Khon Baan Nok

You don't need a certificate of residence to sell your bike provided you are the owner in the green book, but you will need your passport and maybe driving license which should be the same address as the green book.

Thank you ATF.  (I have three S&Ws that are a perfect match of your avatar - a 17, a 15, and a 19.)

I am the owner in the green book, but my passport has been replaced and I have also changed addresses.  Is that going to be an issue?

OP:  Just take note that the Retirement Visa you have been on for 4 years is most likely an 'Extension of Stay based on Retirement'.   When visiting the Immigration Office is it good to use the correct terminology or when asking questions here on Thaivisa Forum.

 

Also - just hang around a while here on TVF (check back in) and a more knowledgeable person than I will arrive who can advise you if or how you can renew your Extension of Stay early (or not).  It doesn't take too long usually but this being a Thai holiday some may be with their Thai spouse and family.

 

When that gets answered remember when leaving Thailand (if your mind is focused on your parents) please don't forget that under an Extension of Stay you must buy a Reentry Permit.  This is very important that you exit Thailand with one of these.  Also at the Immigration office you can buy a multiple Reentry Permit which would give you latitude about coming and going - should you for some reason have to go back and forth. 

 

And in regards to the motorcycle ... post a message in the Motorcycle forum here on TVF... There are experienced motorcycle owners who know the exact answers as to what it will take to sell your motorcycle - documents, etc. ... and it shouldn't take too long to get an answer.

 

Good Luck ... and what kind of motorcycle is that and where are you located?  ... I might be interested.

Thanks for the pointer on terminology, I will be careful about that.

I always buy the multiple re-entry permit for B3,800 - some years I've used it, some not, but it's worth the peace of mind.

The bike is a gorgeous BMW R1150GS.  I was keeping the bike in Chaiyaphum, but brought her down yesterday (in the rain).  I'll deliver her to the new owner in Kalasin next week.

Khon Baan Nok, with regard to No. 2 -- you'll need a certificate of residence. What Immigration office do you use? Someone who uses that same office could give you the details. You could also get one from your country's consulate/embassy, but those are more expensive (but maybe quicker or easier to get).

Also, once we know which office you use, we could tell you if you can apply more than 30 days early for your extension.

Thank you very much.  I'm in Bangkok, I use Chaeng Wattana.  I sold a boat previously and they would not give the certificate - the boat agent had to do something to solve that problem.

1. There is no new form. But both you and the landowner must report your stay on different forms.

 

2. ...

 

3, You can apply 30 days early and at some places (including BKK) even 45 days early.

Could you kindly indicate the form numbers?  Tks much.

I am in my fourth year on a retirement visa, the current version of which expires in November.  I am caretaking aging parents in the US and I am never certain when I'll have to scurry back.  I am presently in Thailand.  The questions are:

1. I have recently shifted my residence to a new address.  Is there a new form that I must complete and that must be signed by the landlord?  Previously I simply provided copies of the signed lease, but I thought I had read that there is a new form required.

2. While I'm here, I'll be selling a motorcycle.  I apparently need some kind of certificate of residence to do this.  Anyone who has done this and could point me in the right direction, I'd be appreciative.

3. With my retirement visa expiring in November, how early can I apply for the renewal?  I'd like to do it now, even if it meant losing three months on the visa, as I could be called away overnight, with no guarantee that I'd be able to come back to Thailand for the renewal.

Thanks very much.  

Norman Sanders

It's not uncommon for people in any culture to have beliefs about physical orientation - think feng shui or the oft-mentioned 13th floor aversion in the West.

Whether there is any substance to the belief does not matter much. You are in Thailand, so it is best to ensure that your property conforms to local expectations. I had to rewire a bedroom in Chaiyaphum because the bed, oriented to properly fit the room size, pointed the "wrong" way, according to local elders. We had to move the bed 90 degrees to satisfy them, and now everyone is happy.

Go ahead and do what is being recommended, Having chosen to live in Thailand, it's a small thing to be in accord with local customs.

