akumabito

Hi everyone,

My wife and I will file for divorce coming May. We talked it through, and the divorce will not be contested. What sort of paperwork do I need to bring to the amphur office to see this through, then get everything translated and stamped by the proper authorities? I am not currently in Thailand, and I'll be flying over for a week to take care of anything. Do I need to bring papers like my birth-certificate, registration, etc.? Or will the marriage papers + valid ID be sufficient? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Thanks for the responses, much appreciated!

I am looking into a location ATM. Here in town there already is a Seven Eleven, but I am pretty sure the place could handle another one. (how does the company determine if there's enough capacity? Do they just count traffic?) The location I'm looking at is right next to a school, and right around the corner from a well visited market. The market is crowded from 4 in the morning until about mid day. The street sees reasonable traffic throughout the day as well.

@ Bubblehead: Hah, yeah, I can imagine not wanting to shell out the cash if you're not entirely sure about your partner. My wife is well educated, I met her at work, we've been married for over a year now and we have a son. I guess it's a slightly more stable relationship that way.

Just looking for options to start our own business on a down-to-earth budget. Not entirely decided on the 7-Eleven idea yet, but definitely something I'll be looking into more.

Are there people here who are running a 7-Eleven convenience store? I am looking into the options of opening a store with my wife. I've read on the company's website the franchise fees and startup costs should be between one and three million baht, which seems reasonably on par with what it would cost to start a small(ish) business to original concept.

I am wondering about returns though. After paying all the bills and taxes, how much are you really left with? I am by no means looking for a 'get rich quick' scheme, but considering the investment, I would hope to make a reasonable living. Would it be possible to make, say, upwards of 100,000 THB a month from an average 7-Eleven?

I find it pretty difficult coming up with a 'guesstimate' based on the 7-Elevens close to my home. I know they're doing alright though. I'm gonna have myself a chat with some local owners soon, and perhaps sign up for one of the info meetings if I'm liking what I'm hearing. Thought I'd try for info here first though.

Hi everyone,

I am wondering what the legal requirements are for small-scale manufacturers of motorcycles. I have a design ready for a very basic chopper/custom, and I am interested to see if it would at all be possible to turn it into a small business.

I have searched on the internet, but I have not been able to find much specific information on requirements for the automotive industry, bar for some information pertaining large scale operations.

Here are some of the ideas I am toying with; I would have the frame constructed locally according to my own designs (or I would fabricate it entirely in-house if possible), most other parts will also be sourced or made locally, with the engine probably being imported from China (Lifan engine, most likely). In other words; I would really be constructing my own bikes and NOT importing bikes and NOT trying to get bikes on the road hat are without proper registration. It will be an all-original and new design. Being a small business, production will probably be limited to no more than 5 to 10 bikes per month max.

Now for the important questions;

- What type of production and manufacturing licensing is needed for a business type such as this? I have found the BOI website to be less than helpful, especially since they’re mostly dealing with larger scale operations. Yet I do not believe small manufacturing companies are exempt from licensing procedures.

- What are the testing requirements for motorcycles before being allowed to be sold on the Thai market? I assume there is such a thing as a type approval scheme? Anyone know more about this?

- How about taxation? Does anyone have an idea what the total taxation picture looks like from workshop to dealer? Or reverse-engineered; how much is paid in taxes on a hypothetical motorcycle with a list price of 100,000 THB?

- What (if any) are the differences between a ‘small bike’ and a ‘big bike’, from a legal perspective? Is it just hype that the so-called big bikes command such higher prices, or is there a genuine reason they cost more? (e.g. taxation) There seem to be an awful lot of bikes up to 200cc, with pretty scarce options for anything over that. I have to assume there is a good reason for this, yet I have not been able to find out exactly why this is.

I suppose these are some pretty elementary questions, and I apologize if I’m asking ‘stupid’ questions. It obviously is very early in the planning process (Or rather; pre-planning process). I have no fixed plans as of yet, as I first want to know if it is at all possible before moving on to a proper feasibility analysis, so please don’t ask for a business plan, budget, etc. just yet.

Thanks a ton for any feedback!

I've been offered a Kawasaki GTO for a pretty reasonable price. It is an ex-police bike from around 1990 (I'll have to ask the exact year). It is lightly modified (new seat, gas tank, nicer wheels and some other small stuff). It is not the prettiest bike around, but it is a reliable runner as the current owner uses it as a daily driver. Of course there is the common catch: It has no registration book.

