Red Phoenix

??? I - and with me most people - can think of several other factors contributing to the outbreak of the civil war. Slavery was surely a main factor, but attributing the outbreak 100% to slavery is obviously an incorrect Black-or-White (no pun intended) point-of-view. So yes I claim that that there are also other factors that contributed to the outbreak of the conflict. Would that make me in your twisted world-view a 'card carrying racist'? FYI > I asked ChatGPT and it came up with 6 intertwined factors: > The American Civil War, which took place from 1861 to 1865, was primarily caused by several key factors: 1. Slavery: The deep-rooted controversy over the institution of slavery in the United States was a major catalyst for the war. The stark differences between the Northern and Southern states on the issue of slavery, including the moral, economic, and political implications, played a significant role in the conflict. 2. State's Rights vs. Federal Authority: The struggle between state sovereignty and federal authority was another crucial factor leading to the war. Southern states believed in the concept of states' rights, arguing that they had the right to determine their own laws and policies, including those regarding slavery. On the other hand, the federal government aimed to maintain its authority and uphold the United States Constitution. 3. Sectionalism: Over time, economic, cultural, and social differences between the Northern and Southern states intensified, leading to heightened sectionalism. The North was primarily industrialized, while the South relied heavily on agriculture, particularly cotton plantations dependent on slave labor. These sectional differences further exacerbated tensions between the regions. 4. Political Factors: The political landscape during this period also contributed to the outbreak of war. The election of Abraham Lincoln as the President of the United States in 1860, representing the anti-slavery Republican Party, triggered deep concerns among Southerners, leading to their subsequent secession from the Union. 5. Economic Disparities: Economic factors, such as trade policies, tariffs, and control over resources, also played a role. The South, heavily reliant on cotton exports, feared that their economic interests would be undermined by the North's industrial dominance and perceived protectionist policies. It is essential to note that these factors intersected and intertwined, creating complex dynamics that eventually led to the outbreak of the Civil War.

~ Some (not all) Immigration Offices do accept joint bank-accounts, but when using such joint account for the 1-year extension of stay application, then the amount on the joint bank-account needs to be doubled (i.e. +1.600.000,- THB instead of 800.000,- THB for a retirement extension). So if the Imm Office would accept 'double' of the temporary dip on the Joint bank-account that would solve the problem. Hence it might be worth for the OP when visiting his local Imm Office to discuss the problem of having accidentally dipped under the required amount and possible solutions to address it, that he brings the Pass-books of all his Thai bank-accounts, and also that joint-account one.

Thanks for the caveat - if indeed she can only apply for the dependant status from a Non Imm O Visa status, that would mean both the husband and the wife would have to apply for a new Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement, meaning that both would have to meet the financial requirement for such application (i.e. 800K on a personal Thai bank-account with foreign origins proven at moment of application). Fingers crossed that the OP has a sensible Imm Office, willing to provide workable solutions to deal with that couple-of-hours glitch or that he can make use of an Agent to fix the situation.

In case the local Immigration Office is adamant about the 800K on your husband's personal bank-account and unwilling to consider any alternatives, and you do not find an agent that could fix the issue with Immigration, that's still not the end of the world. In that case it would just be a matter that both of you do a quick border-run in course of this month prior to the expiry of both your Permissions to stay, and return VisaExempt providing both of you with a 30-day Permission to stay. And then when having at least 15 days left on that Permission to stay, apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement for your husband and a dependant 90-day Visa for you on your husband's one. There is no seasoning requirement for the funds, when applying for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa. And at the end of those 90 days you can then apply for 1-year extensions and you would be in same situation as before this unfortunate short dip on the 800K funds. The only difference being that your next 1-year extension of stay dates would be approx 3-4 months after your current ones. Note 1: Do discuss the above solution with your local Immigration Office if they are unwilling to provide or accept an easier solution. Note 2: In case you currently have Re-Entry Permits for your Permissions to stay, you would have to wait till last day of your Permission to stay to do the border-run as otherwise border-immigration will 'honor' your Re-Entry Permit and you would be in same situation as you currently are. Re-entering Thailand when your Permission to stay has expired or you only have a couple of days left, will often lead to border-immigration asking you whether you want it 'honored' or whether you want to get a NEW 30-day VisaExempt Permission to stay. Note 3: To avoid a repeat of accidentally dipping under the 800K tresshold, you could before applying for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa, open a Fixed Deposit account at your bank and transfer the +800.000 THB to that account.

