shotover

Good luck. But it is a lotta effort to save 1200 baht 

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I didn't mind paying 1200 baht if there were some value or effort made on the part of the Embassy. However, getting the notarized certification of residency involved 2 trips (due to an equipment malfunction preventing the Embassy from issuing cash receipts) and 3 hours waiting in the Embassy due to inefficiencies on their part. All this for simply signing a piece of paper in which they do no checking or verification; IMHO, an exercise that provides no value.

Anyway, I did obtain the Certificate of Residency from the Embassy, and this time went to the Land Transport Office on PhanonYothin Road, just south of the Mor Chit Skytrain station.

The Thai officials at this office told me they have farangs apply for licenses every day, and I saw at least 4 others while I was there. Took about 2 hours there to submit the documents, and take the required 4 tests (identify colors, accelerator/brake reflexes, depth perception, and peripheral vision).

They made extra efforts to assist the farangs in submitting the paperwork and explaning the tests, but having a Thai speaking friend accompany you is highly recommended. Also recommend avoiding the touts hanging around the entrance of the office complex who offer to help you for a 2,000+ baht fee.

Anyway, I now have a Thai drivers license for cars and motorcycles.

Much appreciation for the information provided in this forum.

Any thoughts about my ramblings...?

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Hi Rolo, Just a quick thought. I would be among those saying drop the girlfriend because it's obvious (and understandable) that she has placed the greediness of her family above her feelings for you (not always this simple, but one thing to consider). However, her daughter who obviously does care a lot for you is not so easy to abandon.

Not an easy position to be in, and no easy solutions. One route to consider is to pay off the debt within your budget and time constraints, and stop the flow of money for family desires. The current status of her creating debts cannot be sustained within a limited budget.

I would strongly advise getting a re-entry permit for any travel that will have you arriving after April 7 or I suspect you will be back at square one.  But then again I would not have believed the one year can be almost two years of the O-A.

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I'll be leaving Thailand and returning prior to my original O-A visa expiration date of April 7 2005, and also returning to the USA in May 2005, so we'll see how they handle this. As suggested, I would be surprised if they extend the reentry dates past April 7 2006.

Would a bill sent to your address such as for telephone or internet be sufficient instead of the address confirming Embassy letter ??

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No. They will only accept Letter from your embassy, or letter from your local immigration office.

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I went today to the Transportation Bureau in Bangkok between Sukhumvit Sois 99 and 101 (across from Soi 62) to confirm specific requirements needed for a farang to receive a Thai DL. As usual, the info provided on this board was accurate.

The Thai officials at the Sukhumvit office did not speak or understand English. Because my understanding of Thai is not strong, I brought along a Thai friend to help.

3 officials at the office looked at my International Drivers License (the normal one issued by AAA in the USA), and all stated they had never seen one before (may curry haen)!!!. I was shocked they were not familiar with this document as even the police who have stopped me before usually are familar with these licenses. The Clerks also looked at my USA drivers license and one of them commented that there was no State named Tennessee! Even my Thai friend was confused by their antics.

Because I detest paying the USA embassy 1,200 baht for simply signing (without doing any verification) a Certificate of Residency (that I spend half a day going to the embassy and filling out myself), I asked the DL Clerks if they would accept a letter or certificate from the Thai Immigration Office. They pointed to the sign which said it must be a certified document from my country's embassy.

Sighhh.

Maybe I'll try the Phonoyothin bureau near Mor Chit, and see if they are easier to work with.

Wish me luck. I'll post an update on my continued efforts.

Obviously, "shot" didn't need a reentry permit, as his multiple re-entries without one shows.

But, if he's admitted until Jan 06, why does he need to renew now? I'm anxious to hear about his renewal experience....

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I went to Thai Immigration at Suan Phlu today to inquire what action, if any, I needed to take before the original O-A visa expired on Apr 26 2005. It didn't seem logical that I could continually extend my reentry dates each time I reentered the country without having to pay additional fees and show continued financial proof. (Of course, TIT).

