ajannick

Hello

Does anyone have first hand experience of using a virtual sim in Thailand that is registered with a UK mobile number?

I would like to use this to give to my bank etc. in the UK and then be able to receive calls and texts when in Thailand.  If I can find a good company I’d like to potentially port my existing UK mobile number in to save me having to change all my accounts etc.  I’d use it mainly for 2FA and the odd call from friends/family in the UK.

As these virtual sims are used via an App I could then have my Thai SIM card on my phone for local use.

Thanks 

ajannick

Hi Torrenova,

I can relate to what you are thinking as I have two children one of which was born in Thailand and the other born in the UK. They both have spent time in Thailand and in the Thai education system. They are both now in the UK and enjoying life and school here.

You mentioned about having a half Thai daughter and not wanting her to leave without knowing the Thai culture, fair enough, but she is also half something else (don't know your nationality) and you may deny her this culture in the process. You mention that she is speaking both Thai and English already and if you and your wife keep this up then you have already cracked the language thing. Children are very versatile and can usually adapt to new surroundings and situations a lot more easily than you may think.

My personal opinion is; a family that is together stays together, so I would do everything possible to be with them full time, if this meant loosing a bit of culture or language skills along the way then so be it.

May be the child needs more practice in Thai?

Who knows but I have no problem with a parent speaking English and Thai, Just Thai, Just English etc etc...

Up to you!

Also if we need to take money out of Thailand when we leave are travelers Cheques available?

Hi All,

My wife is selling our house and we may not find a buyer before we leave Thailand. Her relatives or the buyer could pay the money direct into her Thai b/c, but how can she then transfer it to the UK?

The amount we are talking about will be around 1 million baht.

I have looked at bangkok bank ibanking and it seems that this situation would fall under the

"To assist relatives who are permanent residents in a foreign country (for Thai nationals)", rule.

The supporting documents for this are

"Evidence from a foreign government affirming that the recipient is a permanent resident in the foreign country", would a copy of her IRL visa be enough?

It is looking like it will not be as easy as getting the money in to Thailand.

Any comments or other suggestions are welcome.

Nick.

Thanks for your replies.

So get the special form from the land office before she leaves Thailand, and once a buyer has been found fill in the land office form along with a sale agreement letter we make up. She signs all of these forms/docs and sends them along with her Thai ID card to a relative for example, who could mediate between my wife and the buyer.

Can the money once it has been paid into her Thai bank account be easily transfered to the UK, again while she is outside of Thailand?

Hi All,

If my wife wanted to sell our house in Thailand while we were in England, what would be the process. Could she arrange this without having to be present in Thailand?

Nick.

On a sheet of letter headed paper from your Thai bank, the dates in one column and the amounts of money paid in in another.

This has all happened within a couple of weeks. NK immigration told him they will grant him an extension, on his current saving / pension, but it needs to be formated in the way they have explained to him. He is still saving money but he has told me that it is a formating issue that immigration have not a financial one, with his application. (I think in my original post I did not explain this correctly).

Not sure why he went to Savanakhet, but I think it was to meet a friend who was also doing a visa run there. Next time, I would imagine, he will go to Vientianne.

He's not avoiding anything, he went to immigration in Nong Khai, sat down with the officials and they looked at all of his information and explained to him how they wanted it displayed in the form of a letter from his bank. Because he had not been showing regular payments in to his bank, they said wait 3 months to get it looking how they want it. He was then refused a further single entry visa from Savanakhet.

Has this happend to anyone else?

The problem is not that immigration won't extend his next Non 'O' visa, if he does as they require. The problem is that the consulate in Suvanakhet will not issue him another single entry, as they are saying that they only issue people one single entry a year and that he should have extended it last time.

Nick.

Hi All,

My friend went to Suvanakhet in Laos last week to apply for his second Non 'O' single entry marriage visa. He had all the required documentation but was refuse the visa. The man at the consulate said that he was only allowed one Non 'O' visa a year, and he should have extended the last one he was given for a year. My friend did not argue or try to change the man's mind and simply changed his application to a tourist visa. (My friend is saving up the money to be able to show a lump sum in the bank and also altering how his pension is paid to be able to satisfy immigration for this extension.)

Is this right / correct? Foreigner’s who are married to a Thai but do not have enough money to extend their 3 month visa will be refused future 3 month visa's for the period of one year and will be forced to take a tourist visa to remain in Thailand instead?

I can't believe this, but TIT.

Nick.

Hi All,

A post I read recently by Garro got me thinking about the time length of different postgraduate courses.

I am in the proceeds of signing up for a MA starting in September which will be done by distant learning and will take 18 months. The Open University MA Education course time length is suggested as 3 years.

