007 RED

Sorry Ralf, but I don't think it was a 125 that Tiger was ridding, unless Honda 125s now have multi exhaust pipes. I'm not sure what the bike make/size is, maybe you, or someone, can identify it from the photo below, taken at the crash site. It looks to me to be in the 'big bike' category. If he was on a 'bog standard' travel insurance policy, I would bet a bottom dollar that one of the restrictions in the policy states that the policy holder will only be covered for riding, as rider/passenger, on a motor bike of 125cc or less. If he wanted to ride anything larger, he should have informed the insurance company prior to travel and paid the extra premium. Obviously there are a number of reasons as to why the insurance company might refuse the medical claim, but I would bet 10 - 2 - 1 the size of the bike was the main reason for their refusal. RIP Young man

The last page of my previous passport had so many staple holes in it, it looked like a cullender. Main culprit was the IO at my local office (Nakhon Pathom) each time I went for my 90 day report. He'd tear the old slip out and staple the new one in. It got so bad that after a couple of years I used a small Binder Clip as per photo below. Easy to remove and reuse. He got the message - No more staple holes or tears. Of course when 90 day came available online it was an easy DIY job to put the new TM47 slip in the back of the passport. I wonder why the TM47 reciept has a little box in the left hand corner with the words KEEP IN PASSPORT printed in it?

NEWS UPDATE According to BBC News, and other media sources, this young man as passed away. Briton from Milton Keynes dead after motorbike crash in T...Tiger Duggan had been receiving treatment at MedPark Hospital in Bangkok, his family says.From the reports, its not clear whether he passed away in Thailand, or was repatriated either to the UK or Australia. RIP young man

No... The CSO asked if I want that App putting on my phone, but I declined her offer. As mentioned in my post above, once I transfer the funds from my Bangkok Bank account to the new KBank account, the book, and debit card, will be locked in the safe. The book will only see the light of day for the annual renewal of my permission to stay (based upon retirement), or perhaps once a month to have the book updated following a small deposit in order to show continuity when presenting the book/statement to Immigration.

Many thanks.... I had thought about a FTA but the extra interest rate is not important. The book, plus card, get put in the safe and they only see the light of day when I need to apply for the next permission to stay. I will now use my Bangkok Bank savings account for other necessities.

UPDATE #3 What’s that old saying? If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Well, not wishing to be beaten, I decided to give it another try to open a Kasikorn savings account. This time I adopted another old saying namely, if you want to get things done, "talk to the organ grinder, not the monkey". So, I decided to try my luck by making my request at Kasikorn’s HQ, near Ari BTS in Bangkok. I was there at 08:30am, and #1 to enter when the doors opened. I obtained a queue # for ‘Foreigner Service’ from the machine and was almost immediately called to one of the Customer Services Officers (CSO). I informed her that I would like to open a savings account for the purpose of holding funds to support my Immigration Non-O status. The CSO asked for my passport and quickly thumbed through the past 5 years Immigration stamps (Non-O permission to stay based upon Retirement). I noted that the CSO held my biographical page open for some time whilst she typed something into her PC. She then asked me if I had proof of address in Thailand, such as an Immigration Certificate of Residence (CoR)? I said that I didn’t have a CoR, but I had a Yellow Book, Pink Card and Thai driving licence which I handed to her, and she proceeded to examine them closely. Then came the ‘million-dollar' question. Do you have ID from my home country? I advised her that the UK does not have ID cards like Thailand, my passport is the only ID issued by the UK Authorities. She then asked if I have a UK driving licence or any other official government document with my address in the UK? I advised her that I left the UK some 13 plus years ago and I no longer have an address in the UK. All communications with UK Authorities, such as Tax etc, are done online. I thought that I would get the same stonewall reaction (even if it was done very nicely - Sorry cannot do without ID address from home country) as with my previous attempt at my local branch. The CSO asked me to wait a moment and went off into the back office. She returned a few minutes later accompanied by the Manager who nicely explained the banks rules regarding foreigners opening new accounts. She showed me the same check list as I was shown by my local branch, but this time in English. I repeated what I had explained to the CSO regarding having no home address in the UK. I advised the manager that I appreciate the banks need to ‘Know Your Customer’ and comply with both Thailand’s and international regulation concerning money laundering and scam prevention, but if someone has lived in Thailand as long as me, with a good banking/credit record, there should be some ability on the bank to exercise discretion. I said to her (manager), I stand to be corrected, but your CSO when I gave her my passport may have entered my details into your system and possibly run a credit/security check. The CSO's face said it all, she had a broad smile from ear-to-ear. The manager also smiled and said she was aware that I had a good record and asked me to wait while she would seek further advice. After about 10 minutes, or so, she returned and asked if I had any family in the UK. I told her I had a daughter. She (manager) said that if it was OK with me, the bank can use her address to complete the application. I advised her that I was concerned that I would be giving false information as this was not my home country address. She assured me that they will indicate that it is my daughter’s address on the system, and not mine. Having agreed to the bank using my daughter’s address the Manger instructed the CSO to complete the application process and once complete she (the manager) would authorise it. I have to say I was very impressed, the CSO used a tablet to photograph my passport, Immigration stamps, yellow book and pink card. After lots of keystrokes and mouse movements on her PC, the CSO handed me her tablet with photos of my documents and an application form (which she pointed out contained my daughter’s home address and the note qualifying the address as my daughter's) and asked me to sign each photo and the application form using a stylus pen. No mounds of paper like Bangkok Bank or Immigration. The manager returned and entered swiped her card into a reader by the PC and advised me that my application was now approved. The CSO then proceeded to issue me with a bank book and debit card, as per photo below. Before leaving, the manager stopped me and thanked me for bringing the home country address issue to their attention. She said that she would pass the matter I had raised to those concerned with the issuing of the instructions. She said they may wish to contact me for more information if I was happy to engage, which I agreed. I was tempted to say that I was previously told that this was a Bank of Thailand directive, but I decided not to rock-the-boat too much and quit whilst winning. I have to say I was very impressed with their customer service attitude/technology. Both the CSO and manager had very good English skills. Based upon my experience today I would definitely give them, and KBank 10 out of 10.

