1happykamper

If I was on a boat with you I'd push you in and then later ask how did it feel to have all those people stare at you as you were fighting for your life.

Absolutely pathetic. Shame on those on-lookers

Sounds Iike they are a good match.

Well that's just great. No online appointment system now. Go to the dlt to get an appointment and return about 10 days later... Bug first go to immigration to get the residency done certificate. You are the one in la la land 555. I'm keeping it real. Including my desire to go on a road trip from time to time and rent a car! 555

For a one month stay.. Smith Residence is a good bet. About 9k baht per month Welcome!

But, doesn't RO water mean that EVERYTHING is killed in the water... Including the the minerals that are healthy and necessary for us ?

Morning! I should add to my OP.... Look at that air outside! Pollution! High pm 2.5..... All of Thailand has poor air quality right now. Forcing people to visit government offices in their vehicles 2 times.. Or like me.. 4 times.. is NOT A GOOD IDEA... Just to get a document! Madness 555 555 Is not just about time.. It's about stupid waste of gasoline and needless pollution Have a lovely day.

You're right! 555. I quoted the wrong post. Sorry about that

Typical uninformed response. Hence my post. First visit... 1 hour travel time there and back from Jomtien. Wait about an hour... Check docs and get an appointment to return another day... for how many hours.. unknown. So no... It's waaaay more than an hour

Really? A friend who lives in BKK said last year it was a 3 month wait to get a license ?!

Pattaya is a big mess Yes. If you think otherwise you're one of the apologist types. Last week I wrote about my 4 trips to a very crowded Jomtien immigration office. An absolute mess Yesterday I went for my first visit to the "local" Department of Land Transport... 18 km from Jomtien where I live. The area was absolutely packed! I was there to renew both 5 year licenses. I already knew that this trip was just to check my paperwork and get an appointment date. No online appointments possible. Why not? Moving on.... the earliest appointment was February 9. Oh come on! I figured 2 or 3 days later.. not 10! Several posts have been on this same topic... and that is... Why are the government offices in this area so busy and simply chaotic? With hundreds of people OUTSIDE these buildings they are obviously not adequate. It's no wonder that Thai people don't bother with getting a license... 2 days off work! The respective DLT in Krabi and Chiang Mai are huge compared to here. In typical Thai fashion.... Thailand government wants more tourists/others but has no facilities to support those visitors.

I'm moving from Pattaya to Chiang Mai in the next 2 months. I already have 2 certificate of residency.. To renew my bike and car license... The certs were issued by Pattaya DLT Will the Chiang Mai DLT accept the Pattaya certs? Alternatively... I can renew my Licenses here in Pattaya before my move.. What hassles / legal requirements do I have by using a license to drive in Chiang Mai issued in Pattaya?

Did you get a medical exam cert?

Yes. Last week in Jomtien... Agents were almost as many as direct clients... and they had stacks of passports

Oh I know I was scammed for sure...it supposed to be FREE and i've gotten them for exactly that at other offices. The fact that I paid 300 and you 200 is hilarious 555. More proof that they are absolute crooks!

That will happen if you are using a VPN

The fact that the RTP will travel to Taiwan is indicative of the cops are not lying. Otherwise they would let a sleeping dog lie

Well.. My COR include a frigging photo that glued to it! Why? It's stupid. No one really knows anymore

OK Einstein... When should I have gone? Monday and Fridays.. Stay away... This is basic. .. But I was there at various hours of the day AND I occasionally walk by that place.. It was always a busy mess. So you telling me to plan a pandemic to get in and out faster. Gotchya. I agree on the visa timing. However these items couldn't wait... Licenses and new bank account.

... I should add... That I STILL needed to return for FOURTH TIME to pick up the actual 3 certificates... and guess what... Immigration staff handed me just TWO! Another 15 minute wait while they fixed that cluster f. You can't hire writers to think up stories like this. 5555 Maybe old Monty Python writers would have done a fine job.

