Globaleyes

23 hours ago, ubonjoe said:

Yes it will be accepted but it must provide $100.000 (3.1 million baht) of coverage.

 

You cannot apply for and use a METV at this time. A non-o visa is required if you qualify for a certificate of entry.

Many thanks, great answer.  Now my wife has seen the prices, she's considering returning to the UK! 

I'm looking into doing this myself.

Can anyone let me know if general long stay insurance that does not exclude Covid 19 is acceptable, rather than a specific policy? 

Also, I guess entering on an METV would not really be practical at this time, seeing as getting out and in again would be extremely difficult and expensive. 

On 8/29/2020 at 7:19 AM, Dave246 said:

Looks like the Thai Embassy in the USA has different guidelines for the Non O-A Visa. I am married to a Thai (no marriage visa) and was stuck in the UK for 3 months. Whilst applying for the COE I also applied for a Non O-A visa which was granted along with the COE and repatriation flight. Now in quarantine in Bangkok. I guess it comes down to the Embassy! 

Hi, I wonder if you could let me know the full cost of this process? The type and company for your insurance would be especially helpful, as well as saying if there are any hidden extra charges, inflated hotel prices for food, drinks etc.etc. PM if you wish.

3 hours ago, Fex Bluse said:

The Thais and many Thai loving expats will have us believe foreign tourism is less than 10% of Thai GDP. 

 

I wonder why the Thais aren't talking about anything other than foreign tourism. It is almost like the whole of Thai economy is tourism with a little bit of industry. Strange 

Good point.  It would be a good idea for Thailand to track not just the GDP derived from foreign tourism, but also the number of jobs.

6 hours ago, GeorgeCross said:

this is what happens when borders open to tourists:

 

source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/

 

But opening the borders did not happen in isolation (no pun intended).  There were more tests conducted, and France generally started opening up more internally. 

15 hours ago, keith101 said:

If tourism is only 15% of the GDP then the other 85% dont need us .

Assuming tourism is 15% of the economy, is it only 15% of the available jobs?

On 7/7/2020 at 9:12 AM, Trillian said:

GDP is measured by adding the sum of all spending in an economy, it must include everything:

 

https://econ101help.com/three-different-ways-to-calculate-gdp/

While generally true, I'd like to add that sum of spending is only one way to measure GDP.  Also, each method of calculation can only use the data that is known to the Govt, and would therefore exclude any data from the 'Black Economy'.  Now, I wonder if Thailand has (or had) a large 'Black Economy'? ....

Ofcourse, somewhere along the line the black and known economies interact in some way, but this would still not give us the full picture.

So, reading some of the responses to this thread, being married to a Thai, and wishing to return to Thailand, I have to contact the Thai embassy directly and they will tell me the procedure to get back, or at least apply to get back?  Their website didn't contain any helpful info....

Is an up to date onward flight needed to get a visa extension?

Hello,

I've been asked to get my degree certificate certified / verified / legalised at my ever-so-helpful embassy. This is for a full time job offer starting soon.

Looking on the Embassy website, it appears that they don't do this in Thailand, unless there is a service option I've missed.

Is that really the case?  Do I really have to send my certificate to a Notary in the UK, then the Legalisation office in Milton Keynes, then to the Thai embassy in London, then to the Ministry of foreign affairs in Bangkok? Have I got this wrong?

Does anyone know how long this might take?

Good advice guys, thanks.  I have a nice clean passport with only one 'visa exempt' stamp in it, and none for the previous year, although I do have an METV visa in the previous passport, followed by an extended stay in the UK.

Hello everyone.  I'm due to get a Single ENtry Tourist Visa from PP soon.  UK Male, under 50 years old. 

Has anyone had any recent experience of this? Any idea of the timescales / costs and does anyone know any visa agent contact details? 

Many thanks,

G.

Henry Cavil for Bond  ????

3 hours ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

Looks like Vern Isn't going to have to worry about money ever again, and quite deservedly so. 

Mr. Musk should grow up and learn to keep his shitty mouth shut, and hopefully the financial hit he takes will commence that process.

Well, last I read, Vern was only going for £75000.  Extremely reasonable, and probably less than he could (if that figure is still current).  

METV, extensions and counted days question.

Dear all (particularly Ubon Joe -Der Meister).

I'm from the UK,  entering Thailand 9th December, and doing a training course starting 4th March 2019, ending 3rd May. Clearly I will ideally need a 60 day stretch to complete that course (although I presume it would be possible to do a visa run if necessary). I would also like as many days stay as possible thereafter.

My question is, is it possible to do an extension of stay at immigration within the length of the METV visa, effectively adding days to my total stay (just like the old DETV) , or, would that extension then count towards my total stay on the visa?

Also, if I wish to spend a week in another country during the METV visa, will that reduce the total time I can spend in Thailand. 

Thanks in advance for any help.

G.  

7 hours ago, BritTim said:

The UK authorities will place a lot of emphasis on whether your girlfriend has a clear reason to return to Thailand at the end of her visit. If she owns property in Thailand, ensure this is noted in the application. If she has a good job, a letter from her employer to note that she is taking a leave of absence, but will return to the job later will carry a lot of weight. If she has significant funds in her own name at the bank, include her bank statements.

 

Absent the above, there may be problems. Worst case, prepare a letter and documentation that shows your close relationship, your own financial security, and your intention to settle in Thailand as you have indicated. Showing a close relationship can be done using photographs and letters/emails over an extended period.

