LogicThai

I had several colonoscopies since reaching my late 40s, the latest recently at the Japanese Hospital by Samitivej, Bangkok. Excellent patient experience. The best thing about the whole matter always is the immense relief one feels afterwards, having been told that one is good for another 5 years.

The Yellow House Book has a field for Name of the Father and one for Name of the Mother. The only official document that they would accept for that was a full birth certificate. The Amphur is Bankruat. They showed me the file where they keep all the documents of the foreigners to whom they issued a YTB, and they all had provided a birth certificate. There was no way out of that requirement, and my embassy would not legalise the birth certificate that I already had, which obviously was the exact same as the one I finally got sent to me from Europe.

Well, I needed a Pink ID for SSO, for which I needed a Yellow Tabien Ban from the Amphoe, which needed an original birth certificate, legalized and translated and the translation legalized, from the city hall in my home country, then Ministry of Justice, then Royal Thai Embassy, the whole lot couriered to me in Bangkok. That's what I needed an attorney to do for me. From there, I had the whole lot (and a legalised and translated copy of my passport from my embassy) legalised at MOFA. With that, the Amphoe issued a YTB and a Pink ID, and I went to SSO with the Pink ID to elect to move from Section 33 to 39. Worked like a charm eventually, but it took months.

You do need a Pink ID to register at SSO and have them switch you from Section 33 to 39. They need a 13-digit ID number, which Thais have but foreigners don't. Quite possibly a Yellow Tabien Ban might do, but a. one would need to convince the SSO staff of the fact, and b. YTB is the hard piece to get anyway. Pink ID is straightforward after that.

I did the exact same thing. Upon leaving employment in Thailand, I elected to stay under the Thai SSO, which is a simple thing to do ... if one has a Pink ID. Like many others, I had previously considered getting one, but the requirements for a Yellow Tabien Ban looked very onerous. In the end, I did it though, which had me appoint an attorney in my country of origin to perform the legwork, and then myself going to MFA etc. Good thing there was a 6-months window, because I made it with less than 2 weeks to spare.

The Yellow House Book has a field for name of the parents. Hence the requirement, which implies a fresh Birth Certificate (although one was only born once, a birth certificate from 3 years ago is not acceptable), legalised, translated, and the translation legalised etc. Indeed a lot of hoops, but that's the only way.

You must have met a very different bunch of Singaporeans than I have. Still, I lived and worked in Singapore for 5 years, and I currently work for a Singaporean company owned by Singaporean Private Equity. I deal with them all on a daily base, and while I will readily agree that they have good technical skills and much better fluency in English than anybody else in ASEAN, most of them fail in critical thinking. There are exceptions, admittedly, but the worrying part is that the most mentally agile and creative seem to be the older ones, those in their 40s and 50s. The younger ones are quite lethargic and disengaged. Overall, the education system in Singapore delivers what it was built to deliver: a qualified and docile workforce. The Thai education system was meant to do that too, but it largely fails at delivering a qualified workforce. On the docility side though, it seems to fare much better, which is all the powers that be care about.

I am an insured person under the Social Security Act, under Section 39, having been previously an employee under Section 33. I see this as a safety net for later years. Currently, I am still covered by international healthcare insurance, but naturally this will come to an end eventually, while the Thai SS scheme will go on until the end (as will the equivalent in my country of birth). As healthcare coverage goes, this looks like excellent value, guaranteeing extensive benefits without limit of age, provided one pays a nominal monthly contribution. An insured person is entitled to receive the following benefits: Injury or sickness benefits, including health promotion and disease prevention Maternity benefits Disability benefits Death benefits Child benefits Old-age benefits Never having actually availed myself to the benefits though, I wonder how extensive the cover actually is. Is it totally free? Are all conditions covered? Is it better than the universal scheme that most Thai citizen enjoy? First-hand experience and feedback would be welcome.

It may save you a lot of hassle to go to a SSO office and ask them to register you there. They definitely will need your Pink ID and whatever other documents they'd want to see (Tabien Ban, Bank Book, whatever).

I'd say yes, assuming that you are under 60 of age.

I concur with much of what was said before. No obvious red flags yet, probably worth a test drive, but plenty more and better fish in that sea. At worst, that 38 years old lady can be a gateway to Thailand and Thai ways, especially for a newbie. But absolutely avoid any sort of commitment for now.

Yes. A 5-floor townhouse, in fact. But benefiting from all the amenities (pool, gym, garden, security, concierge, ...). A pretty neat deal, I think.

Our condo in Bangkok was built in 1991. The standard of building was much higher back then. The place is owned entirely by 1 family, who live on the premises. They are very vigilant, and the staff are busy maintaining the place. There is wear & tear, obviously, but everything works. Rent is not cheap, but it is value for money. Presumably, something similar can be found in Pattaya?

My financial advisor just wrote to me ahead of our quarterly conversation next week, and he mentioned the following: I will find out more when I talk to him, but this sounds potentially interesting, at least as another diversification opportunity for my portfolio.

