AJARNJACK

My experience at the US Embassy was pleasant enough chatting with the other folks waiting for their numbers to be called, but dealing with the female behind the glass was another story.

I had flown up from Trang just to get the income document to file with Thai Immigration for a visa based on having a Thai spouse. After filling out the form and paying the fee my number was finally called and I went to the window to pick up the notorized document. I have come to the embassy before for a document verifying my living in Thailand for a Thai driver's license a few years before, so I knew the procedure concerning what they ask you before they notorized the document: "Is the information you've entered on this form true? Do you know what this form is used for?" This time I replied "Yes. I'm using this form to show income as support for a Thai spouse." The female (not lady) government employee replied loudly through her microphone that I could not use it for that! It was to be used for the purpose of applying for a Thai visa. I don't like getting yelled at by anyone, much less a pathetic "public parasite" and I was a nano-second from lecturing her on how to deal politely with the public, when I considered the problems she may cause me if I did so. So as nice as I could I explained that she was right and I stated my need incorrectly and that I did indeed need it for a Thai visa application. Knowing she had the 'upper hand', she persisted and wanted to know if I was going to use the document that day. I wasn't about to explain that I'd traveled a long way from Bangkok just to get that form for my visa application in another month, so I said no, feeling it was outside her 'need to know' basis. You can well imagine what I wanted to say to her. She then shouted "When?" I controlled my anger and answerd her and she notorized the document and slipped it through the window. When I turned to leave I could see the expressions of shock on the other people's faces that were waiting to deal with her after me.

I expect problems like that when dealing with government employees in Third World countries, but I sure don't appreciate that kind of customer relations when dealing with my own embassy! I must admit, that is the first time I've been treated so rudely at that embassy and most likely that employee had some personal problems and she was venting her anger at mankind in general. I'm a retired Federal Employee myself and had almost forgotten how nasty you can be treated even in a U.S. Post Office!

I know what you mean about the recent fluctuations in the flavor of Mekong Whisky. I first started drinking it while I lived in Bangkok in 1974. It was cheap and the flavor was acceptable, besides all of my Thai friends were drinking the same. There was another called Tara that is not made any longer which was better tasting but also more expensive. At that time there was no Sang Som (Thai Rum) produced and I don't remember anyone drinking Regency (Thai Brandy) like they do now.

I finally had too many bad tasting bottles of Mekong for my liking (some I actually dumped) and so I looked for an alternate. Visiting a small shop to buy another bottle of Mekong, the guy said they didn't carry it - only Hong Thong. He recommended I try it instead, saying it was only 10 baht more but the flavor was superior. He was correct and I've been buying it regularly ever since. A Thai friend told me that Mekong had produced large quanties of whisky a few years back (that's why you can get a bottle that was made 4 years ago) so that they could keep selling it cheaply and avoid any rise in production cost for a while.

My recommendation would be to try Hong Thong and find out for yourself. I've been drinking it exclusively for 6 months now and the flavor has been more consistent than Mekong. By the way, once liquor is bottled it doesn't age any more.

William - I'm anything but an expert on Immigration Laws, but I have had some experience in dealing with immigration officials who don't really have it correct when interpeting the regulations for different visa types. As I far as I've researched, the Retirement Visa's monetary requirments are still either: 65k baht per month income (with proof) or 800k in a Thai bank for atleast 3 months prior to your application. The official your girlfriend talked to has confused the new requirement for a visa based on marriage to a Thai.

Now, "The rest of the story". Anyone following this thread is already aware of my recent experiences with a very unfriendly and uniformed Immigration Official at the Kantang Office. Lucky for me, my wife has an old high school friend working at the Immigration Office in Bangkok, whom she told about our encounter in Kantang. Her friend said that the Kantang Official had been reprimanded for her actions and suggested we go to Songkla to process my spousal visa (a two hour drive), where they are more familiar with foreigners and regulations. Two days later, as we were making plans for the drive, her friend in Immigration said that we should go back to the Kantang office to process my application because the official there had requested another chance to serve me! We went back to Kantang and handed the same paper work to her that we had done previously and it was accepted without any further problems and I was given a 60 day extension to my present visa, free. Within one week my wife was notified that my visa was approved and so today, two weeks after they finally accepted my paperwork, I got the one year extension!

