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sandmonster
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Posts posted by sandmonster
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2 hours ago, scorecard said:
Just one point - beware of the insider trading, happens frequently with both big and small listed companies. on the Thai exchange.
Same on every exchange in the world. Nothing exceptional about Thailand ????
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To finalise the adventure, I went to get my 1 year extension yesterday using 800K method. In the morning, went to BK bank, took some money out just to update the passbook. Got the letter from the bank staff, drove to the petrol station opposite CM Immigration, and got photocopies of all pages of my passport including the TM30 and TM6. Also copies of my passbook, bank letter, proof of address documentation. It was around lunchtime when I arrived so it wasn't busy. Filled in the TM7, signed every photocopy, submitted at the front desk and got a ticket for extensions. Didn't need to wait as I was the only one. Went straight to the desk where a friendly and smiley IO had a quick check at all the papers, made me fill in 2 forms about overstays etc, 1900bt paid. She said the first 90 reporting needs to be in person and there is NO NEED to show any financial documentation. 2nd reporting can be done online etc. Then sat down and waited for my photo to be taken. Waited another 5mins and my passport was returned with all the new stamps correct. In all, it took under 20 mins from joining the first queue to walking out. I decided to do a TM8 multi-entry at that point, so over to the petrol station to get the relevant passport pages and the new page photocopied. Went through the Re-entry queue and that was all painless too, and done in 30 mins.
Well done CM Immigration. 10/10. In and out in under 1 hour on a Friday lunchtime.-
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On 2/4/2019 at 6:16 AM, farangx said:
Chinese numbers are not big yet. If it becomes huge which IMO is unlikely, the rules will adapt.
I think ferang totally underestimate the numbers of Chinese retirees here. "They all look the same" innit ????
Can't speak for all of Thailand, but anecdotal evidence from my trip to CM IM last month. Was having a pleasant chat to the IO who was dealing with my Non Imm O for retirement... how many do you process a day etc etc, where are retirees from etc etc. She said about 50% of cases from China. I would hazard a guess the retirees started coming in huge numbers around 2012-13 after that movie prompted them to visit, followed by them buying condos in bulk. Since China doesn't have much of a welfare state or pension schemes, the average Chinese retiree here will be cash rich and won't be worried about 800K baht on deposit.
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23 hours ago, ajnamoon said:
You have 7 days to report TM30 on return to Thailand from abroad
This was confirmed to me by IO at Chiang Mai 2 months ago
I did it last month, and the officer said you have 4 days to report if the residence information hasn't changed. Does that imply its less if you change residence ? Who knows... the rules are up to the officer is my conclusion.
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9 hours ago, Ravi98008 said:To Sandmonster
Thanks for your post describing your experience. For the sake of my benefit and the rest who will follow this thread, could you please be kind enough to list in order the documents you put together to make your application complete and accepted by the immigration office, greatly appreciate, thanks
This is what I submitted under my circumstances, 2 sets
1. Main page of passport, Tourist VISA + extension ( Need 21+ working days remaining for the application )
2. Entry stamp, TM6.
3. Original Bank Letter (no older than 7 days), ID page of passbook, passbook entries for period of 800K+ funds sourcing with the LAST ENTRY SHOWING the balance on the DATE OF APPLICATION and MUST NOT BE LESS THAN the amount confirmed in Bank's letter ( So don't take cash out on the day to get an update. Do a deposit or a counter update if available on the day )
4. Evidence of foreign sourcing of funds. In my case, all receipts from Transferwise.
5. Residence details. In my case, Blue book signed by owner, owner ID card. Signed Letter in Thai from owner confirming my residence & relationship.
6. TM30 notification ( + receipts for any associated fines if relevant - IMPORTANT )
7. Letter to whom it many concern declaring your full name, identified with passport number and citizenship, how you will financially support your retirement. A statement of truth. A paragraph or 2, not specific details.