I don't know, but I would assume so. The Non-O Marriage requires more paperwork and Immigration needs to perform a home visit, which adds a delay to the process. But I would imagine that if justified, they can give you a short extension, or a conditional permission to stay "Upon Consideration" or whatever suits their process. Nonetheless, it is advisable to go to your Immigration Office as soon as possible and ask them what to do. Be polite, calm, dress appropriately, smile and wai, and see what they have to say. There are many horror stories about Thai Immigration, but in my experience, they have always been perfectly reasonable and helpful.

Well, what I did was getting a Non-O Retirement, for which the documents were simply my passport, the letter from the bank, the bank statements, a copy of the bank book, and my wife's ID and Tabien Ban. My Non-B had been cancelled and I had 15 days to apply for something else (the Non-O Re in my case). Immigration in Buriram was great, they handled all the paperwork, I just had to sit and wait 45 minutes or so, then the IO made me sign all the forms, and that was it. Cost was 2,000 Baht (as it was a new application, not an extension), and 3,900 Baht for the Multiple Re-entry stamp. The IO indicated that it would take longer and require more paperwork if I wanted a Non-O Marriage or Parent of a Thai child, and that if I did not need a work permit, it was very advisable to stick to a Non-O Re.

I did, and the Head Office said the same. Anyway, getting a Pink ID is a hassle, but it is a good piece of kit to have if living in Thailand.

Well, yes, but SSO will want a Pink ID. No other document is accepted. I went through the whole circus earlier this year. I had a SS card, with a number, but that was not acceptable. They insisted that I get a Pink ID, and once I had it, they used that number, which is different from the old one. On the web portal and the mobile app, both my Section 33 and Section 39 contributions are visible, but under the new (Pink ID) number.

Minimum to have worked under Section 33 (salaried employee) is 12 months (effectively 15 since the first 3 months are usually trial and not covered by SSO). You have 6 months after termination to apply for Section 39 (voluntary contributor). Monthly contribution thereafter is 432 baht. Be mindful that SSO will want you to present a Thai ID number, that foreigners can get by applying for a Pink ID, which requires a Yellow Tabien Ban, which requires a number of supporting documents. If you do not already have a Pink ID, the process for getting that cascade of documents may take several months, hance the need to get it done ASAP and not exceed the 6 months deadline.

I feel that health insurance is not something to be taken lightly, and my coverage could be seen as overkill. I have my private insurance with Cigna (worldwide excl. USA, USD 2,300/year), my work-provided insurance (AXA, worldwide), and I am under Thai Social Security. None has pre-existing condition limitations (Cigna, I have been with them for many years without claim, AXA specifically states no exclusion, and Thai SS has no exclusion either). The first 2 (AXA + Cigna) are redundant to an extent, but in case I would lose my job, or when I retire, it would be very hard/expensive to get back to Cigna if I discontinued the cover. Upon retirement, I will also be covered by Social Security in my country of citizenship in Europe.

That's an interesting notion, that would deserve some more detail.

That's a cliché, for the Belgians, that is. Regarding the French, it is quite accurate, I am afraid. Not everybody in Belgium is fluent in English, obviously, but the level of fluency (not just in English btw) is quite high. I am a native French-speaking Belgian, I lived and worked in 6 countries (including Thailand), I speak 5 languages and I work almost exclusively in English. And it is not just me; for example, my brother is accredited with the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. The Belgian ambassador to Thailand routinely publishes podcasts and webcasts in our national languages and in English, and everybody in the Belgian community finds that totally normal, even expected.

But then presumably the said Farang needs to be on the Tabien Baan for that house number, which cannot be the regular blue TB, it has to be the Yellow TB for foreigners.

It really depends where one tries to grow rice. There are very suitable areas, where one can grow 2 or 3 crops per year. Unfortunately, most of Thailand is not in that case. Rice growing is labour-intensive but requires limited skills, which suits the Issaan area of the country well, despite not having the best soil for that, because it has/had plenty of unskilled people.

This is most surprising. How could that be? All public hospitals have an ER ward, where you see an endless stream of patients who hurt themselves in a variety of ways, the largest proportion being from road accidents. Surely, the universal healthcare covers that too? I am under the SSO, which is different from the Universal scheme, but there is no mention whatsoever of accidents not being covered. I am not opposed to private healthcare insurance. In fact, I had quite a deep look into private insurance schemes in Thailand, and I found that the schemes are on the whole quite unattractive. There are many exceptions, limits, and overall the value for money is pretty poor. I am surprised that so many Thai people buy such poor value schemes. It may be a status thing, or maybe they simply do not want to queue for hours in a public hospital? For myself, in addition to SSO, that I never actually use, I have an international private healthcare insurance that provides extensive coverage worldwide, including Thailand. It only covers in-patient care, and it has quite a hefty excess to keep the premium at a reasonable level, and for whatever small health issue, I self-insure and pay for private care whenever needed (although I could use SSO, I suppose).