What do ya know - my paperwork was complete and in order the first time I handed it to the small, up-country office of Kantang and the head of that department rejected it!!! Just proves the point that small government offices can tell you "day is night" and get away with it even though you know they are wrong - UNLESS you are lucky enough to have a friend in high places. Corrupt, uncaring officials that will only do their duty when bribes are paid or a 'higher-up' applies pressure --- you betcha!

Krub - thanks for your concern, but "although you can run, you can't hide". That is my case because one of the employees at the Kantang office lives about 100 meters away from my home! My wife had talked with her prior to the incident with the head of her office and showed her where we live.

Danger hasn't frightened me for over 36 years, ever since I spent a year leading a U.S. Army Airborne Rifle Squad in search of North Vietnamese Regulars in the mountains of South Viet Nam at the tender age of 19. After that I fought structure fires for the local fire department for 22 years besides packing horses in canyons and mountains and white water rafting in my free time. I respect danger but do not become numb with fear because of it.

My life has been pretty boring since moving here four years ago and although I may seem like 'an easy mark', that would prove to be a fatal assumption for someone. Besides, I prefer to stay out of prison and don't want to go there just because someone thought they could "strong arm" me. Anyway, my guess is that this situation wouldn't warrant this official to spend the money necessary to hire someone to do me harm.

Having taught English at 3 different high schools and each in different parts of the country the past four years here in Thailand, I have some idea of what you could charge outside of Bangkok. Although the high schools would only pay a teacher 300 baht per hour for extra work at the school, I thought 500 baht would be a fair price per hour for private lessons. Unfortunately, you would have difficulty in finding students if you asked that fee.

I've tired of the Thai education system's 'every one passes' (regardless of abilities or interest), so I going to start offering lessons from my home and stop teaching high school. I'm probably one of the few 'fools' who will actually go through the process of obtaining credentials to do so - and it isn't cheap - but I don't want any hassels from the authorities.

From what I'm experiencing here in Trang from interested students is that they find even 300 baht per hour to be too much. I've got over twenty years of teaching experience and lesson plans that target differnent interests, but the bottom line is: how much will the students pay. My time is worth 300 baht per hour even if I use it as free time since I'm also retired and have a monthly income already. Four hundred and thirty local students have already been taught by me so it's just a matter of time after school reopens that they'll want additional lessons. I offer a small savings per student if three or more sign up for the same course as a way of enticing them.

It's simple marketing. If you put your price too high you won't get any takers. You should talk with a Native Speaker that is already giving lessons and find out what they are charging, you might be surprised to hear that many are charing less than 300 baht per hour just to get students. Personally, I'm not going to do it for less than 300 baht per hour regardless.

Thanks lopburi3. Just might come in handy some day.

Thanks to everyone that responded to my request for ideas concerning dealing with the head of Immigration in a small up-country office.

Yes, I have already made plans to drive to Songkla and submit my paperwork there. In typical Thai style, my wife took appropriate action. Luckily for us, she has good friend from her school days that used to work there and now is working for Immigration in Bangkok. She phoned her and explained how exasperated she was in dealing with the head of the Kantang Immigration Office. Well, her friend immediately went to work contacting a senior Immigration official in the Bangkok office to explain our encounter with the Kantang official. Regardless of the buearacracy, "shit rolls down hill" and before the day was out we got a phone call from my wife's friend with a report. The official in Kantang had been contacted, reprimanded and now is under review. She even said that she a 'nobody' who came from a small town that was 'power hungry' -- yeah baby! She further recomended that we avoid that office in the future due to the problems we've just caused this official. She said that I could go there for my 90 day reporting and if we got any hassels while doing that, we should report the individual to the local police and they will take actions against them.

