MangoKorat

Visas/extensions seem to be getting more and more difficult every year (unless you're Russian) - one day they will realise just how much we spend in Thailand - grey or not.

I presume the refusal was on the same grounds - financial?

As they are applying the same financial requirement as they do for a 12 month extension of stay - was there any mention of the monthly income method (40,000) being acceptable?

I don't understand what all the fighting is about. The OP's message is clear to me. For many years, some embassies/consulates have provided 12 Multi Entry Non O visas (MENO's) based on marriage to a Thai national with very little evidence required - especially financial. That list has gradually been dwindling - HCMC was the last one that I heard now require financial proof and now it seems that Savannakhet has gone the same way. They seem to be treating a MENO in the same way as they do for a marriage extension - financially. Its not surprising really as many have abused that visa and used it as a way of living in Thailand without providing financial evidence - not that I'm criticising that but it was in effect 'abuse'. The visa is intended for those who don't live in Thailand but make regular visits to their spouse. The question is, will they also accept the monthly income method of 40,000 per month?

The problem for me is - I won't even be starting until I'm over the Thai retirement age. I have a couple of pre-existing conditions that will probably push private health insurance out of reach. I was thinking that maybe the SS system might provide some cover but it seems not.

I know the ones you mean and I actually have a brass topped screw cap near the house end of my sewerage pipe. Its part of a very small inspection port. By the time the waste pipe gets nearer the tank it would probably be too deep to use that type.

Most recent footage does not indicate the type of missile that Israel has been using - a very small crater compared to shots of other Israeli 'hits'. There is very little structural damage to buildings - unlike the total devastation shown in other areas of Gaza that have been hit. A lot of fire damage - comensurate with rocket fuel from a device that hadn't travelled far. I keep an open mind but its not looking like Israel is the guilty party. The problem is - try telling that to a Palestinian. The ones shouting on TV made up their minds minutes after the hospital was hit. It wouldn't matter if a video emerged that showed the entire journey of the missile and proved it was fired from within Gaza. Their minds are made up. TV footage this morning showing Palestinians searching for bomb fragments - no doubt Hamas will give a press release showing photos of pieces of an Israeli missile tomorrow. The fact that such fragments are all over Gaza will matter not.

In other words - drunk or had some dodgy Thai weed.

Disgusting but not at all surprising - after all Thailand and Russia have a few things in common: Fake democracy. Huge corruption. Opposition often locked up on fake charges. Maybe he wants to learn how to murder disidents living in exile abroad and get away with it? Either this guy is stupid or he doesn't care that Putin is subject to an international arrest warrant and has no intention of carrying out any such arrest. The PM needs to think long and hard if this is a serious invitation, Thailand is already on thin ice over assisting Chinese companies to re-locate to Thailand to avoid sanctions. A visit by Putin and no arrest would very likely result in those sanctions being transferred to Thailand with a few more banged on top as a punishment. Thailand - always trying to ride 2 horses. However, top and botton of it - I doubt Putin will take a chance and accept the invitation with the price on his head.

That would require inspection chambers at each bend and its not necessarty really - if swept bends are used, drain rods will clear any blockages. I use them in the UK for a pipe run that is 30m from the nearest inspection chamber to the septic tank, 2 swept bends involved and they work fine. However, if swept bends are used, blockages are rare. I've had to clear 2 in 15 years, both caused by cooking oil/fat.

OK, thank you. Clearly there's time yet but whilst these things are in my mind, I'd like to ask a couple more questions. RE: The re-entry stamp. Is the office that provides these open 24/7? I presume that if you leave without a re-entry stamp, your PR is cancelled? In the event of an emergency, in that I had to leave urgently, I wouldn't want to arrive at Suvarnabhumi, find the office is closed and lose my PR. RE: Work Permit. So provided you have held a work permit & paid taxes for 3 years + still hold a work permit at the time of application, you could retire immediately after making the application? How long in total did your application take?

I understand that foreigners who work in Thailand have to pay Social Security and I believe that as a result of that, you are eligible to receive treatment at Thai hospitals - correct? However, I believe that things change when you reach retirement age. I seem to remember reading that when you are over ?? years old, you still pay Social Security but you get it back at the end of each tax year? Does that also mean that you would not be eligible for free hospital treatment when you reach that age - even though you are still paying tax and SS? What is the position if you don't start working/paying tax until after the Thai retirement age? Any other things I should be aware of regarding tax and SS?

