john_bkk919

The wife and I looked at a bunch of remote towns.  Here are some things to consider:

-- the houses always look better on Zillow than in real.  So if it looks dicey on Zillow, but you think you can handle it, you may be unprepared for the reality.  Definitely look at google earth and see what's around the house - make sure it's not 10ft from the one busy rd through town, etc.

-- most houses that are cheap are that way because there are no jobs.  this might not matter to you but you might find that there are no businesses to service you either.

-- in remote areas your bargain house may, probably will, have a lot of 'deferred maintenance' from the previous owner(s).  Here's the kicker: You may have to do that rehab work yourself.  There may not be anybody in that town or the next few towns who will do the work or do it adequately in any kind of normal time frame if ever.  Yes, that can happen.

-- crime.  things may look superficially fine but property or other crime may be off the charts.  see next item, below

-- some towns are not that welcoming of newcomers, some are.  if you're interested in a place I would try to find out more about this aspect.  It can be very important to your quality of life.  i was initially dismissive of this but grew to appreciate it as we traveled around the country for half a year and met and talked to a lot of people, good and bad.  

-- taxes.  always check 'em.  they can vary widely just a few blocks in any direction in some towns depending on school district.

-- medical care.  Your access to medical care might be very compromised in even a semi-remote location esp. if there are seasonal problems with roads, etc.  This isn't a hypochondriacal concern.  The wife and I live in a large-ish US small town.  Should be fine, right?  Well, care for even basic things isn't great and if you have a condition where driving a hundred miles to a better hospital becomes problematic things can get uncomfortable or worse.  I would rate healthcare (incl. dental) options in this town much worse than some rural areas of Thailand I lived.  And yes, that's with good insurance. 

-- finally, only some Thai wives will cope with living someplace really dead and cold and alien.  If they're a lot younger than you, you'll be denying them arguably beneficial educational and job opps by moving even a few clicks away from relative normality. 

On 3/20/2018 at 3:54 AM, Gecko123 said:

Average price for pork today in Thailand is 120/kilo. At 34 baht/$ that works out to $3.53/kilo or $1.58 per pound. On-line, Safeway is currently advertising pork loin chops for $2.99/lb, (89% more expensive than the current price in Thailand.)

rimping chiang mai - $3.06 a pound for pork loin

source:

http://www.globalprice.info/viewer/en/?p=thailand/chiangmai-shop-prices#/chiangmai1/38

comparing rimping and safeway would be apt as they offer similar shopping experiences.  though of course safeway is way nicer.  what's funny is safeway is nothing special in the states, just a standard middle class supermarket brand, whereas rimping is 'hi-so'.

btw the exchange rate is not 34.  more like 31.   

(it's fun to cherry pick prices but in the spirit of honest discussion i'll tell you pork loin at tesco-lotus is about $1.75 a pound.  probably even less at your local wet market)

personally, i'll take Safeway quality control and overall experience at $2.99 a pound 

given that wages in the US are many multiples higher, it isn't a big deal to pay a few extra dollars for _some_ things.  Not having to unwrap every food item with skepticism = priceless.

stuff like roast beef, cheese, peanut butter, cherries, oatmeal, soy milk, fresh salsa, sweet potatoes (some examples off the top of my head)  are less expensive in the States.  so too wine, of course.  

and other things, like good bread or real organic produce, are non-existent in Thailand.  there's also very little variety on offer in Thai supermarkets unless you're in the cooking oil or laundry detergent aisle.  that's something you forget if you live there for awhile. 

makro vs costco?  get real

here's a story that will tee up the haters:

i had a 'hungry man' tv dinner the other day for 120 baht.  the wife had one as well.   not something we'd done up to this point but fun to introduce her to a little slice of my suburban childhood.

she told me (and I agreed) that it was superior to any western food we'd had in Thailand at an equivalent price point.  in fact IMO if you opened a restaurant in Bangkok serving frozen US tv dinners piping hot from the microwave you'd be slam packed with customers.

but i know, it doesn't matter - the thai-er than thai only eat local cuisine, preferably curbside.  you can recreate that experience here - at home, with higher quality ingredients and no recycled cooking oil, for an extra dollar or so a bowl.  

Look...

Even 15 years ago, it was explained to me by immigration, visa agents, visa 'lawyers', consular officials etc that a 1 yr multi-B was for some purpose like "exploring business opportunities in Thailand" and not for people working and living in Thailand full time.  

Of course that didn't stop many of us from living in Thailand on multiple B visas anyway, but we saw it as loophole we were enjoying rather than a right we were entitled to.

