us

4 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

They do not register them with wide wheels, thats complete and utter BS.

 

 

Its not BS at all. The DLT don't inspect vehicles, a private company working for them does. If the vehicle passes its test, a certificate is given which you then take into the DLT office and tax your vehicle for the next year.  Grease the right palms to the right extent and you can get just about anything through.  

Aftermarket pipes are illegal in Thailand - how do you think all the bikes with them on get through the test each year? No they don't take them off and refit the original for the test. Plenty of my mates get their bikes through every year.

I've even seen a guy produce a VIN number on a piece of metal with a VIN stamped on it for the masking tape pencil rubbing that's required. T.I.T. or didn't you realise?

6 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

In my opinion, no, it's nothing to do with the TDAC.  Passport control has always been busy at peak periods of the day.  It's nothing new.

I've been travelling here for 22 years, often 8 times per year.  I've arrived at all times of day and night and the only times I had any delays even approaching how they were yesterday was a few years ago, just before they increased the amount of booths.

You also have to factor in that airlines like Qatar appear to have done a deal with the airport and all (at least every one of my last few) flights now arrive at the new 'terminal' so you have to wait for a bus to arrive, take you to the train, take the train, bla bla bla.  All of this adds time - I didn't count that part before but a guess would be that I didn't get out into the arrivals hall until an hour and ten after landing.

1 hour ago, CHdiver said:

Funny, when I did my check-in some days ago with QATAR, the Agent wanted to see my TDAC Form. I told her that, just in case I would not have one, I can use kiosks at BKK to fill them in. She did not know that, but told me she has to check the form anyway. Did not ask what would happen if I had no form.

 

Immigration was a breeze, less then 5 min. Followed by 30 min. waiting for luggage. The joy of arriving with a, filled to the last seat, A380. 

It was never mentioned at either Heathrow or Doha.

I didn't find the application process 100% straightforward. The district and sub districts didn't match those given and reconfirmed by my hotel. In the end I just selected a random district, then a sub district from those in the drop down - nowhere near my hotel. Wrote the hotel address correctly and it was then accepted - I suspect many will have this problem. If you do, I suggest you do the same as I did or you'll be there all day trying to make it work.

25 minutes ago, treetops said:

What time of day was this?

Flight arrived at 15:35

I talked to a few tourists on my flight to Bangkok today and none of them had heard of TDAC. I can also state that none of the e-mails I received from Qatar Airways had any mention of TDAC on them.  If I wasn't a member here, I wouldn't know about it either. So, in what I write below, I am not passing any comment on what caused the problems today, I'm simply reporting on my experiences and observancies today. I had already submitted my TDAC application and received notification of approval.

I saw no area where those who hadn't submitted a TDAC application could do so - however, having completed mine, I wasn't particularly looking.

I saw very little signage relating to TDAC - again, I wasn't really looking.

As I entered the immigration area what I did see was the longest queues I've seen for many years and remember, there are far more booths than there ever was.

I didn't see any people in those queues get sent back to complete anything - so either they had all completed their TDAC applications or they were being allowed to do them at the booth. Judging by the amount of time some people were at the booths, I'd guess the latter was the truth.

I had a slight limp from a cramp attack I'd had whilst travelling and a kind young man pulled me out of the queue I was about to join and put me in one of the 'priority' queues.

Even being in the priority queue, it took me around 45 minutes to get stamped in - since the immigration 'upgrade' its never taken me longer than 15 minutes.

I can't truthfully state that TDAC was the reason for the delays today but something caused them.

19 hours ago, jojothai said:

Grateful if you can clarify the 40k.

50k per month non married (to a Thai national) 40k if married to a Thai national.

On 6/6/2025 at 4:08 AM, rumak said:

3. Even if married..... thai law is specific in that any assets previous to marriage belong

   100%  to the individual   ( any acquired later are joint property )

Not quite as simple as that.  Cash is an asset and yes, cash you can prove you had prior to marriage is yours but if you decide to buy something, say land, with that cash, although the original amount paid remains yours, any uplift in value becomes joint property.

Likewise in this case, his wife can sell the land and keep the cash but if she buys something with it, he would be entitled to half of any uplift in value of that asset from the date of purchase.  However, as many Thai property deals are conducted at shall we say, prices that are less than is actually paid, proving how much an asset has been sold for can be very difficult.

The above was explained to me by my Thai lawyer during a divorce.

10 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

Thai interest rates, are lousey. 

