Charis

9 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Yes, but that was more than 10 years back. Not sure how relevant it is to today. Used Camerata's guide to PR from this forum as a guide.

 

Not exactly same as WP, but similar. Biggest difference was the need to have additional documents and any documents submitted had to be certified by your country of nationality's foreign ministry or embassy, then translated to Thai and again certified by Thai foreign ministry to be accepted. So all had to be in Thai, English wasn't accepted. And all had to have lots of certification stamps on.

 

In my case, as the country doesn't think anything outside EU exists and had no relations with Thailand, I had to get my paperwork certified by notary service, then translated by court translator, go to court to certify the translator, to Ministry of Justice to certify the court, to Ministry of Foreign affairs to certify the Ministry of Justice and was in the end supposed to have it stamped by country's embassy in Thailand but instead had Thai consulate there certify it, which was accepted. Like in other cases, they could all of a sudden ask for additional documentation... not listed anywhere... which, unless you have someone in your home country to do it on your behalf, would mean a flight home to get it done and resubmit in 1-2 weeks they gave me.

 

After paperwork was accepted, there were 2 things that happened - they would start scheduling appointments for going through documents and make statements, and they changed my extension of stay from work-permit based one to based on PR under consideration. This made things easier in one way and harder in another - easier as it needed no paperwork. Show up there and you get another 6 months stamp. Harder because you only get 6 months stamp, so any re-entry permits are for only 6 months but cost the same. There's no fee for extension though.

 

During the process you'll listen as they read out to you what will be submitted as a "cover letter" and get you fingerprinted. At another time they call you to come for language exam. And after some time they send you a letter to your WORK ADDRESS as it was submitted at the time of application (so if your company moved, tough luck) that you need to set up appointment in 7 days to collect your PR booklet and pay that 192.xxx baht fee. Usually you will be without passport for a day or 2 while they are processing a booklet (hand-written one, really classy). While your fingerprint will be put on the booklet itself and in some huge book they keep all PR applicants in, you'll have finger digitally scanned to receive the book.

 

They'll need tons of photos, 12 I think. Not just for immigration but also for police (as you'll need to go to police station responsible for your area next to register yourself there - and get a red book with 1 or 6 years validity - they cost nearly same so pick 6 years) before going to housing authority and putting your name in blue book. You can also ask for pink ID at that time for extra 60 baht I think so you don't need to carry passport with you in your province. The number on it indicates that you're PR. Technically you are supposed to carry red book with you (not blue PR book) but it's VERY fragile and I doubt anyone will ever ask you for it.

 

However unless e-channel registered and even then... you'd need to take both your passport and blue book with you out of the country and you'll have both stamped by Thai immigration. The reentry permit (called Non quota immigrant visa + endorsement) are more expensive than those for non-PR, but about the same as if you put 1 year extension of stay + reentry permit together. No fuss getting them. 15 minutes exercise to get stamps in and big boss signing.

 

Overall I'm happy you're considering it and I think it'll make your life somewhat easier.

 

Getting a lawyer to help you through may help, but if you are on good terms with your company HR, you might get through it just as easy.

OMG!  I'm inspired.  You're a super human to have gone through all those loops and obstacle course! ???? Kudos...  Obviously being here over 10 years I have my fair share of such bureaucratic hassles and paperwork.  Will try to go read up the latest on this!

But at the same time, if anyone has agency recommendations to share, please do! Tks ahead.

10 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

No. If your Thai is good enough (and you'll be tested on it), you can do it by yourself. Get list of documentation, fill out the form and apply. Other than checking the paperwork for you and filling out forms for you in Thai (which your friend of wife or whoever could do) I did not see what value lawyer could bring.

Thanks! My Thai is conversational but I cannot read :).  Don't have Thai spouse so...  Any foreigner here who DIY all the way successfully?

I'm all for doing it myself I I could but it's almost like applying / renewing work permit right? We all could potentially do this but it's such a mysterious-black-hole of paperwork most use agencies. 

