tutone

Sawasdeekrap,

My wife is Thai. I am looking for a teacher for her to help her with conversational English and pronunciation. She is quite competent with the written language and syntax, but understanding her, and her understanding me, does present problems at times. She also could use some help in understanding the meaning of words, since many are based on a culture she has only a little experience in. I am not a teacher, so I tend to get frustrated after 2-3 correction attempts, and then she gets upset, so a teacher is perhaps the best way for us.

And yes, I am also trying to learn Thai, but I am just starting that, and Thai ain't easy. ;-) I figure in a year or two I will be able to speak it like a Thai kindergarten student, if I am lucky! The very slight (to my ear) differences that mean different words makes me think I might not ever get it.

If anyone knows of someone in Udon Thani that gives private lessons in conversational English, I would appreciate the information.

Best Regards,

KB

There is a lady that teaches small groups. She might give private lessons. You could ask. She helped my fiancee improve her English skills considerably, and best of all she is not very expensive compared to some others we talked to. Her name is Fon. **Please PM tutone for information--sbk** Tell her that Ron and Nang recommended her. Hope this helps.

As far as I know working towards PADI certificates does not qualify for educational visas.

Also, you may want to look deeper into what you are getting yourself into with diving.

Best of Luck.

Would you like to clarify this a bit more? It sounds like a bad omen or something!

By the way, the only bad thing that has come up so far is realizing that the plane tickets back and forth will be alot more than I had anticipated. I bought round trip tickets from LAX to BKK for less than $1,000us...but it seems that a one way ticket to Koh Samui will be $1,500!!! Maybe it's because of high season? Maybe I need to look around more....i don't know but it's really crap.

By the way, can I buy a one way ticket with a 60day tourist visa? Or do I need a round trip ticket??

If I do, can I buy it for 85 days out, or does it have to be less than 60?

You can get a 6 month, triple entry, tourist visa from the Houston consulate. They do not require an airline ticket (itenarary) or income statement. I just did this because the Atlanta consulate would not give me a visa without a flight schedule showing a ticket out of Thailand and 500 dollars in the bank. Once you have the visa a one way ticket is ok. I used a company in Houston called Passports Plus to get the visa. Only cost $39 (I think) for their fee and only took a few days. They are on the internet or you can call the consulate if you want to do it yourself. Yea I have a friend in Illinois and he says the Thai consulate in Chicago really sucks. Go with Houston. Good Luck.

You will get a double entry tourist visa. Each entry for 60 days. The first entry of 60 days can be extended at Immigration for a further 30 days(1,900 Baht).

Check the expiry date of the visa. You would probably have to exit and re enter a few days before the 30 day extension finishes and get your 2nd 60 day entry. This can also be extended at Immigration for 30 days.

Giving you almost 6 months.

I saw a post on the Udonmap web site where a 30 day extension was denied because he could not show a ticket out of the country within that 30 day period. This was in Nong Kai. Is this the rule? What can you do if your plans are to get 2 extensions, one for each entry and stay the 6 months as outlined above?

Well then how do I go about getting the original O visa in Thailand and what are the basic requirements?

If it was me, I would gather my financial proof that I would qualify for the retirement extension and visit an immigration office 30 days before the expiry of my tourist visa. You need at least 21 days remaining on your current visa or 30 day stamp to qualify for the conversion to an O. I think (others can confirm) that if you did this, the second step (getting the extension) would usually occur later (closer to the expiry of the O).

If you happen to be outside Thailand on a local trip to Malaysia or a place like that, you can also get an O visa there if you can show financial qualification for a later retirement extension.

Thanks, Jingthing, for the information. I think I will just make sure that I have the required funds deposited for 90 days prior to my first application. That should take care of any questions or differences that might arise with the immigration folks. I will have to make at least one visa run anyway before the ninety days are up so I can check with immigration about their specific requirements before I apply. Thanks again.

So I can open and account for say 500,000 baht and then one week later go to immigration with an income letter for 300,000 and my bank letter and meet the financial requirements. No 90 day requirement for bank account with an income letter. Have I got this right? Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes. But you need an O visa to do that. If you have the money qualifications and for some reason are not holding a current O visa at the time you want the retirement extension, you can convert to an O visa IN THAILAND even from a 30 day stamp entry. In that case it would be a two step process, first convert to an O, second apply for the extension.

