scuba2day

I got my yellow book at the Din Daeng district. As I have a condo they used that to get my Thai name (and parents names also) and I did not require a translation of my passport. They required a long term visa (I have an O-A), two photos and a Thai person with me. That was it.  So total cost of the yellow book and pink ID card was 60 baht.

15 hours ago, taiwanatoa said:

No. Your " mistake " is in thinking that all we need to do in order to legally live in Malaysia for 10 years is to pay 900 RM for a visa. If that were all that was required then there would be millions of westerners going for it!  Do you not understand the requirements for the MM2H ?

I have a Malaysian MM2H visa so I know the requirements very well. I didn't say that was the only requirement just the cost of the visa. This thread is about the positive and/or negative aspects of life in Malaysia not about the details of obtaining a MM2H visa.

On 8/6/2019 at 7:54 AM, taiwanatoa said:

ou can get a 10 year visa. Period. Cost is 650RM

How could you possibly get a 10 year visa for 650 rm??

My mistake, it was actually 900RM. RM90 x 10 years

20 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

As confirmed only today > your understanding is not correct and it's NOT required.

I was almost in same situation as yourself and last 2 weeks I worried a lot about my options.

But it was clarified just today that border-Immigration were wrong when requiring health-insurance from holders of a pre Oct 31 issued OA Visa.

If I understand the police order (a translation posted on one of these threads) regarding OA visas issued before Oct 31,2019 the requirement for insurance is effective starting from the second entry. So, my experience and others are in line with that. It seems there have been cases the IO did not understand this correctly and was incorrectly insisting on insurance from the first entry. So, in fact, it is too early to make a determination based only on anecdotal posts.

I was hoping there would be someone with more knowledge of the police order that would be able to offer some input.

I am still interested in the answer to the question would I be able to get a re-entry permit on the existing permission to stay if the OA visa is still valid?

I received my OA visa in August. Entered at Suvarnabhumi on Nov 8th.

I was asked about Insurance - said no have. Given a one year permission to stay and told would need Insurance next time.

This is a multiple entry visa so don't need a re-entry permit.

However, I was wondering about the following scenario.

My original plan was to use the OA visa, entering and exiting several times, with a final entry on Apr 15, 2020.  On Apr 20th, 2020 I then planned go back to my country. This plan is dead now. As I understand the situation if I leave during the validity period of the OA Visa, I would not be able enter again on the OA Visa unless I have insurance.

I know it seems odd and twisted but even though the OA Visa is multiple entry, would I be able to get a re-entry permit on the existing permission to stay?

Finally, if I do exit the country and come back without insurance how will this be handled? Would they cancel the OA Visa and I would enter on Visa exempt?

I know this is uncharted territory. Just try to plan for my travels this year.

Perhaps the person you talked with at your embassy misunderstood what you were asking.

Did you explain you are opening a bank account and need the bank form with your name and address certified?

As with any bank in the world these days the concern is money laundering. So, they require proof of name and address. In the past Bangkok Bank would open an account with a passport and driver's licence.

As you can see from the documents required they now want your embassy to certify your name (Passport) and address. I did this last year at the Canadian embassy and the cost was 1500 Baht. 

I suggest you pickup the form from the main branch at 333 Silom Road and take it to your embassy.

5 hours ago, wolf81 said:

Using TransferWise you might be able to cut the costs likely.

 

For example sending 13k (~340.000 Baht) from my bank in The Netherlands to my bank in Thailand cost me a little bit less than 4.000 Baht. With TransferWise you will not use the interbank exchange rate (which is imo just theft), but instead use the real actual exchange rate. You only pay a fee based on the amount of money you sent.

You cannot send Thai Baht with TransferWise, only receive.

You would not be able to get the Foreign Exchange letter which would be needed for the condo purchase.

While TransferWise has a better exchange rate, they also have a fee which amounts to almost the same as the saving on the exchange rate.

The difference sending 46900 GBP (~2,000,000 Baht) using

Trasferwise and sending a wire transfer to a Bangkok Bank account, for example, would only be 3000 Baht.

In the case sending 13000 USD, it is 800Baht cheaper with a wire transfer. Less the fee the bank charges to send the wire transfer($15-$30) it is basically the same.