8. Photo 6x4 blue background. signed at back
9. TM86 form . Add phone and email on the back
All sheets ( except the original bank letter ), signed in BLUE ink, + FULL NAME IN CAPITALS, same orientation as info. I would advise writing below, leaving a white space area all around of approx 3in so they can stamp over the signature + name part. You do not need to date any sheets. Do not simply photocopy the original set. All signatures must be original.
For the bank letter, ONLY sign and name the duplicate copy. DO NOT write on the original !
I would advice only use 1 sheet single per piece of info. Definitely do the TM30 notice on its own. Don't use double sided photocopies.
Safer to use their TM86 from the information counter ( It HAS to be double sided )
Create 2 sets. Note 1 as the original set ( with official bank letter ). The other is the duplicate. Put in 2 seperate folders for them. Group the TM30 stuff with the residence info. They will appreciate it.
Hope that helps. Be sympathetic to their inflexibility. There is method to their madness if you imagine each IO has to do this 20x a day, 5 days a week, 85% from non English speakers.
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36 minutes ago, JackThompson said:
I am glad to hear they are no longer setting appointments way-off into the future - beyond which your 21-days minimum hass passed - unless you used an agent. No idea why they still want 21 days instead of the normal 15.
I would say your process went very smoothly for that service. Thanks for posting the report. I think you are very likely to get your stamp, but let us know if any issues come up.
My next appointment works out at 15 working days after submission ( 31 and 1 are holidays ). No idea why they said I needed 21 working days remaining on my VISA to apply. But I heard that from 2 seperate IOs.
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10 hours ago, cmsally said:
Don't forget that many of the drivers do not speak Bangkok Thai so well, it is not impossible therefore that there was a misunderstanding.
My Thai friends say thats rubbish. They all speak Bangkok Thai well enough.
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I was at CM Immigration yesterday to change my 2 month tourist VISA into a non-O for retirement purposes. I have read most of the posts on this so I was kinda prepared but never 100% sure. Even so, here are some oddities and ad-hoc rules I faced yesterday. Its gonna be stressful, so stay relaxed and calm ( even with a local friend helping to translate .. it helps for sure as the officers can't really speak English well, and it certainly puts them at ease dealing with a local CM dialect speaker ). Accept you may be going back and forth to get the application submitted ( but not yet approved ). I had got my Bangkok Bank letter the previous say for 100bt and all the documents I thought I needed. My funds were sent in 2 batches in early September using Transferwise and I printed out the statements from them. Thats the only "proof" I had that they were sourced from abroad, so I thought what the hell, better than nothing. The dates and amount entries match whats in my bank book so fingers crossed, pray and hope. My 2 month tourist VISA expires on 24th Jan.
I arrived at 10am and went to the main information queue to get a TM86 application form. The grumpy male IO handed me 2 blank TM86s ( without even looking at me ), said "fill in and come back". Just accept that he's stressed out and won't be all smiles unless you are a young, pretty chinese or korean girl. The place was chaos with nowhere to fill in the form. Bring a dark BLUE biro ( NEVER use black ). I filled in 1 form on my knees in the carpark and attached all my documentation, all signed and dated ( DO NOT SIGN the bank letter ). My photo was 6x4cm with a blue background. Went back to the info queue ( quite short around 10am ), and he had a quick look through all the sheets, took 1900bt and handed me a receipt, wrote the words Tourist and some dates on the form ( not sure at this stage why ). He then handled me a "T" queue slip which was confusing as that means "Tourist extension". I used the happy queue app on my mobile to check the position and queueing time. I was no T59 , and 20 behind the front. The app had an ETA of 11.45am. Anyway the queue shortened much faster than the app estimated as many people either didn't turn up when called or had popped out, trusting the accuracy of the app ? I was called at 11.15 to another IO. Junior and much more cheerful. He seemed confused when I told him I had applied for a non-O. In my passport, they had given me a 30 day Tourist extension. After discussing with the seniors, he said I didnt have enough time left on my tourist VISA to do the