The official at Counter 2 on the Ground floor looked at my passport and told me I didn't have to return to Thai Immigration and apply for a visa renewal until January 2006, within one month before the last reentry date expires.

Always being skeptical of what one Thai official may tell me, I then went back to Room 102 and asked the official who works with non-business 'O' visas the same question, and she provided me the identical response. She added that I must formally report my address every 90 days to Thai Immigration.

I'm not sure what to expect for a reentry date whenever I leave Thailand and return after the expiration date of my original O-A visa.

Hi Jef, Those are indeed some very encouraging comments concerning the

re-entries. This confirms that there are,at least,SOME people out there in the same retirement OA situation whose experience has been the same as Redwood's.

  And you're right, Ive gotten the impression as well that some didn't realize that certain OA's come with multiple entry privileges. Still,I must concur with the voices of experience here

and say that one must "keep their cool" (jai yen),maintain flexibilty and just generally "be ready for anything" at all times.

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I thought I would pass on my experience after having a 'Retirement Visa' for nearly one year. I'll also be applying for a visa extension this week and will report my experiences.

April 8 2004 - O-A retirement visa issued via the Thai consulate in Houston Texas. “Good for multiple journeys to Thailand. This visa must be utilized before April 7 2005.”

April 26 2004 - Arrived in Thailand; visa stamped admitted until 25 Apr 2005.

June 11 2004 – Departed Thailand enroute to Cambodia.

June 15 2004 – Arrived in Thailand from Cambodia, visa stamped admitted until June 14 2005.

Aug 29 2004 – Departed Thailand enroute to USA.

Sep 29 2004 - Arrived in Thailand from the USA, visa stamped admitted until Sep 28 2005

Oct 27 2004 – Departed Thailand enroute to Cambodia

Oct 31 2004 - Arrived in Thailand from Cambodia, visa stamped admitted until October 30 2005.

Dec 15 2004 - Departed Thailand enroute to USA.

Jan 20 2005 - Arrived in Thailand from the USA, visa stamped admitted until Jan 19 2006.

From the Pattaya City News......

      LATEST NEWS

Wednesday 2nd March 2005

Swedish man gives himself up and confesses to the body-in-the-bag murder case.

. . . He walked along a nearby street and came to a high wall with wasteland on the other side. He summoned the assistance of another man who was unaware of the situation and the fact that a body was inside the bag. Together the pair threw the bag over the wall and Mr. Eriksson then hid the bag under a tree where it was discovered 5 days later by passers-by.

In the middle of the night, a guy asks you to throw a very heavy bag over a high wall into an empty lot on 2nd road? I would think most people would be highly skeptical.

There are 8 courts located just at the bend in the road. That is from Sukhumvit you go down about 400 yds to the first right turn and when you  go around the 90 degree bend in the road they are right there.

They have 3 courts with roof too for rain and hot sun protection.

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Thanks Paul, I played there last Saturday, and will play again tomorrow (26 Feb).

I'm interested in playing doubles whenever you're putting together a foursome. Feel free to PM me for my Thai mobile number.

Yes I play. usually at Santisook on Sukhumvit Soi 38 and sometimes

at National Stadium.

What times are you available; hours each day and/or days of week ??

I'd like to get up some doubles too.

Paul

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I live near Suk Soi 38 and would be interested in playing doubles as soon as my shoulder heals from today's motorcycle mishap (###### drivers opeing car doors without looking for approaching vehicles).

I've never seen the Soi 38 courts, but will check them out this week.

Just go along to the immigration and complete the relevant form. Last time I went there was no need to bring along any notarized certs etc, just obviously your passport.

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Absolutely right. I went yesterday (Jan 31) to the Bkk Suan Phlu immigration office to report an address change effective Jan 20. The kind lady in room 401 generously reminded me that I must report address changes within 24 hours, or pay a 2,000 baht fine. She then allowed me the change the new address date on the form to Jan 30 so that I complied with the regulations.

I don't understand the technology as to how a microchip can read cards. Maybe an electronics expert can enlighten us.

Per the Bangkok Post 17 Jan 2005:

"Army officers have been sent to negotiate with Cambodian authorities and the owner of a casino in Poipet about the release of nine Thai gamblers being held for a 90 million baht scam.