Please allow me to express my thanks to each and every one of you for the advice and encouragement. Even when you have told me something I think I already know, or am doing, it builds confidence - I am, after all, an admitted novice at this.

Bina, your addressing the issue of the dog having learned that "I am doing the thinking for him" is precisely the issue I've been most concerned about. My ultimate objective is not to have me making 10 to 12 trips a day outside and then congratulating myself that nothing happened inside. Your comments are helpful and are very convergent with what I am doing. I have already trained him and his mother to "speak" to confirm that they are ready to "EAT" (that was the world's easiest concept to teach!). I also have her "speak" when she wants to go out for any reason.

The puppy seems, almost magically (overlooking the 8 weeks that I've been doing this 24 x 7) to have crossed some threshold. He has had full access to the house (no crate) for the last three days and there have been zero in-house pee or poo events. I'm not declaring victory, but it's a bit of "positive reinforcement". Positive reinforcement is not just for dogs!!

Anyway, I continue my very structured and documented process, and I hope that we are beginning to make some progress. This is a wonderful little animal and I hope I can succeed with this. Thanks again, all, for your help and encouragement.

S.

The puppy is not yet three months' old... too soon to worry! He'll get the message soon.

I hope so. It sounds like yours was all set to go by this age, but I'm aware of others that only begin their training at this age. I guess I'll just persevere, but I hope that it is reasonable to expect him to alert me when he needs to go out.

Tks, Bob4You, for your comment. Your situation is similar to mine, though maybe you've got a smarter dog! My little twirp seems to be VERY smart, but he's not showing it to me in this regard.

S.

I've just been through the same situation; my puppy, also a toy dog, though I'd hesitate to give him a brand name, is now over 5 months old and fully house-trained.

What you're doing is right; take him out into the garden a few minutes after each meal.... but, if possible, leave the door open at other times so that he can go out by himself. The newspaper trick is helpful in a flat, but is not necessary if the puppy can get outdoors when he wants to. If he has an accident, take him straight outside so that he can connect going out with peeing.

I assume you don't have another dog, or he would follow its example. I have two, including the puppy's mother.

To be frank, he trained himself. The accidents grew fewer and fewer, and have now stopped completely (this happened at about three months).

He and my other dogs have always had access to all rooms in the house, and have always had a door open so that they can go out (except at night, of course).

Thank you, Birder. Some additional points:

1. He is here with his mother, who is house-trained. That does not necessarily seem to be helping.

2. A major difference between what you describe and my situation is that I'm not able to leave the doors open for him. This means that in effect he has to learn two things: One, not to pee/poo in the house, and two, to alert me to the need to get out where he CAN do that. He is fully able to alert me when he needs/wants to get out of the crate, and he is fully able to alert me when he wants to come IN on the few occasions when I allow him and his mother free rein in the garden. I wonder if this is screwing the whole thing up?

Tks for your interest and help,

S.

Greetings, I'm a long-time denizen of ThaiVisa but new to this forum.

I'm also new to house-training a puppy, and believe that I'm failing and I don't know why. I'd appreciate any good advice.

The basics:

I have a beautiful, smart puppy who is now eleven weeks old. He is half Chihuahua, one quarter Pom, and one quarter Shih Tzu. He was born here on 16 January 2012 and has been at my house here in Bangkok since then, except for a couple of forays out of town.

He has been accustomed to a crate since birth and is very comfortable there. His mother began weaning him at around 6 weeks of age and I began trying to house-train him at the same time. He has NEVER soiled his crate, so it is effective as a controlled environment. His mother is still here with him though he has long since forgotten about nursing.

I am recently retired and training this puppy is my principal mission in life right now, so I have the time to do it right. I've kept detailed records of the timings of his eating and pee/poo habits.

Here's what I think I'm doing right:

1. I have locked in his regular feeding times to be between 0600-0700, 1300-1400, and 1900-2000. He gets a consistent diet that is part dry food and part Cesar-brand tinned food.