I have been told it is no big deal thogh for two reasons; First off, it apparently is quite common for 'old' bikes to be without registration. I have some serious doubts about it, and although I can understand it for a 1960's bike, I seriously doubt a bike less than 2 decades old would count as a 'classic'.. Is this claim even remotely true?

Next I was told that it was an ex-police bike, and if I ever got asked about the lack of registration, I could tell them this, and where the bike had been in service and the police could check the story there. Again, I find this an odd story. I certainly never heard of this before. Even if true, I'd worry about the practical implications. I doubt they'd phone to some police station when stopped at a chekpoint. And even if they did, on the other end they'd probably have no idea what they're talking about anyway..

Another odd thing then; Although the bike has no official registration papers, it apparently comes with a sort of 'contract' (the word my wife uses in translaion anyway). From what I gather, this is just a sales contract, or an ownership history perhaps if it shows all previous owners. Anyone familiar with this kind of setup? As my wife explained: "If police stop you, you show them this, and they can blame other people"

Riiiiight....

So the ownership part seems a bit dubious to me, and I'd appreciate it if someone could shed some light on it. If thins are cleared up, I'll probably go for it. Stock GTO's with proper documentation sell for 12,000+ here, and this one is less than half that much... Anyway, I did a search on the forum, but I couldn't find anything on ex-police bikes, or the other issues. I apologize if it's a topic that's been discused to death already, but I just couldn't find it..!

I've read the thread, but I am left with a few questions;

First off, regarding the legality of such a plantation; How much 'foreign involvement' is acceptable? For instance, if the land would be owned by my Thai wife, all the paperwork would be in her name, etc.. then surely there isn't any foreign involvement from a legal perspective, is there? On the same note; are smal-scale plantations (and other agricultural projects) even registered as businesses? I am not entirely sure on this, but I believe most of the farm land has a land registration title, but that's about it..

Next up; I've seen some wildly varying prices for a cubic meter of logs, from $150 to $1500+ per cubic meter.. I understand this has to do with wood quality and tree diameter.. dos anyone have a rough idea how this scales?

FInaly.. maybe the most obvious question, but I haven' really found an answer here; Where to sell the wood? It's not lke you can just take a truckload to the local market and wait around... Where would you be paid a fair price (international price preferably)? I guess this is especially important for large, old trees... I just can't picture any local people paying tens of thousands of baht per log..

...sorry, stupid question, but what is the timeframe for the honey yields mentioned? I assume this is per year, or am I mistaken?

Heh, if the Fino is the wussiest bike in Thailand, then I have to say I'm probably the biggest wuss around, because I just love mine! I got the Limited Edition model, and it's soon gonna be pimped up like the best (worst?) of them! Yup, new seats, about 4 extra lights, cupholders and claxons, a load of 'chrome', a Thai flag or two, the whole deal. Even thinking 'bout getting a cute egg-shaped sidecar for it, too if I can find one!

I have been thinking about pursuing a career in teaching, as it appears to be the most accessible part of the Thai job market at the moment. I would like to get a proper foundation first however, and my idea was to enrol in the Master of Education in Educational Administration course of the Ramkhamhaeng University. Followed of course by the obligatory TEFL/TESOL courses.

The biggest hurdle I can foresee now though, is actually landing a proper job. Most job vacancies posted are quite adamant in their demand for native speakers. Now I have plenty of experience speaking English, and even a tiny bit of experience in teaching the language (I used to volunteer for a small language school in Wakayama, Japan for a few months), but a native speaker I am not.

I am from the Netherlands, though fortunately I am not plagued by that ghastly Dutch accent. During the past few years, I have traveled a lot, been in near-constant contact with English speakers, I have attended an international college where 95% of classes were taught in English, and I speak with a slight American accent.. (my ex-girlfriend was from Seattle I guess her accent rubbed off on me)

Anyway, to make a long story short; I consider myself a near-native English speaker (for the lack of a better term), and I was wondering if I'd have any chance at all in this segment of the job market. How rigid is the demand for native English speakers? Any flexibility at all, or would I be better off pursuing an alternate career?

I'd appreciate any input on this matter!