sumrit

Oh good, a revealing ignorance thread, so I can jump in too!!

Does anyone know if minimum balance requirements have changed (HSBC UK) for 2007.

I received several large booklets that bore you to death after the first page.

And seem to remember reading 25000 pounds for offshore .

Is there a minimum for UK accts now? I did read 1200 us dollars but that was international instant access

and was on their website somewhere.

And by the way has anyone else had those hard sell tactics from offshore HSBC trying to get you to buy one of their investment

products that often seem to belong/affiliated to other companies. They are really starting to get on my nerves.

I had an email from HSBC a few days ago saying they had reducd their minimum deposit for their on line savings account from £500 to just £1. Sounds good but its a total rip off if you want to withdraw money from it. I couldn't access my LloydsTSB account on line several days ago (probably because of the recent internet problems here in LOS) so I transfered £600 from my UK HSBC on line savings account into my UK HSBC current account to pay for a few things over here. They transfered it, no problem but then stopped interest payments for that month on the total deposit for that on line savings account. COST ME £200 IN LOST INTEREST FOR A £600 WITHDRAWAL. OUCH!!! I won't be doing that again.

Gary Moore - Ballads and blues

I also have a sony ericcson k750i. Great phone,easy to navigate through the menu's and a good camara but the 'funtion' button can be a weakness with these models.

I hope this facility will be available for the new generation of DVD players when they come out.

I consider it an outrage that the movie manufacturers tell me where I can play a disk that I have paid them good money for.

As a general rule I've found that the cheaper DVD's are easy to switch to multi region but the major brand names such as Sony, Philips, Panasonic etc. are either very difficult or not switchable/hackable. So if your just looking for something to play DVD's from anywhere in the world just get a cheap unbranded model that you can switch to multi region.

I was ordering some DVDs on Amazon.com to ship here in Thailand. Amazon gave me a message that the DVDs were formatted for Region 1 and might not work here. What's the deal with this?

Most DVD's can be set to multi region. Have a look here. http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/info/multiregion/hackable.asp

Hi Moss

Thanks for posting this...

This is a very touching and moving project.

I was looking for something to donate to, and help and see it used in a legit way.

I live in Pattaya but from ireland , and am looking at the site, and I shall go and see the place in the next few weeks,

and do some of the donation.

Its very touching even to read the web site... sometimes in this generation of gratification, (and I am just over 30 ish),

its all ME ME ME, and we forget about these things.

Yes, I was looking for something like this, and these good things always appear when the time is right.

Good on you for posting it. I am going to, once I see the place, email the site to as many contacts as possible...

As for the person who made the smart comment...if they have nothing positive to say about such a good cause, or smart answers,

its probably best not to post. what goes around comes around.

God Bless

Gerry

When I went there a few days ago Fred was telling me some of the expats here meet once a month to discuss how they can help with anything that needs doing and fund raising etc. I left my phone number so they could contact me if there was anything I could do. I'm sure if anybody else wanted to do the same it would be much appreciated

Thanks for all the replies, I'll look into it in more detail in the UK but I think I'll have to wait another 2 years there because we've only been apart just under 3 years. I was hoping somebody might be able to give me some advice on divorcing in Thailand. The reason being as I said in my original post my company pension dept pay me through a health insurance scheme because of ill health. Although unlikely,if at some future date they decided I was fit enough I would have to go back to the UK to work. I have been living with my partner here for over 12 months and I wouldn't want to leave her here. She has been to the UK with me on a tourist visa but if I had to go back on a more permanent basis she would need a settlement visa and obviously she wouldn't get one if I was still married. Iwouldn't want to have to wait for 2-3 years for a UK divorce if it wasn't necessary. So any info would be greatly appreciated.

No need for a medical certificate.

I believe you will need a medical certificate as well as a criminal record check if you apply for the non-immigrant O-A retirement visa in your home country.

