gimo

5 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Maybe the IO just won on lottery or had some Farangs sending her money? Who knows, it's like a lottery these days entering Thailand, never knows what could happen.

4 hours ago, baansgr said:

Having a re entry permit would suggest you are on either a retirement, dependent or working extension...never has been a problem. Its the tourist visa and on arrival where people are "supposedly" being denied entry.

            To judge whether Samui Bodoh's case is normal or not , it's important to know where , and by what means you entered the country . Big difference between by air at Swampy and by land at Poi Pet for example . Where did you enter please , Samui ?

Thanks Ubon Joe 

 I am in the same situation as the OP, except that my son was born in Australia . We ( his Thai mother and I ) moved to Thailand when he was 8 months . He has all the local village paperwork , Thai passport etc and has attended school since 4 y.o. I will be going back to Thailand soon , after 2 years back in Oz , and hope to initially get a non o based on Thai child , then retirement down the track . Will that be possible ?

I went to rural Thailand 8 years ago with 10 years experience in Japan ( 1989 -99 )  and was able to get a teaching job without a degree , very quickly . Being married to a Thai made the visa ' situation' a lot easier . In my opinion , if you want a legal visa , it would be very difficult without a degree . The schools outside BKK are very willing to make 'adjustments' to accommodate native speakers of english , especially those from western countries , provided they can take care of their own visas . Age is also a consideration . It's very hard for schools to find younger teachers who are willing to work outside BKK and tourist areas . However , there is a company that employs people that don't have degrees . It provides schools in Issan with teachers and trains them how use their method , which involves very little actual teaching . Must be under 60 y.o. 

20 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

That's absolutely not the case. I lived for years in France and spent extended periods of time in Germany. In both countries, conversations with members of officialdom in official settings, always took place in the local language. 

 

Over the years, I've travelled to various other countries. In some of the countries I've travelled to, English was fairly widely spoken (especially the Scandinavian countries) but not always. Even then, as a visitor I was dealing mostly with people involved with the tourist industry, not government officials.

 

In fact just about the only non-English speaking country I've come across where people seem to expect government officials to speak to you in English, is Thailand.

I'm surprised that immigration offices in Germany ,Sweden etc don't have english speaking staff . From my experience in France , they most certainly do , as they do in Japan . " Just about the only non English speaking country I've come across where people seem to expect govt officials to speak to you in english , is Thailand ".   Rubbish .

8 hours ago, ragabob said:

The OP was commending CM IO. UJoe responded and was corrected regarding the waiting time. All is fine. Then the next 90% of comments are by so many time wasters (not all, apologies to those who were positive), please get a life, learn some Thai language, I did post 65yo, or please, please, leave this wonderful country. Eff off in other words

       I think you're assuming that the posters who are defending the expats that haven't learned Thai , haven't done so themselves . Not correct sir . I can speak Thai , but regret that I haven't learned to read it yet . I also know a lot of expats in Thailand  and another country I lived in , that only speak English and I understand the reasons why they haven't .

  Does anyone know why Argentina , Brazil , Chile and Korea get long visa exempts than the majority of us . Also surprising that the fellow ASEAN countries don't get any preference over the others .

RE 

Quote

I don't understand farangs who never learn any Thai 

      It's up to them . As long as they don't complain that people can't speak english when selling stuff at the night market etc , it shouldn't draw criticism . Some Thai/ Farang couples enjoy the ' help/rely on '  relationship . Others are very independent and don't want to receive help from others .

6 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

So when a Thai goes to a government office in the UK, USA or Australia, he should be able to find at least one person who can speak Thai?

I've found most government officials here can speak some English. See how you get on expressing that point of view to Chinese officials.

      No a Thai going to a Govt office in another country shouldn't expect to have a Thai speaker to talk to , though it's quite possible in big city embassies and consulates . She may well be required to speak English because English is the language of communication around the world . That includes countries that don't have English as their first language .

Yep , I jumped in too quickly .

10 hours ago, Momofarang said:

Yes, but certain lifestyles require stamina and or support from love ones. At 70, being a newbie, single and on a budget, in Thailand is more than adventurous. I'd rather go back paragliding.

 

Don't get what you mean when you say "The income option and contamination of the two is still available."?

By "contamination" you mean going to an "agent"?

