thaiwanderer

Then there is the Global Economic Crisis...considering that, I think that Thailand is doing fairly well and weathering the economic storm well so far.

really? have you seen the GDP figures - and despite what government say it can not just be put down to the reds

Ongoing political unrest will solve nothing and will only build up resentments, against the instigators, from the general public, who just want to go on with their normal lives.

and the status quo (whoever's nose is at the trough) should remain no matter how much it stifles the country (to disagree with clinton - its not just the economy..... )?

Again, this would be a good time, for all parties concerned, to build up their election network and prepare for the next General Elections. That's how democracy seems to work the smoothest. (and I am not saying that democracy is the best system, but if they want to have democracy, they might as well do it as smoothly as possible ;-)

pursuing a democratic process is laudabale but first you have to have a democratic system

a 'simple interview' can establish nationality? really??????? and even if it could, it could establish validity of travel documents?

Absolutely! In my immigration days, it was indeed through the medium of a simple interview that we would initially determine someone's entitlement to a British passport. It was only once suspicions had arisen that certainty would be established through forgery analysis of the passport.

As "Electra" states, albeit rather obliquely, if the bloke not only speaks with a British accent, but has a geographical awareness of where he purports to live, coupled with general knowledge of the UK, all of which can be established in the course of 5-minute chat, then the chances are he's a Brit. If, on the other hand, he speaks with, for example, a broad West African accent, thinks Big Ben is in Glasgow, and that Tony Blair is the Queen, the chances are he's not a Brit. There you go - problem solved without even looking at the passport.

even if that were the case (looks, sounds, walks like a duck in electra's phrase - of course doesn't mean it is a duck recognised by the laws of the ducks country ) and he is deemed to be of british origin the validity of his travel documents is not an issue at all?

obviously as electra says i am a layman so please forgive my ignorance on the rules it just seems to offend common sense - immigration is not just establishing your nationality is it? what about his identity (wanted in thailand, overstay, not any longer a UK citizen etc.) - are they not issues for the Thai immigration official?

thank you

so that is one tourist and counting.................

then why do you think he would be entitled? oh, wait you don't

Hi - Again I think this shows the differences between us posters, and having to map these against our Farang options and BTW Thais also post here. Reading between the lines I suspect that those who invest in houses plan to leave their property to the kids they have via the Thai partnership, and BTW that does not seem to be as easy as you may think!

IMO you are going down an almost impossible path. Think about it, if you die in order to pass on the value of the property (if that is even possible) you would have to throw your, Thai girlfriend out of her 'own' home by forcing a sale on your death. And if you have other kids by that relationship what then?

You only have one option in controlling your property in Thailand - That option appears to be unpalatable to you. And even if you took that route you would still throw you girlfriend out of 'her' home on your death.

If resources are 'finite' you cannot achieve all your wishes simultaneously. Someone is going to get hurt.

like anywhere in the world

only one option?

You have to look at this guy's unique situation - He wants to pass on an inheritance to his three Farang sons (a laudable wish). IMO that is not going to happen via the land/house ownership route. It can happen via condominiums - So yes for his specific requirement in Thailand one option that he does not wish to take. There are dozens of options dependent on your own specific position - this is what causes such confusion on these types of thread.

For example 'thaiwanderer' are you Thai?

yes (although not sure how that affects my ability to contribute)

i was looking at his situation - his options are certainly limited but a condo is not his only option

(re: UK inheritance tax - IMHO its an unfair tax but if the threshold is increased thats a good thing isn't it?)

up to him but why wouldn't you attempt to negotiate?

(others will be along to say he will not return it or he will agree and then claim deposit value of damage etc.)

I would like to know what the Thai laws say about the requested qaiting time before getting remarried to a Thai national.

Suppose, one is married to a Thai national and they decide to divorce.

As I understand, divorce in Thailand is as easy as getting both spouses to the Amphur and signing the divorce papers.

How long is the required wait period before one of the partners can marry again a Thai national?

yes, assuming both agree to the divorce, co-operate and there are no outstanding issues

AFAIK can remarry immediately following divorce

does the iphone have a spell checker and bs filter app?

Where is the link saying the official DID NOT speak with Simon, the links I read said he DID speak with Simon and refused to do the work to keep him out of jail as the weekend was coming.

Please accept my apologies for giving the wrong impresson.

Whereas it is accurate to state the consular official was reported to have spoken to Burrowes whilst at the airport it is also correct to say that he did so but only to relay the information that he could find no trace of his passport number having been issued and that he could not pursue any further enquiries until after the weekend. Whilst this approach may well be appropriate for a shiney arsed clerk failing to trace an order form for a box of paper clips it is utterly unacceptable conduct in a consular official charged with assisting a fellow national in extremis. A simple interview establishing his Britishness was all that was required in the circumstances and most consular officials worth their salt would have had the nous and expertise to achieve that in a very short time.

What is worrying is that this particular incompetent declined to do that and evidently was ignorant of the fact that details of British passports issued by many posts abroad before 2005 or thereabouts were not automatically entered into a centrally accessible database. Quite bizarre really when one considers that nationality and passport issue is the raison d'etre of any consular section.

well the point is it was not clear he was a 'fellow national'

a 'simple interview' can establish nationality? really??????? and even if it could, it could establish validity of travel documents?

You're just nitpicking, give it a rest!

nitpicking not allowed on TV - i must not have that filter - what are you doing?

Hi - Again I think this shows the differences between us posters, and having to map these against our Farang options and BTW Thais also post here. Reading between the lines I suspect that those who invest in houses plan to leave their property to the kids they have via the Thai partnership, and BTW that does not seem to be as easy as you may think!