Maybe OP always had an agent send the paperwork abroad or whatever, but the process of getting a 1 year multiple B oneself at a consulate might have been instructive and might have made the visa vs extension policy distinctions more clear.

At a consulate you usually had to write down (and maybe show some documentation to support) that you were "exploring business opportunities" in Thailand and would need to travel in and out of the country a lot during the coming year.  That is, if you wanted the holy grail of B visas - the one year multiple entry. 

You didn't put down "oh I work in Thailand already, just exercising my option".  If you did that, chances are you'd get a 90 day B visa and instructions to extend with paperwork from your employer in-country.  Makes sense, doesn't it?  

FWIW they did not care (until a few years ago) that the stamps in your passport gave the lie to what you were telling them, so long as you put down the 'correct' reason for wanting the 1 year visa and had some documents to back it up.

Also, if I recall, ten years+ ago you couldn't get a work permit on a B visa.  You had to 'extend'.  At least that is what I was told at the old immi office at Suan Phlu.  No idea what the rule is now or what the OP has been doing for the past 14 years nor do I care.

To answer the OP's question:  It hasn't been easy for a LONG TIME to do what you've been doing.  

Further, this has been in the news a few times over the years.  One time some government official mentioned that people weren't supposed to be living on the Elite (or any visa) year round.  Caused a bit of a kerfuffle though of course nothing 'bad' happened, at least in terms of the Elite visa.  (I think this was the first iteration of that visa where extending for a year wasn't an option).

More recently, during the post shrine-bombing crackdown, border guards at the southern border were telling people to get on an extension if living in Thailand full time.  According to the powers that be, "border running" every 90 days on any kind of multi was not what anyone was "supposed" to be doing.  Multis were for people who really do come and go, not just technically come and go.  

Make of that what you will.  Prepare your legal briefs amongst yourselves.  But like I said above, I heard the same thing from all kinds of people involved in the great Thailand Non-Immigration game for the 18 years that I was a player/participant.  

UPS FedEx etc will all have the same or similar policy, it's just that they will give you instructions on how to send lithium batteries (or items containing lithium batteries) if you tell them beforehand.

Generally you will need to print out and tape a warning label to the box and also include certain documents like an MSDS (material safety data sheet) which may or may not be available from your manufacturer's website.  If you can get the MSDS, the rest of the requirements are usually pretty straightforward.

This applies to lithium batteries only.  And it is the airline's policy that ultimately stops the package from getting on the plane.    

As for your package that did not contain batteries but got refused - my advice for the future would be to include a packing list that explains what every electronic piece and part is and maybe at the bottom write "no lithium batteries" (and be sure that's the case).   

It's become a bit of a chore to send lithium batteries or electronics containing lithium batteries in the last few years.

No, this is common with them.  Personally I paid by bank deposit at their bank in-country but it still took 5 weeks and a last minute trip out of the country to get it done.  

There's a lot of bureaucracy in the way they do things - confirmations of confirmations, that sort of thing.  Compounded by getting different or half-answers from 4 or 5 people.  I think the email count was ~62 emails back and forth just trying to get a sticker in my passport. 

I'd say their customer service after 'the fact' is about the same as before, it's just that there's less that can go wrong.

In the end you get your visa and that's all that matters or should matter if you understand Thailand really.  The rest of it is a joke as you should expect from living here.

PS:  If you don't have a new passport and are not currently on a particular immi status or visa that causes arcane 'issues' getting this visa in-country, then you might have only about half the trouble.  The silver lining is money is the great driver here so things do eventually get done.

26 minutes ago, torrzent said:

You sound like a control freak. 

You sound like an unhappy person.

OP - I'm glad you posted this.  Your previous post on this topic served as a model for how I wanted my wife to behave when she came to the States.  So I spent a couple of years slowly talking her down from the typical loser mindset you describe and so far the groundwork has paid off and we're enjoying a normal life in a good community with no input whatsoever from the local Isaaner clique.  Like your wife, this is a lifestyle choice she now sees the value of herself.  Thanks again.

Sorry, I was quoting SPREX (above) and only on the point of US law.

As for Thai law, I think SPREX was referring to the legal code at the link he provided which says something about 'copy of registered address' being required.  Article 8, section 2(a).

But I take it from what you're saying the CAAT form doesn't actually ask for proof of address at all.

"Tourists can't subscribe as per the seconded document residence certification shall be proved ( it is the same situation in USA by the last Done law issued in 2016)"

Well, my understanding is that foreign tourists can easily register when they get to the US (registration must be from US IP address).  It takes a couple minutes and 5 bucks using the hotel wifi and a credit/debit card.  No proof of residence or anything else required.  Then you write your registration number on the drone with a sharpie or better yet attach a label with some tape.  That's it.

