Richard Hall

After more than 50 years in Thailand not holding Thai citizenship but "fighting" for a better future of the beloved country? Why not getting naturalized after such a long time which comes with the right to vote and form the future of the country democratically? I love to swim but I don't like to get wet? I know Indians and other nationalities with much lesser background having acquired Thai citizenship.

Everyday someone appears to vow something nowadays. Obviously, this crisis turns people to be very religious in Thailand. Heaven must be near.

It is quite obvious that mediation is not possible because there is a clear need for a government that supports a general amnesty after all those turmoils. Wait a second... ain't this sound familiar somehow?

- Filled in and signed application form TM7 including an affixed photograph not being older than 6 months

- Passport of applicant plus 1 copy

- Work permit plus 1 copy

- Copies of marriage certificate KhorRor 3 and marriage registration document KhorRor2

- Copies of Thai-ID-Card and house registration of Thai wife

- Statement by employer of a monthly salary of not less than THB 40,000

- Copies of income tax documents (PhorNgorDor1) plus receipts of the last three months plus last annual income tax document (PhorNgorDor91) plus receipt

- Map to your place of residence

- Copy of up-dated company registration (not older than 6 months)

- Photographs showing you together with your wife in front and inside your place of residence (affixed to or printed on an A4 sheet)

All copies signed by the holder(s):

Means work permit pages, passport, PhorNgorDor91 and receipt by you.

KhorRor3, KhorRor2, map, photographs by you and your wife.

Employers statement, company registration and PhorNgorDor1 documents and receipt by Managing Director(s) of company and company stamp.

As far as I have experienced the pictures of the Thai employees at work are a requirement for at least 8 years or more in Chonburi and Rayong. Last 2 years I even have to show up at immigrations with Thai colleagues.

I am sure that is for an extension of stay based upon working not marriage to a Thai.

Yes, you're right. We married 2 years ago, did not yet use that in the extension.

Would it make things easier? We also have a daughter together.

I work for a Thai company, only farang there.

It certainly wold be easier. No need for photos for company employees and a stack of company documents.

Plus your extension would not be tied to your job. If you were to loose your job your extension would remain valid.

You would prove your income of 40k baht by showing tax payments and your work permit to prove you are working legally.

When providing the prove of income by monthly income tax payment documents (PorNgorDor 1) for the previous last three months and annual income tax report of the past year (PorNgorDor 90 or 91) it will notbe enough to file a copy of the documents and the receipts by the Revenue Department but at least Bangkok Immigration is requesting certified copies by the Revenue Department.

Not even showing the original yellow receipts by Revenue Department will be sufficient but certified copies must be provided of the said documents.

A requirement that came up as per my experiences about three or four years ago.

Would make some officers redundant, maybe those who do not speak enough English could be put onto a language course for other governmental jobs readying them for AEC 2015.

Well, methinks having a fundamental knowledge ot the Thai language as a foreigner when living in Thailand long term is rather the trick that can ease things quite a bit. At least as per my own experiences.

Take a look at the "Premium World". Don't expect any German officer in Germany to have a substantial command of the English language despite Germany is the leading force in the EU.

Since my work permit was due for renewal on February 15, I went to Ding Daeng this morning upon receiving the information that the Labor Department had re-opened there. Received my queue number at 9.17 h and all was done at 10.00 h clock with the one year extension stamp in the booklet.

The lady at counter 5 confirmed that they have just been back from temporary place at Bang Na and were quite happy about it. She worked indeed very efficient and I could barely keep visually up with her stamping speed while she told me that the work load was indeed very high. Nevertheless, she was very friendly and kept her smile.

Kudos to them and also to Immigration at temporary Suksawat office where I went last Friday. One year visa extension and 90 days reporting all done in 1 hour 45 minutes. Will pick up the final stamp on March 7 but still unsure whether this is going to be at Chaeng Wattana or still Suksawat. At least the officiers were hoping that all will be back to normal by then and I indeed keep my fingers crossed for them.

Should I forward this to Suthep?

Who is Suthep? Can't be anyone of importance 'coz I have never seen him in our area. Other than the street sweepers working their butts off from 5.00 h to 16.00 h to keep the area clean. But they use brooms and no whistles. There is clearly a difference between sense and sensibility. You may want to forward this to Khun Suthep.

Well, in my case I started out with a Tourist Visa. Switched it to Non-Immigrant B back in 2000 within the country when I established my own company. In 2002 I became married to a Thai citizen but continued to base my stay on business. Eventually, in 2005 when the requirements became more and more demanding for extensions based on business I switched to "Thai wife" maintaining my work permit ever since and continued running the company as Managing Director with having my wife employed.

Yes, when I started out on business there was the requirment of evidence for four Thai employees, the office was inspected and even for about 6 months the company became actually checked whether there was activity going on but not anymore since I was staying on base of supporting my Thai wife.

This year, all of sudden in my friend's case the requirement (Thai company managed by his Thai wife and himself) arose that there must be also a photograph provided showing the four Thai employess at their work place which got me totally by surprise because for the previous 8 years there has not been such a demand in my case and therefore I started this thread. However, last Friday at Immigration it turned out that everything was the same like in the past years. Stay based on "Thai wife" and financially supported by the salary paid by "my" company. Work permit and all other documents backing this up filed as usual and no new additional demand for that said photograph.

Eventually, I have now applied for my extension on last Friday at temporary Suksawat Immigration Office.

Filed just the usual documents and surely also had my Thai wife present as in the past but was not asked for a picture of the Thai employees at their work places. Hence, this appears just to be a requirement when an extrension is done by using a just newly acquired work permit as this was the case with my friend while I have been holding my work permit already for 14 years. No, I didn't raise the subject myself because I had no interest in wakening any "sleeping dogs" and therefore can just share my most recent own experience.

