asiacurious

4 hours ago, BrianStar said:

my ass 3 times now having to introduce a dead version of it

3 hours ago, asiacurious said:

So you got Sinovac or similar, but not Moderna or Pfizer?

3 hours ago, BrianStar said:

Moderna 3 times.

Ah, so you didn't get a dead version of anything.  The Moderna vaccine doesn't actually contain any dead virus. 

3 hours ago, BE88 said:

4 hours ago, asiacurious said:

Yeah, you're right.  It's a bit nonsensical.  They should simply require everyone to be vaccinated.  Problem solved.

If you want to take an experimental vaccine every six months, go ahead but without me.

It's not experimental at this point, and of course I'm going without you.  Why would I bring a total stranger with me?!

8 minutes ago, BrianStar said:

my ass 3 times now having to introduce a dead version of it

So you got Sinovac or similar, but not Moderna or Pfizer?

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Then again, placebos sometimes do have an effect.

True.  They can work really well for ailments that really only exist in the mind.  Against real viruses that kill?  Mmmm.... not so much.  (Not at all actually.)

And Tesla loses over 12% of it's value....

Quote

Tesla is not involved in the Twitter deal, yet its shares have been targeted by speculators after Musk declined to disclose publicly where his cash for the acquisition is coming from. The 12.2% drop in Tesla's shares on Tuesday equated to a $21 billion drop in the value of his Tesla stake, the same as the $21 billion in cash he committed to the Twitter deal.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/tesla-loses-126-bln-value-amid-musk-twitter-deal-funding-concern-2022-04-26/

Morchana vs Mor Prom vs Thaichana....

FIGHT!

What are the limits on things other than alcohol (1 liter) and tobacco (200 cigarettes or 250g total all kinds)?  The only thing I see is this:

Quote

Personal belongings in reasonable quantity, which are worth no more than 20,000 baht in total and are not prohibited or restricted goods or food

So is that 20K baht worth based on prices in Thailand?  Or 20K baht worth based on price actually paid when purchased?  A piece of cheese that cost $20 US could be worth 3X that here.  Of course, a big chunk of that increase is because of the tariffs paid by the importer.  Do those tariffs go into calculating the local worth of goods? 

I guess my question is, does anyone have any experience with how they actually calculate the worth of goods imported?  And will keeping receipts for purchases help with proving their worth?

11 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

From the OP.....

 

"Would it be possible to get visa extensions so I could stay for a year or possiblity more?" 

 

Doesn't really sound like long term ongoing is the plan.

Yes I did mention PE in earlier post.

His best option imo is METV. 

That's what I thought at first.  METV FTW!  

(I'm a big proponent of that option, though the need to leave and re-enter every 60 days can get tiring after a while.  Best for people looking to stay for a year or so, or those who are a little short of a retirement visa.)

The OP later responded to replies with...

11 hours ago, kingofallasians said:

I'm 41 and I'd like to stay at least a year but maybe a few. TH is like home to me.

 

I'm in Hawaii so I might have to fly to a different island to get a special visa, which is expensive and a pain.

 

What does the PE stand for? I'll look it up. Also, what is the education visa like these days? 

Hmmm....  A few years?  TH is like home?  Sounds like he already feels a certain way about staying longer term, and if he stays 3 years I'd wager there's a good chance he'll want 3 more after that.  Then another 3.  He's only 41 and hasn't asked about work visas, so I'd guess he has the money to support himself without employment.  If not, a job w/ work visa is a better option.

The 20 year elite for 1,000K baht might seem a bit extreme but in my mind - and yeah, maybe only in my mind?! - it's seems a better choice than the 5 year elite for 600K baht suggestion that I was responding to.

But if really only for 1-3 years?  METV!  I posted this in another thread a couple days ago, but I thought it might be helpful for the OP here.  I've set the start date to January 1, 2023 which makes it really easy to see exactly how the METV works....

3 minutes ago, 2 is 1 said:

Elite visa cost 600k bth and valid 5 years. If you have that money that is not pain in butt solution.

 

https://www.thailandelitevisas.com/membership-overview/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7Ievnv6s9wIVFWEYCh1ijwIcEAAYASAAEgK33_D_BwE

Wouldn't the 20 year Elite Superiority be a much better deal?

5 year @ 600K = 120K baht per year

20 year @ 1M baht = 50K baht per year.

I know the OP only needs 9 years until he can get a retirement visa, but those 11 extra years on the Elite would save him from needing to deal with any of the retirement visa stuff.  If he's the kind of person who would do agents, that's 11 years of savings from paying them.  And if he's a do-it-yourself kind of guy, he wouldn't need to bother with depositing money here until he's in his 60s. 

