theoldgit

They say you can apply by email - not so according to the desk at Swarnabhumi. I had to get a tax refund on three sectors that I missed and was told to apply at their desk when I transited. Fairly simple process, the lady filled in the details, took a copy of the passport and handed me a copy - told that expect the amount to be credited back to the card in 30 days.

Would know of the status of the refund in two weeks time when it is due to be credited.

Did you get your refund?

I have sent three emails so far, which have all been ignored.

I am flying from Suvarnabhumi tomorrow so guess I will ask at the desk.

wow ur a picky b......, its no so long a flight to the land of smiles......... will u watch tv when u are here?

Hardly being picky, I personally consider 11/12 hours stuck in a Thai bone rattler with little or no entertainment quite daunting, that's one of the reasons I don't fly Thai any more, coupled with their prices.

Thai seem to have got the message, well at least as far as entertainment goes, they recently announced they will be upgrading their entertainment systems.

Not really sure what watching tv when in Thailand has got anything to do with entertainment on flights though.

I could be in a similar position with my UK passport, I am considering renewing it when I'm next in the UK, as it's much cheaper.

I just wondered with my extention of stay and re-entry permit in my old passport would it be problem free enough to justify the effort, or should I renew in Thailand and save the hassle whilst paying the UK Government more than I need?

Surprising they have ANY passengers with the high fares they charge. So many better airlines (newer aircraft / modern inflight entertainment) to choose from and most are cheaper. How long before Thai Airways goes the same way as JAL??

They seem to be determined to charge high prices and don't seem to be bothered that a large number of regular fliers are moving to other carriers.

Maybe the people in their lounges are Star Alliance passengers, you can even use their lounges, even if not a Gold Card holder, by holding some credit cards or even by using your Thai miles.

It's at the new Central Festival Shopping Centre though not sure if it's open yet.

Yes, they come into force in April, and they do not need to wait for Parliamentary approval to implement them.

Don't expect the Tories to reduce them if and when they get in later in the year, as 7by7 pointed out earlier very few voters in The UK give a stuff about the high level of charges for visas, I think most voters see high fees as a way of stemming the flow of immigration to the UK, and a way of reducing their tax liability. And make no mistake the high fees for relatives are aimed at the extended families from the Indian Sub Continent, but we all suffer as a result.

If the lady concerned, who is apparently now going to Egypt, is married to a non French EU National, she can travel to France, visa free, providing she is traveling with her husband, has a valid travel document and a valid UK residence permit with the endorsement "family member of EEA national" (this endorsement is compulsory to be visa exempted).

This is the relevant link, hope it helps.

http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Family-member...n-European.html

Of course this would not have helped the OP as his children would have still required a visa.

May I respectfully make one more point, the OP, who lives in England with his family, was seeking advice on a holiday destination near England, and somebody suggests Vietnam!

Hi oldgit,

Its true what Ray23 says and 99% right what dave suspects, Ive lived in Namsom 3 years now with the mrs, yes, she has the best beauty salon which does all, Sauna,massage,manicure,pedicure,haircut/styling,mudpack facials,hair dyes,wedding preparation,[early morning} unwanted hair removal,peg leg waxing, you name it, she does it,,

Our farm, its now totally organic, the main fruit now are bananas, next month will be Tamarind, some Papaya,we gave up on corn because of the labour costs to pick and process these,

I have my falang friends, Mark & Mike, english, Dennis, irish, Emil german, and every friday night, mrs will cook fish & chips with parsley sauce or mushy peas, @ a cost of 100bht per per person, she does a good assortment of western foods, but sausage egg & chips with bread and butter is a great favorite!!

Namsom, its a town of 8500 registered people, it probably exceeds that by 20%, the temple in the lake is really great, its been improved over the last 18 months with a supporting concrete wall around it, all done by local fund raising, same as the temple opposite our house, new dormitory & school being funded by locals having parties etc, Mrs has a lot to do with this,

Its a farming community, not much goes on here, what ive found is that peace of mind and an ability to be happy whatever the circumstances will contribute to my well-being,

So Oldgit, if you come to Namsom again, do drop in, just need 2 hours notice if you want fish& chips or any other easy falang food, that invite goes to all who wish to visit Namsom,

Cheers, Lickey & Pan,,

Good afternoon Lickey

We are driving to Namsom next month, the 18th, so I intend to to pop join your swaree on 19th if that's ok. I want to explore the area for a couple of days before driving back to Bangkok on 22nd.

At some stage I will need to make my mind up if I can live in the sticks.

Looking forward to meeting you all.

When you enter Regent House look at the first floor balcony ahead of you, that's where you need to be.