Since my work permit was due for renewal on February 15, I went to Ding Daeng this morning upon receiving the information that the Labor Department had re-opened there. Received my queue number at 9.17 h and all was done at 10.00 h clock with the one year extension stamp in the booklet.

The lady at counter 5 confirmed that they have just been back from temporary place at Bang Na and were quite happy about it. She worked indeed very efficient and I could barely keep visually up with her stamping speed while she told me that the work load was indeed very high. Nevertheless, she was very friendly and kept her smile.

Kudos to them and also to Immigration at temporary Suksawat office where I went last Friday. One year visa extension and 90 days reporting all done in 1 hour 45 minutes. Will pick up the final stamp on March 7 but still unsure whether this is going to be at Chaeng Wattana or still Suksawat. At least the officiers were hoping that all will be back to normal by then and I indeed keep my fingers crossed for them.

Which advertising agency came up with this?

Did no one think it might possibly be the tiniest bit racist? Not even one tiny smidge.

Do you mean that it is "racist" in that it implies asian eye shape to be superior or what? I think it is a rather clever advert.

An eye for an eye.

The events generated by the PDRC sound amazingly like the events generated by NSDAP in Germany in the 1930s, whose ultimate objective was also the complete obliteration of the democratic processes. It succeeded there; why not here?

Khun Suthep ain't Austrian.

Khun Vowthep has vowed once again.

You have to be crazy to want to ride a bicycle on the roads in Thailand.

Good to know 'coz I ride my bike every day in Bangkok's Bangkholaem district. Never mind, craziness can be quite helpful when living in LOS long term.

Gotcha! If you can't be bothered to take pics you are welcome to use the gals from my office's pictures.

Better not, 'coz that will surely motivate at least the male Immigration Officers to pay us very regular control visits and result in longer application times for others because of those field trips. Therefore, thanks but no thanks in consideration of the "kreng jai" aspect. And imagine if my actual employees do eventually not fulfill the expectations generated by the filed photo material upon a trip of the best part of Bangkok.

Why would you go twice? just take the picture and if they don't want it don't show it. Or am I missing something?

That's what I eventually will do since there seems to be no knowledge obtainable about this subject.

But... I raised the topic here to avoid that possibly other people have to go twice because of that lack of knowledge just as it has happened to my friend at the beginning of this week. Certainly, I could just post that there is a new requirement but if this wasn't generally the case I would just cause confusion due to lacking the proper knowledge and undergo deserved flaming for spreading rumours.

Hence I started this thread. The worst that can happen now is that there will be no feedback, I have to take the picture(s) to avoid going twice although taking the picturer(s) isn't possibly necessary at all and give the appropriate answer to my question publicly myself upon I have applied for my extension at the beginning of next month at Bangkok Immigration.

Recently, the subject arose that it is obviously a (new) requirement to also provide a photo of the minimum of 4 Thai employees at their workplaces when extending your stay based on Thai wife, holding a work permit and paying tax for a minimum montly income of THB 40.000 (proven by tax receipts PorNgorDor 1 for the last three months and annual income tax report PorNgorDor 91 for the previous year).

Actually, first I thought this to be a groundless rumour but yesterday a friend extending under the said circumstances at temporary Lat Phrao Immigration Office was requested to provide exactly this. Granted, it was the first time that he used a work permit and tax receipts because last year he still extended without work permit but by evidence of foreign income certified by the embassy.

Anyone any experience/info on that because I will be due for extension next month and try to avoid going twice because of lacking the Thai employee picture. Yes, we are really talking an extension of stay based on Thai wife and work permit and not an extension based on work/business.

Thanks.

Cheers,

Richard

The Germans are dropping like flies lately Schumacher, Merkel , and now A German Resident of Pattaya who next?

Nothing to worry, there are still heaps of them and hence the show will go on.

Wow, Sin City appears to be always good for a breathtaking headline.

The Anti Suthep's have no real argument against him,....

No need for this because Khun Suthep is the best argument against himself. As was/is Khun Thaksin. Twins in mind. Methinks the resemblance in terms of stubbornness is astonishing.

If you can't find the words to express yourself, perhaps you should refrain from writing until you are able to do so. I am not dumb, sir, I am a knowledgeable pragmatist (and when my IQ was last tested in the 1960's, it was scored at 154). I have worked in an executive capacity in the private sector on numerous government projects for half a dozen ministries, so I have first-hand knowledge of how pervasive corruption is within the existing politico-bureaucratic system, and I spent 8 years doing project management field-work in 72 provinces. I am fluent in spoken and written Thai and Lao (Issan dialect and Lao PDR), so I can listen to and read everything that the PDRC, the UDD, and the government says without having to rely on low-quality translations of excerpts or third-hand "information." And finally, I work in a Thai company, live in a Thai neighborhood (lower middle-class), and virtually all my associates, friends and acquaintances are Thai, so I am aware of the range of opinion, knowledge, and ignorance across a broad range of socioeconomic, educational, religious, and regional backgrounds.

Based on observing the performance of elected governments over the past 25 years, yes, I would welcome Thailand being run in the short-term by an unelected group that is intent on reform.

Wow, Khun Suthep should hire you to do the speaking for him. Without background whistling of course.

Khun Suthep: Rattle, rattle, rattle...!

Undoubtedly, an extreme gifted soap opera script writer but else? Not really convincing in this Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs role. Maybe he should grow his hair longer.

"We won’t be tired, born to walk and born to chase" said Suthep.

Bruce, is it you? Then quit the whistle and get the guitar out instead, dude.