TallGuyJohninBKK

Everybody needs to have some kind of career, even grandsons of resort owners in Thailand. In this case, unfortunately, the middle-aged grandson appears to have chosen his career as being a criminal! ????

I think the above post is a pretty good recap of what people can expect from the marriage process here these days. In my case, as I recounted in prior posts above, with using an agent, from the time I started: --I had to wait 2+ weeks before I could make an available appointment online to obtain my Freedom to Marry affidavit from the U.S. Embassy. --Once I had that in hand, I turned it over to my agent and then they took about a week to do the translation to Thai and then have the documents certified by the MFA (obviously, most of that time was the MFA process itself). --Once we had that in hand, our agent booked an available slot that was several days into the future at the khet office that we were using for the marriage registration. On the appointed day, we drove out to the khet office and the agent handled all of the interaction with the khet office, which took about two hours, before we were finally handed our new marriage registration docs. All in all, the entire process took about a month from the time we started until the time we finished... and most of that time was waiting to get an available appointment at the U.S. Embassy. But by using an agent, the only things I/we actually had to do in ourselves in person were: 1. my hour-long visit to the US Embassy to obtain my freedom to marry affidavit. 2. The several hours spent one morning going to the khet office and getting the marriage reg done.

I've lived in the center part of Bangkok for more than a decade. Never had or used my own car or other gas powered vehicle during that time. About the only time I ever take a taxi is traveling to or from the airport when I have large luggage that I can't easily take on ARL. Almost everything I need or want on a day-to-day basis is within a 15 minute walk and/or brief BTS Skytrain trip -- malls, restaurants, hospitals, recreational facilities, etc. That's the kind of setup I wanted when I moved here from the U.S. originally, and it's been working just fine for me. That said, Thailand could be a lot more thoughtful in how they do urban planning, which could contribute to the kind of low-impact livability being discussed here.

When we got married years back, the only thing needed from the US Embassy was the freedom to marry affidavit. Now, somewhere along the way, at least some amphurs here have also begun requiring that you present them with a certified (by your embassy) photocopy of your passport photo page, which for U.S. folks, adds another $50 to the tab. The US Embassy webpage on getting married in Thailand makes mention that some amphurs are requiring this, and best to check with the one you plan to use. Ours did in fact require that added item. "IMPORTANT: Some Amphurs require a certified copy of your U.S. Passport. Check with your Amphur before coming to the Embassy as there is an additional service fee for a certified copy of a passport." https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/getting-married-in-thailand/

I don't know how PayGo handles their payment exactly... But I have the original T-Mobile $3 a month plan (that T-Mobile itself no longer offers to new customers). They don't directly charge me every month... But instead, deduct the $3 monthly fee from my prepaid balance with them. So... I typically will deposit via bank card payment $20 or so using the T-M prepaid website...and then that covers my expense with them for a 6 month or so period. Then it's time to top up my prepaid balance again.

The past police and government officials who have had their convictions overturned or sentences cut on appeals coming years later... And/or, the similar cases where the Department of Corrections exercises their discretion to commute / lessen sentences for good behavior / medical reasons or who knows what else.

These days, from what I understand, the MFA office might put a crimp in that, as I was told they no longer are doing same day service... which is what we did with them originally many years back. But my info on that is from our agent. So I didn't go out to MFA myself this time to confirm that or try to get the same same day service I'd had there in the past. The other complicating factor, for Americans at least, is that the US Embassy in BKK these days has a very miserly appointments schedule for getting the required freedom to marry affidavits. They appear to release new appointment slots only once each month, typically toward the end of the month for the following month...And once those slots are taken, they don't seem to make any more available. As a result, unfortunately, I unknowingly went looking for an Embassy appointment mid-month, and there were absolutely none available anytime any day... Thus I ended up waiting almost two weeks before they finally made a new batch of appointments available at month's end. I seriously considered booking a flight or bus trip up to the Chiang Mai Consulate, where they had better availability of appointments. And I was just about to pull the trigger on that when finally a slot opened up in BKK...about two weeks after I first started looking/trying. Lesson learned -- if you need an affidavit from the US Embassy in BKK these days, you want to start looking to book an upcoming appointment around the last week of the month, even if the date you want is in the ensuing weeks.

Our 15K fee included the agency picking up our travel expense, a very small item, as we took a taxi together out to the khet office... As well as, after the marriage, the translation and MFA certification of the TH language marriage documents back into an English version.