The five men and four women include a relative of celebrity socialite Chao Kokaew Prakaikavin na Chiang Mai.

They allegedly planted a microchip in a betting chip and cheated the casino out of 90 million baht.

Army spokesman Col Somkhuan Saengpattranet said a border coordinating team would negotiate with local Cambodian authorities and the owner of Star Vegas casino in Poipet, opposite Sa Kaew's Aranyaprathet district.

Among the nine Thai gamblers is Mrs Chorkaew Wisutthisereewong, 61, a relative of Chao Kokaew and younger sister of Thawatwong na Chiang Mai, chairman of the Chiang Mai provincial administrative organisation. The nine allegedly conspired with three other Thais who fled.

The casino operator has demanded they contact the other gang members to return the 90 million baht as a pre-condition for talks on their release.

Pol Lt Col Nirut Ruangjinthana, deputy chief of Aranyaprathet immigration checkpoint, said Mrs Chorkaew and her friends crossed into Cambodia on Jan 10 and they were caught on Jan 12.

Sources said Mrs Chorkaew, of Chiang Mai's tambon Suthep, and her friends had placed bets in the Star Vegas casino and won 40 million baht on Jan 11 and another 50 million baht on Jan 12.

The casino management suspected them of cheating and asked to search one of the women. They found a microchip implanted in a betting chip and a radio device attached to her leg.

The casino told staff to arrest the Thai gamblers. The woman allegedly used the microchip-implanted chip to touch gambling cards. The microchip passed information about the cards to a computer device in a room where the three other gang members were staying."

Yeah, it's interesting. The RTE site says I should go to them. Portland says go to LA. Houston is willing to process my application there. I suppose it's a combination of ambiguous internal instructions and my rather unusual current residence.

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MG, Last April, I wanted to apply for a 1st time retirement visa. I live in Tennessee, and could not get lucid answers from the Washington DC Thai embassy staff, so at the recommendation of a friend, I phoned the Thai Houston consulate, and received clear instructions on documents to send.

I Fed-Exed the documents to Houston on a Wednesday, they received and processed them the next day, and I received my 1 year, multi entry O-A retirement visa on Friday.

Great service!

On the TM6 Departure card, are you supposed to write the flight number departing from Bkk?

Couple of comments due to my curiousity:

The story didn.t indicate where the Jordanian was staying. If I'm carrying a large amount of cash (which I wouldn't unless I'm doing something fishy), I would be in an upscale hotel with management's personal assurance of security for the cash.

"Police also retrieved the businessman’s leather briefcase from the balcony of a room in Huay Kwang that Rommanee had been renting. . . . On Monday police arrested Rommannee in her rented room in Soi On-Nut 17 and charged her with theft"

On-Nut is nowhere near Huay Kwang.

Just click on the link. tell her to look very closely.

http://members.home.nl/saen/Special/zoeken.html

Its worth the slap.To see her face. Honest!

Great timing on posting this link. I had it bookmarked on my old computer, and had been searching for it the past few days without luck.

Add me to the list of victims of frightened Thai girls, now sporting a very red left ear, and wondering what profane insults she threw my way in some very excited Thai/Lao.

I understood 'aarom sia' (the mood is dead) when I tried to comfort her.

As a rule of thumb, if you cant see the meter, you are going to be screwed.

Agree you should always monitor the meter readings and understand the electric bill calculations. Having said this, the electric meters in my apartment building are kept locked doors and I have seen them only once in the 4 months I have lived here as the building managers are usually not available in the evenings or weekends. However, I feel no concern about ripoffs as the electric bill for my 51 square meter apartment ranges between 350 - 450 baht per month.

So based on his conviction why doesn't Great Britain void his passport? Daveyo

Excellent point Daveyo. GB regulary voids passport travel privileges of suspected football brawlers, yet the following Yahoo news article indicates Glitter has committed far more serious acts.

