TacoHell

during the initial one month extension (visa under consideration), they do not keep your Passport. On the "report to immigration on this day" date, if the paperwork is still not ready, I think you have the option for another extension, but never asked. I just choose to leave it with immigration.

The same thing happened last year, and there is no additional extension in my passport even though the visa extension was issued a week after the "visa under consideration" and the extension period is 1 year from the original date, not a week later.

I am also told, that all paperwork is now processed in Bangkok, it was Haad Yai last year. So there seems to be more checks & balances which in my eyes is not a bad thing.

Im in this process right now, and have done it for 8 years, now have 13 staff, VAT registered. It gets worse every year. I won't go through it all but:

1. Last year and I think every year, you first get a 1 month extension while your work permit and other paperwork is processed. This extension has a date on it to go to immigration where you're suppose to get your extension because during that time they need to make your taxes are up to date. Last year, I still had to wait approximately another week as they were still waiting from documents. This was partially do to me travelling out of country during this one month extension. Got extended for 1 year with relative ease.

2. This year, same as above, except for the fact Ive not left the country, so there has been plenty of time to process. I am still waiting and its now 12 days after the 1 month extension and my passport is at immigration. I am told that they are really checking closely now on all foreign business.

3. Im not worried, as I paid all tax and do not have "ghost employees" and have a fair amount of registered capital.

According to my accountant, who probably has over 50 expat clientele, he has stated that people who usually easily got 1 year extensions, are now getting 6 months. Companies that have the bare minimum to maintain a work permit are being checked HARD.

As a side note, I was also asked to produce my University Degree which I did. For what reason? Who knows.

Edit, for the work permit they wanted a certificate from the orbitor that we do business in his area. Never been asked for that before, and as I got that certificate around 2 months ago, my workpermit expires one year from that date, and will not coincide with my Non-b 1 year extension.

JFK can handle this:

So much hysteria.

Crimes happen everywhere.

Not hysteria, its the miserable lot saying it was her fault.

No matter how drunk, how attractive, how willing she seemed, or even passed out, The ONLY thing a even half decent human being should do is take her to her hotel and make sure she's safe.

It has nothing to do with Thailand, but the integrity of those involved. That's what makes some of the replies to this thread so sad.

Hey Taco maybe put the blame on her parents if you want to justify ignorance. What responsible parents would allow a young daughter to go out in the world without a good understanding of the risk and teaching common sense before she left her home country.Yes we were all young once and we also made mistakes, but the world was different then too. She definitely didnot deserve what happened no one does. But attacking others doesnot fix it either.

Hey lovelomsak ,

How do you assume her parents even knew? I will speak from experience as some people are self-sufficient at a young age. I was all over South America at that age, lots of crazy things happened from being robbed, guns pointed at my head, to having a seizure and ending up in a hospital for 2 weeks in Panama.

I have a close relationship with my parents, but they know nothing about that.

This girl was raped, according to the story.

Not everyone is relying on mommy and daddy to live their lives.

Please engage your brain

Victim blaming: She was dressed as a slut so she had it coming.

Common sense: You shouldn't walk alone and drunk in the middle of the night in a remote area in a third-world country because it is dangerous.

Another old fart comment, 19yrs old, and travelling the world. She did not deserve this, and frankly your comment says a lot about your character.

Another troll comment

It's just common sense as I said.

No, it's not. fishbrando . Please explain to me how much common sense you had at 19? What were you doing at 19? Did you scour the internet for travel advice at age 19? Did you take perhaps a trip of a lifetime at 19? Did you factor GANG RAPE to the equation?

I am going to take a wild guess here, but my money is on this lady at the age of 19, did what most people at the age of 19 would dream of. She took a trip to <enter any exotic location here>.

No matter if she was drunk, on drugs, dressed seductively, or trusted the wrong people.

If the story is true, it's a horrendous crime.

Do you have any sisters or female loved ones in your life?

If so, shame on you.

This I think says it all.

This may feel good but is not really very useful. "So how can I avoid getting raped?" "That's easy, just avoid rapists."