You're not mentioning the other endemic corruption feature here that contributes to that situation AND the lousy quality of police -- the fact that instead of hiring and promoting officers based on qualifications and talent in a normal civil service system, they hire and promote based on payments (bribes) by the applicants in order to win those positions. From what I've read, a lot of the police job applicants end up taking out loans to gather the cash in order to make those job winning payments... And then, they're stuck with debts that need to be repaid, and probably cannot be repaid solely via the normal police salary, which creates yet another incentive to participate in money producing police corruption.

The price for one thing.... "I see eBay also lists some pre-activated Paygo SIM cards. The 'most popular one for $39.95 has 60-days validity. For a total of $86.95, they will also precharge it with $35 credit which gives 1-year validity." As opposed to: "Paygo SIM for $15.99" and then "the $3/month package." I wasn't saying there's anything wrong or bad with going the prepaid/pre-activated route... Just saying it's different from the cheaper, unactivated SIM followed by $3 monthly charges.

Also from the OP: "For a bank customer who has money deducted from their bank account through a debit card in a transaction which they did not conduct, the bank must refund the customer in full amount within five days." The problem with that is, AFAIK, timing/delays are not the only problem that arise in such cases. Often, the TH bank involved will simply insist, without necessarily any clear evidence to support the claim, that the cardholder was in fact responsible for the fraudulent charge, and thus refuse to refund the debit, period.

Well, lately, when it rains, it pours around these parts.... I think I've seen more police criminal indictments and prosecutions in the past month around here than I can recall in all of the 15 or so years I've lived here. Of course, even if these guys are convicted as were the other half dozen just in the past day or so involved in the police housing project skimming, that doesn't necessarily mean the accused/convicted will really end up doing the prison time they're supposedly sentenced to. Thailand's criminal justice system seems to often work in wild and wacky ways... Still waiting for the Red Bull heir to be arrested....

The regular UltraMobile PayGo SIM, which provides the $3 a month service plan, initially has to be activated on their mobile network in the U.S. And after that, can be used on a roaming basis in Thailand and via wifi calling. The pre-activated ones are a different deal.

And the Immigration "smart cars" and their associated technology..... ???? Ohh... the irony of running all the law-abiding types (myself included) through the 90-day reporting and annual extensions and sometimes surprise TM30 filing requirements month after month, year after year.... While meanwhile, these guys live here for as long as a decade doing absolutely none of that, before the bogeyman finally comes knocking at their door.... I mean, most likely, the original arrival of the Brit was recorded via some air entry to the country. And then after that, nothing... And somehow, Immigration couldn't manage to figure out what happened to a guy who was recorded entering the country and then nothing official of him either staying or leaving.... Until someone finally came along and, apparently, snitched him out.

WOW, that was quite an OP RANT.... Seems like a bit of attitude adjustment is in order... Meanwhile, wouldn't mind hearing more about the OP's observations of lonely Japanese women waiting for their Japanese husbands to come home from work! Perhaps there's some adventure to be had there! ????

The wife and I got remarried lately in BKK after a brief, purely logistical separation. We checked with several khet offices, including Bangrak (which long had the reputation as being the most farang friendly, and where we originally were married many years ago). In short, things seem to have changed drastically from the past lately in BKK when it comes to the process of farangs legally marrying Thais here. No more just bring your paperwork and do the deed. Instead, Bangrak told my Thai wife we'd need to bring them the various required documents, including the MFA certified translations mentioned above, and only then they'd give us an appointment to come back some weeks later to do the actual deed. Sometimes they also require witnesses and even a formal verbal translator. We said BS to all that... Hunted around a bit, found a translation/visa agency to speed the process. After I got the $50 USD affidavit from my Embassy, the agency did the translations and handled the MFA certifications. Then about a week later, the agency took us to a particular khet office not in the heart of BKK where the whole marriage legalization process was completed in a single morning without any outside witnesses or official translator or anything else. We just sat there, and never actually had any direct dealings with the khet office staff, while our rep handled everything. The total agency fee for that came to about 15,000 baht, including their service and EN-to-TH document translation fees, some thousands more for the multiples of page by page certifications done at MFA, and then lastly presumably some dosh to the khet office involved. Didn't like shelling out the baht. But my wife has a full-time and busy job... And would have liked a whole lot less us having to run around from place to place on multiple trips on multiple days to get everything done the official way, and take probably a month from start to finish to get it all done.

