Thaiboxer

I keep this amount ( no more no less ) in a time deposit account under my name, it is okay. before you go to apply extension of stay, WITHIN THE WEEK you go to the bank and ask for a bank certified balance.

this amount was already in the bank for more than a year. the passbook didn't have any activity in last 3 months and no sum up balance neither. some officers don't get use to this format and I experienced a short delay after they checked my passbook with each other. technically no problem with time deposite account.

If you keep the 400,000 in the account, why not ask your friendly bank manager to make your account a locked account.

Which means you can not get out money in the normal way.

And to mention that fact in the letter to Immigration.

Never asked for the bankbook (Khon Kaen)

Thanks a lot for the replies!

Hi to my fellow expats. I'm married to a Thai lady and we currently have a savings account with the necessary 400,000 Baht to show the immigration officials for my yearly visa extensions. Question is, can we deposit this money into a fixed account which pays higher interest or does this have to be in a standard bank savings account? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Thaiboxer

I need to have the 400,000 Baht in my bank for two months before I apply? If that's the case, I may have to go for a Non-"O" multi entry at the consulate in Penang, Malaysia. My visa is up near the end of August and we're already into July.

For the income based one, I need to show at least 40,000 Baht/month...is this for the previous year? Trouble is, I don't think I make quite that much, as I'm a teacher and I heard that doesn't apply to people teaching (only other types of employment).

I have a British friend who is living with his Thai partner (they're not married) and he has the Non-"O" multi entry, but he gets an extra three months on the end before he has to leave and reapply for that visa. I know he's over 50, so he gets the retirement one, but I'd be looking at getting mine based on my marriage to my wife (we're both registered here and in my home country).

Hey Folks,

I'm married to a Thai lady and we have a son. My Non-immigrant "O" visa is due to expire near the end of August. I was wondering what would be the best course of action to take regarding an extension if I don't stay with my current employer. Thus far, I've considered two possible options:

1.) Have family transfer 400,000 Baht from abroad which I can show to the Immigration Dept, then transfer it back.

2.) Exit the country and come back on a Non-"O" with multiple entry (requiring me to then hop over to Cambodia every three months)

I've been in Thailand nearly seven years and have never had to leave the country. It was either the 400,000 Baht bank draft we showed each year (before we needed the money for our house) or having my employer take care of it.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Acquiring Thai Nationality

Hi Folks,

A British buddy of mine who is expecting a "luuk krueng" says it's possible for farangs to get Thai nationality. I'm married to a Thai lady (have been for 8 years) and we have a son. I googled "Thai nationality" and found this on Thaivisa's main page. I pasted the relevant parts below.

Does anybody on here have any details/experiences? Thanks!

Saturday, 23 December 2006

To acquire Thai nationality

Aliens who wish to apply for Thai nationality under the Nationality Act B.E. 2508 (A.D. 1965) a person does NOT need to be 40 years or have spent 10 years in Thailand.

They must be of the age of majority, be of good character, be gainfully employed, have continuously lived in Thailand for not less than FIVE years and have knowledge of the Thai language. (Section 10)

It's an advantage to be married to a Thai citizen and having children born in Thailand or having studied in a local university/college as an undergraduate.

The applicant must complete an application form and submit various required documents to the Criminal Investigation Division Group I, Subdivision 3, Police Department, Rama I Road, Bangkok.

The official fee is Baht 5,000. The processing takes 2 to 3 years.

Happy Birthday to His Majesty! Best wishes for long life and good health!

Thanks for the info!

Hi Folks,

Just came back from the transport dept. (Suwintawong Road near Chacheungsao) in eastern BKK. I went to renew my 5 year driver license, but was denied on the basis of not having my work permit with me or a letter of residence from the US Embassy. Have the rules changed? When I renewed my license from a 1 year temporary to the five year one in 2003, I didn't need any documents that I could remember; simply handed over the old license for the new one.

Knowing how government officers can be, has anybody else had this same experience, or is this the official nationwide rule nowadays? Also, are there any special things I would need other than a work permit or residency letter? Thanks

Thanks for the info

Hi Folks...perhaps somebody on here could provide some pointers. My wife is Thai and I'm currently on a Non-immigrant O visa (have been since 2002). I've never had to leave Thailand to get an extension each year; rather I just showed the 400,000 Baht they required, got a 30 day stamp and then got another stamp for the following 11 months. When we bought our house a couple years back, the 400,000 Baht we had sitting in the bank went for the down payment. Since then, I've had my workplace taking care of the visa, and I presume the extensions are now based on my monthly income, rather than the lump sum from earlier.