You could consider a FD account. 

If you opt for that then why bother with income method. 

Because of the interest rate and the fact that should a UK bank go bust my money (max £85k per account) is protected. I also believe that the UK's rules on fraud, should anyone access my account, are likely to be much better than those in Thailand where many things are governed by 'Caveat Emptor' principles. With a UK account, as long as I can show that I have not revealed my personal details, PIN etc. to a fraudulent party, the bank has to refund any money obtained by fraudulent means.

I have to show an income of at least 40k baht per month to maintain my work permit in any case.

Thai PM Orders Standardised Smoking Areas at Airports for Travellers

About bloody time!!!

A further question regarding the 400K in the bank.  It is my intention to change to the income method for my second extension - I will have to have an income of 40k per month to maintain my work permit in any case. However, it has long been my intention to keep a similar figure (£10k) as my 'insurance policy' should I ever have to return to the UK permanently.

The intention was to keep the £10k in a UK bank as the interest on Thai accounts is pitiful.  I might just though, keep it in a Thai account as a sort of back up should there be any problems with the income method. Does anyone know of a Thai account that pays reasonable interest and is of a type acceptable to immigration?

I may have asked this question before as part of another enquiry - however, I can't find such a post or remember any reply if there was one, so.......

With regard to the first application, does the 400K in the bank for a marriage based Non O extension have to be seasoned in a Thai bank account? For some reason I seem to think that provided its the first application, it doesn't.

Is the Visa Exempt Entry for a British national entering by air still 60 days - I know there was some talk of it returning back to 30?

The Royal Thai Embassy in London's website still says 60 but they are not famous for updating their site often.

22 hours ago, Crossy said:

Remember a few years back a whole row of cottages in Wales blew up?

 

Turned out to be an open supply neutral (bad joint) and the whole return current was going via a conveniently earthed GAS PIPE with a predictable result.

Thankfully there is no gas in my village 😁

Do these drugs actually work anyone?  I had covid over New Year for the 4th time and it was the worst I'd ever had it - jeez I felt bad.  I thought there was no actual treatment?

Got me worried now.  Did an underground cable joint on my UK household incomer (post meter) and can't remember if I retightened the allen screws after bending the cables into line so the joint covers aligned and clicked into place. 

Had a similar problem previously, not my doing though - the electricity provider made a bad joint onto the main cable when the house was built.  15 years on I turned on the microwave one morning and lost all power - been a little flickering for a week or so prior to that. Provider arrived and found the burned out joint.

Still, house is sold and I'm heading for Thailand soon 🙂.

19 hours ago, Xonax said:

The whole lower Sukhumvit area has slowly but steadily been transformed into one huge brothel with streetwalkers everywhere!

They wouldn't be there if their customers weren't there.  So lets get rid of them all right?

Then what happens to the Sukhumvit, if not the entire country's economy? Bars all close as do restaurants, 7/11's, gift shops, tailors, etc.  Thailand wants more tourism, not less.  Yes, there are many more familes choosing to holiday in Thailand these days but there's still a lot of males that visit the country for one main purpose. Lose that and you lose a big chunk of tourism income.

Never going to happen - these raids are just a token gesture so the BIB can say they've done something.  The arrested girls will have been out and back to work within a few hours.  It wouldn't be a wild guess that many of the foriegn girls make 'donations' to be able to ply their trade - certain officers won't want to jeopardise that income stream, that's why they've only picked up a few. Hope they 'refunded' their 'licence fees'.

4 minutes ago, Bannoi said:

America will save the world Trump is leading the charge he knows best.

Yeah right!

Unless France has changed - these plans could spark riots.

Its been a long time since I spent any time in France but when I did, I was amazed at how many people smoked - just about everybody it seemed.

Couple that (unless its changed drastically) with the popularity of protesting in France and there could be trouble.

As you will have realised by now, the main thing you have to do is to convince the ECO who handles your application that your wife will return to Thailand before her visa expires.

Therefore, evidence of a settled life in Thailand is required.  She doesn't need to be working or have any money in her bank account - if she doesn't work just state why........housewife, retired etc. As it seems you will be paying for the entire trip, you do not have to provide any evidence of her finances, only that you have enough money to pay.

I don't have time to read this entire thread and some/all of these points may have been covered already so I'm just going to make a few suggestions as to evidence you might provide to support your wife's application.  I don't know your personal details so I'm making a few assumptions - adjust to suit if they don't fit you.