IMO you are going down an almost impossible path. Think about it, if you die in order to pass on the value of the property (if that is even possible) you would have to throw your, Thai girlfriend out of her 'own' home by forcing a sale on your death. And if you have other kids by that relationship what then?

You only have one option in controlling your property in Thailand - That option appears to be unpalatable to you. And even if you took that route you would still throw you girlfriend out of 'her' home on your death.

If resources are 'finite' you cannot achieve all your wishes simultaneously. Someone is going to get hurt.

like anywhere in the world

only one option?

lersuang still in business?

Where is the link saying the official DID NOT speak with Simon, the links I read said he DID speak with Simon and refused to do the work to keep him out of jail as the weekend was coming.

Please accept my apologies for giving the wrong impresson.

Whereas it is accurate to state the consular official was reported to have spoken to Burrowes whilst at the airport it is also correct to say that he did so but only to relay the information that he could find no trace of his passport number having been issued and that he could not pursue any further enquiries until after the weekend. Whilst this approach may well be appropriate for a shiney arsed clerk failing to trace an order form for a box of paper clips it is utterly unacceptable conduct in a consular official charged with assisting a fellow national in extremis. A simple interview establishing his Britishness was all that was required in the circumstances and most consular officials worth their salt would have had the nous and expertise to achieve that in a very short time.

What is worrying is that this particular incompetent declined to do that and evidently was ignorant of the fact that details of British passports issued by many posts abroad before 2005 or thereabouts were not automatically entered into a centrally accessible database. Quite bizarre really when one considers that nationality and passport issue is the raison d'etre of any consular section.

well the point is it was not clear he was a 'fellow national'

a 'simple interview' can establish nationality? really??????? and even if it could, it could establish validity of travel documents?

the answer is already in this thread

relatively easy? not as compared to a structure where your estate does not pass to your intended

behind closed doors has little to do with the legality of the situation (my earlier answer referenced 'technically')- though of course we all tend to live the more important parts of our lives behind closed doors

It's this 'in the box' mentality that keeps many foreigners (not all of course, there are plenty of multinationals and SMEs that do "get it") from breaking free and establishing anything more than a toehold in the local economy.

You can do whatever the heck you want to do by proxy.

as can your proxy

their use is actually perfectly safe if done properly - however most farangs tend to try to do it on the cheap

permitted or not the OP will have problems

a 60kg statue headed for the UK that the official knows someone values is not simply going to be waved through

I thought this only happens to Farang suckers who dont live here and are in telecommunication relationships but I was wrong. I guess all the money I have given her and her family doesnt mean anything. They are trying to get every nickel out of me before I go back to the USA.

being an expat doesn't stop you being a sucker (quite teh reverse)

what did you expect 'all the money' to mean exactly?

if even you focus on the money why are you apparently surprised they do?

whingeing about the money in such situations usually occurs when the money is all gone or the farang feels the requests are getting too much - no whingeing when still comfortable with it and lost in playing the big man

not sure how UK analogy is relevant?

not relevant at all, TIT, and also the OP's point concerns the activities of people who are not citizens of the country

Partly relevant (but im getting bored with defending it) because many foreign nationals buy several homes and rent them out - can we NOW GET BACK to the subject?

you started the OT

anyhow my answer is further above, anyone else want to take a view?

A major chunk of this rationalization of the thai official's action - namely that he was following the trail of a possibly false passport is fanciful or a comment on the idiotic arrogance of the said official. Burrowes was going to England where he would come up before a british passport officer. Did the thai official really suppose - or does electra find it reasonable - that said official was better placed, or remotely as qualified, to assess the authenticity of the british passport as would be the heathrow passport officer?

In that case an immigration official should only inspect passports of travellers from that country - everyone else should sail through with no checks????

they want the perpetrator caught - nothing hard to understand there and nitpicking as to why they don't do the same in other instances is in bad taste, the blocking of the road will yield results, good luck to them

But is'nt it known as "low season" becauses the large amounts of rain we receive. Making it a less desirable place to visit as compared to somewhere say in Europe?

Certainly does'nt feel like a summer with all the rain we had this month

It does not rain all day, every day during the 'rainy season'. Indeed there are many beautiful days, with light clouds and some sun. I remember a few years back they tried the term 'green season'. So now it's 'summer season'. Whatever you call it, it's a great time of the year as less vehicles on the roads and less tourists cluttering up the place. And don't forget the cheaper room rates.

which would change if the campaign were successful

see tourism is also looking to cancel the business element of their operations http://enews.mcot.net/view.php?id=9580

same as every other industry in every country at the moment i suppose

'we are a viable business, its just cash flow, the fundamentals are there, we cannot be allowed to fail' blah blah blah

its certainly a commercial activity (even with a single condo)

tax of course applies

work permit required? depends on the circumstances

if you are not in country - not required

if in country (even temporarily) - any activity however small in managing the investment can be considered work and hence a work permit would technically be required, and of course the activity would likely then fall under a reserved profession

not sure how UK analogy is relevant?

so, i can use it to reflect the racist undercurrents that permeate my attitudes (according to you)

or i can use it if i am being ironic or its use is germane

sounds like its a phrase for all circumstances, thank you

the australian authorities would not issue him a full passport because he could not provide the necessary documents (perhaps not surprising after being in thailand 30 years)

as he was at the immigration centre it would appear he had served his time for the assault

he was offered a return to australia where he could then have resolved the issues and obtained a full passport and then gone wherever he wanted (assuming he had the funds)

instead he chose to remain there

whatever his motivations for this it was his choice

sometimes other possibilities should be explored before running with the CIA angle

of course if anyone is intereted they should apply asap but if this is anything like laguna's usual PR spin (occupancy, business etc) would perhaps put registrations a little lower