My question is:- Will employers, whether in the UK or Thailand, look at the length of time it took you to comlpete a MA and then use this as a measure of its worth?

Nick.

Hi All,

I have just finished the process of entering one of my daughters, who was born outside of Thailand, into my wife's Blue TB book. As well as the correct paper work we also had to take along the VH Man and a grade CS3 or above Thai Teacher. Although the process went failry smoothly, we did have to make a few trips and phone calls to the Unphur office before my daughter was entered into the TB book. Afterwards, the stoney faced, government official pointed out to my wife that we should have given her an envelope with some money in and the next time we visited her office she would be expecting this from us.

Now I know this (envelope passing) happends all the time in Thailand but is it not usually for favors rather than someone just doing their job? I have no intension of giving her anything and think that she has a cheek to inform my wife of her made up protocol.

Rant over.

Nick.

Hi,

I'm in the process of researching distance learning programs from UK, US and Australian universities for an on-line Masters.

I work in a government university and enjoy my job. My question is whether to study for a TESOL, education, linguistics or general English Masters course. Which one of these in your opinion will be of more use to a government university teacher in Isan? I was leaning towards the MA-TESOL from Sunderland University.

Many Thanks.

Nick.

Thanks to all for your input.

Thaiclan, your response has made me research the option of distance learning the PGCE near my hometown. It looks like I would have to fly back to the UK once each year for a two year course I've seen. In the first year for 5 weeks and the second for 8 weeks. This could prove to be feasible.

Do you think that a PGCE would be a better option than the MA in education?

I could apply for an interview with international schools in BKK while in England (in the 2nd year) and although this doesn't sit right with me I could always say that I am not married.

Any more input from anyone would be great. Especially people who hire and fire in international schools in BKK.

Nick.

The PGCE is going to prove a problem, I am pretty settled here, as are my wife and kids. If I were single I would go back to the UK to complete this course, but as I'm not, have you any ideas around this?

My plan is to put my daughters into a good international school within the next 5 years. They are at current in Pratom and Anuban. On my current salary I could not afford to do this, hence the interest in further study.

With the MA in Education and in my situation what sort of salary in BKK could I realistically look to command?

Do you see the shortage of Math and Science teachers being long-term and if so would a OU course in something like:

Graduate Diploma in Mathematics Education or Teaching mathematical thinking at Key Stage 3 be advisable instead or as well as the MA in Education?

Thanks Nick.

"Will a Masters in Education" Main heading.

"get me into a good international school?" Sub heading.

Questions are often split into these two sections on the forum, but as proved by you, the later may sometimes go un-seen.

There is nothing wrong with being old, once one accepts the slight loss of vision.

Boring and Pedantic on the other hand are definite conversation st....

I'm thinking of studying the Masters in Education program with the Open University next year.

I have several years teaching experience in Thailand.

I have a BSc hons degree from a university in England.

I have a TEFL certificate done in Bangkok.

My question is: Would a good international school be interested in hiring me once I've completed the masters course?

Many Thanks Nick.

One way flights to Thailand:

Thai consulate Hull

http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/pdfs/Aj%20%20...ht%20Ticket.pdf

Without knowing the village or Surin for that matter I would have thought that this was a good buy.

Few outsiders move into Thai villages out in the sticks though. Usually as families join together and expand they look to buy land close to relatives.

Land smack bang in the centre of the village may serve as a good location for a little convenience shop or garage etc, so may turn out to be quite easy to resell. The price you get for the re-sale in the future will depend on how badly someone wants the land. In my opinion it sounds OK, (I take it that the land is level and has no pool/pond in the middle).

Buy it, fence it off cheaply with either cement posts and barbwire or bamboo, add a little soil if necessary and leave it. I'm sure given its location someone will be interested in buying it if they haven't already.

Nick.

Hi,

I've been reading this thread with interest as I have just finished building a house. I have used no insulation under the roof tiles and think that I may live to regret this. I have a drop ceiling upstairs which I am thinking about putting the "stay cool" reflective roll on top of. Will this be enough?

On the issue of "mechanical ventilation", controlled by a thermostat, could anyone advise me how to go about getting this set up. I live in Sakon Nakhon there is a home mart here but have not found any company supplying this type of thermostatically controlled ventilation system. Could I make my own?

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

Nick.

Hi,

I'm in Sakon Nakhon and as of writing have not come across any translation offices. My friend is in England and requires the translation as he is applying for a visa for his wife to go on holiday in Europe somewhere. I know of plenty of places in BKK but am trying to avoid going there.

Thanks Nick.

PS. I'll suggest what you said about the Thai restaurant thing to my friend. Thanks Mac.