jonjcuk

Hi. Can anyone recommend a good and reliable agent in Bangkok to lead me through the Thai Citizenship Application?

I speak (I am told) approx 80-90% fluent Thai, have lived here for 16 years, all the time with a work permit and paying taxes, I own a condo and have the tabien ban (yellow copy). I also have two half Thai children in education here (Int'l school) and am divorced from their Mum. It's about time I stopped relying on working here to be allowed to remain here for the sake of my children - I would feel more comfortable with Thai Citizenship to ensure I can come or go as I see fit in the future.

Any advice on the process, and the name of a reliable no trustworthy agent would be most appreciated.

Hi - I have a Stages PM (in fact, two) and wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. They are unreliable pieces of crap! The reason I have two is that Stages had to replace the faulty first one. The second one is the same - water appears to get into the unit far too easily or there is another fault leading to battery drain and other symptomatic faults.....I have since upgraded to Power2Max Gossamer which I ordered online from Germany and had sent to UK first (to cut down on stupid Thai customs charges). P2M so far is accurate, robust, looks good and similar overall cost (little bit more perhaps) to Stages. I would never consider another Stages again or recommend them to anyone......

We are going by air through Don Muang. One final question though?

If they would be simply leaving the country in early December, and (theoretically) due to pay for an overstay fine, do they still theoretically have to apply for a one year extension of stay at the airport?

Or do we simply go through immigration, get "caught" and then explain the whole mess, and obviously refuse to pay any fine, etc. and just (I assume eventually) be allowed to leave the country on our flight to Siem Reap (with the kids having exited on their UK passports)?

Thanks for all the feedback.. It is greatly appreciated. If I understand the latest post/response, I should be ok to let the kids overstay until December?

The reason I ask is that we are supposed to be visiting Siem Reap in early December. As that is the case, and assuming there is no fine to be levied against my two kids for overstaying (by approximately 2 months) on their UK passports, I would propose to simply exit in early December using their UK passports but with their Thai passports as evidence / explanation for the overstay and mistake by Eva Airways.

Even if Immigration kicked up a fuss, assuming everyone is correct, there is nothing that can happen because my kids are both under 15 years old and regardless possess Thai passports also.

When we ultimately return from Cambodia, I would be accompanying them this time and would ensure that they used their Thai passports to re-enter the country?

Does that make sense, or does anyone see a risk in my not going to immigration and applying for a one year extension of stay before their visas expire on 2nd September? I was only hoping to avoid the hassle of Chaeng Wattana.......

Hi

 

Looking for some help. My kids (12 year old girl and 8 year old boy) have just arrived back from the UK after having been away for 5 weeks. They have travelled with Eva Airways as Unaccompanied Minors and my daughter has obviously had a "blonde moment".....

 

Instead of using their Thai passports to enter Thailand, she (and the Eva Airways stewardess / bimbo) have filled out an immigration card for both my daughter and son - and today they have entered the country using their UK passports and are therefore now only entitled to be in the country for a 30 day period, even though they are Thai!

 

Rather than go through the crazy hassle of having to have both of my kids (and I) leave the country again simply to get an exit visa on their UK passports and then re-enter on their Thai passports, is it possible to achieve this also if I (for example) go and explain the situation to Immigration at Chaeng Wattana?

 

The kids go back to school in 2 weeks time here in Bangkok and the last thing I want to have is the hassle of time and expense to have to take them out of Thailand just because of a wrong stamp in a passport.....

Hi. I live in Thailand and have two kids with my now ex-wife (Thai). After a long and nsstcourt case, I have sole custody of both my children and am happily well shot of the mother, who, now that the court case and divorce case is finalised (unsurprisingly) has no interest in seeing or being involved with the kids.

That is fine with me as both kids are in a stable happy environment with their Dad, and in a good international school.

Don't believe what you may read about the mother (Thai) always walking away with custody. My experience would argue something very different, and that the court will look at what is in the best interest of the children.

Hi. I have a Gary Fisher Wahoo 2010 Hard Tail White MTB for sale. 49cm frame , if you are interested. I am in Bangna, Bangkok.

Hi. I am doing BKK to Pattaya again next Monday from Bangna. The best way is all the way down to just outside Chonburi on old Sukhumvit Road which is fairly safe and reasonably good condition road.

There is no choice but to join onto the "new Bangna/Chonburi Bypass" road under the elevated section for approx 3km only and the you can join back onto the old Sukhumvit road properly through Chonburi, Sattahip, etc - and finally into City of Sin!

It is approx 120km from Bangna on this route and takes approx. 4 hours assuming a quick break or two en route for refuels.... And a steady 32km pace.

Join me if you wish!

Nope. As I obviously did not make clear, I have never had an extension of stay based on marriage, only on the fact that I have a work permit.

Ok. Apologies. I have just checked my passport and I have a non-IMM O visa with extension of stay. And a work permit.

Yes I have,as well as having monthly income well over 40k.. So are you suggesting I should change my extension of stay to be based on caring for family?

Sorry - just realised I forgot to add that it is not specifically a visa but I am on an extension of stay.

