swissbie

Sorry to ask again, their had been many threads about this already, but i'm not sure if i remember correctly. I want to send my daughter (adult) to KL for a Passport swap. Her Thai Passport is new and yet unused. Leaving Bangkok she has to use her Swiss Passport at the Immigration. But using the Thai Passport for check in and booking or has she to use the Swiss Passport for check in too an from there on to use the Thai Passport (enter and leave KL, return to Bangkok)? Thanks for information.

In that case a lawyer may be well worth the cost - and depending on use that should be alternatives allowed - such as documents/statements from family and neighbors of the time born and such.

When i married my wife, her birth certificate had been lost. Neither at the Amphoe nor at the hospital where she had been born anything could be found. Fortunately one of her uncles had been a lawyer, but it was still a long and difficult way to go, took more than a month at various offices and quiet some money until we got a substitute that finally got acceptet at my embassy too. But this was nearly 30 years ago, so the OP's wife maybe should give it a try to ask at the hospital where she had been born.

Attitudes by border guards vary, up and down. Currently, it's at a down nadir, mostly because of the paranoid junta. Recently, when entering Thailand from Burma at a land crossing (Tachilek) the Thai official told me I needed to get a new passport or he wouldn't let me enter next time. (I cross often, and have a multi-entry). I didn't argue, as that can never do any good. However, I still have over 30 blank pages in my passport. Even so, I made the 7 hr. trip and paid nearly $200 to get a new passport.

That's the thing about Thai bureaucracy. Not only is it subjective (if you're with a respectable-looking, rich Thai, you get better service), but there is no recourse for a farang if he feels cheated and/or treated unfairly.

Another recent story: An American friend of mine had a problem with his 90 day reporting. He called me up (I was again vacationing in Burma) alarmed. I cut short my Burma trip, rushed back to thailand (2 hrs traveling) and accompanied him to the Thai Imm office. This time he got lucky, and got a different official to look at his papers. She smiled and said all was fine. ....just added proof, if any were needed, of the subjectivity of Thai Imm. Problematic.

Would love to have you as a friend. Imagine, cutting short an overseas vacation to rush back home so you can accompany a friend to immigration to resolve a 90-day reporting issue. You are probably one in a million.

A two hours Myanmar/Thailand bordertrip is hardly cutting short an overseas travel. But still ok tough to help a friend with his 90 day reporting problems.

Jomtien is open for business as per usual and of course the line-up was huge !

I arrived 7 am, an hour before the doors normally open (at 8). There were 6 people already there waiting. By 7:15 there was nearly 30 people in line. They started letting people in early so we could wait inside with the aircon. Some of the desks started calling for people at 8:20. I was #4 for the 90 Day desk and before the first person was called I saw people with numbers in the high 50s walking by (including one guy who looked Thai and was holding a Swiss passport and holding #458 but trying to stand in front of the desk hoping to squeeze in before anyone else - didn't work). They had 2 people on the 90 day desk and I was done by 08:34.

Walked outside and the line up was nearly to the gate at the far end of the parking lot ! One drawback to arriving early was I didn't think about how many people would arrive after me and park their motos behind mine. Must plan better next time and park in a spot where it'll be easier to get out of !

Best plan is trying to avoid such busy days..

What are the government going to do when, like the 1930's dustbowl in America, you could have millions of Thais relocating south in search of water and employment? It has the potential to be a disaster of epic proportions if the rains don't come! It could easily be as big as the migrant crisis in Europe or even bigger.

Bull shit. After the big floods it was discussed about removing the capital to the northeast, now you're talking about millions relocating to the south. Panicing has never been a good solution. OP, i completely agree with your statement, except about the epic dimensions. Droughts in the northeast had happened since ever. But yes, there are more and more people, more industries, more farmland, more wastement. Try to store some water hidden, as people do with personal fridges..

Some immigration office only do a 90 day report to the date the extension ends.

I have had that done when my report date would of been after the the date my extension based upon marriage ends. The last time they did it I did my extension and 90 report 2 weeks before my extension was ending. Then they only did the next report date to the report back date on the under consideration stamp. (about 45 day later),

Last year they did not change the date and it was just before my report back date.

I always get the full 90 days (Nakorn Pathom), but with a handwritten remark on the 90-days-slip if the extension is due in the mean time. I don't know how they handle it when the 90-days-report is done online, as i've not tried it yet.

I have heard of people having the wrong date stamped on their entry into Thailand (I always check it has been done correctly) but never the lack of any entry stamp at all. To be honest, I can understand the skepticism of some members at your account. Not only was there no entry stamp, but the visa was not stamped used. The only logical explanation I can think of is that you returned to Thailand without going through immigration on the Thai side. This has been known to happen, but you should remember if you did that.

