Koratjohn77

11 minutes ago, SooKee said:

Errr, no?  I've been doing it myself for a few years now but retirement only.  Timing varies by office with Phuket (last time I did it) being a pick up the next day.  Bangkok and Chiang May - same day, with Bangkok took all of 30 minutes for the passport to come back with the extension in once seen by the IO. 

Well I'm on a marriage visa although I am in fact retired but I'm not 50 years old.  As soon as I turn 50 I'm definitely switching to a retirement visa I didn't know it was that easy for retirement visas.  I wish I could get a retirement visa now but I'm only 45.  

7 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Not if you are applying for an extension based upon retirement. If applying for an extension based upon marriage you get a under consideration stamp with a report back date 30 days from the date it was done and get passport back on the date your apply. Immigration never holds passports after the application done.

The home visit is only for the first extension application based upon marriage. No hoops that i am aware of.

So with a retirement visa you actually get your extension for the entire year done the same day?  And for marriage visas it's always a 30 day wait?  

2 minutes ago, partington said:

It's not a waste of time, your view is just wrong, and so it is like arguing the world is flat.
 

Of course you'll find it hard to convince people when you are incorrect.

You know what I'm going to do next year I'm going to "renew my visa" AGAIN just like I did last month and just like I've been doing for the last 4 years. ?

1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

They stop at 3:30 pm.

Doesn't it take like 30 days to get your passport with the extension stamp back if you do it yourself?  I've been using an agent for 4 years and I always have my passport with the extension done within two days and I've never had a problem with reporting or anything at all.  How long does the entire process take if you do it yourself till you actually get your passport back with the extension stamp?  

I heard that you have to wait for a home visit from immigration and all kinds of hoops you have to jump through.  With the agent I never have to do anything except go to immigration for 5 minutes a year and of course report every 90 days which is easy.  Other than that they do it all for me.  I'm considering doing it myself next year or maybe the year after but I don't know.  Is it really as difficult as I've heard to do it yourself?  

Also the other person said something about "Applicants for this type of visa must be Indonesian citizens" what was he referring to?  Maybe I misread that.  

4 minutes ago, wealthychef said:

Thanks for the tip, I'll message you.  I have more money than most here and don't mind paying for the convenience.  A few baht to avoid hours of sitting around might be worth it.  

 

Yep, I feel the same way, but this particular "grammar teacher" was so very clear, kind and helpful I didn't feel right pushing back against what I agree seems like a bit of excessive pedantry.  And as you point out he has the advantage of being correct.  :-)  In my mind, I'm secretly still just renewing my visa for a year, but don't tell him I said so...  :-)  I've always heard that you cannot really fairly criticize an argument unless you can restate it in terms that the originator agrees with first.  Would be good if everyone followed that process.  

I don't bother arguing with people on here anymore it's a waste of time.  I once had a debate with someone regarding the same terminology "renewing my visa vrs. getting an extension".  Turned out we were talking about the same thing I just simply refer to it as renewing my visa once a year big deal.  Although it is good to know exactly what everything means. 

14 minutes ago, CharlesSwann said:

I never go first thing in the morning - seems like a neurotic strategy - you have to get up at an unearthly hour, fight your way there in the rush hour, and it's the busiest time of the day when you get there - there's a long queue even to get your ticket - and you are lucky to get done by lunchtime. I always go in the afternoon when it is quieter and gets done much quicker, within a couple of hours, as I did a couple of weeks ago.

Waste of money to use an agent.

Doesn't it take like 30 days to get your passport with the extension stamp back if you do it yourself?  I've been using an agent for 4 years and I always have my passport with the extension done within two days and I've never had a problem with reporting or anything at all.  How long does the entire process take if you do it yourself till you actually get your passport back with the extension stamp?  

I heard that you have to wait for a home visit from immigration and all kinds of hoops you have to jump through.  With the agent I never have to do anything except go to immigration for 5 minutes a year and of course report every 90 days which is easy.  Other than that they do it all for me.  I'm considering doing it myself next year or maybe the year after but I don't know.  Is it really as difficult as I've heard to do it yourself?  

20 hours ago, wealthychef said:

Thanks for the tip!  :-) 

Actually the best visa service in Bangkok is TSL.  Just email David Lam at [email protected] they do everything for you but you will have to go with them to immigration.  Other than that they do it all for you and normally they have your visa ready in a few days.  Actually this year they told me it would be a week but I still got mine done in 2 days for an extra 4,000 baht.  They're a little pricy but they're really good and they don't just hold your hand they literally do it all for you.  All you have to do is go with them to immigration but you'll be ushered in front of the line and you'll be in and out in 5 minutes.  I've been using them for 4 years and I've never had a problem.  If you're in Bangkok it'll actually be easier for you.  

