MrsExpat2B

Hope all students involved in this are forced to sign up to some History classes at the faculty of Arts next door. It's likely to have been made up by first years so shouldn't have any problem squeezing in one or two classes.

As an ex Chula student I am embarrassed.

I'm aware of that but I'm saying BA do not fly to ARN from T3. The other airline that flies there from T3 is SAS and I'm pretty sure BA don't code share with them.

BA flights to Sweden leave from T5, so my question would be who informed the OP in the first place of T3 departure?

Evidence aside, I'm thinking in terms of possibility. Many Thais, hiso or not, given half a chance, would grab an opportunity to go and give birth in the US just so their children acquire US citizenship, giving them a choice later in their lives in case they would like to start a new life in the US. We are talking about 40+ years ago when PM Abhisit was born. Thailand was much less developed that it is now. Imagine yourself as a Thai working in the UK in the time when birth in the country was sufficient to get your child a British citizenship. Unless you are a diplomat, would you miss this opportunity? Of course there is still a possibility that my assumption is totally wrong and Mr Abhisit only holds Thai nationality but we will see. Mr Abhisit will need to come up with a lot more than, "I don't have a British passport" though (e.g. a proof that he has renounced his British citizenship, or that his parents were indeed diplomats in the UK) as a passport isn't a requirement for someone to hold that nationality but the other way round is.

In regards to whether Thailand allows dual citizenship, I'm not an expert but as far as I am aware, the law doesn't prohibit a Thai holding other nationalities as long as the other country(ies) involved grant its citizenship to that Thai person. Though if one day I am asked to choose, I know which one I would give up. Probably wouldn't happen any time soon though as long as the person at the very top is still holding a US citizenship...... but then TIT and there are different sets of rules for different sets of people.

I live in Tower Hamlets and there is nothing wrong with it.

Alright there are some parts of London I wouldn't go to but same goes for Bangkok. If I'm honest I feel a lot safer in London.

I left school in 2003 and even then I was getting 500 baht a week (which was relatively low compared to what my classmates were getting)..

Easier said than done. How can you tell people who don't really have enough even to meet their basic daily needs to live sufficiently?

First 20 years of my life in Bangkok, and now on my fifth year (and counting) in the UK, I'm having the best time of my life so far. I can't see myself going back to live in Thailand again.

If my parents managed to raise me and my sister on 20,000 baht a month (total household income) in Bangkok, I would have thought 15,000 baht a month in Isaan would suffice. Sure our lifestyle wasn't grand but I didn't feel like anything was missing?

My sister, a Thammasat graduate, is a writer for a renowned magazine. She's been with them for nearly a year now and is on around 15k a month which is considered decent for a graduate in her field.

I don't know how much she saves a month but I would guess 30%-40% of her income.

You'd do fine if you earn more than 13k right after graduation (for social/humanities degree) and maybe 17k for a science-related degree.

Just being a bit optimistic, maybe your gf really wants her parents to like you and somehow that's the only way she could come up with, but then if the money is the first thing on her and their mind, would you really want to get involved with this kind of family?

I would buy little gifts - nice t-shirt, a bottle of wine, chocolate, tea, harrod bags or whatever (I always buy something off the duty free shop at Heathrow for my gran), make sure it's obviously from abroad (or that you can't easily get in Thailand) so at least ma & pa are happy they can show it off to neighbours. Try suggesting that to her and if she still wants the money then you know something isn't right.

Born and bred in Bangkok and now in London, personally I am glad to have left Thailand and if it's not for my family who still live there I would never return (well except maybe for holidays somewhere in the south)

I don't mind paying service charge if the service is good but I do get annoyed when I am asked AGAIN for tip when paying by credit card or when there is a space left for tip when you sign the slip.

I was in San Francisco in December and some restaurants added another 3%-5% heath care surcharges on top of the usual (service charges, state tax, vat etc) . <deleted>?? It's not a big amount but I thought it's the duty of the employers to pay that and not customer's???

I applied for a US visa in London when I was holding a spouse visa which had a year left and was granted a 10 year visa. I took with me my husband's work contract (as I was unemployed at the time), tenancy agreement, credit card and bank statements showing both my name and his and a few other things I cannot remember (this was in September 2008). The interview itself took less than five minutes. As long as your wife shows them she is settled here it should be fairly straightforward. Good luck.