non-O. They stated I needed 21 WORKING DAYS left on the current VISA to apply. So it seems without telling me, or explaining, or asking me to apply for an extension, they just gave me one ( even though it was on the wrong form for a Tourist extension ). OK, stay calm.. and start again. Back to the info queue and the grumpy officer gave me 2 more TM86 blank forms. He said "fill in, 2 copies of everything". I asked if I could do one set and photocopy the other. He blanked me or didn't understand so I did 2 sets seperately to be safe. So back to filling in 2 x TM86 on the bench outside, then across the road to the petrol station to get more blue photos and photocopies. I signed the copy of the bank letter. Keep the TM30 seperate from others for copies. Then back to the grumpy queue again. This time he looked again through the pile and gave me a K queue ticket of K12. It was already on K11 but I could see the counter for processing K was at the back of the room where 1-1 desk interrogations took place with a non smiling female IO. 20 mins later, K12 was called and I walked up to disturb an existing interview. The female IO gave me a dirty look and sent me to the back to another female IO, much more smiley. This IO went through the documentation and commented my bank book must show an entry for THAT DAY ( with an amount EQUAL to or MORE than the amount in the bank latter ). YOU CANNOT withdraw money from an ATM and update the bank book as the amount would be less ). She kindly advised us to go to the bank counter where they can do a current day entry update. She said ONLY Bangkok Bank can do this current date entry, and with other banks, you need to deposit cash and then update. She also asked me to write a simple letter confirming where my funds came from e.g savings, rent , etc etc. The MAP was not asked for. Also, there were 2 new forms with T&Cs and warnings about overstay penalties which I signed but didn't date at that point. So off to Airport plaza, get some lunch and sit down at a coffee shop to write a letter and its copy. After lunch, back to get another K ticket and revisit our friendly K queue IO. At the desk she went through each piece of documentation on on both sets and highlighted key parts with a marker. Then she stamped each form over my signatures and asked me to write my full name as well next to my signature. She warned me I shouldn't have dated each. Finally I dated the 2 new forms. During all this she happily answered my questions about how the approval works and how many she deals with a day. Suffice to say its scores a day, 50% are from chinese, each needs over 10 levels of management approval, her boss didn't like signatures upside down from the main information so please make the orientation right, and about 3 inches below the information ( so her stamp fits perfectly over it ). She praised me for staying so calm and how I had included almost all the documents perfectly first time. I would deduce it takes multiple visits with non english speakers or stressed out ferang. Then I paid 2000bt, got a receipt in my passport stating a return date of 21 Jan. They took a photo and I was on my way about 3pm.
I hope my report will be of help to you and others. But remember, its just one friendly IO at CM dealing with a local dialect friend of mine. I have no idea if my non-O will be approved it yet.
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20 hours ago, moontang said:
no, but it has been indicated that there are at least two different Japanese eyeglass outlets in CM that are not up to par.
ummm... Did the OP ask for information on bad places ? I think you will find he wanted to know good places. We should all bow to your empirical proof that Owndays must be just as bad as every optician with a Japanese sounding name, which BTW is probably not even Japanese lol. Should I ignore my own experience, or a rating of 4.9 /5 from 5000+ votes on their Facebook ?.. they must be all fake..
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On 10/12/2018 at 3:36 AM, moontang said:
Ummm....is that the only Japanese themed optician in CM? Ummm..no it isn't.
Ummm.. so one japanese themed optician bad implies all are bad ? Ummm... no it doesn't.
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On 10/6/2018 at 3:10 PM, moontang said:
That Japanese themed franchise in one of the older malls was a joke. Also made an appointment at RAM and it turned out to be a 13:00 cattle call....doctor showed up about 14:00. I bailed, and will never go to RAM again. Haven't met anyone yet who can do better on random distance tests..me using Zennis and a seven year old prescription from Arizona.
Umm.. I think you need your eyes tested again ? Owndays don't and have never existed in any of the older malls.