Go up the stairs and turn right, if one on the cowboys hasn't tried to nab you at the entrance there will be some more lurking here. The VFS office is on the right and there will be a security guard outside, checking you in, the VFS office is clearly marked.

The cowboys are in an office just to the left of VFS, they are very convincing. Remember VFS staff are in uniform, so no uniform it's not VFS and walk out.

It's been in the media over the last few days that the "Red Shirts" have announced that they will demonstrating at the airport some time next week, they have also said they would only demonstrate on the approach road and do not wish to close the airport.

The Post Office is very small so I doubt it very much, I have certainly never seen any.

Pretty sure there isn't a Mailbox type office either.

My question regarding the date has been answered.

The Mods might want to close this thread now.

Thank you all.

You are talking about two things here. If you and your thai family want to go to the UK, they must have visa for UK (that includes Scotland by the way). They cannot enter UK on Schengen visas, Britain is in the EU but not a Schengen member.

Yes, I think everybody, well nearly everybody, realises that, the OP did talk about his families current home country of England.

Looks very nice, I think I have missed out a lot in the region.

So Kan Beach is not by the sea then, it's on a lake? sorry to be so dumb, I really need to get away from Bangkok more.

Pictures are great, where is Kan Beach?

What is her status in The UK?

A Schengen Visa is, in my experience, is not that difficult to obtain and would certainly increase your options.

Failing that maybe Scotland, that's near England and very beautiful.

I think the most alarming point on these proposed new fees is the disparity between the actual cost and the fee charged, this proves once and for all that this is nothing more than a money making exercise.

Also I note the almost 200% increase, from £585 to £1680 for a dependent relative, I presume this would be charged in the event of a Thai wife settling in the UK with her children from a previous relationship.

I use the train everyday, and the way Thai's just push pass you to make sure they get on before you, this kind of thing was always going to happen at some point!

Thai's are just so ignorant at times! No manners, whatsoever!

I am always impressed by the orderly lines at the station but note that as soon as the doors open it's like the red lights have gone off at the start of a F1 race, it's everyone for themselves with most people fighting to get on the train first.

I commuted on the London Underground for years and my experience was that it wasn't very different, save they dispensed with niceties of the queue.

The BTS system is, in my opinion, brilliant, but as the system expands without any visible increase in capacity accidents like this will happen.

Hopefully this lady will make a full and speedy recovery.

As Lite Beer says this firm is a scam company and you had a lucky escape, others have not been so lucky.

You could inform the British Embassy but whilst they will probably ignore the complaint, or even acknowledge it, there has been an official report showing concerns about this practice, and they may ignore it at their peril.

The UK Visas does warn about the use of agents, but these people are very convincing.

We asked for a 6 month tourist visa for a 6 month visit. Granted.

Heathrow border asked lots of questions to a 6 month holiday.

He called his boss. Who said go with the visa in the passport allowed us in.

This is a good point and one that should always be remembered, a visa only allows you to travel but doesn't guarantee that you will be admitted into the country.

In this case Mark did it by the book, a six month visit was applied for, they were able to convince the ECO that it was a genuine visit and the visa was issued. The IO at the port of entry queried the length of the visit and referred it to his CIO, a case has to be referred if refusal is being considered, and in the case of refusing a visa holder they have to be satisfied that there is a material change since the visa was issued. A couple of points worth remembering, the IO's have access to the original application, there is a hand written number which refers to the case number, though I am not sure if the details are available electronically yet, also the IO has the power to search luggage for evidence that a longer visit than than declared.

You don't need a tourist visa, or any other kind of visa, to get an account with internet banking at Kasikorn.

I had the standard 30 day on arrival stamp, nothing more,

They are one and the same thing.

Actually, they are not the same thing, even though most people think they are. A tourist visa is a formal and separate category, like sports, educ, medical, etc, and the arrival stamp is simply that. (even though at the airport its called "visa on arrival").

Sorry to be pernickety but for the avoidance of doubt the "visa on arrival" is a visa which is issued to some visa nationals on arrival before they clear immigration; whereas an arrival stamp is put in the passport of everybody clearing immigration, be they passengers with visas, tourists who can enter visa free and even Thai nationals returning home.

Dunno about opening a suitcase, I couldn't even open the link.

Eventually the operations manager at Chiang Mai gave me the name, number and email of a responsible person in Bangkok and I could get the promised refund after four or five calls and emails. I remember once being told, "Sorry sir, refund machine is broken!"

Do you have that responsible persons contact number?

My emails remain unanswered and I am blowed if I will just forget it, it's become a matter of principal now, it's a pitty really because I quite like Air Asia.

Does anybody know the dates that Songkran will be celebrated in Pattaya this year?

Sorry, did I say celebrated.