prodriver

Why do I get this notification now? I have posted in "pinned" topics in the past

They just stamp 30 days, as that they are suppose to give you, without regard for the calender. Like immirgaiton said, just go on the first working day after the 2nd, the 4th.

Yeah, I know 'what' they're doing and in fact the 16 days they gave me were in reality 15 days from today (the 18th) which was the date that was stamped in my passport. I obviously went to the office yesterday as they're closed today. They have given me half of 30 days before I need to report again.

Whether it be 90 days address reporting or 30 days under consideration etc.etc. I always check when I get home to see what day it falls on.

I was merely wondering as to why they couldn't be a little bit more flexible regarding this but no big deal.

Have just returned from my local Immigration office (Kanchanaburi).

I went to collect the remainder of my one year extension based on marriage but it hadn't come through yet from Bangkok. They have been pretty good for the last few years and permission to stay has usually been granted within the first 30 days from the application and not like the old days where one could wait several months for the approval.

They have given me a further 16 days and I have to report back on the 2nd January. They then pointed out to me that they wouldn't be open on that day as it is a national holiday and to return on the 4th Jan instead. Why couldn't they have altered the date stamp to the 4th??

It's always mystified me as to why they can't check on the calendar and stamp a date in one's passport when they will be open especially on this occasion when they already knew that they would be closed on the 2nd Jan.

I suppose it's one of life's little mysteries.

how are you going to celebrate it this year? go-go bar again ;-) ? or going to buy a christmas tree and invite friends to party at home?

Why can't it be both?

Except I'm not going to pay for it. Existing tree in garden will get proper Christmas attention. And Existing Mrs. at home will also get proper Christmas attention.

Thank goodness I now live in Thailand. So much easier to avoid all the commercialism of the event (and all that goes with it) that I had to suffer for years when I used to live in the UK.

Just a confuse matters further, I got one from Buriram police station ( actually twice ) and it was accepted as proof of residence for driving license application.

Yes I know people who have used the letter from the police....the only thing that is consistent in Thailand is that nothing is consistent in Thailand....

And just to add to the inconsistency....Immigration office at Kanchanaburi don't supply the letter any longer and told me to get it from my local Amphur, which I did. They charged me 50 baht.

They should just make sure that they have under the 800,000 baht in the bank next time they apply for their extension. The Immigration would then be forced into giving them the extension based on marriage instead.

Actually, although I've been on extensions based on marriage for many years, I become a bona fide OAP next year and am thinking of changing over to extensions based on retirement next time I apply as I will be able to use my pension to help qualify financially. The reasoning behind that decision is that eventually they will probably up the ante and I'm hoping that those that are already on the current limits will get "grandfather" rights and stay at those limits.

Not all Immigration offices will supply this letter. My local Immi office at Kanchanaburi used to but not any longer. They told me to get it from my local Amphur which I duly did and they charged me 50 baht.

As the OP has waited 5 weeks or more to get his new passport from Hong Kong and cannot get any joy from them to confirm that it has been issued, perhaps he could now consider it "lost" and can indeed deal with the Embassy in Bangkok as they will deal with replacing lost or destroyed passports:rolleyes:

Don't see why not. As long as she has a licence to own the gun, shooting it on her own land should be allowed.....but don't quote me.

We have a revolver (oops! My wife has a revolver) and although we only have 2 rai of land, I have shot the gun on the land- missed the chicken that I was aiming at though! :lol:

Hello Natwest give me a card but i don't have to do anything with you,whoes Hi Fix then..No Charges,sounds a bit to good to be true.:jap: .

TorFX is another option. I don't understand too much about these type of businesses but I am looking into them as a possible way of transferring my UK State pension to Thailand when I start to receive it next year.

Check out their website at www.torfx.com/personal

^There's banks that only require a minimum balance of 3,000 Quid.

And Building Societies with a 1,000 Quid minimum balance.

Nationwide International (I.O.M.) have an account called "Instant Access Savings Account" which you can open with as little as £1. No interest on your money though....well, 0.10% on a balance of up to £999 and 0.15% on balances between £1,000 and £49,999. I have an account with them called a Base Rate Tracker Account but you need to deposit £5,000 to open one of these accounts.

What I like about them is there is no problem in transferring money to my bank in Thailand. I request the transfer by letter and it's done....no phone calls from them to verify the validity of the request which is what I used to get from LloydsTSB everytime I wanted to make a transfer.

I would also think the old Thai way of taking care of themselves comes into play as well. We will and have been invaded by the Japanese lets make this as painless as possible and join them.

Even though they were alies many Thais died at the hands of the Japanese building the death railroad.

I am sorry but that is incorrect. The Asian labourers involved in the building of the railway into Burma were predominantly Tamils, Malays and Burmese. NOT Thais.

My source is from my good friend Rod Beattie who is the curator of the war cemeteries in Kanchanaburi and has the museum next to the main cemetery in town. He is one (if not the most) of the most knowledgeable people on the railway in the world today. You may have seen him on several documentaries on the subject often shown on the National Geographic channel.

