onera1961

9 hours ago, Putu94 said:

tourism and Hotel management is different study

May be he can look for a management, including financial management, position in a western hotel or tour company with specialization in SE Asia and posted in Bangkok

8 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

If you don't have plans to use the phone in the U.S. and live in Thailand I would probably buy a phone in Thailand.

I agree. If you want to keep an US number, get a t-mobile pay-as-you go sim card for $3 per month. Most Chinese made phones sold in Thailand have dual sim.

So according to this the reports of illegal parking being the cause of not getting their dying relative to hospital on time are BS, and aside from inconvenience i fail to see how they are claiming the moral high ground after smashing that motor up.
 
The pickup owner should get a standard ticket, and these morons a VERY hefty fine for criminal damage
 

Technically, Any extension of stay for reason x (marriage, job) ends on the same date the said reason is no longer valid (marriage ends in divorce, job is terminated).  However, for practical purposes immigration won't be able to get hold of you to stamp your passport and you will be able to leave the country without a problem. It is advised you do so and come back on a different visa or at least a visa exemption.

9 hours ago, giddyup said:

The visa is for the purposes of Retirement.

As others have pointed out millionth times in this board that it is not a visa. It is a permission to stay based on retirement.

A visa is entitled to the holder the permission to enter the country at any entry port if immigration officer guarding the port does not find any issues.

With the permission to stay stamp alone you cannot enter the country if you go out of Thailand.

Hence, you need an reentry permit.

Technically speaking there are no retirement visa in Thailand.

There are long-stay visas. Non O-A allows you entry and reentry  into Thailand for up to one year from the date of the issue. At each entry, you are permitted to stay for one year.

Similarly, there are long stay Non O-X visa that allows entry and entry into Thailand up to five years. I guess it will allow permitted to stay for 5 years (an O-X visa holder can confirm it.)

When you enter Thailand, your passport is stamped with a permission to stay date based on the visa type you use to enter

For tourism purposes, you can enter Thailand without a visa depending on your passport issuing country. It is generally refereed to as Visa Exemption

There are procedures, discussed extensively in this forum, to extend permission to stay once you are inside Thailand at an immigration office.

The duration of extension and the type of extension depends on the visa type you use to enter Thailand.

1 hour ago, shy coconut said:

Also there is a £2000 limit on debit card usage, although that may be an unique requirement

for me.

I have US $20000 limit per day. It used to be $15000 and now they bumped me to $20000. Not sure why. May be based on total volume of transaction I have done with them.

56 minutes ago, shy coconut said:

Having said that, I have not had a next day completion and any time I've ordered on a Friday,

then the money doesn't arrive until the following Monday.

O man, how do we expect next day when you send on Friday? Most of the time on weekdays, I get next day deposit.

2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

Don't worry about transferring money back to your home country, you won't make any profit on a house... 

Thais don't like to buy used home. There are ghosts. Is the house in Bangkok?

1 minute ago, Langsuan Man said:

Thanks, a few more posts like yours would show that the DC Embassy is no longer be enforcing the residency restrictions.  Maybe they realized that they were losing out on the  $200 O-A fee due to the Consulates 

I saw a youtube video where I guy from LA applied to Washington DC. I did not know about their jurisdiction because that information is not easy to find in their website.

20 minutes ago, Langsuan Man said:

(if you do,  then sign up for BB's SMS notification system to provide you with the exact amount of the test transfers)

I did sign up for their SMS service but I never received the test transfer amount. I received all other transfer that I made through Transferwise. Does is show up online? I could not get my online account with BB because they said I could not  get online banking with a tourist visa. I am in the US now and planning to go to Thailand next week with a Non O-A and get the online banking.

You can use Transferwise (dot com) to transfer to her Bangkok bank account directly. Fund will reach next day. You can use your credit card but your credit card company will charge it as cash advance and slap you with a cash advance fee and interest from day one (no grace period for cash advance). If you you use a debit card, you don't have to pay any cash advance fee or interest.

Hi, thanks again.  My laptop crashed and I'll have to buy a new one.  What's the situation in Ch Mai now for buying new laptops?  I'm in the States now, in a cheap state but the prices are Lenovo $300+, Dell about the same, no Toshibas and few Samsungs.   Thanks so much.

On 4/16/2018 at 12:14 PM, jspill said:

So far I havent been denied, been living in Thailand nearly 10 years. 19 more until I turn 50 and am on easy street with retirement extensions

Lon way to go buddy. You really love Thailand.

On 4/12/2018 at 7:54 AM, lopburi3 said:

Any entry with the 90 day visa could be extended for one year with proof of 400k in Thai bank account for 2 months or income of 40k per month, much like for retirement but lower bank or income requirements but a bit more paperwork as spouse has to be interviewed also.

Also I assume there is no age requirement unlike retirement visa that requires the person to be over 50.

On 4/12/2018 at 7:35 AM, Happy enough said:

You can get a non ''o' based on marriage. either single entry, 90 days + 60 or 1 year Multi Non 'o', have to leave every 90 days and each entry can be extended by 60 days. some consulates require no proof of income such as savannaket and HCMC

What does the law say? Does the law say no funds required? Or is it left to the whim of consulates?

In the US, you cannot buy a factory unlocked phone from a carrier. If you intend to use it for roaming, AT&T does not guarantee  4G outside USA.

To buy factory unlocked version in the US, you must go to a retailer (like Best Buy) or Amazon. And all 2017 international version are compatible in Thailand, including J7

Assuming somebody buys an unlocked J7 (international version) from Amazon. International version has for 3G 850 / 900 / 1900 / 2100. So a sim card from AIS or dTac will be able connect to 4G and fallback to 3G when 4G is not available. Same for all international unlocked version bought from Best Buy or Amazon.

