GuyDow
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Posts posted by GuyDow
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I am going to be in Bangkok on Wednesday night and I really would like to watch the Champions League Semifinal between Man U and Barca which kicks off at 2am local time on Thursday morning. Obviously kick-off is well after closing time in most places in Bangkok. If it's not on in my hotel room (which I fear might be the case) has anyone got any suggestions on pubs/hotels/bars where I might be able to watch the game?
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In one of my recurrent attempts to cut down on my drinking I have just worked out the calorie content of my usual beverages using various information I found on the net. By my calculations a big bottle of Beer Chang contains 225 calories and a half bottle of Sangsom ( nung baan) contains 640 calories.
Can anyone confirm these figures or give more reliable ones? I am well aware that a lot of the stuff on the net ain't too reliable.
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How do you say "immigration" in the context "take me immigration in Soi Suan Phlu"? I can usually get the taxi to take me to the right place but when I try to tell a Thai that I have to go to "immigration" I get some very blank looks.
ok, the name for the 'immigration bureau' is สำนักงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง
the official acronym is ส.ต.ม. (saw dtaw maw)
i believe that just ต.ม. (dtaw maw) is sufficient and may be more widely understood.
so, you could try:
pbai dtaw maw thee soi suan phlu
good luck!
Aanon, Thanks. I have been trying something like this but, without the background derivation, I'm pretty sure I've been pronouncing it wrong. I'll be able to get it sorted out now.
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How do you say "immigration" in the context "take me immigration in Soi Suan Phlu"? I can usually get the taxi to take me to the right place but when I try to tell a Thai that I have to go to "immigration" I get some very blank looks.
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I've been doing some research on issues relating to owning land in Thailand. One of the relevant agreements is a "usufruct" which is a permission from the land owner for somebody to use the land. I have seen the Thai word for this transliterated as "sit-ti-gep-gin".
Can anyone tell me how this is written in Thai script so I can explain to my wife what the hel_l I'm going on about?
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The plot was owned by a horde of my wife's relatives. We bought them all out except her brother who hopes, one day, to be able to build a weekend retreat over the far end of the plot. The total size of the plot is 1.5 rai and he has 0.5 rai of it. If necessary we'll split off his bit and register it seperately.
If your wife predeceases you, he will quite likely be able to establish a claim for himself and/or other relatives over the entire plot. Once you have been booted off the land by men with iron bars and the house has either been destroyed or occupied by some one else, you are free to pursue your claims of usufruct etc in the farang friendly Thai justice system.
I have always been aware that the land would end up back with my wife's family if she predeceases me. Consequently, if they then decide I have to move on then I will do so. They won't have to send the boys round.
The situation you describe is one of the downsides to living in the LOS. Hopefully it won't come to this, but if it does then I will accept it and put it behind me.
I don't believe in joint bank accounts either.
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If you want a Thai or a group of Thais to keep still (e.g. so you can take a photo), how do you ask them to do that?
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Yes of course they don't care - the Issan women or Northern women and their foreign husbands are nothing to them...unless you Chinese with a connection..But that's another story.
Back on topic - the 30+ lease thing is not proven in law. Only a 30 year lease (no extention) is sound.
That's why I said check the Usufruct thing - try Khun Jean (sorry if it's not him - but I recall he might be the guy) - as it gives you the right to live there indefinitely - despite your wife's will.
The brother as an owner is a problem - why did you agree to that?
The plot was owned by a horde of my wife's relatives. We bought them all out except her brother who hopes, one day, to be able to build a weekend retreat over the far end of the plot. The total size of the plot is 1.5 rai and he has 0.5 rai of it. If necessary we'll split off his bit and register it seperately.
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Thanks for all your input, everyone. This certainly gives me some avenues to explore before speaking to my learned friends.
For the record, I have known my wife for 20 years plus. When we decided to build a house here, I was well aware that it would be her house in every sense of the word. If I ever need to find somewhere else to live, I have contingency plans. My interest is in finding ways to avoid using those contingency plans.
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Not sure if this is the right place to post this one, but here goes!
We live in a house I paid for which is built on a plot of land partly owned by my Thai wife and partly owned by her brother. Naturally the house is registered in her name.
We have been discussing wills. Specifically if it is possible for us to arrange things so I can stay on in the house if she pre-deceases me and avoid any possibility of her family selling the place out from under me.
