Boy Wonder

38 minutes ago, fishtank said:

The top one is your extension date.

Expires 20th Nov.

 

The bottom one is your 90 day address report.

You have to report it again on 20th December.

 

The two are not related and are two different things.

Am I entitled to a 30 day extension if I go to immigration by November 20 (in addition to the standard extension with the letters from the Thai school), or am I only eligible for the standard extension with the letters from the Thai school?

To elaborate further, I guess the confusion comes from the fact that they gave me 60 days, rather than 90 days, when I extended my ED visa for the first time. I thought ED visa extensions were 90 days...so if they gave me only 60 days, does that mean I can extend it for 30 days (similar to the tourist visa extension) before I do the standard 90 day extension again?

I already asked the school and they seem to be misinformed. They said the date on the 90 day notice paper (December 20) is the day I do my extension, which is wrong based on what you're saying. They always give me contradictory information each time I asked, so I find it hard to trust their word, which is why I came here in the first place.

I have a non-ed visa for 12 months, and it expires sometime in the middle of 2020. My school gives me extension letters every 90 days, and I take those to immigration to get an additional 90 days until the visa expires. For the sake of this question, just ignore the extension letters for now. My question is specifically about a 30 day extension within a 90 day period (60 + 30).

I'm a bit confused because the stamp and the notice paper have different dates. As you can see, the visa stamp says November 20, but the notice paper says December 20 (which implies they already included the 30 day extension).

Which date should I follow? Do I still need to visit immigration by November 20 to get the additional 30 days, or has this already been given to me? 

2 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

Agree having a signed copy of the landlords Tabien Baan and ID card are an advantage, but the OP appears to have one of 'those' landlords.

I bet the landlord has a copy of the OP's ID.

The landlord sure does. But I have theirs, too, for whatever it's worth. All of their information is in the 30+ documents I was given in our lease agreement.

3 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

It's as much your negligence as it is his.

The owner, tenant or possessor can file, so it's not purely his responsibility as you'll find out when Immigration fine you.

Fair enough. I've been misinformed, because as far I was made aware (by my visa representation) only the owner can file. I have no issue filing myself.

1 minute ago, Tanoshi said:

They do put 'from' and 'to' dates on.

 

All you need are a few document copies and post it.

I have the full lease agreement between the landlord and I, do you know what other documents I would need? I will go ahead and search myself but if you've done this before I'd love to know what documents you needed.

17 minutes ago, JohnnyBKK said:

The online thing doesn't really work, I got rejected for no apparent reason.

He should go to the immigration with his rental contract and try to file the TM30 there, if they refuse it, then he could check-in in some hotel and ask for the TM30 from that hotel and use it for his paperwork.

7 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

Given your landlord issues - stay a night at reputable hotel that will report you (at Agoda you can find them on sale from 650 baht per night up - consider it a weekend vacation), or move to a new place that would file for you (and probably let go of your deposit), or let your visa expire and spend even more on starting from scratch.

 

Of course you could try the "self-report" as others suggested, but with no documents from landlord that may be a challenge.

 

Yes, it should not be your thing to do, but... life ain't fair. Get used to it.

6 minutes ago, Buuge said:

Book a night in a cheap hotel, then you're registered

The general consensus seems to be to book a hotel. I'll give it a shot, I suppose. I just hope they don't put "from" and "to" dates on it, or I'll have some questions to answer when I go to immigration. 

Thanks, all. Will still be on the lookout for some alternatives, though.

2 minutes ago, JohnnyBKK said:

That's life, if I was your landlord I would also not file the TM30, it's too annoying. Landlords are supposed to be wealthy, they don't like to deal with <deleted> paperwork like this.

I hear you. But this isn't a case of laziness or lack of communication. The landlord and I have a direct line of communication and the landlord is very responsive. Also, they have an agent, which they never even use because they just communicate with me directly.

It's just a case of wanting to avoid taxes, which apparently isn't even an issue according to another comment above.

I really don't care for the reasons, it's none of my business and I prefer to keep my mouth shut. I just don't want to lose my visa because of their negligence.

1 minute ago, JohnnyBKK said:

The online thing doesn't really work, I got rejected for no apparent reason.

He should go to the immigration with his rental contract and try to file the TM30 there, if they refuse it, then he could check-in in some hotel and ask for the TM30 from that hotel and use it for his paperwork.

But then I go out of pocket unnecessarily. Why should I have to pay a few thousand baht extra when I am doing everything according to the law? It's the landlord that should go out of pocket, if anything. 

