mgjackson69

Work brought me here....Thai wife keeps me here

If you want to see "dull", look at someone engrossed in a television show...

Using 30-day visa-exemp stamps, you can stay in the kingdom no more than 90 days in a 180-day period. The 180-day period starts with your first entry.

The Regulation is within 6 months - NOT 180 days.

BTW...6 months...is that the exact months, 30-day months, what?

Correct as WilliamIV says - The regulations state that you can be in Thailand on Tourist Visa Exempt entries for 90 days in a six month period, from the first entry.

Small detail mgjackson69 - There are no 6 month combinations (Take any 6 months, starting Jan-Dec) that add up to 180 days; this includes leap years as well.

Fair enough, that...

But my question remains, what does "6 months" mean?

Is it, if my first visa-exempt entry is January 1, then I can stay no more than 90 days between January 1 and July 1?

For the sake of argument only...not saying you are wrong, because I do not know...

But, if "6 months" is the intent, why is a visa-exempt entry 30 days and not "one month"?

Why do those of us on extension of stay report every 90 days and not every "3 months"?

Why does a multi-entry Non-B give you a stay of 90 days, rather than "3 months"?

Just wondering about this one...

I suspect for the average Farang or Somchai...illegal

Yes, he deserved it.

He was beating on his soon to be ex-wife. Everyone else stood around gaping, so I beat on him.

Consequences? Let's see:

1) The lady in question (wife's "sister") thinks I am a hero now

2) The lady's brothers and parents all thanked me profusely and think I am a great guy for "taking care"

2) The <deleted> in question will not look at me or talk to me...no loss, I never liked him anyhow

I count three positives and no negatives.

Edit: forgot this...

And no, I am not the least bit worried about him showing up with a bunch of his friends some night.

where does the saying "will you take breakfast" come from?

I never take breakfast, sometimes I eat it though.

I never take a shit either...I leave a shit

I don't like some American slang words like "groovy" or "enjoy" ...

"Groovy" has pretty much gone the way of the dinosaur, except for retro-views of the 60s and Austin Powers movies.

I am waiting for AWESOME to join the defunct club.

Yes, please

Had to figure the Apple bigots would come out....

My most recent is about three years old I think, perhaps a bit older.

A hotel missing? That is what a pen is for...

Your version is more correct...but mine rolls off the tongue much better

How about this? The visa lets you come to Thailand, the stamp lets you stay

To what tune are you singing that?

Actually, seeing that we are doing a doctoral thesis on the subject, “come” looks wrong to me from a geographical point of view. When you receive your visa you are in a place on the planet that is outside Thailand. This means that you will be going to Thailand. “Go” being such a ordinary word, you may want to use “journey”, the word I see having been used on the visa stamps in my passport (don’t know if the visas on adhesive labels use the same text)

But then you still have to look at how it flows, the metre or meter, as I believe it is called in poetry, the number and sequence of stressed and unstressed syllables. Perhaps insert “then” between “stamp” and “lets”?

The vísa léts you jóurney to Tháiland, the éntry stámp then léts you stáy. Any composers here to write a tune to it?

Or can anybody come up with a limerick to fit? With the correct metre and rhyme, of course:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limerick_(poetry)

--

Maestro

Hmmmmm....since I was in Thailand when I posted, I suppose it was correct geographically.

"The visa lets you apply for entry, the stamp lets you stay"??? That genericizes it to fit the situation for most countries.

In most cases, the airline will know that you have a return ticket, because it will be with the same airline.

In other cases, I suspect that you will have to show a confirmation number/reservation number, and the airline can verify your return/ongoing ticket from that....as they can do already.

The relevant law is entitled "Sod's Law" - the only time I have ever left my passport behind in a hotel safe was when I went out for breakfast one boxing day morning.

It took two days to find the hotel safe boxes after the tsunami, they had been washed from the reception into the kitchen, get them hauled to the police station and opened with a pick-axe. The cash and passport dried out, though most of the stamps had washed away and the photo page fell apart.

So, now I do carry my passport at all times, but did note that this increases the wear and tear on it. I got some passport-sized waterproof (not just seawater-proof, but perspiration-proof) pouches from Omni-seal and carry it on a lanyard around my neck.

And the odds of this happening again are????

It is good to get back to USA to visit my son, to see other family and friends, and exercise the Harley and play around in the workshop a bit.

After about two weeks there, I have had enough "reality" and it is time to go.

