dbrenn

Your attitude is about 80 years out of sync with how we should act.

How very politically correct of you to say so, Mr. Bluespunk. The difference here is that the Jews integrated and have contributed a great deal to the good of our society, making no attempt to change our culture or disparage the way that we choose to live. I don't think that Thailand is confident that Pakistani migrants would do likewise.

The lack of any compassion for refugees fleeing persecution you puke up in everyone of your posts is nauseating, it is contemptible intolerant individuals like you that are responsible for much of the hatred and lack of understanding we find in society.

It is astonishing that anyone can post so much yet display absolutely no intelligence or compassion for those fleeing persecution, however such is your ignorance and hate that you pull it off.

Aside from politically correct moralising and sundry insults, of the kind made popular by the loony left Twitterati brigades, there appears to be no content in your reply Mr. Blue Spunk.

Spare a thought for countries that have been invaded by unskilled migrants, most of whom seem to be fit young men, Mr. Blue Spunk. Countries like Greece, where poverty is rife, social services are overloaded, and youth unemployment is sky high. Thailand, rightly, doesn't want to make the same mistake, and is right not to listen to the UN technocrats banging on about what it should and shouldn't do.

It's easy to moralise when it's not in your back yard. Have you invited any of these migrants to live in your house? I thought not.

Yep seen it and read the article. Harrowing stuff from the UK left wing propaganda machine otherwise known as the BBC. The whole world is flooded with unskilled migrants at the moment. It's awful but there are simply too many of them to deal with. Thailand is right in keeping the flood gates closed. Borders have existed since time immemorial and the sheer volume of migration threatens national identities elsewhere. Thailand is right to take a firm line, so as to deter a destabilising tsunami of human misery of the kind we are seeing in the EU.

Thailand is fed up with being preached to by the west so don't hold your breath expecting things to change simply because the UN might issue one or another edict.

I think you need to do some research on how long borders (and the control of people crossing borders) have actually existed and the roots of 'national identities', in particular how old the national identities you refer to actually are.

There are some useful resources on these matters in your own language that you at least have a chance of understanding.

Once you've grasped those we'll come back to exactly what your understanding of what Thailand's position is on international relations with the west and where you got your ideas from.

How very patronising your tone is when you are talking to people who don't share your woolly lefty views on the world. For your information, my native language is English, the same as yours if I have guessed correctly. When I said that borders have existed since time immemorial, I was referring to the concept of borders, not to the specific borders around Pakistan, many of which were put in place more recently by external powers as we all know. The concept of borders that I was referring to being a vital one, to prevent the kind of chaos that we are seeing in the EU, with its Soviet style social experimentation on insufficient border control. The fact that some more recent borders may have been misplaced is sad, and unfair, but why should Thailand bear the brunt of bad decisions that she did not herself make?

That Thailand didn't create those borders adds more weight to my point - why should Thailand be lectured by the UN when problems like this arise? Thais are charitable people generally, but they are not warm toward the idea of freeloaders coming over and draining the limited resources that are available here. The attitude is 'thanks, but we have enough kebab and peanut sellers here already'.

Again, this will appear heartless to lefties like your good self who take everything the politically correct lefties who infest the Beeb say as gospel, but I don't apologise for holding an opposing view on mass migration, a view that is shared by many, because of the threat that mass migration poses to national identities. When compared with some other nationalities, Pakistanis haven't integrate well into the western culture, so if Thailand gets stuck with them they are unlikely to integrate here either.

The only lasting solution is to influence change in their countries, so that they all stop killing each other, rather than letting them all move over here. Sad, yes. Unfair, yes. But so is life.

Noteworthy too is that none of these brow beating lefties who were banging on about allowing refugees to live in their houses have actually done so.

Your attitude is about 80 years out of sync with how we should act.

“The British government had become fearful of how its citizens would react to a wave of Jewish refugees from Germany, and had clamped down on immigration.”

― Thomas Harding, Hanns and Rudolf: The True Story of the German Jew Who Tracked Down and Caught the Kommandant of Auschwitz

Your attitude is about 80 years out of sync with how we should act.

