Mattd

1 minute ago, Russell17au said:

Once you get the peoples attention with the higher fines and a proper working police force then you can bring in education and proper training with a proper learners permit system for the new drivers

Perhaps the reverse approach would be more useful, educate and train the drivers properly, then enforce the rules.

To let them loose on the roads with no proper training, fine the hell out of them and then train them to drive properly would be a strange way 

I have worked in Thailand for a long time, in an industry that has a very high injury potential, the biggest challenge was / is educating the Thai's to work safely, they tend not to realise that things are dangerous.

One expat GM went out and paid for (out of his own pocket) crash helmets for all of the Thai staff that were coming to work on a motorbike, on the condition that they must use it, they did, for about 3 days, within a week most had sold the helmet on, Why, because they just did not see the point of them!

Just to reinforce my thoughts, the majority (certainly not all) of foreign drivers do tend to drive with more care here than the locals, of this there is no doubt, if the poor driving here was a simple case of fining folks more, then this would not be the case, as the fine levies here are a pittance to the average Foreigner, which means they could break the law, drive like lunatics and not care because the penalties are small.

The reason that most drive reasonably carefully is because they know better and realise their own mortality.

Part of good driving skills is consideration for others.............

Just now, Russell17au said:

What is the quickest and easiest way to change the peoples attitude.

Hit them hard in the pocket and none of this coffee money business

Sorry, I disagree, for a couple of reasons.

1. To enforce and fine, then the offense must be seen, whether by the police or by a camera, as I stated, it is absolutely impossible to police every inch of the roads, where there is no policing they will revert, trust me, I see it daily.

2. Most Thai's simply ignore the fines, my ex. wife collected speeding tickets for fun, never paid one of them, she saw no reason why she should.

I do agree that proper policing and enforcement is part of the issue, but it really is not the biggest part, no by a long way.

Until the basic road safety education is in place for road users and their attitudes change, the rest will be history.

So long as the correction is also made electronically within the system, then it should not be an issue.

Do VFS actually issue the visa though, or is this done by the Thai consulate?

5 minutes ago, 007 RED said:

What the IO will do in this particular case is anyone’s guess.

100% agree, we can all speculate, but none us truly know the answer.

I do wonder what would happen if she had previously departed Thailand on her Thai passport and then tried to depart Thailand on her Thai passport via an egate, there surely is a possibility that it would not allow her to depart due to the discrepancy of her technically not being in the country? The office building I work in has a smart card system for entry / exit for the lift lobbies, if the system did not register you going through it (in either direction) then it will not open to let you through again.

In this age of terrorism, then I am not entirely convinced that Governments don't care about the movement of their citizens, especially dual passport holders.

34 minutes ago, flyingfox1 said:

The key answer has been said by many on here many times and that is the Thai mentally of driving

100% true.

Enforcement is only a small part of a big puzzle, the police cannot ever be in all places at once, nor can cameras.

Most of the Thai drivers on the road have no awareness and simply do not care, they drive with zero thought for others.

Until that part changes then nothing will improve.

8 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

And the requirements came about as a result of the recent HSBC scandal.

Possibly helped, though CRS is OECD, so not solely UK and it is based on the US FATCA.

6 minutes ago, Tanoshi said:

I'm guessing the form to which you are referring came about as a result of the recent HSBC scandal who were heavily fined for 'money laundering'

No, this form is issued as part of the requirement for all UK registered banks to conform with the Common Reporting Standards and all UK banks are issuing them to their customers who are not resident in the UK.

Some banks are insisting on a TIN regardless of where you reside, some will just accept that Thailand are not yet a part of the CRS.

All to do with tax dodging.

If you are already travelling on business class then there is no advantage to purchasing premium services.

1 minute ago, realenglish1 said:

You have no idea  what you are talking about Of course her Thai passport has NO Entry Stamp For immigration purposes she does not need one She is a citizen  What your suggesting is that when the Department issues a passport they need an entry stamp ? She is a Thai citizen Get real dude

What is being said is if she departed Thailand on her Thai Passport previously and has now entered Thailand on her Dutch passport, then there would be no record of her entering the country again, potentially raising a flag as to how she can be departing without first entering.

Only a potential issue, not a sure one.

3 minutes ago, ray richards said:

Thanks Mttd,

My g/f would be coming to the u.k to take care of me so that i can recover from major surgery will she be given clearance as a genuine visitor if she puts that on her application form??

I'd imagine that this will be entirely up to the Entry Clearance Officer at that point in time on how compassionate he / she is and whether or not they believe your GF, so any documentation to support the situation that she can have with her would surely help.

Does she have an existing visa, or will she need to have to reapply for a new one?

16 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

so can anyone tell me what docs and where to apply  thanks 

You can see the list of documents needed to apply here: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/564956/OS_Guidance_G2_10.16.pdf

Guidance is here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/564880/OS_Guidance_Notes_10.16.pdf

Application is made at The Trendy Office Building, 28th Floor, Sukhumbvit Soi 13, Klongtoey-Nua, Wattana, Bangkok 10110

Note that you will have to make an appointment first.

Just now, UKJASE said:

Thanks Mattd..... could she not then, simply leave thailand on her thai passport and enter europe on her dutch passport? (thus avoiding the 20k overstay fine)

 

would this cause a problem when she returned to thailand on her that passport, as she would have an exit thailand stamp, but no onward country stamp?

