LogicThai

"and a car"... That's the whole difference it makes. Drive down the motorway stress-free to Sattahip, board at leisure, relax and enjoy live music while dining on deck, sleep soundly and disembark in Nathon the next morning. Sure, it is pricey, but it beats the alternatives. The most convenient if money is no issue but time is limited would be flying, which will cost considerably more if factoring a car rental in Samui. The cheapskate option would be the train or bus to Surat Thani. Driving down the coast by way of Hua Hin and Chumpon used to take us 3 days, on the infamously murderous Thai road network. And on occasion, we would miss the last Seatrans ferry in Donsak, or could not book a passage until the next day, etc. In our case, the ferry is awesome. The car is always chock-full of stuff, either items of domestic comfort that we take along for our stay, or stuff that we bring to install in the house, or stuff that we take back from the house to reinstall in another property elsewhere... We just disembarked from the Blue Dolphin in Sattahip this morning, and were back in Bangkok for lunch. I would not fight with Seahorse Ferry if they offered discounts for Samui residents etc., but I merely pray that they keep sailing for many years.

We used the ferry to cross from Sattahip to Samui 2 weeks ago, and we are scheduled to take the return trip tomorrow (Sunday 9 April). This was our second time on the Blue Dolphin; we had been part of that disastrous aborted crossing back in October, when the ship blew up essential machinery and had to return to the quay and have us disembark. The return trip then had been uneventful and satisfactory. We are big fans of Seahorse Ferries. For us, it makes coming over to Samui a much easier and faster trip than the long drive down the coast, which we never could make without wasting a few precious days of holiday. Naturally, the ferry is quite pricey when you book a cabin. And there are only a few of those, that book quickly. On our way in, we had to take a Family cabin for 4, although we are only a party of 3. On our way back, we have a regular 2-beds cabin booked for us. I find the booking process via Line slightly awkward and unusual, but it does work quite well. I really hope that Seahorse Ferries stay in business…

I concur. And there even was that IO once. She had processed quite painfully a batch of elderly Chinese tourists who had struggled a lot with the fingerprinting etc. When it was finally my turn, she smiled and said "Sorry for the wait. Chinese people know nothing...".:)

There seems to be some flexibility with this. I recently was given a 21-days "Grace Period". I don't know how Immigration calculated that, nor what circumstantial information my employer's staff may have provided. My employer notified the Labor Office that my last day was to be 30 November, on 1 December, Immigration gave me permission to stay until 21 December, and I easily secured a fresh Non-O on 9 December.

And one might add that working with Thais is challenging enough, but that working for Thais must take it to an entirely different level...

Okay, and what nationality are the shareholders, one might ask ?

A couple of pointers that might be useful to you and your wife: • Many Thai companies are family-owned or family-controlled, and the CFO tend to be a family member of close ally of the family, hence a Thai national (Sino-Thai, actually). • In general, for a number of reasons, Thai companies see little point in importing talent. • Nominal compensation levels in Thailand are often substantially lower than in the Western world. • Visa and work permit are not big hurdles, if a Thai company really wants you to join the. Sadly enough, hardly any company will want to. • There are non-Thais who serve as CFO of a Thai company, but those I know of have been appointed by a foreign majority (or large minority) shareholder. • Alternative strategies that might be considered in the case of your wife might include joining a company as regional CFO, based in Bangkok but not limited to Thailand, or joining a professional services company like a Big4, once again preferably in a regional capacity.

This is quite encouraging. However, one wonders what exactly is meant by "financial and market consulting services". It could mean many things, and if indeed the objective is to attract as many "Highly Skilled Professionals" as possible, it would be in Thailand's interest to take a broad view of what is covered. Unfortunately, Thai officaldom systematically tends to take the narrowest possible view.

I came to the same conclusion, and even for own use, it looks like a massive commitment of capital in a very illiquid real estate market. Moreover, owning a condo necessarily means being tied up to a large number of co-owners of the property, who might struggle to pay for the upkeep, thus driving the value down. And of course, they keep adding hundreds of new units to the market every year, thus increasing competition for rental and for resale. All in all, condos in BKK is a renter's market. I am currently looking for a large (3-4 bedrooms) condo or townhouse, and the disconnect between asked rent and sale price is staggering....

To fellow Belgian members: I need to get a fresh copy of my Belgian birth certificate translated and legalized, in order to get a Yellow Tabien Ban, Pink ID and for Social Security matters (long story...). The copy I already have dates from 2013, and I was born only once, but that’s not good enough, apparently. Getting a fresh copy form my Belgian commune is not hard, it can be done and paid for electronically, and the translation by a translator approved by the Royal Thai Embassy can be arranged remotely. But the legalization at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the Royal Thai Embassy in Brussels need to be done in person in Belgium. I do not particularly fancy traveling to Europe to stand in queues, and I have no family or friends I could reliably task with that. I have been looking for an agent service, like the one I will then appoint to do the legalization with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs ( boy, are we having fun with the red tape…), but I could find none on Google. Any thoughts or suggestions would be very welcome.

