LeedsLeedsLeeds

Thanks a lot Mike, I'll be sure to pop in when I finally make it down there. Fortunately as the weather gets hotter, my workload becomes lighter so hopefully it won't be long now....

I live in Surat Thani, in the town not on the islands.

I've been wanting to visit Trang for some time now and now that the monson sems to have finally finished I may just head down. I know nothing at all about the province, so will I be able to find out everything that I need to know down in Trang Town or will I be surrounded by conmen selling tours?

How can Ao Nang become 'more commercialised?' I was very disappointed with the place when I visited there after a seven year absence. Rai Ley is even worse, all of the nice accomodation has been shut down and there is a massive resort instead.

From personal experience being the same age as your partner is certainly advantageous. The wife and I are both in our twenties and the 'nature' of our relationship was not an issue. If you can prove that you or your family can support her then I don't think that you will have much of a problem.

Thanks Lopburi and Scouser, that's the kind of information that I was after. As I said we'd prefer not to apply for any kind of setlement visa as we only want to go to Guernsey for six months work and after that we only wish to holiday there once in a while for the sake of my friends and family. The wife also loves Guernsey and looks forward to going back. I am from Guernsey (bit misleading calling myself Leeds, I know) and the work situation is very different from that of the UK. Firstly there are more jobs than people on the island and secondly 'work permits' aren't necessary as we have a Housing License system (Local Market and Open Market) in place that issues a Right To Work document. Foreign Nationals must first gain clearance from Guernsey Immigration before being eligable for a Housing License.

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply to my query and thanks especially to KK for posting on my behalf.

The real issue behind this is whether or not my wife will lose any rights once her family name has been changed to mine. As many people have told me that it makes no difference at all as have told me that she will no longer be able to own land. This is a big issue for us as we have both given up teaching and are now developing land that we already own (in her name) as our sole source of income. We know from a good friend of ours that his wife has changed her name in her passport but her ID card is still in her maiden name. They, like us, depend on land ownership for income.

Another slightly lesser issue is that of our intention to spend six months this year working in Guernsey in order to save money for further investments in land. We both plan to work and need to know what kind of visa would be most suitable. We never intend to settle in Guernsey, so any kind of residency visa is unnecessary. What we do require is a multiple entry visa so that we can go back whenever we wish for holidays or family commitments. Would this kind of multiple entry visa be for tourists only and would we have to apply for two different visas for our trip this year and for our future holidays?

Rinrada, legally married in the UK and ceremonially married in Thailand - is that any clearer?