Enforcement of this 'registration' is nil - they do not come around and check.  Of course if you have an 'incident' your lack of registration may become an issue, assuming they find you.

Personally I don't think the US FAA is in compliance with the court order of last year or their own regulations which prohibit them from ruling over 'model aircraft'.  

But it's probably better for a tourist to register, given how easy the US process is, than risk consequences.

more info here:  http://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov/2016/06/20/faa-non-citizen-registration/

9 hours ago, mogandave said:

 

When I went to Engineering school at Cal Poly there were a number of Thai students and while they struggled some with the language, they received no special treatment and they seemed to do well. Of course that was 25 years ago, perhaps the Thai educational has deteriorated significantly since then.
 

 

Fair enough.  But why were they at Cal Poly?   Could be a lot of reasons but many Thais do value the foreign degree over a local one for reasons beyond face and language acquisition.

Something that supports your point: I had a friend who studied abroad for a year during high school.  She told me that high school in the States was easier than the high school she attended in Thailand.  I was surprised to hear that, even though I knew she went to some sort of 'model' high school in Thailand. 

Quite honestly I don't see evidence of a quality education system in most Thais I meet, particularly those who manage to go on to white collar or professional jobs.  Do you?

In terms of the friend above who thought US high school was easy -  when I looked at her pharmacy coursework at 'Big Name Thai University', it seemed much less comprehensive than what I had to do in college.  Sort of like 'Survey of Organic Chemistry' rather than taking Orgo itself.

What program are they in?

Admissions standards are generally more lax for foreign students.  We had a lot of Thai students at my uni back home but they were there for M.A. type programs.  Seats were set aside for them and the normal entry requirements didn't apply.  They also weren't graded against the native students.  Most classes they took were pass/fail (for them).

They also benefited from inflated undegrad GPAs (acquired in Thailand) about which they were given the benefit of the doubt.

If they wanted to stay for a 3 or 4 year degree (even undergrad) then they had to score competitively on certain tests and put together a more compelling application, which most could not.

Out of a country of 60 or 70 million people (similar to the UK) I believe there must be a few Thais who could meet the standard requirements for admission to MIT (the same requirements that an American would face).  But your post doesn't prove that to be the case.  In any event they would have achieved this in spite of the educational system in Thailand, not because of it.

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

If I understand the OP correctly, he was not on an extension of stay. He was still using the original permission to stay based on the Non Ed visa. Anyway, if departing by air, I do not think formal cancellation of an extension is needed. You only need to worry if departing overland.

You're correct, OP was apparently on the initial visa, hadn't extended yet.  In that case, as far as I know, you go out without a re-entry permit and the visa is cancelled and that's it.  Nothing further in terms of immigration needs to be done.  Though if you think you might ever want to go the ED visa route again (not sure why you would) probably best to sign out from the school so the MOE is happy.

"Anyway, if departing by air, I do not think formal cancellation of extension is needed.  You only need to worry if departing overland."  Yes, I used to think that too.  First, there's two different problems.  One is that Nong Khai border is/was making ED holders show a letter from the school that they had signed out from the school.  This was only a problem if you crossed by land at that checkpoint.  

What I'm talking about is a second problem.  CM immigration (about 1.5 years ago) was fining or trying to fine people who had gone out on their last extension w/o re-entry (and without notifying anyone) and then came back at some later point with a new visa that they were trying to use to get another extension.  CM immi was attempting to charge these people 'overstay' for not having properly cancelled their prior extension.  As far as I know there was 'just' a fine and nothing about blacklisting or deportation.

When I pointed out to my visa agent that charging people for 'overstay' after they had stamped out was ridiculous/impossible/not the law he agreed but gave me some recent examples of customers who had this problem.

I believe this was a 'Chiang Mai only' problem.  I have cancelled extensions of various types before and after by just flying out on them.  But I have never returned to CM immigration nor do I intend to.

To reiterate, I agree with you and ubonjoe that the OP is fine and was on a visa not an extension.

Chiang Mai visa agent told me something similar: that if I didn't cancel the ED extension (by signing a letter prepared by the school) I could be subject to fines in the future.  Leaving the country (without a re-entry permit) was not enough - the extension had to be formally cancelled.  Again, this was Chiang Mai.