Yes. I have been looking into the very same topic for my own mother, who is 86 and needs assistance for daily life. health At Home is a company that provides either 12-hours a day or 24/6 assistance. Prices for English speaking staff (well, what Thai people believe is fluency in English...) are in the 24-34,000 Baht per month. Quite reasonable, i find, for an agency that takes care of emplyment of the staff and provides replacement if need be. Much better than employing a nurse privately. Pricing - Caregiving Service | Health at Home

Obviously, payback time depends on your usage of electricity. When I am home (rarely nowadays), a typical electricity bill can be about 3.5k, when I am not, it drops to 1.5k. At our villa in Koh Samui, which is in a residence, we are charged 7 baht a KwH. Electricity bills can easily reach 7-8k, with aircon at full blast, the pool pump etc. In that setup, a solar installation would have a payback of 3 years. Also, many people report that when then get "free" electric power, they tend to change their behaviour and use considerably more or it. And one can switch to all-electric. No more gas stove, get an electric bike or even an EV. Which will improve payback too in a way, by allowing a new lifestyle.

Being a foreigner far away from any European welfare state, I am still trying to figure out the optimal setup for myself, but for now I think that I am quite okay. I have an international plan with Cigna : no exclusion nor pre-condition, no surcharge, all countries covered except US. The plan has a high deductible (3,000 USD), in order to keep the premium affordable : 2,271 USD at the latest renewal, up 9.5% from prior year. They declined my request for a discount, because they had already conceded keeping the premium unchanged the year before that (no claim ever for many years…). I never had any claim, but Cigna has an excellent reputation, and my broker assured me that all claims he is aware of went through with no issue, APAC-wide. Each year upon renewal, I have a review of alternatives, and so far Cigna remains the best deal in town. There are considerably cheaper options available, but from semi-dodgy local companies, or with drastically reduced benefits. Also, I need international coverage, so that a Thailand-only solution, while much cheaper, would not suit me for now. Naturally, the issue may come up later, when I will reach a ripe old age. Premiums may become unaffordable. The plan with Cigna comes on top of any coverage provided by my employer, as long as I keep working as an employee. After that, the fallback position in my case is and would remain the Thai Social Security scheme. Admittedly not the greatest, but it is there, and a foreigner can remain covered for as long as (s)he pays the (very low) monthly due. I never actually used it for anything, and customer experience varies quite a lot, it seems. At the very least, one can hope to get life-saving treatment without breaking the bank.

My experience of Buriram immigration has been great for years. I recently switched from a Non-B to a Non-O Retirement. It was a new application, not a renewal. I usually use the satellite office near the stadium, but that was closed for the day due to shortage of staff. The usual IO was working at the new main office. I got the letter from the bank (Bangkok Bank, the recap bank statement and the updated Bank Book. It is my active bank account, with a lot more money in it than required for a Non-O. Nonetheless, care should be paid to the totals on the letter, statement and book bank being the same (ie taking into account the current day). I handed out the list of docs (my passport, the bank papers, my wife's ID and Tabien Ban), . The admin assistants made all the copies while I waited, then the IO called me, made me sign many forms and copies, and that was it. It took a bit longer because I also needed a multi-reentry and 2 letters of residence, but all in all the entire process was wrapped up same day and under 1 hour.

I think that your ex has a point that the alimony should increase, if only because of inflation, which is real here. Of course, 7,500 is already quite okay, and she probably could still make by with that, but since she got used to getting 7,500 every month, inflation means that it has become difficult to keep the same spending habits. Increasing the alimony to 10,000 would be a nice way to see her point of view without breaking the bank. Obviously, you need to tell her that blackmailing you is not acceptable, but it seems that so far you and her have been on quite amicable terms. One would imagine that restricting your access to the child is the only thing she could think of. It may be that occasionally she uses some of the money you pay to cover for some of her own spending, but that is not the end of the world. If she needed money for something questionable (like a gambling debt or for getting herself out of trouble), she would not have asked for increasing the monthly alimony. Still, it would make sense to ensure that you are the legal father of that child that you are supporting and apparently want to continue considering like yours. And it could actually even be useful for you in securing long term residency in Thailand. All in all, an extra 2,500 is little money and it would go a long way keeping the relationship going and the channel to your child open. Just make sure that your ex understand that you are only being reasonable, and won't be caving in to blackmail.