This was plan B, so it look like my Non-O money in the bank funds will stay in my Bangkok Bank (BBL) account for the foreseeable future. In fairness I have been reasonably satisfied with BBL service over the past 10 years, just one or two minor hick ups, but nothing to get up tight about. My main reason for considering transferring the funds to Kasikorn being the ability to obtain a 12 month statement same day, as opposed to having to apply then wait several days for one from BBL. Not really a show stopper, just a PITA. As you will see I've from my post above I did get a call back from the local branch manager unfortunately confirming the new requirements. I was impressed, good service. My better half has suggested that I contact one of my colleagues at GCHQ and ask them to send me a Happy Birthday letter on official paper/letterheaded. She said they (Bank of Thailand) have not specified what the letter must contain, so long as it has a home country address on it. Now that's what I call thinking out of the box, bless her.

UPDATE #2 As per my earlier post above, the branch manager of the local Kasikorn called me this morning, following my visit yesterday regarding setting up a new account for ‘money in the bank’ for my Non-O based upon retirement. Have to say I was impressed by the service. She said that she has spoken to several people at head office regarding the new requirement for foreigners now having to provide proof of their home country address. She said that they (HQ) confirmed that the new requirement came into effect on the 2nd February 2026, and that there are no exceptions. She said the directive from the Bank of Thailand is clear, it must be an original document from a government body from the person’s home country, showing the person’s home country address. When asked what documents would be acceptable, she was reluctant to comment saying she would need to seek clarification. I said that in my case, 99% of my dealings with UK government bodies is done online or via secure email, hence I do not have any ‘original documents’ which will satisfy this new requirement and as a result it regrettably looks like I will not be able to transfer my 'money in the bank' funds from Bangkok Bank . She was very apologetic and said that if she gets any further updates she will contact me again.

In the original post, it indicated that this young man “left his job in Australia to travel with a friend”. Several other media outlets, have reported that he had been working with his brother, in his ‘dream job’ as a gold miner in Perth for the past 2 years. If this is correct, his family are going to be in for a very big shock if they manage to pay off the Thai hospital bills and the cost of an air ambulance repatriation flight back to the UK. I suspect that they are thinking that getting him back to the UK, regardless of his condition, will mean he will get better treatment, free, under the National Health Service (NHS). Sorry, but that’s where the shock may well hit them. The NHS system is based upon something called ordinary residence, which basically means that a person must be living in the UK, legally, on a settled basis. Having a British passport or having paid National Insurance contributions or UK taxes in the past does not give someone automatic entitlement to NHS treatment. According to the NHS, if a person has been covered by the system and they leave the UK for longer than 6 months, they are no longer considered to be resident in the UK. Should they subsequently return, they will initially still be considered to be non-resident, and any treatment provided by the NHS will be subject to being charged at the rate of 150% of the normal cost of the treatment. In order to requalify for NHS services, he/his family will have to prove he is a UK resident once again, which necessitates him living in the UK for 3, or more, months and providing documented proof. It should be noted that there are a number of exceptions to the NHS rules, but unfortunately this young man is highly unlikely to qualify for any of them, which means his family may well have to start a second GoFundMe. Before someone asks, how will they (NHS) know that he's been out of the UK for more than 6 months. Remember, he's currently in a critical condition, on life support. When he's repatriated, the doctor/nurse that accompany him will had over his medical notes from Thailand to the UK hospital. These notes may also contain details of his passport, past travel and insurance details. The receiving hospital administration will no doubt ask for details of his UK address and doctor, which when entered into their computer system may well show that he is no longer registered on the system. If the NHS suspects that that he has been out of the UK for more than 6 months, they will ask the family to provide prove he has not been out of the country for 6 months or more e.g. payslips. I sincerely wish the family the very best at this difficult time and hope they get the professional counselling they need.

