grain

I run a music blog, that keeps me occupied.

I keep that money in that account for about 15 years now, all I take out is I scoop off the interest once a year, but the balance never drops below 800K. That money is solely for visa. I see on this forum people talking about scratching around every year trying to get the 400K or 800K together. That would drive me nuts year after year. I leave the amount in the bank.

I've got no idea how long they want to see the money has been in the account for, I keep that 800K in that account year after year, solely for annual visa renewal. So 2 months, 3 months, 12 months, makes no difference to me. I just gave that little slip of paper to the girl at the counter, and accepted what they gave me.

I've been here a long time mate, I've learned to smile and be happy and polite and give them what they ask for, not to start splitting hairs and arguing the toss about immigration laws with them. You only get one chance with Thais, piss them off and you've had it, these people (like officials in every country) can make things very difficult if they want to.

Don't quite understand your logic on this. I've had money in this particular Thai bank account for about 20 years now. I have total control, it's my money, it earns interest, I have access - if needed I can withdraw the lot in minutes.

Nothing to do with great satisfaction mate, I'm just giving a detailed account, hopefully passing on useful information, that's one of the main purposes of this forum. BTW: I have used a few visa agents in the past. When I lived in Pattaya I used to pay Darren 12000 Bt and he'd take 2-3 days, I now do it myself for half the cost in just over 1 hour. And I have no problem with the 800K in a Thai bank. That money stays there year after year, it's to satisfy the Imm requirement, but it's also there in case of any sudden emergencies.

Yes, ongoing, been living in Thailand for decades. I have no idea why I was told to update that registered address receipt that's stapled into my PP, it's never been requested before. I just do what they tell me. It might be because I left the country for a few days (had a short holiday in Laos 3 months ago) I don't know and don't question them. The last 90-day I did was a month ago and they dated it to July 31, which is when my ret' ext would expire, so yesterday they did a new 90 day for me, to save me from coming back in 3 weeks. They are very nice and helpful at Korat Imm.

Korat Imm gave me a very small slip of paper to give to the bank informing them what they required, it was in Thai, and I didn't pay any attention to it. I just handed it to the gal at the bank. They updated my bank book and prepared 2 letters. I didn't even look at them, just handed them over to Imm.

My annual retirement ext expires 31st July. A week ago I dropped by Korat Imm to get the forms and check on all the current requirements. So over the past week I gathered all the required docs and filled in the forms at home. This morning at 8:25 I was standing outside my bank. Doors opened at 8:30 and I up the stairs to get my bank account statements. At 8:50 I had the necessary bank statements and then went straight to Imm. The girl at the outside counter check all my stuff. I did need to update my registered address doc, so went to that office, then at 9:30 I went straight into the office for visa renewals. Right on 9:45 I was out of there with a new ext up to July 31, 2024, a multi re-entry stamp, and they did my 90 days for me, so 3 months until I need to do anything again. So from the time I walked into the bank to get my statements to the time I walked out of the Korat Imm office with all my business finished = 1 hour 15 minutes. Cost 5700 + 200 for bank statements = 5900 Bt.

I got a goat once years ago for the same reason...to eat the grass...it also ate some of the washing on the line.

We've currently got some of those maeng wee in our house, those little black flying ones that dive into your face and try go up your nose. Those are the worse bugs in Thailand, hard to kill, the electric tennis racquet won't kill them, they're so small they fly right through those things.

So true, I getting the feeling most Thais would rather be roasted over hot coals than admit they got something wrong. I remember once talking with a Thai woman and I said something that contradicted something I'd said a few months earlier, and she pulled me up. She said before you said blah-blah-blah and now you're saying dah-dah-dah. And I looked at her and said...well I was wrong, I've now changed my opinion. She was sort of gob smacked. So I said to her...look you're allowed to be wrong, there's nothing wrong in being wrong, it's perfectly OK to realize you're wrong and change your mind about something. But she was kind of speechless about this.

My missus bought one of these things a few weeks ago for her garden. I'll make sure to keep well away from her when she's using it from now on.

Infinix INBook X1 14 Inches Core i5 (8GB RAM - 512GB SSD) Currently on sale for ฿14,488.00 at PowerBuy or Shopee.

I've never tried to do it online and never will, I don't trust Thai IT, and I've been here long enough to know if there's an error at the Imm end they'll never admit they stuffed up, it'll be the foreigner's fault and they'll slug me a couple of K baht fine. I live 50km from Korat Imm but wife and I drive there and I do it in person, then it's a big shopping day at Makro & Lotus's & Wish Co.

Doesn't matter what you say on this forum, there will always be some misery guts who will give a negative response. ????????????

A few years ago I had a skin cancer cut out of my leg in Australia and returned to Thailand with the stitches in, a week later I went to the local Anamai and had the stitches removed, they charged me 20Bt.

When travelling by air my clothes and any other items made of cloth (like sheets, towels) always go in light bags made from canvas or nylon. Obviously these things are unbreakable so they don't need the protection of a hard suitcase. Of course items that can get damaged (toiletries, gifts) go in a suitcase.

Same with me, we enquired at Pak Thong Chai amphur (Korat) a few weeks ago, was abruptly told I must be married. Yet I have unmarried farang friends who have the Yellow House Book and the Pink ID card, so it certainly seems that it depends a lot on a individual at the amphur officer.

Get another retirement ext, and at the same time get a multi-re-entry visa, then come and go for the next 12 months.

ezzra, you say your friend will travel, then his best bet is to head up to KK and go to the The Queen Sirikit Heart Center. I go there a couple times a year for check ups. They offer more expensive VIP services, but you can just take the regular route. All the charges for tests I've had have been very reasonable. There's plenty of cheap accommodation around, much of it close to the hospital.

For about 15 years I had an agent (Key Visa) do my annual retirement exts. Everything was kosher, I had the money in the bank, but I just couldn't be bothered dealing with Imm officials myself when I could pay someone to do it for me. Then when I moved to Korat about 5 years ago I did it myself and found it very easy. I see Korat Imm a week or so before I do my ext, to make sure I have all the correct forms and photocopies ready. On the day it takes under an hour and I'm out of there with my 12 months ext, and my multi-re-entry. So I'm ok with doing it myself and saving an agent's fee. But if Korat Imm every started giving me any grief that would be it. I'd immediately hand it over to an agent. So that's my advice to OP. Cease immediately dealing with this Imm office yourself, obviously you've pee'd them off, you're on the nose, face is involved with the female officer. Hand it over to an agent.

Sounds like they gave you a barium enema, a test that helps to see the large bowel more clearly on an X-ray.

If a little table top Bluetooth speaker set him off into a murderous he wouldn't want to live in our village, whenever there's a party, funeral, wedding, boy becoming monk, they rig up huge speakers on scaffolding, you'd think it was a Guns N Roses concert, you can hear them from several KMs away.

They don't know, like our countries the Thais make their vote in a private space, so only that person knows who they have voted for. But many Thais accept money from a couple or more candidates. A couple of years back when there was some election happening here, one of the local candidates had the same surname as my wife, so when my wife went to where the all the candidates and their lackeys had gathered and were paying out the bribe money, one of the candidates checked my wife's ID and seeing she had the same surname as one of the opposite candidates, she refused to give my wife a bribe, saying my wife would obviously vote for her relative. This Thai democracy is mind boggling stuff. I asked my wife...Do you people ever ask these candidates what they will do for you? What improvements they'll implement for the district?...No, it's only about getting their mitts around the pay out.