Khutan

The obscene price of a Taxi in Sydney

I had a Nokia 1610 - not a bad GSM phone as long as you had a backup battery

....I think the "Air" is used to call attention to the

I cannot understand if the OP's idea is to have environmentally friendly electricity; regardless of the cost, or to have a cost saving measure, where he can save on the PEA rates.

... The food was unremarkable though ...

That is a downside of The Philippines. and that a decent massage is nearly unknown

I took my daughter to Australia when she was 3 1/2 and she has picked up English very well starting from only a very few words. This is after 8 months.

She has also picked up a bit of Spanish from watching Dora the Explorer - I am not sure how useful that is in Australia though

....Have a good life there and retire back to Thailand.

Exactly the plan, and your other points are in total agreement - thanks.

@xen; Thanks for the reply, there is absolutely no point in telling "porkies". They have so much data. I actually had an issue over some doco that was just wrong, and I just looked at them and told them they had much better training and knowledge than I ever would have and could they suggest what to do next. The lady at the counter (this is in Australia) looked at me like I had just given her a bouquet of flowers and then gave me a list of 4 things to make happen and the problem was solved. They certainly do not like to be told their job, but asking for advice politely works well.

@SBK; its been a while since we said hello, and thank you its going well. It will be much better in about 2 weeks when more of the family is back in Sydney - I will provide an update when that happens.

@kevjohn: yes, its really nice, my wife is now waiting on a decision (a few months to go) for her PR in Australia. The Thai community in Sydney is much bigger and stronger than it was 9 years ago, so Mrs Khutan is certainly not feeling as detached as her first visit all that time ago.

As I said, I will post a full update after phase 2 is complete, however I don't want to pre-empt decisions or anything like that until certain people very important to the family can get a bridging visa approved in Sydney.

Thanks again for the encouragement.

Guess you don't understand the difference from lao/ Khmer and other areas. Thais like to live where they know the languge and culture, Outsideres are not easily excepted. Fararngs are allowed. but are an oddity. Jim

So true

Khutan, I am sorry to say that while your post made me chuckle....

Well I wish I could say the same for your response. The only feeling I have is pity for you.

Maybe you can read what I said again before you reply.

Just on the subject of Work Permits, I was told by a good source if you are legally married to a Thai, you don't need a Work Permit to work for them

.To work requires a work permit married or not. The only change for marriage is less capitalization and Thai workers required to qualify for work permit issue for the company.

I will dig up the emails if you want to send me a PM, but as I said, each case is different. It comes under the law of Alien Personal Servants married to a Thai. I would not suggest to do this unless you have very good legal advice.

Surin Khmer and Thai.

No Suay/Guay? But anyway you are a man after my own heart.

Funny my mother-in-law speaks that and my wife doesn't; she decided to keep going with the Surin Khmer. Does anyone know if there is a written form of Suay?

If my wife was to set up a business as sole proprietor and I got a work permit for that business as GM or such and paid taxes for 3 years then I could skip PR and go to citizenship. I assume that a business would be OK verses the costs of setting up a company. If we did that then I could also use the tax payments as proof of income for my extensions. I don't mind paying some taxes to make my latter years of life easier if it can lead to getting citizenship..

Theoretically this could work but you have to take into account that under the Nationality Act the approval of applications is up to the discretion of the minister. That means it is a not an automatic process whereby you get approved if you can tick all the boxes. "Up to the discretion of the minister" also means that the process is not subject to any form of appeal or judicial review for those who are rejected (or for those who just hear nothing for over 10 years). So now you are starting to get the picture. If there is something they don't like about your application, it can just be thrown into a pile of unpromising applications and left there permanently and there is nothing you can do about it. I personally would not want to go those the hassle of preparing an application on the flimsy basis of working for a Mickey Mouse company and I would think that a sole proprietorship would be a non-starter in terms of even obtaining a work permit. Remember that they want to get a feel that your presence in Thailand is making a significant contribution in terms of the knowledge and training you bring in your professional life.

When I said that wealthy people should be able to set up a company to employ themselves, I meant to say that it should also be a real business that provides employment to more than than the minimum four Thais and has more than the minimum Bt 2 million paid-up capital. The people who process citizenship (and PR) applications are not dumb and they have already seen all the scams you can think of and many others that you can't. But anyway, without PR and a tabian baan you are likely to be starting to be starting out 25 points down and you need 50 points out of 100 to even be allowed to submit your application and pay the fee. Being over 50 loses you another 2-5 points; not having a masters of PhD loses you another 2-7 points; not being able to read and write Thai and sing the Royal and National Anthems loses you 7 points, even if you can get the full 8 points for being able to speak and understand Thai fluently.

The work permit is possible. I could go digging and come up with some info on this and post it but not in the mood at moment to do it

It seems to me it might be worth the effort even if is not approved. I wonder if letters from some local politicos (Kamnan, TAO head and etc.)would help when you turn in the application. I think I can get letters from both 2 MP's (PTP) here in Ubon that I have met more than once that provided that are still MP's when I apply.

The Work Permit is not that difficult - the actual Capital of the company can be nearly anything that has value, whats important is you pay the Capitalization Fee when you are incorporating the company.