USA-spec tri-band phones are 850/1800/1900 MHz, Asia-PAC (and maybe Europe also) are 900/1800/1900 MHz.

USA uses 850 and 1900, so if you have an Asia-spec tri-band, you will only get the 1900 MHz coverage. 1900 MHz coverage in general is in the more urban areas.

Thailand uses 900, 1800, and 1900.

UK uses 900/1800, so if you buy an Asia-spec tri-band phone in Thailand, you will be good to go in UK.

Having said that, my Asia-spec Nokia tri-band works ok in USA, most places. GSM coverage in USA is not ubiquitous as most other countries; USA is still switching over from ANSI (aka CDMA)...hel_l, many places in USA are still served by AMPS (Analog Mobile Phone System), although the carriers have been given permission to decommission AMPS as of this past February. I have not used a quad-band phone in USA, so I can not speak to whether the coverage is improved over tri-band. I suspect it would be.

Quad-band is a better bet, if you can find one that fits your needs (features and budget)...then you are covered wherever you go.

And yes, *most* (not all) phones sold in Thailand are open-market...any SIM will work.

Edit: poor syntax replaced with lesser-poorer syntax

Assuming that the OP is a USA passport-holder:

You do not come into Thailand on "visa on arrival", you enter with a visa-exempt stamp.

That stamp allows you to stay for up to a 30-day period, after which you must leave.

Using 30-day visa-exemp stamps, you can stay in the kingdom no more than 90 days in a 180-day period. The 180-day period starts with your first entry.

There is no limit on the number of entries using the visa-exempt stamp.

You plan will work fine.

The Regulation is within 6 months - NOT 180 days.

Why do you assume the OP holds a USA passport?

Well, in the OP's "sig", below the username, it says "From: USA"

I figured that was a fairly safe assumption, or the OP wants people to think he/she is from USA.

BTW...6 months...is that the exact months, 30-day months, what?

So the age formula for marriage is AF = AM / 2 + 7, where:

AF = age of female

AM = age of male

For me, I was 45, wife was 33 when we married. The formula would return

AF = 45 / 2 + 7

AF = 22.5 + 7 (round to 23?)

AF = 23 + 7

AF = 30

When we met, I was 41, she was 30...

AF = 41 /2 + 7

AF = 20.5 + 7

AF = 28

I guess I hit it pretty close

It seems to have worked anyway.

Concerning the sinsod:

By "the rules", since my wife had been married before, and had a child, I would be obligated to pay no sinsod.

Before I met her, my wife had bought a house. She had been making payments for a while when we met. After a while I started making the payments, and after we married I paid off the loan.

As it worked out, we each ended up paying for about half of the house. My wife agreed that my contribution was appropriate in lieu of paying sinsod, and Mom was fine with that as well.

My wife also brought some paddy land in Korat, a house in Nong Hin, and a piece of land just outside Nong Hin (sugar cane now, that is where we will build a house later) into the marriage, all free and clear.

Assuming that the OP is a USA passport-holder:

You do not come into Thailand on "visa on arrival", you enter with a visa-exempt stamp.

That stamp allows you to stay for up to a 30-day period, after which you must leave.

Using 30-day visa-exemp stamps, you can stay in the kingdom no more than 90 days in a 180-day period. The 180-day period starts with your first entry.

There is no limit on the number of entries using the visa-exempt stamp.

You plan will work fine.

FWIW, I have had any number of contacts with the Thai police, for various reasons, and have *never* been asked to show my passport.

I carry a photocopy of the name/photo page, current permission to stay stamp, and most recent entry stamp and departure card. This fits handily on one sheet of A4, front and back.

If I am just out and about, my passport stays at home. If I take my "office" (computer bag) with me, then the passport is with me.

Go to USA and ask someone in New Jersey where Nebraska or Missouri is

Why do i see all these dealer vehicles with "TEST DRIVE" plastered down both sides is it a windup?

Windup ?? That's why they have test drive vehicles. They DON'T want you driving the new cars. After many test drives the new cars are no longer new. At the end of the year you can normally get a substantial discount on the test drive cars and trucks.

Yes, that is the idea behind what we call a "demonstrator" in USA. The dealer typically gets some sort of financial assistance from the factory to let a vehicle be used in this manner, then sold as a used vehicle at the end of the model year.

It goes back to what I said before...if I am buying a brand-new vehicle, with 10 km on the clock, I do not need to drive that exact vehicle. But if I am not familiar with that model, I might want to drive one like it.

