dbrenn

^^^ hardly a mistake, millions do it every year. Unfortunately no matter where you are in the world, chances are a wrong en is only a stone throw away.

Right. My mum didn't want me to go backpacking through South East Asia. That was back in 1988, and here I still am.

Rapes and murders happen everywhere, tragically. I'm just as likely to get bashed over the head walking back from the pub in England as I am here.

Maybe it does but all written in Thai. here it is if anyone can read when it expires.

My wife says that the last line say that:" this certificate expire 30 days after the date of issue"

This is the bold script under the Immigration phone and fax number.

Correct

Farangs falling to their deaths from condos seems to be a very regular occurrence. He had a recent fight with his staff. More to this story than meets the eye, perhaps?

I'll bet that Prayuth doesn't even know what 'digital economy' means.

Are you working with a work permit and paying taxes? Both require you have been doing that for 3 years to apply.

I was until last year but my extension has always been based on marriage. If that is the case then I suppose I can forget about it.

As has been said elsewhere, you need an unbroken extension of stay and tax returns (form Por Ngor Dor 91) for the three years preceding your application. You need a work permit when you apply, and there is a minimum salary requirement of 30,000 Baht if married (80,000 Baht if not), but it's OK to have switched jobs in the preceding three years.

If you are living and working here in Thailand, you should have no problem sponsoring your wife for an Australian tourist visa. When you apply, upload supporting documents like a letter from your employer, work permit, pay slips and a bank statement to show adequate funds for the trip, your marriage certificate, etc. So long as you show that you are settled in Thailand and have a good reason to bring your wife back here, your wife should get the visa.

Having said that the worst immigration control I ever experienced was in the States, totally belligerent and ignorant.

Worst immigration i have ever experience was in the US as well. Belligerent and ignorant were the same words i would have used. I will not transit through the US again. That loses business for the US airlines.

Right. I once transited LAX. My connecting flight was cancelled and the staff there were incredibly rude and unhelpful. Perhaps my worst ever travel experience.

Never again LAX or United Airlines - simply dreadful.

So you present yourself at the witching hour as "Premium" to immigration and present incorrectly filled out arrival card and require the immigration peons correct your mistake? Somehow can understand there might not be a smile. Did you have a smile?

Oh yes I got one digit wrong and admit it BUT if looks could kill.

There was no queue and I was holding up no one, I generally dont walk round smiling but then I dont walk round scowling either, she had little work to do, could understand it if there were 1000 people behind me.

To my left were 4 Chinese hadnt even filled in the forms at all and the other officer was going thru it with them with no surly face at all and most likely as there was no one else there she had the time to do it, the point being she didnt need the "attitude" she'd clearly got in my opinion.

Generally, Thai immigration are OK, but a minority of them behave like pigs.

Who cares about the constitution? More worthless than the paper it's written on.

Another one?

Is a drunk passing out news?

With all these proposed mega dollar projects, the incumbent Govt. won't want to hand over power in a hurry.

In Thailand there is some serious money to made with the usual kickbacks, facilitation payments, whatever you want to call them, on Govt. projects...

Very true. The army will need to stay in power for at least another fifteen constitution rewrites. Could take decades while they fill their pockets.

Hmmm - he's cashed up. He'll get treated like a Lord in jail, if the jailers actually make him stay there once he's paid them off to look the other way .....

Constitutions in Thailand aren't worth the paper they are written on.

So they were gonna do it....then they weren't.....now its funded? 20 Billion???? Take the usual 10-30% of the top for the bosses......quite a haul. No wonder it was approved.

But the Junta has abolished corruption. They said so on the telly.

Gents, the 22% FDI is a made up number.

Fact: Thailands foreign investment drops 78% under Prayut's military government

Press release: Foreign investment is 22% better than expected. (hence it could have been down by 100%)

Note to self, never try to explain a joke.

Where is the 78% drop?

Facts are annoying!

More facts below - Ease of Doing Business rank for Thailand. Higher numbers are negative:

The Ease of doing business index ranks countries against each other based on how the regulatory environment is conducive to business operationstronger protections of property rights. Economies with a high rank (1 to 20) have simpler and more friendly regulations for businesses. This page includes a chart with historical data for Ease of Doing Business in Thailand. Ease of Doing Business in Thailand - actual data, historical chart and calendar of releases - was last updated on January of 2016.

It would be interesting to see if the Oz Thai consulates issues METV to non-Brits. For historical reasons, Oz extends various services to Brits that may not be available to citizens of other countries, Medicare, applications for British passports at the Post Office, etc.

Can someone explain what happened to him exactly ?

Should we really avoid any mosquito bite ?

Thank you.

In rare cases, Dengue fever can lead to life threatening complications, which is why people who have it are hospitalised and placed under observation.

And yes, we really should avoid mosquito bites, by using repellent and sleeping under a mosquito net if they can get into your room. If you are unlucky, they can infect you with Dengue or malaria. The mosquitos that carry Dengue are active during the day.

