meme

Carry, my deepest sympathies...you sound like a woman of amazing strength.

whoops sorry stoneyboy. For some reason I thought Ian started this thread. My reply should have said SB.

Ian,

There are three kinds of bird shows

1. Best voice. Bird with the nicest voice wins.

2. Fighting. Bird who wants to "fight" the most. This is determined by a specific song that the birds sing. The bird who sings this song the most wins. There is no actual bird fighting.

3. Best voice combined with the "fighting song"

My husband is obsessed with birds...which is how I know. We had one bird that was a big winner. He sold it before we moved to Canada for 9000 baht, now it is worth more then 30,000. This is determined on how much money people will offer to buy the bird for. The current owner has refused several offers for 30,000. These birds can be worth much more then this too, but usually go for 3-5000 baht when it is unknown how well they will do in shows. The guys who train these birds to go to shows are very dedicated to them and spend hours upon hours with them every day. watching them, showering them, teaching them how to "fight"/sing, taking them over to their friends houses for bird play dates etc.

I don't think they ask if you want a single or multiple entry, or if they do we checked single and got multiple. We were really surprised we got a ten year multiple entry, but I have heard this is not unusual. Good luck!

My Thai husband had the easiest time getting a visitors visa (in Bangkok) for the US after he had been to Canada on two TRVs. Once they knew that I was Canadian and had never lived in the US, he had been to Canada twice, and we were only going to the US to visit my dad, they didn't ask him any other questions or have a look at the binder of proof we had brought them. He was given a 10 year multiple entry visa to the US.

Indeed, and a gorgeous baby she has too!

Cutest ever!

My (Thai) husband got his first tourist visa (2006) on the first try (and yes I know there is a difference between a Thai male applying vs. a Thai female). It is hard to say why he got it, he didn't have any assets and not a ton of money in the bank. I however, was working in Thailand and got a letter from my employer stating that I was going home for a visit and was returning the date that my husband (boyfriend at the time) was due to return. He was interviewed, he was honest about being scared to go abroad as he didn't know what he would eat etc etc. He was given the visa on the spot and after that received 2 more TVs without an interview, although the interviewer did say that if he returned when he was supposed to the next visas would be easy to get. We also had a very thorough package that include lots of evidence of our 2 year relationship, letters from his the head of his village saying his mom was dependent on him and needed him in Thailand. I think it all came down to the interview and the fact that I also had to return...but who knows.

Thanks Shug. I was beginning to think there were no dentists in Trang!

Cheers

Try Smile House. If you are facing the Massive Church it is to your right on a soi. The receptionist doesn't really speak English but the dentists have enough to get the job done.

Here this will give you an idea of what is available in Thailand

http://www.boonthavorn.com/index.php

Here also are the web sites for Home Pro and Home Works, which will give you additional ideas

http://www.homeworks.co.th/index.html

And

http://www.homepro.co.th/index.php

Go through these sites, and when you find something that you like, just copy the url (up in the address bar) and send it to your niece. The first one has the greatest selection once you figure out the categories

Good luck

Thank you Thank you!!

I think it would be easier for everyone if you could make it clear as to what it is you want and/or expect from people reading your post.

It says on the title of the thread that I need links to Thai companies that have pics of paint samples, tiles etc....not sure I can be more clear than that. I have been googling and have found some links to paint companies but any suggestions would be helpful.

We are in Canada while my husband's family is overseeing the build of a house we are building for ourselves, May and sister-in law. We have split the house 50-50 with sister-in law but they are letting me pick the colours, tiles, lighting etc. It is not an elaborate house, just basic 3 bed bungalow.

I want to communicate the colours of the tiles and paint that I want but it is difficult to do as its all going through my colour blind husband, we only have one niece who has an email address so I am hoping to send her some links of what I want, but it would be better if I could use Thailand links. Easier for them.

Congrats again Rue!

I have to say, the closer hub and I get to having a baby the more scared I become about ever being able to leave Canada. However saying that, our situation would be different because I have lots of family here and all of my friends have started having families so there will be a ton of support, best friends on maternity leave at the same time as me (I could probably take a year maternity leave) etc. Saying that though, I know it will not be like living in Thailand where we would have a live in nanny (hub's unmarried sister). As you know, I also know what it is like to be isolated and I do worry that when we move back I would go mad being isolated with a baby. My gf's all tell me how isolating maternity leave can be just because they are home all day with the baby, so I assume for us that would be more intense if we were back in our homes in Thailand. My hub would rather live in Canada then anywhere else in Thailand I think, so we will for sure move back to his home town, but I don't think we will do it until our (future) babe is ready for Anuban school...then I see us moving back to Canada so they can have a proper education....but who knows right. Good luck making your decision, I am a firm believer that the answers will come to you when it is time.

I am so excited for you and your hubby! Mr. Meme also sends his congrats!

