stbkk

Much better to have both if you are entitled, I'd say. My son leaves/enters Thailand on his Thai passport, and leaves/enters the UK on his UK passport.

On ‎2‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 8:32 AM, Preacher said:

It is enough that only 1 parent accompanies the minor for the passport application, but the mother will still need to give permisison. She can do that at any amphur, where they will legalise her signature.

Being the legal father is not enough, unless you have sole custody awarded by the court both parents need to give permission for the new passport.

Slightly different to my experience in the Bangkok Thai passport centre last month. My ex-wife went with our 15 year old son to renew his Thai passport, and they phoned me saying I had to go to sign the application as well. So in our case they wanted both the Thai mother and British father there.

36 minutes ago, topt said:

Did you notice any particular good prices on gloves/shoes/apparel by any chance? 

I wasn't looking for shoes or clothes to be honest, but there were lots of sales on pretty much everything as far as I could tell. Some shops/stalls were discounting a lot, and some nothing at all, so if you go and look I'd expect you to find some deals.

And the answer is - Yes it is definitely closing, in March.

I was there this afternoon (Sunday), and asked a lady who runs one of the stalls that I have known for a few years. She said there will still be selling going on in February, but not much in March.

Some of the shops are closing completely but some are moving to a new building close by. Its up the far end of Soi Thaniya and turn right apparently, just on Rama IV. Not quite so convenient for the skytrain/MRT, but still OK I guess.

Three floors are still pretty much as I remember, although with a lot of sales going on.

Steve

Hi all,

I am thinking about selling my Alpine membership.

I am one part of a 3 person 'corporate' membership, which is registered to a close friends Company (he's British, and a long term resident here so its a stable/safe company. He has also just got his Thai citizenship, so is not going anywhere soon!).

The membership is also lifetime (not time limited like many here), so can be transferred/sold on.

Its a great course and club, and despite the hi-so reputation has a pretty friendly environment.

The only reason I'm thinking of selling is that I've just come back to playing after a few years off with shoulder problems, and my old group have pretty much all left and/or are now playing elsewhere.

I only want to get back what I paid for it 15 years ago, and looking at their current prices it is a huge saving on new lifetime memberships.

PM me for more details.

Steve

STA does not allow their teachers to tutor their own pupils, apparently. I guess the logic is that they should be doing that job in class?

Also my son is not particularly happy with the (new) maths teacher, and thinks he would be more comfortable with an outside tutor. 

Hi all,

I hope somebody can help me or recommend somewhere I can look for assistance.

My son is in Year 11 at St. Andrews International at Ekamai in Bangkok. He was in the accelerated Maths group in Y10 and has already completed his IGCSE Maths (normally a 2 year course) in 1 year getting an A. He is now doing an additional Edexcel 'Pure Maths' IGCSE, (again in one year), which is apparently much harder (IB Core level), and would like some extra tutoring for a few months to help.

Mainly with calculus, but some other topics as well possibly.

Our location is mid-Sukhumvit, Phrakhanong/Ekamai, but travel would not be an issue if it is on the BTS/MRT.

Is there anybody out there who can help, or does anybody know of someone who might be able to help, please?

Must be a fluent English speaker, as although my son is bi-lingual he says he would be much more comfortable dealing with this complex subject in English.

PM me with any information, please.

Thanks very much to all, and wish all of you a happy and prosperous new year.

Steve

3 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

I mentioned that the regulations state 3 years but when I applied (using a knowledgeable agent who was the Thai husband of a Thai female engineer work colleague) the Imm. folks at Soi Suan Plu said they would only accept applications where the foreign had about 7 years of WPs and Tax clearances.

 

At that time I had WPs and tax clearances quite a few years more than 7, and my application was accepted.

 

I did also mention (in this thread) that I didn't know whether the '7 years' part was still the 'rule' and I did invite others to share their experiences on this point.

 

What's happened on this point since I applied I have no idea. Several comments seen to indicate that the 3 year rule is now observed.  

