simey

The law is not unclear here, neither does it seem particularly unfair. Ignorance of the law has never been an excuse, and there does not seem to be any vaguaries with the law here to get confused about. It's even stamped in your passport as a reminder. You have plenty of time to make the plan to leave, to not do so is either stupid in the extreme or shows a disregard for the law of the host country that is not to be tolerated either.

Thailand is one of the countries regularly excluded by ATM / POS card issuers - I've had my UK issued visa and amex questioned there regularly. And watch for the skimmers in ATMs - you can normally tell as the skimmer sits proud of the card reader and there must also be a small camera somewhere to record your pin entry.

All over in the next few years though - those little smart chips appearing on your credit cards will soon be used for verification for transactions where the customer is present - for online the plan is to issue people with chip readers attached to the PC that verifies the PIN you will use.

My card got debited after use in Mexico - amex tried to tell me it wasn't fraud as it only happened once! I got the money back from the online company (web hosting) byt threatening them with legal action as they did not have a signature.

Gambler, you really need to get a lot more information before you start - and this forum is usually more specific about the questions and responses. I'd recommend you do a lot more investigation and then come back with some specific questions. I'd also recommend you consider this VERY carefully - you are not the first to try something like this and you may find it's not as easy as it first appears.

I've sent you a pm samuiman, with the details. I'll use that rather than clutter the forum with discussions on life in Samui.

Hey Samuiman,

I did/do the same (my property in Samui may well be on the same project as yours). I rented for the first time this year to help out a freind of mine who runs a web site renting properties - she handles everything outside Thailand and therefore there is no problem with the local taxes. Some agents there (including the one that runs the project) insist that you have a thai company and the money is paid into that but it seems to be a bit over-the-top.

Having a company can have advantages - other posts in this forum indicate that you can use the company to get a longer visa and you might be able to transfer the land into the company name and get out of the 30+30 lease thing.

There's a difference between typos made during the typing of a message and spelling mistakes - we all make errors while typing (especially those of us using only two fingers to type) but that doesn't explain errors in spelling. You are right in saying that it doesn't matter when it comes down to getting the message across, however it does matter when the spelling mistakes make your post seem less intelligent. And I would have thought that, of anyone, an english teacher would be subject to scrutiny over their spelling at least.

As much as I love Thailand, probably for the reason that it is so different to the western world, the place does live in the past a little bit. The days of international travel being reserved for the likes of Alan Whicker are long gone, and the restriction on peoples choice of place to live should go with them.

We all understand that countries need to protect themselves and their legal citizens from use and abuse by people from other countries with bad motives, however the with cheap air travel the world is a very small place now and people can and will travel.

It is very xenophobic to regard everyone not Thai as just that - a farang. Despite the faults of the western world most countries do enforce a non-discriminatory policy and that must help integration between cultures. The more Thailand authorities (as opposed to the people themselves) observe a Thai and faramg policy the more they encourage insular attitudes by farangs.

I agree with Axel, we are obliged to be polite and respectful but we are not obliged to behave thai any more than we are allowed to become thai citizens.

Must be something you do, LC. I feel very left out here - I insulted ducky, even gave him a clue about his reply to me, but he ignored me. Fortunately a conversation with these types doesn't take a lot of concentration so I guess you barely notice the effort of replying.

Froggy, as far as I understand the ONLY thing you have to show when flying into Thailand is that you have a way of leaving, usually an air ticket. They don't actually care where you go, so long as it's out of Thailand. Therefore you can buy any ticket out of Thailand you want (e.g. a flight to Penang) and just show this if requested when you check in. You DON'T have to prove that you are flying back to where you started.

When I was questioned in Sydney they suggested that I went to one of the airline counters and booked a flight out of Thailand within the visa time - but they didn't care where. Just book the ticket to Penang, leaving within the visa time, and take it (or printed confirmation if it's an e-ticket) when you check in to fly to Thailand. You should be fine. Sounds like you need a break in the LOS - you are getting a bit stressed now!

I missed the warnings about Samui - was there a specific thread?

The point is valid - overstay is overstay and it's everybodys own responsibility to make sure that they do the visa run in time. If they were 5 hours over at Nathon then they would be another 5 hours at least by the time they hit Malaysia or Myanmar. I feel sorry for them to be held up as examples in this way, but we all need to be careful these days and leaving the visa run until the last minute was walking a dangerous path.

It's really down to the airline itself. The written rule is that you must show an onward ticket when checking in for a flight to thailand (assuming a tourist visa), however if the thai immigration refuse you entry into the country you get sent back to where you came at the expense of the airline that flew you in. Some airlines take this seriously and check your onward ticket (such as happend to me at Sydney with Thai), others don't seem to care (as with BA in London).

Some it comes down to whether you take the gamble of flying in with a one way ticket or not. Do you feel lucky, as Clint would say.

Personally I don't like to take the chance so I always book an onward or return flight, however this is easy for me as I usually have to go on somewhere within a month or two anyway. I usually book Thai because they are so obliging about changing the dates.

If you can book something in advance as proof at checkin then I would, I'm sure plenty of people here have flown on 1-way tickets with no problems but my tale from Sydney was not something I heard from a freind of a freind, that was my experience. I'm sorry I can't offer you a definite answer - which airline are you using?

Bizarrely enough I own the house (as in the materials, the building itself) but I lease the land on a 30 year recurring lease. I suppose that means I could technically no extend the lease on the land and then move the house somewhere else, although it and the land are pretty well connected and the separation would probably not go well!