2. I now know the times he is most likely to need to pee/poo, and I take him outside - the success rate of this is quite high by now. I use simple, consistent verbal commands for everything I expect him to do. In effect there are only three: NO, PeePee, and Poo.

3. I keep him crated if I'm not able to keep a close eye on him when I'm in the house - that said, he also has free run of the house AFTER he has done pee/poo outside.

4. I do not punish him for failures. I reward him verbally and with cuddling every time he succeeds outside. I do SHOW him the pee/poo inside and convey an emphatic "NO", but that's as far as I've gone with the negative reinforcement.

5. I use non-odor cleaners to attend to any messes, and those seem to be working as the accidents occur at different places.

In that context, as long as I'm mindful of the timings and watchful when he is free in the house, we can achieve a pretty high success rate. I cannot, however, get him to alert me when he needs to go out, so if I am not watching he will surely pee or poo in the house. In other words, I feel like most of the success is due either to my watching the timing or keeping him in the crate. I do not know what to expect of a puppy this young (not yet three months), but having been at this now for almost 6 weeks, I kind of thought it would be better than this.

Here's what I'm not sure if I'm doing right or not:

1. Because my house is very small and I have an outdoor garden, I have never given him a place to pee/poo in the house, i.e., by using a newspaper corner. All pee/poo operations are expected to be done outside. Is that a mistake? MUST you rely on the newspaper process?

2. I have not used food as a reward - I've used cuddling and talk to reward him. The only reason for that is that I've not yet found any non-perishable "treat" that I can use to reward him. Neither he nor his mother will look twice at any of the locally available pet treats. I've thrown every brand available into the garbage so don't have anything like this to use as an incentive. Is it a mistake to try to rely exclusively on love as positive reinforcement?

3. I do not use negative reinforcement. I am afraid that by doing that I could wind up teaching him the wrong things, but in the interim I'm not having much success at teaching him the right things. Is it necessary to use negative reinforcement/punishment? What kind?

That's it for now. He is young, and I may be looking for more than he can give. I'd appreciate being second-guessed.

Thanks in advance.

S.

Not sure if you have solved your problem, but I have a gorgeous little 2.5 month old male puppy. He is 1/2 Chihuahua, 1/4 Pom, and 1/4 Shih Tzu. Both the father and mother belong to us. He has had the first round of shots and deworming, and has been in house-training since six weeks. It's not finished, but it is progressing and I have detailed records for the entire training period.

I do not wish to let him go, but I have to make a trip to the US and cannot take him, nor do I want to leave him half-trained.

Pix are here:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107532459479191336390/NongPo

Sandy

I also was a US Passport-holder renewal of a Retirement visa as of yesterday.

I went to the Suan Phlu special service centre, and within 1.5 hours had my one year extension and a multiple entry permit.

They are done in the same place, but in different queues. Upon entry you are issued (after verification of your paperwork) a wait ticket for the requisite service.

It was crowded, but well-managed.

One thing to note: I had both the income guarantee and bank balance options available, and I had documentation of both in Thai and English.

I have two bank accounts (one dollar, one baht), and my letter from SCB combined the balance of both, which met the B 800K criterion.

Preference was given to the bank balance, though I was reprimanded for not having my bank balance "up to date", even though I had obtained my balance letter from SCB the previous afternoon. The "problem" was that there were no very recent transactions against the dollar account. A written note was made in my file that next year I have to provide an "updated" book balance, i.e., one that shows a transaction from within the last few days. I witnessed another person being sent out to do a 100 baht ATM transaction for the same reason.

Lesson learned: next year, do some kind of simple transaction JUST BEFORE renewal, and base the copies of the bank book and the bank letter on that amount.

Incidentally, the reason they went ahead and honored my request was because I had the original bank books with me - good idea to bring this along.

S.

Proof of financials is all that is really required. You should have some way to prove address if asked but it is not a normal question. Copy of passport data page/visa/extensions and arrival card. TM.7 form with 4x6cm photo taken within last six months. 1,900 baht fee (and fee of re-entry permit if you want). Done within minutes plus queue time. Do during last 30 days of current permitted stay.

