mfd101

How do you get there from the east side of the river? A boat from Taksin?

2 minutes ago, weegee said:

Create $2 Billion infrastructure for them and do a $12K handout for each Aussie battling on their farm...

There is either a big dust up coming, or they are bum kissing the UN again....Australia should pull out of the UN completely.

This has NOTHING to do with the UN.

30 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

it's been tried by countries with a lot deeper pockets than Australia..

No choice but to try.

I'm currently gearing up for either of the 2 new methods for income 'verification'. I'm not due for renewal till October next year so that reduces the pressure a bit but, if my preferred new method (65K+ a month) turns out to be IT, then the sooner I start on that the better. SO:

I want to open a new account at BKK Bank here in Surin. I have one already in BKK but a local one here will make things easier to manage. The local branch here in Prasat wants a 'certificate of address' from Oz Embassy(!). I have no experience of this so the question is: Is this a normal function of the Embassy? Is it just another stat dec for them to witness (more irony)? or do they do a letter themselves based on the info I give them?

Anti-immigration, xenophobic & generally racist. Yes. But rightwing? Far-right? Nonsense.

Like the Rassemblement national in France & the AfD in Germany & similar elsewhere in Europe, and the Trumpeters in Usofa, the One Nation micro-party in Oz doesn't have an economic policy beyond massive government intervention (high tariff barriers, for goodness' sake) to protect all our favourite pink-skinned voters. Workers of the World, Unite! You have nothing to lose except your government subsidies.

2 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Absolutely excellent advise for TVF members.

 

What concerns me is the number who don't even know about the withdrawal of these Embassy services.

I was at a function last Friday, approx 30+ expats.

4 American, 2 Swiss, 1 French, 1 German, 3 Australians, the rest British.

Only 2 Brits knew the Embassies were ceasing the service, the rest were oblivious to the news.

Hypothesis: EITHER they are fluent Thai speakers & readers & get their news from Thai television & newspapers OR they live alone, have no Thai and watch only 'Western' television channels.

Quite a reasonably good-sized stride forward, I think. Not perfection for those obsessed with the word 'marriage' but an important improvement for all of us in our daily lives: formal recognition of our relationships + huge practical advantages as those above have mentioned.

2 hours ago, colinchaffers said:

they say they were not aware it

Lights are barely on at Thai Immigration ...

6 hours ago, candide said:

RN is definitely an extreme-right party

Depends what you mean by 'right' and 'extreme right'. For me that means freeing up economic constraints & reducing government control & intervention so the private sector can generate more wealth.

Xenophobia & racism are clearly NOT heading down that path. They require massive levels of government control in all areas, ultimately even in the bedrooms of the nation. Sounds like National Socialism and 'Socialism in one country' [Stalin] to me!

2 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

"...The mammoth Life Partnership bill –it has no less than 70 sections – allows gender-diverse couples the same rights enjoyed by heterosexual partners, including inheritance and marital property matters, as well as the legal right to make medical decisions when their partner is incapacitated. 

However, Kerdchai said it does not include any provisions related to child adoptions..."

 

Why do you need 70 sections?

 

Define 'marriage' as being between two consenting adults and allow the same, equal, rights for all.

 

End of.

 

 

Authoritarian societies (including France!) prefer to make explicit in law what you CAN do, not what you can't. So the burden of proof is effectively reversed from what obtains in more open & freer societies.

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

France really has two parties: the socialists and the so-called far right.

 

Far right because the socialists are so numerous that they also occupy the seats on the right side, disguised as centrists.

 

Compared with what is going on in the US, on both sides of Congress, the positions and rhetoric of the French far right appear moderate.

 

The problem with Western Europe, and not only France, is that  their populations are getting very old, so much so that the elderlies have a disproportionate influence on election results.

 

It is known that Macron was elected thanks to the votes of the elderlies, and it is probably the same with Merkel.

 

The elderlies don't vote for the future of the country, they vote for their pensions, and they are terrorized by the idea of change!

 

In 2017, the French had plenty of candidates to chose from, and they got the one who symbolized all that they don't want!

 

So, after one year they are already fed up, and will throw him to the wolves like Hollande and Sarkozy before...the problem is that in 2022 there will be even more elderlies!

 

Hopeless...

Yes, the French are remarkably conservative, the socialists most of all! And 'rightwing' certainly doesn't mean freeing up the economy! When I lived in Paris in the 1970s, it was obvious that the social anarchism of the people & the authoritarianism of the Gaullist governments fed off each other ...

Macron is trying valiantly and quite reasonably to free up the economy so its productivity potential - and therefore its wealth creation - can be set loose, but he's almost bound to fail.

7 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

A quick survey last night amongst 8 Australian friends, all using the 800k deposit and living on the old age pension. 8/8 said they would switch to the income method in a heartbeat but they cannot because the OAP is under 65k a month. 

They are not using the income method because of their substantial wealth, they are using the 800k lump sum method because its the "only" option they can use.

Yes, I think that was rather the point I was making - the difference between having it now and getting it (or not getting it) gradually over the next 12 months.

1 hour ago, Peterw42 said:

Maybe mathematics isn't some peoples strong point, "its the same amount of money" using the income method or the lump sum method, 800k !!!! whether you bring it in monthly or yearly, keep it in a Thai account or keep it at home, you show and prove 800k. the income method doesn't mean you dont have the 800k, make 800k, have access to 800k. YOU STILL PROVE FUNDS OF 800K A YEAR.

