Sailor42

4 hours ago, glegolo said:

I think this was the worst performance I have ever read here on ThaiVISA..  Suggest that you organize and plan like when you served in younger days... Half of all this crap you experienced was your own fault, completely your own fault..

 

Glegolo

Thank you for your helpful judgement and advice. Will try to learn from my incompetence, oh wise one.

Please don't take this as any sort of criticism of Thailand, its beautiful people, or its bureaucratic sytems and regulations. It is solely a record of how ''western'' training, thinking and expectations can sometimes lead to frustration closely followed by self-flagellation and excessive consumption of Johnny Walker.

I have had the pleasure and privilege of being married to a wonderful Thai lady for two years, and have so far successfully negotiated the cultural and other difficulties of marrying as a farang into an Issan/Thai family. So far, so good. We spend our time divided between Australia and Thailand, currently awaiting a residence permit (it has another name) for my wife to reside in Australia, so she visits for three months on Visit Visas, then I come to Thailand on 30 day entries stamped each time at BKK. As I am shortly retiring (I am after all an Aged Mariner, 75 years young), we plan to spend more time in Thailand, and so I obtained a Non-O Multi entry visa as the first step towards a Marriage Visa. And thus started the latest series of misunderstandings, cock-ups, and what in my past endeavours would be known as FUBAR's (I leave the translation to those of you who served!).

In the Royal Navy, I was taught that '' five minutes early is just on time'', and further that ''professional planning prevents piss-poor performance''. I have taken these thoughts to heart for the last 58 years.

Last Saturday, we arrived at BKK, and smoothly passed through Immigration (old fart, express line) and Customs, and I advised my Beloved that we would leave our hotel at 0800 on Monday to visit Australian Embassy at 0830 to query when her residence permit (another name) would be approved - had been told these were assessed by Embassy rather than VFS in Sukhumvit. Beautiful wife ready to leave hotel at 0930 (!!!), so off we go, to discover Embassy moved some weeks ago to new site, taxi paid and left us at new Embassy, only to learn that all applications now assessed at VFS Sukhumvit. Walked for miles, hired replacement taxi to VFS Sukhumvit. Despite having every document and reference number for the application, after waiting two hours discovered the only one they can apparently use to track progress is the fee payment receipt number, which of course is locked in our safe in Korat. At this point, I accepted the Gods were against us, and we smiled politely and caught the 1500 bus to Korat, ready to fight another day.

On Tuesday morning, we drove to the police station in Korat to deliver a TM30 form to confirm my ''alien'' residence. I thought it needed to go to Immigration office, but bowed to my wife's superior knowledge. The police were somewhat mystified, but extremely helpful, and smothered my TM30 with stamps and signatures, and assured me that Manchester will win the Cup next year. As a rugby supporter, I am far more concerned about The All Blacks, but appreciated the advice. We then drove to the bank where we keep a joint account, and asked them to open an acount in my name only to make a deposit of Bht 400,000 to mature nicely and support my Marriage Visa application in due course. The officer said that first we need to get my TM30 certified by the Immigration office in Chok Chai (!), about 25 kms from Korat, and the police stamp is not enough. We set off to Chok Chai without me making any comment to my Beloved, only to discover that that Immigration office had also moved just four weeks ago. It took one hour to find the new one, by which time my wife had managed to work out how all this was my fault and was informing me of all my failings at the volume only reachable by furious Issan girls! Anyway, I have to say the Immigration team were supremely efficient (no-one else had managed to find the new office either, me-thinks!),  and   soon I was back home mentally battered and bruised, but in command of a large Johnny Walker. I also bought a new air-conditioner, smart TV, vacuum cleaner, gas cooktop, gold ear-rings and necklace. And new Michelin tyres for the car! And smiled.

Wednesday dawned bright and sunny, as you all may know. The bank said the rules had changed, and they now needed me to appear on my wife's house book as resident before they open an account for me. The fact that they have a joint account for me has no relevance. They could accept an affidavit witnessed by an officer from the Australian Embassy in Bangkok ( 270 kms away ) stating that I am who I say I am. I explain that the affidavit is just me stating something, and the officer is not confirming or guaranteeing that, just validating my signature. No cigar. So off we go to the Amphur, who say that with all the immigration and police stamps, no problem modifying the house ''book'', but it must take 15 days to confirm the change. I leave to Aus  in 13 days. I smiled - just!!

Thank God and all the Angels for Johnny Walker, and roll on December, when I climb on the same horse again, but I little bit wiser and much more battered!! But I still love Thailand, and next year the Bledisloe Cup belongs to us!! Go the Wallabies!!!

Am I being unreasonable, but I wonder why we are wasting time, space on our website, and the guidance of the more experienced and helpful members on trying to help someone who is either a troll or, sadly, mentally deranged? We may not always agree with the laws and regulations in our " adopted " Paradise, but when someone seeks guidance on a regulation that is pretty well standard and applies to all us who are effectively guests in the country we choose to call home, and then goes on for six pages querying and arguing with the sensible opinions and freely-offered advice, I think our honourable Moderator should, as it were, call " Time, gentlemen, please!" Enough, surely?!!

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