timendres

I have had this happen quite a number of times over the years, in various ways.

I always fix the problem, simply because for most of these employees, that mistake will come right out of their paycheck.

And they are typically not making enough income for that to be trivial.

Given the state of the tables, it looks like another one of those "ceiling tiles" fires.

3 hours ago, BangkokHank said:

The actual prices were as follows: Price of the test (for foreigners): 420 baht. Plus a 250 baht hospital fee. Price for Thais: 350 baht (plus the hospital fee).

You could always go to a private hospital where Thais and foreigners pay the same 900 baht...

1 hour ago, bbi1 said:

What is this "hassle-free entry" service you mentioned? I'm interested in knowing about this, as would be some others here.

I believe the poster was referring to the news some time back regarding police getting in trouble for "VIP Escorting" foreigners.

It should be noted that, in general, immigration officers view the retirement extension as "easier" to process.

In my experience, having done both, it is.

8 hours ago, bigt3116 said:

 

You are also missing the point that a VOA can not be converted into a Non-O in country

Interesting, since I just did that last month, and a friend did the same last year.

EDIT - Oh dear. Wrong again. It was a Visa Exempt in both my case and my friends. I did not realize that VOA was treated differently. I am happy others clarified this.

6 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

You are missing the "Catch 22" .

 

To obtain the non O from visa exempt entry you require money in Thai bank account in your name only. 

Bank account first followed by Non O.

Right. My bad. I forgot about that.

I believe that you needed to convert your VOA to a Non-O visa.

This is a straightforward process, at least here in BKK.

With the Non-O visa, you should have no problem opening a bank account.

My problem is not with "gay sex on TV".

My problem is with the relentless, and excessive, "sex on TV" - gay or otherwise.

I am old enough to remember when all that was needed was a "hint" of the sex that we now are shown in vivid detail.

It often adds nothing to the story, and is simply gratuitous. Personally, I feel it often detracts from the story.

But, I suppose it is a reflection of the modern audience?

In 13 years, I have never been short changed at a 7/11.

At least a half dozen times, I have had to hand back money because they gave me too much change.

Sounds like mandatory fire extinguishers at strategic locations would be a good idea.

I do not remember seeing one anywhere when I last visited.

A friend of mine likes The British Club for Christmas dinner:

https://www.britishclubbangkok.org/the-club-event/christmas-lunch-dinner-4/

Not sure if you need a membership or not.

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

Get bodyguard protection.

This. ^^^

The Thai police, while possibly having the best of intentions, are not going to be able to protect you.

To be honest, most threats are never followed up on. They are psych games. But, you can never be sure.

And do not skimp on the bodyguard. You need someone who is experienced and can handle the job.

6 hours ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

PR holders aren't able to own land.

Right. I was confusing that with the privilege of being able to purchase a condo without showing the funds came from outside the country.

Thank you for setting that straight.

2 hours ago, judokrab said:

Working will give you a path to citizenship.

Working provides a path to permanent residence. The path is very expensive, in my opinion, for its limited benefits.

You have to be sure that your salary meets the minimum (I believe 60k per month), and you need that for three years.

Then you will likely part with somewhere between 300k and 1M baht to complete the process, depending on how you do it.

The one big benefit for permanent residence is the ability to purchase land, if I recall correctly.

As for citizenship, I am not sure, as I have never looked into it.

On 12/10/2023 at 1:20 PM, QuantumQuandry said:

Other than being able to work, is a work visa better than a retirement visa?  Obviously has downsides in terms of paperwork and investment.

Unless you have a real need to work, the retirement extension is vastly superior to a work permit extension.

The work permit does provide some small advantages, for instance in terms of opening bank accounts or qualifying for a real credit card.

But the cost and hassle is hardly worth those small perks.

The Amity treaty does not change the 1 WP = 4 Thai employees requirement.

What it does allow is for an American to own 100% of their company (minus a tiny percentage for the other required shareholders).

In the case of my company, I owned 99.5% of the company, and my brother and a friend (both American) owned 0.25% each.

16 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I have a Thai friend with a son who is at Silpakorn University, they asked me if I could help with a project he is doing.

I asked where/what is he studying, the answer was Faculty of Education.. age 21

After a few texts he came to meet me... he could not speak one word of English.. not even hello.

Mobile translation app only.

I have hired 5 Silprakorn graduates, and all were excellent employees.

All spoke English. Some better than others, but all sufficient for work.

That said, universities here could all use some improvement.