YangYaiEric

Something like this has been brewing for the last couple of years. The Thai economy is in the doldrums and is getting even worse. The military government is ENTIRELY to blame for the malaise that's permeating through Thai society; the rich get richer, and the poor get left behind. The SICKO that perpetrated this MADNESS will not live to see a better Thailand. I have lived in Thailand  for well over 30 years and I love the country and its people. But, things must change!!

51 minutes ago, happylarry said:

Its so important to make a legal will.

As Charlie said once the husband inherits any land he then has one year in which to sell it or put it in a Thai name.

Thanks for your advice Larry.

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

I believe the husband in the absence of will has 12 months to sell the assets.

I was told that a falang could not sell any property that is in the Thai wife's name? Would applying to become the executor of the estate circumvent this?

If there IS a will and the husband is named  benefactor, could her Thai children contest the will in court?

Thanks for your input!

Can anyone inform me what happens if a Thai wife of a farang husband passes away, leaving substantial property and land?

Can the legally married farang husband sell said property and land without a will being in place at the time of the wife's passing?

Cheers! All done.

Has anyone obtained a Thai drivers License? If so, what do I need to obtain one. I already have a British Driver License and an International Drivers License, but I think a Thai DL would be much better, IMO. 

Many thanks for the info guys! Since I DONT work or pay income tax in Thailand, I guess I cannot get PR! I've been retired for last 3 years and work with my wife in our property rental business(unofficially!). So much for that then!

4 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

It would not be for retirement it would be for being her parent.

There is a line in clause 2.18 of the police order issued in 2014 that states this.

 

"In case the father or mother requests to be under maintenance of children, the age of father or mother must be 50 years of age or over."

 

I have never seen a post from anybody trying to get one and certainly none that were accepted.

I think it would be denied due to you being married to her mother.

 

That would make sense, me being married to her mother. I guess this option of Thai children sponsoring their parent for a visa applies in cases of death or divorce of the Thai mother? Thanks for the info!

Morning All.

I'm currently living in Thailand with my Thai wife of 33 years. I'm here on a 'Thai Wife' 1 year renewable visa. I would like to know if my daughter who is working at the U.N in Bangkok, can sponsor me in my next visa application. She was born in Thailand and holds Thai citizenship, as well as British.

If indeed it is possible, would I STILL need to go through the 400k bank account seasoning process, as I currently no do with my current 'Thai Wife' visa.

Thanks in advance for any sound information.

4 minutes ago, ballpoint said:

There have been multiple threads on these cards previously, and, based on those, you will get two types of reply:

 

1. Those who have one, such as myself, who will tell you they can be useful as a form of ID, and for getting Thai price at dual pricing attractions.  Are they indispensable?  Probably not.  Are they a useful thing to have in your wallet?  Definitely yes.

 

2.  Those who don't have one, including those who don't qualify for one, who will try and tell you they are a waste of time, and useless, and other general things of that nature, as a sort of self comforting technique to compensate for not having one.

 

In any case, it doesn't look like you're having much say in the matter, so go along, get your photo taken and get the card.  I'm sure you'll find a use for it at some point.  Or you can stick it away in a drawer and never take it out again.  No one will check to see if you are carrying it.

Sound advice mate! Cheers!

Thank you Boycie for the link. It as clear that its not really that useful!

Hi. Today I just got my Yellow Tabian Baan book from the local Ampur in Korat, which registers me as living at my address . The lady officer (Palat) then booked an appointment for me to get my Thai ID card (bat pa-pa-chon). The wife and I were both taken aback by this, as I am a British National and we thought only Thai Nationals were issued with a Thai National ID card. But, yes, I will indeed be issued with a Thai ID card next week. Are there any farangs out there who have been issued with a Thai ID card, and what are the benefits of having one?

Does anyone know who to complain to about this farce of a requirement to have the 400k in the bank AFTER applying far an extension based on Thai wife? They told me that they have someone that will go check my account during the "under consideration " period. Is that legal?


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There is no change either to applications based on retirement 800k...
 
Changes will arrive in March only.

How can one know what the rules ARE now ?


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At which office?

This was at Nakorn Ratchasima IO.


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Do you have a visa obtained from a consulate outside Thailand or a retirement extension obtained from immigration within Thailand?

I have a retirement visa extension.

Hi All.

I have a retiement visa, but I need to go back to the UK for personal reasons for about 2 months. Is there a limit to the amount of time I am allowed to stay out of the Kingdom without invalidating my retirement visa?

Hope someone can help me here.

Cheers.

I am a MINI owner, so feel better informed than a lot of others to comment.

to people who say 'in my country I could buy a car 3X cheaper' indeed that is probably true; however if you can afford a decent car, then why not - also the depreciation here is far less than many other parts of the world in percentage terms, so it's not so bad. The same type of person would say why do I own a Panerai, IWC etc etc when a casio tells the time the same. Or why wine and dine an elegant aristocrat's charming daughter at Jean Georges (by Jean Georges) when you could eat half a plate of chicken fried rice and take someone home with you from the Thermae.