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, I read most of your post but it all came down to one thing.

Complaining about a process that is easy if you do research.

When I was doing my conversion from METV to Retirement, I have to admit the research was quite confusing.  Lots of little questions I had that weren't really answered anywhere.  And a bunch of other questions that had different answers from different people.

14 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Your main issue is bank account.

The simple solution is to use an agent to open an account.

That cost is 4.5-5k.

Yep.  That's the tricky bit.  But it is definitely possible to do it yourself.  Bangkok Bank seems to be the easiest.  Some locations in Bangkok will do a bank account if you're here on a tourist visa AND you're already over 50 AND you bring in all of your retirement visa application paperwork and tell them you're applying but you need the bank account.

They might hem and haw a little ("we really aren't supposed to") but if they don't say outright that they can't do it then they will.  Adding that you want to transfer the money into a fixed term account with their branch will help (probably because they have sales targets they have to meet).

Google is your friend.

Youtube is also your friend.

27 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Rule #1 : Never use Poipet

Rule #2 : Poipet is not normal. 

That should be the tagline for the whole site.

6 hours ago, BritTim said:

There is a limit of two visa exempt entries by land in any calendar year. At most land borders, there is no problem entering any number of times as long as you have a visa.

5 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

That is only for visa exempt entries at land border crossings (it was done in 2015). By air there is no written limit.

I'll note again - I had a METV and was NOT visa exempt.  Maybe it was just that particular officer giving me a hard time, but the warning was given.

Checking my old passport, the METV was issued at the end of February and I entered Thailand the first time in early March.  In early May I took a trip to Cambodia (I love Siem Reap) and it was on my way back to Thailand via the border crossing at Poipet that I was told not to cross by land anymore.  Only flights.

To clarify, it was my first re-entry into Thailand that year and the first re-entry on that METV.  And I was specifically told that I could not cross in by land again.  They actually pulled me into an office where I sat waiting for about 20 minutes before the IO came in to talk to me.  I had to hop on a motorcycle taxi - which I hate - with my big back pack no less (awful) to catch the blue bus back to Bangkok before it left.

Maybe it was just an IO having a bad day, but I never went through that border again on any kind of tourist visa.

3 hours ago, freedomnow said:

Er, because he is looking for alternate options to tourist visa after getting warned he used tourist visa too many times...

I think SETV can lead to entry problems.  If I recall correctly, back in 2018-2019 they started limiting visa exempt and SETV entries to 2 entries in any calendar year.

I used several Multi Entry visas back to back (with 1-2 month breaks in-between each) before I qualified for a retirement visa and the one time I had a problem was when I was entering by land from Cambodia.  I was warned not to come back by land again.  "Flight ok, no problem.  Come through here again and we deny entry."

Needless to day... I never did go back via land.  That's when I discovered/realized that flights were actually quicker and cheaper and I could visit a wider variety of places during my exit and re-entries.

If you can get it, the METV is definitely a good way to go.  As DrJack mentioned, you can effectively get 9 months out of a 6 month METV.

A lot of people can have a hard time wrapping their head around how this all works at first and what the timing looks like, so here's a complete breakdown of the timing.  PM me if you want me to plug in hypothetical dates for you in those first 2 boxes.

On 4/14/2022 at 12:30 PM, Wake Up said:

Siam Pharmacy at BTS Ploenchit. 
 

great pharmacy but I don’t know if they sell Cialis. 

I second this.  Great pharmacy.  Probably the best in Bangkok.

You'll get even better results if you search google and use:

sunscreen site:aseannow.com 

because it limits results to ONLY those that appear on this site....

1 hour ago, biervoormij said:

If a landlord demanded an increase in rent what would be the consequences of stop paying rent and make the landlord evict you? How much time would it take to evict someone in Thailand?  Will it stop you from getting another rental in Thailand?

 

I would not want to do this but if the landlord pressed for an increase in rent before the end of the contract. I assume I would have to contact a lawyer to get him to honor our contract and I would stop paying rent until it was resolved.

You're the one in control.  He can't go to your bank to take extra rent.  He can't stand behind you at an ATM and force you to hand over extra cash.  All he can do is demand you pay him more and then wait until the end of the lease.  Until then?  And he can go cry in his soup.

That is... as long as you keep paying the rent as the lease requires.  But if you breach the contract (do something in violation of the lease, like you don't pay the rent on time), then he CAN take action against you, including possibly evicting you.

So just keep paying the rent and doing whatever the lease requires and respond to his demand politely but firmly.  You can say you're happy to negotiate a new rent when the lease ends, but for now you'll keep paying what your current lease calls for, thank-you-very-much.