction for the whole amount, from memory that cost $30 many years ago. Just make sure you have the correct SWIFT code and account numbers whichever way you do it !

 Probably best to transfer it into an account here in your name, slightly less chance of questions being asked or flags raised in Aus because of anti money laundering and support of terrorism regulations. BUT that may involve jumping through hoops here depending on your visa status ?

 Whatever you do, send it in Australian dollars not baht and let the bank here convert it.

 As for #4, a friend lives on one of those gated communities in Hua Hin and he has put a “removable “ shed in his back yard, but cannot make any permanent alteration to the property.

50 minutes ago, EricTh said:

You can update yourself by keying in the information on the online banking with your bank book details. I've done that myself many times. Access to online banking usually takes only 1 day.

 

There's some miscommunication due to language barrier between you and bank staff.

I know it’s supposedly easy, but it keeps telling me that I cannot register, and to go into the bank. Each time I do, they “update” my visa info and say it will be ok in a few days. No, it never is.....try again. Next time I might go over to their head office on Silom, perhaps the staff there are half competent.

37 minutes ago, Captain 776 said:

It is best to go to your bank of choice and get the facts........all you get here is opinions, some are correct but most repeat what they have heard and it is rarely accurate.

If u go to the bank, you can be sure what you are doing.

Get the facts ? You mean like when I was told foreigners need a work permit to open an account (K-Bank near Nana, and SCB On Nut). Or BKK Bank the other day when the girl could not explain why I couldn’t open another account, just Mai dai, even when according to the bank’s website I could.

 Get enough opinions here and at least the consensus is probably close to reality.

 And as for BKK bank’s online banking, 3 times now they have supposedly updated my file and still I cannot get access, no matter what the staff say and promise. So I take whatever the staff member says under caution.

4 hours ago, khunPer said:

Yes, each deposit works as a special agreement for the fixed term; i.e. if you deposit 800k baht today, the term is 19th februar 2020 where your interest will de added. If you also deposit some fund for example March 1st, then that fixed period will terminate March 1st 2020.

 

Concerning the 800k baht deposit in a fixed account, the easy way is to keep that balance clean – i.e. keeping 800k baht only and withdraw the annual interest – and keep all other savings in separate account(s).

 

I've been using that method for many years, and it works very well, and the immigration officers are happy, as they don't need to calculate anything; and I'm happy, because I don't need to worry about my deposit.

 

At the moment you can get 1.5% p.a. (or more) that after withholding tax ends up with 1.275% p.a. or 10,200 baht interest of 800k baht 12-month fixed deposit.

????

Yes, I was thinking that it would be best to keep the 800k separate and make it easy for Officer Somchai, that’s why I was curious about Bangkok Bank saying you could add funds to a fixed deposit. I am used to getting a new account number for each different fixed deposit back home so I couldn’t understand adding funds, especially by ATM or mobile banking, couldn’t see how that would work.

I have been thinking about putting my 800,000 visa money into a fixed deposit account, and while researching that on a couple of bank websites they mention extra deposits. Back home, a fixed deposit account is just that ....a fixed amount for a fixed time, although you can usually get your money out early if you don’t mind losing the interest accrued.

So how does it work here, if I put the 800k into a 12 month fixed deposit and then find myself some spare cash 3 months later and put that in as well, does that new money become another separate deposit for 12 months but with the same account number and passbook ? Or is it added into the original 800k and all rolled over together when the 12 month term is up ? Or what ?

yes, of course you would have access to all their accounts and services, why would n't you? your only problem would be actually opening the account, especially if you are going to be their first and only foreign customer.

If you are just using an Bangkok Bank ordinary savings account with an attached debit card for your “everyday banking” you should not be paying those sort of annual fees. From memory I pay 200 baht a year for the card fee, plus a small fee of 35 baht for some ATM transactions, such as paying my rent into my landlords account at a different bank. But they are charged at the time, not annually.

 So what sort of account do you have, as it does not sound like an ordinary “everyday” account.

2 hours ago, onera1961 said:

Did you try to open a Foregin deposit account? I already had one bangkok bank savings account in the same branch (opened early last year) and then I moved to Jomtien late last year. I opened another new savings account in Jomtien branch (near Rompho market) and they copied all the information from my old account to the new account and gave me a new ATM card (the master card one) based on my passport only.

 

The banks are just like Thai immigration. No consistency 

no, it was just another savings account that I wanted.

And I've been googling every combination of "Bank of Thailand/ATM cards/foreign customers/aliens/etc" that I can think of, and nothing comes up about this supposed new rule. ????

Is this an extra savings account with another ATM card by any chance ? At the BKK Bank ? Curious as I was refused another ATM card/account by the Bangkok Bank on lower Sukhumwit today, where I have also had an account for years, one reason being that the supervisor claims there is a new Bank of Thailand rule about one ATM card per foreign customer. Something about preventing money laundering ? First I had ever heard of this "rule" !

But as usual....different bank, different branch, different rules .....you could well be on another planet in Phuket !