sibeymai

Casanundra, maybe the BIG BOSSES don't bat an eyelid because they know the missing secretary(s) are off on "extracurricular activities". Ever done a study on which secretary and which boss appear to be away on the same day ?

Why do Thais walk at such a pace that one could be mistaken they've died and just haven't fallen over yet ?

The report I read from the Bangkok Post cited the reward as USD 25,000 (THB 1,000,000). Sounds more like it.

Hey, only telling it as I experienced it. Maybe there was a lot of focus on people trafficking at the time, but it was made clear to me during the visa interviews (sounds like these aren't done all the time now either) that a girl with no money of her own (specific amount not stated) stood little chance of getting a tourist visa, sponsored or not.

Don't mean to be misleading, guess times have changed, hopefully for the better.

Last year the wife and I wanted to buy a house, in her name of course. Kasikorn, Bangkok Bank, Bank Thai, Thai Military Bank and SCB all told us that they would take our combined income and loan up to 80% of their valuation for a period of 22 years (oldest lender reaching 65). No problem they all said. Having what we thought was a commitment we paid a deposit then went to the bank of our choice to submit the loan application. each bank reneged on their commitment. Of these all except SCB eventually said they don't loan where foreigners are involved, but allowed us to apply and took our money for the valuation first. SCB eventually offered a loan at 50% valuation. Ultimately we lost our deposit because we could not get finance.

The moral from our experience is "Don't believe anything a Thai bank tells you and if it's in writing it's not worth the paper it's printed on." unfortunately it was a very expensive lesson to learn. If you pay a deposit make sure there is a clause in the contract that ensures it is refunded to you should you not be able to secure finance. Not normal practice in Thailand I believe, but I wouldn't consider purchasing again without it. Far too much risk.

Of course, if you can prove to the bank you don't need the money they'll be a lot more generous.

aussiestyle1983 said it best....just apply.

Solve each problem (if any) if and when they occur. From what's been said on this thread you've a good idea of what could be a problem and can be prepared. If you get a knock back you'll be told why and can reapply after sorting it out.

By the way, I believe Thais can now get a one year working tourist visa (similar to UK citizens) where they can work while in Australia subject (I think) to a maximum number of hours per week and no more than 3 months in the same job. Might be useful for your gf to stay longer in Australia. No doubt details will be on the govt. website.

Good luck.

Dear MM and Thaddeus,

the independent funds is to demonstrate that the traveller has enough money to take care of themselves and cover their travel expenses while in Australia. After all, they are a tourist. What country accepts tourists with no money ? In some countries you have to prove you have money at immigration. In this case, it's prove it to get the visa.

In some way this protects against exploitation and people trafficking. Consider the scenario: Thai woman travels to Australia with no funds on the guarantee of a "boyfriend" who, on arrival, or shortly after, ditches her. Even worse, confiscates her pasport, detains her against her will and forces her into slavery. Without money what can she do ? Read the newspapers and you'll know this happens.

The funds are not "income" and don't have to be shown as income. Please stop confusing Aussie_21 on this issue. Simply, the funds must be sufficient for the duration of her travel plans and be under her control. Yes, the embassy will ask where the money came from and it wouldn't matter if her boyfriend showed the money came from him because for a tourist visa there's no need for the funds to be shown as regular income.

MM is correct that as sponsor you give certain undertakings regarding the avaialbility of funds, however the embassy much prefers to see the funds in the hands of the visa applicant.

Aussie_21, I suggest you inquire from your end or in BKK what the requirement for "independent funds" is. It's not that the embassy doesn't want to trust you in looking after your gf's welfare, it's just that they are not permitted to stick the Australian taxpayer with the cost.

From my experience your sponsorship goes some way to guaranteeing all her costs will be met, but does not satisfy the "independent funds" aspect because she does have direct access to those funds.

Best tell the embassy how long she is going and ask them what amount they would consider appropriate.

Edit-in 1999 for 2 months it was 120,000Bt.

Well, Thaddeus, it's not advice I would take myself. However, knowing the the items on the embassy's "hit list", there's no way around the independent funds requirement.

Once it's in her bank account it's in her control. Sure, Aussie_21 can come to Thailand and "escort" his gf onto the plane.

Or, he could take a gamble to see if she really does want to stay with him. If she sucks his bank account dry for 5 years then leave him the 400,000Bt will be a big saving.

But then again, she might think if it's this easy to get 400,000K, lets see how much more I can get. Whatever he ends up putting in her account, for 3 months visit it's going to be substantial. I suggest he check up on how much of it stays in her account, and for how long.

Hi Aussie_21,

I got a tourist visa approved for my gf in December 1999 after knowing her less than 3 momths. I had some evidence of telephone calls between us, photos and letters from the company boss and my parents saying the relationship was genuine. Above all else she was leaving her son here and owned some land so she had reason to return.

THE REASON TO RETURN IS THE BIGGEST THING THE EMBASSY WILL CONSIDER.

For a tourist visa it's not so much about the relationship. Of course, do everything you can to show it is genuine. Second to returning to Thailand, the embassy will want to know your gf has the means to support herself while she is in Oz. This means she must have funds at her disposal independent of you. Normally I would think a minimum of US$500 for each week she will be in Oz.

As her sponsor the embassy will be very interested in your financial situation and ability to provide for her while she is there. BUT, they will ask what happens if you split up while she is there/ If you are holding all the money how will she take care of herself ? Therefor there needs to be a sizeable sum in her Thai bank account before she will have any chance of getting a visa.