If the normal term of the extension has not already expired, or even if it has, perhaps the school/agency could email you the cancellation letter and you could sign and post it back to them?

re: Elite and the 90 day report

They don't come to your place and pick up your passport.  If in Bangkok your option is to email them to set up an appointment, then go to their Sathorn(?) office and drop your passport off.   The next day you get to go back to their office and pick it up.

They say you can use a courier for the back and forth to their office but that is up to you to arrange.

In CM they refer you to an agent.  Other places, no idea. 

16 hours ago, WhizBang said:

While you could easily do it all yourself (does that include taking a Taxi Meter, rather than their limo service?), why?  It's all part of the package you have paid for.
 

At a restaurant, I don't always eat everything on my plate.  If there are preposterous carrots or tryhard potatoes on the side that I didn't want anyway, I might pass on those and just eat the salad and the steak. 

I did incidentally take a taxi to the airport last time instead of the limo service.  Why???  Because the taxi was right there and did not require any waiting, instructions on how to find my place, or advance notice.

I understand that's not a choice that you would make but you did ask the question.

"Even if he just books the car service, he will still have people running around for him. That's how the whole thing works."

That's not how it works.  If you specify only the car service, that's all you'll get.  There won't be anyone tasked with following you around the airport or doing anything else for you.

They understand that some people like the ride but aren't interested in the other services.

The first time, when you get the visa, they ask that you let them meet you at the gate and go to immigration together b/c it's easier that way.  After that, up to you. 

16 minutes ago, Florian42 said:

So next time I will call them for the car service, and tell them that I don't want that their staff to be there at the airport, a bit weird but ok

You can definitely do this.

Lol, the two times I used it they made me walk (at a pretty fast pace).  

Anyway as a fellow member I can confirm you don't need to use their service or book anything with them.  You can still use the Elite lane at immigration if you want to.   It's totally up to you. 

I agree with all of your points.   I don't know why you're surprised, though.  The cringe-y website definitely sets the tone from the moment you apply. 

Personally the long wait to schedule the visa + bumbling (and argumentative excuses about 'internal processes' when I mildly criticized this) was more of an issue than the behavior of staff at the airport. 

The whole operation is set up to appeal to the mentality of the people who made it.  It's not really about what we want, it's about their show.  So just enjoy the visa and pass on the stuff you find ridiculous.

4 minutes ago, Ricardo said:

 

That is one option, the other seems to be to keep it stapled to your passport, and to speak-up if the officer tries to remove it ?

 

Sure... right, tell them how it's supposed to be done (and how would you know?).   It was stapled, of course.

I'm simply sharing info as to what I will likely do next time, which is the easiest thing imaginable - not give it to them unless asked.

On 10/19/2016 at 0:17 AM, cheeryble said:

I am under the impression the TM30 Receipt Slip which goes in your passport stays there when you travel abroad and is simply stamped on your subsequent visit to IMM. My wife disagrees and says they remove it.

Am I right?

They took mine at the airport.  This was at the start of the hysteria, so perhaps things have changed and the policy is to leave it in now. 

Note that I don't think airport immi was looking for this paper but upon finding it they kept it. 

In the future perhaps I will take it out from the passport but carry it with me.  No I haven't been back to do another one. 

23 hours ago, 1337markus said:

Beng. I was visited just 7 days ago. The BIB is still active in our village as there are many farang to meet.

Can you tell us whereabouts that is?

Friend was driving his truck and had a collision with a motorbike.

Unfortunately, witnesses are scarce and the charges are potentially quite serious.

Anybody able to recommend a lawyer in Petchabun?

FYI the Thai check in gal at Swampy checked me in and issued boarding passes for both legs of my r/t flight.  Thus neatly avoiding the issue of trying to check in in Malaysia with no visa and no onward flight.

If you find yourself having to do a border run by air like I did, just ask for both boarding passes when you check in at Swampy.

Note:  I had no checked luggage and I was returning the same day.

Booked the ticket today.  Minor kerfuffle as TG wanted to know what I was intending with a same day r/t and asked me to speak to a duty manager.   I played along.  In the end it was a pointless discussion as they weren't going to note my account.

Nobody had heard of this 'Elite' thing, which was no surprise to me.  I think they thought I was showing them some kind of diner's club card.  Of course my membership in a special club that requires me to fly out of the country to get a visa at the airport did not make a lot of sense to them.

But in the end certainly they didn't stop me from buying a ticket. 

Tim - Thanks.  Does Jetstar have an office at Swampy?

I'm leaning towards flying Thai because they might be the only airline to take my 'Elite' letter seriously and not question the lack of a ticket out of Thailand when I check in for a visa-less return.