If you earn enough.....you can't take it with you so enjoy spending it.

As far as SUVs go, the Countryman for me is a bit of a 'mystery' car to me - the looks are love it or hate it - the performance is not close to a cooper S hatch which is a PEACH of a car - however the hatch is a mighty impractical car if you have 3 people in the car regularly, so the Countryman has a niche for MINI fans - good for family. Compared to a bunch of other SUVs, the Countryman, at least in the turboed hi-spec variant, it is fairly quick. Being genuine 4WD and a bit elevated off the road it probably does pretty well for itself.

That said, I don't like the looks, but you might. Anyone who tells you a MINI (or a BMW) is exceptionally reliable here is simply wrong. BMW are better than MINI and both are prone, like all European cars, to a few niggly problems mostly relating to the heat here (roofliner for example collapsing, wiring issues, issues sometimes with heavy water on the roads) and repairs and maintenance are more expensive than a Japanese car. This is the same for almost all Euro brands. How MINI and BMW get around it is with BSI or MINI maintenance all in for the first 50,000km. It's worth it. Although living far from a MINI dealership would not be a good thing; I had heard German Auto would open MINI in Korat, if this is true then that's a huge plus, and something that for me would put a Countryman ahead of the XV Subaru or similar. For my MINI I have replaced numerous parts numerous times to the point I am sure we are onto the 3rd or 4th part of some parts in the engine bay; now I also did modify the engine and I drive it like I stole it sometimes, but even so, MINI's reliability and quality of build are still partly British, rather than Germanic in terms of quality.

I think you may be confusing 2 similar models. The COuntryman SD (diesel) is 2.49m. I am not sure but believe the petrol guzzler Countryman S is being discontinued. The Paceman (which is a countryman with 3 doors instead of 5) is available as an S but is 3m. I would only consider a Countryman as a diesel, the joy of a MINI is in the bends, and a diesel is surprisingly decent while being fairly miserly on fuel; if you want straight out speed and better corning.....go for a Cooper S F56 (the NEW hatch).

3M is a high price when you consider the Countryman is probably midway through its life, the new engines that will come out soon enough will make the current model 'old', the hatch is costing less and will smoke a Countryman in terms of performance and it's a generation newer (learn the lingo, R53, R56, F56 is the current hatch). The entry level Countryman the Cooper (not the S (I think it is called that) is under 2m and is probably the better buy in terms of value for money. the Mazda CX5 is the logical choice in this market (better looking, well specced for a Japanese car), the Lexus NX is the more prestigious choice for similar money, the jacked up Benz GLA, aging X1 probably better if you want a car that looks like an SUV.

However, you aren't going to ever buy a MINI for logical reasons. Get in it, test drive one. You may love it. The one good thing for Countrymans is there are some good 2nd hand ones kicking around (although I would buy new myself). Steer clear of the Paceman, if you want a 3 door, get the hatch, it's a better car. If you need 5 doors, then get the countryman. The hatch is a 6.7sec 0-100km car. It handles like a dream. the Paceman, Countryman, whatever is an 8sec 0-100km car and handles more like a barge.

Unless you get a JCW, which will then be a grey market car; not sure I would go grey if I lived in Isaan.

Depreciation won't be too bad compared to a lot of the more exotic options. They are loved because people love how they look and perform. Irrespective of the questionable build quality and highish upfront price like most similar cars in the same category.

Note anyone who says cars built in Thailand are inferior to those imported....I don't really believe it, and my experience with a British made MINI and every single hatch owner I know says the same thing - they are not exactly well made.

BTW if you get a Countryman, go for the 3 seat bench seat, don't go for the stupid bucket seats in the back (I think they got rid of the rail up the centre of the car that was just idiotic MINI brainless stupidity).

If you can hang on another year, then new 5 door Hatch is the one that (if they build it here) would be the one to own; it is released imagewise here:

http://www.motoringfile.com/2014/08/07/minis-2015-2016-product-launches-revealed/#more-35879

supposedly this/next year.

FINALLY ! an actual mini-cooper owner! Thank you sir for your invaluable comments. You certainly know a thing or two about the mini-cooper! Are you perchance residing in the Korat area?

One of the attractions I find with the Countryman is it's elevated rear, compared with the other mini models..

I would say you should consider 3 important items first. The first thing is that they are assembled here in Thailand. Secondly the sat nav does not work in Thailand although there is reputed to be a third party "fix", reports suggest that that is problematic too.

Thirdly they are so f**king ugly and illustrates to others you have absolutely no taste !!!

As the saying goes; "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder!"

I beg to differ on your last statement sir, to me the design is sheer elegance! :-)

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Seriously, spending that much on a wanna be Cooper is crazy imo.

Its not a real suv.
Its not a real luxury car.
Its certainly not a real Cooper or mini.
No doubt the re sale value would be low.

I just can't see how for nearly 100k Au dollars its worth it??

Waste of money imo.

Well, I'm not really interested in the re-sale value! And, how would you classify a SUV? or for that matter a luxury car?

Yes, it has a 2-liter Deisel engine. 0-60 in approx. 7 secs.