Hi Londongirl,

It is always nice hearing about other women who are living abroad with their Thai husbands. I live in Canada with mine (together for 7 years/married for 4), it will be 2 years in October since we have been back. You have been at home longer so I don't have any advice for you, but I can say that I also know how difficult it can be and how I would give my big toe to have a similar couple who lives in my city who goes through the same thing. My husband is very rural and never wanted to live outside of his village let alone his country. When we were first here he went through some devastating home sickness, it was so hard to watch him be so down. However he seems to have found his groove here and adapted so much easier and better than I ever gave him credit for. I think his saving grace has been two main things, the fact that he has a trade, and that he does have a bff here. He was a painter in Thailand so this skill is transferable anywhere. He has had to still learn many things but he has always had work and loves being able to contribute properly to our household (his wage was so little compared to mine when we lived in Thailand). My male best fried took to him right away and they became very close. So he has boys nights and a man to confide in. The hardest thing for him is that he does not have his drivers licence. He cannot read and write English very well (he attends night school to improve this) so he cannot take the written test. He had a motorbike in Thailand and was the driver in Thailand and now he had to depend on me. He says its like he is a wild boar stuck in a cage ...perhaps a little more dramatic then it really is. He will get his licence one day but that and the -40 degree weather are the hardest part of it all, well and of course being away from his mom. For me it is having to carry everything on my shoulders, like the finances, transportation etc. He (after years of training) is now very capable and shares the house work with me (never washed a dish before he met me)and is an amazing partner but it is a lot when you have to take care of everything but Iwouldn't trade him for the world. We have both decided that we will never settle in one country forever because we both love our countries/family/friends. However we do plan on having children and that of course will complicate things I am sure.

Thaivisa has been a such a gift to be able to hear other stories of couples who are similar to us when in real life ie.not cyber space we often feel like we too are the only couple out there like us. Even when we were in Thailand, we didn't know any couples in our situation. Except those we met from thaivisa. So I am not sure if there is such thing as "normal" but I can at least really relate to your situation

I agree Sunspun, so nice to see this thread again and be able to reflect back on that time now knowing how everything has turned out.

As for an update:

My hubs came over on October 1st, 2009. I had come ahead of him to look for work. We stayed with my mom for 7 months! luckily we had our own space, kind of like an apt minus the kitchen. I fell into a great job and his visa came through in April after a mound of paper work, money and stress (they thought they lost our application!!) In the end he got it quite quickly. As soon as he had his visa he found work full-time as a painter and we moved out on our own and bought a car. It definitely helped a lot that he had a trade when he came here. He was also able to do side jobs for family and friends.

He started night school because he cannot write English and reads at a very basic level. We have amazing support for immigrants in Canada and all his schooling is free. He is now looking to return home for his first visit after being away for 1 year and 3 months. He is back in January for 3 weeks, we waited for the winter so he could get a break. I have to say that his ability to adapt has blown me away. He was terrified of the thought of going to school, thanks to the bad experiences he had in Thailand but he loves his teacher here and has buddies from all over the world now. His schedule keeps him busy because he works form 7-3 and then has school from 730-930 but he has his weekends off.

He doesnt have a lot of friends that he socializes with although he has a best friend who is my best guy friend and they go out to sporting events and play poker regularly with a group of guys. Other than that he goes out with me and our group of mutual friends but it is nothing like the mounds of friends he had in Thailand and I know he misses having friends at his disposal at anytime of the day, and of course he misses his best friends who were his birds.

Food has been OK, he cooks all his meals for himself but his tastes have changed and his routine on the wkds are a good bacon and egg breakfast. He also has discovered A&W for his fast food fix and loves loves Ribs at any restaurant! However he did tell me he is most excited about the food when he returns, especially fresh seafood.

What has gotten him through I have to say is youtube! He can watch all the Thai soap operas he wants, I swear he could stay on there for days. He also of course really enjoys making money for the first time in his life. He makes in one hour here what he made in two days as a painter in Thailand. So although it is all relative, we are saving now and he is going to be able to build his mom a proper home and that is real motivation for him. Plus he likes that he can contribute to our lives as well as the money he made in Thailand was so little he never felt like he was contributing enough.

He has a bank account and even a credit card but what he really needs is a license. Ironically we have tests in all different languages here including for people from Laos, Burma and Vietnam but not Thai. So he needs to be able to read before he can take the test. I know that if he has his license things will improve even more because he really misses the freedom of hoping on his bike and just going. The Thai community is small here and although he has met a couple of Thai guys at school he doesn't have any Thai friends here and seems to be OK with that.

I have to say although it worked out far beyond my expectations it has been very hard. He went through some serious bouts of home sickness and it was really horrible to not only watch him go through it but feel the guilt of it all. However the longer we are here the easier it is, although I cant say I am not worried about when he returns from his first visit home. We are also planning for a baby next year so that is also, of course, huge motivation for him but his need to have a kid right away did fade a bit once he realized how expensive in would be to have a child in Canada.

