Jaffacake

Does anyone have any more information on the 1 night ASQ stay required for the "quarantine free" entry into Bangkok? 

My mum is visiting in January and is currently in the process of getting things booked,  can't seem to find much about it online and wasn't aware of it until I read this thread. I presume she would be taken to the hotel from the airport by officials and then free to go anywhere thereafter? 

I want to buy because it makes more sense for me to be paying my mortgage off rather than someone else's. It was my suggestion not hers, as it seems stupid to throw money down the drain if there is an alternative. 

We actually decided the best option was to put it either in her name 100%, and I rent to her (as above) or 100% in my name and she pays rent to me. Seems far too risky to do anything 50/50 here 

Thanks for the advice everyone 

Okay, thanks for clarifying that. Seems like a strange rule but it is what it is.

Any knowledge on the first point, the 50% ownership? 

My girlfriend and I are planning to buy a condo sometime in the future and have been looking at a few developments recently. 

We have found one that is particularly interesting and was having a discussion with the sales girl today. The subject of mortgages, and me being the main breadwinner and also being foreign came up in the conversation and obviously poses some problems.

My girlfriend doesn't earn anywhere near as much as I do so that would limit the size of loan we could get. I would also be reluctant to put the whole property in her name as I would be paying the majority of the mortgage back and it leaves me somewhat expose should things ever not work out with us in the future. 

One thing the sales person did say was possible was for me to pay 50 % of the cost of the property in cash, and then my girlfriend mortgage the other 50% of the property making us joint owners. This sounds like a feasible workaround but i'm just wondering if this is actually possible, or just the sales person trying to get a sale by bending the truth. Does anyone have any experience or knowledge in this area?

Also I had read before that all money for the purchase of a condo must be sent to Thailand from a foreign country in the original currency. Without proof of this, a foreigner cannot register the condo in their name. Is this true?

I work in Thailand, and what I would be using to finance this condo would be money I had earned since being here (Paid in Thai Baht)

Any advice in these areas would be greatly appreciated 

Thanks Donutz, this is very helpful. 

How would one prove that we have been cohabiting for over 6 months? It's just my name on our tenancy agreement as she wasn't living with me full time when I took out the contract. Do you think it would be possible to backdate the tenancy agreement with her name on it too?

Our plan was to spend an equal amount of time in both Spain and Italy, and i was under the impression in that instance you need to apply in the country you will arrive into the Schengen zone (Spain). I might try and jig dates and flights around 

The Netherlands is also a possibility, I was just favouring Barcelona as I haven't been there before but have spent a lot of time in the Netherlands. For my GF though, she hasn't been so i'm sure she wouldn't mind.  

12 minutes ago, Donutz said:

The Schengen rules require a round trip reservation. Usually to and from the country of origin but the embassy may accept alternatives.  To quote the Schengen Code on Visa rulebook :

 

----

B.

DOCUMENTATION ALLOWING FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICANT’S INTENTION TO LEAVE THE TERRITORY OF THE MEMBER STATES

1.

reservation of or return or round ticket;

2.

proof of financial means (...)

---

 

Spain is a bit notorious for being difficult though. Especially when it comes to the free, expidited 'minimum hassle&paperwork' visa for direct familiemembers of EU/EEA nationals (such as Britons and their Thai spouse visiting an other EU country who technically won't need to show onward ticket reservations, proof of sufficient  financial means, reasons to return etc).

This is the part that is concerning me as our flights will not technically be a round trip from Thailand. 

Our route will be BKK => UK => Spain => Italy => BKK

Can you foresee this being problematic when applying in Spain? 

Thanks again for your reply, it was the first hand experience I was hoping to hear. 

I guess it's weighing up the gamble of booking the flights before applying for the VISA or waiting until after. 

Many thanks for your reply.

The UK VISA i'm less worried about to be honest, as you mentioned there's no confirmation of flight there and I'm a UK national and will have a letter from my family advising that we will be staying with them for our duration there. 