UPDATE As mentioned above in an earlier post, I went this morning to my local Kasikorn Bank ((Central Salaya), with my better half in attendance just in case of a language problem, to enquire about their requirements for me to open a savings account with them. They were quite busy, so had to wait for about 30 minutes before being called to one of the customer relations desks. The Customer Service Advisor (CSA) spoke very reasonable English. I informed her that I was considering opening an account with them in order to deposit funds required for my Immigration Non-O extension of permission to stay, based upon retirement. I asked her if they are able to accommodate a foreigner setting up an account, and if yes, what document they would requirements from me. She responded that they would be able to create a savings account for me, for the purpose I had indicated. To do this I would need to provide the following documents: 1. My passport, which must have more that 6 months validity before it expires. 2. Proof of my Immigration status, namely extension of stay, in my case, based upon Non-O Retirement. 3. Proof of address in Thailand in the form of a Certificate of Residence issued by Immigration, or if I had one, a Yellow Book. 4. Our marriage certificate. 5. Proof of my address in my 'home country', which can be in the form of a driving licence or any other original government document which contains my 'home country' address. She emphasised that the documents must be originals, and not PDFs or scan prints etc. I informed her that I have no problems with requirements 1 to 4, but that I was a little confused to say the least as to why Kasikorn needs our marriage certificate, as my Non-O is based upon retirement, not marriage. She responded that in my case it was not a mandatory requirement, but it helps confirm the spelling of my name in Thai. I consider that to be a fair reason for providing it. I said that I am seriously concerned regarding the 5th requirement, namely having to provide proof of my address in my 'home country', and the reasoning behind such a requirement. She said that this is a recently introduced requirement which the bank had to implement in line with a Bank of Thailand's directive. She produced a document, which was in Thai, that gave staff instruction concerning new procedures. As I do not read Thai very well, my better half quickly perused the document and advised me that what the CSA had said was as per the bank's instructions. My better half also noted that the document was dated 2nd February 2026, confirming that it was a recent directive. I advised the CSA that I had lived in Thailand for 13 years, with my (Thai) wife, and that I had no address in the UK. All correspondence from my UK bank, pensions, tax office etc are addressed to me here in Thailand. I asked the CSA if there was any exemption to this requirement. She said she did not think so, and went to speak to the branch manager. After a few minutes the manager came over to us and said that she was not aware of any exemption to this requirement. She said that she understood the reason for me not having any official UK government issued document with my 'home country address' and the problem that it causes in not being able to open an account. She took my wife's telephone number and said that she would contact HQ and ask for their advice and let me know the outcome. I asked the manager why this proof of 'home country address' requirement had been introduced. She repeated what the CSA had said, that it was so the bank complies with the Bank of Thailand directive. She was unable to give any detailed explanation. I have to say that I was impressed by the service, attention to detail and good spoken English by both the CSA and the manager. I will await the phone call, but won't be hold my breath.

According to recent reports, this young man has critical brain damage and has been defined as brain dead, which means he is being kept alive in Intensive Care by sophisticated life support equipment with 24/7 medical attendance. Subject to his family settling the hospital bills first, If they do decide that they want their son repatriated back to the UK in his current condition it is going to cost the sort of figure quoted (e.g. 170K GBP plus). This is because he will need to be transported by a specialised air ambulance which is fully equipped with ICU equipment plus doctor(s) and nurses for the 12 hour flight, as per the attached photo. It is highly unlikely that commercial air lines will accept his transport because they do not want to have to divert that aircraft, and make an emergency landing, in the case of him having a medical emergency during the flight, even with him having a medical team in attendance. An emergency diverted landing will incur the airline in considerable additional costs e.g. landing/take off fees, additional fuel, possible passenger compensation, messed up aircraft schedule etc. The risk would be deemed to high, hence a refusal to transport.

