Banana7

I used an automated gate at BKK to exit a few weeks and plan to return in a few days. I have a valid re-entry permit.  Will there be any entry issues?

There’s a quad-Deric in USA that has killed more people this flu season than covid-19. You can see a video about here:

Get a copy of her ID (passport), her driver’s license and her address, her license plate, her insurance company name and policy number. There maybe 2 insurance companies, one for the government mandatory insurance and another company for things the government policy doesn’t cover things like property damage. Get both companies’ names and policy numbers, this is critical to get a satisfactory settlement.

Do not sign anything written in Thai unless you understand and are fluent in Thai. Avoid believing a nonprofessional interpreter including the policeman and police interpretors and especially the insurance company agents. Before signing, get a certified interpretation into your home country language. Interpretors are certified by the ministry of foreign affairs.

Next, take your MC to an official authorized Honda dealer and make sure you get all official Honda genuine new parts. Tend to your injures at the best medical facility (Bangkok pattaya hospital)and keep all the official original receipts. Get wounds redressed and cleaned according to the doctor. The government insurance issuing company will pay all the medical bills, without question.

Ask for a reasonable sum for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, loss of wages, rental costs while your MC is being repaired and any other losses. Include your damaged clothing as property damage in addition to the bike.  

Thai insurance companies are famous for giving low ball offers.

There are ways to get what you want without involving a lawyer. The Thai insurance bureau that licenses insurance companies can help get a reasonable settlement, and also the small claims court can help, but you will need a trusted Thai language helper.

This alarm bell has been rung many times over the past 5 years and the Thai government has provided NO financial support to help couples to have more children. It takes lots of money to raise children.

What about giving a baby bonus - 1,000 baht per month per child from birth until age 16 like other countries?

I too am looking for a good reliable Visa agent who can help with obtaining a SRRV courtesy visa. Any recommendations?

4 hours ago, Njoku said:

Dont recomend granite, it can stain and discolour and often does, at least 2 places along suk in pattaya sell the stuff, for similar price man made stone is far superior, also a place along suk that sells it.

In my opinion,the man made stuff like quartz can be as good or even better than granite in terms of maintenance and support . Granite should be resealed every few years as quartz every 20 years. But quartz depends on the manufacturer, there are a wide range of qualities. There are different quality levels of Granite. My neighbour has quartz countertops and made the mistake of having a fancy edge. Now the edge has multiple chips and chunks missing looks awful, repaired multiple times - it was made in China. Buyer beware! 

Internet reports show India black granite has a good reputation for hardness and durability and is readily available here in Thailand at a reasonable price.

On 12/22/2024 at 1:57 PM, mran66 said:

I've bought from this place. No complaints 

 

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZHqMTZpjojHLpEdp6

I went to this same place. Wide selection of both granite and man made materials. Good prices, got a quote. Thank you for your advice.

Can anyone recommend a good granite kitchen counter supplier and installer in Pattaya?

18 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

An alternative view is -

Truck was turning right and assumed that the bike would give way. Just ignored the bike. Blame the bike rider for speeding.

(This happens a lot where I live.)

An alternative view is:

Truck had right-of-way to turn right since it was on the correct side of the roadway and traveling in the legal direction. Traffic going the opposite way on his side of the road, shouldn't be traveling in an illegal direction and at a minimum, it should yield to right-of-way to vehicles traveling legally. Also, the MC crashed into the rear of the truck indicating most of the truck had passed in front of the MC already, which the MC driver would/should have seen, and should have slammed on the brakes and normally would have avoided the accident, but if its speed was excessive, the time may have been insufficient to brake. Finally, the driver was 14 and didn't have drivers license and shouldn't have been driving a MC. The only potential violation, the truck driver may have committed, was that he didn't signal or signal light wasn't working, but there 's no mention of this matter.

14 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

You call two days at IO as things/IO admin going smoothly?

This post is about Jomtien not CM. Different locations have different service levels, and it is usually dependent on IO staffing levels and number of foreigners requiring service. So yes, it was smooth for Pattaya/Jomtien.

I have a friend who uses a reliable seasoned agent for retirement visa extensions at Jomtien. He went to his agent on Wednesday, had to return to the agent on Thursday, passport was returned on Monday. So the agent route usually takes 3-5 business days. In the last 5 years, I've never heard of same day passport return for retirement visa extensions at Jomtien, using an agent or doing it personally. Numerous years ago, Jomtien, did provide same day service.

