remorhaz

In a Thai court they will favor you - you are a woman and you are Thai.  In an English court they will absolutely destroy him and force him to pay you 1/2 or more of his salary or pension under threat of prison (if in the US) and I think they yank your passport in England although that may only be the US and Australia.  He has no rights whatsoever in England you are holding all the cards.  And you probably know all of this already.  All you really have to do is say "I feel threatened" and the courts will descend on him like a pack of wolves and he'll never see his son again but if he misses a payment his life is over.

34 minutes ago, soidog99 said:

I showed this to my wife and she laughed. She said there is no Thai tradition and that she’s not letting you hold the baby because it’s probably not yours and doesn’t want you to get a good look at it.

THIS...  This is the most likely explanation.  Get a swab from the inside cheek of "your" child and send it in for a DNA test.  Don't be surprised at the results.

It won't be made easier but I can certainly see it being made more time consuming, less transparent, and a lot more expensive.  The tax office is looking for a new source of revenue so a 'reform' might not be the blessing people are hoping for.

Well obviously the solution is "falang must pay".  How they do this really isn't relevant they've strangled the goose that lays the golden eggs but its still kicking so lets run some electricity through it to keep its heart beating awhile longer.  

I know... any falang who owns a condo should be required to pay an outrageous property tax that destroys any value the condo once had and imposes a huge carrying cost.  That way, Thais can buy up the condos on the cheap and the land will rejoice.  Worry about the unintended consequences later.

Being an alcoholic is fine if done in moderation.  Assign yourself a small amount of alcohol at bedtime to drink and don't drink before bedtime.  Bring it down slowly over time so you don't shock your system and try to get it down to two shots which most people can handle long term.  

By the way how are you affording internet, rent, alcohol and food?  If you want to not be depressed try hunger and starvation.  These have brought lots out of depression in that they motivate you to work because starvation sucks and is best avoided.  Whoever is paying for your lifestyle at present should stop and you'd be amazed at how quickly those gnawing hunger pangs will suddenly motivate you to get to work.  

This will require at least 2 wais possibly 3....

The quickest way to move large sums of money into the kingdom is to simply get a girlfriend here - any gogo bar lady will do.  In no time at all you'll be moving large sums into Thailand with a 100% success rate.

The whole "proving you have enough money" is going to very quickly run into the war on cash that most countries seem to be engaged in.  If I walk through an airport with $10,001 dollars I need to fill out a ream of special forms declaring my cash and offering it for inspection... no chance of any official corruption there huh?  Last I checked simply showing plastic or a sheet with a bank balance isn't enough so I wonder what the long term solution will be.

23 hours ago, SteveK said:

If that's true, then Thailand should not really be top of your list of destinations to enjoy such things.

Very true sir... very true but Russia is cold.

2 hours ago, Joe Mcseismic said:

Why do people want to work for free for the biggest organized crime organization in Thailand?

Because there is likely a good chance you can get a little of that bogus fine money to keep for yourself.

On 7/27/2019 at 2:15 PM, manarak said:

would a woman doing this in the West be prosecuted?

No.  A woman doing this in the West isn't prosecuted its called 'marriage' and she is given cash and prizes and rewarded for fraud.

I'm surprised they didn't label them... "youths"....

"I am expecting a large inheritance soon, and wonder what entitlement my Thai wife would have in case she suddenly decided she wanted to divorce"

She and especially her family will *feel* entitled to ALL of it immediately and then some and all will be very angry and quite provoked if they don't all suddenly have new houses, cars, motorbikes, etc.  so play it safe and just shut up about it.  Do NOT tell her or anyone that you have it or downplay it a LOT.  If they do know you have it and can easily access it, you'll likely end up in a dark room with a nail gun pointed at your bollux, one hand tied down and the other only able to type on an old laptop so as to transfer all monies to some Thais account.

A wai and 500 baht should do the trick - then all will be well.

13 hours ago, nickstav said:

Funny, I was thinking just the opposite. A friend of mine, who has been here for 15 years and has a very successful business right in the center of the tourist area said this past year has been his worst ever, and if things don't improve he may pull up stakes and shut down. I'm in the Soi 94 area and the restaurants are hurting, but the bars at night seem to be doing ok. I've also noticed more than a few massage places have dropped their prices down to 200 Baht, although this might be normal for low season.

Well I just spent a week getting papers together - tourist visa for my annual visit - and each and every time I was told to come back with still more stuff.  I've got a Panamanian passport but both parents were American missionaries, Im white, but because of where I work I don't like using my US passport and haven't renewed it for many years.  The requirements for even a standard tourist visa have been going up up up these last years.  Sealed official letter from my employer now required, fax from the place I'm staying now required, complete color copy of my passport and all pages now required, prior 3 years of my bank statement now required, all this for a 7 day stay.   Also on the internet is says $40 for a single entry and I was now just told its $140....  I know it isn't just me having issues visiting, they really are turning the screws on visitors and potential visitors so it seems kind of crazy that they would then complain that numbers of tourists are low.  Yes I know that I am not sporting an EU or US/Western country passport so a lot of this is invisible to you folks from there but trust me its getting hard for everyone.

1 hour ago, reefsurfah said:

Its up to you to decide if its worth it, there will always be hurdles for any country.   Unfortunately, the ones who abused the system are making it tougher for everyone else.  Like everything else in life, all good things come to an end.  Maybe its better you try HCM to see if that changes you.  If it doesn't, Thailand will still be here.

Your statements are correct of course there will be hurdles and I realize that Panama isn't Norway? (I think they are the number one visa free country now it changes a lot).  Still it would be nice and  if they took my past into account.  "Right.  Guy shows up for 10 days, drops a wad of money on tourist stuff and tours then leaves.  Repeat.  Never over stays.  Always stays at really nice hotels.  Not Bill Gates but spends a decent amount of money. No problems with the law."    

I know that its unrealistic and the guys at the consulate are simply looking at a checklist but they really do paint with a wide brush.  I am unaware of legions of my fellow Panamanians over-running the country and overstaying their visas but maybe I am just ill informed.  I will try HCM I've heard good things about it and if you or anyone bumps into a Panamanian at a bar in HCM who is frustrated with Thai visa procedures mention this thread and your first beer is on me.

Virgins galore?  Okay sign me up stupid pills ????