In the last year I have purchased more than a dozen unlocked 4G LTE phones from Best Buy ($100-300) and every one of them worked in Thailand. If somebody is buying from a carrier (unless used for roaming) to use it in Thailand with a Thai sim, he clearly does not know what he is doing.

Go to Best Buy (or Amazon or Gearbest) and pick up any factory unlocked LTE phone  and if it it does not work in Thailand, I will buy it back.

I don't know why one will go to an US carrier to buy a factory unlocked phone.

54 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Obviously you didn't bother to look at the AT&T site, since it clearly shows the J3 model they're selling is the 2017 version, as is the LK K20, I believe.  The BLU phone I mentioned is a 2015 model that's still being sold.

 

Band 1800 is compatible with AIS and dTac.

41 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The point of my comment was, having a U.S. carrier with roaming rights in Thailand doesn't do someone any good if the phone they have isn't compatible with the bands used by the Thai mobile carriers, which vary some from carrier to carrier.

All phones that are approved by Google Fi, are compatible in 130 countries where Google Fi has roaming data agreements with local networks. That point is mute. Again we are in 2018 not in 2008.

If one buys a recent smart phone (released in 2017/2018) it would be compatible. Samsung J is 2013. I don't know why somebody would want to buy a 2013 phone in 2018?

2 hours ago, Reluctant Traveller said:

Is there still a cash payment at departure?

OMG, you're a fossil. Just kidding.

12 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You cannot get a work permit and work with a Thai elite visa. It requires getting a non-b visa.

Than it not useful, in my opinion, for people above 50 who can easily get a retirement visa. Even using an agent to avoid immigration hassle is cheaper option.

Of course, people who are below 50, it may be a good option compared to border runs and multiple tourist visas.

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Thai mobile carrier compatibility, that is, whether a U.S. purchased phone set has the correct LTE bands to work well on Thai mobile provider networks when using their Thai SIM cards.

I don't know any US purchased smart LTE phone not working in Thai mobile networks. Can you name one? Even $100 BLU phone works in Thai mobile networks. We are in 2018. Not in 2008.

 

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

The issue you're raising with Google Fi is whether a U.S. mobile provider has mobile roaming service arrangements that allow you to roam with the U.S. SIM onto various Thai mobile networks when in Thailand.

All US mobile providers have roaming arrangements with Thai mobile network providers. You cannot name one that does not. Of course you have to pay premium price for that. Google Fi is cheaper and their data rate is same through out the world ($1/100MB). Their call rate is also same (0.20/min) through out the world. That is the only difference. Again we're in 2018 not in 2008.

Firstly thanks for all that have taken the time to offer advice, I was hoping not to incur lawyer fees as I don't have a huge income. Just to clarify, my daughter looks just like me ( everyone says this, not just a Fathers wish!) so I don't doubt she is mine, but I'd be willing to take a DNA if required.The blackmailng messages are by SMS so I have some evidence, as far as getting anything else it's not easy she is in control! I ask all the time to see her, my ex sometimes says OK, I go to the house to spend some time with my daughter and we go shopping, I pay for everything to do with my daughter (quite willingly) then I have to leave for work. Other times she doesn't reply or says NO after the passport and agreed sum each month. I could stop all contact but I'm afraid she'll interpret that as not wanting to see my daughter, I'm a straight up kind of kind and playing games is not my forte, I just want regular contact and to support my daughter. I am not against getting her a passport but what's the rush anyway, my ex may have in her mind to take her to Germany as one of her other children has a German Father that visits once a year, I really don't know, she's unpredictable. I have no choice but to be patient but the outcome seems in the hands of my ex not me. Can you tell me, Michael, you recommend contacting HappyLarry, ask for his wife as interpreter and her contact as lawyer, I'm in Chiang Mai are they in my area? Thanks again.

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It is certainly not that easy to get a non-o visa for retirement in the states now. Many people have not been able to get them.

I called a few consulates in the US (Houston, Portland, Honolulu, Denver, Atlanta) and all told me there is no Non O for retirement. They can issue a single entry Non O based on family dependency. Everybody advised me for O-A only available from Washington, LA, NY, and Chicago.

2 hours ago, Grumpy Duck said:

As I understand the retirement visa if applied for in the US will require a physical exam by an md.

Yes it is true. I first went to the county health department. Due budget constraints, most counties don't have a doctor anymore. They told me to contact an immigration doctor. I went to an immigration doctor (approved doctors by US immigration for health check before granting immigration status). US immigration health check is very comprehensive and requires blood tests and vaccination.

I told the doctor I am leaving the US and not entering and showed him the Thai embassy health check form. He looked at the form and signed it. Billed me $90 as physical exam. No blood test for advanced syphilis or TB because those diseases are almost gone from the US.

Find a doctor approved by US immigration

https://my.uscis.gov/findadoctor

14 hours ago, thedemon said:

Yes Verizon phones use CDMA, but they are ALSO COMPATIBLE WITH GSM. I have in my hand right now a USA Verizon iPhone X with an AIS 4G SIM card in it and it works flawlessly. Its totally unlocked and I've used it in several GSM countries. 

All Verizon phones are not compatible with GSM. 4G data should be compatible. But voice and sms may not be compatible.

High end phones like Samsung, Google Pixel, and iPhone are compatible because they have CDMA and GSM chips for voice/sms.

To avoid any issues, avoid Verizon phones on lower ends (less than $400). Any unlocked smart phones for AT&T or t-Mobile is compatible in Thailand.