Isaan Alan

It's currently the only way to get a visa for China but there are serious doubts about the efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine. 

"The rare admission of weakness on the part of Beijing’s pandemic approach came from the director of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao F. u , who said Chinese vaccines “don’t have very high protection rates”."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/11/china-considers-mixing-covid-vaccines-to-give-greater-protection

18 hours ago, Dante99 said:

I think that comparison by Transferwise overstates the cost of Swift, there are more variables besides the exchange rate.  Swift wire fee, intermediary bank fee if any and receiving bank fee are also variables.

 

I checked the Transferwise delivered Baht amount for a USD 2,000 transfer last week then immediately requested a Swift transfer for that amount from a US financial institution.  The Swift money was received today and was 320 Baht or 0.5% less than the amount Transferwise quoted.

 

That was with a sending institution Swift fee of $10 but there are institutions that charge zero or $5 and others in the 30-45 range.

Yes it's not just the exchange rate, it's the fees on both ends also. Of course, the bank fees are proportionally generally less if you send a large amount. I send from Australia to Thailand. I started out by using my Commonwealth Bank - bad exchange rate, low fees on Australia end but 650-700 baht fee on the Thai end. Now I am using OFX with a reasonable exchange rate but only about 120 baht Thai bank fee. I am signed up for Transferwise but I haven't used it yet. They have the best exchange rate I have seen but the fees for sending scale up to the size of the transfer and I wonder about the fees on the Thai side, Anybody know about that?

Yes I have a BKK Bank account and the mobile app which they downloaded and setup for me. The difficculty of opening the account is another story which I he relayed before. Anyway the app is fantastic, pay bills ad transfer money in a snap. Some Thai app esp Government ones are a horror story but this one is smooth a baby's bottom. My only gripe is that I can't pay my PEA electricity bill. Other banks apps will let you and you can pay at 7-11 etc.. Strange

When you go to the section which says find an immigration office" it says "This page cannot load Google Maps correctly". 55 55

Even though I selected English it show the addresses in Thai. Why bother? 

I was in IT for over 30 years and was renowned for my "user friendly" programs. Thai immi sites are "farang" intolerant.

I get the impression that 90% of the program testing must be just in Thai.

Doesn't buying a re-entry permit solve that problem? You can buy it at the airport just before you leave or at immi in advance

31 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

The only absolute requirement is passport and proof of residence.  For the last, they might accept a lease or might require you to get a letter from Immigration.

 

In practice, it seems to vary by branch.

Yes so true. Bangkok Bank would not open an account for me even though I had an account with them where I used to live in Thailand. I went to the another branch in the shopping centre and it was no problem. Go figure

So if you get rejected at one branch try another. 

You don't need a work permit; your long stay visa is enough. You might get asked for an embassy certified copy of your passport which has been also sighted and stamped by Thailand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs but try without that first up.

Yesterday I received an extension up to 30th November from Yasothon (near Ubon) immigration. I had previously paid for a 30 day extension using an Oz embassy letter that had taken me up to 26th October. The process took about 25 minutes while the IO rang someone twice, battled with the computer 3 times and printed out a form which I did not have to sign. In fact there was no paperwork submitted by me, I just gave them my passport. Yasothon is ruled by Khoen Kaen and I presume everything has to be approved by them in Thai hierarchical style.  That was the case when I got my 30 day extension.  They are very friendly in Yasothon and worked nearly 10 minutes into the lunch hour which impressed me.

23 hours ago, toast1 said:

The Thai people will pay heavily for this foolishness.

It is easy to get into debt with the promise of shinny new trains, but when the bill needs paying, those who borrowed will be long gone.

No good can come of this.

Eventually, the debt will not be paid and a port or other asset will be handed over, its happened 100 times.

 

And I suspect that like the Thai Air purchase of the wrong planes in the mid 2000s, there will be kickbacks to "seal the deal"

1 hour ago, Pottinger said:

This is what I've been missing so far this year - a good, old-fashioned Thai crackdown. Now what about a few more hubs and some more police rushing to the scene....? Some pointing wouldn't go amiss.

and ....... photo opportunities

A followup question: Is it official that aliens who knuckled down and got a 30 day extension before September 26 (using an embassy letter or some other means) can now stay until November 30? This has been reported in the Thai media, but is it official?