Well then how do I go about getting the original O visa in Thailand and what are the basic requirements? I already have a 6 month multiple entry tourist visa, will arrive in Udon on Nov.7, and want to start the process as soon as possible for obtaining a "retirement visa" that will allow me to stay with my fiancee and not have to make visa runs.

Am I reading this correctly, that if I have an income letter from my embassy, then the balance required does not have to be in the bank for 90 days prior to applying for the retirement visa? Does this mean that if I have a letter showing 500,000 baht income, I can deposit 300,000 in the bank anytime before I apply for the visa?

Yes. But what you will be applying for at that time in Thailand is called an extension based on retirement, which is an extension of an already existing O visa.

What if I have a tourist visa and want to apply for an "extension based on retirement"?

Seasoning money perhaps is an Americanism (?) meaning leaving money untouched in bank for a defined period of time. 3 months is the time period for those using the bank account only method. As you are using the combo method. your bank account money does not have to be "seasoned." Regarding the embassy letter, the policy on how recent that has to be depends on the specific office you are using. However, I think it can probably be some months old, usually. The letter from the bank for the bank account portion should be done the day before or the same day as your application appointment; much older than that and they may question whether your balance and the letter balance is the same, and they must be the same at the time of application.

So I can open and account for say 500,000 baht and then one week later go to immigration with an income letter for 300,000 and my bank letter and meet the financial requirements. No 90 day requirement for bank account with an income letter. Have I got this right? Thanks for the quick reply.

Thanks for the speedy reply Jingthing,

still not sure what type of visa you mean from now until 2010, please advice...the money side should be ok as i have a kasikorn internet account up and running now and have funds for either part and part or full cash if needed, i did read earlier too that if you have a letter from pension fund +cash the cash need not be in the back for 3 months prior...thanks

Am I reading this correctly, that if I have an income letter from my embassy, then the balance required does not have to be in the bank for 90 days prior to applying for the retirement visa? Does this mean that if I have a letter showing 500,000 baht income, I can deposit 300,000 in the bank anytime before I apply for the visa?

You can apply for your extension, up to about 30 days before the old extension runs out, so long as your funds were there for 90 days before the application-date. So possibly you might apply as soon as about 2 weeks from now, after 9th November ?

If you are using the combo method (bank account plus income letter) there is no such seasoning requiremet at all. It only applies to people using the bank account only and then again at some offices ONLY the first extension.

I see the term "seasoning" quite often regarding bank accounts. What exactly do you mean by this? The combo method is what I will be using. Will probably have my account established for 90 days by the end of February. Also how current does the income letter have to be when presented to Thai immigration? Thanks for any information.

I've never had a problem. Make sure your log-in page is secure (https or ssl encryption). Make sure you log out when finished and you can also clear the history when you are finished.

Thanks everyone for the information. I'll take a few months statements just in case.

Does anyone out there have any experience with the U.S. embassy concerning the documentation they require in order to write a letter attesting to income. I receive a specific dividend every month so would a copy of statements be adequate or do they require a letter from my fianancial instituion?

Also when figuring the 800,000 Baht requirement, would you for example convert say $10,000 income into Thai Baht at the current exchange rates and make up the difference with Baht in a Thai bank?

...Have been corresponding with the embassy in D.C. who tell me I'll need to show my return ticket from Thailand (this I can produce without _too_ much hassle). BUT ALSO, that they won't offer me the usual 6 month time frame unless I get _more_ than 3 entries?

Has anyone else run into this or any other problem with the Thai Embassy in the US? ...

I just received a 6 month triple entry tourist visa from the Thai consulate in Houston. They do not require a financial statement or a travel itenarary showing a ticket out of Thailand. If you want a company to handle it for you, there is an outfit called Passports Plus in Houston that will do it for I think $39. You can find them on the internet. That is what I did and everything went smooth. Good luck.

So how am I supposed to get from Suvarnabhumi to Don Muang if there are no taxis? I arrive at BKK after midnight and have to catch a flight out of DMK at 9:30. As far as I know the buses don't start until around seven in the morning. Will this be enought time to make my flight in Don Muang? Last time I just caught a taxi from BKK around 2 AM and waited and caught a few ZZZ's at DMK. It was a long wait but at least there was no worry about missing my flight. I don't remember if the taxi had a meter (or used it) but I think the fare was only about 500Baht. Does that sound about right? How long will this strike go on. Any ideas out there about alternative transportation?