Probably more than anyone wanted to know but if nothing else, our story is proof to the fact that it can and does work and some times we don't give our partners enough credit.

I asked him the other day what he would tell other Thai guys who are about to go abroad to live. He said he would tell them to have a trade, bring lots of curry paste (which we get sent over when we run out from his sister) and dont move anywhere as cold as Winnipeg (but for the record we do have hot summers which he kept complaining about b/c of the heat!). He never ever had dreams or even thoughts about leaving his village, and I have asked him if he finds it amazing that he now lives and works in Canada but he is always calm and cool and just thinks that this is what had to happen so we could be together. If you ask him if he wants to be here he will still say, "not really" but he knows its what has to be done. Also, if he didn't know we were going to move back eventually I doubt he could do this.

Thanks for all your responses. Very helpful and much appreciated.

What sort of ownership is the land? how much is the land worth? Will you be giving the land ownership papers as collateral for the loan?

I dont see what his income in Canada has to do with it, I'm assuming he isn't moving back to Thailand so is going to be hard to chase if he is delinquent in payment.

Yes, I am assuming the fact that if he is delinquent in payment they could not hunt him down, is their reservation. However the land (which we could use as collateral for the loan) is worth much more than the loan we are asking for. We are moving back to Thailand in a couple of years. His income is important because the bank said they could only loan the money if an individual was making X amount of baht per month. My husband is making 6 times this amount. However I think it just comes down to the fact that he is not physically in Thailand at the moment.

The banks seem very strange here about loans, you may want to try the Government Savings bank or Kasikorn Bank as you may get different answers, each bank has different rules and they seem to be applied at each branch differently as well.

I inquired about borrowing money to purchase land, but the banks will only loan money for a house, HSBC will only loan money for a house if its in Bangkok

Thanks JS, we will look into asking other banks as well.

No, makes no sense at all to post anything with such dumb headline. Put something in there that tells everyone what your topic is. You probably cut your chances of a decent reply by 90%.

Open your eyes. This is the title of my thread:

Does This Make Any Sense?

Bank will not give my (Thai) husband a loan to build a house

But thanks for your "dumb" response. Sorry you didn't have anything better to do with your time but make rude comments, don't worry I'm sure tomorrow will be a more productive day for you.

My husband is a Thai National living in Canada and making a good income (in Thai standards) which he can prove. He is returning to his home town (in the South) in January and wants to build a home on his land. His sister spoke to someone at our bank (Siam Commercial) and they said regardless if he owns the land and makes adequate money, because he does not reside in Thailand they can not give him the loan. Originally he was thinking of making us a home so was asking for 1,000,000 baht. However he has an appointment to speak with them over the phone on Sat and see if he would be eligible for 300,000 as that is all we would need to improve his May's house that is currently on the land, which is his main goal. We don't need a house there now as we don't live there. Anyway just want to know if this sounds right.

huh, i had no idea about that website. thanks meme!

No problem. That website helped me a ton to get the hubs his PRV.

Hey Sunspun

Are you posting hereMy link

Perhaps this is an obvious answer, but have you checked if the Canadian embassy can recommend photographers as they do translators?

We took the requirements to any photo shop in Thailand for my husband's TRVs but we did get his PRV pics in Canada and the photo shop knew the requirements.

As a dual citizen myself, if I were you, I wouldn't bring up the topic of dual citizenship at the Bank. Just tell them he is a Thai citizen working overseas. That is all they need to know.

While there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Thai having another citizenship, don't given them any ammo that is going to make the loan application more difficult.

Thanks Samran,

Actually he is not a dual citizen only a landed immigrant which means he does not have a Canadian Passport but he can work and have health care in Canada. But thanks for the tip, any info helps.

Thanks FG,

That is very helpful. My only worry is that you and your brother seem to have income in Thailand or at least regular deposits into a Thai bank account. Seeing as we have been living in Canada for the past year, we have not used our Thai account. But it is good to know that they consider your income abroad as well. What did you show them as proof? A bank statement from the US or your pay stubs or...?

I spoke to him on your behalf. As for my brother's income, although he was depositing a portion of it here, the banks still considered it foreign earned income. For proof of income, we both used both pay stubs and bank statements. They were mostly interested in the bank statements. I hope the your husband has deposited the majority of his income in this account to prove the income. Also, they may want to see both your and his paystub to separate what income is yours and what is his. They may use your income if you request. Siam Commercial, Bangkok Bank, UOB and Thai Military Bank offer loans to non-Thai citizens who have a Thai spouse.

My brother did have a little trouble with the local bank. They are a small town bank, with no foreigners in the area. It took alot of work to get them to wrap their head around the idea of give a mortgage to a Thai foreigner with foreign income. To make things easier, I would deal with large bank in Bangkok, regardless of where the property is. They will have more experience in dual citizens. Be persistent, it can be done, but it will take some work.

Keep me posted how it goes.

Good luck.

Thanks again FG!

He is from a small town so he may run into this problem.

We will let you know how it goes and thanks again!