Moreover, I don't think a couple night stay at a hotel will suffice for a one year visa...what about the remaining 363 days? I'm sure immigration will ask the same question.

I appreciate the solution, but not sure it will work for me, to be honest.

4 minutes ago, madmen said:

Just write one up yourself and take your rental contract as back up

Just now, spiekerjozef said:

You can do the tm30 yourself

I asked my visa representation this and they specifically told me that it must be done by the landlord...can you please refer me to where I can file this myself?

I'm on a non-immigrant education visa and expect to get it extended soon, but my visa representation informed me of the TM30 requirement to get an extension.

I contacted my landlord and they do not want to file one for me in order to avoid paying their taxes. I have proof of this in writing, so I guess that gives me some leverage, though I prefer not to go down that route.

My visa representation informed me that if I don't have a TM30 filed for me when I go to extend my visa, they will take my passport and give me 30 days to get a TM30 filed. My visa representation is not sure what will happen after that, as it has "never happened before". I assume that after 30 days and still no filing, I will be escorted out of the country?

As far as I can see, my only options now (assuming I want to take the path of least resistance) are to negotiate with my landlord. Either they file a TM30 for me and we call it a day, or they allow me to cut my rental contract early so I can move to another condo that will file one for me, while also giving me my full security deposit back, since it'd be their fault I'm leaving early.

Has anyone been in a situation like this? Can someone recommend a good course of action for me? I'd like to take the path of least resistance and leave all extreme scenarios as a last resort.

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

A couple of 2 day overstays should not be a problem. How long ago were they?

Just do the application online and see if it gets approved by immigration. You don't have to pay the fee until it is approved.

A member had an overstay and was trying to apply in person but the staff were saying no. He applied online and got the approval.

One was around December/January, the other was my most recent Tourist Visa which expired about a month ago. I am now on a Non-Immigrant Education visa to learn Thai, but once that is finished I want to do the Elite Visa.

I have a total of 2 overstays (both less than a couple of days) from about 6-8 different entries into Thailand on Tourist Visas. Both were complete accidents and I tried to leave the last day of my visa on both of them but couldn't for various reasons. I even had to forfeit my flight on one occasion, causing the latest overstay, because the Bangkok airport officials wouldn't let me board the plane.

I recently applied for an Elite Visa so that I can enter and leave Thailand without all the Tourist Visa hassles, but based on the initial screening email they sent me, an applicant will get rejected by immigration officials if he/she has more than one overstay. The sales people there haven't even responded to me after telling them I have two overstays, which I find ridiculous and cautionary given that I'm considering paying them many thousands of dollars for their "world class service", but that's neither here nor there.

My question: is there a way to clean this off my history, or will it be on my name forever meaning I'll never be able to get an Elite Visa?

I am planning on shipping some bio hardware to Thailand (the hardware can be found here). The parts are not heavy at all. Just need them to analyze EEG brain data for educational research purposes.
 
I had some clothes shipped to me twice from USA and I got charged around 1,500-2,000 baht each time (the first though FedEx, the second through USPS), even though the value of the clothes was roughly the same.
 
I read somewhere online that people had shipped laptops to Thailand with no import duty.
 
How much, if anything, would I be charged for a collection of various parts in the link above?
 
Thanks in advance!
 
 
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You opened this post asking for advice, presumably from more experienced people who live here. As soon as someone helpfully, honestly answered your question, you flippantly thumbed your nose at him. Please go away.

Generally speaking, I like to tip people that do good services for me, whether I'm in the west or in Thailand.
 
At my hotel in Bangkok, I tipped, and each person I tipped accepted it and was very happy.

Even my drivers let me tip them.
 
Now I'm in the outskirts of Bangkok eating at some street food places and they won't let me tip.
 
Is this normal? I am trying not to take it personal but just seems weird since the other Thais happily accepted my tips.
 
 
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Thanks again to everyone that has responded with their point of view, I find all of it very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to chime in with both the negatives and the positives.

Going to respond to a few comments together.

To the questions about my income:

I live in Silicon Valley. A $100k salary is nothing special here, but the cost of living relative to the income is a crime. You can pay $3k for a one bedroom apartment...when you make roughly $5k a month after taxes, that leaves you very little for other bills, play, and saving. Not saying I pay $3k a month for rent, but just giving you some perspective on what many unenlightened people pay for a living here.

A $500 condo in BKK/CM with $1 street food lunches sounds like music to my ears coming from a place like this.