The head hauncho Pol Col said national security was his number 1 concern. Not economic benefit to the country and certainly not sympathy for the foreigners. Luckily he got overruled last time. But this time .....?

7 hours ago, alyx said:

seriously wounded? Isn't it an understatement?

just a flesh wound?

I got mine at my local Amphur. Besides the usual ID, you will need a rental contract if you rent. What worked for me was having the village head man to vouch that it was indeed my residence,.  When you go for your driver's license renewal they will take your original certificate and even if you make a copy, it is pretty worthless.  So If you can, try to get an alien's ID card. I have used that several times including buying a motor scooter. Many Thais respect that more than a passport

I would suggest just going the first time to ask for information on what they require as there seems to be some variation and reportedly some offices are not helpful at all while others are happy to do it. My local Amphur was great once they got a new boss.

Methinks the Thai wai greeting in place of a handshake has already saved 1,000 deaths

11 hours ago, Heppinger said:

Is it these people?

Is it Global House hardware? Home-pro? 55

our highly skilled and super-intelligent people are eagerly awaiting to serve you

1 hour ago, FarFlungFalang said:

I'm also a passenger of this boat which seems to be located in the upper reaches of Excrement Creek without a paddle.Being on an expired Non O ME visa and having also used my 60 day extension which expired late March I've been told last Monday I can't apply for the one year extension without a current and valid visa I will be at the mercy of the "case by case" basis  when I go into my local Imm Office on Wednesday.

We can only wait and see how they intend to deal with our situation on an official level and see also if they are prepared to incarcerate those not in a position to accept repatriation.

Yes I am in this situation also and have used up my 60 day extension. Local IOs either make up their own extra rules (for various reasons including profit) or stick to the Kafkaesque rules precisely which are like playing Russian roulette. My local IO said before the previous amnesty ending July 31, the only thing you can do is get a letter from the embassy or leave the country. I didn't expect any sympathy and I got none. The Aus embassy FB site promised a letter if you registered but none ever came. Lucky we got another reprieve. r

Agents seem to be able to work magic but you are adding to the corruption, which is distasteful for some. 14k to 16k seems to be your going rate for a whipped up retirement visa which supposedly ends all your troubles! The first 90 day report is a hurdle because they can check your bank balance, so the agents need to do that also.

No use going back to Oz with pax limits and quarantine and then trying to come back to Thailand.

It's a mess really so I have stopped worrying about it. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, Maybe swimming lessons to get across the Mekong.

We got a reprieve,  the really sad case is teachers trying to renew their work visa as they have to leave the country. Who knows why? China does not force that

14 hours ago, NE1 said:

Sorry Isaan Alan , I have just checked my old bills and I did it through their app.

There is a Payee for PEA in the BKK bank app. 

I think it is called PEACOOP. Though I am not 100% sure. 

 

Using the APP, I found PEACOOP but it says PEA Employees (Exclude electronic bill)

That doesn't sound promising

At the risk of being sarcastic, you can only use an old letter to apply for an old visa!  If it has an old date on it you will be denied, as others have pointed out in their comments. And you might suffer in some worse way if you try to fool them in such a way.

They will kill the goose that laid the golden fish. China  negotiates with each country separately instead of a combined forum. It is not a full member of the Mekong River Commission. The Chinese use the water for generating important hydro-electricity so they regulate the flow to suit that rather than the requirements of downstream countries.  Dams in Lao are an extra problem. The decreasing Irrawaddy dolphins have nearly all moved onto Cambodia, there is only 1 pod left in Si Phan Don (4,000 islands). 

On 7/24/2020 at 7:06 AM, NE1 said:

Used BKK Bank app a week ago.

Does BKK bank have PEA as a payee? I cannot find it. Or do you pay into a bank a.c?