By changing the word " combination "  to " contamination " , are you trying to be funny , or is there a genuine misunderstanding of English language here ?

22 minutes ago, Matzzon said:

Thight as they say. Save time by not stand waiting for the bus at the bridge. You just offer Saven Vegas car driver 100 baht to take you over. You can save a huge amount of time. When over just fix the visa and take the first and best taxi. If you arrive to Mukdahan with mini van, then you can also give them 100 naht at the bus station and they take you directly to the immigration checkout and bridge. 

All of the advice so far is very good /correct . Having made the trip about 20 times over 6 years ( Mukdahan bus station to Laos immigration on other side ), I can say that you'll definitely make it in time to consulate , if you get to the bus station at 8.45 am . Be aware that you can get your Laos visa on arrival at the other side of the bridge .

Thanks Ubonjoe 

11 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

No problem to get back to back multiple entry non-o visa based upon marriage to a Thai at Savannakhet.

There are people that have been getting another one every year for some time now.

        Would the same apply to a non O based on Thai child dependency ? i.e. no problem back to back ME Non O , after 5 years of same based on marriage with 2 year break in between .

2 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

You would be applying for an extension of stay based upon being the parent of a Thai not retirement.

For an extension based upon being the parent of a Thai you have the option of 400k baht in a Thai bank or proof of 40k baht monthly income.

         Thanks Ubon Joe . That's very good news.

1 hour ago, fishtank said:

Baht 500,000 as shown in bank account transactions for the past 3 months.

From next June  I intend to stay in Thai for a year on  ME Non O due to a Thai child ( mine by birth ) . Then I intend to apply for retirement based on that same child , by showing 12 months of of monthly 40,000 baht deposits to my bank acc from pension payments . Does that sound good , or will I have to put 500k into the bank ? I will use the 40,000 per to live for that 1st year

56 minutes ago, kenk24 said:

Is that why Thai people rank so high in Scrabble scores? 

 

Are you talking about "much written" about Thais in Thailand learning English? That might be true, and surely the accent is difficult especially when they are learning from Thai teachers who also cannot pronounce well....

 

though I often wonder why most of the expats here speak near no Thai [though htey are here w/oppt at immersion, and their "uneducated" wives and girlfriends speak to them and learn English at a far far superior rate to their Thai... what does academia have to say to that phenomenon? Is that "written about" too?

        It is not fair to compare the speaking abilities of   expats here in Thailand to speak Thai , to the english speaking ability of most foreigners in western countries , especially not university students . It's much easier to learn a language when you are young and most people in non english speaking countries , have a certain amount of exposure to english when growing up . Most expats in Thailand are at least 40 y.o. and almost certainly had no exposure to to Thai language before coming here . A fair comparison could be made between expats in Thailand and elderly foreigners living western countries  , who arrived there later in life .

23 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

Stay in a "man root" (short time curtain hotel) where no ID is required. Return home and no one will be any the wiser. 

 

You might even save money.....just don't tell the wife where you rested your head. 

 

Rooster

      I"d rather stay in a woman root  hotel 

1 hour ago, 4evermaat said:

r monthly showing, you need 10+ months of 40k deposits.  the final balance doesn't matter.

 

but similar to showing 400k 1 time, why not just not update passbook first, THEN do whatever withdrawal vyou need?

 

Thanks evermaat , My intention / need is to use the 40,000 each month to live on . Hoping that showing the evidence of the  deposits having been made will suffice .

If using the monthly income method for the Non O Thai child . Does each monthly deposit have to stay there , so that 40k is showing as the balance at time of application , or can money be withdrawn leaving a balance of , for example 20,ooo . Also does the Thai child have to be born in Thailand . My child has an Aussie birth cert , but has all the tabian ban , Thai ID , village stuff etc .

     I took my 7 year old son to Sydney last march without his Thai mother . She was told that we definitely needed a note of consent . So we got one in Ubon which was the nearest place to obtain one , and had it translated into english . I also notified Emirates air and they told me to inform the check in staff at swampy . . My son has 2 passports and is a Thai citizen with all the local village paperwork . The note was indeed required at immigration at the airport . The IO immediately took us aside and called an older official looking women who  ignored me , and after reading the note of permission , asked my son several questions in Thai . After being satisfied with his answers we were allowed through .

               On arrival in Sydney we went through the automatic passport set up and at no stage spoke to a human being .