Hi

I have lived and worked here for 14 years with a B1 visa and work permit. I was married or 10 years to a Thai lady but am now happily divorced. I have sole custody of our two kids - living with me and being brought up by me. Both of my kids were born here and have both Thai and UK birth certificates and passports.

Obviously there is no issue with my remaining on the current B1 visa for the time being but I always worry what would happen if I were made redundant and if I had any downtime between finding a new job, what would my legal rights be to remain in the country while not employed, so as to raises scare for my kids.

Rather than having to leave the country and come back in ridiculously as a "tourist", is there any alternative visa that you think I should apply for which would give me the chance to remain here as father and sole custodian to two Thai kids.

While I don't need to change immediately as am in very safe employment , I would obviously rather change my visa status sooner than later if there is a more suitable/preferable visa for my personal circumstances..

Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know if you use strava.com but if you search out #24245405, this is a preview of the course. http://app.strava.com/runs/24245405

Looking at the course, it is approx. a total of 40km on upwards elevation climbing a total elevation of approx 850m.

So, definitely a hell of a lot more hilly than anything in BKK, but not crazy.

Hi

Anyone else doing the Tour de Farm 2 on 2nd December?

Hi

This one is a bit long / complicated s please bear with me!

I am originally from UK and I am newly divorced from my Thai wife of 10+ years - I also now have sole custody rights for our 2 children (born here). At present, the two kids are registered in the Tabien Baan that is for a property owned by my ex-wife.

1. I am only in rented accomodation and am not keen to eiteh rleave my kids registered in my wife's tabien baan or to have to register them in a "friends", etc. Is there anything I can legally do to obtain a tabien baan purely for a rente dcondo, or not at all possible?

2. Before being able to relocate my kids to a new tabien baan, I need to renew their THAI passports. As I now have sole custody, I assume I can legally apply on their behalf (rather than needing to involve the ex-wife) but was wondering what documents in addition to their current passports may be requested. (They neither yet have their ID cards).

3. I need to get the kids' Thai ID cards. What documented will be required for me to provide?

4. Final and most tricky question!! I have a 13 years old "stepson" who is the son of my ex-wife but for reasons far too complicated to explain here, he is living with me and my ex-wife has agreed in writing to leave it this way. He also needs to renew his THAI passport. What problems may I face in applying for his Thai passport where he / I will definitely not want or expect his mother to be involved.....

SOrry for the load of questions but, even having been here 14 years, some of teh above questions are slightly unusual / different to the common type of question on the forum....No flames please, only useful info or advice is appreciated

Hi

My wife & I have unfortunately reached the point in our 10 year marriage of most probably needing to divorce.

My wife is likely to want to disappear back "upcountry" which is fine, and I would keep custody over our 4 and 8 year old children living in Bangkok. Can anyone advise whether legally my wife can transfer title / ownership of the house into our children's name, with me to be the executor as a farang?

If not, do you think it would be possible to name a lawyer / independent person as executor until my children reach the age of 18?

I obviously know I cannot own the land / property, which is fine, but I need to ensure that my kids will always have a house to grow up in, and that I will have somewhere to live to raise my kids!

Finally, if the above is possible, would my children (asuming they hold the title to teh property) legally be able to transfer the deed assuming we wanted to sell the house and purchase a new / different property in the future?

Ho Ho ho All!

I was wondering if anyone knows for sure of any Santa Claus visits or grottos planned (for sure) at any of the major shopping malls or hotels this coming 2009 Xmas?

I have 3 kids aged 3, 7 & 10 and normally we go back overseas at Xmas but staying at home in BKK this year. The kids and I love Santa so am hoping.......

I have my doubts that Immigration will be happy to provide a new extension of stay in the middle of a current extension of stay. Normally these are done in the last 30 days and I expect you will be told this if you try. That is no reason not to try but just be aware there could be some resistance.

What choice would I have otherwise?

Do I need to wait for my work permt to be cancelled and then do a 7 day extension and then leave the country to apply??

Seems unrealistic and unreasonable.

Your application for extension for a new reason is a routine matter which you should be able to do yourself.

A marriage extension involves two steps:

Step 1: submit the application. You get an extension of stay for 30 days.

Step 2: on the appointed date one month later, pick up your passport with the extension stamp. In your case, travelling frequently, if in step 1 you already know that you will be out of the country exactly one month later ask the officer if he can make the appointment a few days later to suit your travel itinerary. Others have made such requests and not been refused.

When the embassy gives you your new passport they should give you a letter asking the immigration officer to transfer stamps as necessary. The immigration officer will then

– in the new passport write a reference to the visa on which you entered, together with a reference to the old passport

– transfer the latest entry stamp

– transfer the latest extension stamp

– transfer a re-entry permit if it is still valid

– make any other annotation he considers necessary

--

Maestro

Do you think I will have a problem changing my extension of stay to a non-imm O, seeing that I still have until May 20009 on my Non-Imm B visa, or do I just tell tem that I am doing it because of "protection" for the future?

Do I need a letter certifying my employment by my current employer (until the end of Sep) as I think they will not want to give me one, as I am leaving them. – or do you think tax statements and pay slips should be adequate?