In theory she could do this, it would mean that the overstay is never cleared though and it is technically not the correct thing to do.

Immigration rarely ask incoming Thai's regarding stamps from other countries, most dual citizens in Thailand leave and return on their Thai passports and enter / depart their destination on the other passport, especially if Europe.

She may have to bite the bullet, leave on her Dutch passport and pay the 20,000 Baht overstay fine, it may result in a ban for entering Thailand on that passport, that doesn't matter, as next time she should enter on her Thai passport.

She should have gotten an extension of stay for one year based on being Thai, which would have avoided the overstay.

Golden rule for Thai passport holders, always enter Thailand on their Thai passport, there is no benefit on entering using a foreign passport and no issues with entering other countries using her Dutch passport.

It is a fact that Thailand have recently tightened up on Foreign directors that do not hold work permits and sign company documents.

Source: http://www.balglobal.com/bal-news/stricter-work-permit-requirements-imposed-on-companies-with-foreign-directors/

11 hours ago, ray richards said:

Is their a maximum amount of times that a 6 month u.k general visit visa can be issued ?

A person can come and go as many times as they want whilst the visit visa is valid, however, if your GF was to make frequent visits to the UK and stay for long periods of time, then this may become a reason for immigration to refuse her entry, as it could be construed as her living in the UK without the proper visa / permission.

For example, you state that she returned from a 6 month visa at the end of October, so if she were to return again in say early December with the intention of staying another 6 months, this may well raise a flag to the immigration officer processing her upon entry to the UK.

This is due to Appendix V 4.2 of the immigration rules (V being visitor)

Genuine intention to visit

V 4.2 The applicant must satisfy the decision maker that they are a genuine visitor. This means that the applicant:

(a) will leave the UK at the end of their visit; and

(b) will not live in the UK for extended periods through frequent or successive visits, or make the UK their main home; and

(c) is genuinely seeking entry for a purpose that is permitted by the visitor routes (these are listed in Appendices 3, 4 and 5); and

(d) will not undertake any prohibited activities set out in V 4.5 – V 4.10; and

(e) must have sufficient funds to cover all reasonable costs in relation to their visit without working or accessing public funds. This includes the cost of the return or onward journey, any costs relating to dependents, and the cost of planned activities such as private medical treatment.

10 minutes ago, Samuel Smith said:

Where in Chiang Mai did you go to get your TIN?

As the link, lots of them, so need to find out which is applicable to you.

http://www.rd.go.th/publish/38210.0.html

On 11/11/2017 at 9:19 AM, emilymat said:

Yes. The first bridge when you swing left off SCC road at 7/11. Why it needs re-building I have no idea.

Work started on this bridge on Saturday and the detour is now in place, for those that travel in this area, then my advice is to avoid this if at all possible, as the detour is not pretty and potentially dangerous, just a bit of loose dirt thrown in to try and lessen the incline / decline, with a couple of concrete pipes to divert the water flow under this, going to be fun when it rains, that is for sure.

I suspect it is the email client the OP is using, as I tried all 3 methods of entering the email address and all remain in English.

Suggest checking the settings in the email client.

5 minutes ago, chippy1941 said:

Have answered all the questions required and downloaded the application forms the it says get the times to attend at the friendly building but when I trythe e.mail adress it changes to Thai and even my wife can't understand it the e.mail adress is [email protected]

This is the correct address, not sure what you mean it changes to Thai, other than the screenshot, which implies your email client changes to Thai after entering the address?

I have tried to use the same email address in both Outlook and Gmail with no issues.

1 minute ago, Arkady said:

I note that Abhisit was registered at birth in the UK as Abhisit Mark Vejjajiva.  Now you can register middle names in Thailand you can probably have the flexibility of a Thai first name and a farang middle name or vice versa.

Both of my sons have very English forenames and my surname, both have middle names, in fact the second born has 3 forenames (although one of which is a Thai name), first was born on 1999 and second in 2002, so it must be a while since they have been allowing middle names, unless there is some flexibility due to the Western parent side?

4 minutes ago, berniept said:

I just spoke with someone on the telephone. He just kept asking me to send an email message, which I have already done- twice.

Oh dear, not a good situation, hope they do reply to you, good luck!

4 minutes ago, berniept said:

Per your later suggestion about telephoning them, I will try that- but I have heard that they are difficult to reach by telephone (the Imm. office tried without success yesterday.)

Yes, this is unfortunately true, like most Government departments, all you can do is try.

1 minute ago, berniept said:

Yes, I did. It's the same email address I originally contacted, and which sent me the "standard reply" which contained information about the pro forma letter. And I as I noted, I used RESEND in the second email message, but immediately received the same standard reply.

Perhaps try telephoning them on the number provided here: https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-embassy-bangkok

12 minutes ago, berniept said:

Does anyone have suggestions as to how I can obtain this pro-forma letter from the British embassy Consular Services (or other sources such as the Trendy VFS centre?) Will they give it to me for use with my non-British passport, perhaps crossing out “British” and writing in the name of my country?

As per Ubonjoe's reply, the British Embassy can provide a blank proforma letter where you fill in the missing details.

Have you actually confirmed that the British Embassy do indeed provide consular services for your country in absence of an Embassy here in Thailand? (as a member of the Commonwealth, then they most likely do, but worth double checking that this is not carried out by another Embassy in Bangkok)