patongster

Is this common? As far as I know I can not get my GF to extend her visa now, but if they did not put the stamp on her visa I could have.

Thanks farma, went to the site and got my GF to call the number, Lady she spoke to was very helpful.

Hello, my GF will be handing in all the required documents etc for her tourist visa on this monday in BKK, she will be arriving in bkk on Sunday and leaving Monday after handing everything in, I have read that it takes a day to get documents translated (she only has one letter) So can she do this on a sunday to pick yup on monday morning? any info of a translation place open Sunday is appreciated

I'm sure this topic has been covered many times but it doesn't harm to keep people informed of personal experiences. Everybodies story is different. I see many people asking about time allowances, procedures and fees, maybe this will help.

I arrived in Bangkok early morning October 28 and after a quick shower headed to the Australian Embassy. To register a marriage in Thailand I needed a stat dec from the Australian Embassy, basically saying I was free to marry, this only took about 30 minutes to do. This document must be translated into Thai script which can be done at a number of businesses aroung the city. I opted for a translation company just around the corner from the embassy. I should point out that time was a critical factor in my case and I probably paid more for translation services than I needed to in order to have them done quickly (1400baht for 3 documents).

I collected the translated documents the following morning and in the afternoon of 29 October we registered at Bangrak Amphur. I've heard of amphur's requesting people supply witnesses but we werent asked for any. It was a very pleasant experience when we registered and the only delay was having some documents photo copied, which we did at a business 20 metres from the Amphur. It was a bit tiring going from one place to another at times, but if you can endure it is possible to do the whole procedure in one day. Our ceremony was scheduled in Phichit 10 November. In order to apply for our spouse visa we needed to change some documentation. My wife wanted to apply for her new passport in her married name before applying for the visa.

First we had to go to Phichit to change her id card, which we were told could only be done in her province. After this was done we then headed back to Bangkok to apply for her new passport. After the ceremony we went back to bangkok to apply for my wife's spouse visa. To apply for her visa she needed to translate ALL her documents into English. This included her passport, divorce papers, family book, birth certificate, any change of name etc. We were armed with a whole wad of supporting evidence, such as telephone accounts, hotel and flight booking with both our names on, photo's together at places we told them we went, photo,s of us with my friends in Australia, 2 stat decs from friends supporting our claims and evidence of a bank account my wife opened when she was in Australia on her tourist visa.

The application took maybe 40 minutes to complete including payment, which was the killer. As I said, we wanted to do this quickly and at the time the exchange rate was at its worst. The visa actually cost me 52000baht, which is a small price to pay to have my wife in Australia. After we completed our application my wife then needed to have her medical and police clearance done. We went straight to the nearest authorised hospital to the visa application centre (BNH Hospital, Convent Rd, Silom). This didnt take long at all and after that we went to the specified police station for her police clearance. One issue that we were unaware of was that her son, even though he wasnt included in the application, also needed to have a medical. We weren't aware of this until my wife had returned to Phichit and I was back in Aus.

Apparently all children of the spouse need to have a medical even if they are not included in the application. So she had to travel with her son to the nearest authorised hospital to have his medical which basically involved peeing in a cup and some other minor checks, no xrays. Why he couldn't do this in his own province is beyond me. My wife received an email within 48 hours of applying for the visa confirming receipt and telling her that her interview at the embassy had been arranged for 8 December. As you can see she has already had her interview and the only thing they requested was more pictures of our ceremony including guests and pictures of our visit to Chiang Mai last year. I really can't stress the importance of photo's.

So here we are now waiting for the final word to say it's been approved, which given the comments of my wife's contact officer is only a matter of time. She said the usual time is 3 months from date of application but could be sooner. Im hoping for sooner. If any further problems arise I will post them here. I hope this has been of some use to some body.

Hey anymore info, especially booking through an Australian web-site.

Thanks.

In Australia, check out this site people

http://www.phonecardselector.com.au/

You will find call cards very cheap. For example, calls to a Thai mobile, 2 cents a minute!

Cheers!

See my post above if you use PennyTel you can make 80 calls for just $5 a month and 8c per call Untimed thereafter and your also not having to pay 20 or so cents for the local call.