How very politically correct of you to say so, Mr. Blue Spunk. The difference here is that the Jews integrated and have contributed a great deal to the good of our society, making no attempt to change our culture or disparage the way that we choose to live. I don't think that Thailand is confident that Pakistani migrants would do likewise.

How very patronising your tone is when you are talking to people who don't share your woolly lefty views on the world. For your information, my native language is English, the same as yours if I have guessed correctly. When I said that borders have existed since time immemorial, I was referring to the concept of borders, not to the specific borders around Pakistan, many of which were put in place more recently by external powers as we all know. The concept of borders that I was referring to being a vital one, to prevent the kind of chaos that we are seeing in the EU, with its Soviet style social experimentation on insufficient border control. The fact that some more recent borders may have been misplaced is sad, and unfair, but why should Thailand bear the brunt of bad decisions that she did not herself make?

That Thailand didn't create those borders adds more weight to my point - why should Thailand be lectured by the UN when problems like this arise? Thais are charitable people generally, but they are not warm toward the idea of freeloaders coming over and draining the limited resources that are available here. The attitude is 'thanks, but we have enough kebab and peanut sellers here already'.

Again, this will appear heartless to lefties like your good self who take everything the politically correct lefties who infest the Beeb say as gospel, but I don't apologise for holding an opposing view on mass migration, a view that is shared by many, because of the threat that mass migration poses to national identities. When compared with some other nationalities, Pakistanis haven't integrate well into the western culture, so if Thailand gets stuck with them they are unlikely to integrate here either.

The only lasting solution is to influence change in their countries, so that they all stop killing each other, rather than letting them all move over here. Sad, yes. Unfair, yes. But so is life.

Noteworthy too is that none of these brow beating lefties who were banging on about allowing refugees to live in their houses have actually done so.

Go read up on the history of mass movements of people across the Thai boarder.

And please you stated earlier "Thailand is fed up with being preached to by the west" we've heard your unsubstantiated opinion on the matter, can you please provide us with some references to Thai government attitudes to the international relationships between Thailand and the west that support your 'personal opinion'?

Alternatively just admit that you are simply having a spot of fun spouting unsubstantiated nonsense.

Here's a recent clip from the Beeb:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35654715

Tell me what you see. Do you see a heart rending story about hopeless droves of people seeking a better life? Or do you see a story about a country (Greece in this case) being invaded by hoards of unskilled people of unknown background, who, when refused entry to third counties (who invited them to migrate in the first place) will likely end up as an additional burden on the Greek taxpayer, competing for jobs that the locals themselves can't find? Funny how aunty Beeb never seems to present the latter case.

Lefties like your good self would see the former case, and sympathise with the BBC, but others are of the opinion that Thailand is right in nipping this problem in the bud.

In my case, the time between the NIA-interview and the interview at the DOPA/ BORA was a bit more than 4 years.

>gulp<

OK, so I hope it's not THAT long! I will keep you all posted anyway.

And in that time, you can't change employer, or anything? (Not that I want to, but you can never predict the future.)

As GarryP said, no problem to change employers but you MUST maintain a work permit without interruptions.

Actually, you can have interruptions, so long as you have a valid WP when you first apply, and when you appear at the Interior Ministry. Following my IM interview, I hung on to a job I hated to keep my WP in effect, but I was not asked to produce it again.

Prior to appearing at the IM, but after my interview at the SB, I changed jobs a couple of times, and there were gaps of a couple of months in between.

the BBC is left wing only if you are to the right of "britainfirst"

And right wing only if you are to the left of Jeremy Corbyn :-)

Yep seen it and read the article. Harrowing stuff from the UK left wing propaganda machine otherwise known as the BBC. The whole world is flooded with unskilled migrants at the moment. It's awful but there are simply too many of them to deal with. Thailand is right in keeping the flood gates closed. Borders have existed since time immemorial and the sheer volume of migration threatens national identities elsewhere. Thailand is right to take a firm line, so as to deter a destabilising tsunami of human misery of the kind we are seeing in the EU.

Thailand is fed up with being preached to by the west so don't hold your breath expecting things to change simply because the UN might issue one or another edict.