An English buddy of mine with a Thai wife has a multiple entry Non-O, in which he must exit every 90 days (usually to Cambodia) and then return to Bangkok. He goes with some sort of agency which takes you there and back in a day...the cost is 2,000 Baht. According to him, there is no need to show any amount of money to the folks on Soi Suan Phlu. With this type of visa, I presume you would not have to depend on a set monthly income to extend it. Having to exit every 90 days may not be so bad since it's only a day trip and the cost isn't too high. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks

I've seen some Mercedes for sale with Toyota engines in them. That's always another option to consider as labor isn't too much and a secondhand diesel engine could fit in there nicely.

Try a google search for "Boon Sports". It's a small shop in the vicinity of Sukumvit Soi 85 by the BTS line. The owner is an Australian guy named Scott, and he sells tons of stuff. He also makes custom sandbags; had him make me a couple and they're top notch.

I get about 7km/liter in the city and 8km/liter on the highway with 91 gasoline. Yesterday, I paid over 1,600 Baht to fill the tank!

Like another poster mentioned about his engine, the engine I have (2.0 liter, pushrod, carburetor) is not original. The engine/transmission were taken from another vehicle and dropped into our car about 20 years ago. The original 1.8 liter engine simply wore out from all the driving. It rain on NGV or something similar and still has the valves under the hood/trunk. I have over 460,000km on the clock, so not sure how many of those km's are on the current engine. I would imagine it's quite a few though.

Has anyone ever replaced a carburetor and gotten better mileage? Perhaps simple replacements/adjustments to the fuel system may be cheaper than LPG conversion, plus it would provide decent mileage. Our car's body is old and has tons of rust around the bottom edges of the body so not sure if major LPG work would be good.

If your car has a carburetor like ours does, the entire fuel system would have to be reworked right? Perhaps that would cost more than what it cost to convert a fuel injected car.

I see your point...the style of driving here is pretty frightening.

I've always gone with the notion that it's best to stick with regular 91 gasoline. It's not cheap, but I would feel much safer with liquid gasoline back there than LPG.

Rock salt might be a problem if you have a very determined attacker. Best to go with buckshot; #1 is the best choice, followed by 0 and 00 or 000.

The tests we've had for our old Toyota have basically consisted of the guy testing the exhaust by means of a computerized probe up the tailpipe. They don't seem to check much like they did when I had cars in the States. I wouldn't worry about it. If our old car has passed with flying colors, your pickup should have no problem. Before I forget, a tip I learned about diesels: Before you pull into the testing area, you might consider running the truck up and down the street a few times are decent speeds to help clear out the exhaust system.

You can also check www.one2car.com and www.thaicar.com. Both of these websites will often have oldies, such as Jags, Cadillacs, Mercedes Benz, etc.

Samitivej Srinakarn Hospital is a very nice, modern hospital with friendly staff. However, you're paying quite a bit there. We had our baby boy via C-section at Ladprao Hospital back in 2005. Ladprao Hospital isn't as nice/modern as Samitivej, but we paid only 35,000 Baht (less than $1,000 US at the time) and this included pre-natal, delivery, hospital stay of 4 days/3nights and some post-natal care as well. The doctor we had was excellent and the cues of pregnant women waiting to see him were long.

Hey micksterbs...nice to have you over here from the motor forum. If I find the other half of your vehicle, I'll let you know! If you have a Bachelor's degree, the process should be relatively painless. Since you're looking at teaching for a vocational school, I don't think your major is important. International schools (the real ones, not just the ones with the name "International") will often require a degree in education or at least some post graduate certificate in education. You'll need some passport sized photos, somebody from the school admin who knows the ropes and a fair amount of patience. You'll most likely have to sign a MOUNTAIN of papers (often copies of your passport, degree, etc), but other than that, the school should take care of everything to get you the blue work permit book. Good luck!

Ten million Baht.....just a BIT out of our price range Nice looking cars though. For that price, I'd pay off our house and get a used BMW or Volvo with a powerful engine (perhaps with nitrous oxide). The rest of the money would go into savings; or perhaps into gas if the prices keep going up!

Getting a license here is easy....I simply showed them my US driver's license and took a quick color blind test. The lady basically pointed to a chart and I just told her what color it was. An hour later, I had a one year Thai license. I now have the five year one. No computer test and no driving test. Perhaps they're more strict in the downtown areas....I took mine out in the boonies near Chachoengsao at a place surrounded by rice fields.

Our son is only 2 1/2, so perhaps he doesn't notice the difference just yet. We also have a lot of people looking at him and making comments, etc. On the parental side of things, a British coworker of mine has a 6 year old girl who doesn't want her classmates to see her farang daddy. A lot of kids also tease her about being a 'luuk krueng". She considers herself Thai and likes to remind her dad that she's Thai, not British. Perhaps it's just a phase that kids go through.

Interesting post there. I know one thing teachers don't make and that is a decent salary!