Gaccha

Last year i was a bit surprised to have to do a rather silly "criminal records check" as part of my visa renewal by the Chaeng Wattana.

I-- literally-- had to go to one of the British polices' websites, type my name into the search function and print off the result. obviously, owing to the strict privacy and data protection laws of the UK, even if I was a wanted mass murderer nothing would have turned up to this type of search.

Has anyone British had this requirement for their work visa? I'm hoping it's abandoned.

I don't work with children so there's no special, obvious reason for a check. But my job is 'sensitive' and it would be unsurprising for me to be slightly bullied by the Thai State.

I used Opera 12, Opera 36, Vivaldi, Comodo Dragon and Internet Explorer. Oh, well. Apparently the system is still down if you got the message to contact your local message?

I get the message every time I try it because I have no record in the database. My last entry is to old plus I have gotten a new passport since then.

Other than Internet Explorer all those other browsers will more than likely not work correctly on the site. Even some versions of IE will not work. Do you have java enabled?

Chrome/Safari work fine even w/o IETab,

Got nothing to do with Java, but the site uses clunky javascript, see my reply above how to fix the bug. After that it should work in any browser.

Correct URL:

https://extranet.immigration.go.th/fn90online/online/tm47/TM47Action.do?cmd=acceptTerm

I already have IE tab installed on Chrome. Works good for me since all can do is test that the site is still working. My problem has nothing to do with the browser I am using.

I see no reason to do your work around.

If your new passport has a new number (very likely) then you have to attend immigration in person (as I discovered late last year). Once I did that I could get approval online.

They're getting rather good at this.

Took just 1 hour 35 minutes for my online request to get approved with Bangkok. E-mail sent to me to confirm approval.

And remember in Bangkok there are actually 3 locations that you can do 90 day report in person - does not have to be Chiang Watanna.

? Uhhh? Really??

I know that we used to be allowed to use the One Stop Shop if it was just for 90 days. And there was even one year where there was an immigration office actually located on Khao San road,,, but I didn't know of any new possibilities.

Where are these places, good sir?

Well, that's great. I'll do that then. Thanks!

All the information I read requires an online visa is filled out, then a biometric screening and a visit to the Sukhumvit visa branch (IVAC) is required.

The online website states:

"The duly signed physical copy of the application form completed in all respect and submitted successfully, is to be submitted at the concerned Indian Visa Application Center (IVAC) or directly to Indian Mission/ Post, on the scheduled date of interview along with the requisite supporting documents. The instructions for filling the form and scheduling the appointment can be seen at Instructions for Regular Visa Application. Important technical information for filling online Indian visa application can be referred at Technical Instructions." [https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html]

There is no exemption to this process for British nationals.

Can I ask whether you are UK passport citizens with residence in Thailand? The procedure is very different from UK passport citizens that are tourists in Thailand.

This interests me as I noticed that the Wikipedia entry did speak of a "visa free entry" [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_India#e-Tourist_Visa]. But the Indian embassy in Thailand requires additional processing (this won't apply to applications in Malaysia).

After you did your online application, what did you do with the printed out application...?

There is deeply conflicting information on applying.

The Indian government recommends against buying an air ticket and hotel accommodation before the approval of the visa. (e.g. "booking a flight ticket before obtaining an Indian Visa is not advisable." www.indianembassy.in.th/pages.php?id=18)

And then-- in direct contradiction-- they require that there is an air ticket and proof of hotel accommodation in order to get approval for a visa. This is a required piece of information in the online form. It is also mentioned as required at the Indian embassy website: http://www.indianembassy.in.th/pages.php?id=34

Since the visa is around 6,000 baht (although this number is all over the place depending on where you look) it is a very costly issue if something goes wrong. Past applicants for the slightly outdated procedure of 2012 mention that their visa was denied because they left the hotel accommodation details blank.

Has anyone-- recently-- applied for a visa? The current requirements for UK passport holders resident in Thailand are a long online form followed by an application in person in Bangkok, followed by a 8-10 day wait before collection (although some FAQs put it at 6 days). Since this procedure is lengthy, tedious and expensive I'd like to get it right first time. And I definitely don't want this the reason for a denial of the visa.

The initial online applications are done here: https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/index.html

The closed the re-entry permit office at Suan Plu some time ago. The office for migrant workers is not even there anymore.

You can get a re-entry permit on departure form the country at either airport in Bangkok 24 hours a day.

Thanks Ubonjoe...

I'm stuffed. i was going to leave by train...

(BTW, I should point out to posters that they should always take a photograph with them when using the airport re-entry facilities. Although they have a webcam to take your photo they also 'require' a physical copy. Since the re-entry permit area is past immigration [at least at Don Muang], there is nowhere to obtain the photos. It would be a terrible situation to be rejected. I had to plead with them to get a permit.)

Does Suan Plu office still have the re-entry permit facility for us?

For a long time after they shuttered this facility [except for the 3 nationalities (Lao, Cambodia, Burma)] they had one special section just to deal with Re-entry permits for extended visa. is it still open? I used it around two years ago. It had a special requirement of submitting the application by computer, otherwise they would not under any circumstances serve you.