Some us of these people remind me of grammar teachers with their visa terminology, "oh no no it's not a visa it's an extension of your permission to stay". They're right but who cares I know what you're talking about it's the same thing.  It is true though that on an extension if you want to leave Thailand you do have to get a re entry permit so when you come back to Thailand your visa OH WAIT I'M SORRY "EXTENSION OF STAY" is still valid for the rest of the year until you have to get your next extension.  Yes of course you still have a valid visa an extension of stay is just an extension of your valid visa although it's no longer a multiple entry visa anymore.  Once you're on an extension don't leave Thailand unless you have a re entry permit prior to departure so when you come back your extension will still be valid.  

22 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

If you wait until you are 66 your monthly payment will be higher is the only difference between 65 or 66 years old  You can calculate your payments here online. https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html

Contact info for the office in Manila is here. https://ph.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen -services/social-security/

Actually that's a good question.  My wife turns 62 in 2019 and she was supposed to be receiving Social Security Disability because of a head injury which the Baltimore Social Security Office denied.  I really don't feel like fighting them in court and my pension is really enough for both of us.  

Is it a good idea to file for Social Security at age 62?  I was wondering what her monthly payment would be I will use your link and see if I can calculate it.  If I wanted to fight them in court for her Social Security disability how do I go about doing that from Thailand?  How would I hire an attorney from Thailand?  

8 hours ago, BobbyL said:

Have you contacted AIS?  

Oh yes several times but it's finally back up and running again.  It just came back up a few hours ago.  It was down for 24 hours I've never had that happen before it's never gone out before for longer than a few minutes.  It was out for about 24 hours.  I guess if that's been my only problem than I can't really complain.  I was exaggerating about how much of an emergency it was I was being sarcastic because people come on here and complain so much about everything and so far in 4 years my worst worry has been the cable going out lol.  I was trying to find out if it was just me or if it was a network outage effecting everyone but I don't care now as long as it's working again.  

This is an emergency I've been without TV all day and night PLEASE HELP!!!

Has anyone else's AIS Playbox not been working over the past 24 hours?  Are they having an outage?  

Thanks 

I swear every time I log in here it's expats complaining about something.  I actually like it here that's why I choose to live here.  

8 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

 

Instead of calling me a liar in my face, you could have looked it up yourself.

 

Okay so you know how to use Microsoft Excel.  I go by what my actual currency converter app tells me and it's accurate by the hour.  

On January 25, 2018 at 10:06 AM, Suradit69 said:

I'm not sure what you're talking about. Looking at the high and low over the past 5 years, it ranges from Baht 28.6 to Baht 36.5 to the dollar and even using  today's rate shown at Bangkok Bank at Baht 31.30 compared with the  high of Baht 36.50, that's a difference of Baht 5.20.

 

If you wanted to put Baht 800,000 in your Thai bank account for a retirement extension and did it either at the best rate (36.5) or the worst rate (28.6), it would cost you either $27,972 or   $21,918 and at today's rate (31.30) it would be $25.560.

 

For anyone living on a limited fixed income, those fluctuations are pretty significant, especially if your timing is bad ... and isn't it always.

 

 

I've never seen it above 35 baht to the dollar going back to 2010.  Over the past 4 years that I've actually lived here it's been between approximately 32 and 33 it's 31.50 now.  I don't know where people are coming up with these numbers sounds like people have been getting screwed by the banks.  That's why I keep my money in the states ATM withdrawal fees are 220 baht.  I don't know about some of these other people but I've been getting almost exactly the same exchange rate since I've been living here.  The ATM fees have gone up by 20 baht I've noticed over the past year.  As far as the exchange rate I'm not sure where some people on here are getting their figures.  And I do pay pretty close attention to it mostly.  

On January 24, 2018 at 10:04 PM, janclaes47 said:

Really ?

 

You mean 36.04 in January 2016 is the same as 31.50 today.

 

Can I exchange some USD with you at the 2016 rate, if it's all the same for you?

That's just not correct it hasn't fluctuated that much as you stated it's been more like between 32 and 33.  I remember back in 2010 it was 35 baht to the dollar.  Yes it's exactly 31.50 today it has been approximately the same for years.  I've never seen it above 35 baht to the dollar before never, but I was never here prior to 2010 when it was about 35 baht to the dollar.  Over the past 4 years that I've actually lived here it's been about the same but has slightly changed over the past 8 years.  

I'm not sure what the OP is talking about I'm checking the currency conversion rates right now and everything seems to be the same as it has been for the past 3 years.  Sometimes it slightly fluctuates but the U.S. dollar vrs the Thai baht hasn't changed all that much in the past 8 years since I first began coming here.  