A final point - since you will not receive state pension till 2011, you only need 30 contributions for full pension. maybe you will have enough without the credits!

Yes, I believe that you are probably right there and that the fact that I have been getting auto credits awarded to me since the age of 60 (rightfully or wrongfully) is somewhat irrelevant now that one only needs 30 qualifying years to get a full state pension.

I will add though, the reason I contacted them in the first place (back in 2006) was because I noticed that the monthly amounts had stopped being debited from my bank account from the April of that year and when I queried why, they informed me that it was because I was in my 60th year and didn't need to pay in anymore contributions as I had sufficient qualifying years. I certainly didn't ask them for NI credits....they gave them to me and they were/are also aware that I no longer reside in the UK.

You only get the 5 years NI credits if you are living in the UK

Unless the rules have changed regarding NI credits since 2006, I don't think you're right.

I'm looking at a letter that I received from HMR&C dated 31st July, 2006 sent to me at my address in Thailand.

I quote;

Thank you for your letter dated 04/07/2006. I can confirm that voluntary contributions have been paid for the full period 07/04/1996 - 08/04/2006 (10 full tax years). As you will be 60 years of age on 13/10/2006, your account will be awarded with auto credits from the beginning of the tax year in which you turn 60, (09/04/2006) to the beginning of the tax year in which you turn 65, (April 2011) as long as you do not qualify to pay Class 1 contributions, while working for an employer or working in a self-employed capacity, for any period.

A full 5 years of auto credits will contribute a further 5 years to your final Retirement Pension (PR), I hope this answers all your queries.

Yours sincerely,

Mrs C. Hymers

Self-Employment Services

As I've been living in Thailand since 1995 it would therefore appear what you say is incorrect that one has to be living in the UK to get NI credits.

I've an Australian friend who lives here in Thailand on yearly extensions being married to a Thai lady. I'm sure he gets some sort of disability allowance (or pension) from the Australian authorities due to having tinnitus which he apparently got from being a sub-mariner in the Australian Navy. He's in his late 50's and doesn't return to OZ every so many weeks.

Perhaps it's an allowance paid by the military....so maybe a whole different ball-game. I'll ask him when I see him next weekend.

something to throw in the mix regarding paying pension to Thailand.

I pay funds to Thailand via my Halifax account.

It may be of benefit for those who can open a Halifax account in UK or already have one.

Get pension paid into Halifax account. After 2 or 3 months (or each month or whenever convenient) do an international online payment. THIS CAN BE DONE TO SEND FUNDS IN STERLING, so gets converted here at Thai Banks exchange rate. The total cost for transfer by BACS is GBP 9.95 (that's it! not a penny more) and if over GBP 1,000 is paid in then you get GBP 5 interest, so reducing cost further if it is all you use the account for, as indeed I do.

Anyway once account set up, you can do the transfer online from UK or from Thailand whenever you wish, costs GBP 9.95 or less and choose to send in GBP. Usually takes 3 or 4 days to arrive in my Thai Bank account, but I allow up to 6 days.

They can spot check transactions and a Thai phone number is fine. I have done 5 transfers of funds from UK to Thailand whilst I am in Thailand and 3 from UK to Thailand whilst in UK, none of which have yet been auto phone confirmed, but no worries if they were anyway as it's extra security. It's easy, cheap, sent in GBP and all online.

Sounds good to me "twix38".

I hadn't realised that one could do international transfers to Thailand from the UK by BACS. Thought it had to done via SWIFT. Only other problem is that I don't have an account with the Halifax and I would imagine that I could only open an account with them if I was physically in the UK. As I have no intentions of ever returning to the UK I'll have to go back to the drawing board on that one.

As regards to having the pension paid to you in sterling to your bank in Thailand, it appears that this is not an option. It seems it has to be paid in the local currency. (why, I don't know!)

I say this because I was searching google for info regarding this subject and came across a forum for British expats living in Turkey and one of the posts said that they had received a reply from the UK pension authorities informing them that it was not possible to pay the pension in sterling but had to be converted to Turk Lira before being sent.

Anyway, I am in receipt of an annuity which is paid into my LLoydstsb account in the UK and will be transferring most of it to Thailand in the coming years so I might as well have my pension paid into the same account and lump it all together as it's the same charge for a SWIFT transfer regardless of the amount being sent. At least that way I can have it sent in sterling.

For seven and a half years, untill early this year, the UK pension service sent my pittance, sorry I meant pension to me in Thailand in pounds sterling. I would take the cheque to my bank and every time they would give me the TT rate on the spot.

Did they change from sending you a cheque to transferring your pension via Citibank when they added Thailand to their list of countries back in October of last year or did you request that they did so?

It does seem a better option to get a cheque in sterling. How long did it take for your bank to encash it? I've heard that cheques can take over a month before the money is credited to one's account (45 days?). Still, I suppose after waiting for the first cheque to be cashed then it's not a problem. One would be getting the pension payments regularly albeit somewhat in arrears.