This tragic story appeared 6 days ago through BBC news online https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cm2x29mrk79o According to the father his son had purchased travel insurance before his trip to Thailand but the there was a clause regarding motorbikes which has meant his insurance would not cover the incident. I suspect that the clause stated something to the effect that he would only be covered if travelling (rider/passenger) on a bike of 125cc or less. According to other local reports at the time of the accident the bike was considerably bigger than 125cc. Also, if he didn’t hold a valid driving licence for a motorbike from his home country or was not wearing a helmet or was under the influence of alcohol/drugs or driving in a dangerous manner, these factors may well also invalidate his insurance. Again, according to the BBC news report, his father stated that MedPark Hospital had declared his son brain dead. Given such a declaration from the hospital, the family, if they haven’t already, should urgently seek a second opinion. If the original declaration is confirmed (brain dead), the family needs counselling as to the long-term outcome for recovery, which is not very good, or the painful decision to switch off life support. Before someone criticise me for suggesting that they consider switching off his life support, I have been in the same situation as this family. 14 years ago, in the UK, my son crashed his 650cc bike into the crash barrier whilst taking a bend at 120mph (according to the police report). He was flown by air ambulance to the nearby major trauma unit. His injuries were catastrophic. When I arrived at the hospital he was on life support and the doctors advised that although he had been wearing a very good crash helmet and leathers etc, he had sustained critical head injuries and that the prognosis was not very good. He was transferred to ICU and 2 days later 2 doctors confirmed tests showed that he was brain dead. They advised that there was little, if any chance of any form of recovery. They advised me that he would need life support 24x7x365 and be in a vegetative state. As his next of kin, I had to make that terrible decision to have the life support switched off. Something I will not forget and live with for the rest of my life. I hope the family get the professional support they need.

FYI…. I have scanned copies (on file) of my Bangkok Bank produced statements which I have used to support my application for permission to stay based upon retirement for the past 5 years. I would confirm that: - They have all been produced by dot matrix printers, with perforations on both edges of each page. There is one page for each month. There is no letterhead on any of the pages... Just the account holder's details. None of the statements have been signed or been officially stamped. My local IO (Nakhon Pathom) have accepted these statements without any question.

Many thanks. Sorry.... You clearly said “I had to have a Non O visa along with proof of my Thai address and proof of my U.K address” in your OP. My bad… Old age 😁. Also, several other members have subsequently confirmed that Kasikorn have apparently recently introduced the requirement of needing to provide proof of home country address when attempting to open a new account with them. As I mentioned, I'm also looking to open an account with Kasikorn for basically the same reason as you (and many other members). In the next few days I'll pop into my local branch and make enquiries regarding their new account requirements. I appreciate that you may not have the answer to the second part of my original question, but I’m still curious to know the reason(s) why Kasikorn have introduced this requirement, bearing in mind that many expats may not have any official ID from their home country with their address on it. If when I make my enquiries, they confirm that proof of home country address is a requirement, I will ask them why, and what alternatives they will accept if one doesn't have such official ID..

I’m just curious to know, did the bank ask for confirmation of your UK address (e.g. your UK driving licence), and if so why would they need that? I ask because I'm considering doing the same as you.

Regrettably for the OP your first suggestion (Request a new card through Mobile App) is a no goer. There is an option in the Mobile App to request a new debit card e.g From the Home page click down: More Services – Card Management – Manage Debit Card – Request Replacement Card. If you get that far, a pop-up message appears as follows: Unable to proceed. This service is not available for foreign customers. To request replacement debit card, please visit bank branch (RE03). Would you really take the risk of going to the bank with a tourist visa in your passport and asking them for a new debit card? As you are no doubt aware BBL has imposed a number of unique rules recently, that other major banks have not, for example: Locking some customer’s funds for 4 months when they have requested a bank letter confirming their account in order to support renewal of Non-O based on marriage. Personally, I would not risk requesting a new card if I only had a tourist visa in my passport. You can bet your bottom dollar that BBL will active Murphy’s Law and then you could well be up the creek without a paddle. Something else to possibly consider, although he has not mentioned it, he OP might have his 400K funds in that account in order to support his Non O Marriage application. If BBL locked/closed that account, he would be well and truly shafted. The OPs best option, if he is able to do so, is to use the other suggested alternatives and wait for a couple of months until he gets his Non-O stamp in his passport before requesting a new debit card.