What i'm more worried about is the Schengen one. 

Our planned route is BKK => UK => Spain => Italy => BKK and the flights are going to be booked in one booking.

I was hoping to get the flights booked soon but I understand that you can only apply up to 3 months before the VISA application? Is this true of both UK and Schengen?

Would you suggest waiting to get the UK visa confirmed before booking the flights, and then applying for Schengen? My worry here is if the Schengen VISA was rejected the whole trip would be up the spout as our flights back to BKK would be from Rome. 

Hi guys,

I've read many threads on here and other websites which give a lot of conflicting information on the above topic, so i'm looking for a bit of advice based on first hand experience if  possible. 

I am a British national and have been living and working in Thailand for the past 2 years, with all the right business VISA's and work permit for the duration. I am looking to go on holiday next year to the UK and Europe and want to take my girlfriend with me. We have been together for 18 months, she has a regular job and will be able to satisfy all requirements I've read are required for the relevant visitor VISA's for both UK and Schengen (Full time job, sufficient savings to support her for the trip, letter from company authorising her leave and job upon return etc).

The area i'm getting a lot of conflicting information is on the proof of return flight / travel itinerary. Some places are saying you need a confirmed flight before applying, other places saying don't book anything until you have the VISA's approved. I've also seen the online services which can allegedly reserve you flight bookings for a small price (again mixed reviews on these).

Does anyone have any first hand experience and advice in this area? I don't really want to pay close to 100k for both our flights should she get denied a visa 

Also, would it be recommended to apply for the UK VISA first, then Schengen or vise versa? Or can you can do it at the same time? We are planning on flying from Bangkok to the UK, spending a week or 10 days there visiting family before doing a couple of stops off in Europe on the way back (Spain and Italy).

Any advice would be much appreciated

I recently eat at this place in Thong Lor which was very good and not overly priced for the area, best to book in advance as it was very busy

http://www.supannigaeatingroom.com/ 

Anyone know of any decent Indian restaurants that deliver to On Nut (suk 79)? 

8 hours ago, Crossy said:

Our out-of-town private hospital opens at 7.30AM for WP medicals, not a lot of help to our OP but I'm sure others in central BKK do the same, so he could be ok AM Monday.

 

Only takes an hour or so (need to do the blood test).

Cheers for the info, my backup was going on the Monday morning prior to going to get the work permit but the company were keen for me to be at the office for 8 ready to get the WP so trying to find somewhere open on a Sunday is the preference 

Cheers mate!

I have been told I should be able to get it done at the Sukhumvit hospital by Ekkamai BTS which is 24 hours. I will keep your recommendation in mind should I not be able to get it done there

hi guys I was wondering if anyone could help.

I am going to be starting a new job in Bangkok next month and as such will require a work permit. The company I will be joining have got a letter from the government labour department which I believe is used to convert my non immigrant b visa to a work permit. The problem is that this letter is only valid for a month from the issue date (this has only just come to light) meaning we have a very tight scale to work to in order to attain the work permit.

My flight from the UK is booked and I arrive in Bangkok on the Sunday, the following day (Monday) is the deadline we can go to the labour office to get the work permit. The company have advised I need to get a medical certificate beforehand

So my question is, is it possible to do the medical screening at a clinic / hospital in Bangkok on a Sunday, specially a Sunday evening as my flight doesn't arrive until 4pm?

I will be staying in the On Nut area of Bangkok so any places close to there would be preferred

Thanks in advance!

Sorry for hijacking but I thought this would be a good place to ask rather than starting a new thread.

I'm moving to Thailand in a few weeks and I'm a massive football fan and would be keen to keep up with it as much as I can while I'm there. Problem is, I'm a Villa fan and we got relegated so I was wondering if any of the championship games are broadcast over there? Obviously the ones being broadcast in the UK some bars will be showing streams of Sky Sports but do any of the cable channels show championship games?

