leb0wsk1

I'm mulling a job offer in KL and wondering what are the chances of bringing my car and bike into the country. Has anyone moved over the border and taken their vehicles with them?

Just wondering if it's prohibitively expensive, or worth exploring a bit further. Would love to hear any recent experiences on this.

Thanks ubonjoe. I did think it was a little bit strange that she didn't want my passport at all during this process.

I'll find out when she's visiting immigration to cancel the work permit and make sure I tag along with her and get that passport stamp. At least then I'll know when my exit date is supposed to be...

Howdy all,

I was hoping someone could help with a question regarding a BOI visa cancellation...

I'm leaving a job at the end of the month and for whatever reason I always thought I had 7 days to get out of the country once my current visa gets cancelled. However the lady taking care of our "visa stuff" has just come back with this statement;

"usualy non Immigrant can extend 7 day but we have visa by BOI, So BOI give 15 days. Totaly 15+7=21 days."

Is anyone up to speed with BOI and can confirm this 21 day extension of stay upon visa cancellation?

I've had some, a'hem, misinformation from local "visa stuff" staff in the past, so was hoping the learned members of TV might be able to confirm if this 21 day thing is legit.

She's not asked for my passport, so I'll have no visual record/stamp of the visa being cancelled in-country. I guess the BOI multi-entry stamp in my passport just gets flagged on the network/systems at immigration once I try and exit at the border (which also smells a bit fishy IMHO).

Any insights or experience in this area is much appreciated.

Hi All,

I've just moved here from Bangkok and need to change my Thai Social Security's "named hospital" to something a bit more local. I've done some research on the available hospitals that accept Thai Social Security and was hoping to tap into the local expertise in this forum to help make an informed choice.

Question: Are there any standout recommendations for "farang friendly" hospitals in the list below?

1. Nakornping (นครพิงค์)

2. Maharat Nakorn Chiangmai (มหาราชนครเชียงใหม่)

3. Sanpatong (สันป่าตอง)

4. Chiangmai Klai Mor (เชียงใหม่ใกล้หมอ)

5. Teppanya (เทพปัญญา)

6. Ratchavet Chiangmai (ราชเวชเชียงใหม่)

7. Lanna (ลานนา)

By "farang friendly" I'm referring to doctors and staff that are reasonably comfortable dealing with foreigners and are able to communicate (more or less) in English.

Any advice/anecdotes/hearsay on which to go for (and which to avoid) would be very much appreciated!

Cheers!

:-)

Bit confused now then. One person thinks I can change the reason for extension is Chaengwattana as long as the existing one *is still valid*, another states it needs to be *cancelled* prior to changing/renewing it.

Also I don't have a termination letter, having left my last job on my own accord.

Phew! Arranging my own visa is a minefield located in a paradox wrapped in an enigma and sprinkled with sticks of dynamite.

Interesting, thanks for the input. In this case I believe the messenger will be visiting the 1 stop and getting both WP and extension of stay cancelled at the same time.

Sounds like I should ask them to hold off for a day or two so I can get to Chaengwattana and see if I can get the reason for the extension changed before it becomes invalid.

Yeah, work told me 1 stop would be unlikely to help. My dilemma is that once I get my passport back from the 1 stop the extension of stay will have already been cancelled.

Do you think that would be an issue if I then turn up at Chaengwattana the next day asking for them to change the reason for extension on an already cancelled stamp?

@johnatong: apologies, you are quite right, I do indeed have an extension of stay. Renewed every two years for another two at the One Stop Service center.

@elviajero: You mean accompany the messenger tomorrow to the One Stop Service Center and request I change the reason there and then (instead of them just cancelling)? That would certainly make life a lot easier and avoid a rushed trip out of The Kingdom.

I've been trying to research this scenario but have conflicting information, hence I'd like to put it to the learned citizens of Thaivisa-land...

My BOI work permit of 8 years is to be cancelled tomorrow and along with it my Non-B visa. At this point I would like to move to a Non-O visa based on marriage. Work has told me I'm unable to do this at the One Stop Service center, and would need to go to immigration at Chaengwattana.

My question is this... Once the Non-B is cancelled out, can I then go straight to Chaengwattana and apply for the Non-O based on marriage (I have all the paperwork), OR do I have to leave the country and apply for the Non-O from outside Thailand?

As mentioned, I've been seeing conflicting reports. Does anyone have recent experience of this type of scenario?

One more thing: if I really do have 6 days to get out of dodge after the Non-B is cancelled (thanks Thailand!), where is the best embassy nearby to apply for the Non-O based on marriage?

Any help/ideas/anecdotes are greatly appreciated!

Cheers!

Leb0wsk1

I asked this question before, when exam link was posted back in June…..

The new exam came out in June 2014, but, the date at the top of the exam

in the link, Says 2013.

So is this the new exam or the old exam?

just asking like.

Have a Nice Day.

It's the old one. Questions are similar, though there are newer questions in the exam I took yesterday.

For example, I had 4-5 questions showing a triangular warning sign (red borders) containing Thai script. I can't read Thai so was my response was purely guesswork (i.e. 3 of 4 answers were a warning - could have been any of them for all I knew).

Having said that, a decent portion of the 50 questions felt the same, just worded slightly differently and with the order of the answers changed...

In any case - going through the questions in the link provider is still a better primer than showing up and expecting the correct answers to follow common sense/on-the-road experience...

study the book....repeat.

Once again, if anyone missed it; Study the book. It maky take an hour or more. It is virtually impossible to pass the test without reading the book cover to cover at least once.

Or do the test over and over again online to practice.

@stevenl: Do the test over and over online - Good advice, and now that I have the link I'll be doing that, thanks again for this. Though for the benefit of others: having done the test yesterday I can say a good percentage of the questions have changed since that link was put up.