Much easier to open new accounts, as banks are not used to account holders changing nationality. As it is so rare, they don't have a procedure. New account opening with nothing but ID card in 10 minutes flat, just for any other Thai. So I wouldn't exactly call it discrimination.

I'd also not think of this as discrimination. There is likely no procedure to convert nationality of a bank account, or if there is one it is not understood by the bank branch staff.

Maybe more a dead weight bureaucracy at SCB where management doesn't provide a way for staff to solve any problem easily using common sense. KBANK is moving to the paperless bank concept and didn't ask for any documents at all to change the nationality of my account. The girl just popped my ID card into an electronic card reader keyed some items into the computer and 3 minutes later showed me that my account had been changed over to my ID card number. Way to go.

SCB promised to call me back after the New Year once they had figured out a solution that didn't involve closing the account and opening a new one, involving changing the direct debit instruction of my SCB credit card. So far stoney silence. Pathetic.

It depends on the branch. I had an account at the SCB head office switched to my Thai ID in minutes - all I did was show them my Thai ID card and my pass book. Smaller branches are generally clueless, whichever bank you use, so easier to open a new account using your Thai ID.

When an Australia visa is granted it automatically cancels any other visa that is in effect. If your partner visa is granted early and then your tourist visa is granted immediately thereafter, or if the applicant was in Australia on a tourist visa at the time the partner visa was granted early, then it is possible that your partner visa could be cancelled by the tourist visa, which would be a heartbreaking state of affairs.

Make sure you tell the case officer or partner visa processing centre that is handling your partner visa application that you want to apply for a tourist visa and let them know your proposed travel dates. Only apply for the tourist visa when you have the go ahead from them.

I don't think that's entirely correct.

For a start, the spouse visa can't be issued whilst the applicant is onshore, regardless of any visa they're on

Also, a tourist visa wouldn't be issued if the person had a spouse visa.

It is a good idea as you suggested to keep your case office informed of any travel movements though.

rws85, why don't you apply for a toursit visa before you lodge the spouse application?

If your wife happens to get a visa without 8503 (no further stay) condition, you can the

apply for the spouse visa whilst in Australia.

From the Australia immigration website here:

https://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/faqs/family-migration-questions-and-answers

We see this:

"Applicants who travel to Australia on a temporary visa while waiting for their family stream visa application to be processed by an immigration office outside Australia should inform the processing office about their planned visit to Australia."

The reason being that you are not allowed to hold more than one Australia visa at the same time, and they will be unable to grant the partner visa while your wife is in Australia if the application was lodged offshore and would postpone issuing the partner visa until the trip was complete.

If you already have the tourist visa, then there is no chance of it cancelling the partner visa.

When an Australia visa is granted it automatically cancels any other visa that is in effect. If your partner visa is granted early and then your tourist visa is granted immediately thereafter, or if the applicant was in Australia on a tourist visa at the time the partner visa was granted early, then it is possible that your partner visa could be cancelled by the tourist visa, which would be a heartbreaking state of affairs.

Make sure you tell the case officer or partner visa processing centre that is handling your partner visa application that you want to apply for a tourist visa and let them know your proposed travel dates. Only apply for the tourist visa when you have the go ahead from them.

Well that's the end of Anonymous then. The Keystone Cops are hot on their trail.

I just renewed my Thai passport - astoundingly good service from the passport office at Srinakharin Road:

1) Arrived around 10:30 am, took a queue number. No need to make photocopies of anything as is the norm in most government offices. All I needed was my Thai ID card and old passport

2) Filled in the application form, while waiting 5 minutes for my number to be called

3) Had height measured, then my photo taken and fingerprints scanned by a very cheerful lady

4) Queued 5 minutes to pay

5) Paid 1,000 Baht, plus 40 Baht to have it sent to me by EMS

6) Total time taken - 15 MINUTES

7) Received my new passport four days later

Hats off to the passport office for their fantastic and cheap service!

Very impressive indeed. Can't beat New Zealand though. All done thru the internet including submit photo etc.

New pasport arrives in about10 days via courier.

Very good service from the Kiwis indeed, but a NZ passport costs NZ$ 180, or NZ$ 360 for the 3 working day service ... contrast that with the NZ$ 45 that I spent.

I still say that the Thai passport office is outstanding by normal Thai bureaucratic standards

I just renewed my Thai passport - astoundingly good service from the passport office at Srinakharin Road:

1) Arrived around 10:30 am, took a queue number. No need to make photocopies of anything as is the norm in most government offices. All I needed was my Thai ID card and old passport

2) Filled in the application form, while waiting 5 minutes for my number to be called

3) Had height measured, then my photo taken and fingerprints scanned by a very cheerful lady

4) Queued 5 minutes to pay

5) Paid 1,000 Baht, plus 40 Baht to have it sent to me by EMS

6) Total time taken - 15 MINUTES

7) Received my new passport four days later

Hats off to the passport office for their fantastic and cheap service!

Your chances of getting a decent and pretty lady as a girlfriend in Thailand are the same as your chances of getting a decent and pretty girl in your home country. They'll like you if you are confident, witty and good looking, with a stable and successful occupation.