As regards to having the pension paid to you in sterling to your bank in Thailand, it appears that this is not an option. It seems it has to be paid in the local currency. (why, I don't know!)

I say this because I was searching google for info regarding this subject and came across a forum for British expats living in Turkey and one of the posts said that they had received a reply from the UK pension authorities informing them that it was not possible to pay the pension in sterling but had to be converted to Turk Lira before being sent.

Anyway, I am in receipt of an annuity which is paid into my LLoydstsb account in the UK and will be transferring most of it to Thailand in the coming years so I might as well have my pension paid into the same account and lump it all together as it's the same charge for a SWIFT transfer regardless of the amount being sent. At least that way I can have it sent in sterling.

Now that Thailand has been added to the list of countries where the UK state pension can be paid direct, I have searched this forum to see if there was anyone reporting what rate of exchange they got considering that the pension is paid in the local currency.

Unable to find the info I wanted, I emailed The International Pension Centre asking what rate of exchange they were working on. In their reply they told me that they were not permitted to disclose values of exchange rates. However, they were able to inform me that their banking supplier was "Citibank" and it was they that negotiate the exchange rate used to buy foreign currency.

Armed with this knowledge, I telephoned Citbank UK today asking them what was the current rate of exchange they were buying Thai Baht. They informed me that it was 50.1087. This was about 11 am UK time(17.00 Thai time). At the same time I checked what the rate was with SCB T/T rate. The latest rate given was 50.85 at 16.03 Thai time.

I will not be 65 until next year and my weekly pension will be about £150. So working on these calculations I will get roughly 0.75 baht less for each pound having it sent direct to Thailand than if I had it paid into my UK bank. (112.5 baht a week....5,850 baht per annum).

However, If I have it sent to my UK bank and then have it transferred to Thailand it would cost me £20 pound every time I transfer. So say I transferred every 3 months, the difference isn't going to be that much than having it sent direct in Baht me thinks. (That's if I've got my sums right!) :D

Hope this might be of interest to those Brits who maybe contemplating whether to have their pension sent direct here or not.

Think the current 2315 Baht for such a small near standard letter is well OTT. I know the arguments but still think OTT in aiding British Expats.

Regards

Dave

Certainly agree that the charge of 2315 baht is OTT especially as I have just been informed by the Swedish Embassy that their charge for a "proof of Income" letter is 550 baht

Your second paragraph is correct but what you suggest in your third paragraph is a definite no - no. In effect, the train border and the road border are at two different locations although in reality only a few hundred meters apart. I suppose you could hang around on the platform until the train up from Butterworth gets there and then do your exit/entry formalities in reverse. i.e. stamp out of Malaysia and stamp into Thailand again. Hope you have a good book to read!

With the train arriving at Pedang Besar in the morning you should have plenty of time to take a taxi back to Hat Yai and board the Bangkok bound train early evening on the same day. Most of the carriages remain at Hat Yai anyway....it was only a few carriages that ever went on to Butterworth.

My brother sends me a package every month from the UK via the Royal Mail's 'International Signed For'. Never failed in the two years he's been doing it.. Anything up to 5 kgs in weight can be sent this way. My package costs about £15 in postage and I have to pay the Thai postal service 7baht at this end to either the postman or the post office. A customs declaration has to be filled out in the UK so I'm not sure what the implications would be if you stated that the contents were a mobile phone?

The train station at Padang Besar was on the Malaysian side of the border. Everyone had to get off the train and do the exit/entry formalities on the platform. Those that were carrying on to Butterworth would re-board the train. As I have already said, if I was just doing a "border" run I would use the walkway over to the road border which was just besides the station and re-enter Thailand. I would have a night out in Hat Yai and catch the train for Bangkok the next day which left Hat Yai at about 6pm if my memory serves me right.

That's what I used to do when doing a "border" run but I'm talking about 15 years ago. I'd get off the train at the border, enter Malaysia and then walk over the footbridge to the road border and back into Thailand and then get a taxi to Hat Yai. In Malaysia for all of a half hour! I'd be surprised if you couldn't do the same nowadays.

Going back to what the OP was saying, I returned to the UK in 2008 with it in mind to do about 4 month's work back on the road as an HGV driver just to put some money back in the coffers. It didn't work out as planned and I went to the Citizens Advice Bureau for some advice. They told me that as I was 61 years old (at the time) I should apply for Pension credits. When I telephoned the appropriate office to get the forms sent to me at my brother's address I was asked for my NI number and they told me that the address they had on their records was one in Thailand. I told them that I had returned back to the UK for the foreseeable future (a little white lie admittedly). I was asked on what date did I return. When I told them they said that I wasn't entitled to pension credits as I had to have been living in the UK for at least 6 months and one day before I became eligible.

I also have a mate who returned to the UK from Thailand (and still resides in the UK) who has been receiving pension credits. He told me that when he first applied he did get a visitation to verify that he was actually living at the address he had given. I believe that he has had subsequent visits. So it seems that they DO check.