I had my first car insurance last year which came to around £700 and that's for a fully comp.

Not bad considering I was under 25 and had only held a full driving licence for just under 3 months. The value of the car (brand new) was aaround £8k . I need to renew it in May and it'll be interesting to know how much it will be as I will be 25 years old with one year (fingers crossed) no claim bonus and will then have been in the UK for 5 years (was asked how long I'd been in the UK so I assume it's relevant)

Once she passes a driving test in the UK it should be lower.

I am Thai. I have read the article and I did not feel hurt. Nor did I see anything offensive to the Thai monarchy. If anything I thought Thaksin was licking arse!

The IT Crowd

Peep Show (actually anything that David Mitchell is involved)

Have I Got News For You?

Mock the Week, though it might not be as good now that Frankie has left the show.

It's not that difficult applying for a schengen visa as a spouse of EU citizen. All you need is the form, the marriage certificate (translated and certified) and passports. The French can do it within one day (albeit long wait to get appointment especially at peak season). No fees, no questions asked.

Mr Expat2B and I were there last night at around 8pm having returned from our holiday in Spain and we were shocked to see how busy it was (think Air India flight had previously landed), even the EU passport queues looked bad. I went through T3 first time four years ago roughly about the same time and as I remembered it took me only 30 minutes from landing to the arrival area.

Luckily though IRIS was working so we didn't need to queue, only to spend another 20 minutes+ waiting for our bags

Hi Scouse,

We hold corporate season tickets at the DW and would be more than happy to invite you as our guest into our lounge for the Liverpool game, both seat (West Stand) and drinks on us. Or if you prefer to sit and watch the game with your fellows in the North Stand that can also be arranged. The way things are going at Wigan you are probably going to have a very good game

Anyway let us know a couple of months before the game is due as demand for hospitality for this game is normally high.

Regards,

Andy & Ploy

It's been a while since we last posted here, but we just wanted to thank everyone especially the Scouser for his helpful advice over the course of four years . Yes, it's been four years since the first time when my then boyfriend posted here looking for advice on bringing me to the UK on a student visa, then two years ago when I had slight problems in switching from my student visa to spouse. Today we both went to the PEO in Croydon and everything was taken care of (unexpectedly a painless experience I may add) in just over three hours. YAY!!!

If I remember correctly, the husband two years ago said we owed you a beer after my spouse visa success. Hopefully we will get a chance to meet you one day to eventually do it Make it two.. or three.. or four..

Only Naturalisation left to do now but we aren't in a big rush - especially after having just spent £1020 (ouch!). We have a bit of a problem which is that I do not know any professionals for more than three years, but I'm sure we'll sort it out.

Anyway, thank you.

Andy & Ploy

Thantakit is good. My Mr and I have been going to the one at the All Seasons Place for many years now and have always been happy with the services and the quality of the work done.

I applied for a B2 visa from the US embassy in London a couple of weeks ago and was granted a 10 year multiple entry visa with no hassles. Didn't have any flights or hotels booked whatsoever although you'll need to have fill out where you are planning to stay whilst in the US.

Quite straight forward really. Just follow the instructions in the link given by Vinny. Though, if you are planning to go in December, you should schedule yourself an appointment ASAP (if it's not already too late).

Good luck.

My wife is a dual national having a Thai (new biometric) and English passport. We are travelling to Thailand in early Nov. Her Thai passport is in her maiden name as is all her other documents, house registration and ID. Her English passport is obviously in my surname. When I booked the tickets I put them down in my surname.

I'm not sure about this, but why can your wife not just present her Thai passport to the Thai immigration on arrival? It shouldn't have anything to do with the name on the boarding pass? As a Thai national I have never been asked to produce the boarding pass stub when entering Thailand (nor has MrE2B who is a British passport holder).

And as for your wife's concern, no immigration officers can take her Thai nationality off her. It is much more complicated than that. Most she will get is likely to be a warning(or an advice) to use her Thai passport when entering and leaving Thailand next time.

Try looking online on Thursday afternoon (3pm-5pm), the French normally release next week's available appointment slots should there be any.

Need to be quick though as they get taken quickly.