Settled life in Thailand:

Evidence of your marriage.

Your visa/extension of stay. State how long you have been in the country and provide evidence if you can.

Describe and provide evidence of your accomodation, house/flat, owned/rented. How long you've lived there. Tabien Bahn copy, electric/water bills in yours or your wife's name.  Bank statements or similar for you both to prove same address - not finaces.

If your wife has close family ties in Thailand - give details. This one often crops up so it is clearly on the ECO's checklist.

I'm assuming that you are retired (as you say you don't work) and maybe your wife is middle aged? State this + how long you've been together.  If your wife is 40+ she is in a lower risk category - one thing that I know (from an ECO) is that with younger women they consider the likelihood of them disappearing after entry to work in certain 'professions' in the UK.

Describe the purpose of the visit - there is nothing out of the ordinary about a husband and wife visiting their family abroad.

British visas are nowhere near as difficult to obtain as people often state they are.  That is often caused by people telling lies on their applications and being caught out or failing to provide the key points of evidence to suit their particular circumstances.. People may tell you your wife needs to be working to be successful - this is not true. I know one guy who has helped his wife with 3 UK visa applications over the years - beginning when she was in her mid 20's.  Apart for a part time job (cash in hand) she hasn't worked since they were married. In a letter supporting her application he simply stated that they are a married couple and his wife takes care of the house and her children - she dosn't need to work as he is the breadwinner.

I hope the above gives you some ideas of what you need to do to convince an ECO that the application is for a genuine visit - adjust or add to the information to suit your circumstances.

I am a big believer in a supporting letter - used one many times and never had a visa refused.  However, you need to keep it concise - you want the ECO to actually read it. Many years ago a friend of mine provided vital financial evidence, it was missed and the visa refused on the grounds of lack of financial evidence! The application was massive with pages and pages of pointless so called 'supporting evidence'.

So, describe your circumstances along the lines that I have suggested, give the reason for this visit etc.etc.  Then edit it and edit it again - several times if necessary.  Paragraph it and try to keep it to just 1 A4 sheet. Make sure anything you state is truthful.

I have not mentioned everything as others have covered much of what's needed - like a letter from any friends or relatives stating that they are happy for you both to stay with them during your visit. You should also provide details showing that they have sufficient accommodation - not always needed but it helps.

Finally, I would advise against using an agent unless they come well recommended - there really is no need for one in a straightforward case.  More than once I've heard of agents telling lies that the applicant then becomes responsible for.  Significant lies told on an application can lead to a ban on future applications - a 5 year ban I seem to remember.

3 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Are you proud of this or something?

Nearly 50% are immigrants?

 

And what's wrong with that?  Immigration is only a problem if there are more immigrants than jobs, houses or the infrastructure needed to support them.  Its not that long ago that Australia was actively running a programme seeking immigrants.

10 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

25 years old, too young to be a bar manager??? Really? He is at his prime for that kind of work. If owner, he could have ran great business since he was 16 or 18 years old.

Judging out of your post, I guess you not been very successful in life.

Really?  I think you need to think about the clientele he'd be dealing with.

In addition, I can't see a 16 year old making a good bar/restaurant owner anywhere - but in Pattaya?  Definitely not. Such a person would be a rare beast indeed, most 16 year old's can't even speak these days - only text.

9 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

25 years old, too young to be a bar manager??? Really? He is at his prime for that kind of work. If owner, he could have ran great business since he was 16 or 18 years old.

Judging out of your post, I guess you not been very successful in life.

Successful people don't need to find a way to constantly slag others off - no matter what the subject.  I tend to think that people who do that are really rather sad individuals.

10 hours ago, TheFishman1 said:

Wut the police are so good how come they haven’t found and arrested on an international warrant the Red Bull kid

Do you really need to ask that question?

On 5/25/2025 at 3:07 AM, Jenkins9039 said:

As that would be expired (2015) it's 10 yrs gone.

Not necessarily.  A suspended sentence is almost always conditional and the conditions usually order the offender to attend regular scheduled probation appointments. I note that his sentence also included community service - that is also likely to be a component of the suspended sentence. If it is considered that the offender is a 'flight risk', the suspended sentence may also prohibit them from leaving the UK without permission until the sentence is complete.

Failure to comply with any of the conditions would almost certainly trigger the CPS to apply to the courts for an order to terminate the suspension and impose the original 2 year sentence.  Courts almost always grant that application and it can be done in the offender's absence.