JayBird

I wonder if the choice to stay or move to Thailand is less about the aspects of Thailand and more a reflection of the rest of the world.

It's not that Thailand has issues, it's that everywhere else has issues too.

It becomes a question of which issues one can put up with the best.

why do so many teachers need to borrow so much money? What is the underlying cause?

How can you rear end a parked car?

Will the penalty to the rear ender be serious? How would they be sentenced in other countries.

Oddly tough treatment for a very short overstay. Yes, punishment is higher if caught rather than reported, but that seemed excessive.

Possibly a clerical mistake. Either way, the OP should seek legal advice and clear up the issue. If he has proof, he could threaten to write to his local paper to warn about aggressive policies.

Fine, yes. Prison for a month, no.

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That is different category of investment.

The 10 million one is shown in clause 2.5 of Police Order 327/2557  basis for extension of stay.

Thank you for the clarification.

I guess the 10m investment visa is like some countries that grant you a visa to stay when you buy a condo (like UAE or Malaysia).

Although I'm unsure of the benefit of investing 10m in a low yield account as opposed to a higher yield account and then buying the 1m Thailand Elite.

(except perhaps as part of a diversification strategy)

I thought the requirements for an investment visa was 40m THB. Am I confusing this with a different visa? Apparently the latter also allowed you to buy a small parcel of land in your private name.

Provided the work has nothing to do with Thailand,, no customers, sales, etc. The only aspect is you are located in Thailand but could  easily accomplish the same anywhere, you should be fine.

To be super safe, transfer income to dedicated bank account offshore, then transfer to Thailand in a subsequent year. This helps prove the money is old.

oh, and don't make enemies in immigration, etc, who could try to cause a problem.

The lack of seats and shelter is not the reason people flag down a bus everywhere. This is well understood. Can only mean someone found a way to get a kickback

This could be a precursor to an accident. That's what concerns me.

Pattaya is huge. Central Pattaya is like a busy core shopping / night life area. The rest is full of sleepy residential areas and minor markets and shops that remind me of small towns in the rest of Thailand.

When you look at Pattaya as a whole and not just it's central entertainment district, yes, it's real.

I was thinking of trying True Fibre, buy they told me they do not deliver to condos.  I'm guessing you are in a house?

Or is this a Pattaya only restrictions and Bangkok gets fibre?

It sounds like the OP may have been ill prepared to live in Thailand, perhaps making the choice to do so based on visiting (and thus finding out that living here exposes more undesirable aspects that are easily ignored during short visits)

It also sounds like he went into a serious relationship too quickly without time to learn how Thai values and behavior are different than European.

I recommend he learns to accept all the negative aspects as fact and come up with a strategy to accept, ignore, or work around. Criticism will only make him more frustrated in the long run.

With regard to child:  If you want the child to have a good education you will have to pay a LOT for private schools or consider going back home. Not sure how it is in Italy, but most Thai public schools fail to teach important concepts such as critical thinking, deductive reasoning, and responsibility.  (As told to me by Thai people and foreign professional teachers)

For Bangkok Bank I was always asked for my bank book when doing in branch services. Not everything can be done online such as new atm card or large transfer.

So, no one knows then?

Hello all!

I'm thinking of shipping some personal items (maybe 1-2 cubic meters) that have little material value, but I wish to keep (books, old video games, etc.).  I'm planning to ship them from France to Thailand.  It will be shipped to my TGF's house upcountry and in her name.

Ideally I would like it to arrive intact.  How long it takes, does not matter.  Also, I would like to minimize tax paid.  I'm hoping the fact that it's shipped to a Thai name/address and that there is nothing of any real value in there it will get by easily.

Anyone can suggest a good company that handles door-to-door?  And any other suggestions or warnings I should consider?

(Note: I am aware of the fact that it may cost more to ship than the value of the items :) But, they are sentimental so I wish to keep).

Thank you all!

To the OP:

it looks like you came to Thailand multiple times in one year, albeit for a short duration each time.

Immigration does not generally like this, and may consider it evidence of you being a bad person (guilty until proven innocent)

They don't want to take a risk of letting you in and being held responsible. everything else they did was to find an excuse to back their decision.

Remember: In Thailand, all foreigners are bad criminals, especially dark colored ones. If you come more than once per year, you must be doing something illegal.

Or So goes the mentality.

I recommend applying for an SETV each time, or limitting trips

1 hour ago, possum1931 said:

The OP seems a normal decent person wanting to spend about 6 months a year in Thailand with his family, buying a condo and contributing well to the Thai economy.

It should be relatively easy for him or anyone like him to spend a lot of time in Thailand. It would seem that Thailand is losing a lot of long stayers like the OP because of ridiculous visa rules.

Thailand has the Thailand Elite Visa specifically for this purpose. If an individual can not afford it, then they are not affluent enough to be given extra consideration.

I recommend you get the Thailand Elite Visa, and waiting until your funds are secured enough to afford this.

I opt to leave the country.

5 minutes ago, cat handler said:

 

Perhaps you can explain to us what advantage does having your hands handcuffed behind your back have when you hang yourself? 

 

Commitment. You know you won't try to stop yourself when struggling for breath.

And this serves not only as a warning against falling for Thai women, but any woman /man in the world, irregard of nationality, could do this to a man.

For 7 days

Every 7 minutes

7 fatalities

Nokia 1520 here. Still use it constantly. No desire for Google's android or iPhone. Hoping sailfish becomes more supported.

why don't they move to Pattaya for this trade?

with unemployment at 1%, why do they have trouble getting a job?

Last I checked there is a lot more shopping choices in Pattaya than hua hin. So, better for people with money to burn in the shops

YouTube has a few items, including Bloomberg news.

You can get NHK on most devices, which has some good news.

You can pay and stream CNBC, but not useful to most people.

I could not find a legitimate way to get CNN.

Amazon prime is here in Thailand, but only a couple of shows are available.

The biggest issue is that most content is geo locked, and Thai (and expats) are not a major market for most companies, so we get left out. Hence the grey market.

Next best is to use VPN and pretend to be in the UK or usa.