I know she can't just leave the place to me since I can't own property in Thailand and I realise I will have to get legal advice on this. However before I do, has anyone got any pointers on how this might be done?
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As far as I know.
And yes many, many people do the passport change every day of the year. Read back a bit and you will find countless threads and reports of people doing.
Thanks, I'll do just that.
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1. No. The attempt was to prevent Thai nationals having Malaysian papers allowing those in the border area to escape easily. There was never any laws made to prevent dual citizenship or having more than one passport. There are also no laws allowing it AFAIK (like in the USA) so that is what makes it less than straightforward.
2. Many countries do not stamp passports these days - yes you can say you have two passports - in most cases you will display two passports when you exit Thailand in any case; to prove you do not need a visa.
Sorry, what does "AFAIK" mean?
I hear what you say but I'd still like to know if anyone has first hand experience of doing this.
FYI, the UK do stamp Thai passports on entry and departure, or at least they were doing so this summer.
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Hyperthetical question.
A thai spouse stays the course in the UK and gains citizenship.
She returns to Thailand for a holidau using her new UK passport.
Is she then subject to the restrictions placed on other UK passport holders. ie: 28 day tourist cisa etc,
Cheers
Once spouse has citizenship she can get an Indefinite Leave to Remain stamped in her Thai passport. ILR, as the name suggests, gives spouse completely free and unfettered access to the UK with no visa required.
If spouse obtains a British passport I am not sure if they will then issue an ILR in her Thai passport. Certainly they will not transfer ILRs into new Thai passports once you hold a British passport.
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With dual nationality enter and leave the country of the passport with that passport. So from LOS to UK, you would leave LOS on a Thai passport and enter the UK on the UK passport and then leave on the UK and enter LOS on the Thai one. No visa problems this way.
Two points:
1) Didn't Thaksin prohibit Thais from holding two passports as one of his pisspoor efforts to damp things down in the South?
2) On returning to LOS what do you say when immigration ask why there are no entry/exit stamps in your Thai passport from your destination? Do you say I have two passports? See question 1!
I'm not taking the mickey. Some of my wife's friends hold both British and Thai passports and I think this issue is not at all straightforward.
There is also the question of airport security. At various points in arrival and departure you have to show boarding card and passport. Since the boarding card is named as per the ticket there is the danger that immigration at either end may see a mismatch between the name on the boarding card and the name on the passport.
There is no problem at the UK end on holding two passports, UK immigration don't care. I am far from sure that the situation is as relaxed in Thailand as some have depicted.
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Perhaps this earlier post explains it:The people at Suan Plu did say that if the money had been in the bank in time for me to extend, then that would have been acceptable. In other words, the 3 month requirement would not have applied since it was not my first extension of that visa. However I ran out of visa before I could transfer the money into Thailand and now, it appears, we have to start all over again.
That's quite correct. My application in October was to extend a September issued 90 day visa from Penang.
My original ( and twice extended ) visa from 2 years ago expired in early September. I'd just returned from the UK and did not have time to get the funds transfered in to extend for a third time. Hence I have no idea whether, if I had managed to get the funds in on time, the 90 day cooling off period would have been applied.
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This is my third year here. For the previous two years I have been extending my 90 day visa from Penang on the "retirement" and "B800K in the bank" criteria.
This year in October I went to immigration in Soi Suan Phlu and tried to do the same thing as the two previous years. However I got turned away because of the new (to me) rule which says the money in the bank has to have been there for 3 months before the visa application. I didn't know about this until Immigration told me.
So, after some thought and some excellent advice from the contributors to this site, I decided to go another route to prove financial status i.e. demonstrate income in excess of B65K a month. I get an occupational pension from a previous employer which is paid into a bank account in the UK. I use an ATM card to draw down this cash in Thailand. At current exchange rates this pension exceeds the B65K limit.
First step was to go to the British Embassy in Bangkok and ask for a Proof Of Income letter. I showed the Consular office my annual pension statement and 3 months bank statements from the UK, both of which were in Sterling. We discussed the appropriate exchange rate for converting the Sterling amounts to Baht and they were happy to take a rate from one of my ATM withdrawals as the rate to be used. This suited me since there are all kinds of weird rates out there if you look around. I paid the fee of just under B2.5K. Full details of the procedure are on the Embassy website.
