DavidS

No. You will only get 7 days. But if you have not used the 60 day extension of stay authorized under section 7.23 you can obtain a 60 day extension of stay with the following documents:

1. Application form

2. Copy of applicant's passport

3. Copy of census registration

4. Copy of the Thai national's ID Card

5. Copy of marriage certificate or birth

certificate

I'm marrying next week and would like to apply for the 2 month extension, which I enquired about at Immigration last month the Officer mentioned to just bring along the marriage certificate and they would stamp me a 60 day extension, I am currently on a tourist visa, is there anything else I need to bring along other than my passport? I should give them a call also to check as I am not sure If I have to pay the 1900b to apply for it also? Sorry I am a bit vague on this, anyone can help or has done the 60 day extension before?

Many thanks in advance!

DSG

I did my extension a couple of weeks ago. In addition to the above, I had to attach photocopies of the page in my passport with the arrival stamp, as well as the arrival / departure card. You can make the copies across the street from Suan Phlu Office if you like, but do have them.

Gentlemen, thank you for the pragmatic insights you have shared with me. I have reflected on all that you have said, and I think the salient point is to persevere with this and the rewards will follow.

Researchers increasingly say that when it comes to the brain, it is very much a matter of "use it or lose it", hence you see people taking up sudoku and so on to keep the mind active.

Learning a new language will do the same I reckon, except that the rewards will be much more tangible, as you have noted.

So here goes. I intend to take the easier route (I think) and enroll in a language school, supplementing this with CDs and books.

Hopefully, I will be able to come back in due course with positive reports of progress.

Seems like I remember reading somewhere that runners can wear a heart rate monitor...on the wrist like a watch or on a finger...I can't remember exactly how they worked. Does anyone know where they could be purchased in Chiangrai?

Chownah

Never been to Chiangrai, but I do know that there are supposedly 2 types;

1 on the wrist, and

the other one that I have is a Chest Strap with a multi-function 'watch' to wear on the wrist, that apart from time, has recording of run data, a data (=memory) function etc.

It is by Nike and I bought it at Supersports in the Central Dept Store in BKK. If you have a Central in Chiangrai, try that, otherwise stores that sell Nike stuff may have it.

Suunto also have this, but I picked the Nike for ease of use. Happy with it, except the battery in the strap does not last for the year that they claim. Then again, do not know how long the batteries are on the shelf before I buy them.

Having been in and out of Thailand for a long time, I do speak enough Thai to give directions to a taxi driver.

Now looking at spending much more time here, I recognise that this very low level of competence is holding me back from living a fuller life here. Yes, I could surround myself with Engish speaking people, in which case why bother being here?

I am pretty hesitant about starting because I do not have a talent for languages. Anything other than my mother tongue, English, has been a miserable experience. Now looking at the Thai alphabet and tones etc, I must confess to being rather intimidated. I even had to look up the dictionary to know what a consonant is - I simply never learned English that way, hence I am clueless.

I think that if I approach the language as a child does, it would be natural? Learn to speak, then read and write? Is this the best way for an adult learner?

I have looked through previous threads, and see a lot of discussion about resources, which I have duly noted.

Can anyone else out there (linguistically challenged like me) who has been through the same thing offer me advice?

OK, I'll bite. I applied for PR for myself, my spouse and 2 children in December 2005 and eventually received the little blue books in July 2007. Yes, it is a difficult process and if accepted, the fees for the residence books are chunky (just short of 500,000 baht for the whole family).

OUCH! 500K. I take it that this astronomical figure is because your spouse and 2 children are non-Thai?

I thought it was 195K per applicant all in. Do you remember how it came up to 500K?

HI,

Thought i would write and say what is happening right now in Penang as of today - 6 feb 2008.

Now, ordinarily I would have ot on the first bus out of penang and gone to kl in order to have it issued but the problem right now is that the places are closing down today for chinese new year and although the penang office is only closed for 2 days (reopens on Monday - usual weekends off) past experience has shown me that kl has up to 14 days of holidays for the same Chinese New Year. I can't afford to sit and wait for it to open so i will opt for the transit visa and get my passport back on Monday with the visa in and sort out my WP during the validity of the transit visa.

Falcon

KL does not have 14 days of holidays for Chinese New Year, just 2. All Embassies, Banks and Offices incl Govt Offices close Thu 7 and Fri 8 plus Sat and Sun of course. All re-open Mon. Fourteen day holidays may be taken by some Chinese Businesses, but the embassy will be open Mon 11, unless it is a holiday here in Thailand.

there must be someplace better than chatuchuk to buy good sized potted plants for a balcony...

a big nursery in bangkok somewhere?

thanks

1) On the same side as the Or Tor Kor Market on Kamphaeng Phet Road, just past it if you are on that side, drive in and park at some govt. building compound - lots of nurseries selling plants, pots, soil, everything you need.