I also have technical skills, so working online remotely is a non-issue as well. Remote work is becoming more and more prevalent in IT, and you still get paid the same. I also have my own projects geared towards generating money, I have investments, and I have savings. All in all, money is the least of my concerns.

To the comments about immigration:

I just thought I'd live there for a year or so on a tourist visa and keep renewing it, but apparently I'll have to find another way if I want to avoid being hassled by immigration...

I'll look into an elite visa or student visa like some of you have mentioned. Would rather not spend $15k on an elite visa -- especially if I decide I don't like it. I think I'll try a tourist visa first and then make a decision later...

To the ridiculous "it's impossible to not enjoy America" comments:

We all are vulnerable to becoming desensitized to things we're used to. I've been here my whole life, and nothing is new. There isn't anything 'wrong', per se, it's just that I want new experiences and I feel like I've maxed out on that here (trust me, I've done a lot of interesting things in my life even though I'm relatively young).

If I grew up an immigrant that looked forward to coming to America, the land of opportunity, then maybe I'd have different views. But that's not the case; I'm from here. As such, it's all normal to me. Normal quickly becomes mundane.

Travel seems like something that will provide novelty and experience.

3 minutes ago, moontang said:

you might be better off in Cuba.  You are going to have visa troubles here, unless you pay $$$.  Cambodia might be better, too.  What part of the US are you from?

Why Cuba in particular? 

Is a 3 month visa/renewing when expires no good?

I'm based on the west coast. Silicon Valley.

21 minutes ago, jackdd said:

You should just give at a try for a few months, then you know how it is, all the reading won't help you

Two things you didn't mention, so maybe you just don't know it yet:

For Thai people white skin is beautiful, black skin is ugly. Most girls (normal girls, a hooker probably won't care too much) won't be interested in you just because of your skin color.

Most black people you meet here in Thailand come from Africa and are either working as drug dealers or pimps. Before i came to Thailand i didn't judge anybody by skin color. Here in Thailand i definitely do this, because for most black people i encounter here it's just true. Immigration Police, or police in general, are of course also aware of this, so you can expect to be treated accordingly.

I think you're right. Suppose I should just go and see for myself.

My question about race was more so about Thai people in general, including the men. As far as the girl situation, that's not really any different from the USA. Everyone has their preference. But I certainly don't look African.

And I'm not going there for hookers. Seem to be doing pretty well on Tinder there, won't have much need for that. ? 

Quick backstory:

I'm in my early twenties and from the USA. I'm a tall, black guy with dreads and tattoos that is easily confused for a basketball player, hip hop artist or thug (depending on where you went to school).

I make $100k USD working online, and have zero obligations. I'm a very low-key guy, love to stay away from trouble and do not like to be the center of attention.

I'll be going to Thailand soon based on some recommendations from friends. My reason for going is that I am bored out of my mind in the USA. I feel like I've seen and done it all here, and everything just seems so mundane and repetitive to me. I've lived in many states, and have visited many more. Life has simply lost its flare here for me. Whether this is because of my lifestyle, or the fact that the USA just sucks in many ways, is beyond me. But the fact of the matter is, I want novelty.

I figured travelling the world/living in a new country and different culture for a while might spice things up nicely...as well as give me the opportunity to focus on growing my business without being hogged down by a soul-sucking 9-5 job that I have to commute to every day. There is a lot other problems, including but not limited to the cost of living, the political landscape, etc. I pay so much money here for such a mediocre way of life, whereas in Thailand the same money can get me a nice condo in a few different cities and give me a lavish lifestyle.

The questions:

I just stumbled across a thread titled "Leaving Thailand after 13 years" and it seems that Thailand may not be the paradise one would hope -- at least not if you're planning to live there long term, as opposed to being a tourist. Now I'm really curious and have a few questions:

1. From your own perspective, what have been the pros/cons of living long term in Thailand as opposed to the west?
2. What is your personal opinion of the outcome of my going to Thailand? In other words, am I delusional to think that going to Thailand will somehow solve the novelty, fulfillment and cost of living problems I'm having, or do you think this may be a good idea?
3. Given my personal description, do you think Thai people will be welcoming, or will I feel alienated?

Thanks so much in advance.

I'm a Software Engineer in the USA, working full-time. I want to move to Thailand for 6+ months. My plan is to continue working my job remotely.

What are the steps I should take here? Should I just go to Thai embassy and apply for 60 day visa and just keep renewing as long as I want to stay? Do I need a work permit to do my online remote work?

Any help appreciated. Thanks!