Mattd

1 hour ago, BangkokNicky said:

The order goes into effect on Saturday, and lasts until May 22

But the news article was dated 14 March 2017?

27 minutes ago, ricky87 said:

I'm a dedicated honest hard working person.

I am sure that you are and would not suggest otherwise, you will have no problems departing so long as it is before midnight tomorrow and best of luck.

+1 regarding what are you worried about,  unless there is something else that hasn't been mentioned then you are stressing over nothing, you are allowed to stay in Thailand until Midnight, Wednesday 17th May 2017 as the entry stamp says and will have no issues at all so long as you depart prior to this.

On 2017-5-13 at 10:53 AM, RigPig said:

You do realise that using a VPN in Thailand is illegal? 

No it is not illegal, there are a lot of companies operating in Thailand that use VPN as a means to give their employees secure access to files on a server etc. perfectly legally.

As stated by others, it would only be illegal if it was used to mask the browsing of illegal material / sites, which of course would include Facebook if they were stupid enough to ban this and make it illegal!

My son turns 18 on Wednesday and wants to learn how to drive, does anybody know how this can be done legally, whether it is via a driving school, or in a private car?

As there isn't such a thing as a provisional driving licence in Thailand, then my understanding is that so long as the person is 18 years old or above and is under instruction by a person who holds a driving licence that is valid for the vehicle being driven, then this is OK?

Plan is to teach him the basics in a big open space that isn't a public road,  then progress to the roads, gradually building up from quiet rural ones to busier roads.

Lastly, can anybody recommend a driving school in the Pattaya area, one that will actually teach him to drive properly, if such a thing exists?

17 minutes ago, onthesoi said:

 

I'm sure they will, but I'm also sure they would be wrong.

----

 

As for the topic, sounds like the op is leaving due to losing his savings via his own bad decision making, high risk investments etc ...but looking to spin it as Thailand's fault somehow.

Not so sure that would be wrong in the true sense of the word, for me, the late Eighties, early Nineties were the good times, for others it will be a different period, depends on what it is at the time that you need / want, it is all relative. A 27 year old coming now has different needs then a 60 year old!!

I think Mobi is leaving due to a combination of things, not just due to losing money, I get the feeling that he would have gone back even if the money was plentiful, there does come a point where 'paradise' no longer feels like paradise!

23 minutes ago, stravers said:

I'm sure people will look back on 2017 and remark "now those were the best of times!"

Without a doubt!

The changes in Thailand stem from the length of time that you have experienced Thailand, many of us on TV have been here for a very long time and therefore notice the changes, somebody coming for the first time now, would not know any better and may think it is great, at least for a while, there are some really good points and there are some really bad ones, most people do quickly get bored with the bar scene that involves girls, take that away and it becomes like any other country, just with the annoyances of Thainess etc. which in all honesty can be extremely annoying and is actively encouraged by the folks in power.

The Thai system, like many in Third World Countries, does not want to educate the masses, why would they, that would mean that the masses might start questioning that very system that allows the rich to get richer and literally get away with whatever they like.

I strongly dispute that Thailand is a cheap country to live in by any means, in fact, if you have a normal life with children etc. it can be a very expensive place to live compared to say England, expensive school fees, healthcare costs or insurance, cars are silly expensive even secondhand, the children grow up then the university fees start and so on. Work here and the income taxes are not low and gain you nought!

It is a country that market forces seems to have overlooked!!

Totally agree with the comment about Smartphones, drives me nuts as they walk around not looking where they are going, cannot even begin to imagine what is so important on Facebook, Line etc. that means that they MUST look at it every waking minute.

At the end of the day Thailand is what you make it and Mobi has now decided, like a lot of others, that it is time to move on and go back home, remembering that Mobi and others, including myself, came here when we were relatively young and made it our home at that time.

I wish him the best of luck and I'm sure that it will all work out.

3 minutes ago, krystian said:

Sorry for the confusion he has a 1 year extended NON B visa til December together with dependants under NON O

 

No problem, in that case Ubonjoe's advice is correct, as always.

Oh and to add, very bad advice from his HR department by saying it would be still valid!!!

Sorry for butting in, the OP said his visa in not cancelled?

By that, does this mean that he physically has a Non B visa and NOT an extension of stay and that visa is a multiple entry type and is valid for entries up to December 2017?

If he does have a VISA then this should remain valid regardless of the WP cancellation.

13 minutes ago, DUS said:

Now, I seem to have a blonde moment since I am not sure what he means with "with 3 blank pages and last entry stamp". Sure, I can scan the page with the latest entry stamp but what´s that with the 3 blank pages? Do they really want me to scan 3 blank passport pages so that they know I´ve got that number of empty pages in my pp? Can´t really believe that but who knows ...