~ It's indeed good advice to 'get a life' and not wasting your time getting into arguments with anonymous woke idiots on the Internet. And it's true that ignoring them does work with these foot-soldiers/parrots of the Woke movement. But it becomes a different matter when large corporations or government institutions are doing the woke bidding. E.g. the social media giants deciding what information is accepted on their sites based on woke criteria. Or organizations hiring/promoting people in leadership positions not only based on merit/qualifications but also whether the candidate 'ticks the right woke boxes' to meet the organization's social credit score. Or government institutions and mainstream-media pushing the accepted narrative. In those cases you might want to simply ignore the nonsense, but it will affect you whether you want it or not. And that's the main reason the woke mindset pervading society cannot be ignored, but should be actively dismissed.

~ Let's hope that we did reach Peak Wokeness in 2023, and that the nonsense will gradually fade away in 2024. But I am not very optimistic on this matter as the woke mentality has been deeply ingrained and for sure we haven't seen the end of it yet. But voting with your wallet, by not supporting woke organizations and refraining from using their products/services can make a difference as the Bud Light saga shows. And organizations that hire/promote on DIE criteria instead of merit/qualifications will have to learn it the hard way. It will take one or more internal crises and drastic measures/overhauls before they change their ways. Also on country-level, it looks that people have had enough as the election of Argentina's new President Millei shows. I do not agree with all his policies but his blunt anti-woke stance is more than refreshing in the Politically Correct climate.

~ Thanks for your response, Sunmaster. Succinct as always. But may I suggest to read the short article/opinion piece, as it not also makes the case against this 'wokeness' BS, but also mentions some options and opportunities to counter and cancel the so-called woke “mind virus” that’s plaguing the US and - luckily to a lesser degree - also other countries. Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/2024-the-year-to-cancel-wokeness-in-america-5554997

~ Rather > Go woke and go broke.

I came across this great opinion piece written by James Gorrie on "Wokeness" and how to get rid of it. In the article he makes some hard-hitting points, e.g. about the distortion of language, where Wokish words now almost mean the opposite of what they used to. "A big part of the woke movement’s success lies in its Orwellian distortion of language so that commonly understood meanings of words are inverted to mean the opposite. For example, words such as “tolerance” really mean intolerance of competing ideas and values, and “inclusion” found in the common woke phrase “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” or DEI, really means excluding traditional ideas, values, and beliefs." This post is a good opening shot to trigger the discussion about the Woke phenomenon, that you currently see all around you. And fortunately more and more people are waking up to that dystopian world-view and don't want to have anything to do with it. The Bud Light story and the latest Disney movie-bummers being some examples of 'Enough is Enough'... = = = 2024: The Year to Cancel ‘Wokeness’ in America Stop doing business with people who hate you and your traditional values. Source: https://www.theepochtimes.com/opinion/2024-the-year-to-cancel-wokeness-in-america-5554997 Commentary When it comes to spending their money and supporting their values, many Americans are now wide awake, and most don’t like what they see. “Peak Wokeness,” a term that may or may not be new (it is to me), is now pervasive in our lives and dominates our culture. Undoubtedly, it would like to do the same with our private thoughts and our closely held traditional values and beliefs. It just about does. Wokeness Is Orwellian – and Everywhere The woke crowd in America is loud, proud, and ... Stalinesque. It’s literally forcing communism down our collective throats. Worse, these greatly misguided and extremely intolerant people are seemingly everywhere—from your coffee shop and your bank and your 401k investments to the shows you pay to watch on your smart television. They’re in the boardrooms of corporate America; they run our schools, colleges, and universities that celebrate transgenderism and make indentured servants of their graduates­, and are in Human Resources departments to ensure that no independent thought or idea is expressed in the workplace. A big part of the woke movement’s success lies in its Orwellian distortion of language so that commonly understood meanings of words are inverted to mean the opposite. For example, words such as “tolerance” really mean intolerance of competing ideas and values, and “inclusion” found in the common woke phrase “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” or DEI, really means excluding traditional ideas, values, and beliefs.

Try inserting the HDMi cable in your laptop when both devices are running. That works for me as, as I get a similar No HDMi signal message when I start up the laptop with the HDMi cable already plugged in.

