Marvo

Thanks Briggsy. My Non-Imm B gets renewed every year based on marriage, along with the normal mountain of paperwork. My main concern is can I wait until the DTV visa is approved before cancelling my Non-Imm B and surrendering my work permit? I am also concerned re what eyebrows would be raised when I apply for the DTV - stating that I will - going forward - not be working for a Thai company, but will from then on work (remotely) for an overseas company. Should I be expecting an unannounced knock at the door to see what I am up to?

Could any of you legendry learn-ed folk please help with comments on the extremely complicated scenario outlined below, if able: I've lived and worked (with work permit) in Thailand for many years, staying on extensions based on marriage, but now may end my employment with my wife's Thai Co. as am only going to be here in LOS for 5 months each year, with the intention of working remotely. I would like to explore surrendering my WP and changing over from a Non-im B visa to a DTV, as during the time I spend in Thailand, I will now be working remotely for my small UK company. Benefits seem to be, I could keep 500,000 THB equivalent in a UK account (Gov't Premium Bond savings account?) and still (legally) work remotely for my UK Co. while in Thailand. OK so far? I'm guessing I'd be pioneering, suspecting there are no reports yet of someone attempting to go from a Non-Im B to a DTV. I do wonder what mental contortions that would put Thai DTV officials through though? Any helpful thoughts, anyone?

As another example of UK Gov't practice, my (Thai) wife is currently on the five-year route to getting Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. For the entire 5 yr period we have to supply evidence supporting the case that she is living and "habitually resident" in the UK. They have long since removed any "183 days" or "more than 6 months in a calendar year" criteria and replaced it with the "habitually resident" requirement. They are asking for 6-12 joint/individually addressed utility/bank/gov't correspondences evenly spread over the 5 years. So, we can assume the DWP will be equally fastidious when ascertaining "habitual residency" for re-linking state pension entitlements.

Anybody got the last year's "Excess Deaths" figures for Thailand? Wondered how we were doing, compared to back home.

O.P. here.... Apologies for my own thoughts and post being "wrong" ????. Thanks for the education and corrections - send me the bill ????. The story is about my son who works in a 7-11. He is not the sharpest tool in the shed as his brain was damaged, being starved of oxygen for over 2 minutes during birth. He's a lovely lad and although a bit "slow", works hard to the best of his ability and tries to please everyone. He was given a job managing the stock deliveries and re-stocking the shelves etc, which he has been doing very well at. BUT, the other day I found out that he has been put on the tills, handling banking transactions that 7-11 now does. One day his till was down 4,000 baht due to crediting a depositing customer's account for 17,000 baht instead of 13,000 baht. The customer never queried the 4,000 Baht extra credit. Subsequent review of the till CCTV showed up his difficulty counting all the cash and his counting error. 4,000 Baht was removed from my son's pay packet at the end of the month. It's a life lesson that will stand him in good stead, if he is able to learn from it, but I can't for the life of me understand how an employee employed as a "box-mover", with zero qualifications or never having passed internal financial competency tests beyond scanning a barcode, can find themselves working as a bank teller with full personal financial responsibility for sizable banking transactions. Thanks for everyone's contributions to this thread.

Not so strange. A few posters have highlighted the truth that staff get penalised for shortfalls beyond their control. Tills are shared, (unlike with the bank teller example). One member of staff pockets the cash and the rest of the staff have to pay. Couldn't agree more that a deterrent to pilfering has to be in place, but with shared tills, I really can't think of a fair solution to the "everybody pays" issue.

I’m just curious.... Is it legal for 7-eleven (or any company) to require or demand that their staff pay for shortfalls in till receipts, after takings reconciliation each day?

Thanks Tony M for all of that. I have now digested just about every word of UK gov't guidance buried deep in their website subpages, and it is now clear that my wife will have to apply from Thailand (10yr UK visit visa being deemed not suitable for a spouse visa application from within the UK). I am currently in the process of gathering and paying for translation of the myriad of Thai paperwork proving our 15yr relationship and our lives together. There currently is no application processing fast track due to the Ukrainian influx business, so they are quoting a full 12 week processing time.

Thanks OG. That kind of backs up what I'm reading when digging deep into the GOV website. What doesn't make sense to me is that I have started filling in the online form (applying from inside the UK) and when it gets to asking what your visa status is, "Visit" visa is an option. I tick this, and the site allows me to proceed with the application!!! How can that be if application from within the UK, holding a Visit visa, prohibits granting of a spouse visa?

Also..... if I may add, The documents section asks for copies of multiple utility letters sent the co-habited property over the last 2 years, for which they want permission to check with the utility companies. Now we have been living in Thailand for the last 2 years. Would the UK Visa office accept Thai utility bills as proof of living together? I also guess they'd all have to be officially translated and stamped!! This is getting difficult! I just messaged an online visa company about advice and they offered 30 minutes on the phone for 200 GBP !!!

Can someone please help me out. My wife has a 10 year UK VISIT visa - valid until 2026 - which theoretically allows stays of up to 6 months in any given year. Is it possible for her to apply for a UK Spouse (family) visa whilst in the UK on her 10yr Visit visa? The UK GOV website says: You’ll usually need to leave the UK to apply for a family visa if either: you have permission to be in the UK as a visitor your visa is for 6 months or less However, we're filling in the online form (apply from within the UK), declaring the VISIT category visa, but it is continuing to allow the application to proceed. Does anyone have any definitive info or 1st hand experience of my situation? Many thanks in advance.

As a 60 yr old very happily married for 15 yrs (with a 20yr age gap), it's fascinating to hear all of the diverse opinions vocalised in this thread. 3 cheers for free speech! I'm amazed no one has brought up for discussion Gary Chapman's incredibly insightful book "The Five Love Languages". Discovering this was a game changer for me years ago. In brief, there are essentially 5 main ways that we either express, or desire love to be expressed to us. All of us have a dominant love language. If we speak (or understand) the same language as our "love interest", then BINGO!, anything is possible, simple as that. Read the book, and thank me later ????. And those 5 love languages:.... words of affirmation (compliments) quality time receiving gifts acts of service physical touch