On January 12, 2018 at 11:05 AM, Wake Up said:

The reality is Thailand is not crashing and burning and tourism is not declining as many TVF posters would like you to believe. Travel around Thailand by car. Economy is growing in every area north and south with future investments planned for the EEC and roads and rail and sky. 

 

Two things that are daily myths myths on this TVF. One is that Thailand is not doing well financially and will collapse soon.

 

Second you should never drive in Thailand. 

 

IMO once you drive Thailand especially if you are lucky to meet some educated Thai people and some village Thai people, the more you recognize the BS daily posts by some sad expats who don’t like their life and blame their personal misery on Thailand and Thai people. 

 

 

 

 

Exactly thank you!  People do post a lot of BS on here.  I retired here myself 4 years ago and the U.S. Dollar goes A VERY LONG WAY here.  I like living here life's great here and if people don't like it here they should go home.  I agree there are a lot of sad expats here.  I live here but I don't like being labeled as an "expat" because I love America.  I just also love traveling and seeing the world.  I served 20 plus years in the military in Special Operations Units so traveling has been my life.  

19 hours ago, Franko666 said:

Trump isn't concerned about US citizens who go overseas to spend their USD. He wants them to spend at home.

Yes but he also wants the U.S. Dollar to be strong and it is as far as I see.  I don't care where Trump wants me to spend my money that's my business where I choose to spend my USD.  Trump wants a strong economy and there won't be a strong economy if the U.S. Dollar is weak so it works out for everyone.  

Not really it's gone up a little bit since the first time I visited here back in 2010 but not by much.  Now we live here and the dollar still goes AN EXTREMELY LONG WAY HERE. I definitely can't complain at all.  I save almost $2,000 dollars a month out of my monthly pension payments, in the states I'd barely be staying above water but here we live like royalty.  Literally 3 quarters of my monthly paycheck is disposal income.  Life's great here.  The dollar is really strong here I don't see how anyone could possibly complain.  

On December 27, 2017 at 5:21 PM, Joe UK said:

Thank you very nuch, John. I will talk to them. Cheers. 

I don't know if they handle situations like yours or not but they're very professional and honest.  They deal with visas, extensions, and stuff like that maybe they do deal with things like this I don't know I've never been in that situation before but I'm sure they can probably point you in the right direction at least.  Were you on a marriage visa?  

Joe UK if you don't mind me asking what happened how did you end up in that situation?  What kind of visa were you on?  I'm really sorry to hear that this has happened to you.  I don't know if they can help or not but I know of a damn good visa agency in Bangkok called TSL.  The only contact phone number I can find at the moment is for Korn one of the employees his number is 089-819-9930.  Ask to speak with David Lam he runs the company.  Every time I have used them just for basic services only they have always been very honest with me.  Although I don't know anything about how to deal with an overstay situation and I never plan on finding out unless some unforeseen circumstances occur God forbid.  Sorry to hear about that I don't know if TSL can help you but I'm sure they can at least probably tell you who to contact who's honest or at least point you in the right direction.  All I've ever used them for is basic visa extension services nothing like this but they're really good maybe they can help you.  Good luck and I hope you're able to get back in the country soon.  Again their contact phone number is 089-819-9930 and that's TSL in Bangkok.  

11 hours ago, JackThompson said:

I would guess they do not want to disqualify working-talent, unless your behavior indicated a threat to national-security. 

 

I've seen Thai cops diffuse potentially violent altercations without so much as laying a hand on the agitators, and do busts (looked like sting-ops) on moving cars and motos without firing a shot or even using a Taser.  I'm impressed. 

 

The USA-attitude is, of "Try to find violations of anyone, anywhere," to fill coffers and for-profit jails/prisons.  But in Thailand, on long bus-rides, I've not seen a single car pulled-over on the side of the road by police in Thailand for dozens of hours.  In the USA, you cannot go 5 minutes without seeing this.  Today's USA looks exactly like what I was told, as a kid during the cold war, life in the Soviet Bloc was like.  This was the primary reason I left.

 

This is not to blame the "cop on the beat" for most of the policing-problems in the USA - we need peace-keepers.  The problem is that we now have a system designed to reward intrusive behavior versus "keeping the peace" - the purpose of which was allowing people the Freedom to enjoy their lives.

Here you do see check points a lot but at least they aren't hiding behind bushes on the side of the road with radar guns trying to be sneaky about it and catch people.  In the states they love writing those tickets and the courts love collecting that free money.  I love my country and I always will but I've honestly never seen that here in Thailand.  I don't mean to bash the United States I love my country but unfortunately that's the world we live in.  I served my country for 20 plus years in the military.  