I certainly would have liked to have been able to obtain the RC on the spot -- as opposed to waiting for it 1-2 weeks in the mail. But BKK CW doesn't give you that choice, AFAIK. The longer I stay here, the more I get dismayed by the often pointless bureaucratic shuffles/hurdles that expats are forced to endure. This being Thailand, I understand that's the way it goes... But it doesn't mean I have to like it! ???? Here in BKK -- adding together a trip out to the (distant for most) CW Immigration office ALONG with a separate trip and queues to one of the several local DLT offices (were that required) would pretty well consume the entire day. But FWIW, if anyone from Immigration is listening, I WOULD be willing to pay a higher fee than the standard 200b amount (let's call it an "express service fee") if they'd be willing to provide/produce the RC letter on the spot. I think I read here recently re some Immigration office (not BKK) offering that kind of RC option.

At BKK CW, no DLT request form asking that Immigration issue you an RC is required.... though I know that oddball practice does occur at some DLT/Immigration locales.

From what I've been reading here lately, your area down there seems to have an Immigration operation that tends to go a bit rogue on this kinds of matters, compared to most other Immigration offices. In other words, I don't think your experience on this, because of your locale, should necessarily be taken as the actual norm on TM30 matters.

I think the ONLY person who likely says "it's just a few bad apples" is probably the national police chief and his spokespeople. Not that he or they actually believe it, but that's what they're gonna say. Everyone else knows better. PS - Each of the convicted should have been fully named in the forum news article. No mention in the forum article of if any of the defendants have been, or will be, actually in custody or jailed as yet, as a result of the verdicts. NONE of these guys are likely to serve actual LIFE prison sentences.... Based on past history, either their sentences will eventually be either overturned or reduced on appeal and/or they'll end up being released early due to purported medical problems and/or as a result of Dept of Corrections or royal commuting of their sentences. That's the way such things typically go here. And actually, the Thai Rath original article seems to make clear that the primary 6 defendants originally were given life sentences, but then had those knocked down by the same court to the 33 year, 4 month terms mentioned in the article. Also from the original Thai Rath article via Google Translate: "At 9:00 a.m. on March 30, 2023 at the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct. The court read the black criminal verdict No. 96, 131/2564 between the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) as the plaintiff. Pol. Lt. Gen. Teerayut Kitiwat, Pol. Maj. Gen. Sajja Khahiran, Pol. Maj. Gen. Saman Sudchai, Pol. Pol. Lt. Col. Jirawut Chanpeng, Pol. Lt. Col. Sitthiphaiboon Khamnil, Pol. Lt. Col. and Construction Co., Ltd. is the 1-9 defendant." Also: "After the verdict, all 8 defendants filed a petition with securities for temporary release pending appeal. The court considered and allowed the temporary release of the 7th, 8th defendants, while the 1st and 6th defendants were pending consideration by the Court of Appeal. After the expiration of the period, the correctional officers took the accused 1-6 to the Bangkok Remand Prison. to wait for the Court of Appeal's insurance consideration order."

I've made numerous overnight / hotel stay domestic travel trips in Thailand in the last couple years (as well as international ones) on my retirement extension, and never have gotten a new TM30 after those... Still working from the one and only TM30 I ever did in Bangkok, my home, some years back. Today, I went to BKK CW Immigration to apply for a new residence certificate, and presented them with a copy of my years old TM30... no problem. Also renewed my retirement extension in BKK the past couple years, no problem.

What Immigration office handles your area? And what's your stay status -- short term or annual extension, etc?

Blast from the past -- 2019 Hua Hin: "I went all the way to Bluport immigration in Hua Hin but they told me they don't do it. I ended up going to a police station, the one right near Pranburi department of Land and Transport and got one there for 200 baht." 2017 Khon Kaen: https://aseannow.com/topic/980309-how-much-do-you-pay-to-get-a-thai-residence-certificate/?do=findComment&comment=11832678 2014:

On my visit today, the end station in the B section has some sign up on the divider saying something about Thailand Elite... It looked like that woman/officer was handling some business of that sort from people who just walked up, and when she didn't have anyone of that type, was calling regular queue numbers for the RC queue... Separate from that, in the early going, I was keenly watching the couple of the other officers in the B section who had been handling the same single applicant for 10-15 minutes... And at least for one of them, at the conclusion, it "looked" like the officer tore off the bottom of an A4 sheet and handed it back to the applicant. Now there's nothing about the RC process that involves a tear-off bottom slip AFAIK.... But the 90-day report sheet does have that kind of bottom tear off sheet. As I said, I too have no idea why they were taking so long with just a couple of folks.

One more curious thing on the RC subject... There were posts here in the distant past of people claiming they were able to get some kind of RC from their local police station for free...and that was acceptable for DL application purposes... But.. two things on that score: 1. I've never tried going that route myself. And 2... I can't recall reading many/any reports here any time recently of people reporting have successfully gone the police station route for getting an RC. Anyone with any further info on that issue?