I simply don't have time to get to Chaeng Wattana.

Thanks.

Yes, me too. Very annoying as I just submitted an online report and need to know if it got processed as running out of time to report by mail (it's due on the 6th).

I applied two days ago and was sent an e-mail that it had been approved; I wonder if they are doing this because the site is down.

given that bangkok is entirely flat, why would you need assistance?

Because it's 40 degrees and 100% humidity.

Gaccha- I have the LA Ebike 24-6 and it's okay- a great grocery getter.

I'm off to the house soon and I'll see if I can scrounge up that information from the trade show.

Edit: Didn't take long to find it: http://chanainter.orgfree.com/

That's not an endorsement of these guys. I don't know anything else about them since the nice lady in their booth at the trade show spoke no English. But their components were decent quality and their prices were okay. If I were to pick one for general purpose in BKK, it would be their folding 20" with 6 speeds- for ease of getting on the BTS and MRT. Their 26" MTB with 6 speeds looks pretty decent, but I've got that range covered with my LA Bike.

They look good: brushless engine, lithium battery.

I'm baffled why the 26" only does 24 kph; that is awfully slow for that wheel size and bike design.

Can you tell me if you noticed whether they were throttle (i.e. twist the handlebar to accelerate the rate of the engine) or pedelac (i.e. have to pedal before the engine engages) only. I really want throttle but there's a good chance that EU regulations have affected the bike design and made the throttle option vanish.

Also, if they are a small outfit designing the bikes they may be sloppy with safety. Any e-bike with throttle should have a cut-out switch. Did you see a small switch perhaps on the handlebar.

Sorry, if you didn't notice any of this at the trade show.

Thanks.

given that bangkok is entirely flat, why would you need assistance?

I ask car drivers the same question.

I have a 24" 6 speed LA E-Bike and it works fine, but looks like a granny bike in your first pic.

Last time I went to a trade show at BITEC, there was a company showing some better looking bikes, including a nice mountain bike and a couple of folding bikes. I'll try to scrounge up their brochure and post their contact details...

Edit: Interesting that LA Bikes left a few dozen of their e-bikes (same one I have) scattered around the starting line of Bike for Mom yesterday. They all still had the plastic wrap on the batteries and other parts so it was pretty obviously a publicity thing. I don't know if anyone actually rode them, though. I wouldn't have hesitated to ride mine through the rally.

I knew about LA Bikes but their webpage was down for around 3 weeks so I figured they had gone bust. but it looks like it's working again...

I think I'd call some of their e-bikes 'barely acceptable' (http://www.la-bicycle.com/product-category/products/la-bicycle/e-ride/). But if I have no other choice... then I might get this: Nimble 24.6.

They have a store just off Wongwianyai BTS... so that is something.

Solex used to have a tiny shopfront on Wireless Road... but their facebook page suggests they've closed.

I'm looking for a cool e-bike (a pedal bike with a motor). My local bike shop--just 25 metres from my door-- has an e-bike; it's bike is the image of e-bikes most people have: a granny bike with a motor.

What I want

I'm a realist. This is Bangkok, not London. I'd prefer something like this:

or this...

...but they will not be found in Bangkok.

So I'd like to make do with this:

Or something a bit quirky like this:

My search so far

A walk around CentralWorld, Big C, Amarin Plaza revealed exactly zero e-bikes of any sort. Has anyone seen any bike shop (ideally near the BTS/MRT etc.) that has a decent collection of e-bikes or has a catalogue to order them. I think Solex or Dahon bikes look good but I'm getting desperate....

I have rules out 'home-made bikes', self-importing, non-lithium battery ones, 'brush' engines. I'd like a price of around 25,000 baht with a top speed of 30 kph.

Any suggestions...?

Thanks!

It's the genuine name of the app. It's not a typo....

I failed with the online application even though I definitely did it at the right time and my most recent arrival to Thailand in 2014 clearly puts me on the system.

Chaeng Wattana's 90 day room was completely empty so they all huddled around the computer to work out why I couldn't do it. They were unable to find any reason. They were able to tell me that there were precisely 5 pending requests in total (presumably for Bangkok only).

Oh well. I'll try again in 3 months. I'd prefer to save the 6 hours travel time.

So... not a popular app then...

This new app created by the Thai police will apparently treat any messages sent on it as equivalent to an emergency phone call. It requires your id and your photo so there are privacy issues.

Has anybody registered/used it?

They claim to be able to respond to Thai and English requests.

Complex confluence of problems...

I have a tough problem that is made of a series of interrelated problems. The main issues are:

1. Passport is so old and tatty (and I would like a new one, but it’s British so there are the now well-known delays and problems with this)

2. A change of work permit and visa for a new job ( I currently am on a Non-B visa (private higher education institute) and I wish to switch to a job with a similar designation ( state higher education institute))

3. All in a tight timeframe

I want to be able to switch jobs without leaving the country (as I expect would happen if the visa is not changed appropriately).

