KamnanT

Keep in mind that speed camera violations will be mailed to the registered address of the vehicle.  If you don't keep it up-to-date, you could miss them and then have difficulty renewing the registration.

13 hours ago, worgeordie said:

So the clinic did only one breast,and she had a heart attack ?,

So that should be easy to prove,or disprove,if she has cut marks under her breast,

RIP, 21 with a child and the family breadwinner...sad

regards worgeordie

My (admittedly second-hand) understanding of breast enhancement surgery is that the incisions are normally made not underneath the breast but in the armpits, to avoid visible scars.

16 hours ago, bbabythai said:

1. A big name Thai insurer that has life insurance + the private health insurance (cost around 200k a yr for 10 yrs). 

 

2. A policy that only offers health insurance in the event of sickness.... private health insurance with Aetena : around 100k a year. From what I can see online, it seems like this policy is worldwide (excl the States because its too expensive?). In the event of being in ICU the max n.o of days is 15. If I take this policy now before my 60th I can continue getting insurance from them into my old age. 

I think you will find that Option 1 is a fixed 200K per year for 10 years and Option 2 is 100K for the first year and then the premium will rise every year as you get older.  Also, the health insurance piggy-backed on local life insurance policies is normally (but not always) more restrictive on benefits and exclusions.

2 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

think you should replace the word 'stones' with 'brains'...

You must be one of the lucky 10% --- good for you.

As far back as I can remember (mid-90s), a substantial percentage of Samui land deals have been seriously dodgy.  Fake titles, state land encroachment, zoning violations or simply flogging chanote land that the "seller" didn't own.  I can't remember reading about any subsequent prosecutions.  I don't have the stones to buy in that sort of market: too much to lose.

12 year building on Sukhumvit 31, 108 units and we're currently paying 58 baht/sqm/month, at which level we just about break even on annual operating costs. Management seeking an increase to 65 baht/sqm/month to undertake some needed major repairs (pool, common area plumbing) and it's like pulling teeth to get the co-owners to agree.

Back in the days when we could still travel, I would always pick up a handful of needed BMW parts on any trip to North America. Brake pads, bulbs, interior and exterior trim, ignition coils, door lock and window actuators, anything I thought I needed and would fit in checked luggage. Genuine BMW parts 20%-50% cheaper online in the US than from dealers in Thailand. Not an option now, of course.

I wonder if anyone has mailed auto parts to Thailand and what treatment they got from Customs? I suspect duty rates are high.

Sukhumvit Soi 31, 12 year old building, nice swimming pool, good gym, lots of lifts relative to number of units (lifts are expensive to run), 58 baht/sqm/month which we tried (and failed) to get increased to 65 at the AGM (no increase since mid-2017).

I'm certainly no tax expert but my understanding is that you can claim certain life insurance premiums up to 100,000 baht per year and the same limit for mortgage interest, but not mortgage insurance.  And the mortgage interest deduction is only for the mortgage on your principal residence, not for a commercial or investment property.

I dropped by Bang Chak last Thursday (Aug 6) hoping to renew my 5 year license. I got an appointment for November 11.  I did ask the counter staff what I should do if I was stopped by the police with an expired license. They smiled and said, "Do what you always do: negotiate!"

I've put the yellow appointment slip in my wallet next to my expired license. Hopefully that might cut me some slack if the situation arises.

16 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Best sell it yourself and pay off in full, otherwise you could end up still owing money on it.

The OP could certainly attempt to locate a buyer but s/he cannot transfer ownership of a vehicle s/he does not own.  The buyer would have to prepare two bank cheques: one for the loan payout amount to the finance company and one for any remaining amount to the seller.  Buyer gives first cheque to finance company, who transfers the vehicle into the buyer's name, then the seller gets the second cheque.  This can be a time-consuming process (depending on the finance company) and I suspect many buyers would be put off.  Easier to purchase a car that has no finance on it.

11 hours ago, DaRoadrunner said:

I wonder if they are related to the excellent and inexpensive KW Services in Thonglor, which I used to use long ago? In the Soi opposite Camillian Hospital.

 

Address: 14 Thong Lo 20 Alley, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110. Phone 02 391 6064.

 

Or search BMW Club Thailand on Facebook

Yep, same place.  Thonglor Soi 20 at one end, Ekkamai Soi 21 at the other.  I think that's where I will be going.

I did have a quick search in this forum but couldn't find anything less than a few years old.  I have a 2003 530i (E39) which has given very faithful service over the years despite my being less than kind to it at times.  It has only 113,000km on the clock and while I do the "basic" services (oil and filter change every 12 months or 10,000km, regularly check fluids, levels and pressures), it is a 17 year old car and most of the plastic and rubber parts are wearing out.  Engine and drive train are sound and I could easily get another 100,000km out of it.  A list of "nuisance" items has built up (washer fluid reservoir leaks, power windows/central locking not working, slow leak in the power steering fluid, etc.) and now a big item needs repair: brakes are soft and I can see brake fluid on the ground when I park.  So no more procrastination.

Last garage I used for a major A/C repair 3 years ago was KW Services on Ekkamai Soi 21.  They were OK but I found them a bit pricey compared to the garage I used before on Rama IV (Amorn Service - they moved way out somewhere).

