parallaxtech

What if I fly out today or tomorrow and return tomorrow -- extension expires Sunday. Would this give me another year? Will the airport give me a re-entry permit or do I have to go back to the devils at Samui Imm?

Only works on your original visa with a multiple entry, not on extensions.

I have a multi-entry non imm o-a. I guess Bangkok Airport would not issue a re-entry permit before leaving to keep my visa alive and then I could return on Sunday and get my 12-mos extension?

Thanks, everyone. You did a good deed for the day and their are some kind hearts on TV.. I will do as several suggested and go on a visa run tomorrow and apply for the O visa. I did go back to my bank and told the bank mgr to advise all farangs that accounts drawing interest would not be acceptable at Immigration. I think they have an obligation to do this as I specifically asked the bank mgr if this account was ok for Immigration

Just being over age 50 should allow a local Consulate to issue a single entry non immigrant O visa. But few will issue a multi entry anymore unless married. The US will only issue non immigrant OA visa (no O types) if your reason is retirement - but the multi entry non immigrant OA covers you for almost two years stay in Thailand as you get one year on every entry so if you enter just before it expires you have another year. You would have to obtain re-entry permit for travel during that second year to keep it alive (just as with any extension of stay).

What if I fly out today or tomorrow and return tomorrow -- extension expires Sunday. Would this give me another year? Will the airport give me a re-entry permit or do I have to go back to the devils at Samui Imm?

You do not have an OA visa and what you get from immigration is never an OA visa - so yes you can just leave at any time before your current extension of stay expires and apply for a single entry non immigrant O visa at a nearby Consulate and return for a 90 day stay on that and extend at the end of that for a normal one year for retirement.

I would take 400k out now and put with your passbook account (or more if you need to use) and keep that over 800k for 2 (or 3 if they will not treat as first extension) and apply for new extension near end of new 90 day entry. If you do transfer before your current extension ends you should be safe for both 2 or 3 month requirement. And expect having a lawyer is not a good idea as retirement is a very simple process and policy often do not appreciate, or suspect something amiss, when a lawyer appears.

Thanks, I think I will take this option. So, let me see if this is correct. My extension expires this Sunday so I will leave tomorrow for Malaysia and request an O visa that should be good for three months. I have already transferred the 800KB into a non-interest account so that will be no problem. At the end of three months do I go to Samui Imm and ask them to extend to a normal one year retirement visa?

I took my lawyer with me because each year they ask for a bribe and I don't like dealing under the table when I've done nothing wrong. This year they were just plain mean!

[As LB & Lopburi said, yes you have to go to home country for OA . But O is different, I can stand corrected, but it is also for 12 months, but you have to a border run every 3 months & can be obtained from one of the neighbouring consulates.

Thanks, Roo. So my options are as follows:

1. Go back to the US and apply for a new o-a visa and then face the hassle with Samui Imm again next year when they come up with a new rule.

2. Do a border run and get an o visa. What is required for an o visa?

[LB: Yes, fixed interest and they have accepted it for the last five years, but now they won't.

I got my o-A visa at the Thai Embassy in Washington, DC in 2005. I have renewed it each year in Nathon showing the same bank books. I want to avoid Samui Imm if possible in the future as I've never seen a nastier group of people in my life!

Moved to Visa section ,for more specific replies.

Roo, thanks! Do I need to notify Immigration that I am leaving or just let the non-imm o-a expire? I thought one has to go back to their home country to get a new non-imm o-a returement visa?

A fund book is a cash account that earns .75% interest and all money can be withdrawn the next day -- has nothing to do with stocks or bonds.

Help please! I have been on a non-imm 0-A retirement visa for five years. My extension expires 9 May 2010. I went in to Nathon today with my bank books and bank letters like I always do. I have 2MB in an interest bearing account that can be withdrawn in one day (fund book) and 400KB in a regular account. They told me that the new rule is that you can't be earning any interest on your money, so only the 400kB is relevant. I got my lawyer to speak to them and they just arrogantly told us to get out and for me to go back to the US.

I am wondering if I can try Bangkok Immigration on Monday. My lawyer says they are easier to deal with. Someone also suggested that I leave and go to a Thai consulate and renew my visa.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mike

There are two unofficial and unpaid farang lifeguards just north of the Centara Hotel who watch at least 10,000sqm of water. Unfortunately, they are only there from 3-6pm each day. They have a perfect record over six years and wish to remain anonymous -- might be fined for saving lives w/o a work permit. The limitation of any lifesaver kit is that the rescuer must be near the victim -- in other words, he must be sitting on the beach watching and ready to respond in seconds. The rescue squads and hotel staff have other duties to perform and are usually not aware of someone drowning. By the time they act it is usually a recovery not rescue mission. Many of the rescues I've seen have been of Thais who don't wave their arms and scream, but simply sink quietly. Two years ago I saw a woman and her child swept out with a rip tide and she simply cradled her daughter and sank to the bottom. They were both rescued because someone was on the beach watching.