CM 's only branch recently opened at Festival.
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On 10/4/2018 at 1:39 PM, YogaVeg said:
2 questions:
-How much were those glasses?
-Do they give you a copy of your rx?
Thanks!
The price of frames include up to 1.67 lens + UV + anti-dust coasting. A set varies in price from about 2000 to 4000bt ( high end ones are made in Japan ). No sneaky extras.
They do the same set of eye tests as at Vision Centre and give you all the readouts to take away. It was nice of them to compare the readings with my 3 current sets so I could see how they all varied. Shows its probably not an exact science as my eyes are stable.
I actually bought a semi-frameless titanium set for about 3500bt which is in their upper ranges, and as there was an offer on a 2nd set, I bought a cheaper steel set for 2000bt which is dual use, takes snap-on optional different colour shades.
As one of my readings was bigger than -4, they had to order in from BK but usually they can do a set in 20mins on site. Took 3 days for mine. All perfect still after 2 months of daily use.
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I have used a number of opticians in CM including Vision Centre ( who incidently got my prescription wrong as I recently found out in the UK and at Owndays in Central Festival ).
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Owndays over Vision Centre now. Full eye tests on site, most prescriptions made on site if under +-4 within the hour. Very professional all round with excellent english. A huge selection of frames which are excellent quality for the price. They are a top chain from Japan but are expanding all over Asia v. fast. I think they are a new breed of "retail disruptor" with top value, speed and levels of service and aftercare. Check out their website first and pay a visit to Central Festiaval. Global Japanese retailers are usually excellent and Owndays is no exception.
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2 hours ago, Kieran00001 said:
At the very beginning of the clip the security guard has his hand up in the passengers face pushing him away from him when the man swings his arm over the security guards' and toward his head, that is when the security guard tries to strike the passenger.
I must be blind ( but I did get new specs last week so I doubt it ), but I see the tourist bring his arm to stop the security guard shoving this forceful hand into his face, and he was successful by pushing it down and away. Towards his head ? Ummm, maybe u need new specs too ? The tourist might be an AH, but in no way did he attempt to strike the guard during that clip.
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Lazada is a platform. Sellers can come from anywhere and they name their price. Nothing to do with Lazada itself being expensive or not. Some stock is shipped by Lazada on behalf of some sellers, usually bigger ones. I think these are in the LazadaMall e.g Official Samsung & Xiaomi shops
I recently bought a bunch of phones for family and friends from Lazada shipped by Lazada Mall. Pocophone F1, 2 x Xiaomi Mi A1, 1 x Redmi 6A. All on the 9.9 flash sales. Nowhere else on any platform or shop online was it available and cheaper at that moment in time. All delivered next day cash on delivery.
I won't post stupid one off examples and claim its scientific proof its the cheapest LOL . Happy bunny now with crazy value Poco Phone F1 for 9990Bt.
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Just now, Chassa said:
Not my terminology, free delivery.
But by complaining they are putting on delivery charges, you are one of those who think it was "free delivery" before ...
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5 hours ago, Chassa said:
Guess they've got to do something, since they put delivery charges on, most goods are cheaper at Big C.
I have never understood people who actually think delivery should be or IS actually free. Its just marketing for the gullible masses who think its a great deal when something is "free". But there is no such thing as free delivery. Just ask ANY e-commerce seller. "Free delivery" actually means "including delivery charges". Who cares if they are now more honest and quote delivery charges when what matters is the total cost.
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2 hours ago, Chassa said:Guess they've got to do something, since they put delivery charges on, most goods are cheaper at Big C.
Big C don't have 1% of the choice of goods I buy from Lazada unfortunately. Nothing I want is cheaper at Big C. The cash on delivery option is a big attraction. Saves time and money. I am a fan. Lazada brings Thailand into the 21st century.
