CWMcMurray

I don't think its actually difficult... it seems to just be a seriously long term waiting game with no known end at site.

From what I have heard, while they have continued to accept applications every year, they haven't actually given anyone PR since 2006.

So "A+" is an actual credit score.... so presumably that meas the Thai credit system gives each person a "grade" A+, A, A-, B+, B, ect... , is that correct?

So what do each of the grades mean (are there MIN grades needed for various types of loans?).... for instance what would the MIN score normally be needed in order to qualify for a mortgage for example?

Does it have anything to do with interest rates? From what I have heard in terms of credit cards and mortgages and loans they seem to give everyone the same rates regardless of credit scores (not 100% SURE ON THIS).

In terms of the amount of credit given it also seems to be based more on monthly income than credit score, so just curious how much weight is placed upon the credit score in Thailand.

I went arround to many banks before applying for credit card a few months ago and in every case a WP seemed to be a standard requirement that was non-negociable...

The only exception I have heard about is if you are willing to lock away an large sum of money and get a secured credit card. From my understanding the bank may ask for a min of 2x the requested credit limit.

In the US a "secured credit card" may need to be used initially until you credit score imporoves, and then you will be offered an unsecured card... I am not sure if such a path is possible here or if you MUST have a WP in order to transition to an unsecured card.

But Thailand does certainly have some systen for "Credit Score", but not certain on all of the details of how it works. The only thing I know is that when we were going to buy our second car, the bank told my wife she had A+ credit and the loan would not be any problem...

If anyone has any details on the Thai credit score system, I would definately like to learn more about this topic.

It sounds like you may not have actually gone through the bureaucracy needed to be legally married, you definately would have remembered the process if you have been through it.

From reading your OP, I think this is good news for you !!!

As the the visa parts of the OP's question... I would say the following:

1. If married you will need 40,000thb in monthly income or 400,000 thb in a Thai bank to qualify for 1 yr extension based upon marraige

If not married:

2. Since you are advising that you are looking into "Buying a Business" rather than "Opening a Business", you should check to see if the Business meets the requirements to sponsor you for a Visa extension (I believe must be operationg at least two years and all the proper accounting info would have need to be submitted, capital requirements, number of Thai Employees,ect...)

2. If not, then you should likely get a yr multiple entry visa from your country of origin and do border runs every 3 mo

3. If over 50, you could apply for 1 yr extension for retirement, 65,000thb in monthly income or 800,000thb in a Thai Bank, but since you want to work this may notbe the best idea because you may not be able to get a work permit

It sounds like she received these while in Thailand and will be putting them in her luggage on her trip to another country???

There are no problems with leaving thailand with a dozen bars of soap, what you need to check is the import regualtions of the country you will be going to...

That being said, I would be surprised if the destination country will have any problems bringing in aprox USD 30 worth of goods from an overseas trip or including soap in your personal baggage.

Yes head to the new immigration center on Chaeng Wattana road (entrance is by soi 7 just after CAT telecom).

Once you turn into the soi go all the way to the end of the soi.... you will pass a bunch of buildings on your right (all government agency's I believe). The new building where immigration was moved to is the last building on your right.

Once you go inside follow the signs for "immigration". Once you get inside you can get a que number. All sections are now color coded, you will want "white color". Once you get your card, the are you want to be in is in the back right hand corner.

There are not a lot of people waiting in line, so you will need to poke your head in and politely ask if they can help you or if you should sit down and wait to be called. More than likely no one else is waiting and she will tell you to go ahead and sit down.

Explain your situation and she will give you a sheet with all of the requirements (one side in English, the other in Thai). Take a quick look to ensure that you understand everything required and ask her when the window for submitting an application is this year (should be next month or in Dec).

Then go and get everything and come back and submit within the deadline...

(I spoke with them a couple of weeks ago and they were very helpful, but I still have a couple more years of taxes to pay before I qualify )

From my understanding (this was previously explained to me by our company's accounting manager)

If he sent BAHTNET transfer, then he is sending you THB not GBP...

Meaning that the origin bank switches to THB and then transfers to your bank. For SWIFT his bank would send GBP and then the destination bank would change to THB.

From what I have been told, this method of transfer is normally faster...

I would ask a little more info about the family....

1. What is the wife's nationality? Will she need to apply for an immigrant visa before going to Canada? If so, this could have an impact upon your decision.

2. How old are the children? Will they need to go to school? Would you put then in an "international school" or "Thai" school?

- this could seriously affect your living expenses - cost of decent schools may be your largest expense(for two kids at an international school it could actually be higher than all your other monthly expenses combined)

3. If not school age, will the wife also work or stay at home? If she works who will look after the kids?

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I would also list Chaing Mai as one of the top 3 tourist destinations in Thailand, so not completely off the beaten track. There are many other northern towns that I am sure could offer a more rustic and non tourist experience.

Going off the second hand information I have received from some friends have lived up in the North... (so take it as you will), the average wage is even lower in that part of the country and there are less jobs to be had. I have heard that wages are in the 25,000-35,000thb/mo ballpark.

The idea of "Living well without needing to dip into our savings" is a difficult one to answer because "Living well" is very subjective and means something completely different to every person.

Some will tell you they can "Live Well" on 30,000 thb a month others will say that at that amount they are "barely able to survive". Others would say that there is "no way they could survive" on the same amount.

So, I think a little bit of an explination about what "living well" means to you and the rest of the members of your family would be needed in order to better advise.

What Raro says is true... a foreigner will need a Work Permit to Work in Thailand.