3 hours ago, Jiu-Jitsu said:

Another option would be with https://www.truetraveller.com/one-way-travel-insurance.aspx

I'll have to read the fine print but that could well be an option, thanks for the heads up 

Thanks Steve, will have to go with more expensive option then 

I wasn't aware of that Joe and I don't think my sponsor in Thailand was either.

Thats makes it a simple decision then, thanks for your help all 

7 hours ago, Jiu-Jitsu said:

Seriously?  We don't know from which country you hail nor can we see the policy documents of the possible travel insurance policy.

It likely won't be cheaper with travel insurance, as in the event of a claim they will expect to see proof that the length of your trip fits with the length of the term insured. 

 

Sorry I wasn't more clear, I'm British and have done quotes for travel insurance for a 3 month period and also quotes with axa and bupa in Thailand for the same 3 month period and the latter is between two to three times the price of travel insurance.

What I was hoping to establish was if the travel insurance would still be valid if a claim was made within the initial 3 month period I had insured myself for? Or if because I was technically not a resident of the UK and not technically travelling it would be void? 

I appreciate all policies are different but I don't have a specific policy yet I just wondered as a rule of thumb what the likely outcome would be.

Thanks

I'm not sure if this is in the right forum and I tried searching for the answer to my question with no luck.

I'm going to be moving to Bangkok for work next month and the company have said that they will pay for health insurance upon successful completion of the probationary period (3 months)

I will obviously need some cover before then and I was wondering the best way to go about short cover? From my research it seems the cheapest option would be to get travel insurance that covered this period as opposed to private BUPA insurance with a company based there. What I can't work out is if my travel insurance would still be valid despite me being an expat as opposed to being a tourist?

I' m hoping I won't need any hospital trips but if I did I wouldn't want to find out my insurance was void for any reason

Any advice would be much appreciated 

And is that picked up before the trip or at the airport? Is it an instant thing or needs applying for weeks before you wish to go? 

Okay I think based on this I'm going to just go for the single entry and the 1 year extension of stay thereafter, I don't want to risk it being rejected for the sake of not being able to take any vacations for 3 months. 

So on the single entry application

Purpose of visit: work 

Duration of stay: 90 days? 

Thank you so much, that is really informative.

One final question if i may.. Does applying for the multiple entry over the single entry visa make it any more or less likely for it to be granted? I have been advised it's just an additional cost but the criteria is still the same and thus  makes no difference which one you apply for?

I'm having visions of a catching an embassy worker on a bad day and it being rejected!

Thanks again for you help 

Many thanks for your swift reply. 

The company did suggest a single entry visa to begin with but my understanding was that I wouldn't be able to leave the country for the 3 month duration of this VISA. I said i would rather pay more to get a multiple entry VISA as I would quite like to visit some of the neighbouring countries in that period but wasn't aware it could affected future VISA's?

Am i correct in saying If i was to apply for a single entry non "b" would I able to leave and reenter country freely once the 1 year extension of stay / work permit was granted? And am I in saying that if I had a multiple entry "b" visa to begin with I would have to leave every 90 days irrespective of having a work permit?

It's all very confusing!

Long time lurker, first time poster! 

I was hoping to pick someone's brains regarding an application I will be making shortly at the embassy in London for a Non Immigrant B Visa (Multi entry). 

I have been offered a job in Thailand and the company that I will be working for have sent me a massive wedge of documents required to get the VISA (Company finances, shareholders, offer of employment etc). My query is regarding the information I have to fill out and more specifically the details regarding "Duration of proposed stay" and "purpose of current visit" on the application form

From my limited understanding, this VISA isn't a work permit, doesn't permit me to work and is limited to 3 months. That said, i'm going to Thailand to work and I'm planning on staying longer than 3 months so I was confused how I should be filling out these sections. 

I have obviously asked the company for guidance and i'm waiting for them to get back to me but thought it might be a good idea to see if anyone here has any first hand advice they may be able to share 

Thanks in advance