Khaeng Mak

14 hours ago, BritManToo said:

That's so true, you should have added 'health emergency' to your list as well.

Which is currently looking like ending my stay in Thailand (if not my stay on the planet).

You'll be fine son.  Only the good die young.  Just back your foot off the throttle a bit when you are out of country on your PI, Cambo and Vietnam junkets.

OP.  Don't fret about your situation too much.  Most if not all posters here on TV are just one more bad retirement or marriage extension rule change away from being removed for good from their wives anyway.  Whether or not they still have a working relationship does not matter one iota.

6 hours ago, Sheryl said:

 

Absolute nonsense as regards Thais as a people.

 

Both empathy and charity are well understood and I do not find the percent of Thai people who practice them to be much different than people anywhere.

 

What you say may be true of the particular Thais you are dealing with but it is hardly true of Thais as a people.

 

They run the full gamut of types and characters. Selfish, selfless. Cruel, compassionate. etc

 

There may also be other issues at play, e.g. your motives may for some reason be being misconstrued or your actions not make sense to people as cosntituting charitable assistance.

 

As for the OP's story, I think most likely people either did not understand his plan to have the man make use of his samlor or may have felt it was clearly not going to work (and they could have been right on that score...not at all clear the man had any inclination or ability to make a go of being a samlor driver). Thais understand charity well enough, but development-type schemes less well...and sometimes the ones foreigners hatch aren't realistic to the situation or person for reasons they don't see buy that Thais easily can.

Sorry Sheryl, but I have to side with the OP on this.

I have multiple examples to provide but I will rely on just two.

First, I know a very poor lady and her much older husband (she muslim, he isaan but converted). He was in a bad motorcycle accident and had a good part of his gizzards removed as a result.  I visited them in their shanty and could see that he was not recovering very well.  So I spent the next month, providing them with lots of extra fresh meat and fruit and veges.  I also provided him with some multi vitamins.

He slowly turned around and made a decent recovery.  I stopped supply the extra rations.  His wife came to my house and asked if I could continue because she wanted to sell them at the village market.

This year a 30 something homeless Thai guy set up camp near the beach.  He came from Surat.  The local people were very weary of him, thinking he either murdered someone, or had drug mafia on his tail.  The guy speaks a little English so I do like to chat with him as it also helps me to practice my Thai.  I was at a night market with my girl and bought several shirts and shorts for him.  I gave them to him when no one was looking.  In my opinion the only worthy charity is that which is done anonymously.

Anyway.  A few days later. The guy asks me if I can buy him a gas bottle and stove so that he can cook on the beach.

Empathy and charity is viewed as weakness here.  And in my experience any act of altruism will be followed by a request for more.

Wait.  Let me just check that I have this correct.

You paid off a mortgage for a house that is in your wife's name and now you can't afford to live in Thailand?

25 minutes ago, AusDieMaus said:

Thnx for all the advice. I will try the Ranong crossing, but will go 2 days early, so if they deny me the exit I will still have time to try the crossing at Psar Phrum/Pailin in Cambodia which I used in the past and was all smiles by the IOs every time. 

There should be no entry in the system. When I went for the extension I observed the IO closely for some raising eyebrows or confused looks, but it was all smooth sailing, so I am sure no such entry exists. The only possible reason that the entry exists could be that the immigration office in Bangkok does not show such entries as they only are applied when crossing the border, and that such an entry would only pop up in immigration offices at border crossings. But I don't think so, any thoughts?

There are two available crossing at Ranong.  The regular one which is an absolute zoo.  And the one at the ferry port for the Andaman Casino which is on a small island just off the coast.  Make sure you use the Andaman ferry.  It is much easier process, way less crowded, and you can literally come back on the same ferry if you don't want to spend a few hours at the casino.

8 minutes ago, donnacha said:

Interesting idea, but time is money, and MBA courses are a lot of work. For visa purposes, you would have to attend all the classes, but the quality of third-level teaching in Thailand is just about the lowest in the world. Might be painful to sit through the Thai interpretation of modern business concepts.

If you actually wanted an MBA, and were willing to invest that much time and energy, better to do it anywhere else, but I'm not sure MBAs are really worth all that much in the West anymore apart from the prestige and networking value if you get one from Wharton, Harvard, LSE etc.

If working online, some physical activity might be a better balance. There are alternatives to Muay Thai, such as Krav Maga or general self-defense courses.

Thai MBAs are not a lot of work.  And you will be among some lovely young ladies daily so lots of opportunity for physical activity. No need to attend classes just ensure your course work is submitted as required. Cost is a fraction of an Elite visa.  

As far as utility of an MBA goes. I agree, little to none.