I think you need to do some research on how long borders (and the control of people crossing borders) have actually existed and the roots of 'national identities', in particular how old the national identities you refer to actually are.

There are some useful resources on these matters in your own language that you at least have a chance of understanding.

Once you've grasped those we'll come back to exactly what your understanding of what Thailand's position is on international relations with the west and where you got your ideas from.

How very patronising your tone is when you are talking to people who don't share your woolly lefty views on the world. For your information, my native language is English, the same as yours if I have guessed correctly. When I said that borders have existed since time immemorial, I was referring to the concept of borders, not to the specific borders around Pakistan, many of which were put in place more recently by external powers as we all know. The concept of borders that I was referring to being a vital one, to prevent the kind of chaos that we are seeing in the EU, with its Soviet style social experimentation on insufficient border control. The fact that some more recent borders may have been misplaced is sad, and unfair, but why should Thailand bear the brunt of bad decisions that she did not herself make?

That Thailand didn't create those borders adds more weight to my point - why should Thailand be lectured by the UN when problems like this arise? Thais are charitable people generally, but they are not warm toward the idea of freeloaders coming over and draining the limited resources that are available here. The attitude is 'thanks, but we have enough kebab and peanut sellers here already'.

Again, this will appear heartless to lefties like your good self who take everything the politically correct lefties who infest the Beeb say as gospel, but I don't apologise for holding an opposing view on mass migration, a view that is shared by many, because of the threat that mass migration poses to national identities. When compared with some other nationalities, Pakistanis haven't integrate well into the western culture, so if Thailand gets stuck with them they are unlikely to integrate here either.

The only lasting solution is to influence change in their countries, so that they all stop killing each other, rather than letting them all move over here. Sad, yes. Unfair, yes. But so is life.

Noteworthy too is that none of these brow beating lefties who were banging on about allowing refugees to live in their houses have actually done so.

The BBC is a vassal of the left wing part of the UK establishment. The same part of the UK establishment that would throw open the doors to all the migrants camped out in Calais. To say that the BBC is a non political observer of the Thai system is simply untrue. Its hysterical coverage of global warming is another example of its bias.

People who are granted long term visas have background checks, even here in Thailand, so your comment on visa holders having no character checks is an oversimplification as it doesn't apply to people allowed to stay here permanently.

Left wing plots at the Beeb, migrants at Calais, global climate change a conspiracy [presumably left wing] what a mixed up bag that is - and non of it relating to the point of discussion within this thread.

And who said anything about 'character checks'?

I wonder, have you even seen the documentary?

Yep seen it and read the article. Harrowing stuff from the UK left wing propaganda machine otherwise known as the BBC. The whole world is flooded with unskilled migrants at the moment. It's awful but there are simply too many of them to deal with. Thailand is right in keeping the flood gates closed. Borders have existed since time immemorial and the sheer volume of migration threatens national identities elsewhere. Thailand is right to take a firm line, so as to deter a destabilising tsunami of human misery of the kind we are seeing in the EU.

Thailand is fed up with being preached to by the west so don't hold your breath expecting things to change simply because the UN might issue one or another edict.

The BBC is a vassal of the left wing part of the UK establishment. The same part of the UK establishment that would throw open the doors to all the migrants camped out in Calais. To say that the BBC is a non political observer of the Thai system is simply untrue. Its hysterical coverage of global warming is another example of its bias.

People who are granted long term visas have background checks, even here in Thailand, so your comment on visa holders having no character checks is an oversimplification as it doesn't apply to people allowed to stay here permanently.

Agreed with others here. Thailand is right to protect its borders, and is probably looking at the disaster area the EU has become through unchecked migration.

Funny how most asylums seekers in the EU seem to be fit young men. Why can't they take up arms against ISIS, one wonders?

Keep them out of Thailand.

Your post is so far from the subject that it is over the horizon!

The OP is not about fit young men who may or may not be members of ISIS.

It is about Christian families fleeing religious persecution in Pakistan under the protection of the UN, and the way in which they are treated by the Thai authorities.

