mirko

Hey guys,

Thanks a lot for all the replies!

What I gather from all of the comments combined is that the air quality is pretty poor in Chiang Mai and surrounding areas. Livable, but poor and mostly during the peak months of dry season and rice burning.

One gentleman suggested that even schools stop during the peak times.

I would definitely consider taking a 2 month vacation to south during these peak times, but my problem is that my kids would have to be absent from school.

Does anyone have any experience with kids being absent from Chiang Mai schools during these months?

Thanks again!

Mirko

Hi Guys,

I am thinking of moving to Chiang Mai and one thing that is of a concern to us is the rice fields burning season pollution.

I was wondering if any of you would know if this is a problem only in down town Chiang Mai where there is a lot of smog from the cars that gets trapped under the cloud of rice burning smoke, or is it also the case in the surrounding areas.

My hope is that... Maybe it wouldn't be as bad in the outskirts such as San Sai, Doi Saket, maybe even Lamphun or similar?

Cheers!

Mirko

1 hour ago, nisakiman said:

I seem to recollect there are a few threads that deal with this topic. Do a forum search for 'importing personal effects' or something like that. You should come up with some info.

Nisakiman,

I did as you suggested and I found some great info! Thanks!

raro,

Thanks for the reply! Did you end up paying a hefty tax for your stuff?

I wonder do they charge customs for clothes too or is it just stuff like electronics? 

Thank you for the very useful info!!!

Cheers,

Mirko

Hey guys,

Was any of you in a situation where you moved to Thailand and brought a bunch of stuff with you?

There is 4 of us - me, my Thai wife and our 2 babies. So we would be allowed to take with us 4 x 2 luggage bags = 8 total.

Someone told me that Thai people don't need to pay customs? Is that true?

My wife and kids all have Thai passports, it's only me that is not a Thai citizen.

I came up with this sneaky idea where I could fill up my 2 suitcases with clothes (and possibly not pay import tax) and the other 6 suitcases with valuable stuff and lable it as my wife's and kid's?

Does anyone think this makes any sense?

All advice is very much appreciated! - Thanks guys!!

Hey guys! Thanks for the loads of good info.

Nowisee - hijack as much as you need! No worries :)

Thank you very much berybert! I will check them out :)

Dante,

I am not in a big rush so I don't mind waiting for replies.

I understand I could search google for pretty much any answer, but call me old fashioned, I still prefer to have a good old conversation with people. I would love if I could sit with someone in person, but since I don't know anyone in Thailand in similar situation, this forum is the next best thing :)

Either way, thanks for the reply. Cheers.

Thanks for the reply! I would be on a marriage visa. My wife is Thai and our kids are also Thai citizens. I think we shouldn't need to pay import tax if it is shipped on her name?

Hey guys.

Any advice on a good bank in Chiang Mai.

With a good exchange rate. I would be exchanging canadian dollars to THB.

Also, I guess this would need to be a Thai bank as I would need to keep money in it to keep my Marriage Visa going.

Thanks guys.

Cheers,

Mirko

Hey guys,

We are looking to move from Canada (Toronto) to Tailand (Chiang Mai).

We would like to ship a bunch of our stuff with us.

So far I found www.sevenseasworldwide.com   ...they seem to be ok, but I am wondering if there is a better option.

They ship only small boxes from Canada to Thailand. I wonder if there is a similar service that is cheaper or one that ships a container or larger box?

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Mirko

Would anyone be able to explain to me in plain english what a 20 year - 5 year renewable visa means?
Is it guaranteed for 20 years or do I need to re-aplly after 5 years and hope for the best?
Also, do I loose the visa if the TE goes bankrupt?
And last but not least... I would appreciate you oppinion on my specific situation... I am 35yr old Canadian married to a Thai woman for 8 years. Would you suggest I move to Thailand and get a Marriage visa and keep extending it? Is that much trouble with immigration? Or is it worth investing 1mil in TE 20yr plan?
THANKS GUYS! Cheers!

ubonjoe:

Wow. I had no idea that I must renounce my current citizenship in order to become a Thai citizen! That is a bit too much to ask for I think... Looks like I might be staying in Canada or just live in Thailand like you and keep extending the marriage visa... Thanks for all the good info my friend!

ubonjoe,

So getting a PR is pretty much next to impossible :|

No wonder you are on your 9th annual extension

Where did you find the information that I can by-pass the PR process and just apply for the citizenship instead? Would that be after 3 years in Thailand? I thought that for citizenship one needs to become a PR and then after 3 years become eligible to apply for Thai citizenship.

Thanks again!!!

johnmell > Yes, I am aware of the 400,000 baht / 2 months in advance deal. Thanks for the heads up though!

Colabamumbai > I have only visited Thailand 4 times, out of which the last time was 1 full month with my wife and kids. Do you suggest that I would regret moving to Thailand? Thanks.

ubonjoe > Thanks for the heads up. I thought that one of the options to qualify for the PR was to:

"Support a family or Humanity Reasons category: In this category, you must have a relationship with a Thai citizen or an alien who already posses a residence permit as a husband or wife; father or mother; or a guardian of a Thai child under 20 years of age."

I would think that if I have enough money to do so, even without a job or a work permit, I should be able to apply for the PR. Something like the 400,000 baht in the Thai bank account - as mentioned before. Please correct me if I am wrong.

My plan was to sell the house in Canada... Live from that money for 4 years until I get my PR sorted out and then start a small house stay / resort business.

Please let me know if this dream of mine is just a dream... I am not sure if I could find a job in Thailand easily in my profession... (also, if I was looking to stay stuck in a cubicle all day long - I may as well stay in Canada

THANKS GUYS!!!

Thanks a lot Elviajero!

And ofcourse, I am always open to hearing other peoples opinions / experiences!

Thanks again!

Hello guys!

I have a couple of questions that I was wondering if you guys could help me out with...

I am looking to move to Thailand (Chiang Mai) with my family (wife and 2 kids) from Canada.

I have many questions, but even if I get some opinions / ideas on one of them, it is still great

1. My wife is Thai. My kids can get a citizenship easy since their mom is Thai. I am a black sheep ... Looks like I need to get a non-immigrant visa first in Canada before I enter Thailand so I can apply for a "O" (marriage) visa once I am in Thailand.... Now, the question that I have is - When I apply for either one of these visas, do they get processed in a matter of hours / days / months? Also, once we are in Thailand and time comes to extend the "O" (Marriage visa), how much of a hassle is that? Or is it just a matter of going in to the immigration and getting a new stamp?

2. The 90 day reporting to immigration business... How much of a hassle is that? I guess it is possible online, but looks like some people on this forum have troubles with their website... So again... Is is just a matter of going to the immigration and getting a stamp or is it a bit of a process?

3. In your opinion... Let's say I get the 1 year marriage visa and time comes to extend it... With same documents as first time... Can they refuse my extension? Have you heard of such a case? It would be bad if I moved my whole family to Thailand and then after a year I find out that I can't stay any longer just because some person at the immigration had a bad day

4. Applying for Thai PR... How much of a hassle is that? Do you know what are the average processing times?

5. BONUS GENERAL QUESTION: You moved to Thailand with your family... Stayed there for a while... Do you regret making the move? Do you wish you stayed home or was it the best thing you have ever done?

THANKS A LOT GUYS FOR ANY ANSWERS! MUCH APPRECIATED! CHEERS! Mirko