narkeddiver

Thanks for the replies folks - this has helped clear things up

Hi,

My wife and I have been married for 2 and a half years and we have a UK marriage certificate

I have landed a contract job in the UK which looks like it may turn into something a bit more permanent so we are weighing up our options - one of which is for my wife to apply for a settlement visa

I would just like to check that I understand the process correctly so please correct any mistakes I have made :-) I also have a couple of questions around the Indefinite Leave to Remain

Assumming that her initial application is successful she will be able to remain and work (economy allowing) in the UK for 2 years - before the two years is up she has to pass the living in the UK test or an ESOL language test and apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain

Assumming that the ILR application is successful she then has a bit more freedom to travel back to Thailand for longer periods

Is there another step after ILR before applying for citizenship?

What is the waiting period between receiving ILR and applying for citizenship?

Finally, am I correct in assumming that even with ILR she will still have to apply for a Schengen visa if we want to take a holiday in Europe?

Thanks in advance

Hi,

The missus is off to the states on holiday and would like to drive while she is there

Does anyone know where she would apply in Chiang Ma for an international driving licencei and how long the process will take?

Thanks in advance :-)

Hi,

thanks for the help so far

I had meant to say that the testing at immigration was done for the people on Education Visas and not Tourist Visas

Here's the link to the topic about this Testing for Ed Visas

I guess if he goes the Education Visa route he'll have to practice his Thai

Hi,

I have been researching visa options for a South African friend of mine who wants to come over and visit a Thai friend for 12 months or so and I have a couple of questions

Firstly, as far as I can see, he can only get a double entry tourist visa from the Thai embassy for 120 days or an education visa - the type 'O' visa in South Africa seems to be restricted to spouses and isn't available for trips to visit friends - is this correct or am I missing something?

Secondly, I thought I had read here that there were random tests being done when people went to immigration to see how good their Thai was - am I remembering correctly or was this just a once off occurrence?

Thanks in advance for your help

Hi,

In the UK if I had a medical problem I'd go to my local GP for an initial diagnosis and a referal to a specialist if required ( and probably an 18 month wait - good old NHS )

Does it work the same in Cgiang Mai - is there the equivalent of a GP? It seems to me that if I know which type of specialist I need I can go straight to the required specialist at a hospital but at the moment I don't know where to go for an initial diagnosis

Any recommendations?

Thanks in advance

If anyone has any pictures of theflowers at the opening please let me know - my wife did the arrangements but her camera went on the fritz and messed up the photos she took

Thanks in advance

My favourite Phuket tuk tuk moment was getting out of a tuk tuk on Bangla Road and the guy in the tuk tuk we'd parked next to said "tuk tuk?" !!??

Thanks for the advice folks - I'll go looking for a small pump to start off with

The pond really is that shallow - I guess 4 cm maximum and yes, the fish are really small - we have a couple of goldfish that are maybe 5cm in length and the rest are between 1 and 3 cm plus lots of small fry

Hi,

We have a couple of shallow fishponds running alongside the paths leading to our home. The ponds are only one to two centimetres deep

As the water is still it goes green over the course of a couple of weeks which means catching the fish, draining the ponds (manually ), scrubbing them down and then refilling them - all very labour intensive

Is it possible to get pumps and and/or aeration units (preferably solar powered) that will work in water this shallow

We're in Chiang Mai so any local leads would be appreciated

Also if this is the wrong forum please feel free to bump it to the correct one

Cheers

Thanks for the info folks - guess I'd better start saving some cash

Thanks for the suggestions folks - looks like Koh Tao unless he has a lot of unspent brownie points with the missus :-)

Hi,

In an effort to provide some sound-proofing I'm thinking of replacing our windows and sliding doors with double or preferably triple glazing

Is this available in Thailand?

Thanks in advance

Are Richelieu and Koh Bon in the Similans? My mates wife is a non diver so I'm not sure she'll give him a pass for a liveaboard - my wife is already telling me to dust off my dive gear and go join him (not much diving to be had in the mountains around Chiang Mai :-))

A mate of mine is thinking of coming over for a week's diving Easter next year - what's the diving like in late March / early April? Is there anywhere that's particularly good then - or failing that is there anywhere that should definitely be avoided?