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Have used 3BB in North CM for 4 years. Zero complaints. Service offline maybe 3 or 4 times during that time. Excellent English CS helpline. The best I have dealt with in any Thai organisation. Better than most UK providers tbh. I suspend my UK ISP service when I go abroad, and trust me that is a bloody nightmare to deal with. Many billing systems are just not designed to deal with "exception" events.
If this situation has the OP worked up so much, how has he managed to stay sane for 15 years. I don't get it. Most ex-pats "get" Thailand pretty quick and learn to chill. "Real world problems". Deal with it...
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4 hours ago, ukrules said:
I hope all vapers stop coming to Thailand until the law is changed. It will be changed, it's just a matter of when.
Ouch ! that will really hit the tourist industry and teach the Thai's a lesson
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20 minutes ago, Tidybeard said:
I still don't get these declared numbers of tourists. I reckon on maybe 4 major International airports in Thailand where the Chinese can arrive. Let's say each airport has 6 planes arriving each day from China. Each plane has an average of 250 passenger ( some 120 some 400 ) There are 28 days in Feb, so roughly... 4 x 6 x 250 x 28 = 168,000.
Even if there are 10 planes a day .... 1.2m ????
10 ? I think you are just a tad out with your estimates. Just checking tiny Chiangmai Airpot today, there are 19 flights arriving from China ( including HK where most will be flying indirect from China ).
You may count the others at your leisure :)
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Its all vetted online before you personally handover the hardcopy application form now. They are VERY VERY strict. The online part will say certain items like proof of finances are optional and then their online vetting will say its needed. So give that part a day or 2 just in case to allow for the possible back & forth negotiations. My advice is to forget Singapore. If you MUST, then pass the ONLINE part first before going to Singapore. You will need images of all the documents and get them uploaded into their web form. Once thats approved, get everything printed out and submit at the Embassy on a weekday morning. Then its usually picked up the next working day afternoon subject to final approval. The lady at the Embassy was grumpy as hell and if you have a history of STVs, they warn you about only spending 90 days in 180. They CAN reject you at the window during submission and they can reject you after that too. I printed my form direct from their website and for some reason the last line of the form was cut off by the printer which I hadn't noticed ( maybe something to do with A4 or Letter format ). The lady at the window refused to accept it and refused to let me re-write on a blank form which they had there. It MUST be printed from the online version. Luckily she took all the other documents and told me to go and re-print it and return before lunchtime and she would accept the submission. I ran around Orchard Rd trying to find a print copy shop. The high end hotels will do it for you if you have the PDF file but you have to bend over $S5. I found a small shop that did it for 50c. So I went back, rejoined the queue, waited for the same lady to be free and she accepted the submission. The fee must be in cash S$ and exact amount. She gave me a receipt and told me to come back tomorrow to collect if the online status said Approved. Sometime that day the status changed to Approved, so I went in the next afternoon to collect.
Never again.... HK is much more laid back, friendly and fast. The staff at Singapore appeared very aloof and anti-tourist. One young lady asked if she could get someone else to collect the next day. She explained she had taken a day off work already and couldn't afford to take another. The embassy lady had no sympathy. Her attitude was "Tough sh*t, I don't make up the rules". Reminded me of my headmaster ...
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I think you will find they will use up your Tourist Visa first. I encountered such a situation years ago and the officer insisted thats how its done. You may have better luck, but don't bank on it...
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After reading this thread, I started researching other ways to send funds to Thailand from the UK. I have now used Transferwise from the UK twice and both times seamless and perfect. Cost wise, blows away any other way. All required ID checks were automatically done online in seconds at registration. Can't recommend it highly enough. All regulated and ring fenced by the FCA, so as safe as any bank. Some big names behind this venture including Peter Thiel, co-counder of Papal. Love it when a disrupter comes along and smashes the traditional greedy banks.
Haze casts shadow over Songkran tourism
in Thailand News
Posted
Strange how the TVF ferang keep perpetuating the myth that the Chinese spend less than the western cheap charlies
http://www.thaiwebsites.com/tourism-income-Thailand.asp