Yep I know the requirements and we do qualify! But still need a kinda agency for this application right? Any recommendations?

After more than 10 years here, we're starting to think about getting PR.  Has anyone been successful recently and willing to recommend a legal firm to process this? Would be great to hear back thank you!

I order quite regularly from Lazada but just had a first bad experience!  Ordered something which had a picture and video showing how it worked.  When the product arrived, it had completely different packaging and is not the same!  

Sent in a bad review highlighting it was fake and Lazada is taking no action. Finally the seller just simply removed the bad review!  I contacted the customer service and they simply said sellers can remove reviews!  What then is the point of reviews - gosh! 

Such a disappointing experience.  I'm not sure but i don't think Amazon sellers can simply delete reviews... 

So everyone is welcome to sell fakes and post genuine pictures videos etc.  No consumer protection at all???

ubonjoe thanks for your replies.

happy to report back. called the immigration day before but it was still not ready. finally decided to just show up (driving 2 hours!) ... and voila, we were in the nick of time. Everything approved and stamped. was really fortunate for us... on that day they were plastering up more large notices on overstay penalties.

thanks for your reply.

Curious if anyone have ever gotten a new stamp with a new report back date? And given the circumstances, should we get try to get that stamp before this one expires?

Of course we are also concerned if police will check us - the paperwork will not look right! Totally not within what we can do, its nerve-wrecking dealing with this situation.

hi ubonjoe

v grateful for the reply. did u have a similar experience?

This puts us in an awful position then. Starting the whole non-b process will be awful and unthinkable.

And does this mean that if we now leave Thailand at the airport, they will not fine us for overstay?? becoz ball is in their court? There's no paperwork in our passport stating that.

Not sure how feasible is that report-back date extension... has anyone been through this? We are planning to leave before Songkran so it's not a great timing really. We have to get this done in two weeks or so or else we are in a spot!

Phuketboy,

will be great if you could update the end to this story?

Facing the same situation and wondering with the whole overstay penalty thing, how does this look on papers? I also have the same situation with the 11 month extension deadline up and no news from immigration. Due to travel out in 2 weeks and if this takes an entire month - how can we leave?

Appreciate any advice or experience from others...

Hi,

Will be great if someone could advise this.

The condo management committee recently decided on their own to set fees for facility like gym, pool. Is that really possible that such a decision can be made by a small group? No vote was taken - was a bit unfair i thought.

Anyone with some understanding on this?

I hope my experience helps.

My spouse and myself are both non-Thais. Hub went to the district office first time, only to be given a telephone number to ring again. Don't expect them to speak any English. We figured out all the documents (as described in some posts above), and thought we could do it ourselves. BUT, we needed to have a Thai friend come along to translate. We definitely did not like troubling our friends, but it couldn't be done any way else. Our Thai friend needed also to bring along her ID, and house registration. So it's very formal.

It had to be done over two times, first time to submit documents, and second appointment to do some simple question and answer. Its like a verification of your identity. I thought they could have done it in one day! That meant our friend came along and had to spend 2 afternoons with us just mostly waiting around for that.

Later, the officer explained that if the foreigner could speak and read all the thai document, there was no need for a Thai friend to come along. I don't know how true is that. But following their guide, the process was fuss free and we completed it and got ourselves a yellow tabian baan.

Thinking back on this, I really felt this was an unnecessary process for foreigners who invest in real estate here. The yellow tabian should have been given during transfer at land office. :/

tks steve. I've little kids tagging along with me (the mum); making it tough for me to paint DIY. Hubby works full time.

I did it before and it was really tough. But you're right about the contractors. A lot of them are so busy now they aren't interested in smaller projects. The ones free really just wanna jack up the price.

I know there are daily rated workers, but I have really no idea where to find them and if they are trustworthy. Or will I have to spend more time cleaning up after their splatters...

If nothing works out, I guess we'll DIY and shift move-in date later.