@96tehtarp: I would have studied "The Book", though up until today had no knowledge of its existence in English. Where can I find this book?

In any case - not sure when I'll next be afforded the luxury of taking another day off work to visit the licencing office - though when I do I'll be sure to post back the result...

anyone got a link to the questions?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/732938-take-the-new-thai-driving-test-online/

Excellent, thanks stevenl, that link is really handy!

So here I am sitting in the OnNut drivers licencing offices, gutted after once again spending 6 hours jumping through hoops only to fail at the penultimate hurdle.

This is my third attempt at getting a motorbike license. The folks here are happy to renew my 5 year driving license, though going by my theory results I clearly should not be allowed on the road.

Unless, perhaps, there are no correct answers to many of the multiple choice questions on their English language exam. Given the two other farang taking the test today also failed i suspect this could be the case.

Getting close to giving up now. Anyone have some hot tips for success they'd care to share?

I've been searching around the interwebs for some information on current interest rates being offered by Thai bank for savings accounts (fixed term or otherwise).

Given the dearth of up-to-date factual information available on their websites regarding the rates they offer, I can only conclude that rates and promotions are hyper-localized to individual branches.

Just walking around and browsing the offers promoted in different bank's retail store-fronts would seem to confirm that this is the case.

If they're all kind of similar then so be it, though I was wondering if anyone had local branch info/deals they could share with the wider TV community.

Has anyone here noticed any tough-to-beat rates advertised over the last few days in their local branches?

Cheers!

leb0wsk1

The nutshell: Having been renting accommodation with my wife in bangkok for the past 7 years we've come across a small new-build townhouse house in a moo baan development that we'd like to buy together (I'm British).

Having researched various sources it seems the options are either joint ownership of the house itself and a land lease with my wife as lessor, or an usufruct arrangement. However its not clear to me which is the best route to go down in these matters.

Obviously we're not the first Thai/foreign couple to be looking at a house purchase, so I was hoping to find anyone here who may have gone through this process recently and would care to share their experience/advice on current best practice/due diligence?

Many thanks in advance if any wise TV'ers out there can advise on the norm when it comes to home purchases involving Thai/farang couples :-)

NB: we've ruled out buying a condo - so the question specifically relates to the purchase of a townhouse.

This one looks okay, for the cost of hitting "Like" on their Facebook page.

Got to be worth a shot I reckon, nothing to lose anyway and I for one could use the break: facebook.com/agoda

Thanks for the feedback.

@jcbangkok: yep, easily done - got all the docs readily available, though thinking they should be asking for these if that's what they need - like I said, we fulfilled everything on the checklist they publish. She's 29 and this is the first application.

@davidxl: Agreed, a hasty re-apply it is. Got *everything* together now. This time it's bullet-proof.

@iainiain101: Next week mate. They had the pics on a CD, and in the refusal letter the guy referenced the number of pictures, so they must have taken a look. Each file would have had the date of the picture taken, assuming the assessor had the ability to use a computer (insert cries of "objection!" here).

@will27: Certainly sounds that way - lets hope so eh?

Cheers,

leb0wsk1

BTW: nice little offshore earner for the UK gov this, at 80 pounds a pop.

Probably costs more than that to process the application.

You think so? I'm not so sure.

Off topic; had my fair share of visa apps myself over the years and costs for UK passport holders are generally 1.5 - 3 times more than that of other countries (incl. US).

Get wed and live happy in Thailand I cant think why one would want to live in the UK.

Intend to. Just a two week summer trip back home after 3 years without a visit.

Knowledgeable gents;

Just had my gf's UK visa application declined, with no right to appeal.

Visa type: 2 week holiday to visit friends and family.

Her: worked for the same financial advisers here in BKK for the last 4.5 years.

Me: Been living here for last 3.5 years, working in an expat position for a big American company.

Us: Been living together for the past 3.5 years

Application: Literally *everything* and more that was requested on the immigration checklist.

Supporting docs: sponsorship letter from my father and proof of funds and accommodation - 500K from my bank etc...

Reason for refusal: essentially they did not believe we have been co-cohabiting for last 3 years.

Really confused as we supplied *everything* that was requested (and more) in the application checklist, though the reason for refusal letter stated that they didn't have enough documents supporting our relationship, and they thought the gf would not want to return.

This is not a usual bar girl attempt to jump ship - so I'm wondering now how many legit applications are flat out refused, versus organized criminals who know about these loops and how to jump through them.

<deleted>??!?!?!

So my question is: can we appeal this (with all the additional docs they require - which we have), or do we have to begin the whole process again?

BTW: nice little offshore earner for the UK gov this, at 80 pounds a pop.

Cheers,

leb0wsk1

Hello Mr Hippo,

So are you thinking about selling this bike? I could well be interested. What's the groupset?

Phil

I am thinking about selling one of my bikes:-

Trek 3900, 21" frame, complete with CatEye computer and a few more extras - 6000Baht but am prepared to haggle!

Hi all!

I was wondering whether any of you learned souls would be able to recommend a reputable service centre to visit with my honda sonic.

Any pointers would be greatly appreciated. I live on Sukhumvit 71 and know there's a lot a bike shops located in this corner of town, just not sure which one to choose.

Thanks in advance...

Hi all,

Looking to move into a one bedroom place (i.e. 1 bedroom & 1 living room). Budget not huge, I'll be completely max'd out at 9,500 per month, though less is best.

Ideal location for me is around Sukhumvit 71, where I am now basically, however am happy to look pretty much anywhere so long as it's a reasonable (in rush hour) distance to the BTS / MRT. Not too fussy as I have most essentials already, though a sofa would be nice.

If anyone knows of anywhere or can point me in the right direction I'd be hugely grateful.

Thanks in advance!

Phil