2) If you are feeling more adventurous, on the Don Muang Tollway exit to Ngam Wong Wan Road - drive all the way to Bang Yai. Do not turn right to where Carrefour and Big C Bang Yai are, instead turn left - you immediately come to miles and miles of nurseries on that side of the road, and about the same the opposite side. I have found the opposite side to be not as good, but that depends on what you are looking for. Just about any plant you can find in Thailand will be on sale in one of the nurseries. It is quite a drive and with many many places to browse, I usually budget a half day at least. And pretty much fill the car! Prices are much cheaper than Bangkok and these ppl also sell wholesale so that also means generally cheaper. The more exotic and larger plants of course set you back more. Lots of pots on sale also.

There is this herb I bought in Malaysia once that really blew me away, so to speak. It was almost too strong. Now I forget what it's called.

My guess is 'Tongkat Ali', which literally means 'Ali's walking stick'. No prizes for guessing why. When business took me to Jakarta, there were a number of stalls that advertised this. Looked like little coffee shops, and I suppose the locals stopped off for a quick swig.

Indonesia and Malaysia have a lot in common, this and jamu herbal remedies that originate from Indo and are also found in Malaysia among other things.

Ok I travel back to Bangkok tonight, so now my problems begin. I have done 11 days No Smoking alone and it has not been too bad but with the occasional problem day.

I will be out on the beer with the boys tomorrow, so any ideas how to resist the temptation other than not going out?

Cheers, Rick

Rick, When I quit 2 years ago, I never stopped my Fridays and Saturdays at the usual bar, and I do put away lots of beer. The way I handled not smoking was simple. Not even 1 puff, and the golden rule was "If I can't say no any longer, I say sorry to whoever I am with and go home immediately!"

Never had to, between beer and cigarettes, I prefer beer. Makes me a pisshead maybe, but a non-smoking one so thats OK.

Good luck mate, my best wishes with you.

I have not done this before, so I stand to be corrected by Lopburi3, but as far as I am aware you fill in TM 47 which I am trying to attach, hope it works.

No fee involved. You either do it in person or by registered mail 7 days before due date. No experience of which is better, though my usual paranoid self tells me go in person.

tm47___90_day_notification.pdf

Tried to send my mail, but it seems that port 25 is blocked by TOT , checked it with telnet on port 25 and can't connect, port 110 is ok.

I'm not sure if the problem is TOT. I have used TOT no problem, all of a sudden I could receive my YAHOO mail, but not send. Opened up a gmail account as I had urgent mail to send. Found that the POP and SMTP settings were different than YAHOO (which used to be 25 and the other 110, can't remember which was which).

On a hunch, later on checked with YAHOO on the settings for Outlook POP3 email and found that firstly the ports had changed to POP3 - 995 and SMTP 465, and also both incoming and outgoing needed SSL connections, ie box checked.

So, I would guess it was a change in POP3 protocol requirements as YAHOO and apparently TOT independently did the same thing at the same time.

Would have been nice if someone had put something in the papers. Could have helped my blood pressure when I was desperately trying to send emails, and finally had to resort to SMS.

Hi All,

I just bought a pack of Quomem yesterday from a Pharmacy on Soi Thonglor. The cost is 2500 Baht for 30 days supply and the instructions state that i must take 1 X 150 mg tablet per day for the first 3 days and then take double the dose for the remaining days.

The reasons why i want to give up are basically concerning my health i seem to have a permanent cold and get breathless far too quickly. I smoke around 2 packs a day depending on whether i go out for a beer or not. Anyway i am going to give it yet another go and see if i can beat the deamon weed.

Cheers, Rick

Good luck Rick! Quomem worked for me, but only after I had tried it many times and in the process came to understand myself. Yes, it did give me insomnia, but I chose to stick it out because smoking is worse than insomnia. Dose was 1 tablet in the morning for 3 days, then 2 tablets (morning and night) for the rest of it, I think a total of 7 or 8 weeks.

1) Having a clear goal helps the quit. Mine was being a non-smoker by my 50th birthday.

2) Doing regular exercise helped. I felt better for it, had an improved self-image and didn't want to throw that away by smoking.

3) Understanding myself helped. For the many many times that I tried and failed, every time was because my nicotine starved brain told me that 1 wouldn't hurt, that I would not buy the cigarette. Just bum 1 off someone so I would be OK. When bumming 1 became 1 too many, I'd buy a pack, smoke what I wanted that night, then throw it away - the old I will only smoke when I drink routine. Always ended up smoking again.