My new employers want me to start on August 1^st, but the new contract will not be signed until that very same day (they will be flexible if you say it is necessary). I need to give one month’s notice to my current employer (making it July 1^st). I want to avoid travel abroad to resolve the visa because of the danger of actually needing to obtain an emergency passport if my old and tatty passport is refused by immigration (a foreign country immigration for about 10 minutes refused travel for me last month but thankfully changed their mind). I understand Thai immigration is very strict and once you quit your job there are no extra days to hang around; you must leave the country or else apply for a 7day extension.

So with all this in mind, should I give my notice on July 1^st or delay in order to create an overlap? What should my future employer do (do the documents need pre-arranging before the actual start date of work)? Can I switch to a new Non-B immigrant visa from the current one(or will I need to re-enter Thailand on a tourist visa with at least 15 days remaining)? Can all this be done after I start work or must the visa switch be done on the start date or before the start date? If there are days in-between on what basis can I remain in the country without messing up the visa process?

If I need to leave the country and re-enter because the visa change is not allowed/botched etc. then can an emergency visa be used for all the necessary visa/work permit and other issues arising? How long can an emergency visa last?

If I was to apply for a new passport now, this would seem to mean that I will need an emergency visa for all the visa changes. Would I first have to transfer stamps to the emergency passport and then later add to the new passport or is a visa transfer etc. not necessary for an emergency passport.

I am not sure whether there are any issues or whether there are multiple issues. (I am presuming my current visa (that I have only just renewed) cannot be used for a different job.)

Thank you in advance.

There have been close but no cigar similar topics in the past.

I need to get a microsim for my Samsung S5. My old SIM is a Truemove. I want to keep the old number, get a microsim and move to Turemove *H*.

Just who do I talk to ?

Do I go to Truemove H as a separate company or do I treat them as Truemove?

Do I ask them for a microsim with the same number? Or do I need to talk to the old sim company (Truemove)?

I am baffled by the coordination between companies. Literally, what do I do?

1. go to Truemove H store?

2. go to Truemove to ask to change number?

3. Go back to Truemove H....?

I don't know.

Thanks in advance.

I went to the Major Suksawat today. I was simply amazed at the bias to favour the whiteys.

The 'three group' (Laotians, Cambodians, Burmese) of arund 100 were made to line up in three long lines and guided by orders to the windows to wait for the three staff.

The whiteys-- all 6 of us-- were given three windows to ourselves with three staff and no demands to stand up and form a queue...

We were all there to do the 90 day notice.

Thainess = Consideration

You mean graeng jai? Ah yes the most useless of words. Spoken more in hope than practice. The only country to have a word to express this supposedly national trait where it is completely lacking.

Graengjai translates "I will do what a pooyai tells me and will tell those beneath me what to do. I will exercise this with zero consideration for whether it is appropriate, it is the way the world is". It is not consideration it is obedience.

au contraire, it is precisely that which is lacking that is narrated to represent the nation. This is because its rarity makes it distinct. Hence the trope of the 'gentleman' for that land of drunken Friday nights, merry gin-soaked England, and the insistence of Canadians of their exciting differences with the USA.

Thainess is the process, the narrative, the epistemic framing, not the contents.

By all describing the contents (it's about smiles, it's about girls dancing on poles) you have found yourselves manipulated by this empty signifier. It is a power-play. It's intention is to allow certain things to be truthier than other things.

The expression when used in Thailand ("kwambpenthai") has a complex series of rules attached to exactly what it allows to be said and what effects it has. It frames the way reality is conceived. Politicians declare other politicians to not be Thai when they criticise conservative ways of doing.

Prof Pavin (in Kyoto University, read his 'A Plastic Nation') and Prof Thongchai (read his stunning 'Siam Mapped') have written extensively on this.

The right question the OP should have asked:

"

Hi I just wonder why farang like to find friends when they travel to Asia, especially in Thailand or Cambodia

my ex and I was broke up ( we met each other from Dating website and been together for almost 2 years )

but now we broke up .. So I just wonder if you by meeting people from internet does it mean you are looking for a girl to have fun with (like holiday gf?) or is it just to find somebody to marry?

Ps,My ex likes to read this website but I don't know which forums hope he can see this one and just wanna say I miss you

"

Thanks for your advise guys. I guess I could try to stick it to myself ... Sounds abusive... Hahaha

What would be the best type of Testosterone to buy ? And needle, can I use just about any ? Size ?

Needles

Id go for 18g 1 inch for sucking and 23g 1 inch for injecting. If i were you id learn to inject in your legs its the easiests and the amounts you need to inject are not a lot.

I would go for testoviron depot from Bayer (good German brand) it comes in a box of 20 250mg ampules. So you might have to go for half an ampule per week (depending on how much you want).

I know friends of mine who use it for HRT.

There are millions of good instruction videos on injecting yourself and millions of people do it.

I also have very low levels. I got tested and have the levels of a 90 year old, even though I;m in my 30's.

But I don't like the idea of injecting. What are the best gels (brands etc.)?

Thanks.