So all in all, we've gotten around the problem by having to drive 2 hours to Songkla and the uniformed, unfriendly and uncaring official at the Kantang office "has her ass in a sling"!

Bye the way, just for future referrence, what is the Immigration Hotline phone number?

Well boys, I've got a little story about my experience just today at the Kantang Immigration Office in Trang Province while trying to finalize my visa based on being married to a Thai.

Previously I'd already been to this office twice before to check on their particular requirements for paperwork to file for a visa based on marriage to a Thai. The first visit was a failure because at first my wife stayed in my pickup as I attempted to deal with them alone using English. The only English they could muster was "Wife. Where wife?" Then, even though I brought all the paperwork that I've read on this forum is required now, they wanted us to go back to the provencial office where we were married and get some obscure document even the folks in that office weren't familiar with. So armed with that and a letter from our landlady verifying our residencewe went back the second time. This time we were treated properly, but were told we needed to come back again with someone who knew us as a married couple they could interview. We felt sure that we were almost there and 5 weeks to spare before my present Non Immigrant O/A expired.

So today we brought our friend for them to interview only to be told by the head of the office (her helpers helped us the last times) that having a letter from the embassy verifying my monthly income of over 50k baht per month wasn't acceptable anymore since then new laws changed. She demanded that my wife must show her last year's tax statement! When my wife explained that she didn't have a job and had only been helping her family without pay, the department head said that I must show that I have a job in Thailand that provides 40k baht per month!!! She said she didn't care if I got one million USD per month, I must earn this money in Thailand Being a Thai woman, my wife simply smiled and said she understood. Even though I'd printed out the Thai Police Official Regulations (downloaded from this site) concerning the visa requirements based on having a Thai spouse (both in Thai and English), my wife didn't show it to the department head because she figured it would only cause us more problems. Once back inside the pickup truck though, my wife confessed how angry she was at "that stupid woman". She had read the regulations herself and realized it said nothing about her needing to show she had an income because it could come from the husband, wife or combination of the two. It also doesn't require this monthly income to come only from Thailand. What had this lady in the office been smoking???

My question to the forum is: What do you do in a situation like this? Is there someone "higher up" that I can contact to help 'enlighten' the Kangtan office as to the correct requirements? To coin a new term a friend of mine just created, this is "Thai-diculous"!

Many thanks for all of the answers that you've supplied concerning this topic.

Sunbelt Asia, you've earned my respect by offering your knowledge to those of us who "don't have a clue". You've given me all the information I need to know about this subject.

I'll be checking out your website to learn how I go about contacting you to help me with filing the paperwork as a 'Natural Person' from my home here in Trang.

I appreciate the good information that Sunbelt Asia has offered to me and this forum.

Now I have just one final question concerning this topic and that it: Is the government fee for a license as a 'natural person' a one time fee of 25,400 baht or is that paid each year?

I'm close to the point now of deciding and need to know the annual cost of operating a business this way.

Hopefully 'the knowledgeable' members of the forum will answer this question for me.

The information about the Treaty of Amity for Americans is very valuable indeed. Many thanks to Sunbelt Asia for their expert advice.

Now that I have the info about getting a work permit for consulting under the license as a 'natural person' I'd like to ask where I get this Treaty of Amity license here in Trang and the cost involved? Once I have that, then from what I understand, I can apply for a Work Permit. Is that correct?

One more question about this kind of business from my home. What type of paperwork is involved each year to substantiate the business? Is an annual audit required so as to require an accountant to prepare?

I'm trying to put together the costs involved annually with such an enterprise before deciding to pursue this idea and I would appreciate any advice once again on this subject.

From what I've established from reading these comments is (and please correct me if I'm wrong) that for establishing a sole proprietorship as an American, I only need to employ two Thais since I'm married to a Thai and pay the 50k income tax each year.