We're trying to paint up the interior of our apartment. I'd have like to paint it all by myself. But with small children and all, it seemed impossible task to manage.

Post flood, it seemed difficult to find good painting guys. And I'd like to ask if anyone can recommend a good painting contractor (pm me?). Also, will anyone know what is a reasonable cost per sqm in Bangkok? In the province it seemed as low as 30baht/ sqm but here, I've been quoted all kinds of prices.

Thanks.

Hi apple experts,

I have decided to switch to a MacBook. I came by a poster about Cemart coming next month. Typically are there discounts or additionally accessories given away for apple computers at this exhibition? Any clues?

Where will be most "cost efficient" aka cheap to buy this? I saw some online retailers selling in sg at really good prices. Wondering if I can find one here. Any advice welcome, thanks!

Hi, hope someone can help with this seemingly hopeless situation.

I live in the ladprao which according to my landlord has only 2 mb maximum Internet access from TOT. It's frustratingly slow for anyone to get any thing done over the Internet. I called TOT and they concluded it has something to do with the cables, nothing they can do. And it seemed like there is no other provider possible for this area. Is that true?

AIS said their maximum GPRS speed is like 200kbps or something..

With speeds like that, I can hardly get videos streaming at all...

Gosh, there must be a solution out there I dunno of. Anyone out there with suggestions?

Appreciate any advice, thanks!

Jus reporting back on this... Finally got it all done, after two trips to the employment office, two trips to the labour office .. Gosh, it was work! At one point, they even asked for the translated rental agreement! I refused.

All paperwork done, now waiting for the actual card to arrive!

So this can be done for foreigners employing Burmese maids, they can be fully legal, under employer name. It's a relief for all of us plus maid.

Seriously if the process was a little easier, it will motivate foreigners staying here to make their maids legal... Everything everywhere was in Thai. Every office I walked into had only Thai signs, I had huge headaches since I can barely read Thai. ....

My wife has an Aveo for three years, not with CNG, and it's only fair I warn you that while it's been super-reliable, it's a rebadged Daewoo with barely passable build quality. If you can get hold of a copy, this month's Chevy Talk magazine is all about the 1.6 Aveo CNG. It has quite an interesting spread about the 5-year/100,000km costs of maintenance for the model totalling ฿28,000. As with all cars except the Tata Xenon, the Aveo wasn't designed for CNG, so the tank just takes up trunk space. Chevy's have piss-poor resale value so if you want a steal look at 'ChevyOK' for bargain cars still under warranty.

Thanks for that comment. I saw the AVEO and felt the built wasn't great too... The whole back boot cover just looked like an assembled piece. Both the lancer and AVEO are the same, tank taking up trunk space like cabs.... Noted about the resale value....

Hi,

I'm really a regular city driver, getting from point A to point B. Am considering to buy a new car, just out of frustration negotiating with taxi drivers every day! ;/ they become so picky for destinations at peak hours....

Need some expert advice, i want to buy a car which will be fuel economical. So considering to buy a new car with CNG tank, went to motor show and saw two. The Chevrolet AVEO and the Mitsubishi Lancer. Prices are pretty close... Any experience with either cars? Or should I just buy a second hand with CNG?

Or any bad experience with CNG cars?

Any advice welcome! Thanks!

Hi I need some advice and hope someone can help. Our Burmese maid just got her temp passport, and she was told she needs to get her work permit done in a month. She had a previous quota but now I will like to get her quota under my name, to get everything done right. I called the dept of labour and was given a couple of numbers which all din work. So desperately need advice.

1. How do I find out which labour office to go to? I live in Wang thong Lang.

2. We are not Thai, and are renting, meaning no house registration. Can we still get quota?

3. If we do get the quota done, where should we go to to do the work permit?

If I can't get that straighten out, I guess I will have to hire an agency to do it for us, but if possible, I will like to do it myself. Any advice appreciated! Thanks.

just an update on this, for completeness of the thread.

Our maid went to get her health check a few weeks back, and at the same time applied for and received a government insurance card, which gives her access to the public hospital system here now.

