Gaccha

1 hour ago, Tod Daniels said:

You can only access, retrieve and PRINT the TM30 receipt within 7 days after you've applied online 

That's very helpful to know. They definitely confused themselves. 

I know about the immense problems of changing the Google Play region. It is also impossible to fool Google Play by using VPN etc.

Checking Google play on my phone and it is clear that the Shopee App is the Thai Shopee App. The App is restricted by region so there is no solution via Google Play.

Instead you need to use an alternative to Google Play such as Aptoide, which will not prevent you from downloading the Thai version of the App.

Obviously there are security issues when downloading Apps from non- Google Play sites. Only you can make the risk/benefit calculation.

Every year since Immigration started demanding proof of the TM30 for extensions, I've simply presented the e-mail of the landlords TM30 application. 

But this time, the landlord handed me this: 

Is this a new thing? Is this adequate for Immigration as the required extension document? 

The landlord told me it is only valid for 7 days. 

Putting the issues of the IDP aside, you must have the 5-year Thai licence (purple), not the provisional/ temporary (green) 2-year licence. Thailand will not issue the IDP for a 2-year licence.

I can offer its audio stream:

http://a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/nonuk/sbr_low/ak/bbc_world_service.m3u8

Play it in any radio player. I use it in 'Podcast Addict'. 

** Important Day **

This is the first day where the people using the new electronic TDAC system will need to do a 90 days report.

We are all very interested to know if they have to make the first report in person at the immigration office after returning from abroad. It is a reasonable inference to imagine that the new electronic system is connected to the immigration office so they will not require us to turn up in person. But I am not holding my breath. 

Please anyone who has used the TDAC, let us know what happens.

On 6/26/2025 at 2:50 PM, soalbundy said:

I tried buying an anti-virus program online

This is the real crime. You can easily get entirely adequate anti-virus software for free. Right now, I'm using Avast on my phone.

My tailor (located near Saphan Taksin) actually makes the suits. I've walked in on him making them. He also actively looks for fabrics; he went off to India town for a particularly challenging request from me.

Most of the tailors on Sukhumvit are simply front shops for some giant factory of workers to stitch together a suit. Has anyone who is making recommendations on this thread actually seen their favoured tailors make the suits?

On 6/26/2025 at 6:01 PM, DrJack54 said:

After trip abroad and return to Thailand your first 90 report needs to be in person. 

The 2nd July or 3rd July will be a very important test of this. The very first guinea pigs to go through Immigration's new electronic checks etc will have to do their first 90 days since arriving under this new system. It will be fascinating to see if they can avoid doing it in person. I suspect not but you never know.

19 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

anything later than 3 days and the vaccines might be ineffective 

Of course. But there are people who got bitten years ago who never went to the hospital. And I'm simply pointing out that best practice is to encourage them to attend despite the time that has gone by.

7 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   3 days , not 1 hour 

You should aim for day zero and within 1 hour of the bite. But even going to hospital after 5 years (!) it is worth it, if you got bitten and never attended.

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Can children obtain the pre-exposure jabs?

Yes. And since they are less likely to act on bites or licks etc, it is particularly important for them to receive the pre-exposure jabs (PrEP).

There is some staggeringly bad and flippant advice in this thread. Having had an extremely healthy and fit friend die in his early 30s from rabies, I know what it can do to you.

When I attended Mahidol for my first rabies injection, they informed me that between 3% to 5% of dogs in Bangkok have rabies. They are regarded as the experts on rabies in Thailand.

If you live in Thailand you should definitely obtain the pre-exposure jabs which are available for free at government hospitals if you have social security with them. If not you will pay around 500 baht per jab. 

I have been bitten four times in Thailand so I am painfully aware of what has to be done. You must attend a hospital within 1 hour of the bite so a nurse can give you a rabies, tetanus (if necessary) and very carefully clean the wound with extremely strong chemicals. You then return one-two weeks later to get the second jab.

If you are foolish enough not to get the pre-exposure jabs, then you need to get the painful and expensive immunoglobulin, and a lengthy course of normal injections. In the countryside you might find it extremely difficult to find any hospital with this supplied, and even more difficult to reach those hospitals by the end of day zero of the bite.

Any sign of symptoms equals certain death.

1 hour ago, Stocky said:

I've yet to receive the email about tax numbers

That might explain it. I've had a Tax Id since day 1 of opening the accounts. The lack of one might get your accounts classed as higher risk. After all, their major fear is money laundering.

8 minutes ago, Stocky said:

Previously they told me the system couldn't handle foreigners

I'm taking by this remark that you visited them after they asked you to register for facial recognition? And at that time they said they could not handle foreigners?

This is strange because I never had that experience. I never needed to go to the banks. The Apps simply went through the facial recognition registration. Also other foreign friends have not had that experience either. I'm wondering what the difference was. Are you citizens of dodgy countries, such as the United States?

This is the third time on this website that this announcement has been summarised. And like the other two, this is as clear as mud. So I've checked and found out for myself what is going on. Here is my summary:

If you have an international driving permit and a valid driving licence from a foreign country then you can drive in Thailand for 90 days (some sources claim 6 months).

If you have a foreign driving licence and IDP then in order to obtain a Thai provisional ("temporary") licence, you will now need to take the written test, which was previously not required.

There are no restrictions on the provisional licence unlike many other countries' provisional licences. As is already the case, it lasts for 2 years and cannot be used to drive in other ASEAN countries. 

After the 2 years, the full 5-year licence can be applied for and used in ASEAN countries.

There will be no requirement to take a written test by anyone who has already obtained the licence prior to these new planned regulations.

So going back to the OPs summary: the first bullet point is essentially wrong, the second bullet point is correct, and the third bullet point is deeply misleading. 

3 hours ago, Mutt Daeng said:

My phone is less than a year old

Let us know why they marked you out.

18 minutes ago, Mutt Daeng said:

pop into the bank on Monday

I'm just speculating, but do you have quite an old phone? Say, older than 7 years. I think the banks now take the security weaknesses of old phones very seriously. 

I didn't see any message in my Kasikorn app when I checked it a few seconds ago. Notably the message does say "just for you". Do you have a working app on your phone? 

The fact that the message is saying you need to go to the bank to complete the facial registration suggests that you have incomplete registration with them. Since I routinely have to do facial recognition on my app should I reach the conditions (which I currently specify as 20,000 baht but I can instantly change in the App) I cannot see any reason why I would also need to go to the bank.

Nevertheless, some conditions mentioned in the message are new. Increasing the daily transaction limit has never required facial recognition.

I never understood the talk on this website about needing to go to the bank to get facial recognition registered etc since I found with all my apps with all my banks (three of them), they allowed me to carry out the facial recognition registration on my phone on my own in my kitchen.

42 minutes ago, zzzzz said:

The validity of the personal driver’s license has been extended from two years to five years

This is confusing. 

The law was that you would receive a 2-year driving licence and then receive a 5-year driving licence upon expiry of that one. What is getting extended from 2 to 5? 

43 minutes ago, zzzzz said:

The license will remain valid for two years, as before.

What is remaining valid for only 2 years? A 'temporary licence' is what? What legal distinction is this referencing? 

Attend the large Rutnin Eye Hospital. They'll provide a prescription.