Etaoin Shrdlu

Excessive punishments are actually a deterrent to proper enforcement of laws and regulations. This will, however, promote "gratuities" to the authorities who out of civic duty point out infractions to offenders.

I think that In many areas of the law, Thai courts tend to be relatively impartial and do not necessarily favor Thais over foreigners. Child custody is, however, not one of these areas. For a foreign father to get custody of a child from a Thai mother would likely require the father to prove the mother to be unfit, and that would be a high bar.

Thanks for the link. I've had a quick look at the policy wording and it does appear to be medical insurance and not travel. The insurer is part of the Allianz group, so it should be professionally run and properly capitalized. The indication of 97 euros per month is likely to be for a plan with low limits and may not be sufficient. You'll want to check this. I suspect that once someone fills out the application form and submits medical history, age and selects a plan with adequate limits, the premium will go up. I'm not yet convinced that Allianz would charge a flat premium regardless of the age of the insured, but if it is the case, then that's fine. It does look legit and is likely to be a better option that what you could get from a Thai insurer.

Here you can see the ownership structure of BDAE: https://cms.law/en/deu/news-information/msh-international-advised-by-cms-on-successful-acquisition-of-majority-stake-in-bdae-group. These companies are insurance intermediaries (brokers), not insurance companies.

BDAE is definitely an insurance broker, not an insurance company. I can't find the full policy wording, which is what I mean by the terms and conditions. I can only find a schedule of benefits and descriptions of cover, not actual policy wording. The "Forms and Documents" page does not provide a link to download policy wording as far as I can tell. If you have a link to the webpage where I can download the actual policy wording, please provide and I'll take a look. Flat premiums for policyholders of all ages does not seem consistent with medical insurance, so I would certainly wish to see full details of policy wording. I'm not concerned with 6-year-old children, more with 60-year-olds.

The 3,600 baht quote may be for very low limits and for a very young insured, so I would take that with a grain of salt. Once you provide your age and select reasonable limits, you may get a different quote. BDAE is an insurance broker, not an insurance company and I could not find the identity of the insurance company actually providing this coverage. I would want to know who the insurer is as well. I also could not find a copy of the actual insurance policy stating full terms and conditions, again something I would want to read before binding coverage.

I would suggest you look closely at the coverage provided by the German company at the equivalent of thb3,600 per month. The premium seems a bit low to me for meaningful medical insurance unless you are very young (under 40) and/or are taking a significant deductible. Sounds more like travel insurance, which isn't the same as medical.

I don't think any Thai insurer will offer monthly payments. You'll need to pay one year up front to get medical insurance here. I think life insurers are fairly strict about only insuring people who have longer-term permission to stay. If you spoke with an agent for Krungthai-AXA, then you were probably talking with someone about a life insurance policy with a medical coverage extension. It may be easier to get a medical insurance policy from a non-life company as their products will not have a cash value and may not necessarily come under the same AMLO scrutiny as life policies. AXA also has a non-life operation here, so it is possible you spoke with one of their agents and that they also have restrictions on their non-life products. I suggest you work with a good insurance broker to see if there is an acceptable solution for you. I don't recommend that you go direct to insurers.

Yes. When I moved within Bangkok, I had to take my police book to the police station in the district to which I had moved and have my new address recorded. This was made clear to me at the time.

It has been too long ago for me to remember the exact process and sequence at the district office or immigration when registering in the blue tabien baan, but if you have explicit, recent instructions from your district office, you're probably best advised to follow them. I think the "interview" at the district office is simply to allow them to record the necessary information for their files. It isn't an interview to assess your Thai language skills or suitability for PR. I don't have recollection of this being a complicated matter, but perhaps more recent PR recipients can add their experiences.