You're right, this happened quiet often to inexperienced travellers crossing the border by boat from Kuala Perlis to Satun and forgot to go to the immigration. But this was more than 20 years ago, i think, this should have been changed by now (though i don't know).

It is mainly supermarkets and 7elevens, a bit like the old halfpenny in the UK which took years to get rid of.

I have over 300 bahts worth, all bagged, but I do not have the balls to go into a 7eleven or supermarket, asking them if they want to exchange them, and certainly would not use them for a purchase !

99.75 Baht is much cheaper than 100 Baht, that's the reason these coins are still used. Best way to get rid of them; in most supermarkets they have these charity boxes, so you don't have to carry them in your pocket or worse, count them.

To update the bank book there is no need to make a deposit (or withdrawl), they can type in the date manually, therefore you wouldn't need a new letter from the bank.

So what if they notice her overstay! Are they going to deport her? No way! They might get a bit interested but she is Thai and they are dragging their feet doing their duty.

It took me 6 months for me to get a new ID card for a Thai woman who was born here and lived 30+ years overseas. They danced and ran around but I was polite and persistent and they had to do it and she is now very happy.

Finish the Thai ID Card and her Thai passport and exit Thailand to anywhere on her existing US passport. Reenter on her Thai passport and live happily ever after!

As long as the Amphoe hasn't issued a Thai ID she isn't registered as a Thai citizien, so she has to worry about her overstay as March 20. is approaching fast.

Are you writing 'UK' on the address? Somebody once told me that UK is the code for the Ukraine. I'm not sure how true this is but that might be where your mail is going. I normally write United Kingdom in full on any mail I send.

Thats interesting, as my Posts Office didnt know what the "United Kingdom" was and asked for UK, but ideally Great Britain as thats what they use in their system.

If you look on the Thai Post website, in their list of countries its "Great Britain".

Shouldnt matter, the post code is the important bit of info.

It matters, as many post codes are used severel times worldwide. For UK it's usually GB, UA for the Ukraine (never UK). I never missed anything, neither letters nor parcels, from an to Thailand (within the last 30 years).

There's no restriction, it would hurt government earnings too much. As of tax rises every shop is normally forced to raise prices immediately, especially 7/11 and all the big stores selling with sales slips, they have to pay the higher taxes without delay. But most of the small shops take also advantage, always enjoying some extra profit (telling you that they have to obey the law and they fear controlls, but that's another story..).

Im pretty sure they (the stores) pay the tax when they purchase the cigarettes from the supplier. Paying tax when they are sold makes no sense. How would they possibly keep track of that?

The whole reason they were limiting the amount at the one store was because they could sell them at the new rate later even though they paid the old tax rate.

Why should it be difficult to keep track? Everything is registered, easy to controll. As I wanted to be sure of my answer it took some time as i went to discuss this with two owners of 7/11 franchises. Yes, normally they pay taxes when they purchase the cigarettes from the suppliers, but contrary to (most) western countries in case of tax increases they have to calculate the new prices immediately, including the ones they bought before the tax increase. They can't hide anything, that's also the reason you can't get alcoholics between 2 and 5pm (except they would sell and wait with the registration/receipt until 5pm). Surely not every item bought in all the shops nationwide will be controlled, but for them it's just too much of a risk.

There's no restriction, it would hurt government earnings too much. As of tax rises every shop is normally forced to raise prices immediately, especially 7/11 and all the big stores selling with sales slips, they have to pay the higher taxes without delay. But most of the small shops take also advantage, always enjoying some extra profit (telling you that they have to obey the law and they fear controlls, but that's another story..).

I have used the same pictures every year for the last 3 years only changed when I moved .

Every office is different. It is not helpful to state your experience at one office.

Yes, every office is different, every officer is different, sometimes it maybe even depends on sympathie/antipathie. If they want new photos they want them. Last week i went for three extensions to the N.Pathom IO, done in 15 minutes. They didn't care about the photos, as there is no real need for them anymore since they take pictures at the IO and they can compare them on the screen with the ones from last year.

Country of residence i always write Thailand, because that's where my only adress is. Point of embarkation depends if i had a non-stop flight or not. If i make an extension, they ask for the transport mode, the plane number has to be the one which i entered Thailand, so even if i came from Zurich, when i had a stop-over in Dubai, the embarkation point is Dubai and the plane number is the one from Dubai, not the one from Zurich. Same about birthplace; i'm born in Zurich, but i don't write Zurich, because that's not what's written in my passport. Place of origin in my passport isn't the same as place of bearth (i don't know what other countries it's handled like this). After my first visit here i didn't think about it anymore, never had problems. My country of residence is Thailand, despite not having a permenent residence visa or citizienship.