I have been on Chaweng Beach nearly every day for the past six years and have seen hundreds of near drownings. It is usually up to one or two farangs who go out and get the people. It must be a horrible sight to be drowning only fifty meters off shore while people are just watching and pointing. A couple of years ago ropes and floats were put out along the perimeter (around 10,000 sqm), but they were most likely stolen or damaged. I've noticed that a few hotels have posted red flags and have security guards standing by with a vest and rope. I suggest that if you go to the beach this time of year, one person take a life preserver so at least you can save a friend or loved one. It would be wonderful if the city would put a rescue buoy with rope every 100m along the beachfront, but I won't hold my breath for that one.

I have seen this many times in the express lane, but sometimes a cashier will reject some of the customers who exceed ten items. Once a lady in front of me had two baskets full. I saw a manager nearby so I pointed at the sign and asked what was going on. The manager just laughed and kept going. Another thing that bothers me is when people dump their items on top of mine without separating them (no plastic separators in the express lane). I have solved this problem by keeping all my items in the plastic carrier until the cashier is ready to ring them up.

You can also say that it is thanks to people willing to give a bribe the situation where you have to pay tea money exists and continues to exists.

That you have to wait long time in Bangkok has nothing to do with paying tea money or not, just with how busy it is there and how many officers are available.

I second Mario. Three hundred will become three thousand if stupid farangs continue to pay bribes. Each year KS Immigration tries to get 3-4K extra from me on a retirement visa. I just smile and say,"No problem, where is the receipt.? Do you ever see Thais paying bribes for standard services? If you've done something wrong like a traffic violation, I might understand it, but paying a bribe for a public service makes it difficult for the rest of us.

I am not looking for a landscaper, but just a coconut head who can swing a machete or use a weed whacker. My house is in Chaweng, so prefer somebody nearby. I have asked landscapers, but they seem to charge the same rates as a plastic surgeon.

Thanks,

Mike

Khun Sutipong was a very kind person and meticulous businessman -- a rare combination in Thailand. He treated Thais and farangs with equal respect and went out of his way to help a farang in need. I first met him years ago on a flight from KS to Bangkok. He offered to assist me in any matter, modestly mentioning that he was connected all the way to the top in Thailand. Upon landing we were met by his bodyguards and chauffeur, so I had a feeling that he was a man of some importance. Even though I didn't like bothering this busy man, he always took the time to advise me on matters over the years. Thailand would be a much better place if others tried to emulate this great man. One verse from Rudyard Kipling's If sums it all up:

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,

Of course we can only speculate on what happened, but to be racing around KS would be very out-of-character for someone who was usually in his chauffeur-driven mercedes. I only hope there are more like him in Thailand.

I would like to lay about 80sqm of concrete embedded with a flat colorful stone on a driveway and patio. I called several companies in Bangkok that charge 400-700B/sqm. The companies on Koh Samui quoted 1200-1500b/sqm. Does anyone know a company on KS that can do this for a reasonable price (<700B/sqm)?

Thanks,

Mike

I am interested in building a 4x8m pool next to my house, but two people have warned me that you need three phase elec. My hoiuse has one a/c, h/w heater, washing machine, and just standard appliances. It will not be possible for me to replace the cable with three phase cable. Does anyone have a swimming pool in single phase and has it been a problem?

Thanks,

Mike

Does anyone know a company on Koh Samui that stamps concrete? I have called several companies in Bangkok such as Winflor, but they are not interested in a project on Koh Samui. I need a driveway/patio (75sqm) and also a wall (34m x 3m high) done.

thanks,

Mike

That's another issue. Borderline sex workers often sport fake or borrowed IDs. Sometimes even bar owners are fooled, they may employ Thai managers who facilitate the deception. This opens up crime opportunities against unknowing foreigners, blackmail, police extortion, etc. Welcome to Pattaya!

[/quote]

Exactly JT, my friend took a bargirl home to do his thing. She looked young so he asked and she showed him an id. Afterward, she told him she was 14 and produced a different id that substantiated it. She then tried to blackmail him, but he threw her out and never heard from her again.

Is my friend a deviant who should be hung by his cajones? Will every man who has never slept with someone under 18 step forward? How about any man who has never considered sleeping with someone under 18 please step forward? The law is black and white but life isn't.

If anyone comes to Koh Samui, please email me. I am a 5.0 player.

Thanks,

Mike

If you can't wait to leave some place and don't miss it so much when you do then you are living in the wrong place. I have frequent flyer tickets up the ..., but hate to leave Samui. Each time I do I regret it. Probably the ideal situation is several homes around the world, but few can afford this. I used to spend six months here and six months in the Caribbean, but the commute was horrendous. Samui is not for everyone and boy does it have its problems, but right now I can not think of a better place to live, for the money!

I used to work for the TP here in Koh Samui and years ago worked for the US Embassy so maybe I can provide some useful advice, as I have seen similar cases like yours.

1. As someone suggested call the local bike man in KT.

2. Contact Pop at KS Tourist Police 0859134513.

3. This is not your passport, but the property of the US government, and they will demand that the police retrieve it and return it, which they will.

Good-luck to you. I have been stung many times by scams, so don't feel too lonely.

Thanks, Roo. Please close the thread.

I read several posts where people were looking for an electrician in Phuket, Pattaya, and Changmai, but didn't see anyone looking in KS. My electricity is out in my house now and there is 300m of cable going to the junction box. An"electrician" came by today and just said to replace the cable. I need someone who can actually find and fix the problem. Help, please!