Will using a BT enabled phone cause any speed loss worth considering ?

I have never tried it with Bluetooth.

I figure, why? For my phone anyway, it also charges via USB. So I am getting a "better" (hard-wired vs RF) connection and keeping the battery on the phone up at the same time.

I do not disagree with you that the system is currupt, at least in some aspects.

We choose to stay in a certain place where we are not citizens, then we have to do what it takes to stay there.

The requirements are different for different people, depending upon our circumstances.

By a little planning and some luck, I have had to do one real "visa run" since June 2004 when I started my stay here. That one was enough of a pain in the ass, to me anyway. I cannot imagine doing that every month, as many did back in the days of unlimited visa-exempt stamps.

Hopefully you can get to the point where you do not have to do runs anymore, just the 90-day reports.

Good luck to you.

My visa was issued on 18/09/07 & valid until 18/09/08....

What exactly does your visa say? Valid one year exactly from the date of issue doesn't compute.....

Maybe things have changed, but it used to be that if a one-year visa had an issue date of 18/09/07, then the last day you could enter Thailand on it would be 16/09/08 (as 17/09/08 would be your "utilize before" date).

For example, the old ink stamped visas (which some honorary consulates still use) would say: "Must be utilized before" 17/09/08, using the example in the previous paragraph, where the issue date is 18/09/07. In every case, the 'utilize before" date would be the day before the issue day, one year down the road. And so the last day you could enter Thailand would be one year from issue date, less two days.

The newer sticker type visas would say: "Date of Expiry 17/09/08 (again, using the same example). But again, one year, less one day down the road from the issue date.

To me, not as clear as 'utilize before.' But, I bet if you tried to enter on 17/09/08, Immigration would say, "sorry visa expired." (Actually, they probably wouldn't say anything, but just stamp you in with a 30-day exempt stamp.) Anyway, not 100% sure on this latter situation -- but I sure wouldn't want to chance it.

Anyway, just a 'heads up' in case you plan to cut a border run super close.

''For example, the old ink stamped visas (which some honorary consulates still use) would say: "Must be utilized before" 17/09/08, using the example in the previous paragraph, where the issue date is 18/09/07. In every case, the 'utilize before" date would be the day before the issue day, one year down the road. And so the last day you could enter Thailand would be one year from issue date, less two days.''

With an old ink stamp, do you think I will be safe to get 3 months if I go out & back in on 16/09/08?

I would say your last day to enter is the day before the "Enter Before" date. Some will argue that you can enter on the "Enter Before" date, and some will even claim to have done so...maybe true, maybe bullshite...but I would not risk it. My life has enough drama without creating more to potentially get one more day or to "get away with something".

Looking in my passport:

I have 5 "sticker-type" visas from Thailand.

1) Non-B 1-year Multi - Date of Issue 18 May 2004, Date of Expiry 17 May 2005 (last entry on this one was 10 April 2005, the permitted to stay was 9 Jul 2005, exit was 23 May 2005)

2) Non-B 90-day Single - Date of Issue 02 Jun 2005, Date of Expiry 01 Sep 2005

3) Non-B 90-day Single - Date of Issue 25 Jul 2005, Date of Expiry 24 Oct 2005

4) Non-B 1-year Multi - Date of Issue 20 Dec 2005, Enter Before 19 Dec 2006

5) Non-B 90-day Single - Date of Issue 1 May 2008, Enter Before 31 July 2008

It looks like the verbiage changed sometime between July and December 2005, based on the above.

This is just semantics. One definition of racism is discrimination. That means treating people differently based on their race. I remember a time when Japanese investors were heavily buying real estate in Hawaii and California. Sellers knowing a Japanese was interested would inflate their price demands. Greed, sure. Racism? Kind of a grey area. They made the decision based on Japanese nationality and Japan being a homogeneous nation, most Japanese nationals are Japanese. Would they be bright enough to know a Japanese-American is not the same as a Japanese-Japanese, probably depends. Now you might say, no harm/no foul, as many of these Japanese were indeed wealthy, well, OK, but ethically this is not so OK. Why should your race determine your price?

I would submit that the sellers raised their prices because they knew the Japanese would pay more..same-same as Thailand and many other places. Farang gets a higher quote because farang will pay....that is good business or greed depending upon whether you are the buyer or the seller. But it is NOT racist.