 

I can have 800k in a Thai bank and be living on Mama noodles in a cold water, fan only room in Nakon nowhere, and going to a Thai hospital every second day OR I can have a liquid income of 65k a month and be supporting a buffalo and half a village in issan, and donating the rest to a Thai orphanage. 

 

I will say this very slowly for those that dont appear to understand.

 

ITS  THE  SAME  AMOUNT  OF MONEY !!!

 

On the day you walk out of the immigration office with a fresh extension stamp in your passport, you just showed proof of 800k over 12 months. 

 

 

 

You have half a point, but only half. There is a big practical difference between someone who has 800K in the bank now, and someone who will earn 800K gradually through the next 12 months!

I should have thought that was obvious. Money Management 101.

57 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Maybe it's different for Australians, but for Americans, it's perfectly possible to have significant sources of income that do NOT count toward one's taxable income, and don't get reflected in those figures on one's national tax return. It's the difference between taxable income and non-taxable income.

 

Same for Aussies. I have non-taxable income from the lump sum I received when I retired at 55 and, since I turned 65, no longer have to declare it on my tax return each year.

The key point here is that, not only is net [post-tax] income different from gross [pre-tax] income, but taxable and non-taxable incomes are different too. So what shows on your tax return/statement etc is not necessarily the whole story. Of course, if you're well over the minimum Thai requirement, then it's not a problem. But those who are close to the margin need to think through carefully what the various documents of verification are going to show. Some will carry you over the line, some will not.

Very entertaining. Between the lier & the fool it's hard to know who to sympathize with.

56 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Today I have contacted the Australian Attorney Generals Department who is the controlling body for the Government Statutory Declarations Act and have asked about who I can go to to have a Commonwealth of Australia Statutory Declaration signature witnessed if the notarial section of the Australian Embassy in Bangkok refuses to witness my signature. When I get a reply I will post it on here which I believe will not be before Monday or even Wednesday as everyone stops in Australia for a horse race called the Melbourne Cup which is run on Tuesday 6th.

Which rather puts us in our place as to Aussie priorities ...

Anyway, looking forward to the response from Canberra. The notion that you'll get anything of substance in less than 3 or 4 weeks is (I think) unrealistic. You may get a holding reply ("We have noted your letter/email and have these matters under consideration") or a get-stuffed reply ("Thank you for your correspondence on this matter. It has been drawn to the attention of the AG/Minister Assisting/relevant section") or a get-lost reply ("The relevant powers were delegated to the MFAT in 1967. How they are enforced/acted upon is a matter for the MFAT. Your correspondence has been drawn to the attention of his office").

But anything of substance would (I guess) involve consultation between AG's & DFAT & that could take weeks or months. They will be in no particular hurry. You wouldn't want them to get it wrong.

If you really want action, you need to make the matter a POLITICAL one for the Oz government (who are only a few weeks away from an election they are highly likely to lose). You should write to The Australian newspaper or contact their correspondent in Thailand - setting out THE FACTS of the matter as far as is currently known and pointing out the prospective EFFECTS on several thousand elderly & law-abiding Australians. Remember that, in the modern Western world, if you're not either a victim or a heros, you have no status and noone gives a damn. Good luck.

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

I seriously think this is a legal liability issue, not much to do with immigration or funds etc.

 

A lawyer somewhere has pointed out that, at the moment, nobody is liable for a income claims. Immigration want the embassies to be liable, embassies want immigration to be liable. 

Its to do with who can be held accountable if an expat becomes Thailands most wanted and questions are asked, how did this guy get in, who verified his income etc.

Given that Embassies/Consulates are the sovereign territory of the country they represent, the liability you're talking about is in reality a political or public relations one, not a legal or judicial one. (As the Turks have recently been reminded in regard to the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.)

30 minutes ago, Media1 said:

A stat dec is a legal binding letter. Every citizen has the right to use. I can prove the amount via a linked AU GOV website. Embassy can not legally refuse a citizen. I will call Monday

Looking forward to your report after Monday.

Lots of conspiracies around at the moment.

Does anyone actually understand what's involved in having a conspiracy? [ie BRAINS + COORDINATION]

Anyone think that's likely in the present instance? Personally, I'ld go for the stuffup.

50 minutes ago, Will27 said:

They (Stat Decs) are still not worth the paper they're written on.

 

MAY be imprisoned.

I haven't heard of many, if any.

Sure, I was merely defended the Australian Embassy against the stupid accusation that it was running 'a stunt'. Which, manifestly, to any reasonable person, it was not. The stat dec system is perfectly well adapted to many functions. It used to be accepted by Thai Immigration for the purposes we know. Apparently it no longer is.

This is not the basis for an accusation that the Oz Embassy (or indeed any other Embassy) was/is running a stunt, a racket, lying, misleading or any other nonsense.  The responsibility for those kinds of sins & crimes lies with individual expats exploiting the weakness of Thai law enforcement for their own purposes.

Whether particular embassies are helpful & friendly to their expat citizens is another matter. My experience of the Oz Emb is that their service is coolly efficient & useful. Their new appointments system works well. No complaints.