~ A very sensible post/response by @Sunmaster going against the tide from the wave of nonsense disguised as humor currently flooding this thread...

Actually you have been very lucky in the past that your Korat Imm Office accepted a Kor Ror 22 more than 1 year old as proof of STILL being married with your Thai wife. Almost all Imm Offices require a RECENTLY issued Kor Ror 22, with "recent" varying from 1 month old to 1 week old, and some loony Offices even want to have it issued on same day as application. For a 1-year Permission to stay extension or 60-day extension of stay application, you need BOTH a copy of your original Marriage Certificate (legislated when it was issued abroad), as well as this Kor Ror 22 which can be gotten hold of at ANY Thai Amphur, as it is just a print-out from the national Thai marriage register providing evidence that you are still married to your Thai wife, and it typically costs somewhere between 10,- and 100,- THB.

Scrooged, with Bill MURRAY

Many options: Starting with SingleEntry 60-days Tourist Visa which provides you with a 60-day Permission to stay 1 - Apply for 30-day extension at any Thai Imm Office 2 - If married to a Thai national apply for a 60-day extension of stay for reason of visiting your wife So that's 90 days or when married to Thai national > 150 days Then do a border-hop. 3 - On re-entering Thailand VisaExempt (without a Visa) you will get a 30-day Permission to stay 4 - Repeat steps 1 and 2 So that's 150 days or when married to Thai national > 210 days After that it will become more tricky but not impossible to extend further. The reason being that border-immigration might not accept that you are a 'genuine tourist' > A 90-day Non Imm O Visa - which can be applied for in Thailand, a neighboring country or your home-country, would then be accepted but takes a whole lot more bureaucracy to get hold of it.

I reckoned that OP already did ask such a short-term 400K loan it to close friends/relatives but without success, so 'acquaintances' or more distant relatives might be reluctant to help him out, hence my suggestion for a financial incentive for them to do so.

There shouldn't be any reason that the Thai Consulate in Savannakhet would deny you a 90-day SingleEntry Non Imm O Marriage Visa when you meet the requirements (which you obviously do after 2 succesful applications). Question > Don't you have any friends who would be willing to lend you funds such that you reach the required 400.000 THB on a personal Thai bank-account, allowing you to apply for the 1-year MultipleEntry Non Imm O Marriage Visa? The funds only have to be on your personal Thai bank-account at moment of application, so you actually only need them for a couple of days, after which you can transfer the funds back. Considering that it would save you 4 more trips to Savannakhet, offering a 10.000,- THB lenders fee for 1 week-use of the funds, might overcome any reluctance from friends/relatives to help you out with that temporary financial issue.

~ OP is NOT on a 1-year extension of his 90-day Non Imm O Marriage Visa. He applied for a 1-year MultipleEntry Non Imm O Marriage Visa (probably at the Thai Embassy in Savannakhet, Laos). That - very popular - Visa is valid for 1 year and will provide you with a 90-day Permission to stay when entering Thailand. At the end of those 90 days you either need to exit Thailand or apply for a 60-day or 1-year extension at your local Thai Imm Office. So by doing border-hops at the end of each 90-days Permission to stay - which will provide you with a NEW 90-day Permission to stay - you can squeeze 15 months of stay out of that Visa without ever having to visit your local Imm Office. And at the end of those 15 months you can simply apply again for a NEW 1-year ME Non Imm O Marriage Visa.

~ That's correct when you are on a 90-day Non Imm O Visa or 1-year extension of such. But OP has a MultipleEntry Non Imm O Visa, which provides him with a 90-day Permission to Stay on each entry in Thailand. As a result the TM-30 which he might have done for his previous Permission to stay is invalidated. But as I wrote in a previous response, since he never visits his local Imm Office he shouldn't bother about it. And if he is anxious about it, he or his landlord could register on the IO TM-30 system which would allow to do the TM-30 notification on-line without having to visit his local Imm Office.