You will not need to show your work permit to Customs to register to import (under personal name) or to clear the goods once they arrive, but if you are found to be working in Thailand without a work permit you will need to answer to the Labor Department.

Currently, I do not believe their is any cross communication between customs and labor ministries, but no one ever knows about the future...

I can only speak for the US, but I know some folks who went to MICHIGAN STATE & University of ROCHESTER and those are considered decent Universities...

209 RENSSELAER Polytechnic Institute United States

210 HELSINKI University of Technology (TKK) Finland

211= Autonomous University of BARCELONA Spain

211= KOREA University Korea, South

211= Technical University of BERLIN Germany

214 DALHOUSIE University Canada

215= Autonomous University of MADRID Spain

215= STOCKHOLM University Sweden

215= University of DUNDEE United Kingdom

218= KOBE University Japan

218= Paris-Sud XI University France

220= MAHIDOL University Thailand

220= Radboud University NIJMEGEN Netherlands

222 MICHIGAN STATE University United States

223= National TSING HUA University Taiwan

223= Rmit University Australia

225 University of IOWA United States

226 University of OTTAWA

Just to add a bit of perspective....

129= GEORGETOWN University United States

129= OHIO STATE University United States

129= University of ABERDEEN United Kingdom

132= TECHNION - Israel Institute of Technolog... Israel

132= University of VIENNA Austria

134 POHANG University of Science And Technol... Korea, South

135 CARDIFF University United Kingdom

136 University of GHENT Belgium

137 University of LIVERPOOL United Kingdom

138= CHULALONGKORN University Thailand

138= University of GRONINGEN Netherlands

140 VANDERBILT University United States

141 University of ROCHESTER United States

142 KEIO University Japan

143 Mcmaster University Canada

144= University of BATH United Kingdom

I would say that puts them in the respectable "mid range" Univerisity status.

I think you will find that most of the students at RAM are working their way through college. It is well known to be easy to get into but hard to finish.

I think that unlike most other Thai Univeristies, the additional stress of working and studying along with the need to study and prepare more outside of the class are major contributing factors as to why the completion rate is so low.

My own opinion is that only a person who is self motivated and able to study well on their own (outside of the classroom) will likely finish with a degree. I think many employers may realize the same.

As a foreign national, it is possible to import goods under your own name. You will need to register for paperless customs processing (any forwarder can do this for you), this only needs to be done the first time you import goods.

You will need to give your forwarder a copy of your passport (picture page, visa page & latest entry stamp), your local address and contact number. The process only takes 1 business day. (if you later open a company, you will need to register the company if you would like to import under the company's name.

Whether or not an import permit is required will depend upon the commodity that you plan to import. Many types of import permits can only be applied for under a company's name, but many products do not require an import permit.

I would advise contacting a freight forwarder to confirm the estimated import duty, import permit regs & to arrange for registration for paperless customs processing.

If my understanding is correct, I believe the previous regulations were intended for the Thai child to "take care" of the older parent and so no income was required.

The new policy seems to have the intent that be the foreign parent is "taking care" of their Thai child and the income requirement was added.

I belive the previous allowance no longer exists and there is no longer any provision for Thai children to "Take Care" of their elderly foreign parents.

You would obviously have to weigh the rate of return vs the risk of the company defaulting.

Even if the promisary notes are all legally binding and everything done properly, it is still possible that the company could default just like any bond issued by any company world wide.

Without knowing anything about the comapny it is hard to advise, I guess you would be in the best position to make a decision.

Alternatively, if you really believe in the company, you may want to ask for a partnership or to purchase a portion of stock rather than "loaning money". If the company is succesful, this will be more profitable in the long run.

Of course the owner may not want to do this, but if he can not get financing elsewhere he may eventually come around.

Good advice... I doubt your local sales company will reach the VAT registration requirement for quite some time (if ever), so you may never need to charge VAT for your local business.

I am sorry to hear about your situation and just like rehab anywhere else in the world, the only way there is any chance of it working is if the adict has a serious desire to make it work. I just hope your stepson has reached that point.

If not, the Army idea is not a bad one... it may help to put him in a different situation where he will not have any contact with his "freinds" or access to Drugs. One would hope that he would be able to meet a new group of friends who are drug free.

I would say prison is the last resort...

Given the choices, I voted Yes, its unethical... but my opinion is the best solution would be for Sondhi to sell his interest in the TV station and let it continue on...

Whether I agree or disagree with the station or their views, I believe the more opinions available the better, so I would not like to see any "news station" closed down.

Did my 90 reporting yesterday and got nothing but good things to say about the new place.

Much larger and less cramped... plenty of parking... plenty of sitting room... the airconditioning works well... looks like everything is well origanized and running smoothly.

Just want to add... in and out for 90 day report in less than 30 MIN

The cost of medicine in hospitals has nothing to do with your nationality... they charge the same high price to everyone. Many hospitals make a lot of extra money on the market up of different medication.

You just need to be sure they understand that you will not be buying medication in the hospital. Be polite, but do not take no for an answer...

Thailand is not the same as the West. What she says is really quite often the complete opposite of what she wants.

I thought that was a common trait among all women world wide...

Another option would be to go to any of "The Mall Department stores" and swin for free.

In order to get in for free you need to sign up for a MCARD which is also free. This can be used for discounts in the mall or to allow upto 2 persons per day enter the water park on the 4th floor for free.

I normally go the Mall Bangkapi and have seen that they have pool set for people to swim laps.