 

The officials have a lot of leeway in who they approve. If your girlfriend makes a good impression, that may be just as important as the provided documentation. Good luck!

I would like to second all this with one small exception.  It might actually be NOT in your favour for  a VISIT visa for you, as sponsor, to show you are Daddy Warbucks.  I was actually un-employed when my (then girlfriend) wife got her visit visa.  One quick look at our finances would have clearly shown "Ok, enough for the planned trip, but there's no way she can stay here with THAT loser!"

A friend of mine was knocked back at the same because they thought his girlfriend would have had more reason to stay than to return - him being loaded. 

I also have never used an agent and have got each of the three visas, I've applied for, 2 of those times whilst unemployed! 


Best of luck with your applications

James24,  

I moved back to the UK twice after living in Thailand for several years each time, and here are some of my experiences.  Various posters have also mentioned some of them. I last returned to the UK mid 2014 and am still here.

Firstly, get an address and get bona fide proof of address - everything hinges on that  - benefits, job, bank accounts, doctors registration, NHS number...

Having been out of the country, you might have a problem renting a place, so assuming you have some money left, you will have to stump up 6 months rent in advance on a place, unless you have a friend. Clearly you will not have a recent reference that they will accept/understand.  
House rent agencies have become Satan's Spawn since you last lived here. There may well be a £100 - £200  'administration fee' just for the privilege of paying them money each month.

You may have a problem with benefits because you have been out of the country for more than two years and therefore are not 'habitually Resident'.  I didn't find a way around that but, you can still get your NI stamp paid - you just wont get any money.  That might change as soon as you get a job and start paying NI - it did for me.

Similarly, unless you can find a way to lie / hide the fact, you might be considered 'not habitually resident' for the NHS.  I found they didn't CHECK, but they did ASK me. I lied and had no further problem, a clear English accent and a local address seemed to be sufficient for me.

Prepare for a shock regarding car insurance as you will have no no-claims bonus.

Finally, enjoy your first REAL kebab, and a bottle of drinkable wine for less than a tenner!  :)

This is how my wife and I met. however, neither of us are spring chickens, so it was clear to my boss that we were not messing around. Also, we did actually wait for the course to end before having our first date.

Years later, we both still meet up with my now ex-boss for meals etc.

Dear All,

My wife just got her visa approved exactly one month after applying. Several of the Thai friends she made going through the same process got theirs even quicker - 15 days being the fastest.

Of the five of them, three of them (myself included) didn't use an agent, two did (at a cost of an extra 50000 baht).

Some observations.

I wonder if the new financial threshold has speeded things up - the evidence has to be there in black and white, and is not open to deliberation/discretion - therefore speeding up the decision?

Whilst some people (quite logically) say that the Thai person's current job is not a factor (for the financial requirement) I suspect that it might be in other ways, such as showing the person is of good repute, likely to find work in the UK etc etc. I don't think it will be harmful to include any information that could show the applicant in a good light.

The English Test seems to be fairly easy, albeit not cheap!

For every visa I've done (three) my cover 'letter' has been fairly lengthy, with every claim / assertion I made referenced to a numbered document in the appendix. Also, every possible discrepancy explained, with evidence if at all possible. This took a long time.

Prepare to hear the words "This is too difficul. They not want me to go, I not go!" at some point during the process....

They never checked with my employer about my finances etc!

Thanks 7by7 (or can I call you '7'? )

Hi,

Does anyone know where / how we will be allocated this? Is it from the test centre?

Thanks,

G.

lol. I can't begin to tell you how worried you got me there for a moment

Thanks.

If you are relying on non salaried employment in the UK; don't worry; the calculation you have quoted will be used.

My bad, I should have said "some" not "many."

If memory serves, I haven't checked, it's usually when the sponsor has been working overseas on contracts or similar.

So, according to this in the full guidance on page 19:

"Example © The applicant‟s partner is in non-salaried employment in the UK. He works on a weekly rota basis and does not receive any paid holidays.

He has earned £450 each week in the same job for the last 7 calendar months, except for the week prior to the date of application when he earned £150 owing to a holiday.

Non-salaried income = (gross earnings from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) x 12 = ((25 weeks x 450 + 1 week x 150) ÷ 6) x 12 = (11,400 ÷ 6) x 12 = £22,800 So the financial requirement is met through Category A non-salaried employment."

they DO average your income out? Clearly taking the lowest month would be as un-representative as taking the highest month (which would be nice...)

There is no mention of taking the lowest pay packet and multiplying by 12 (which would screw me - we couldn't do it.). Would you let me know where you got that info from?

This is the full guidance.

Hi 7by7,

you've got me worried now. The guidance you mentioned says this:

"Where the person is in non-salaried employment – the level of gross annual employment income relied upon in the application will be the annual equivalent of the person’s average gross monthly income from non-salaried employment in the 6 months prior to the date of application (where that employment was held throughout that period). To calculate this annualised average for non-salaried employment in Category A the following calculation should be used: (Total gross income from employment held throughout the 6 month period, divided by 6) multiplied by 12 = Income from non-salaried employment that can be counted towards the financial requirement."

There is no mention of taking the lowest pay packet and multiplying by 12 (which would screw me - we couldn't do it.). Would you let me know where you got that info from?

Cheers,

G