Is this like rebtel and you still have to pay your mobile phone company for calling? just not international rate?

Wait for the US recession to kick in. The oil price story will be yesterday's news as China and India growth slow (fewer exports to US and eventually Europe), and demand for all commodities (inc. oil, steel) slows, and the latent ramping up of oil supplies at that near-future moment finds it no longer has a market demand.

Economics 101. But something CNBC doesn't tell ya about.

Sorry for the edit - forgot to say that defense/defence companies will be the long-haul stocks to watch. You heard it here first. (now sell those Houston and Alberta assets while the gettin's good - steel too - bail on Mittal).

This guy was right on the money.

Hello, for you guys that live in Issan, and to be more specific chaiyaphum province, how is the mobile phone coverage. I recently had an epesode with my GF, where I tried to call her, but kept getting the unavailable thai voice message, the same when the phone is turned off. This is the first time in a month that this has happened. I know sometimes when I call her the reception is not the best, but it still rings and I can talk.

RBA in second Aussie dollar intervention

Monday October 27, 2008, 5:18 pm

The Australian dollar appeared to steady above 61 US cents, and above the five and a half year low it reached over the weekend, after the central bank intervened twice to support the unit.

The Australian dollar was pounded on Friday night Australian time to 60.60 US cents - its worst level since April, 2003.

It closed in Australia on Monday at 61.22 US cents, after the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) bought up the unit in offshore trading on Friday and during Monday's local session.

The RBA did not say at what level it bought the unit.

"We provided some liquidity on Friday night," a spokesman for the RBA said on Monday.

"Did we buy some Australian dollars on Friday night? Yes we did.

"We're not defending any particular level, we're providing liquidity," the spokesman said.

However, it did signal it would intervene again if needed and did so again during Monday's local trading session.

The two interventions mark the third and fourth time the central bank has intervened in the foreign exchange market to support the local currency since 2001.

The central bank intervened in the currency market in August 2007, in the early days of the credit crunch, and in 2001, when the Australian dollar was worth less than 50 US cents.

On Friday, the currency also fell to 55.10 Japanese yen during offshore trade, its lowest point since the end of World War II.

While the Australian dollar ended on Monday at 61.22 US cents, it was still down from 63.91 US cents at Friday's local close.

It had spent most of the session trading around 61.95 US cents.

Currency strategists said it remained vulnerable to falling to lower levels.

And I was wondering if you certified the documents you handed in?

^^^^^^^^^^

Do they really require bank statements for the past 6 months? or your bank statements at all, it is just a tourist visa, I was under the impression that payslips were enough.

No mate, you buy the tickets after the visa has been granted.

I am actually beginning to feel a bit sorry for the OP, but I do think that his comment in regards to the fake degree was asking for trouble. My advice to him would be to make preparations to begin a legitimate degree course if he wishes to make a serious career of teaching. He doesn't want to end up all bitter and back in Australia, driving a tram, like aussiestyle He will likely find work in Thailand without a degree, but it might not be legal.

Don't feel sorry for me, like water of a ducks back mate.

It is a shame that someone who turned to TV for advice has received nothing but abuse! Apart from jdinasia, no one has really answered your question. You obviously put SOME thought into what you wanted to do as evidenced by your CELTA qualification.

The MOE in Thailand has decreed that to teach in this country one needs a degree qualification, that is the black and white of the situation here. In fact there are many people from all over the English speaking world that are teaching here, either because they "got" their degree by means other than attending university or distance learning, or because they have been able to find employment illegally.

I know of several people that have lived and worked here without a work permit in the teaching field, this is possible because of companies like Siam Computer, that will hire anybody that is a native English speaker and pay tham approx 30,000 Baht/month to teach in their contracted government schools. How they do this, I do not know, but I am aware that they allow their teachers 2 days for visa runs every month and three days every three months.

Would I hire you? I would have to interview you first and based on a favourable outcome of that interview and your position in the order of merit you would certainly be considered. There are many ways around the somewhat ridiculous visa/work permit rules and it just takes some creative thinking to overcome them. there are many here on TV that are the "haves"and they begrudge anybody else getting a job without jumping throught the same hoops that they had to jump through.