In Nakhon Pathom and Samut Sakhon is no queuing for the 90-days reports, but extensions and other affairs can be very different. Sometimes very fast and smooth, but if you have bad luck and there are hundreds of immigrant workers, so it happens too that you have to come back the next day. But i got used to this and understand, that they can't employ enough officers to match these days when severel big factories decide to bring their workers for extensions at once.

I don't recommend KL as a place to get any visa. They are unpredictable in their requirements.

Thank you, that's exactly what I needed to know, I was thinking of going to KL instead of Penang as the flights are much cheaper but I think I'll pass.

Take buses to Penang, it's not that far from Phuket and quiet cheap.

Nakhon Pathom; they just ask for the passports, scan the old receipts, print and sign the new ones. Now queues, as it's seperated, maybe the reason i'm not worrying about doing it online.

Thanon Utthayan, between Phuttamonton Sai 3 and Sai 4 (Thawee Wattana, West-BKK), extremly busy, more people than ever before. Very hard to walk trough, nearly impossible for bikes. As there are not much tourists around here, i don't see any change in attitude, Thais still love great festivities.

That is odd

Which immigration office does your friend use and why are they asking for pension details after he has already received his extension?

How does immigration know about any pension your friend may receive? If his extension was made on the basis of 800,00 properly "seasoned" in a Thai bank there is no requirement to disclose any further financial information.

Very odd in fact.

He has no idea why they are asking for his pension details.

As for the immigration office concerned, I would prefer to leave that blank if you don't mind.

It's not that odd. If you have the 800k on an account which you otherwise don't use, most I.O. like to see from where the money is that your expenses are paid off.

Coils are quiet useful, but only the original green ones (like from bayer or obat njameok). I never use the scented ones, they are quiet useless and i never use them inside the house.

Thanks UbonJoe. I have visited Mae Sot. I will check out.

Since we talked about Chiang Khan immigration I can also add that one building you enter by a staircase (it looked dirty by Thai standards). There are only signs in Thai but I saw a pair of dirty slippers at the bottom of the staircase.

So ... Take off your shoes before you enter that building. Preferably at the bottom of the staircase, where the slippers were, I assume. I had been informed beforehand to be careful with that.

An official part of the immigration or maybe a private one? Over the years i had to do with about 20 different immigration offices (though not Chiang Khan) in different parts of Thailand and never had to take my shoes off.

You did not change from a non-b to a non-o.at immigration.

You apparently left the country and got a 30 day visa exempt entry that you then converted to a 90 day non-o visa entry. You then called it a 60 day extension because you got 60 days more than your 30 day entry.

You need to find out why your extension was denied. You can apply again during the last 30 days of the 60 day extension.

Thats exactly the case. I forgot that I actually went outside the country to cancel my old visa, returned and converted it.

Now I am still not sure why the 90 day card on the left is stamped exactly 90 days but the stamp on the right says 60 days.

Total confusion.

Just do what Ubonjoe advised, don't worry about the 90-days paper. When you get your extension based on marriage you will have to make the 90-days report around Dezember the 21., as you reentered Thailand on September the 22.

I understand you OP. when I first came here I was trying to open same. Even though I had a Thai gf with me that managers an office and fluent English. I kept getting asked for work permit. I was trying to explain that I'm retired. Anyway went to several. Eventually went to main office of big light blue bank. In Shukumvit just down from soi 3 .......no problems. I did have to sign form that I accepted zero interest on my 1 million baht.

Geez thailand

"sign form that i accepted zero interest on my 1 million baht"? Why? If you have an adress in Thailand, you get normal interest rates. Most banks even don't ask for a certificate of residence. OP, you have the right to open a savings account where ever you want, just make them understand that there's no official need for a working permit (sadly most banks have this in their tutorials). I just opened a new account and had the same hassle again. But, never mind, i got it. I opened my first account in Thailand 30 years ago, since then i have opened countless accounts, because i was moving and didn't want to spend service fees for other branches.

Has anyone looked at the exchange rates recently. The MYR has devalued about 35% against the USD in the last 18 months. All they are doing is charging a similar amount when converted to a more international recognised currency.

Yes, it's only about the devaluation of the Ringgit, no reason to get happy for Thai bashers. Move on to the Philippines if you like. They really have lots of nice islands there, but not much to doo. Easy to get a visa, but i don't miss their junk food, the fancy criminality nor the taifun seasons. I also don't miss the hordes of cracy westerners hanging around in Angeles City.