11 hours ago, JackThompson said:

I would guess they do not want to disqualify working-talent, unless your behavior indicated a threat to national-security. 

 

I've seen Thai cops diffuse potentially violent altercations without so much as laying a hand on the agitators, and do busts (looked like sting-ops) on moving cars and motos without firing a shot or even using a Taser.  I'm impressed. 

 

The USA-attitude is, of "Try to find violations of anyone, anywhere," to fill coffers and for-profit jails/prisons.  But in Thailand, on long bus-rides, I've not seen a single car pulled-over on the side of the road by police in Thailand for dozens of hours.  In the USA, you cannot go 5 minutes without seeing this.  Today's USA looks exactly like what I was told, as a kid during the cold war, life in the Soviet Bloc was like.  This was the primary reason I left.

 

This is not to blame the "cop on the beat" for most of the policing-problems in the USA - we need peace-keepers.  The problem is that we now have a system designed to reward intrusive behavior versus "keeping the peace" - the purpose of which was allowing people the Freedom to enjoy their lives.

Pretty much exactly.  And the thing about my security clearance is just that when they investigate people to get a new clearance or whenever I had to renew it every 5 years they put your whole life under the microscope including family and having a foreign spouse actually made it harder but basically yes as long as there is no threat to national security normally there's no problem.  They also check financial records as well because someone who's let's say deep in debt is potentially vulnerable to being bought off. I'm retired now so I don't have to worry about it anymore.  

Your comparison of the Thai police to the cops in the states is dead on and here in Thailand the police actually have a lot more power than the police in the states but they don't abuse it.  Some police departments in the states not all of them but a lot of them not only abuse their authority but they actually go way outside of the law, sometimes to the point where they're the criminals but their superiors look the other way and most of the time they get away with it sometimes even when it's on video.  

I pretty much agree with everything you said and yes the cops in the states do that a lot as far as actually trying to find things that they can use against people actually searching for violations.  They don't do that here from what I've seen anyway but God help you if you're caught with something like drugs or something.  Although I don't hang out in high risk areas so I might not be seeing everything that occurs here.  

I just love how the title of the article is "All Beer Gardens are Illegal" and then it gets my attention and I read the article and it turns out that it's about some lawsuit against the Beer Gardens.  I get it the current government doesn't like drinking okay but don't misrepresent what's really going on stick to the facts.  No one said that Beer Gardens are illegal.  Personally I like the Beer Gardens and the government should be encouraging them it's good for the economy.  Crack down on all the real problems like human trafficking and other issues which I've read that they are but focus on the real problems if people want to drink that's their right.  In fact I think I'll have a Singha right now.  

2 hours ago, JackThompson said:

Yes, but it's worse than that.  The USA Supreme Court ruled that you can be arrested and taken to jail for as little as a "not wearing a seat belt" ticket (a $50 victimless-crime ticket).  In the deciding case, the officer was verbally-abusive in the process, and her children in the car, were terrified.  The victim sued, the courts ruled against her - sad but true. 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atwater_v._City_of_Lago_Vista

 

I would assume that this pointless-arrest would be included in her records, unless there is some sort of filter to exclude all but "serious crimes."

I don't know anything about the case that you're siting but yeah it's gotten ridiculous in the United States.  I think if most people got their finger prints taken and requested an NCIC report on themselves they'd be surprised what they'd see.  All those little speeding tickets and traffic citations that most people don't think anyone cares about do show up on a criminal record even though it's not a big deal there's still a record of everything.  Even with all my traffic issues I was still able to maintain a top secret special compartmented information security clearance for over 20 plus years so it must not have been that big of a deal.  Although when I originally got my security clearance and every 5 years when they did my periodic review investigation I was asked about that and every other single personal thing in my life.  As long as it wasn't anything major it wasn't a big issue they really just wanted to make sure that I was honest about it.  They even checked my credit report every little thing in your life is under the microscope when you have a TS/SCI security clearance and are in a position of National Security.  I was even required to take a polygraph test every 5 years.  Although I think the investigators kind of understood that a lot of the laws we have in the states are out of control.  That last guy that I was speaking with obviously didn't understand that even some of these little traffic infractions are actually considered to be misdemeanor criminal offenses.  

And yes it can actually be much worse than what I described depending on the state or what kind of mood the almighty boys in blue are in or what kind of mood the DA's in or the almighty judge.  I know how out of hand some cops can get in the U.S.  I've seen some unbelievable things occur in my time I once saw an extremely corrupt entire Sheriff's Department once in a small town nearby a military base.  Around the military bases in the United States the cops always seem to be the worst but in cities like New York they're pretty great for the most part.  I haven't seen that here in Thailand as far as the power trip.  I've spoken to a few Thai cops and they seem to be pretty good from what I've seen.