I was a bit apprehensive too, but it went very smoothly. And n need for an agent either. I only had to produce my passport and the bank letter/statements/book bank, plus my wife's ID and Tabien Ban. As it was a new application and not an extension, I had to pay 2,000 baht rather than 1,900 (go figure...), plus 3,900 for a multiple re-entry stamp. It was all done in less than 1 hour.

I did just that last December. My now-former employer canceled my WP and Non-B, and I switched to a Non-O Retirement (which was a lot simpler and more expeditious to get than a Non-O Thai spouse ou Non-O Parent of a Thai child, which would have been possible alternatives). In short, my take on your questions is: 1. No. Immigration can process a Non-O in Thailand. 2. No. Once canceled, you get a short while to depart the country or secure another permission to stay. I was given 21 days. 3. Same day, possibly. In my case, the immigration office to issue my Non-O was different from the one canceling my Non-B, so it took a few days between the two. 4. Consider requesting to stay in the Thai Social Security. You have 6 months to do so.

Kindly spare me your sarcasm. Various posters here stated that the Yellow Book/Pink ID is in fact NOT required. Presumably, SSO could have accepted the Certificate of Residence that I had produced instead of the YB/PID they wanted for the same purpose. But naturally it is a lot simpler to send the Farang away. Nonetheless, I was prepared for that, I know that with Thai officialdom, no means no, and indeed it is as good an opportunity as any to procure that YB/PID combo. Contrary to what you suggested, what I found irritating was the totally un-businesslike attitude of the "busy SSO", who was, together with 4 others like her behind the desk, killing time playing with her phone at 2:20pm on a Monday. I was the only "customer" there. I did not interact with her myself, but my Thai colleague from HR who did also remarked how unhelpful and unpleasant that SSO lady had been.

That's what I meant, yes.

I wonder how the 30Baht scheme compares with the Social Security scheme in practice. Is it just the same coverage, with just a difference of who pays (SSO or the Gov directly), or is thee actually a better level of care with SSO?

General - : (sso.go.th) The website of SSO is quite clear about payment and which banks are approved, and it is in English.

Yes of course, electing to continue on the Sickness Benefit is particularly good value. Unlike private insurance, it stays with you for as long as you contribute, and your contribution remains stable with advancing age. One other aspect is that my country (Belgium) is negotiating with Thailand on a bilateral Social Security Agreement, that would allow people in either scheme to benefit from the other. This is a bit of a long shot, but if and when ratified, it would enable me to get back under Social Security "using the back door", so to speak. They wanted my Yellow Book, they did not ask if I was a PR or anything. I did not inquire about what would happen if I were a PR, but I would assume that if you are one, you have a Blue TB and a Pink Card, you are all set. In practical terms, getting Social Security to accept one under Section 39 is quite straightforward, but they probably are making it harder than it should be by demanding quite superfluous documents, just as additional roadblocks. There was no mention of a refund or anything, but I have not been in the SS for very long. I had known that Section 39 was available for a long time, I simply arranged for a visit to the SS office with a Thai speaking staff from my former employer, and my request was turned down. it will remain stalled until I can produce the Yellow TB and Pink ID they want, and then it will resume and eventually go through. Either that or I will reintegrate SS by way of Section 33 and "classic" employment.

I know. None of the many things one might assume would be proof of identity seem to be acceptable: having been in the country for years, married to a Thai and having had Thai children, all documents translated and certified many times (including family name indeed), issued a driving licence, paid taxes, etc. All of that is to be disregarded entirely. Strange country...

The Social Security Office denied application of my request of transfer from Section 33 (Employee) to Section 39 (Own Insured). They demanded presentation of a Yellow Tabien Baan (Thor.Ror.13) and a Pink ID, both documents I had never seen the need for, and never sought to get issued with. I produced a Certificate of Residence issued by the Immigration Office, but that was rejected. I will now have to go through the steps of procuring a Yellow Tabien Baan and a Pink ID, which is not such a big deal. I probably should have done so already. My main concern was that it will take time to process all that, but I was told by Social Security that I have 6 months to make the shift from Section 33 to Section 39. This is quite irritating though, obviously. My identity is proven by my passport, visa etc., my membership to the Social Security scheme is established by my having a number, card and contribution record, and my address is certified by Immigration. More annoying was the attitude of the person at the Social Security Office in Silom, who was clearly more than unhelpful. I did not deal with her directly, I was only standing in the back while a delegate from my former employer was doing the talking, but I had the vivid impression of being given a rare glimpse of more than mere administrative unhelpfulness. Sad.

It is, but English is another official language of Cameroon. This originated from the aftermath of the First World War. Cameroon had been an Imperial German colony, that was split between France and Britain. Upon independence in 1960, the two parts reunified for form Cameroon as we know it, but they kept their respective administrative languages.