Embassy letter for income should be as current as possible but not set figure - I would make it within month in Bangkok (actually do same or next day myself). You should have paperwork to support income figure in case asked (not normally asked).

Bank letter previous day with update from ATM/passbook same day (most banks have branch on ground floor) if using deposit method. Money in account previous 3 months for renewal. Copy of passbook/pages for the year.

Perfect, thanks Lop. Do I need both the embassy letter (I'll get from UN) and bank statement? I can qualify either way, but wonder if they are both needed.

Cheers,

S.

Last year, with the able assistance of some of the participants of this forum, I succeeded in converting from a diplomatic (F) visa to a retirement visa. My first year expires in early November.

Is there a simple summary of what forms/documents I will need for my first renewal, how much in advance should I initiate the process, and is the extension completed "while I wait" at Immigration?

I live in BKK and use the facilities at Chaeng Wattana.

Tks much for your help, the more specific the better...

S.

I need to replace a cracked windshield - have heard of a place called Dr. Glass, which does replacements and repairs. Not finding via a web search, anyone know of this company or an alternative (in Bangkok)?

Thanks

S.

I've gone through this forum and not found answers (that I can understand) to the following four questions:

1. I live in Thailand, though I go to the US once or twice a year. In Thailand, I spend much time in Bangkok but a sizeable amount of time either on the move or in rural areas. If I buy an IPad 2 for use primarily in Thailand, is there any advantage to paying extra for the 3G capability? In other words, can I get connectivity in the baan nok without a wireless connection.

2. If I buy an IPad2 in the US, with 3G, will the 3G work in Thailand, or do I have to get it "unlocked" or whatever the right phrase is?

3. I have a cell phone subscription with AIS, and for which I pay extra for data connections. I use a Nokia E71. Is it possible to use that phone and the internet access I'm already paying for to give my laptop accessibility from the rural areas? How do you do that, and do I need something extra? (Using a Vaio 125 FH with Win 7 Enterprise). Is that what "tethering" is?

4. Can my existing phone subscription with AIS be used both with my E71 cell phone and as a 3G connection with an IPad2? Or do I need a separate number? How much do you pay extra for 3G capacity?

Sorry, that's more than 4 questions, but it is four "topics".

Obviously I'm not very familiar with this particular technology, and I offer apologies for the lameness of these questions.

Tks for your help.

S.

I will buy an Ipad2. The issue is whether to get one with 3G or NOT with 3G. I have a cell phone with an AIS account - can access the Internet via my Nokia E71, though it is not very elegant.

Is there any point in purchasing a 3G Ipad2, and if yes, how do you make use of it and what is the impact on monthly phone bills?

Tks in advance,

KBN

I am looking for the most current information on the issue of a Thai citizen (my GF) who would like to accompany me on a visit to the US.

How long should we expect the visa application process to take, and are there any quirks we need to know about that will facilitate the application process?

Thanks all.

S.

If you didnt get one before, make sure you get a multi re-entry permit, this will allow you to come and go as you please, if you forget it you will have to start the process all over again if you leave the Kingdom.

(I stated a "multi" asunimg you wish to travel during your 1 year visa and have flexibility, obviously if you dont then maybe in your case you want to buy the re-entry permits as needed)

I did indeed buy the multi-entry permit. Am I required to notify anyone (in immigration) before I leave the country? Specifically, if I were to do a day trip (or so) to Vientiane or to Cambodia, can I just go out of Thailand and return at will? What happens to the timing of my present visa, and does that "re-set" the clock on my 90-day reports?

All help appreciated.

S.

Dear all,

Thanks , to all of you who helped me previously in trying to figure out how to convert from a diplomatic visa to a retirement visa. I'm pleased to report that I succeeded and now have a one year retirement visa - I do remember that I promised to report back on how it worked, and what was required, and I will do that in due course. The short version is that I had every imaginable document that anyone had ever mentioned as being necessary - only a few were required, and the entire process (at Immigration) was completed in less than two hours. More to follow on that...