I'd imagine that they mean that your passport must still have 3 blank pages in it?

From what I can gather from the data available on the WWW, then it appears that when an application for a replacement passport is received by the IPS, then the process includes cancelling the passport in the UK passport database, however, the passport appears to remain valid for travel to countries other than UK until such time that you receive the new passport and VFS cut as per the instructions from the UK Passport Office, the way it is cut differs on the type of passport.

This then indicates to all immigration authorities worldwide that the passport is no longer valid, the only country that seemingly can access the UK passport DB is the UK, hence why travelling to the UK could be an issue.

Where an application for a replacement passport is submitted, or the accompanying passport is still valid (e.g. because it is full), the document should be cancelled and a note made on the system (see also Passports containing visas, below). Cancellation should be done when the new issue is authorised and not before.

Passports should be cancelled as follows:

E-passports (version 2) – the bottom right corners of: a) the front cover & b) the biodata page must all be cut off, making sure that the right hand side of the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) has been cut through, except in the case of faulty passports. The back cover of the new style passport must be left uncancelled.

E-passports (version 1)) – the top right corners of: a) the front cover  the back cover & c) the biodata page must all be cut off, making sure that the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) has been cut through except in the case of faulty passports.

1 hour ago, williamgeorgeallen said:

question. why do people get marriage visas when retirement visas are so much easier to get? (as long as you are over 50 that is) marriage visas seem to be difficult. 

1. Age - Too young to get the retirement extension.

2. Finances - Cannot show the required funds for the retirement extension.

3. Working in Thailand and using marriage as reason for extension, this saves the hassle of sorting out a further extension etc. if employment finishes and is actually a lot less hassle than obtaining an extension based on employment.

Probably loads more reasons.

Though not disagreeing that if they can do on retirement then it is a lot easier.

Singapore has just started with Thumb prints, was there in February this year and they took them only outwards, return trip last week and took both inwards and outwards.

Interestingly, when I departed from Thailand on 26/04 and when I returned on 28/04 both of the immigration officers did not appear to take the photo whilst doing the clearances, possibly did, but certainly did not see the camera move and nor was I asked to look at the camera on either occasion.

6 hours ago, GuiseppeD said:

My wife produces her British passport at UK check-in.  Really no need for Thai passport, though some Thais will have their Thai passport in one name and British passport in another so will need the passport that matches the name on the ticket.

 

Return flight check-in will need both passports if the Thai entered on their Thai passport.  One to verify their entry clearance and one to verify the entry stamp in the Thai passport.   

1. This would depend on the duration of the trip and if there is a return flight, if the duration is longer than 30 days or has no fixed return flight, then they would need to show their Thai passport in order to satisfy the check in procedures.

2. Check in procedures in Thailand do not check any entry clearances or entry stamps, this is only done by immigration, the only reason the check in staff require the passport is to verify that the passenger is OK to fly, i.e. passport is valid and that there is the required visa or right of abode etc. at the destination country.

Both of my sons have dual nationality and we have never shown their Thai passport at a Thai airport check in counter, never been an issue at all.

In this age of internet flight booking and where the passport details had to be submitted during the flight booking process, then it is wise to show both passports at check in, this would of course depend on which passport was used to book the flight with.

The main thing to remember is that the British (or any other Nationality other than Thai) passport should never be produced at the Thai immigration counters, either arriving or departing.

To enter with one Nationality and try to depart with the other is just plain stupid!

8 hours ago, The manic said:

Thanks but I just thought they needed to see a letter from my bank showing a regular income of 60k baht.

More informed posters than myself can confirm, but 99% certain that a letter from your Thai bank showing a regular income of 60,000 THB is not sufficient for immigration, they will need to see an income certificate from your embassy if this is the route you want to take, it is also 65,000 per month.

On 30/04/2017 at 8:58 PM, The manic said:

Bank statements?  Bank Book? (I have moved over 60 K baht a month on average from my UK account to my Thai account) Passport? Arrival card?    And what else?

This bit concerned me, do you have the required 800,000 THB in a Thai account and will it have been there for the required 3 months by the time you apply for the extension renewal?

Note that you are required to have the above deposit OR a monthly income of 65,000 THB OR a combination of both that will be equal to 800,000 in one year, however, as far as I know, Immigration will not accept deposits of 60,000 THB per month in to your account, they will only accept an income letter for monthly income from your embassy in Bangkok.

On 01/05/2017 at 1:07 AM, Thongkorn said:

 I thought you could enter Thailand on her Thai passport and leave on her British passport with no problem, quite legally.