Getting to the point...does anyone have any recommendations?  Preferably a specialist German car shop.

16 hours ago, jarno1973 said:

Thanks Ubonjoe.

 

Is there anyone who can reconfirm this and has some more background on it? 

 

Why is my HR telling me I need to renew the non quota immigrant visa and this governs the validity of the residence permit?

 

Is there any yearly reporting to be done?

Not surprisingly, Ubonjoe has it right.  I also have PR (15+ years now) and the annual "extension" process (technically, it is not an application for an extension of stay) is not required unless you are planning to leave the country.  As it says on the back pages of your Certificate of Residence:

"A Residential Certificate is of permanent validity but it automatically expires, when the holder leaves Thailand unless an endorsement has been made and sealed upon the document by a competent Immigration Officer at an Immigration Office before departure.  If the holder of a Residential Certificate so endorsed returns to Thailand within one year from the date of endorsement such Residential Certificate shall be considered still valid."

So, if you are planning to leave and you want your PR to remain valid, then you need two things: an endorsement in your Certificate of Residence as stated above (1,900 baht and valid for one year) and a Non-Quota Immigrant visa (1,900 baht for a single re-entry, 3,800 baht for a multiple, also valid for one year).  The latter is not to be confused with a Non-Immigrant Visa, which is a different thing entirely.

If you aren't planning on leaving Thailand, no endorsement or Non-Quota Immigrant visa is required, however I always keep both current for practical reasons: (1) I never know when I might need to travel on short notice and, (2) having a passport with no "valid" visa in it can present practical problems when dealing with other arms of the Thai bureaucracy, most of whom will assume you are on an illegal overstay when they see that the last Non-Quota Immigrant visa in your passport has expired.

I don't know about other Immigration offices, but obtaining the endorsement and visa at Chaengwattana is straightforward: turn up at 11:30am (there is never any queue in the PR section), hand over 2 application forms, 2 photos and money, go to lunch, return at 1pm to pick up.

6 minutes ago, michel7752 said:

Thanks for all your answers. So there is no alternative to being personally present in Thailand for the yearly retirement visa renewal right now. Since this must affect many people being currently outside of Thailand and with various types of visa, we can only hope that a general automatic extension will be announced in the future. If not: start the whole process again from zero when Corona is gone.

The current leniency applies only to those in Thailand whose permission to stay is expiring and who cannot travel back to their home countries due to travel restrictions and/or non-availability of flights.  It does not apply to persons currently outside of Thailand.  At the moment, persons in Thailand may apply to extend their permission to stay by an additional 30 days if they can produce a letter from their own Embassy stating that the applicant cannot reasonably return to their home country.  The broader proposal being considered by the authorities (see below) is an automatic extension of the permission to stay until June 30, with no visit to Immigration required.  AFAIK, this proposal has not yet been approved, but again, it applies only to persons in Thailand.

The advice given is correct: if the borders are not re-opened and you do not return before May 14th, your current extension of stay and associated re-entry permit will expire and you will have to either apply for a new visa or enter visa exempt and apply for another one year extension.

7 hours ago, ragabob said:

Can farangs give blood? During Sars, as a farang I was not allowed to in HK. I think due to mad cow at the time

Short answer is "yes". See the criteria here:

https://english.redcross.or.th/node/49

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

Are there more countries where one can buy taxfree goods on arrival? At King Power it's possible...i always thought those shops were designed for departing passengers only.

Just about everywhere now: UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, to name a few. Not Canada nor the US, AFAIK.

5 hours ago, Jane Dough said:

The cost per term is well over 150K.

 

Rooster

Well over.  As a Year 13 parent, I'm wondering when the school is going to start discussing compensation.  Clearly, no restrictions were placed on where academic staff travelled over the mid-term break (Feb 13-23) and now 60+ are unable to work on campus.  Poor planning for a school that charges top dollar.

My last two departures (one in January, one in February), the auto-channel has worked outbound but not inbound.  Had to go through an IO desk both times.  At the February entry, one of the "helpers" at the auto-channels said that the system was not working for PR holders "temporarily".

1 hour ago, ThaiBunny said:

My impression is that there's a banking regulation that forbids it although perhaps not, as this article (readily discoverable via Google) suggests - https://silklegal.com/getting-a-mortgage-in-thailand/

My understanding is that the local mortgage prohibition is the logical consequence of another restriction: that foreigners (other than those with permanent residency) who purchase property in Thailand must remit the entire purchase price from overseas and present the FET (foreign exchange transaction) receipts at the Land Titles Office before they will be allowed to transfer ownership into their name.  If a local bank were to advance the purchase amount under a mortgage, there would be no such inbound transfer.
 

I have PR and have, in the past, obtained mortgages from Thai banks on two occasions.

2 hours ago, humdrumdays said:

I am looking at using Transferwise for the first time.  As an example I put in 1,000 GBP to Thai baht and it was charging me a fee of about 8 GBP. If I transfer it to my Bangkok Bank account in Thailand will Bangkok Bank make a further charge? thanks

No. You get the full amount credited to your Thai account, at least I do and I’m with Bangkok Bank.