You are on a 1-year MultipleEntry Non Imm O Visa (Marriage) which means you receive a NEW Permission to stay for 90 days every time you re-enter Thailand during the validity of that 1-year Visa. And that also means that in principle you NEVER have to visit your local Immigration Office. So why do you bother about issuing an updated TM-30 each time you re-enter Thailand? You would only have to do that, when you needed a specific service from your local Imm Office (e.g. if you would be applying for a 60-day extension of stay for reason of visiting your wife, or when you need a Residence Certificate). In your case I simply wouldn't bother about doing that TM-30 notification, because it is the owner/landlord of the residence where a foreigner is residing that is required by Thai law to notify the local Immigration office that a foreigner is staying at the premises. In a twisted Thai logic way, the Imm Offices by not providing a service when the foreigner cannot provide evidence that a TM-30 was done, put the onus on the foreigner that requires a service from them. So in your case - not needing any such services - it is your landlord that needs to do the TM-30 notification otherwise she could be fined for not having done it. Note: When you pay your landlord the 500,- THB for doing the TM-30 notification does your passport contain the stapled notification slip? If not, it could well be that your landlord simply pockets the money and doesn't bother doing it (as he knows you will not visit Immigration anyway).

You would have had more options when applying for an eVisa in your home-country, but it's not such a big problem after all as I understand that you are actually now in the discovery phase and do not necessarily need to stay 1 full year In Thailand. The easiest way for you would be to enter Thailand VisaExempt (without a Visa) which will provide you with a 30-day Permission to stay. And in the last 2 weeks of that Permission to stay you could then apply for a 30-day extension of stay at ANY Thai Immigation office (costs 1.900,- THB, is provided on the spot and the extra 30 days added to the expiry date of your entry Permission to stay). Then at the end of those 60 days (do NOT overstay) simply exit Thailand to one of the neigboring countries you also like to explore (Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam are worthwhile options). Then return to Thailand which will once again provide you with a 30-day extension of stay which can equally be extended again for 30 days. No problem doing that process 3 times (max 2 times by landborder), so that would give you already 180 days in Thailand + the time you did spent in the neigboring countries. If by then you have made up your mind of wanting to stay long-term in Thailand, you could then apply for a 90-day Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement at the Imm Office of the province where you would be residing, and based on that 90-day Retirement Visa you can then apply for the 1-year extension of that 90-days Visa's Permission to stay. Success and happy discovery!

That's probably because you first applied for the 60-day extension for reason of visiting your wife. With an already extended Permission to stay Immigration might be reluctant to provide an additional 30-days extension. Note that the 'other way around' (first applying for the 30-day extension and then for the 60-day extension), should be no problem. But this is Thailand, and different Imm Offices might impose their own rules. And you could of course apply at a different office Imm Office in another province when the Imm Office refuses to provide the 2nd extension.

He only needs a Thai Bank-Account when he would apply for the 90-day Non Imm O Visa (or 1-year extensions of such Visa). In OP's case - only staying 4 months - there is no need to do that as he can easily stay 120 days without leaving the country, and even double that when doing a border-hop.

When married to a Thai national it is easy to stay 4 months or longer in Thailand. Her is how to go about: #1 - Simply fly to Thailand VisaExempt (WITHOUT a Visa). On arrival you will be stamped in by Thai border-immigration with a 30-day Permission to stay. NOTE: You would also need an onward flight reservation for a flight to an international destination on a date prior to the expiry-date of the 30-day Permission to stay, otherwise the airline staff at departure can refuse you to board. Such onward flight-reservation can be bought on-line for 16 US $ at e.g. onwardticket.com #2 - During the 2 weeks preceding the expiry date of your Permission to stay, you can visit ANY Thai Immigration Office (one or more in every province) and apply for a 30-day extension of stay. That extension costs 1.900,- THB, is provided on the spot, and the 30 days ADDED to the expiry-date of your Permission to stay. #3 - During the 2 weeks preceding the expiry date of that extended Permission to stay, you can once again visit the Thai Immigration Office of the province where you are residing, and can apply for a 60-day extension of stay for reason of 'visiting your Thai wife'. Your wife has to be with you when doing the application. It costs 1.900,- THB and is once again delivered on the spot with the extra 60 days added to the expiry date of your extended Permission to stay. You will need evidence of living at an address in the province you apply (TM-30 and house-book copy will do. You also need to provde a copy of your original Marriage Certificate, as well as a recently issued Kor-Ror-2 document (extract from the Thai national marriage register providing evidence that you are STILL married to your Thai wife). That Kor-Ror-2 document can be obtained at ANY Thai Amphur, costs 20 to 100,- THB and is provided on the spot. Note that when you married abroad, you would first have to legalize and register that foreign Marriage Certificate so that it can be included in the Thai nation-wide marriage register. #4 - With the above 3 steps you already have 120 days in Thailand, but having already applied for the 30- day and 6-day extension of stay you cannot extend the Permission to stay anymore. And so now you will need to exit Thailand latest on the expiry-date of that latest Permission to stay you got. A simple border-hop will do the trick (can be done same day or you can make of the opportunity to visit the neighboring country where you cross the border). #5 - After having crossed the border (e.g. a land-border crossing to Laos, Malaysia or Cambodia, or a cheap flight to Vietnam or Singapore), you can simply return VisaExempt to Thailand and will be one again stamped in with a 30-day Permission to stay. And that NEW Permission to stay can once again be extended with a 30-day and a 60-day Permission to stay. as addressed in steps 2 and 3. >> So doing the above allows you to stay up to 240 days (8 months) in Thailand without any issues whatsoever. And so you are not bothered with: - Applying for an eVisa to enter Thailand (the process can be an administrative nightmare); - The petty rules/regulations to apply for the Non Imm O Visa or its extension in Thailand (which is absolutely dreadful for a Non Imm O Marriage Visa), as well as the inconvenience of a possible house-visit during the under consideration period of the Marriage Visa and its 1-year extensions.