Dont know if this has been changed in the last year, The question i would like to ask, Thought you had to have a Visa in your Thai passport to board the plane and Enter Britain.

Nobody spotted that she did not have a visa in her Thai passport, So are we wrong or was the Thai Immigration wrong, or has the law changed about Thai passports.

Unbelievable is the only word I can think of!

Firstly, why on earth would you even try to do what you did, what possible reasoning is there?

The procedure HAS to be as follows.

1. Wife checks in for the flight to Thailand at the UK airport and produces her Thai passport to the check in staff (and the British one if asked), this then shows the check in staff that she has the right of passage to Thailand and that no visa is required.

2. Wife produces the THAI passport to the immigration official upon arrival into Thailand, she is Thai and does not need a visa!

3. Wife checks in for the return flight to UK at the Thai airport and produces her BRITISH passport to the check in staff, this then shows the check in staff that she has the right of passage to the UK.

4. Wife produces her Thai passport and newly filled out TM6 to the Thai Immigration official after checking in, she does NOT even show her British passport at this point, there is no need and this would only cause problems.

5. Wife produces her British passport to the immigration official upon arrival in to the UK airport.

Remember, the check in staff are only verifying that the passenger has the correct passport or visa to fly to the destination country, they are not in the slightest interested in how many passports a person may have.

No, with the first employment all was handled in house by an excellent HR department and second employment by agents here in BKK.

These agents do seem to know their stuff, TMF Group and are based at Capital Tower, All Seasons Place

3 minutes ago, game4shame said:

My colleagues implied this was the norm

Certainly isn't in my experience, though it may well depend on the type of job and criteria of the employer.

For example, when I applied for the first work permit of this current job, it was issued for 12 months despite of only having a 3 month employment contract at that time.

for my previous job the first permit was also 12 months duration and for the last 6 years the extensions were 2 yearly by virtue of being issued under IEAT.

If the extension is not forthcoming, then really, the only option would be to try and get one more SE Non B visa, this should then give you enough time to get the work permit extended and all the ducks in a row for the extension of stay.

15 minutes ago, game4shame said:

My work permit was issued at the end of December - valid for 6 months

May I ask why only 6 months? 

I might be wrong here, however, the first year extension of stay based on work would require the work permit to be valid for longer than 7 weeks.

I do remember last year, when I changed jobs, the work permit application had to be made and work permit issued prior to the extension of stay application, whereas this year for both of the renewals it was reversed, the explanation the agent gave me for that was that for extension one Immigration needed to see the work permit prior to issuing the extension and the reverse this year, i.e. the labour department needed to see the extension of stay prior to renewing the work permit.

If I was you I'd be definitely looking at going out and getting one more SE Non B visa, technically you should not be working on visa exempt entries, if, for whatever reason, this was discovered it could well cause you issues going forward.

UK Bed sizes below, note that the super king is also known as queen size in the UK, whereas the queen size in Thailand equates to UK king size, I've fallen foul of this myself and ended up with sheets that don't fit.

13 minutes ago, Geordie59 said:

Visa runs up to 5 June 2017. Last 90 day report was made on 10th April. The paper they put in my passport states visa expires 5 June 2017 in written hand and a stamp stating "This is not an extension of stay. Please notify your address again on 8 July 2017". 
From the answers above I can stay for the full 90 days and then leave before 8th July.
If I stay in Thailand the full 90 days up to 8th July I can still extend my existing Non Imm Visa for another year.

I assume if I do not extend my visa before 5th June and leave the country after that date it will expire and I will have to apply for a new Non Imm Visa. This is what I will be doing and in my experience applying for a new visa is a lot more hassle than extending an existing one.
I will also be leaving at the end of May which is not within the last 30 days of my latest of my latest 90 day extension. I hope to extend the Visa for another year before I leave. 
Will let you know how I get on.

90 Day extension, what do you mean by this??

To ascertain how much longer that you can stay in Thailand for, then you need to find the last entry stamp in to Thailand and see when that permits you to stay to, the date will be stamped on this.

What date did you enter Thailand last?

The 8th July 2017 date appears to be the 90 day report due date?

If you are on a ME non O visa, then in theory you must have been departing the country every 90 days and therefore have not been required to do the 90 day reporting, unless you did go to immigration and extend one of the entries?

So long as you depart and re-enter before the use by date of the visa (5th June 2017?) then you will get another 90 days upon entry.

Do not confuse 90 day reporting with extensions.

On what basis will you extend for another year, marriage or retirement?

I understood that 5th May is not a public holiday this year, as the Cabinet resolution was with immediate effect?