I am now edging up the date of my first quarterly report. It is due on 8 February. Two questions:

1. What is the window of time (days before and days after (if any)) during which I have to go to Chaeng Wattana and submit the document? (I have to go there anyway for a different purpose on Friday and wonder if I can do both at the same time...)

2. What happens if I am not in the country (or not in Bangkok) when one of the Quarterlies is due?

Tks as always for the solid advice.

Sandy

you mention that you are aiming to convert to a residency visa? By this, do you mean permanent residency in Thailand?

As I understand it, it will be difficult to get residency from a retirement visa, especially as residency generally requires 3 years of tax returns immediately preceeding your application. If permanent residency is the aim, you might be hindering your application by applying for a retirement visa.

Others will know better than me, so I stand to be corrected.

Yes, I meant permanent residency visa.

You've raised an interesting point. I have the residency requirement, but since I've been employed by an international organization, I have paid taxes in my home country (US), not here, in accordance with International and Thai conventions.

Even if you are right, I'm not sure that I have an easy alternative. Assembling the paperwork for the residence visa will take longer than I currently have, so I may just have to bite the bullet and proceed.

Tks for the alert.

S.

Background: US citizen, age 62, resident for 5 years in Thailand on Non-Immigrant F visa, retiring from UN service at end of October. Aiming to initially obtain retirement-based extension of stay, probably attempt to convert to Residential visa next year. Have a long-standing relationship with a Thai woman though we are not married to each other.

The Question: On the assumption that all goes well with the retirement extension of stay process, I will have (eventually) a yearly renewable conditional permission to stay in Thailand. I presently live in Bangkok and will remain here for the immediate future. Consequently I assume that my quarterly reporting to Immigration will be done here in Bangkok at Chaeng Wattana. My partner and I are building a cottage on her family property up-country. We would both like for me to get on a yellow tabiyan baan for the up-country property. If we do that, will I then be obliged to do my quarterly reporting up-country, or can I still do that here in Bangkok?

Related Question 1: It is my understanding that I can obtain the yellow tabiyan baan even though we are not married. Is that correct?

Related Question 2: I have two vehicles (car and motorcycle) registered (white plate) here in Bangkok. If I go on the tabiyan baan from up-country, do I have to move the registration to that changwat also?

Tks,

S.

I'm the OP and I'd like to thank all of you for the education. I must say, education notwithstanding, I'm still not quite certain what is going to happen when I show up at Immigration, but at least I have more ideas regarding the possibilities.

I will report back when the whole process is done.

I'm opening another thread on a different but related topic, and hope to see some of you there.

S.

1. Only if you plan frequent travel - a single entry costs 1,000 baht and would fit most people as you can always get another.

So if you go the cheap route and opt for the single entry, that means that (for a BKK resident) you have to make the trek out to Chaeng Wattana and buy another entry permit each time you leave Thailand? How much paperwork is involved in that and how long does it take each time you do it?

Cheers,

S.

So it is a free issue re-entry visa to allow travel on your extension of stay. Those that have to pay get a re-entry permit and it costs 3,800 baht. As they use the word visa on it that should make it even easier to extend for retirement if you visit before it becomes invalid. What you will be extending is that left page extension of stay and you will do it for retirement rather than Section 15.

The worst case would be you have to make a new entry but in no case do you need to return to US or obtain an OA visa.

OK. Then..

1. I assume that henceforth I too will have to pay the multiple entry fee of 3.8K baht. Fair enough.

2. If I've been getting the extension under Section 15, under what Section would I request a retirement extension - just so I can appear knowledgeable...

3. Is the "worst case" something within my ability to influence, or is it just up to the predilection of the official on duty at the time?

4. If I do have to exit the country (not to the US, let us say Phnom Penh or Vientiane), I need a visa to get back into Thailand. What kind of visa is that?

5. If I do have to exit the country, would that not invalidate the extension of stay, and reset the clock back to 90 days when I come back in?