This story was born all because of the idea of renewing my Thai drivers license and opening a bank account. Two items which are fairly easy to do in most countries that I have visited or lived in. I've lived in seven countries and visited forty... so I'm familiar with "change". I've lived in Thailand since 2015 and Jomtien Beach since June 2021. So the first step is learning about the requirements. What do you need for a driver's license and a bank account? Both had one thing in common, a "certificate of residency", which is only issued by Thailand immigration. I visited Pattaya branch of Thailand immigration for the first time. I only stayed 10 minutes because it was obvious, at 3:00 PM in the afternoon, that the office was chaotic and full. I planned to return a few days later when things would be calmer. Certificate of Residency.. Thailand immigration is certifying my address. Remember this. I returned a few days later at 1:15 PM. Things were far from calm... . maybe 200 people outside and god knows how many inside the building. Yes, I counted them. Approximately 200 people were waiting outside. 100 people in the same line as me. I call them Disney lines... the lines that weave up and down. I waited one hour and 30 minutes just to enter the building. Keep in mind that I'm 72 years old outside in Thailand steam bath. Then I waited another 10 minutes and a line to get information inside the office. I thought I had all the required documents, but they changed the requirement, instead of a lease agreement, now they wanted a TM-30 as proof of my address. An address which, by the way, I could move from tomorrow. They sent me to a room which would duplicate my TM-30. I waited 40 minutes for that duplicate. Right above the window where I collected this all important certificate was the requirements.... which offered a lease agreement as proof of address. Give me a break.. They sent me back to information, information, looked at all my documentation. They said everything was fine. It is now 3:50 and they sent me home. Come back tomorrow they said, even though I insisted I stay because they don't close until 4:30. Geeeeeez I returned the next day. I returned this time at 3:00 PM. I went straight into the building this time since I had a fast pass now. Slightly less crowded now. I also needed a photograph of me for each certificate 555. One hour and 10 minutes of waiting and I was asked to pay 900 baht for the three original certificate of residency. No copies (could be different in Chon Buri) are accepted at DLT or the bank. One for my motorbike, one for my car, one for the bank. Then they told me they wanted money. And I said, oh, I'm in no hurry. I had read online that if you want to wait one or two weeks, then it's free. No, they stopped that I was informed. So I paid 900 baht and I asked her receipt. No receipt, they said go away! Seriously 555. Krabi.. completely free.. wait 20 minutes and no photo needed. The first time I visited immigration here in Jomtien... the security man, a volunteer, prodded my chest two times. You, you. You wear your mask. I'm surprised I didn't break his f#cking fingers off. Very bad guy. If a Thai man did that to another Thai man... what do you think would happen? A big fight. Maybe death. So now I have my residency certificate which was required by Bank of Bangkok. I went to the bank... Confident I had the required docs.. Passport... Retirement stamp.. Certificate of residency. Easy enough. They wanted a letter from my landlord. Why I asked ? Then they said they wanted the original lease. I don't have that. You told me (a week earlier) I needed the certificate of residency. That confirms THAT! That's the whole point of the certification! I lost my sh#t in that branch on Beach Road. The woman was a complete c#nt. Very disrespectful. Other ridiculous questions and forms were required at 2 other branches! Finally got a new account. Funny thing is... I HAVE a Bank of Bangkok account.. In Chiang Mai... at a branch that was closed down! This whole bureaucratic system in Thailand is a bunch of horse manure. It's absolutely ridiculous. Nobody in Thailand government follows the same rules. In immigration this morning, for example.. and this is funny, I needed to use the toilet. An immigration staff pointed me to the door. Go there he said. Well. The door said "staff only".That's OK, the immigration staff said. So I went inside and a different immigration officer man kicked me out as I'm waiting inside to use the toilet! Funny but pathetic. Foreigners in Thailand remember how well they were treated in their home country and there was.... Consistency. Here in Thailand maybe those that smash up 7-11 shops, or get drunk and pick fights with 5 Thai men have had a tough day in Thailand... all they wanted was Certificate of residency but just never got it. Just guessing. That's how bad the organization is. They don't know even who is allowed to use the toilet! I can see why people leave Thailand because it's a totally f#cked up, bureaucratic nightmare of a country. But I've been here eight years and I've stayed here 80% of the time. There are no better alternatives. Believe me, I've traveled to Bali.. Vietnam... Portugal... Spain... all the current hot spots. Mexico was good from 2012 until 2015... then the cartel threw away the rule book on leaving expats and tourists alone. Thailand. A love hate, codependent relationship. Next week... Renew my Licenses. What could go wrong! 5555 5555

She said sorry for what? Strange indeed

and you know this because you last visited... Last week.. Or?

Anyone got a new license or renewed in the past week? Experience was? Walk in... Get license same day... Or? Pattaya is one of few DLT that has a "broken" online appointment system Thanks

Yes I did. No they won't. I have a nonI visa AND BKK Bank account in Chiang Mai! Bloody idiots can't think logically