A couple of my freinds have a Thai company and 'own' the land using that, I leave the land in the name of the Thai company that owns the project where my house is and have a 'blue book' that shows I own the house and use it.

Seems from the web sites that not just any house/condo will do, it has to be bought from the owner at a price agreed by some goverment agency and be on their list of approved condos. Shame.

Rooo, let us know the details soon as you spoke to the consulate. I've got a house in Samui that cost 12 mill and it would be great to be able to use that as proof of investment for a 1 year visa. I would think owning a house (as opposed to the land which I 'rent') should be considered the same type of investment as buying a condo?

Hmmm, my first visit outside of the 'visa' forum and I find some oxygen thief called Ducky whose limited vocabulary doesn't seem to prevent him from posting as many times as he can. I suspect that of his limited brain capacity most of it is tied up with basic life functions such as breathing - in and out ducky, keep going. And don't be surprised by the bad grammar and spelling, I suspect ducky has his favourite web sites open in another browser and is typing one-handed most of the time.

Lovelycutie, why bother making his day by replying? The guy has no life outside of this, maybe if we gave him some time on his own he could read a book and learn a few new words?

ducky, if you are going to reply to me then I expect a different insult than the rest, otherwise I'll suspect that you really do only know a few words of english. Give it a try......

A good freind of mine owns a 'massage parlour' in Samui and I hang out in the bar there a lot, with my (oz) girlfreind. Once the girls realise you are not on their target list they become great fun to talk to, and would probably surprise you with their level of intelligence. They can also be very good at helping you with local customs - you need to know things like how important the wrapping of a birthday present is if you are going to fit in with Thai culture. I regard them all as my freinds and would miss their company, I'm glad I gave them a chance.

and ease up on the exclamation marks! it's starting to scare me!!!!

Don't know about refunds, but Thai are very good about letting you change the dates of tickets. I've changed my return date of my flights both in Bangkok and Sydney and they are always very relaxed about changing the dates and have never charged me, unlike airlines like BA. Maybe you might need your ticket later - just book it and then change the date to as late as you can when you get there.

Re my previous post, it's only Thai that have ever questioned my visa. I have flown with BA (with a return date 6 months after arrival and no visa in my passport) and they did not question me. Better to be safe than sorry though.

I was initially refused boarding on a Thai flight from Sydney to Bangkok as I had left my BA flight tickets from BKK to LHR at my house in Samui. For a while they insisted that I buy an onward ticket from BKK to anywhere outside Thailand, however I asked to speak to the supervisor and showed her the two-month tourist visa I had along with the other visas showing that I come and go frequently from BKK - she was persuaded and let me board but warned me that next time I would be denied. Now I always get a return (ofen they are as cheap as one-way) - it's a real bad start to the trip if you get denied baording at Hong Kong and get delayed. My advice would be as above - buy a train ticket out, get a return, or buy the cheapest flight you can out of thailand within your visa time.

You still need a visa for a 30 day stay, it's just that a visa-on-arrival can be obtained at the airport whereas a visa for a longer stay (2 months) can only be obtained from the consulate. Make sure you take your return tickets, passport photos and money when you go to the consulate, and allow at least a couple of days for them to process it. Check the opening times too - Sydneys consulate only handles visa applications between 2pm and 3pm, Dublins only works on a postal system and can take up to 3 weeks, Amsterdam stamps them as you wait.

I would go to the consulate and apply for a 2 month tourist visa, that way you are covered for most eventualities. I'm not sure whether volunteer work (unpaid) counts as an infringement of a tourist visa?

allow plenty of time for the transfer too. I have money paid into a Bangkok bank account every month and it gets there fine, but previously I had money transferred from a UK bank to Siam Commercial and it disappeared for 3 weeks - according to the trace my bank did the money took a holiday in Singapore courtesy of Siam Commercial before actually getting to the bank account it was supposed to.

On the bank account thing - I own a house in Samui where I live for 3 to 4 months per year. I usually travel on a tourist visa and last year both me and my aussie girlfreind opened separate accounts at Bangkok Bank in Samui by just turning up with our passports and some money (200 baht each) to open the account with. Got the passbook and international ATM card there and then, been using both without any problems since.

Bank accounts are important for more than just visa regulations, whenever you have work done in Thailand (e.g. work on the house) then the Thais usually expect you to pay by transferring money from your bank account to theirs - credit cards are not really well accepted and it's difficult to have large amounts of cash on you.

It all sounds easy, I made the mistake of driving through the Thai immigration and then through the Malaysian immigration also because I wasn't sure exactly where to stop. In Sadao there are guys that look like motorcycle taxis sitting at the side of the road at tables - I beleive that they have all the forms necessary and for a price will take you over the border and back. And for anyone driving down there for the first time, both the Thai and Malaysian immigration points would only let me use the walk-up cabin, so I had to park the car both times and walk over. Make sure you leave the car parked and do it by foot, it's hot but easier that arguing over the Malaysian car insurance.

I flew in from the UK with BA and was not asked about a return ticket, however both times I've flown in from Oz (Melbourne and Sydney) with Thai they have demanded to see my return tickets. But you don't need to return to your point of origin, you just need to prove you are going to leave the country. Try buying the cheapest ticket out you can (for example Bangkok air from Samui to Singapore) and then get a refund after you get here. It's better than sitting in the airport with your bags packed and watching the happy tourists leave without you!