4) Others have talked about it, and I did the same and found it worked. I convinced myself that I hated cigarettes, and reinforced that everytime I saw someone smoke or I thought of having one. It was true anyway, because the day after finishing 30 cigarettes in one night in the pub, I'd feel miserable about myself.

5) I refused to stay away from pubs, but told myself the moment I wanted to have a cigarette, the rule was I HAD to go straight home. Guess I love beer more than cigarettes, because it worked.

You will succeed! Understand yourself and do it the way YOU need to, and it will work.

4 weeks now.

Well done. I smoked 1 - 2 packs a day for 33 years. Tried the Quomem route many times, longest I got to was 7 or 8 months, then at a time when I was really upset about work, started smoking again. Several more failed attempts with Quomem, sometimes off a few weeks, sometimes 2 months.

Then, thanks to encouragement from a friend who told me about his dad quitting when he was 50, I promised myself that that was the time for me too. "Not 50 yet" became almost an excuse everytime I wanted to stop and could not!

2 months before my 50th, I had a full medical, first in about 17 years. Clean bill of health, so I started on Quomem again. I also started exercising, as this was the key to my previous longest quit. Nothing strenuous, just 30 - 40 minutes of very brisk walking 3 - 4 times a week on a treadmill at the condo where I was living.

February will be 2 years since I stopped, and I have promised myself I will never touch a cigarette again, because I can't smoke just 1. Have 1 and I will end up buying a pack for sure, so safest for me is to never smoke again.

I have come to the point where I can be in the pub and not be tempted by others smoking. In fact the smoke troubles me and I have a miserable time the next day sneezing and having a running nose - payback for the 33 years I smoked I guess.

Point to all this is it is never too late to stop. This attempt may be the one that you succeed with. And if having 'just 1' has got you back to smoking before, then this time avoid that 'just 1' like the plague. Everytime I tried and failed, I had managed to convince myself that I would just smoke the cigarette I bummed off someone, or I would just smoke that Friday out in the pub and not the next day. So this time I accepted that I do not have that sort of iron self control and just said "not even 1". It worked.

Re previous post " Visa Free Change to Non-O (Married to Thai)",

Many many thanks to Norrad for his encouragement to give it a try, and for posing the question about applying for the 1 time 60 day extension. Based on that, I told my (Thai) wife that before I wasted any time and money leaving Thailand, I wanted to give Suan Phlu a try.

She called Suan Phlu about getting a Non-Imm 'O' visa with only 15 days remaining on my visa exempt entry stamp. She got a pretty clear and simple answer to that;

1) The remaining period had to be at least 21 days.

2) As the spouse of a Thai, there was no need for me to leave Thailand simply to get more days for the application - I could apply for a 60 day extension at Suan Phlu, and then have time to apply for the Non-Imm 'O'.

3) Key point was get all necessary documents, and the 60 day extension would be pretty much a formality.

Based on that, we went to Suan Phlu yesterday. Documents we were asked for were;

a) TM 7 - Application for Extension of Temporary Stay in the Kingdom, 1 4x6cm photo white background.

Photocopy & Original of my passport - page with photo and particulars

c) Photocopy of my passport - page with entry stamp and departure card

d) Photocopy of Kor Ror 3 - Marriage Certificate

e) Photocopy of wife's ID

f) Photocopy of wife's Tabien Baan - House Registration.

My wife was with me, so we were not asked for the originals of (d) - (f). We had made sure that everything was complete and accurate, and neatly compiled.

First off, the lady who received our documents skimmed through them, and with a huge smile on her face, said that they were very well prepared. She was genuinely happy about that, and it pretty much set the tone for what followed. She checked the documents carefully, asked for and verified the details of my passport, then accepted payment of 1900 baht. I was given a number and a few minutes later, was called to collect my passport with the 60 day extension stamp. I did not bother timing the whole thing, but from the time we got the 1st queue number to the time I collected my passport could not have been more than 20 minutes tops. This was pretty impressive, given that we went there at lunchtime (12.30) and they were obviously on reduced staff.

Although this gave me some 50 days before I needed to apply for the Non-Imm 'O', I decided that it was just as well to complete things there and then.

My wife had called the 1111 hotline about the Non-Imm 'O' visa and we were told that we would have to fill in TM 86 - Application for change of Visa, TM 87 - Application for Visa, plus have bank documents to prove a local deposit of 400K Thai Baht for at least the last 3 months. When we queried this, saying that the new rule was 40K Thai Baht income average per month, we were told that for the 1st visa application, they wanted to see 400K. For extensions, the 40K income rule would apply. So to be safe, we prepared both.