Sorry, but this is how it is. Could I suggest you deposit around 400,000Bt in her account as soon as possible. Then, after she gets the visa, see if she actually turns up in Oz. If she doesn't, consider that it only cost you 400,000Bt to find out her true nature. That's a lot less than it costs many others.

#3 ranking is a good effort, but to be considered the "hub of murder by firearms" they'll have to get the numbers up a bit more to make the #1 position.

A few actions which will help:

1. bring Thaksin back and get a mob of Forstry Dept marshalls to escort him to a PAD meeting

2. change the drinking age to 25 then decalre a war on underage drinking

3. enforce the Alien Business Act to the letter of the law and confiscate the assets of any companies using nominees (should be good for a few suicides)

4. give legal status to mia nois as lawful defacto wives (women can use guns too)

5. reimburse police for the cost of ammunition they use

6. continue present policies regarding the south of Thailand

edit- sorry, forgot an obvious one....hire a certain Isaan former prime minister's sons to go out partying in Bangkok every night....this'll be sure to make a contribution !

Just trying to be helpful...we need as many hubs as we can get !!!

thanks everyone. I'll check this out and see what results.

After being connected to the internet (True ADSL) for a while more often than not my IBM laptop seems to get very slow. Looking at the Task Manager I see that rundll32.exe is using all available CPU, usually 95%+ so that 100% of CPU is being used.

Surely this can't be normal. I have licensed WinXP Pro with the latest fixes. Internet searching tells me rundll32.exe is a genuine program and not a trojan/worm/virus/spyware or whatever. How can I be sure the program has not been hijacked ? If so, why is it using all available CPU ? How can I stop it ? If I cancel the process and the process tree it automatically restarts itself. If I cancel repeatedly (50+ times) it seems to eventually stop, but can start up again at any time.

What else to do ? Anyone had a similar problem ?

All you need to get a Thai credit card is a work permit and show last six months record of Thai bank account. They're practically giving them away.

As for safety, a good indicator is that whenever there is a transaction on my Australian issued credit card which originates in Thailand the Aussie bank places the transaction on hold, suspends my credit card and telephones me to verify the transaction. I don't think they would do this if there wasn't a lot of fraud in Thailand.

No fraud on my Thai card yet. Just keep an eye on the person handling the card and don't let them out of your sight. Mostly these days all they have to do is swipe the card then give it straight back to you. Not much chance to make a record of the number.

Samitivej is one of the more expensive hospitals. I think Bumrumgrad charged about 1,200Bt and I've heard as low as 800-900Bt at some smaller hospitals. 1,500Bt at Samitivej is about right.

I had my certificate done at Samitivej and they actually bothered to check things. At some hospitals the doctor just fills in the certificate based on you answers to a few questions.

It's truly amazing that there are some people who still seem to think there is some element of truth in Sobe's story......even after 5 pages of this drivel.

Granted this has been somewhat entertaining and credit to Sobe for keeping it going for so long, but really people, let's not take this too seriously.

Time to 'fess up Sobe.

PS. my revision/reconstructive surgery was a complete success....see avatar

do a google search on "permaculture"...lots of info, especially on land use.

I used to think I was playing chess when I went out to bars, One Night In Bangkok style, but then someone explained that I was mistaken and I was really playing "chest". Only problem was the the pawns kept turning out to be Porns. Gave up when I kept loosing the Queen.

Not that I would ever suggest making false declarations to the authorities and not having read through this whole thread I wouldn't be surprised if someone has already suggested reporting your passport as lost and getting a new one issued, then having two passports, use each one alternatively in a rotating 90 days on/90 days off scenario. No doubt someone has already thought of this, but I would expect the computers used by immigration must have some way of detecting this and the free accommodation you will end up with as a result may not be to your liking.

does this mean all the muslims will be moving out of Phra Khanong / Sukhumvit 71 ? Aahhh....can't wait to sleep in minus the mosques.

The only thing I worry about going bald, which will happen eventually, is whether years of falling off bycycles and other assorted accidents have left me with lots of dents. Ever noticed the variety of shapes and sizes of baldies ? Which one will I be ? At least most Thai guys already know what their bald heads look like....that's one up on farangs.

A fast growing international company in the socially responsible/environmentally friendly investments sector is completing the development of a product aimed at institutional investors, funds managers and personal investment advisors.

The company is registering with the Securities and Futures Commission (Hong Kong) and the product will be licensed by the SFC for the Hong Kong market. An Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) approved product will be marketed in Australia. The product will be marketed to investors throughout Asia-Pacific region.

We are seeking an expatriate native English speaker located in Bangkok to join us in the final phase of product development and launch. We anticipate enormous interest as we establich a new market in the Asia-Pacific market.

Candidates will need the experience and energy necessary to handle the product's potential. A track record of success, extensive network contacts in the investment sector and good understanding of institutional investors and the regulatory environment is essential.

Remuneration will reflect the successful candidate's experience with a generous incentive component to reward success. The position is regional with the opportunity to establish institutional sales teams within country business units. Frequent travel is likely.

Interested candidates, please contact Steve by PM and provide contact details.

There is a wide diversity of skills and experience amongst potential candidates for this position. Since the position comes with a work permit most expats would know that implies a minimum of 50,000Bt/month. However, the salary could be more depending on the quality of the candidate.

Only 1 candidate so far.....hoping to receive more.

After a 3,500Bt bar guzzle, I probably wouldn't recognise my own phone or whether I'd paid the bill either.

Still, inebriation has never been an acceptable legal defence....