Just on the subject of Work Permits, I was told by a good source if you are legally married to a Thai, you don't need a Work Permit to work for them. A few years ago I was offered a job with a respectable company and Informed them of this, after they checked with the Lawyers and they confirmed this was ok, as long as all the pay was given to my wife and not me, so she was paid and then she paid me an "nominal allowance". Mrs Khutan was on the books as the employee, but I turned up and did work on her behalf. I don't remember how much she paid me, rather she gave me the ATM Card for her Bank Account. Additionally, Immigration weren't too bothered extending my Non-O on that basis either. I am not sure if its still legal or what has changed in the last few years, so be careful with this information.

On The Subject of PR; I engaged some "Top End" (Read Expensive) Immigration Lawyers to act on my behalf a few years ago. The advice after a while was yes, technically Citizenship is possible, however it doesn't work without PR unless there are Exceptional circumstances. I have only ever heard of one male person who has achieved this, and he has the full set of credentials such as making significant donations to Charity and the arts for over 10 years, has invested many millions of dollars in the country and is immaculately connected to strata of society I only ever see on Television.

The reason for the PR rule as it was explained by expensive-lawyers was that Thailand needed to change the Citizenship rules for some external reason that was never properly explained to me. So they made becoming a Citizen easier, with the expectation that these people have PR already. So what they did was raise the bar for PR. Now this does not mean this ruling is unilateral, however this is how I had it explained how the "system works". For the situation I was in and the fact that I couldn't see any great advantage of PR for myself, then I decided not to continue.

I was also explained there are many countries in the world that do not encourage migrants, and Thailand is one. To change the view a little, Australia is a country that does accept / encourage a Migrant intake and Mrs Khutan who arrived in Australia in August last year, we Applied in December last year - in Australia and she should be getting PR in about 6 months from now - the 801 Visa. The attitude of immigration is that as long as its a genuine case there is no reason not to grant it, as we qualify for all the reasons. I will post the full story in a few months and hopefully help others who want to avoid some pitfalls and long waiting times with your partner outside Australia.

Anyway - I hope this helps a little

Mostly English as we live in Australia now - there is a bit of Thai, as I encourage the children to make sure they are fluent and in touch with an important element of their culture.

this topic should be closed.

Not before we get to hear about the blue dress. You know it's just a matter of time.

What is the blue dress ? Please indulge me

.....Then maybe the question pops-up to see your inbound-boarding-pass.

I wouldn't take the risk.

Agreed, and that would be very awkward to answer.

You do have to be paid severance pay under Thai Law. There are also some provisions for unfair dismissal, so you probably should keep working and document whats going on, even if you make a diary, to take to your legal people.

It depends on how long he was worked there. In the OP, he refers to 'months'.

If he has been there under 120 days, he gets no severance pay. If he's been there 120 days to a year, it's 30 days severance pay.

Very true, as I was trying to suggest to the OP to keep his head down and document as much as possible.

I cannot agree with this comment :

....He shot himself 50 times in the head. Clearly suicide....

More accurately would be that his gun went off while he was cleaning it; albeit 50 times

not yet received letter but got application in 2009 and currently still under investigation, married to a Thai citizen since 05/2000

is that under investigation or under consideration ?

.....they still want me to work for them because they could fire me any time they want. When asked on what grounds, the manager smiled at me said ' Oh I have my ways, it might not be right but I can. So you need to realize how lucky you are to still have a job'....

You do have to be paid severance pay under Thai Law. There are also some provisions for unfair dismissal, so you probably should keep working and document whats going on, even if you make a diary, to take to your legal people.

....
Must have been an Australian Voluntary Cop. They are aware of bribery laws overseas

< Thai language removed, This is the English language side of the forum, if you want to post in Thai language, you can do so in the Thai language forum. >

http://www.crimeprevention.gov.au/Financialcrime/Pages/InformationandAwarenesspack.aspx

That should leave them thinking

On a different note, the section of Highway 24 I have been pulled up in a a number of awkward driving situations and I thought it was an "on the spot fine" and as there were so many police around they would all make a "bulk transaction" to have a more efficient use of their time and resources.

One other time I got done at the bottom of Sukhumvit with some overseas guests, and went into the box and paid the fine. One of the guests was outraged as her husband worked in the Australian Police, sort of in a role of internal affairs. My Wife was outraged as I paid about 200 baht too much. Go figure

First person on the right is not a girl.

Maybe it was a raid simply for consumer protection

....I just find the all thing incredibly sad.

Sad that poverty means young girls having to have relationships with older men to get some type of help/education....

mmm, interesting, IMO this shows a particular cultural insensitivity. I asked my wife who is about 20 years younger than me and she rattled off at least 3 good reasons why she prefers older men. Its not about poverty, more about seeking a husband that provides what you truly want in life.

For the OP who paid the money to the Police, if he is an Australian Citizen then making a complaint to the embassy wouls be a very bad idea, as its an extraterritorial offence and can be prosecuted in an Australian court for his trouble

Bribery

It’s a criminal offence under Australian law for an Australian resident, citizen or company to bribe or attempt to bribe a foreign public official, whether in Australia or another country. An Australian in another

country who bribes or attempts to bribe an official of that country can be prosecuted in an Australian court. Australian law provides sentences of up to 10 years in prison and fines for people and companies found guilty of bribing or attempting to bribe foreign public officials. For further information, visit www.ag.gov.au/foreignbribery.

I am sure there are similar laws for many other countries.

I already answered his question that there was one near Soi 17, otherwise the OP can get in a Taxi and drive towards Bangna - there are plenty along the road.