Christians or Muslims I don't blame Thailand for not wanting them. From the EU debacle it's clear that many migrants are not background checked anyway. They either throw away their ID or use forgeries - how do we know that this lot are Christian? They could just as easily be anybody from anywhere with dodgy papers just like the thousands invading Europe.

Thailand is right not to let itself be bullied by the holier than though UN technocrats.

Agreed with others here. Thailand is right to protect its borders, and is probably looking at the disaster area the EU has become through unchecked migration.

Funny how most asylums seekers in the EU seem to be fit young men. Why can't they take up arms against ISIS, one wonders?

Keep them out of Thailand.

Songkran is a vile perversion of what was once a charming tradition. A bit like the commercialisation of Christmas.

the roads aside, bangkok is a surprisingly safe city to live in

RIght. I've lived here 25 years and never had a problem. It's safer to walk the streets here late at night than in any British or Australian city.

And from the day of entering as a foreign citizen to becoming a Thai = 9,218 days

Got a line message yesterday from SB to pick up the Naturalization certificate. Was there at 08:00, the officer asked me to sign 2 documents in Thai & 1 copy of Naturalization certificate. Unfortunately Captain was a bit late so another officer conferred the certificate. I got 1 Naturalization Certificate, 3 copies of Royal Gazette duly stamped and signed by SB officials and 1 copy of document confirming that I have received the certificate.

Went to Thesaban from there, the office at Bang Muang was very helpful, they already were notified by Bora/Dopa about my case. Took a short interview, asked for original Blue book and copy, Yellow book and copy, Passport copy, wife's id copy & 3 one inch pictures. She informed that she will need to submit the case to the District head and by early next week, I will be transferred from yellow book to blue book. Once that's done, they will ask me to collect the blue book and other documents to go to Amphoe to make Thai ID.

So, in total it took 2,526 days from the day my documents were accepted by SB for Naturalization to get the Certificate. I guess I was lucky, if it was not for this government, I would still be living off visa and work permits

Congratulations

Now Prayuth thinks he's a religious leader. God, even.

If the OP believes that this is a clerical mistake, his best option would be to go to Canada and sort it all out if he is unable to do so from here. As others have said, leaving this kind of thing hanging, by ignoring official notifications and demands, can cause small problems to multiply very quickly into Kafkaesque legal nightmares.

In this age of technology, trying to ignore the fact that a passport is now invalid all sounds rather daft and may lead to arrest at borders, charges of illegal entry, or whatever else the local or Canadian authorities can think of.

The Thai military are a national disgrace. Never having put their lives on the line fighting a foreign war, all these incompetent desk soldiers do is meddle, messing up the economy and bullying their own citizens.

All they do is drag this beautiful country and its people down.

Hertz wasn't bad. Toyota VIOS for around 1,100 Baht per day, plus around 250 for zero excess insurance. Service at the airport was good.

I'm sure there are cheaper options, but I've used Hertz around the world and they never rip you off.

So much hot air. Just another worthless constitution that will last until the military gets bored with it.

Until the military rip it up again

Not sure but for me a non smoke I think it is a great idea can save lots of life's .

Good on the thai government if it is true should do it in the west as well .

Maybe Thailand isn't for you. Ever thought of going back to the nanny state you came from?

A 'serious' crackdown means that a bigger than usual hike in kickbacks will be required to stay in business.

In a world of celebrity culture, we all seem to worship the worthless.

I would not call the owner of a seedy a go go a celebrity. If this guy was such a great bloke loved by all as some would have us think, how come his Thai staff attacked him? Looking at his fb and the Dollhouse one, which I read he had been locked out of it seems he was paranoid and a coke user, those go together of course. His tragedy was, like many others who come here, that he did not know when to get out while the going was good. Looks very much like he hung on until the dream became a nightmare. There's nothing cool about being, to be honest, a pimp, nice guy or not.

Right. Dreams of living off the proceeds of vice all too often turn into nightmares.

Another brain fart from the Government. It will be ignored by all concerned.

He's trying to stop people from thinking. Stopping them from smoking, and even breathing, is only a small step beyond that.