In any event, at room 303, we were asked for;

1) Form TM 87 - Application for Visa, 1 4x6cm photo, white background

2) My Passport - Copy and Original

3) Photostat of page with 60 day extension stamp - proves you have at least 21 days left.

4) Wife's ID - Copy (Original surrendered to guard downstairs)

5) Tabien Baan - House Registration, copy and original

6) Kor Ror 2 - Marriage Registration Form, copy and original

7) Kor Ror 3 - Marriage Certificate, copy and original

8) The single status letter that I had to produce (very long story here, save it for a rainy day) in order to get married in Thailand - copy only, as the district office keeps the original when you register.

Do not bother signing the documents in advance. There is a rubber stamp that specifies who signs where, and after the officer checks and stamps each document, you and your spouse sign at the designated spots.

After the officer had checked all the documents, she conducted the interview. My impression was that it was mainly to ascertain that the marriage is bona fide and not a marriage of convenience. I was asked about my work, as was my wife, where we lived, when and where we first met etc etc. We were asked for, but did not have photographs of the marriage.

I offered documents to prove 400K in the bank, and 40K monthly income, but we were told this was not necessary for the initial visa application (just as Norrad experienced). These would be required for the extension (when the time comes), so I am assuming that it would be the 40K monthly income rather than the 400K deposit.

When the officer was satisfied that everything had been covered, I was asked to pay 2000 baht for the application, given a receipt and asked to come back week after next with the receipt and my passport, for the outcome of the application.

Again, the whole process was smooth and handled by the immigration staff in a very courteous and helpful manner. We could not ask for anything more really, and this pleasant experience at Suan Phlu made our day!

Plus, I do not have to leave the Kingdom just to get a new stamp in my passport.

Again, thanks Norrad!!!

There is a special 60 day, one time, extension available to visit wife/child. Not sure they can issue if you are not on a visa to extend however. It is section 7.23 if you want to ask.

Thanks Lopburi3. I looked at it and as you note, visa free entry is not mentioned. By the same token, neither is it mentioned in section 7.17, so there is a grey area here.

More ominous sounding is 7.23 "the permission shall be granted only one time....", which could be used as grounds to reject the 1 year extension application that would have to follow, ie leave when 60 days are up and then come back and re-apply.

Methinks a 'try my luck and see what happens' as Norrad suggested may be the way to go. Worst case then is I have to make the trip out. Oh well.

ps. Lopburi3, wouldn't he be able to get the 1-time 60 day extension on his current stamp and then do the conversion?

I just saw that Lopburi3 mentioned in another post that a 60 day extension could be granted to "visit Thai wife / child", and this is what you refer to rather than the maximum 30 days while application is under consideration.

Well, if I could get the 60 day extension at Suan Phlu, that would be a real blessing!!!

The process was very simple and took about half an hour. You might be able to do the conversion with less than 21 days remaining, just give it a try.

ps. Lopburi3, wouldn't he be able to get the 1-time 60 day extension on his current stamp and then do the conversion?

Thanks Norrad, this is very encouraging. My thinking was that the "....21 days before visa expiration" could be just that, and immigration could cut some slack in the case of visa exempt entry, but it would probably be at the discretion of the officer concerned.

You brought up the point about the extension, and I have read in other posts that officers are authorised to grant extensions up to 30 days while an application is being considered. Perhaps that may apply here?

Thanks Lopburi. I do meet all the financial criteria, be it average 40K per month (wife's income, taxed) or 400K in a bank here for the last 3 months.

But if the 21 day rule applies, then I suppose I would have to get a new stamp. I am actually contemplating a day trip to Singapore just to get another 30 days visa free entry upon my return, and then apply in Suan Phlu asap. This would save me an overnight trip to KL to get the visa, which I really don't fancy.

Other than the shorter period (30 days visa free, as opposed to 90 days multi-entry with visa (KL)), is there any downside applying for a Non-Imm O at Suan Phlu without a Visa to begin with?

Again,Thanks.

I am in Thailand on a 30 day visa free entry, of which 15 days remain. Plan to apply at Suan Phlu for a Non-O on the grounds of being married to a Thai.

I know that for those in Thailand with a Visa, a minimum of 21 days must remain on the visa at the time of application.

What are the rules for Visa Free Entry applicants for the Non-O? If the 21 day rule still applies, then obviously I would need to make a trip out of Thailand.

Obliged if someone with knowledge or direct experience could advise me.

Thanks.

PB,

If the unhappiness is inside you, seeking the solution outside will never work. I would normally suggest a trip away from Thailand to see if perspectives change, but you feel that will not work.

All I can suggest then is to go to where your heart pulls you. You will either feel better there, or you will have to deal with what ails you inside.

Good Luck in your search for happiness.

David.