I can't imagine that the steps you've listed above are correct unless they've changed radically. To answer your questions: There is no additional Thai interview at the district office. At least not one upon which your PR status depends. You just need to get registered in the blue tabien baan. No. You will only need to check in at your local police station to get your red police book signed every five years. Initially, you may only be granted a one-year validity in your red police book and after that it is every five years. You will need to be added to the tabien baan of your new residence after you move and you will need to notify the new local police station of your move so they can update your red police book. I do not know if one is still required to remove oneself from the old tabien baan and take the removal document to the new district office. I think I had to about twenty years ago when I moved, but I'm not sure. The procedure may have changed, too. No visits to the district office or local police station are required for the endorsement and non-quota immigrant visa. Just keep your red police book up-to-date as you'll be required to submit it.

It sure seemed to on January 6, 2021.

Using the dog whistle: "Show them your strength", "Take back our country". He doesn't need to be explicit; they understand.

An orange prison jumpsuit will nicely match his hair color.

Yes, they may use different insurers, but it is normal practice for an insurance broker to disclose the identity of the insurer to their prospective client or policyholder at the time of quotation or, at the very latest, when accepting an order to bind coverage. The prospective policyholder should be given the opportunity to decide whether the insurance company being proposed by the broker is acceptable. Major insurance brokers are usually very careful to make sure that the identity of the insurance company is disclosed to their clients because failure to do so may make the broker assume policy liabilities or obligations (claims, among others) that aren't normally theirs. The insurer providing the coverage won't change during the validity of the policy and the insurer's identity and legal address would normally be clearly stated on the policy itself.

It would be ok if WRLife would disclose the identity of the insurance company when providing quotes, however I'm not sure that this is the case. If a broker does not disclose the identity of the insurer providing cover, courts may deem that the broker is the insurer. This is something that brokers normally rigorously avoid by making full disclosure of the identity of the insurer.

Cigna is an insurance company. April and WRLife are insurance brokers. If you pursue a quotation from WRLife, I would suggest you ask them to provide you with full details of the insurance company that will bear the risk of loss under the policy they issue, including full name, legal address and which insurance regulator has licensed them. Ask about financial strength ratings from AM Best, Standard and Poor or other rating agency.

It has been ten years since I've had to get a new TM17, so I don't recall whether I had to submit my tabien baan, but apparently it is a requirement, at least as of now. guid_en2.pdf

You may wish to consider looking at Agoda's website and searching on their map to see which hotels near the US embassy suit your budget. Wireless Road has mostly very pricy hotels, but there may be some that aren't too dear nearby.

Yes, the red book update at the police station is a fairly casual matter. I have always taken the blue house book, but I don't recall whether it was actually scrutinized. Better to take and not need than omit and have to make a second trip if they ask.

The white book is TM17 and replaces your TM16 (blue certificate of residence issued by immigration) when it gets full. You do not renew PR with immigration. It is permanent unless revoked or abandoned.

In my case, the first year of registration in the police red book was for only one year. After the first year, the next and all subsequent reports were at 5-year intervals. You will need the red police book in order to obtain a re-entry permit in your passport and an endorsement in your residence certificate before you leave the country if you wish to keep your PR. I believe I have provided my blue house book at each update of my red police book. I think they want evidence that you're still registered at the address they have on file and in your red police book.

I believe there's another exception to the requirement to file f8938: Accounts at overseas branches of US financial institutions are excepted. Citibank here in Thailand is a branch, so no need for f8938 for accounts with Citibank Thailand. Unfortunately, Citibank has sold its consumer banking business to UOB and 2022 is probably the last year for this. From the instructions for f8938 from the IRS website: "Certain Financial Accounts The following financial accounts and the assets held in such accounts are not specified foreign financial assets and do not have to be reported on Form 8938. 1. A financial account that is maintained by a U.S. payer, such as a domestic financial institution. In general, a U.S. payer also includes a domestic branch of a foreign bank or foreign insurance company and a foreign branch or foreign subsidiary of a U.S. financial institution."

It's Trump and Putin.