I am a US citizen, over 50 and want to get a retirement visa in Thailand. I have read what I can find and now am confused on the exact procedures and timing.

1. I entered the country last week on a 30 day visa waiver

2. I am planning to go tomorrow to Thai Immigration in Chiang Mai and apply for a 90 day visa.

3. I opened a bank account last Saturday and should have the required 800,000Bht in it withn a week.

My question/dilemma is that the 90 day visa will expire before the bank deposit has aged for the required 90 days to be verified. Will I need to leave Thailand, get another visa outside somewhere and then return before applying for the retirement visa with the qualifying bank deposit? If answer is yes, can I go to Laos and get the new visa there?

Thansk for the help. I am old and confused.

I am older and even more confused, but I have a question for you. What process did you use to deposit the 800000 Baht in your account?. I mean was it a direct deposit, wire transfer from the U.S. or what? If a wire transfer what did you have to do to set up and arrange the transfer from your bank to the Thai bank? I want to do the same thing in November. I would appreciate any advice. Thanks.

How about prices? I wear hearing aids and in the U.S. they are about $2000 for one custom fitted in the ear type. I was wondering if they might be a lot less inexpensive in Thailand so that I could take care of any problems I might have while staying in LOS the next 6 months.

Thanks thanyaburimac and lopburi3. I sort of figured that maybe Bangkok would be the place, but when I get to Udon I will check with the hospitals there if the need arises. Thanks again.

Guess I'm the only one in LOS with a hearing loss

Has there been any political unrest, demonstrations in Udon or is this stuff historically confined to other parts of the country? I am returning to Udon on Nov. 3. During my previous stay it seemed as if there was very little connection between Udon and Bangkok. Is there any likelihood that this stuff will spread all over the nation, and will it affect Westerners in any sort of dangerous way. I intend to come anyway unless there is just a total shut down, but I was just wondering what some of you might be thinking about this situation and how it might affect life in Udon.

Has anyone had any experiences with hearing aid repair or replacement/audiologists in Udon Thani? I will be there for maybe six months starting in Nov. My hearing is such that loss or breakdown of my hearing aids creates an uncomfortable situation for me. Any input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I wear hearing aids and would like to know about anyones recommendations or experiences with audiologists and hearing aid repair/replacement in Thailand. I will be staying in Udon for about 6 months starting in November and for me the loss of a hearing aid can be a real problem. I have thought about buying a backup set here in the states but thought that the cost might be substantially less in Thailand. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

what are the travel options from suvarnabhumi to don muang. any advice will be appreciated.

I've done this twice now. My plane always arrives around midnight. I just take my time, go on up to the top floor and catch a cab. It will be an hour or less. I think I paid around 4 or 500 Baht (12-15 US dollars). Don Muang is a ghost town until around 6 in the morning so if you want to eat or buy anything do it at BKK before you get in the cab to DM. I also know that there are buses that go and you can find the information on the Suvarnabhumi web site. It kind of depends on what time your arrivals and departures are as to what to do. I don't really see how one could do any better than to take a taxi. Good luck.

They have also never asked for a bank statement.

My original post was regarding a non-immigrant O-A visa. The required documents according to the MOFA and D.C. Thai embassy web sites are " A copy of bank statement or evidence of adequate finance......." and "A letter of verification stating that the applicant has no criminal record........" I've just been trying to do the right thing, but I guess the right thing when it comes to LOS is what ever you can get away with.

Will I be allowed to board a flight to Thailand having only a one way ticket as long as I have a tourist visa with a 6 month validity? I contacted Korean Airlines (I'm flying from the U.S.) and they said to ask the Thai embassy. I've got the visa. I don't understand why the airline cannot answer my question. I only want to know if I can board and fly having only a one way ticket and a valid visa. Anyone out there with any first hand experience?

Thanks

Would there be any consulates in the U.S. that do not require a return or travel out ticket for a tourist visa? I ask because a couple of the entries on this topic state "some consulates." It sounds like this is not a definite requirement.

Thanks for all replies, past and future.