The difference between the buying and selling exchange rates, at Bangkok Bank for example, would be less than 1%. Plus add the total transfer fees of 5-6000 baht.  It is likely the Thai Baht to GBP buying rate at the UK bank is the problem.

So, look into exchanging the funds to GBP here in Thailand and sending the funds in GBP to your UK account. Perhaps need to open a GBP foreign currency account at your bank here in Thailand in order to transfer GBP to the UK. The funds would then be converted from GBP to Thai Baht at your Thai bank when the funds are send back to Thailand.  

On ‎5‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 12:02 AM, Curmudgeon1 said:

If Thais are so bad, why don't you go home.  

That has to be the most ridiculous thing I have read in a long time. Where I choose to live has nothing to do with this topic.

Any country that stands by and allows genocide to happen is repugnant. However, to treat the people trying to escape genocide like criminals is beyond repugnant.  I will never understand Thainess and I am ok with that.

"Victims of human-trafficking rings, they have been held in the centre over the past months". More like victims of THAI human-trafficking rings. Just illustrates how morally bankrupt Thai society really is.

2 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Manhunt......Treated as criminals for trying to escape genocide.

Yup...  goes to the heart of what it is to be Thai.

Never use agents.

However, as for the actual requirements the only thing new for this year is the requirement for confirmed ticket out of the country. Can be train, bus or airplane. I did confirmed this with the fellow at the embassy. It also certainly does not have to be to your home country. 

In my case, I didn't have any ticket but I do have a Malaysian MM2H visa and this was enough.

18 hours ago, wealthychef said:

 

Thank you very much for your clear description and quick reply.  

However, now I'm confused by your "clarification."  You said

 

 

I frequently exit and re-enter, and previously my visa was a multiple-enty visa.  The term of the visa expires at end of Feb.  I need to extend my permission to stay as well as permission to exit and enter at will.  You have just made things more confusing for me.  Definitely the visa expires at end of Feb.  Are you saying I don't need to renew that?  <deleted>, thanks.  

If you currently have a one year multiple entry visa valid until the end of Feb then you should be able to do a "border-run" before the end of Feb and get one year from that date. You would then need to get a re-entry permit if you wanted to leave the country. I am not an expert but this is my understanding of how the one-year visas work.

Actually all visas work the same way. The valid from/to date is when the visa is valid to enter the country. You are then allowed to stay in the country for the length of time allowed by the visa. That could be 60 days for a 60 day tourist visa or one year for a one year retirement visa. 

Another fine example of Thai culture.

18 hours ago, MaeJoMTB said:

Not sure why you would ignore that comment.

Islam means no hookers, high alcohol prices and no pork.

Beer in KL costs more than in the UK.

 

I could live without the hookers, but I insist on bacon for breakfast and a beer with dinner.

(not that keen on lamb or goat)

Complete non-sense.

Pork is readily available. Most supermarkets have a non-halal section.

The place is crawling with hookers if that is a priority in your life.

Decent imported beer (draft and bottles) can be found cheaper than in Thailand and about the same a back home. On Langkawi imported alcohol is amazingly cheap as it is a duty-free zone.

2 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

4 hours ago, scuba2day said:

First words of advice. Don't take anything you read on these forums as being correct or current. Some knowledgeable posts here however many are complete nonsense.  In this case, I would talk with the funds transfer department at the main branch of Bangkok Bank (on the second floor) about your situation. I found them to be knowledgeable and they can communicate in English. 
Just as an FYI, you can certainly transfer Thai Baht from outside the country for purchase of a condo. I have a Thai Baht account in Hong Kong which is why I made the enquiries. In the past, there was a different form for inbound funds transfers in Thai baht. However, there has been a Bank of Thailand change recently (I purchased a condo six weeks ago) and there is no longer a FET form. The bank now issues a certificate of inbound funds transfer for all inbound transfers which is needed at the land office.

So this certificate of transfer of inbound funds is issued irrespective of currency? I.e can transfer THB or GBP

No, that is not what I said. The Baht is the currency of the country so you either need to transfer in Baht or transfer in some currency and convert it to Baht. There is no change in this regard. I was just saying the form is now different. 