It's better to analyze the situations that lead to rape. Current research indicates that risk factors involve alcohol/drugs, poverty, broken families, and social norms that minimize the seriousness of rape. Also, the majority of rapes are committed by friends/family/acquaintances.

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/riskprotectivefactors.html

You sir, are sick in the head.

Victim blaming: She was dressed as a slut so she had it coming.

Common sense: You shouldn't walk alone and drunk in the middle of the night in a remote area in a third-world country because it is dangerous.

Another old fart comment, 19yrs old, and travelling the world. She did not deserve this, and frankly your comment says a lot about your character.

Of course I do not blame the victim, but seriously, why do teenage tourists think getting drunk in a 3rd world country and wandering around like it's Disney World. Most Thai people have little and nothing to lose, they are not governed by the same controls found in the Nanny states. Tourist need to relaize that coming here and getting drunk and stoned and taking chances is not a good idea. I hope the catch the rapist and throw away the key, but of course, they will likely get 3 yrs, and then only if they are over 18.

You have perfectly summed up the demographic of old farts who spend their time telling others that they should be some Thailand experts at the age of 19.

If I may ask, what were you doing at 19? Were you an expert on travelling to as you say a "3rd world country"?

Thanks MS for the clear and concise response. Great info

Hi,

I started a business here 8 years ago. Its a VAT registered limited partnership with 2mil registered. Since then, we have acquired physical assets worth over 20mil THB. I've searched the net and consulted my accountant but cant seem to get a clear answer.

1. What are the tax implications if any for having a 20mil registered company?

2. what is the cost to increase? Ive read its 500THB per 100,000thb increased.

3. Will this make it a lot easier to get a line of credit or loan from a Thai bank?

4. Of course I have all receipts and VAT paid for the assets acquired, and have reported all income to support those purchases.

5. Any other benefits or disadvantages?

My accountant made it seem like it was bad idea, stating I would have to pay a lot of tax, but it wasn't clear if that was only a one-off payment (500 per 100,000 increase)

If anyone here with experience could shed some light on this it would be much appreciated.

I can confirm, even though its nauseating as I posted in many other threads about this:)

If you register your chip or no chip card HERE the Be1st card can be used EXACTLY as a credit card, including online purchases and in-store transactions anywhere in the world. Its linked to your name and address just like a credit card. This includes refunds to the card in case of product returns or deposits such as hotels etc.

As to the OP's question, you can set the limit to 500,000THB a day for ATM withdrawals or about $15,000 per day.

You can of course, set this limit to a more reasonable amount per day I think 50,000THB is the lowest and you can do automatically by calling 1333 within Thailand.

In the USA for 100% sure, as I've just done it 2 weeks ago, most ATM's will limit the withdrawal to USD $1000 per time. No problem. You just do it 14-15 times one after a another and you get your $15,000USD per day. So technically, you could withdrawal $95,000USD per week on the Bangkok Bank be1st card while in the USA and I would assume Europe too.

Another pro tip. If you are at a shopping market like Target or Walmart or another place like a petrol station where you swipe the card yourself, DO NOT select debit when you swipe your card. Select credit. Again this will only work if you register your card HERE

In any other case for shopping at a physical store, just tell the cashier to use CREDIT not debit for the sale. Cashiers will assume debit because there is no name on the bes1st cards, so before you hand it over, tell them it's a CREDIT transaction.

If you travel to Thailand and do minimal research, you realise stuff happens. Probably more risky to have an incident USA as far as bombings are concerned.

a bit off track, but the sopranos and The wire both have aired on HBO Thailand, among others. Imagine being the guy that has to blur all the above mentioned banned scenes. What a Sh&%$y Job and all to comply with a crazy law.

yeah the 15+ is a suggested rating, your daughter can go on her own is how I read it. You can not like the US where R ratings you are suppose to be 18 by law unless accompanied by an adult. Thailand has some weird laws on movies on television, like censorship of things like smoking, alcohol, drugs, gun play. But im sure if accompanied by an adult its ok. If its in the cinema, its not banned in Thailand, which is the only thing I'd worry about.

