Bobcat

Is it possible to get a 5-year stamp right away?

Yes. The boys in brown at Thong Lor were very accommodating.

Did you (meaning Bobcat, Camerata, CDB) submit supporting docs in the form of letters of reference from well-placed Thai acquaintances/colleagues? I don't mean politicos necessarily, but people such as university chancellors, company directors and the like. It seems like a natural thing to do, if it's effective.

I did not submit any such documents. I tried to submit documents showing my contribution to society, but looking at the amount of tax I have paid, they said those documents were not needed.

CDB, it sounds like you'll do just fine.

Am I gonna get stuck with the 200,000 baht fee even though I am legally married? I haven't re-contacted the office yet. My interview is in two weeks. Advice?

Good question. My understanding is that irrespective of the category under which your application was made, you will be entitled to the reduced fee becuase you are married to a Thai national. I cannot recall, however, if the fee reduction provisions stipulate a length of time that you need to be married before the discount would apply.

Depends if a multiple choice 'tick the box' falls into your definition of 'reading' or 'writing'. Sounds like he was given a multiple choice reading test only (unless he then given an essay question on the PR process - which I think may have happened verbally).

When I did my multiple choise test, I was told by the officer would read the questions to me if I could not read Thai.

Bobcat, did you have to supply all the home/family photos he describes? That's the first I've heard of this requirement.

Yes I did, Sabaijai. I supplied photos of my apartment (inside and front of the building), a photo of my workplace showing the company logo at the reception area and a photo of me and my secretary in my office at work. I did not show any photos of my partner of 9 years or his family as I was not sure this would go down too well.

Sounds like I have my secretary to blame for not forewarning me. The HR department processes a lot of foreigners (we have 20+ working with us) so this is something she should have known

It is your PR, so you should have been on top of the process. In my experience, important matters like this should not be left to others to handle.

He probably has a better standard Thai accent than some Thai people from the North and the South of Thailand. Not uncommon. The NAATI paraprofessional category no longer exists for Thai language so he must have been accredited a long time ago. Paraprofessional accreditation is now only available for languages where there are insufficient professional level interpreters or translators. Also, paraprofessional accreditation is for general conversation, not requiring knowledge of specialised vocabulary.

There's nothing mentioned about this on thaivisa.com

It's all here if you take the time to look. I gave a detailed account, including the video and the multiple choice test. This is nothing unusual, but it's a pity you didn't know beforehand.

The class at the CAE appears to be taught by a farang. Details are here: http://www.cae.edu.au/?class=DLI74501

I have found the most sarcasm among Southern Thai males

Meadish, do tell.

Thanks Sunbelt for the explanation!

Has anyone on this board applied for Thai citizenship? If so, did you apply before or after you had your PR for 5 years?

Thanks,

Bob

Form two Thai companies with both companies holding shares of the other. If your lawyer does it right, you’ll have indirectly 99.995% ownership in each company

Can you elaborate, Sunbelt?

Regards,

Bob

ส่วน essay โจทย์เป็นภาษาอังกฤษหรือไทย ? หมายถึงโจทย์ออกแบบไหน

Write an essay about one of the following topics: "Thai festivals", "Thailand today" or "Sports that I like".

หรือว่าจะเป็นภาษาไทยทั้งหมดอย่างเช่น

เลือกเขียนเรียนความหนื่งเรื่องจากหัวข้อต่อไปนี้ ก เทศกาลของคนไทย ข เมืองไทยวันนี้ ค กีฬาที่ชอบ

As a test of the Thai language (reading, writing, comprehension and speaking), all questions and instructions were in Thai. Also, you would lose points for using English words on the test.

I'm sure with a little more practice you'd do just fine on the test, Greenwanderer. Concentrate on your spelling by doing dictation and read lots of Thai books. Reading will give you a better understanding of how to write the Thai language more naturally, like a Thai.

Cheers,

Bob

I believe that there is no limit to the number of times that one can take the test. Also, minor spelling mistakes like an incorrect tone marker here and there, are of little consequence. I almost obtained full marks for the essay portion of the test and I know that it was peppered with little errors.

I agree with both P'Yoot and P'Johpa. Great explanations of an often difficult to understand concept.

This is shamefully overdue, but a step in the right direction.

I totally agree with Meadish. There are no shortcuts when it comes to writing. Just practice building your vocabulary on a daily basis and read, read, read. Reading is essential for vocabulary building and understanding the context in which new words are used in the written language. While studying I had to write a daily journal of one A4 page, a weekly essay of 2 A4 pages and a weekly dictation test of about 1 A4 page. After a while, the spelling mistakes get less and less until one day you're able to complete an entire A4 page of dictation without a single error. It takes time but it is, for me anyway, so enjoyable and satisfying.

Congratulations Tingnongnoi!! I'm looking forward to collecting my certificate and finding out exactly what score I got. I'm now wondering where to go from here with my Thai. My writing is now quite good, a lot better than my spoken Thai I think. I might look for a new teacher to improve my spoken Thai and stick with my old teacher for writing. Pity there is no Mor. 3 exam. At least then I'd have another goal to strive for. I'm pretty hopeless unless I have some sort of goal.

Are any of the other members thinking of taking the test this in December year?

Cheers,

Bob

Looking down the list of names of those who passed, I'd say that roughly 90% are Japanese.

Well, the reults of the Grade 6 exam are out. I passed!! Yay!

I'm not sure how many people sat the exam, but the list of those who passed includes 170 names in all.

Cheers,

Bob

Does anyone know that the approximate price per rai is in the Mae Rim area for land that has a chanote title deed?

Thanks,

Bob

You might try http://www.bangkok-home.com

It hasn't strictly changed, it's just that the Land Office can't be bothered as everyone knows it is a "Mickey Mouse" Company when they see you are a property rental company. As it's only internal policy it can change back any time, and I would still see it better to follow the 39% route.

The regulation was formally abolished in 2003. I have seen the written notice of abolishion and can assure you that this rule is no longer on the books. However, I do not know if all branches of the Land Department outside of Bangkok and the other major centres are aware. I regularly transfer land to 49/51 companies in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hua Hin and Phuket and the Land Department in all of these places accepts the 49/51 structure.

regards,

Bob

Not any more. 49% is now accepted without further investigation. You are right that that used to be the case though.

This is correct. It was the case in the past that the Land Department would not register land to a company with foreign ownership of 40% or more without getting the okay from the big wigs at the land Department. The rule was, however, abolished in 2003.