Ray1167

did it about 2 weeks ago . no probs to pay with USD at all at the Laos immigration booths on far side of bridge. change your baht into US dollars at the market in Nong Khai - the big one along the river. There's a jewellery shop which advertises 'money changer' .

You may or may not save money doin in USD depending on your nationality; Laos visa is now $ 35 for most , $ 30 for Aussies , $42 for canadians . I'm assuming the THB cost is still 1,000.

Hope this helps

sorry about that , i couldn't resist it and i've just finished reading the book 'private dancer '

is Chiang Mai now included in the list of locations where farang are allowed to own condos in their own name ? Previously it was only BKK , Pattaya , Phuket and Hua Hin .

i have a friend in pattaya who could help

what's her name ?

there must be a good reason for holding GBP outside the UK . HSBC singapore will pay only 4.18% annual interest , providing you deposit a minimum of 25,000 quid and tie it up for a year . In the UK , if you shop around you can get instant access savings accounts , no minimum balance and more than 5 % AER ( especially as a non resident paying zero tax )

from what you say here , you have already researched and come up with the answers . Accept that the Thai must own the land , and be sure the value of it is not something that will 'ruin you ' should you later walk away. Get your name entered on the back of the chanoot ( land certificate ) and build in a usufruct clause registered with the land office at the time of transfer. This ( in theory ) gives you lifetime rights to use the land and will survive any break up in the relationship. If you later build a house on the land , make sure you get a 'tor tor sam' document from the bank evidencing it was your money (remitted from overseas ) that paid for it . And a contract from the builder , again in your name, not hers. This is my basic understanding of things , hope it helps . Good luck

re Longstay program ... in the leaflet they quote

• Visa

Visa prearrangement service assists a member to

deal with immigration and all the chaotic and

complicated process related to it.

chaotic and complicated ! Thailand finally admits their immigration policy is a mess.

sorry to hear that. It just serves to prove the inconsistencies in immigration's treatment of visitors. I was in Nong Khai last week doing a run over to Laos. My friend who was with me crossed back into Thailand with no visa , and received another 30 day entry stamp . They never even asked to see an air ticket. Yet i understood this was the policy . Anyone's guess.

Where would one begin looking for work in this field ? It sounds like quite a simple way to make some additional money. I am English , semi retired and living in Bangkok at present. Thanks in advance

the reason the highway cops are more 'active' right now is of course that Songkran is almost upon us - they must find a way to obtain as much BEER money as possible , forget tea money. I have noticed a pattern where i live , whereby several days before they get their monthly pay cheque - the traffic police are out making random pulls . Almost without fail. Now , i find it funny but i didn't at first .

send , say 10,000 pounds to begin with via SWIFT to BKK Bank . And get a Tor Tor Sam ( foreign exchange document - which becomes necessary if at a later date you need to use the money for a condo purchase or else return the money to the UK ) Then send the remainder in equal portions - reason , i may be wrong and it wouldn;t be the first time , but there are limitations on how much cash you can import into Thailand in one go. The government may 'impound' some of it if you breach the limit . Regards

get a thai driving license. its that simple . then you only pay the thai price to enter parks.

same thing happens to me - passport reported stolen ages ago, replacement obtained and duly stamped in front ( in thai ) and again at back ( in english ) advising that it replaces such and such.. At BKK airport ( and at Malaysian border ) they ask me everytime ' did you lose your passport ? ' duh ! I certainly would not worry about it.

agree with Bronco. Absolutely nobody has the right to retain a persons passport , except the issuing government.

the best value hotels are on / around love lane in central Georgetown. The Love Lane Inn has what could be described as a family room with a double bed and single bunk overhead. The prices / facilities are reasonable . The downside is that the love lane area of Georgetown is pretty far from the Thai consulate - there is no accomodation that i know of over there. However, enterprising young Jimmy , the owner of the Love Lane Inn will get your visa sorted out for you to save you the journey. I've been going there for years.

OP - This Is Thailand . Get used to it . Stop Complaining. You are a guest in their country, don't forget.

Hilarious ! and were there not something like 600 or more postings on the other thread where people were compaining , packing their bags, leaving Thailand, going elsewhere , etc etc . TIT .

Fact ; Currency T/Cs are drawn on a foreign bank, say for example in the UK. IF you endorse those cheques by signing them on the back , you are effectively making them negotiable instruments payable to your Thai bank. They may agree to clear them by sending them ' for collection' to the foreign bank they are drawn on . In settlement , they will receive a remittance on their account with their agent bank ( not necssarily the same bank ) in that country representing the value of the T/Cs .In order to reconcile their account , the Thai bank then pay the amount over to their Farang customers account ( after converting into THB ) . IF thai banks can do this , then this method would be categorised as an overseas remittance . Because in this example, their GBP sterling interbank account would reflect the transaction , so would the resulting FX deal. Same as a TT .

In practice : certainly worth a laugh trying to explain that one to the cashier at your local Thai bank.

Simply cashing T/Cs then depositing the cash is no better than using an ATM card to withdraw the funds. Its not an overseas remittance.

which border exactly - there are several . When you say the staff did '' all the running about ...'' what do you mean ?

Steve73 - we are in very much the same boat. Agree with Firefan - The muli entry O visas ( from Hull , UK ) seem to provide the easiest solution for an easy life. Personally, I dont mind the border runs every 90 days.

anybody considering leaving would be guilty of PREMATURE EVACUATION.

Bloody rules change all the time .

TO Arnaud - i think we know each other ! were you in Xian Chengdu and Kunming during 2004 ? Import / Export ? Ray

dont forget Thai immigration may or may not monitor this site, so be careful what 'good news' you report !

never had a problem opening a bank account in Thailand , have several . Copy of passport was enough. Maybe another case of '' new rules''

ok i stand corrected , sorry for confusion. didn't realise Thai wife actually has to be present.