This morning, after receiving an approved quota to hire her in the mail, we went to apply for the work permit at my local labour office. Documentation required is basically a copy of the medical report, a copy of the quota approval, a copy of her registration made by the Ampur and 1900 baht for the application.

We'll be notified in coming weeks on when to come back and pick up the card.

In terms of this year being the final year for this particular registration system, it appears to be true.

The labour office (very well run and managed by the way) gave us a new form to fill in and return by Feb 2010. It is a 'nationality checking document' which our maid needs to submit, and in return, she'll receive (we think) a burmese passport which will allow her to travel freely and legally between Thailand and Burma, so long as her status here is legal. She won't have to go to burma, we think, to pick it up.

But, all in all, our maid is now fully legal here now, which is a relief to all.

1) Looking for writers who specialize in writing automotive topics - general as well as technical.

2) Looking for vietnamese-english translator who can specialize in automotive topics - general as well as technical repair.

If interested, please reply with your CV, rates.

A friend of mine is stuck there in Germany unable to get back to BKK. Does anyone have any suggestions if there's any nearest airport to get to for flying back? Not sure if Thai Airways will allow rerouting... his colleague Thai is worse off, with visa expiring already on date of departure. It's a real mess!

There were flights from Spain and Italy taking off a couple of hours ago so it doesn't appear to have affected there yet although I guess this could change at any time, I can't logon to the live flight site any more so it's probably overwhelmed with traffic.

Saw on Sky today Brits trying to get from Spain to France by land and then accross on the boat or train, which now appear to be fully booked out for days.

Also remember whenever flights start again there will still be chaos for a while.

I don’t understand the apparent complaceny of Wille Walsh at BA when it’s a fight for their financial survival now.

BA must have a fair number of aircraft sitting idle in other countries so why don’t they at least use those for now?.

Surely they could find a redundant military airfield or underutilised airport somewhere at the edge of this ash cloud

they could use a temporary “ hub “ even if its in far eastern Europe and then charter hundreds of buses as a shuttle service from wherever that destination is?.

BA will be flat broke if this goes on for weeks because they have said they dont have any insurance. I feel they be should jumping straight into emergency plans right now. I know it would not be much fun travelling through Europe by bus, but surely its better than not knowing how long you would be stuck say in the Far East or even Australia?

just called Thai airways, (after a zillion attempts) and they said only flight home is from Rome. BUT like the U-Tapao case, passenger has to go there to queue up for tickets with no guarantee of getting one! Its horrid and no solution in sight.

A friend of mine is stuck there in Germany unable to get back to BKK. Does anyone have any suggestions if there's any nearest airport to get to for flying back? Not sure if Thai Airways will allow rerouting... his colleague Thai is worse off, with visa expiring already on date of departure. It's a real mess!

Called the phone initial half hour of realizing it was lost. someone switched it off; tried to message. But realize phone doesn't support Thai text, so I sent English message, even tho' i know its even more hopeless. Will go to AIS to check it and replace SIM.

The Spouse suggested still going to Police. What an experience. For anyone else reading this, if you lose something and wanna make a police report, be warned that you need to go to the police station that has jurisdiction over the vicinity. Else, it's tough tough tough. I got a statement after much effort, managed to persuade them to sign it, will submit Nokia to blacklist the IMEI. I guess we'll never get it back.

*sigh* learnt a gd lesson; always back up electronic devices.

we tried to message - but the phone doesn't even read thai. it comes out gibberish, so hopeless to communicate with the "Thief" at all unless they read english?? it sounds totally hopeless.

yes, wanted to buy the iphone before E71 but it was not available, guess that's the next choice.

*big big sigh*

Hi,

I lost a nokia E71 along suk road. Does anyone know how or if possible to recover this? Will police help track with IMEI number? The phone is not thai language enabled so perhaps someone will sell it away. Where's it probably sold? I've a lot of data and pictures so really wanna get it back. Pls help if u can.