Thanks in advance

Hi,

I hope these are a couple of easy to answer questions

I am applying for a multi entry non immigration visa to visit my wife. Before this expires I will be applying for an extension based on supporting my wife - I have the 400K baht already set aside it is just a case of transfering it at the most oppurtune moment.

My questions are:

1) We got married in the UK and have a UK marriage cert. Before I apply for the extension will we have to register the marriage in Thailand? If so what is involved?

2) I currently have a one way ticket to Thailand. Will I need to buy an onward ticket before I depart the UK? If so can this be a cheapy Air Asia one way flight to anywhere? Would it be worthwhile dating this ticket say 9 month in advance in case I need to show it if I do any 90 day visa runs?

Thanks in advance for your help

There is plenty of choice in Chiang Mai - its worth checking out tripadvisor

My personal recommendation is Ban Kong Rao Guesthouse (bankongrao.com) - very friendly staff, great atmosphere, good food and the rooftop terrace has nice views of Doi Suthep.

The price is around 800 baht for a superior room in low season

Many thanks for the replies and advice

Cheers,

Narked

Hi,

I'm a 38 year old Brit and in November I'm looking to move to Thailand on a more permanent basis to join my wife

Before I kick the process off I would just like to see if I've understood the process correctly (probably not :-))

I'm going to start by applying for 12 month visa to visit family & friends - from what I understand this means I'll have to leave to country every 90 days to get the next 90 days activated

At some point before the 12 months is up (probably after 7 or 8 months have passed) I'll transferr 400K baht to a bank account in my name and then make deposits and withdrawals to this account on a regular basis (ensuring that I don't go beneath 400K baht)

30 days before the 12 months is up I will then need to go to immigration to apply for an extension based on supporting my wife

Hopefully this will be granted and I then need to report to the police station every 90 days to prove I am still resident at the correct address

Then on an annual basis I need to apply for further extension 30 days before the current extension expires

If I want to leave the country whilst I am on the extrension I need to apply for a re-entry permit (I'm not entirely sure of this process and at what point I need to do it) otherwise I have to start the whole process again from the beginning

Is this correct from a high level perspective?

Thanks in advance,

Narked

Finally some positive views on Chiang Mai - I was beginning to wonder whether I was the only person who loved living in this city

The majority of what I read on this website is people complaining and generally making out they would rather be any where else on the planet an tbh I didn't recognise my home from those discussions.

However this thread describes the Chiang Mai I have come to know and love - its not perfect but then nowhere is and the plusses here far outweigh the minuses

What do I love here

My wife and our family and friends - they have made me feel so welcome here

The sense of peace and calm that exists amongst the noise and hubbub

The variety and quality of the food - I'm still finding new noodle bars after all this time and I don't think I've been back to the same one more than twice but each one is as good as the last

Singing Karaoke badly and sending my Thai friends running to the bar

Having a bbq on our balcony with friends and enjoying the sun setting behind Doi Suthep with a cold beer

and many many more thing that will bore you to death (if I haven't done that already)

Hi,

My wife has a 4 week break coming up and she is heading over to visit me

I'm currently working in Dublin so the plan is that she will visit me there for 2 weeks and then we will have a 2 week holiday in the UK staying with my parents and possibly traveling around a little.

Can she visit Ireland if she gets a UK visitor's visa or will she need to get an Irish visa as well?

There shouldn't be an issue getting a UK visa (although you never can tell) as this will be her third trip in the last three years and she has 2 properties and 2 businesses in Thailand - more than enough reason to return home :-)

We're just working out how long she will have to stay in Bangkok sorting out visas (1 week if she needs one, two weeks I guess if she needs 2)

Thanks in advance

Hi,

My wife and I call each other every day on Skype and to support her visa application I'd like to provide the call log as history

Now I can scroll through the history and take screenshots but I wondered if there was a more efficient way of accessing it?

Cheers,

Al

Orbital - Live at Glastonbury 27.06.2004

I'd recommend Ban Kong Rao if you want somewhere a little different

www.bankongrao.com

Tel: (053) 404909

Is it possible to take an American option and sue the PAD for loss of business and disruption to travel??