TaoNow

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Some imm offices are asking for bank statements, not just the copies of bankbook pages. Fortunately most do not. CW another example where statements not required for extensions based on money in bank method.

Last month I did my extension at CW (retirement, money in the bank) and the officer looked very carefully at the one-year statement that SCB provided me (for an extra 200 baht).   She checked and highlighted certain lines in the annual statement.

I didn't ask her if the annual statement was required, but I'm sure glad I had it there in addition to the bank balance authorization letter.  

8 hours ago, AndyFoxy said:

Out of interest, are you a vaccine man or not? 

Andy:  I strongly believe in vaccines.

In the case of Thailand, I would like to wait until I have a choice of which vaccine to take.

As long as I abide by the recommended prevention practices, I see no problem in being patient.

1 minute ago, Derek B said:

That is only possible if you live alone.

Why?  Both my wife and I practice these simple rules.

46 minutes ago, AndyFoxy said:

Ummm....because they are human and could get infected.

You mean they still haven't learned how to prevent infection after more than a year of the pandemic?

5 minutes ago, AndyFoxy said:

My guess would be that they don't want to get too sick and die. But hey, that's just a wild stab in the dark.

And why are they at risk of infection?

Can anyone on this forum explain why they, themselves, urgently need the Covid-19 vaccine?

Anyone?

I don't understand the panic or sense of urgency in getting the vaccine by all these posters.

Are you in some sort of essential occupation that requires exposure to strangers or people who might have the virus?

If not, then shelter in place as you are supposed to; avoid non-essential travel outside the home; mask up when outdoors in the proximity of others; and use hand hygiene after touching surfaces that strangers have recently touched.

Do that, and you should be a very low risk of Covid.   Jai yen yen for f's sake.

Regarding the potential loss of market share of global sex tourists to Thailand due to the shut-down of the Thai red light zones:

Mainstream Thailand never wanted those sex tourists in the first place, and had to turn a blind eye.

So, I would imagine that most Thais are heaving a sigh of relief that, if there is one silver lining of Covid, it is the decimation of the sex tourism industry which so shamed Thailand in the past.

Remember the Longman Dictionary fiasco?

I guarantee you that most Thais never want the country to return to that kind of dishonorable reputation.

And there will be powerful social forces to try to keep it from re-surfacing.

You still haven't answered the question:  What is the rush -- to run around the world trying to get vaccinated?  

Especially since non-essential travel is strongly discouraged in the middle of a pandemic.

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

I wouldn't care because the FDA knows more about the vaccines than I do.  Perhaps you're lucky enough to be better qualified and more informed than the world's authorities about specific vaccines.   Of course, I could go by hearsay but that doesn't strike me as being very sensible.

For example, there have been questions raised about the Sinovac vaccine for certain age groups.   

Would you want to have that vaccine yourself?

I also see that Moderna is in the process of registering their vaccine with the Thai authorities.   

Wouldn't you like to wait and see how many vaccines are going to be made available by the government and private hospitals and then make the best choice given the experience of the vaccine with your age group and circumstances?

We can wait because the country is in a virtual quarantine now and for the near future.   

I don't see any sudden, lethal threat happening before then.

3 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Pay them then. It works for voting. 

Actually, in West Virginia of your home country, the government is paying residents $100 to have the vaccine.

If he was visiting Thailand as a tourist, why does the article show him operating a Thai noodle soup stall?

There seems to be more to this story...

Immigration officers who take a bribe to overlook the financial requirement for a retirement extension are corrupt.

If you think they are stamping your passport without checking your finances out of the kindness of their heart, well, you need to re-check your sanity.

For a government official to take a bribe is illegal - ergo, the stamp in your passport is illegal.

And paying that bribe via an agent is illegal and subject to imprisonment/deportation of the passport holder.

'nuff said

Just a note to Neeranam:  I really admire your ability to get Thai citizenship in record time.   And I envy you for that.

Concerning my case of land ownership:  I too was surprised when I took the Provincial Thai Court Order, designating me as executor of my (deceased) Thai wife's estate, to the local land office.  I then saw them type my name as the last person on the land deed.  (After living for 40 years here, I would not mistake a large tan land deed with the small blue house book).   So I repeatedly queried the Bangkok land and district officials whether adding my name to the deed meant that I could sell the land (although I had no intention to do so).  Multiple  officials at the land office affirmed that, yes, I could now sell the land, and there was no time limit to do so.

But then they added the ringer that I could not sell the house which sits on the land.  This was so paradoxical from my Western perspective  that I went back multiple times to confirm that only a Thai citizen can have their name on the House # Form, which is the basis for issuing the blue house book. 

Strange, but true -- at least in my case.   

Unless you have first-hand experience like mine, I would request that you respect the validity of my version of events:  Foreigners, like me, can own land in Thailand.

A foreigner can own land in Thailand.

After my Thai wife died in 2011, my name was added her two chanote (land deeds).

I am not a Thai citizen.

I consulted with multiple government officials at different times at the district land office in Bangkok.

They all assured me that I could now sell the land whenever I wanted.

The catch was that I could not sell the house which sits on the land which I now own.  

Only Thai nationals can own a house, as indicated by their name on the House # Form.

Word to the wise...

The ley question OP needs to ask himself is this: If he plans to return to his (current) home country for a visit in the future, which passport will he use? Be careful about that choice.

Let me re-phrase my question:  Why is it assumed that your local immigration office can verify your address?  And, hence, the 'fee' charged.

How does Immo determine that the address you put on the form is valid?  At least at the embassy (usa) you had to swear an oath.

Unless I missed it, no one has responded to the solution to OP's dilemma other than TaoNow's post of about 1 hour ago.  

Any takers?

If, in the past 20 years, you were 50+ years, and you wanted to live in Thailand long-term, and you could scrape together 800k baht to deposit in a fixed account in a Thai bank, and you could legitimately establish a residence in Bangkok (regardless of how much time you spent there during the year) -- then absolutely no new requirement has been imposed on you by Immo/Bkk other than one additional statement from your bank.  What is so hard about that?