On 12/8/2018 at 10:48 AM, MehrK said:

 

Over the past few years I've come in and spent a good chunk of time each year, 2-3 months. This year has been a bit longer than this. I'm growing tired of bouncing around the world without a home base and so far, in all my travels, Bangkok has been the most convenient for me as far as lifestyle, I feel really productive here and life is good. It's a great travel hub as well. It'd be nice to have a cool place to call home. I do travel a lot, and probably will during the really bad weather months.

 

The other option is the MM2H in Malaysia, but that ties up a bit more funds (even though it's in an account and not just flat out being spent). It's probably a better program moneywise, but I like life in Thailand better than Malaysia so far.

 

This is a great question and thanks for helping me think about this out loud. I don't think I'm at the point where I can say I definitely want to stay here a full 20 years, but at the same time I can see myself living here for the time being. I must say that I've been a bit worried about all the reports I've heard of people getting denied entry on back to back tourist visas and extensions. Getting a long term lease and worrying about that, and not being able to get my stuff if I have an issue, is what's making me consider this. I just don't want to think about and/or worry about anything Visa/immigration related, have a home base, and come and go as I please.

 

I've thought about doing the Muay Thai visa for a year to see how I like it, but I also don't want to be required to do that 2x a week, because I train other martial arts and it might be too much. Sounds fun at first, but I would then be reliant on that haha.

Enroll part-time in an MBA program.  It would give you four years of visas and the cost is significantly less than the Elite visa.  And, of course, you would also have something to show for your money.

Don't stress TV members.  Just exercise and take some rest.

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/pm-asks-media-not-create-stress-with-excessive-political-coverage/

9 hours ago, Tanoshi said:

Any letter I have had from the bank only confirmed the account.

The Passbook was proof of funds in foreign currency. The IO did the conversion to baht equivalent.

 

Unless you are with BKK any conversion by the bank using their TT rate (which could be lower than BKK) in the form of a letter could be detrimental.

I just provide a up to date statement of the fixed term account and a bai rap rong letter from the bank stating the details of the account and its balance in both foreign amount and the equivalent in Thai baht. That's it.  No bank book required or requested.

12 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

They use BKK's TT rate on the day of application, variances throughout the year are immaterial.

It's only the rate applicable on the day of application.

No.  The letter you get from the bank should have the deposit amount converted into Thai baht.  That is the figure immigration relies upon.

47 minutes ago, lelapin said:

The sterling account does not have a book

You don't need a book. Just an updated statement.

As another poster has already written, the starting salary for Thai staff in the T & H industry is 10-12K.

Your primary advantage over these candidates is that you can speak English (though I note it is not your mother tongue).

Here are some ideas for you:

• Why don't you apply for positions at booking.com, agoda.com and airBNB.
• Why don't you identify and apply for teaching positions with companies that provide education and training to staff at 5 star hotels.
• Why don't you start your own company providing language training to 5 star hotels?

12 hours ago, wayan94 said:

my degree is tourism and hotel management

Apply for multiply entry tourist visa only possible in my country Holland  

in fact I live in Thailand 10 years so it is my residence. 

thanks for your advice 

So you lived in Thailand for 10 years.  What did you do for a visa when you were not a student?

16 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

It does comply.

It's a FCD fixed term account and the certificate is issued by the bank + letter.

+1

If there is no book just ensure you have an updated statement prior to going to immigration. 

6 minutes ago, connda said:

And yet my son and daughter in law are expected to live on a monthly salary of 10K.  So basically, it's all totally BS.

No BS whatsoever.  Each and every one of immigration's whims becomes our reality.

In the wake of the currently unfolding house price crash in Australia the AUD is forecast to hit as low as 16 baht in the coming year.

So if they increase the lump sum deposit requirement to 1.6 million then Aussies will have to pony up a cool ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS for the honor of receiving a retirement visa extension.

Oh and lets not forget the compulsory medical insurance that is schedule for implementation later this year.

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I don't have any money in a Thai bank beyond expenses for the month.

Never will, they can set the savings requirements as high as they like.

You'd have to be stupid to park money in Thai banks.

 

Running all my Thai purchases down now, old pickup, old m/c won't be buying anything new.

Won't be spending any money on the house either, just buying essentials like SangSom, soda water and limes.

And ice.  You forgot ice.

6 hours ago, DILLIGAD said:

Just heard from my local dealer, this will be available later his year in Thailand. Like the fact it’s an 850 shafty!

V85tt.



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Good news.  I will be in the market for a new boat anchor later this year.

I just video conferenced with a Thai visa agent in Pattaya. The contact was provided to me by another expat. When I questioned what is going to happened over the next few months she said she has no idea and that immigration have no idea as well...