Good luck to you mate.

Thanks for the information, and the informative post.

I personaly think you would be better suited to working as a club doorman - but you'd have to work on that right arm a bit

Hahahaha, yeah I just noticed my underdeveloped right arm.

1. I am an Australian male.

2. I legally work as a teacher for a Thai government institution & have been doing so for 2 years.

3. I do not hold a degree of any type.

4. I do have "Trade" qualifications, which I submitted to the MOE. These qualifications were accepted.

Well I think that answers my question quite nicely, thanks.

Well said. The OP is unworthy of being a model and example for students.

The same kind of ethics encourages teachers to pass students who ought to fail, and we have enough of that already in LOS.

So I'm unworthy of being a model and example to students. You know me do you? You are attacking my character, and you don't even know me, I could make many assumptions about you myself.

Thanks for the reply aussiestyle1983.

Warning for groups of young boys in Khon Kaen.

These boys are warned that in the late evening and at night a farang is cruising in a large pick-up looking for a gang of young boys in the city centre of Khon Kaen.

He is armed with bull-bars front and rear and is prying on Thai yobs to crush them into pulp for retribution.

Be careful, use tuktuks or your mums pick-up if you have to go somewhere, leave your motorbike at home.

Take this warning seriously!

Hahaha, nice one

Question for the OP.

Why Thailand?

Because I know the Country a little bit, and feel it would be a nice place to teach while at the same time enjoying my time there.

I guess the whole 'When in Rome...' saying has gone over your head. Having said that, if you look anything like the pic in your avatar then I could understand why that may be the case

I understand exactly what was meant when it was said 'When in Rome......' My point being is that if this OP wants to con, trick, deceive, etc..... an employer for a position it is a way to say that he is immoral, unethical, and irresponsible..... as well as a low life bum that wants something for nothing. I sure wouldn't want to hire someone of this caliber in my organization. As I have learned, past actions will reflect on future actions. With saying this I don't believe the OP is trustworthy and as I said I wouldn't hire him to lick the sweat.........

(By the way, it's just an avatar, I am actually in a lot better shape than the country bloke shown in this post who you are apparently trying to side with...)

You are a big man on the internet.... The fact that you have to make reference to how you are in a lot better shape than me tells me your self confidence is pretty low, and your full of shit.

My diploma is just for one year of tertiary study. I don't think it would be to hard to find a fake bachelor's degree on the internet if I had to go down that road.

The fact that you are so desperate that you would even consider fraud suggests that maybe teaching is not for you.

I do not think that your motives for joining the teaching profession is that important, but that somebody is willing to use illegal means to do so is important.

Far from desperate. My motives? thats funny, out of my post you have made two assumptions that are totally incorrect.

maybe you should work at a gym!

Thanks for the reply's.

Haha I did run into a couple of falangs working at Tony's gym in Pattaya, but they looked like serial killers. I'm from Cairns, Queensland.

My diploma is just for one year of tertiary study. I don't think it would be to hard to find a fake bachelor's degree on the internet if I had to go down that road.

I can offer you another dead-end job as a teacher.

Haha but it will not feel like one to me.

Next year I want to stop working my dead end job, and teach english in Thailand for 1 year. The question is would you hire me.

26 year old, caucasian male, Australian native english speaker, diploma, CELTA.

No english teaching background, but I like to think my english level is good-high, and that I would actually care about doing my job to the best of my ability.

ok I didnt read the whole thread, but what about getting a boyfriend? I think if I was ever to live in BKK not having a girlfriend would make me lonely.

Well this is really pathetic now, back in July I was getting 20,000 baht for around $650 aud, now it would cost me just over $900 for the same amount. I feel for you aussies in Thailand at the moment. The SINGAPORE DOLLAR is getting more than the aussie at the moment.

tiirak kittung maak

darling I miss you a lot

thanks mate i wish she would just write english haha like she usually does

thanks!

ok next time i am in Thailand can I open a bank on a tourist visa and use the girlfriends address?