From wikipedia:

The 1930 Film Act was replaced in 2009 by a film-ratings system. The ratings system has six classifications – G for general audiences, P for "promote" as educational, 13+, 15+ and 18+ suggested viewing ages and the restricted 20- rating, which requires ID checks at the cinemas. A hidden seventh tier of the system is an outright ban by the Film and Video sub-committee

boring but somewhat interesting source considering current times: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Thailand

My Bank, Harris Bank in the USA you need only to fill out a form, fax or email to the wire dept, they give a unique code to use. After that you can transfer millions of dollars out if you want, not questions asked. (Edited to say you first must have a wire agreement with them, but can do over the phone and by email documents)

Receiving here, bangkok bank they might hold the funds on larger amounts and you just go to the bank and tell them what its for. making something up if you want, buying a house, or condo etc. I told them before on an amount of $90,000 USD it was for spending money. They don't really care just something has to go on the form. Get a copy of the incoming transaction and keep it safe which will come in handy if you ever need to transfer out of Thailand.

Even then, a bigger amount, I did it all online and just had to email another form to BKK bank with the reason. I said buying goods, no proof needed. The wire dept at bangkok bank and Krungsri are very professional, speak perfect English and not the same as the blank stares and inept service you get sometimes at the bank branches.

about 10 years ago i was in the business, the pills manufactured in India and China at regulated factories are exactly the same as the brand names. At that time at least the patents for these drugs did not extend outside the USA so companies like pfizer could do little except sue the retailers for using the NAME, which happened to us, but we luckily got out of it through mediation. It is one thing to mislabel something as Viagra, and entirely another the label it as generic Sildenafil. In our case we marketed the product as generic viagra on a website that had viagra in the name, and it took less than 2 months for pfizer to come knocking despite us being based in Panama.

So, that article is misleading. The best thing is to look at the manufacturer. Generic xanax for example is sold in thailand as Allam, manufactured by H K Pharm, which is registered to produce the product. Sure, some back alley pharmacy might be selling un-registered copies, but in most cases at reputable pharmacies you can feel safe. As stated above, its more the use of the brand name on packaging which gets the likes of Pfizer to take notice.

And, the article is correct about the massive profits. We were buying real Sildenafil for 25 cents a pill, and selling for $12, which was a bargain for consumers as the brand name viagra was being sold for $30 at the time. We'd charge a prescription fee of $50, and pay real doctors to write scripts $25/script. All legal at the time. Some of the doctors were earning more than $10,000/wk doing this.

Too bad prices in BKK are at least double what I paid here in US for Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard Whey (5 lb for $58).

How is it double? https://www.phukethealthshop.com/#!/5lb-2-35kilo-Optimum-Nutrition-Gold-Standard-Whey-Protein/p/1461113/category=664924

$78 and you must consider the ridiculous shipping and import duties you would pay if ordering from USA.

http://www.brecorder.com/markets/fxmm/europe/237464-russian-rouble-extends-gains-to-new-2015-highs.html

that is all.

Note: Russian haters need not comment, and you know why

Edit: spelled Baht wrong in Title

Nytol blister pack vs Xanax blister pack.

Packet is even wrong size for box.

Now I'm no expert but....

glad someone in this thread noticed that. 10 Xanax and alcohol would surely kill you. The empty blister pak is not nytol.

I am in the retail business here, and we get tons of "saleable" items for free. Items we and others regularly sell for 1500-2000THB marked on the shelf. These are good selling quality products and all profit. We can offer these as bonus items to customers on some purchases and it does not matter to our P/L because COGS is 0.

speak english

of course its not billed later sherlock. I was simply stating the fact the card can be used as a credit card for online and offline purchases once activated with the link I provided. If not activated it cannot be used for those purposes. The credit would be the money in your account, the same as a credit card has a credit limit.

for bangkok bank b1st card, you need to activate it for online payments here https://ipay.bangkokbank.com/bblenroll/bkkCard.aspx

After which, you can use the be1st card just like a credit card. Your name and address will be associated with the card.

So if I have a normal debit card I can turn it into a credit card (virtual), without going to the bank?

Yes, the be1st card debit card must first be activated with the link I provided. This will then associate the card with your name and address so that online purchases can pass AVS security (usually your name and postal code, CVV2) After which it can be used just like a credit card anywhere in the world.