As I understand it, you will be allowed to stay for the one year that your new extension, the extension to live with Thai wife, allows. There are many people with work permit on this type of extension and without exception they were allowed to stay after termination of employment. In fact, even after you have your new job it will for this reason be advantageous for you to remain on the marriage extension.

--

Maestro

Thanks a million Maestro!

On that basis, it would sound like it would make sense to get on with the application ASAP.

Do people generally advise the use of Sunbelt (or the likes) for this, or is it easy to do myself?

Also, how long does it take? - multi entry o visa can be done in one day or not? The reason why I ask is that I am travelling almost every week for the next month, so need to try to get it done in a day at Suan Plu if possible.

Final question - when I need to renew my passport (expires 2010 but running out of pages) is it a case of making sure that the UK embassy stamp a reference to my previous passport in my new one, or do I need to get the stamp transferred across?

If your average monthly income is at least 40k I think you should go and make the new application for extension, this time to live with Thai wife, already now. I believe they will want to see your tax receipt for the last calendar year, but if they want to see salary slips for the past 12 months, ie August 2007 to July 2008, you will be able to show that too. Of course, you don't need to tell immigration about the end of your current employment in September.

--

Maestro

Thanks - my other concern was:

If I did change my extension of stay non-imm B visa to a non-imm o visa, and then at the end of September my company informs the Immigration Department of my termination of employment, is everything "OK" as I am no longer in the country on a non-imm B visa / extension of stay? I.e. Ongoing, I would show proof of incopme of 40k from the UK rather than my current employer?

Hi Guys

Here's one for you!!

• I am going to be finishing my employment with my current employer as of the end of September 08. I am currently here (and have been for the last 10 years) on a Non-Immigrant B Visa and have a work permit.
  
• I am married to a Thai Lady and we have 3 kids together
  
• I am in the process of securing new employment but don't think I will be able to get it sorted in time before my old company will want / need to cancel my employment visa (as I understand now that the actual Work Permit never really gets cancelled anymore).
  

Here are my questions:

1. Should I apply for a non-immigrant O visa / extension to stay due to marriage while I am still employed (i.e. some time in the month of September) , so that I don't have to "run the gauntlet" of the "7 day get out of town" rule!! Or is it safe enough to get it all sorted after the end of September.
   
2. My reasoning for converting to a non-imm o sooner rather than later is that I get paid on the 25th of each month, so I was thinking that if I apply very soon after 25th August, I can have enough time to then show them also a month later after 25th September that I have an income higher than 40k baht.
   • This one is not the end of the world though, as I am confident of being able to show them of 40k income also coming from the UK.
     

[*]If I did apply and receive a non-imm o visa, and then at the end of September my company informs the Immigration Department of my termination of employment, is everything "OK" as I am no longer in the country on a non-imm B visa?

When eventually I do start a new job, is it easy to get my new work permit with my new company on a non-imm o visa, or should I then convert back to a non-imm B visa so that both the visa and work permit expire at the same time and get "sorted at the one stop shop.

Sorry for the long-winded questions, but you guys have always given great advice, so any help given is greatly appreciated.

Thanks & Regards

The Non O Multy Entry would give you up to 15 months. As Lopburi said you would need to pop over the border and come straight back again every 90 days.

Stay away from Visa agent/ companys.

Take your bankbook with you plus a bank letter stating your balance and you will have no problem obtaining a Non O Multi Entry

Thanks Lite Beer

Next (and hopefully last questions).

1. Is it the safest bet to do this in Kulal Lumpur (non - 0 Multi Entry)?
   
2. The reason I ask is that I have to go to USA in 3 weeks time. Should I do it in KL or in USA? Any tips on the "safest bet"?
   
3. If I do it in USA, any idea what city I have to go to? I wil lbe in LA, but have no idea whether that is possible there or not.
   

1. You can always obtain a non immigrant O visa with copy of marriage certificate and wife ID card at a Consulate such as Kuala Lumpur. You can probably obtain a multi entry valid for one year of 90 day stays (you can immediately return) - especially if you can present some kind of bank account which seems possible for you. This is the best visa as you can also obtain work permit and work using it if you find new employment inside Thailand.

2. Tourist visas allow 60 day stay that can be extend for another 30 days. You can continue to do this for the foreseeable future if you want as there is no requirement to stay of of Thailand for any period. You are thinking of the visa exempt 30 day stamp where it was limited to 90 days in a six month period. Even that restriction seems to have been relaxed recently but no firm word on it.

3. What you presently can not obtain is a one year extension of stay from Immigration for family reasons as that requires proof of 40k per month family income. Unless the wife can make (back) tax payments on that amount?

Dear Lopburi 3

Thanks for the very quick feedback. Are youu saying that for a non immigrant O visa with copy of marriage certificate and wife ID card at a Consulate such as Kuala Lumur, I do not need too show proof of 40k income? If s, I think this has to be the ebst option for me, but the reason I am questioning is that when I spoke to Siam Legal (unless I misunderstood) they said I needed to show proof of income. I have 1m baht plus in a Thai Bank account and have Marriage Cetificate, etc.

Can you help clarify?