My question concerns using my Thai wife as one of those two employees. If that is possible, then I would only have to employ one other Thai employee (most likely a family member). Is that correct?

I have taught English here in Thailand the past four years at government high schools, but want to stop and tutor privately now. What type of consulting business can I apply for a work permit under?

I would appreciate any advice from knowledgable forum members to help me.

Thank you so much, Sunbelt Asia, for your quick response to this question.

Thanks again for your input, Lopburi3. I'm clear on the Retirement Visa Renewal process and what I need to do as far as obtaining an Alien Relative (Marriage) Visa.

My BIG QUESTION concerns being issued a Work Permit to teach privately from my house. Is this possible, being an American, 55 yrs. old and married to a Thai? Knowing if that is or isn't possible will help me decide whether to just renew my Retirement Visa or go through the additonal paperwork involved with the Alien Relative Visa. Like I mentioned earlier, most language schools or regular schools that will offer part time work usually don't want to get a Work Permit for you because of the added expense. So I'd end up working illegally for them as much as I would if I taught from my home on a Retirement Visa. I'd prefer to do it legally.

Again, I'm asking for clarification on the issue of whether or not it is possible to get a Work Permit to teach on a marriage visa from my home. If so, what are the steps involved? I would greatly appreciate some advice on this matter.

I'm not so 'swift' as to understand what I may be up against so I would like someone to please advise me as to the process.

I'm a 55 yr. old American who is married to a Thai lady and am presently teaching English at a local government high school on a Retirement Visa. My visa is up for renewal in April and I'm considering applying for the Alien Relative (Marriage) Visa so that I can get a Work Permit for teaching privately instead of signing up for 'babysitting' at a government high school next term.

Is it possible to get a Work Permit to teach privately from my home? If not, I hesitate to loose my Retirement Visa because I'm 'grandfathered' on the old 800k requirment of money in the bank instead of 65k needed each month now. If the marriage should fail in the future I don't want to be 'in a bind' here in Thailand concerning a yearly visa. I don't want to have to open an official school with Thai staff since I can't afford that route. Language schools usually don't want to offer a work permit to someone who they can't place in a school full time and I don't want that job again. Lots of schools will use you to teach part-time, but they won't offer work permits either. Many foreigners teach without one but I don't want any possible problems from an angry Thai turning me into Immigration!

I look forward to reading what the knowledgeable members of this forum have to say.

I really do not believe you qualify for 400k support bank deposit method on a change of extension type as that is only for those already using the system and grandfathered. The new requirement is 40k family income.

Thanks for your opinion Lopburi3. I just went to the Immigration Office nearest to Trang which is in Kantang. I should have guessed, they had no information concerning visa application requirements printed in English. Since they couldn't speak English either they asked to talk with my wife, who was in my pickup waiting to see if they could communicate with me. They told her that we must go to the provencial office and get a record showing the recording of our marriage - in addition to the Marriage Certificate and other paperwork! Of course the folks at the provencial office didn't understand what she needed from them. It would seem that each small office is it's own 'kingdom' and dictate their interpetation of the needed paperwork. In the chance that you are correct about me not being able to use the bank deposit method, I'll plan a trip to the US Embassy for that affidavit of monthly income.

Do you or any other reader of this forum, know what the requirements are for getting a Work Permit to teach privately? Is there any money or employee stipulations involved besides the fee for the permit?

I was under the impression that retirement visas should be renewed within a week before to a week after the expiration date. But, a friend recently renewed his retirement visa and he was told to go three or four weeks early next near. Will my application for retirement visa renewal be rejected if I go in three weeks early?

thanks,

-q

Just renewed my Retirement Visa and for the last three times I have done it 30 days prior to the experation with no problems, this also gives you a bit of time to correct any errors which may pop up. From the time I walked into the Bangkok office to the time I left with visa extension for one year and multi entre it was 51min. The staff were as always GREAT and Helpful