Next morning I picked up the POI letter, which gave my monthly and annual income in Baht, and went to Immigration in Soi Suan Phlu. When it got to my turn I gave the immigration officer my passport and application form. We then had an amusing conversation since she immediately accused me of overstaying my visa for 2 months. Once I had got her to read the stamps in my passport correctly she calmed down and acutually read the application form. She then asked for evidence of financial status. I gave her the POI letter from the British Embassy and nothing else. I had a load of other stuff with me (Thai bank book, bank statements, pension statements, etc.) but she didn't ask for any of it!
The officer looked at the POI letter and asked for copies of recent visa stamps in my passport (which I had ready). She gave me another form to fill in (which duplicated information on the application form), I paid the fee (B1.9K), she stamped a one year extension into my passport, I went to another desk where they put it into a computer and that was that!
This is definitely the least paperwork I have ever had to submit to get an extension. The POI letter worked like a charm.
One thing I would say about Soi Suan Phlu. Get there after 2pm. It's a zoo in the mornings and they take a lunch break between 12.30 and 1.30. Don't leave it too late because, although they close at 4.30, they stop taking applications sometime between 3.00 and 3.30.
From my experience I'd strongly recommend this as a route for visa extensions if you meet the requirements. It's the most hassle-free extension I've had so far.
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This is the second time today you have asked that question. Best to make such posts a new topic and then you can find it easier.
As I replied below if the letter is in English or Thai Immigration should accept it.
Sorry, I lost the first post. I am still trying to get the hang of this!
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Regarding the Proof of Income letters from the embassy, do these need to be translated into Thai or will the originals from the embassy do the job?
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The Proof of Income letters from the embassy, do you need to get them translated or will the originals alone be enough?
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No you can not and there is no need to do so. What you want is an extension of stay - not a visa/change If you are in Thailand on a non immigrant visa you can extend your stay for retirement if over age 50 and have 800k in bank account three months or 65k monthly income as listed in a letter from your Embassy or a combination of the two. This is called an extension of stay for retirement and lasts for one year and you do the same routine each year to renew it. There is no police report or medical normally required for this.
Regarding the "letter from your Embassy" to confirm income, does anyone have any experience of the British Embassy on this? For example, how much history and what supporting documents?
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1. 30 day unless there are extenuating circumstances (planned trip or such).
2. 800k will have to be in bank located in Thailand for 3 months prior to application.
Does anyone know if the requirement is 3 calendar months or is it 90 days? It makes quite a difference to me.
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It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.
And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.
The people at Suan Plu did say that if the money had been in the bank in time for me to extend, then that would have been acceptable. In other words, the 3 month requirement would not have applied since it was not my first extension of that visa. However I ran out of visa before I could transfer the money into Thailand and now, it appears, we have to start all over again.
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It is part of the October 2006 rule changes.
And I might add there is still some great uncertainty on whether or not the three month rule will be strictly enforced in cases of subsequent extensions. It is definitely being enforced on FIRST TIME extensions.
Thanks guys, I last renewed in September 2006 which explains why I haven't come across this before.
I'm going to have an interesting visit to Soi Suan Plu in January. I've just come back from selling my house. It took longer than I expected and when I returned to Thailand I didn't have the funds in the bank to apply for an extension. I had to go to Penang and get a new 90 day visa. The week after I got back from Penang I transfered the necessary dosh into my bank account here. Shortly afterwards I went to Suan Plu and was told to go away and come back when my 90 day visa was about to expire.
By now the sharper ones among you will realise where this is going. When my 90 day visa expires I will be 10 days short of the three months money in the bank rule. I wonder how this will turn out? Any chance of an extension for a couple of weeks do you think?
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1. 30 day unless there are extenuating circumstances (planned trip or such).
2. 800k will have to be in bank located in Thailand for 3 months prior to application.
The requirement that the 800K has to be in the bank for 3 months prior to application is a new thing, is it not? Last year I transfered the money in from abroad around 2 weeks prior to applying and receiving a one year extension. Obviously it is an additional complication if I have to top up my account 3 months in advance .
How Many Calories In Beer Chang And In Sangsom?
in I Drink Too Much Forum
Posted · Edited by GuyDow
I think you're a bit on the low side.
I've seen a small bottle of Singha Lite quoted authoritatively as 94 cals. Chang is about half as strong again as Singha lite so this takes us to around 150. Hence a big bottle of Chang is at least 300. I now think my earlier estimate was too low also.