If you get a non-immigrant O from your home country then apply for a 12 month extention in Thailand you don't need a medical certificate or criminal record check from your home country, but you have to do 90 day border runs untill you get the 12 month extention and remember the800K baht must be in the bank in Thailand for 3 months prior to the application.

You can get divorced in Thailand but she would probably need to come here to sign the papers at the Amphur with you. If you both agree amicably to split without the need to make claims against each other etc... then it should take no more than 15 minutes to do.

You could try and get her to do it by proxy (letter) but it will probably not be accepted by the Amphur

If she doesn't want to come back to Thailand to do the divorce then the chances are you will need to instigate divorce proceedings back home (More expensive) but as far as I am aware there are no requirements to go and live back in the UK for six months for this to happen.

My problem is she has moved and appears to have changed her mobile number so I don't know where she's living and it's not easy trying to find her from here. I read somewhere that to divorce in the UK you had to be a resident for at least 6 months but maybe I'm mistaken. Without finding her I would have to wait another 2 years any way (5 years apart). Thanks for the reply.

I would think Sunbelt could be quite useful in this matter.

I thought they only dealt with problems concerning visa's, businesses and work permits, I'll give them a ring, thanks

Hi, I wondered if your partner gets a settlement visa for the UK, are they entiltled to use the National Health Service, just like a UK citizen? Thanks

Yes

Hi, I'm a UK citizen currently living in Thailand and Iwant to know if I can divorce my Thai wife here. Here's the situation I'm in. I married my Thai wife here in Bangkok in 1995 and we moved to the UK when she got her settlement visa early in 1996. After three years she became a British Citizen so has had dual nationality since 1999. Everything seemed OK for about eight years untill late 2003 when she had an affair and we separated shortly afterwards (she moved out of our house). We kept in occasional contact but went our separate ways. Then about two and a half years ago the company I work for decided that due to ill health I couldn't work any more and I was put on a company pension health insurance scheme. So once that was sorted I decided to spend more time in Thailand and I've been here most of the time since and now have a new partner here. During this last 2 years my wife has moved and nobody seems to know where, except that she was staying in the UK and didn't want to come back to Thailand to live. The only time I've known somebody to get divorced in Thailand both of them lived here. And I've been told that to get divorced in the UK I would have to go back there to live for 6 months first which ai don't want to do. So is there a way for me to get divorced over here if I don't know where she is now living?

I've just joined this site because I'm thinking of retiring in Thailand (from Australia). I'm wondering what's the best way of getting a retirement visa with the minimum of fuss and bureaucratic complications. I had no idea Thai regulations were so convoluted.

I gather the Thai government has just modified the visa requirements and that this thread is a discussion on such changes.

Geez!! 59 pages and 89,000 views. This country, Thailand, must be a really, really popular. Could you guys try to be just a little bit more succinct .

Very basically, you have to be 50 years of age or older and have 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank.

Or a monthly income of 65000baht or a combination of the monthly income and money in a thai bank.

And I really was not trying to suggest you were and am sorry that it was taken that way. I just wanted to alert any readers to be careful.

No offence taken, I probably didn't explain myself properly on my first post

Went there today with my wife and daughter and was very impressed with everything they are doing and trying to achieve there. Again, although we just turned they took time out to introduce us to the kids, give us a tour round the place and explained everything they have been able to do with peoples kind donations and what they hope to achieve in the future. They do need our help and support and I agree with Mossfinn if you go and visit them it is a most humbling experience.

i am on my last 30 days now

next month i am thinking i will go to phnom phen and try to get a tourist visa

is that my only option??

any thoughts or ideas??

I went to Cambodia yesterday to get my 90 day stamp on a non imm o visa and the tour guide who took us said she could get people a tourist visa in Cambodia but I didn't have chance to talk much to her so I don't know how easy or accurate that is.

If that does not include a trip to the Embassy I would be very careful. There has been a previous report of a rogue visa stamp being used in Cambodia which could put people in real jeopardy.