3 hours ago, smutcakes said:

 

It would be extremely beneficial if you were correct, but i don't believe you are, unless perhaps there are specific regulation differences for specific countries. I have not seen any mention of it in the news, or within the industry and it would be quite  substantial amendment to the current situation i am sure it would garner significant news reporting.

 

Are you buying in a Thai company name or as a foreigner under foreign ownership which has required the FET?

Foreign ownership. Not a major amendment or change, just replaced one form with another.

First words of advice. Don't take anything you read on these forums as being correct or current. Some knowledgeable posts here however many are complete nonsense.  In this case, I would talk with the funds transfer department at the main branch of Bangkok Bank (on the second floor) about your situation. I found them to be knowledgeable and they can communicate in English. 

Just as an FYI, you can certainly transfer Thai Baht from outside the country for purchase of a condo. I have a Thai Baht account in Hong Kong which is why I made the enquiries. In the past, there was a different form for inbound funds transfers in Thai baht. However, there has been a Bank of Thailand change recently (I purchased a condo six weeks ago) and there is no longer a FET form. The bank now issues a certificate of inbound funds transfer for all inbound transfers which is needed at the land office.

4 hours ago, chiang mai said:

A couple of points:

 

HSBC doesn't have a retail banking presence here in Thailand, they closed it down some years ago. Trying to use HSBC Hong Kong as an intermediate step is cumbersome and unnecessary, even if Global Banking does mean it's free.

 

Thanachart is not a large player in the Thai banking system, there's really no advantage to using them as your destination bank since you can transfer to any bank here in Thailand.

 

Foreign Currency Deposit accounts in Thailand can be expensive, unless you plan it all precisely and stick to your plan. FCY transfers to an FCD account in Thailand may be free in some cases (from a funds receiving point of view) but there will still be a sending charge. Also, FCY accounts here require you to transfer the funds out or convert them to THB - if you do the latter the exchange rate is very good, it's equal to the TT rate which is the best you can get. BUT, if you transfer out again or do nothing and let the funds just sit, there is a 0.5% per annum (typically) charge.

Yes, HSBC sold their retail banking to Krungsri Bank back in 2012. It was nice while it lasted.

If you are a HSBC Premier customer then keeping foreign currency accounts at HSBC Hong Kong makes a lot of sense. Purchase Thai baht when the exchange rates are the best and transfer to Thailand when needed. There is no charge for foreign currency accounts and there is a choice of 10 foreign currencies. If you are in HK, cash withdrawals in Thai Baht is also possible for a small service fee. Depends entirely on what the individual needs are.

It not cumbersome at all. With HSBC Global View transferring money between international accounts is as easy as transferring between accounts in your home country. It is instantaneous and is in fact free for Premier customers.

Another possible option as you are an HSBC customer. If you are HSBC Premier you can setup an account at HSBC Hong Kong.  HSBC Hong Kong has CAD$ and Thai Baht foreign currency accounts.  Transferring CAD$ to/from your HSBC Canadian accounts is free. One nice feature is you can setup a buy order for Thai Baht at a certain exchange rate which executes if the exchange rate reaches your target. The cost to do a wire transfer (Thai Baht) to your Thai bank account is $20.00 (115 HKD) plus local service charges and can be done online.

Another sad example of Thainess.

it's not unique just to LOS.

I do recall it is no different in Malaysia, where no ferenghi cannot be in a business, unless it is owned by 51% or more by a Malay

In Fiji, the indigenous ran the (big-business-man) Indians out of town (many becoming refugees to Australia) , and gave it all to the locals

SudAfrika had countless property owners lose all their property, and often their lives, to the majority locals

Financial racism is a world-over problem

Not true. A foreigner can own 100% of a company in Malaysia. There are restrictions on which industry.

There is also a business structure to partner with a Malaysian (50%). There is no requirement for them to be Malay.

Foreigners can own landed property and condos. There is no ridiculous 50% of condo units must be owned my Malaysian either.

There are minimum purchase prices however.

As mentioned, unless you have permanent residency the money must be transferred into Thailand as foreign currency then be exchanged here.

If you get a loan then it cannot be in Thai baht.

So, is there actually a requirement for the funds transferred in to be in a foreign currency?

I have a Thai Baht foreign currency account with HSBC, Hong Kong for example.

Just print the booking receipt showing you paid for the bus.

This is what the guy on the bus wants to see for online purchases.