BBL notified me about a month ago that my debit card will expire at the end of this month. As I was in BKK today I decided to pop into their HQ on Silom Rd and get a new card. After presenting my card and bank book to the clerk and asking for a new card, the clerk requested my passport which she promptly took to the photocopier. I noticed that she appeared to look closely at my extension pages. Upon her return she gave me the photocopy and asked me to sign it. The page contained a copy of my passport biograhical page and a copy of my last extension (Non O based on retirement). After signing several other forms and entering my card PIN, the clerk gave my my new card. Before leaving I asked her, if l only had a tourist visa in my passport would she have issued me with a replacement card ? Her answer was a catagorical no. She said that BBL had changed its rules last year concerning issuing accounts and cards to tourists, in line with the Bank of Thailands directions.

Thank for the suggestion. I had thought of doing that if all else fails. But as l mentioned in a previous post the problem has been solved by using a different Post Office in BKK. All 8 cards sent by air mail service for a total of 550THB.

UPDATE: As per my post above, l took all the cards with me into BKK today and was suprised that the Post Office a few doors away from our apartment was actually open (today being public holiday). Handed to cards over to the clerk and asked for normal air mail service. He tapped a few keys on his computer and then proceeded to weigh each card. A few more keyboard taps and he was attaching stamps to each card plus an air mail sticker. He never asked me to fill in any customs declaration sticker or for my ID. The price of postage can be seen on the reciept below... max was 72THB for 6 cards.. that certainly beats the 180THB my local PO wanted to charge. It appears, like lmmigration, each 'branch' seems to have their own interpretation of the so called rules 😁

Approximately 24km West of BKK... Out in the sticks.

When I handed the cards over to the clerk I advised him that I wanted them sent by normal air mail, as you suggested. In the past such cards have cost about 65THB to send. Hence the shock when he told me the price was 180THB per card, plus having to complete a customs declaration sticker for each card. On getting back home, I had thought about using a different post office, but decided to opt for copying a Christmas card and emailing it as a JPG with personal message attached instead. As I'm going into BKK tomorrow, I will take one card with me and try a post office that is a few doors away from our apartment I'll report back if there they accept it without requiring a customs declaration sticker and the charge for normal air mail.

This is the post office that I use (about 0.5m from my home), and I can definitely say that this is an OFFICIAL POST OFFICE. FYI.... I have in the past also used a 'post agent' which is attached to a nearby supermarket, and I found that their rates for normal letter size card sent by air mail was slightly cheaper that the above OFFICIAL POST OFFICE. Unfortunately they did not apply to have their contact renewed with Thai Post, so can no longer provide this service.

A few years back a friend of mine in the UK sent all their friends personalised eXmas cards. When mine arrived in my Inbox, my anti virus software went absolutely 'crackers' and warned not to open the link which supposedly would present an animated card. Luckily I didn't open the link, and I later learnt that those who did got a Christmas present they didn't want, it locked and encrypted their computer. I subsequently learnt from my friend that he had used a reportedly reputable firm and paid quite a bit to have each card personalised and sent. As a result of that experience, I would be very reticent to use such facilities. That's personal choice. Easy enough to copy a Christmas card and email it as a JPG with personal message attached.

Took a pile of Christmas cards (letter size) to my local Post Office this morning for dispatch by normal air mail service and nearly had a heart attack. The counter clerk after weighing the cards and consulting his computer advised me that: - a) I needed to complete a customs declaration sticker for each of the 8 cards, and b) The cost was 180 THB (£4.36... based upon today's Xrate) for each card. I informed him that I had posted a birthday card (same size) in October to the UK and that no customs declaration sticker was needed and the cost (air mail) was about 65 THB. The clerk called his supervisor who advised me that the customs declaration sticker was a new requirement imposed by the UK Customs and that the charge for air mail items had been increased recently. I politely thanked both and left with my pile of cards. It will be an email to each recipient to advise them that unfortunately this year they won’t be getting a Christmas card from my wife and I because of the stupid new regulations.

OK, slightly off the original post about the falling price of panels - not in the USA. This morning, out of curiosity, I popped into the HomePro Mega store which recently opened near us and was amazed at their range of solar products which they now have available. Everything from panels, inverters (Huawei), ESS (Huawei), batteries and mounting accessories etc. The one thing that immediately caught my eye was the price of their 700W Mono Half Cell N-Type solar panels (Manufactured by: Luxen Solar Energy Co. Ltd). I know that @BritManToo often extolls the low prices of panels available on Lazada, but this is truly amazing for a major DIY retail store. Obviously if you want them delivered that would be an additional cost. Although very tempted to consider upgrading my small-scale system, my better half has put her foot down with a very firm hand - gently reminding me of what happened during my last escapade on the carport roof 😢.