"http://launch.yahoo.com/read/news.asp?contentID=161415

Gary Glitter Goes To Jail

(LAUNCH, 11/12/1999 5:00 PM)

By Craig Rosen

(11/12/99, 5 p.m. ET) - Gary Glitter, born Paul Francis Gadd, 55, pled guilty today at Bristol Crown Court in England, to 54 counts of taking and possessing indecent photographs of underage children. Glitter was sentenced to four months in jail after admitting to the offenses that took place between January 1997 and November 1997.

In 1997, Glitter had taken his computer in for repair and the child pornography was discovered by a repair technician. More than 4,000 images of young girls and boys, ranging in age from two to 10, were discovered on his personal computer, in varying poses and acts. The repair facility notified authorities, and when Glitter returned to pick up his computer, he was arrested.

Glitter's guilty admission comes just hours after he was found not guilty of eight counts of sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl. His accuser, now a 34-year-old woman, made her allegations against the singer after reading about his 1997 child pornography arrest.

Glitter is best known for his musical anthem "Rock And Roll Part 2," a staple song at many sports events."

We all know some inappropriate material can end up on a computer connected to the internet without the owner's knowledge, but the large numbers of inappropriate photos is damning, IMHO.

R Kelly, the USA R&B singer, has been under indictment for 2 years without a trial verdict for videotaping himself having sex with a reportedly underage girl. Despite no resolution of these charges, he must get special court permission and be subjected to significant restrictions to travel outside his home state, much less leave the country.

As said, no problem getting a 10 day extension.  As for retirement you would not want to direct deposit into a Thai bank in any case.  If you want a retirement (long stay) visa you should open a savings account at a bank here in Thailand and then wire transfer enough for your visa.  You can use a combination of monthly income/bank deposit so if you transfer 400k to the bank here you should be able to obtain a visa with certification by the US Embassy that in addition to this you receive more than about 32,500 baht retirement income per month.  You do not have to transfer this each month.  When you need more funds do a wire transfer from your savings, every quarter or whatever.

Thanks Begs and Lopburi for the replies.  I went to Soi Suan Plhu yesterday, and as you stated, it was very routine getting the 10 day extension, though the 1900 baht cost hurts.  But this beats doing a visa run as I am leaving the country anyway 2 days after the original visa stamp expired.

Regarding the retirement visa, I have had some expats tell me that the bank savings and/or monthly pension requirements have to be directly deposited in a Thai bank is firm; In other words, just certifying that your monthly retirement income exceeds 80,000 baht monthly is not sufficient if that money is not directly deposited in a Thai bank account.  

Any other views on this will be appreciated.

However, I'll take your advice and seek a certification by the US Embassy regarding my regarding my retirment income, which exceeds the minimum amount needed even without the bank deposit requirements.  

I would prefer minimizing wire transfers from the states as my bank charges $35 to $70 per transfer overseas.

Hi.  My first post in this forum.  I'm American, 50 years old.  I arrived in Bangkok with a 30 day visa stamp that expires on 10 November.  I'm currently taking a class that ends on 12 November, and have an airline ticket departing to Phnom Penh on 12 November.

I have sufficient income for a retirement visa, but my USA employer won't deposit my retirement pay in an overseas bank, and I prefer not to keep 800,000 baht in a Thai bank.

For my short term situation, can I be granted a ten day extension on my current visa stamp?  The information I found in the following link indicates I cannot, though I am not sure it applies to my current situation:

"7. Applying for an extension for aliens who receive a visa upon arrival while in transit, including those who are exceptions to normal visa procedures, i.e. airline personnel

The above mentioned aliens do not normally receive visa extension except in special cases such as illness which prevents them from travelling, etc. Such persons in his category wishing to submit an application may do so at section 5 (other types of extension), Sub-division 2, Immigration Division 1, Room 205-6, 2nd Floor Old Building, Immigration Bureau, Soi Suan Plu, South Sathorn Road, Sathorn District, Bangkok 10120. Tel. 287-3127 or 287-3101-10 Ext. 2264-5."

Would appreciate any information and suggestions regarding a visa extension for my immediate need, or obtaining a retirement visa with the limitation that my employer won't deposit payments in an overseas bank.

Thanks