I did say I didn't know how accurate it was. While we were walking back from the Cambodian side I just asked the guide if she thought they would lose much buisiness from the 30 day visa runners and she replied it should be OK because they could get tourist visa's in Cambodia. We'd got to Thai immigration by then and stopped talking and her company ran 2 busses and she was on the other one so I couldn't ask any more. I wasn't sugesting anybody got 'rogue' stamps I just thought it might be worth checking out.

i am on my last 30 days now

next month i am thinking i will go to phnom phen and try to get a tourist visa

is that my only option??

any thoughts or ideas??

I went to Cambodia yesterday to get my 90 day stamp on a non imm o visa and the tour guide who took us said she could get people a tourist visa in Cambodia but I didn't have chance to talk much to her so I don't know how easy or accurate that is.

Gary Moore - Ballads & Blues

I've seen a thread on using a vonage internet telephone in Thailand but could not find today.

The thread I found previously reported that a Vonage US initiated telephone modem would work with Thai high speed internet.

I plan on attempting THE move to Thailand this year & am curious as to how close to home I can be.

I understand that if I do not want to live in Thailand I should stay in the US.

I retire this year, will be able to meet Thai retirement visa requirements & would like to give it a go.

I am on a cable internet connection now & the vonage phone is more trouble free than the phone company .. 3 years without problem.

Set up was an issue. but since that day it has been trouble free.

what type of internet connection is required? will DSL / ADSL work?

Apartemnet supplied high speed? or is a dedicated internet connection required?

even if it worked only poorly & intermittently a US phone would be invaluable.

other options?

I have heard of 'Skype' ..

a US # that worked in Thailand would be invaluable to ME

Don't know about vonage but I use skype all the time. PC to PC video calling is free anywhere in the world and PC to telephone calling is very cheap. High speed internet here costs about 1000 baht per month. Look here 'http://www.skype.com/helloagain.html' for more info on skype.

Hi all,

i am just in the process of gathering up all of the documents that i need to make a settlement visa application for my lady. my question is do i really need to supply photocopies of every document that i give in with the application

ie. copies of all phone bills , water bills, gas bills etc.its just i am finding myself witha mountain of paperwork, or is it just the way it is and i must have 2 copies of everything.

also i am wondering when i show my bank accounts statements , i have printed them from my online bank account rather than got them from my bank?

thanks for any advice

scooty

I used online printed bank statements when I applied for my Thai gf's tourist visa and that was acceptable and we had no problems.(I live in Thailand so don't have hard copies from the bank). Basicly do exactly what it says on the application form. If you fail to supply anything or supply anything incorrectly and you will have problems.

Hi,

What would be the technology of choice for a wireless webcam and wireless headphones+mic?

Wifi, bluetooth, infrared, other?

And an estimate price?

Thxs

Hi, I saw wireless web cams (wifi) for about £50 when I was back in theUK earlier this year and there are plenty of wireless headsets around but I have been unable to find one that includes a microphone.

Sumrit - AFAIK you earn the money in the UK so pay tax in the UK even if non-resident. However if you are non-resident you don't have to pay tax on any money earned outside the UK. But be carefull that you don't lose your personal allowance by being non-resident.

I thought this was the case but it was worth asking anyway.Thanks for the promt reply.

Has any body any idea where I would stand on this issue? Because of health reasons my company won't let me work anymore so the company pension scheme pays me 50% of my salary and I don't have to work.This money is paid to the company, who still employ me, and they pay me monthly as a salary. I pay tax and N.I. on this in the normal (paye) way. I am currently living in Thailand with my (thai) partner and intend staying here permantly with the occasional visit back to the UK. If I keep my visits down to less than 90 days per year will I be able to claim back the tax I've paid on my salary through paye?

An alternative could be land mine clearance. There is a definite need for it and what an incentive to do it properly.......................

Like it, and a life sentence without parole.

Just a thought, how many times is a person counted if he's staying here on a tourist visa and doing regular visa runs?