~ A minor correction, as it is more correct to state that you can only apply ONCE for a 60-day extension of stay for reason of visiting your wife, when on the same initial or extended Permission to stay. So re-entering Thailand with a Re-Entry Permit does not allow you to apply again for such 60-day extension, when you already used it earlier. Also note that irrespective of the Visa on which you entered Thailand (be it VisaExempt, Tourist Visa or Non Imm O Visa for reason of Retirement or Marriage) that you are always eligible for such one-time 60-day extension of stay for reason of visiting your wife. And when applying for that 60-day extension your Thai wife needs to be with you, and besides the original Marriage certificate, you also need a recently issued Kor-Ror-2 (extract from the national Thai marriage register, providing evidence that you are STILL married with your Thai wife) which can be gotten for 20 to 100 THB at any Thai Amphur. Depending on the Imm Office where you are applying for that 60-day extension of stay, that Kor-Ror-2 "recent' can range from issued same day as the application till 1 month before application.

~ Inserted my response in the questions (marked in blue) you raised: "I kept my official residence in Belgium (by officially moving to my parents address)". How do you manage that? Do you spend at least 6 months per year in Belgium, the only way I see you can be officially resident in Belgium? Same for the UK. > No, I am already for 6 years living approx 85% of the time in Thailand on my annually renewed 1-year Extension of stay for reason of retirement. Afaik there is no obligation to stay at least 6 months per year in my Belgian home-country, where I have my official residence (in the house of my parents). In case any authorities would try to contact me there, I would simply be 'on holiday' (which is actually true as I am a NON-Immigrant in Thailand). As you are officially resident in Belgium, you have no problems with Belgian accounts, you can open or keep existing ones. If you are not resident in Belgium, my understanding is that it is impossible to open a new one in any banks and keeping an existing one depends on your bank's policy. Is that your understanding? It is the case in the UK. > Yes, if you do not have your domicily anymore in Belgium it is not possible to open a new bank-account. In UK the situation is even worse: most banks will suspend or block your account if they find out that you are not actually residing in the country. Afaik there is no such policy in Belgium, and anyway with my official residence in Belgium there would never be any problem from the Bank's side. I have never heard of N26 before. I will have a look, thank you for the tip. > As I wrote I opened that N26 Internet bank-account while in Thailand, as only an EU Passport is needed to open a free account. But to get hold of the debit-card I obviously had to give an address in Belgium where to send it (in my case obviously I used my official address in Belgium) Wise told me 2 days ago that (I quote)"We sadly do not offer the Wise card to customers in Thailand". You seem to be using one in Thailand. This apparent contradiction could be explained by a difference between getting a card and using it. In other words, you might get a card at your parents in Belgium and the card is working in Thailand. Is that the case? > Yes, same as for opening the N26 account, I had the WISE debit-card (linked to my multiple currency account with them) send to my Belgian residence. For all they know I am a Belgian living in Belgium (and that's actually correct, as it is irrelevant that I am most of the year on holiday elsewhere). My decision not to give up my official residence in Belgium and exchange it for an address in Thailand, has been very advantageous for all administrative and banking matters.