Having already invested significantly in Thailand and planning to invest substantially more next year. I would also like to have that security - although I am aware that I will have to go though a lengthy process and pay tax for at least 3 years (I believe). Do you need to get an exit/re-entry stamp each time? Or are multiple ones available? Given my particular Immigration Office, I'd like to visit there as little as possible.

Whilst I don't disagree, ladyboys create a lot of their own problems. Having been attacked and robbed by a group of them a few years back, they are not exactly, my favourite people. You can probably understand that most tourists are not so happy to be grabbed in the crotch by a guy!! At the time the police in Lumpini told me that Ladyboys were responsible for the majority of street crime in central Bangkok. Apparently they commit most of the robberies and pickpocketing etc. and when the police get called to a fight - many involve ladyboys.

That's not nice and bad taste at the moment.

Sounds good to me.

If I understand correctly, once you have PR you no longer need a visa - correct? If so, is there also no requirement to prove your income anymore?

I think its more likely that they go to beach road because they've heard about the katoeys and go to view them as if they are some kind of tourist attraction. They can also avoid having to buy beers in a bar - something that seems popular amongst Indians/Chinese. If that is the case, I have some sympathy for the katoeys. Only some though.

That, in the post a couple of positions up, should read 'not fully understood'. Out of time to edit.

Agreed. The next thing we'll be hearing is the old claim that men who sleep with katoeys are not gay - they are. I don't understand that denial, its as if they are ashamed of being gay and somehow think that because the katoey dresses like a woman and/or may have had cosmetic/surgical changes, its different. Katoeys are born male with male genitalia. They do not have the internal organs required to produce or feed a baby and are therefore male. To date, it is biologically impossible for a human being to completely change gender. Such people may only be attracted to katoeys and not at all interested in 'normal' males. However, sexual activity between two males is known as 'homosexual' - a term which has in recent years, become known as 'gay'. Before someone pipes up, I am fully aware of the existence of hermaphrodites - that is an entirely different matter. I am also aware of the fact that some people claim they have the right to 'identify' as they so wish. They are welcome to live in their own fantasy world but in reality if they are a man that wishes to 'identify' as a woman, that does not make them a woman. It does however, render another male that has sex with them as homosexual. I await copious amounts of flaming from our some factions of our community. I would point out however, that I both accept and respect gay people. What I will never accept is these new fangled terms, identifications and made up genders. Was I gay, I'm pretty sure that I would be offended by people who try to name homosexual activity using alternative terms as if ashamed of it.

Well that is extremely rare.

In fact you are incorrect, 'MONOGENIC OBESITY' although rare, can be traced though familes. I had neighbours when I was a kid where the mother was obese and her two children were like carbon copies of her in terms of both looks and obesity. However, I was using genetic as an overarching term to cover other types of 'involuntary obesity'. There are several conditions that cause someone to be fat whilst only eating the amount of food that they need. Some of these conditions are the result of complex chemical interactions between the body and nutrients. Some of these conditions are fully understood but they are very real. There are also hormonal factors - as I personally know very well. Part of my treatment for Prostate Cancer included Hormone Therapy. I was told that I may put on 'a little' weight, particularly around my waste, whilst receiving the treatment. Having had an almost flat stomach all my life I developed a 'beer belly' and put on over 10kg within 3 months whilst eating nothing more than my usual diet. For some reason this fat has been very hard to remove - something I was also warned of. A usual programme of dieting resulted in me losing weight elsewhere whilst the fat around my waist more or less remained. It is going slowly but it is very difficult to move - and I've been receiving advice from a professional dietician. Whislt I would accept that most obesity is self inflicted through over-eating, lack of excercise and poor diet, I can assure you that it is not always a 'voluntary condition' - grasshopper!

I hate to 'rain on your parade' but an awful lot of things have only been discovered in the last few decades. Its a phenomenon known as 'advances in medicine' - khao jai mai? I don't support those that intentionally make themselves fat but some, and I have no idea of the percentage, are not fat by choice. End of. I'm not going to engage in a pointless, off topic argument.

For someone who appears to support other minority groups, you seem to have a strange way of thinking. You're also wrong in some of what you say. Whilst some people cause themselves to be fat, there are others that can do nothing about it - its genetic. I'm not fat by the way ????.

I think we'd noticed that.