Went to Jomtien to extend retirement visa for another year. Arrived about 2pm to get a queue ticket from the info desk. All 3 administrators at the desk were occupied, I was first in line. Desk 8 queue ticket received in 3 minutes. No issues or deficiencies were identified in the required application documents. Queue ticket showed there were 20 people in front of me. My ticket number was called at about 3:45pm. Application was accepted and I was out the door in 5 minutes. Passport will be returned next business day, as usual. The processing seemed to be much slower than previous years. Many times, the queue number only advanced after about 15 minutes. Two IO were accepting applications. One IO was accepting applications from people who didn't have a queue ticket.  Numerous people held long discussions with IOs about the required documents. See here for required documents at Jomtien: www.pattayacityexpatsclub.com/Retirement

Internet bill has been accepted by immigration.

For the OP, I recommend you go for a reconnaissance trip for a month or 2, to see if you like it. We can speculate if it is better, but it comes down to what you want  and your most important critical success factors for a permanent move.  Try it, it doesn't have to be a one way ticket. If you don't completely trust your friend, do some research on youtube.

I've been to Panama numerous times and considered retiring there. Places and environments change over time but I can say it was a pleasant experience. For me, I just like the abundance of slim build friendly Thai ladies better. The chicas tend to get heavier as they age. Also, you can pop up to Costa Rica or down to Columbia for some variety. Costa Rica is getting expensive!

If you are Canadian and have a Canadian bank account, some banks are now asking their customers to sign a form which includes foreign tax identification numbers (TIN), TD is one such bank. The form also says, that if in the future, you obtain a foreign TIN, the Canadian bank needs to be notified of the foreign TIN, within 30 days. There have been reports that some Canadian banks are closing accounts/freezing accounts that fail to comply.

So if you get a Thai tax TIN, even if you don't pay taxes or file a Thai return, you are obligated to notify your Canadian bank and of course that bank will notify Revenue Canada, and it may become the start of a tax nightmare.

Little details like this, which are conveniently omitted by the tax expert, can screw you in the future. I highly recommend to avoid obtaining a Thai TIN until it is required by law.

South Korea should its troops to Ukraine to counter the North Korean troops who went to the Russian front-line in Ukraine

To answer the OP's question: Basically USA attracted lots of investments because of high interest rates compared to Thailand and other countries. Investment funds in Thailand stock market dumped Thai stocks, converted baht to USD and sent $ to USA. Thai baht plunges to the 36-38 level. Now the funds are returning to Thailand, returning with USD and buying baht to buy Thai stocks. USA interests rates have started to decline. They also anticipate Thailand will sell lots of goods to China because of China's new bold economic stimulus package announced in the last 2 weeks. Also the funds expect Thai economy to improve due to an influx of Chinese tourists because the Chinese will have more money to spend because of the package. That package is worth about 3-4 trillion yuan.

On 9/11/2024 at 9:33 PM, Celsius said:

 

This looks like a non resident account letter that they send every year to account holders who live outside canada. I got the same letter from RBC. They are not sending these to normal  resident accounts.

I am a resident of Canada for tax purposes, even though I stay in Canada less than 180 days per calendar year. I had to file this form with TD Waterhouse when I transferred an RRSP into an RRIF and updated my investor profile. Also I had to file a similar form when transferring a bank account from one branch to another.

Even for Canadian citizens not living in Canada, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) decides if you are a resident for tax purposes. There is a BIG form that has to filed to be classified as not having to pay CRA. Very difficult to escape from CRA.

A Canadian, non-resident or resident tax payer, may also qualify their Canadian residential property for higher property taxes, basically if you rent your Canadian home while outside Canada. Certain cities like Ottawa and Toronto, maybe Vancouver, have an extra property tax if the owner doesn't live in it and classify it as their permanent residence.

Lots traffic violations on many streets West of Sukhumvit highway. Basically, Pattaya Police are not enforcing traffic laws all the time. Many times the traffic police sit in the intersection police boxes watching TV or playing on their phones.

Sometimes Police will enforce for one or 2 days, followed by 3 months of nothing. Lots of examples on Beach Road, parking in red and yellow zones, and in red painted bus stop zones. Vendors, like restaurants, block off beach road parking for their customers. Then there are the motorcycle businesses that permanently park their rental vehicles on the street. Let's not forget the food vendors on the streets. Check around Beach Road Soi 13/1 to 13/4. Some restaurants (Hops) even have parking attendants on the street reserving parking for their customers.

Also, many streets have inadequate sidewalks for pedestrians, so people have to walk on the vehicle part of the road, which narrows the vehicle pathway. Of course, Pattaya traffic management people turnoff the pedestrian crossing lights, so that vehicles have the right-of-way all the time.

Amazing Thailand!

Thailand needs to add a huge steel tariff to imported Chinese steel products else all Thai steel production companies will go bankrupt. China is dumping steel into many countries. One of China's biggest steel company declared bankruptcy, debts of many billions of dollars. Most chinese steel have more finished steel inventory than their distributors. As these chinese steel companies continue going bankrupt, most certainly, their inventories will be sold at heavily discounted prices which no producer can compete with. See here for more details: