Peter Denis

Hi, I don't have a Samsung but bought a cheap (95,- Euro) Motorola Moto E4 in Europe, it's probably even cheaper in Thailand.

It is double-SIM and I use a European SIM while in Europe and a Thai SIM while over here.

The phone works perfectly and updates both in Europe and in Thailand.

Also, I am amazed of how CHEAP operator-costs are in Thailand compared to Europe.

Total cost for 1 month of unlimited 4G data and calls is only 550 THB.

And I use the phone as Wifi-hub for my laptop, so I have always free Internet at quite good speed.

15 minutes ago, wgdanson said:

It doesn't have to be a joint account then. My partner, who knows my PIN, can go to any ATM with or without me, anytime with me being dead or alive.

As long as you are alive and fully agree that your partner can take money from your account with your pin-code, there is no problem.  However, when you die and your partner is not the only beneficiary of your possessions, this might cause trouble (as the money on your account isn't yours anymore, and will be blocked until your heritage is settled).  But obviously you know your own situation best, and opening a joint account might not be worth it.

13 hours ago, elviajero said:

I only stay for two or three weeks each time in a hotel in Ubon (a GOOD hotel!) with my intended.

A bit off topic, but hotel-wise I can strongly recommend the Nartsiri Residence Hotel.  It's not very far from the Ubon town square, and price/value without a doubt the best hotel I ever stayed in.  Very clean, beautifully decorated, attention to the smallest detail in all respects.  A double room is 850 THB with very good buffet breakfast included.

I am talking from a Western perspective, and there a will does not become void because of changing circumstances later.  It only becomes void when you 'recall' it or supersede it with a will of a later date (hence the importance of the date on the will).

Also a will is executed within the boundaries of the law, meeting the wish of the deceased as close as the law allows.

E.g. if you have 2 sons and write in your will that everything goes to one of them, it will not be executed like that.  The 2 sons will get their legal share, and the 'free part' of your possessions will be given to the beneficiary son as you stipulated in the will.

The intention of this is that you do not need to worry about the law when you write a will.

As mentioned in my earlier post, many people refrain from writing a will because they think it needs to be certified by a lawyer or notary and that it is a lot of administrative hassle.  It is NOT.  Of course it is possible to have your will formally certified, and in complex situations with a lot of assets that's probably the best thing to do.  But it is by no means necessary.  Just a hand-written and signed document stipulating your wishes is sufficient, and it will be executed as close as possible to your intentions.

Note: In Thailand it seems to be required that such a hand-written will is also being signed by 2 witnesses.  And in order to avoid any issues with the execution later on, I would recommend to put the thai translation on the same original document (but stipulating that in case of doubt the english version is the original).

2 minutes ago, nausea said:

I would assume that any translation of a legal document would need to be certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or something. I doubt a translation by a layman, especially a beneficiary, would be acceptable. 

For a document to be of legal value, it does not need to be certified.

In this case - a hand-written will - I think it would be over the top to have the translation certified.

Good question but I don't know.  I presume that your will will not be secret for your wife and son, so they - or somebody else you trust - could translate it in thai.  However, I would do this on the same original hand-written document and stipulating that the english version is the correct one, in case of doubt.

Hi, I am quite interested in this topic and want to thank Moonseeker for the link with basic and clear information on the issue >

https://www.samuiforsale.com/family-law/forms-of-wills-under-thai-law.html

Many people refrain from making a will because they incorrectly assume it will involve lawyers/notaries and a lot of admin hassle.

But in reality you can simply manually write out the will yourself, date and sign it and ask 2 friends or people you trust to sign too (these cannot be beneficiaries to what is stipulated in the will, so your wife and son are 'ruled out').

Note: You can make up this will in two or three-fold and provide the 2 friends with one of these originals, mentioning in the text of the will that you did so.

Easy, completely legal and at no cost.

1 hour ago, Peter Denis said:

> See my previous post

Why not simply apply for a short-stay visa (= max 3 months) for your wife to visit France.

It's a very smooth process (have done it several times already) but it will require that your mother (or a friend/relative) gets some necessary documents from the French municipality where they live and send them over (originals are required).

The fact that you are married will be a 'bonus' to have the application easily approved, but it is not a requirement.

My girlfriend - we are not married - did come over to EU already several times.

Hi, I was in a somewhat comparable situation a couple of months ago.  I was with my thai girlfriend in Thailand and wanted her to come with me to Belgium, my home country, and a couple of other Schengen countries for a 5 week holiday.

Belgium and France are both EU Schengen countries, so the requirements will be very close if not identical.

Anyway, there is absolutely NO NEED for taking an agent.

The VISA application process for a SCHENGEN visa is streamlined and very efficient.

You will find the requirements when you make the application on-line, if you need more info on how to do it just contact me.

The only difficulty I had was that some documents need to be provided by the municipality of the EU citizen that will invite the thai lady.  As I was in Thailand, I could not go myself to the municipality, so I asked my father to invite my thai girlfriend (on my behalf) and get all the required documents.

So in your case, I would suggest that your mother - who lives in France, and who you intend to visit - goes to the municipality of her home-town and gets the required papers (in Belgium the required documents are free of charge, and delivered same day).  And then these papers have to be sent to Thailand.  If you use EMS this takes 6 days.  In our case, I had them sent to Bangkok so that we could pick them up and then do the VISA application at the VISA center.  Everything went quite smoothly, and the visa was in her passport the day after we made the application.

16 hours ago, glegolo said:

You are wrong. I am from Sweden, and here are the requirement for METV for us, and mind you, we are EU as much as you are:

Multiple Entry Tourist Visa

Quick Check list

• Application form (click here to download)
• Original passport
• Copy of passport (the page with your information)
• Two photographs
• Copy of arrival and departure ticket to Thailand
• Bank statements
• Employment certificate
• Hotel/Accommodation reservation
• Application Fee, 1500 Swedish kronor in cash

glegolo

Hi, since we are both from EU, I presumed the requirements for an METV would be same in all EU countries.  But from your reply, it seems they are NOT.

Indeed, when applying for an METV to the Thai Embassy in Belgium, there is no need for an Employment certificate.  You only have to show that you have 6000,- Euro on your bank-account (the other requirements are same).

I am 'living proof' of the above, because I am not employed anymore and quit my job (without being eligible for pension yet) to live of my savings.  And had no problem whatsoever getting the METV (2nd time I am doing this already).

By the way, I think it rather strange and illogical to require an 'employment certificate' if you just come as a tourist.  Having enough funds for the period that you are coming, is indeed a much more logical requirement.

. 

20 hours ago, masterblaster said:

Thanks!

 

Yeah the only thing with METV was proof of employment letter, we aren't working just in an extended travel slacker stage of life living on savings. Ubonjoe had an interesting suggestion, I'll try to investigate further.

 

Hi, I am from Belgium (Schengen zone) and in my home country - and am therefore pretty sure this is applicable for all EU countries - there is no proof of employment needed to apply for an METV visa, just showing that you have enough funds on your bank-account is sufficient.  But if a proof employment is a requirement in the US to apply for an METV-visa, then I understand that road is blocked in your situation. 

Hi, maybe I am missing or overlooking something but it looks to me that applying in your home country for a multiple entry tourist visa (METV) would be the easiest option.

Such METV (which spans 6 months from date of application) allows you to stay multiple periods of up to 2 months in Thailand.  And you can extend each 2-month stay with an extra month at the local Thai immigration office (no need to wait till final day to apply for the extension, the 30 day extension will be added to the 2-month expiry date of your entry with the METV).  After that maximum of 2+1 months stay you need to leave Thailand.  But since you intend to do some travelling in the region, that could be a trip to Laos, Myanmar or Cambodia (or any other country).  When re-entering Thailand you are once again entitled to a 2-month stay (which can be extended with one month - see higher). 

If you re-enter Thailand days before expiry of the 6 months since application, you can stay effectively 8 months in Thailand (with minimum 2 border-runs).

In my opinion going for METV will give you the least visa-headache, as it only requires you applying for METV at your home-country and the possible 1 month visa-extensions at the local Thai immigration office.

Welcome to LoS!

When you are happy with how and to who your assets will be taken care off after you die, there is no need for a will.

However, if you have specific wishes re this matter, it is indeed wise to write a WILL.

Contrary to what you might think, there is no actual need to have your will registered, but obviously if you do so this gives extra security that it will be executed as you wished.

I did not register my will, but made 3 identical handwritten, dated and signed copies, which I did provide at 3 people I trust.  And this is perfectly legal. 

Also you need not worry about whether what you write is 'compliant with law'.  As the law is 'higher' than a contract, your will - if it contains any wishes/stipulations that are not compliant with law (like giving everything to 1 child and nothing to another) - will be executed 'within the boundaries of the law' and as close as possible to your intentions.

6 minutes ago, BuaBS said:

And that's why the mandatory 800k is such a pain in the a$$.

The mandatory 800K does NOT need to be on a Thai Bank Account, but can be on a bank in your home country. 

Well, at least that's how the Retirement Visa formalities in Belgium state it, but could be different for other countries.

17 minutes ago, jimn said:

I agree that Transferwise is an excellent way to send money. However it is not always the cheapest. It depends on how much you are sending. For £10,000 Bangkok Bank is a flat £20 no matter how much you send but with Transferwise the cost would be £56. I think up to about £3,500 Transferwise is cheaper.

Hi Jimn, a question > Does Bangkok Bank also make usee of the actual conversion rate like TransferWise does (midpoint between buying/selling)? 

Because the service fee is one thing, but the conversion rate used makes the biggest difference.

9 hours ago, phycokiller said:

I think you will find that fraud has been around a lot longer then cryptocurrencies, fraudsters arent really too fussy what currencies they use

https://hackernoon.com/a-brief-history-of-bitcon-cf358da30bf0

True, but having the mechanisms behind it explained as clearly as in this article, was an eye-opener for me.

Hi, as Jip99 and jay1980 already pointed out higher > consider making use of TransferWise.

They use the actual conversion rate (mid between selling/buying) and charge a very modest fee for their service.

On top of that the money will be in your Thai account next day (or day after).

Visit their website, where you can check out immediately how much THB you will receive for your GBP on your bank-account.

https://transferwise.com/

Transfering money is done in a matter of minutes, and for sure you will have it much quicker and at lower cost than using a regular bank transfer.

 Wow, bitcoin exposed >

Cryptocurrencies are Digital Version of Children’s Play Paper Money

> https://cryptofraud.wordpress.com/

Interesting article making some very valid points.

However, stating or implying as the author does, that crypto-currency has no value, is incorrect.

Even though they are in essence nothing more than figures on a digital ledger, the value of crypto's are ultimately determined by what people are prepared to pay for it.

The article is relevant - for me at least - in that it clarifies the difference between fiat money and crypto's.

Food for thought.

https://www.goodtogoinsurance.com/travel-insurance-over-65

This UK company provides travel-insurance for over 65 years of age.

And they have schemes for UK residents, EU residents and 'world' residents.

38 minutes ago, hagler said:

I have had a look at the policy for the Allianz Classic Protection insurance you are mentioning and it says that the max trip length is 45 days. I have taken a screenshot of the relevant page from the PDS.

 

Could you please give a link to the policy that you have as I must be getting the wrong one in my searches as I am interested in taking it out too if it is indeed 90 days .

 

Thanks in advance

 

Hi Hagler,  I did sent you a message with the links to the Belgian Allianz website and blog, where the 90 days per trip condition is posted (and highlighted the statement) .

From your post it seems that Allianz is using different conditions on their Annual Classic-Protection Travel Insurance, for different regions.

On the Allianz blog it is stated, that in order to be eligible for the contract which I took, you need to be a citizen of Belgium, the European Union or Switzerland.

52 minutes ago, Hummin said:

So far I found only world nomads to cover my ass good enough.

Hi Hummin.

I checked World Nomads (thanks for the tip), and a 1-year Standard contract would cost me 930,- Euro (and 2 months would cost  267,50). 

The coverage is indeed very extensive and generous, and if I would be of the adventurous kind (hiking, outdoor sports) I would surely consider them. 

But as I am more of the 'couch potato' type the coverage of my 95,- Euro a year contract is more than sufficient.

11 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Looking at your earlier post on this, you're living in Thailand. Expect problems in case of a serious claim, your insurance policy was clearly not meant for somebody bin your position.

Hi Steven,

Yes indeed I am living most of the year in Thailand.  But my official residence is still in Belgium, so in case of serious illness I can go back and am fully covered at home.  So my situation in Thailand is sort of semi-perpetual tourist.  And in case I should encounter an accident while in Thailand (or any other country for that matter) I am fully covered by the Travel Insurance contract I have. 

The condition of 3 months per trip for the insurance to remain valid, is no issue for me as I travel at least every quarter back to my home country.

So this insurance is really ideal for me, and at 95,- Euro per year, it would be as good as impossible to find a better deal.

Note: The 3 month period also nicely coincides with the MultipleEntry visa which I have, which allows me to stay 2 months + 1 month extension in Thailand, and then I have to leave the country. 

7 minutes ago, Hummin said:

You always have to go back to your orign country then, and why have two contracts? The insurance starts when you start traveling to your first destination, and ends when you are back home in your orign country. Extending those insurances is expensive. 

You are partly right.  Indeed you have to go back to your home country if you want the insurance to be valid after 3 months abroad, so no use to have 2 contracts (my mistake, was not thinking when I wrote this).  However, the contract does NOT end when you are back in your home country.  You are fully covered for ALL your trips during the whole year, the only condition being that 1 trip should not extend over 90 days.  So indeed, if you are going regularly back to your home country like I do, there is no problem and I am fully covered whole year for 95, Euro.  

Note: As another poster already pointed out, if 3 months validity per trip is too short for you, Europ Assistance offers a similar contract at 250,- Euro per annum, but with 6 months validity per trip.