 

 

 

That's interesting. How long ago did you apply, if I might ask, please? I applied in 2006, and it was definitely only 3 years asked for then.

I've skimmed this thread out of interest, and it seems you need to refer to the excellent Camerata thread on PR for up to date accurate information.

Its a long thread, but full of what you need to know.

For what its worth, based on my own experience (applied in 2006 granted in 2012) and several personal friends who have had it granted since, a couple of things:

1. Work permit and completed Thai tax returns for 3 years (only 3 years - no idea where the 7 years came from?) as essential. They will not even accept your application without them.

2. Almost 100% of the applicants apply under the 'expert' category, I believe.

3. Not sure about the language requirements. Certainly when I got mine they were very limited. I've not heard of anybody being asked to read or write, that's for sure. Although the verbal 'check' is a bit more taxing now, I understand.

All you need to keep your PR over this period is to return to Thailand for a day or two to renew your non-immigrant quota re-entry visa just before it expires (valid for 1 year). Takes a couple of hours usually (at Chaeng Wattana anyway).

If you cannot manage that, then as posted above, your PR is lost and its back to square one with a new application.

As per UbonJoes post above, there is a very large topic already about this, which contains a lot of facts and actual experiences from people who have gone through the PR process. I'd suggest anybody interested starts there to get an accurate picture.

My own experience.

1. I applied in 2006 and it was granted in 2012. Although from the recent threads above it now seems to be taking more like 1-2 years to get approved.

2. I did not use a lawyer or any legal service at all throughout my application. My wife and I got all of the documents together (a lot) with advice and assistance from the PR section in immigration. While it is a bit of effort, there is nothing difficult that needs a lawyer. I know of at least 2 other people who also did the application themselves and were successful.

3. I was never asked for any sort of 'unofficial' payment, other than the published fees. From Camerata's thread above, it seems applicants using lawyers can sometimes get asked for 'extras'.

4. The PR department in immigration were very helpful.

5. The link to the main thread is below.

25 minutes ago, prakhonchai nick said:

I imagine gemini and possibly stbkk have the red Alien registration books, that surely by now are full. Did either of you replace them, and if so how and where?. Mine has been full for over 10 years, and I have copied a previous page, and stuck it in. So far so good, but not sure whether next year it will be accepted by the local police as they have a new boss.

 

Gemini be aware that whilst you might not need to use a passport, I think it is mandatory to have one,

My red book is nowhere near full, in fact its brand new as I've never had anything added to it since I got it. I seem to remember you get a new one from the same police station that issued the old one though. Sorry, not much help!

I believe the only way to get a 'real' Thai Id card is citizenship.

I have PR and have got one of the pink id cards, which was a very painless process and has been well documented in a couple of threads. This is pretty much the same as the one you refer to above, but apparently the id number is a different range, and some people have said the wording is slightly different also. I can't read Thai, so wouldn't know.

Hope that helps.

Where is the office you went to exactly? My address is Wattana district (I live in Pridi soi 5 off Phrakhanong) and my Amphur office is at the end of Thonglor, near Petchburi road. They only wanted a regular copy of my passport, signed by me.

On Friday I had my first practical use of my shiny new pink Id card.

My local Bangkok Bank branch accepted it as proof of id for a cash withdrawal without asking for my passport as well. That's a good start.

Mind you, I'll need a few more regular occurrences before I feel confident enough to leave the passport at home when doing that sort of stuff.

just got my pink ID card

some people say that their card expires on such and such date

but mine said it never expires,it says"good for all my life"

I went back to the ID office and asked if that was right,they said it was right " good for all my life"

I quest all offices are not the same

the expiration for mine is 10 years. Nakhon Si Thammarat

I understand that if you are over 60 when you get it, its a lifetime one?

"In my opinion PR is still worthwhile for those who are not married to Thais. Those who are married to Thais should look closely into the option of applying for citizenship to see if that would work better for them."

Unless the rules have been changed then Thailand does not recognize dual nationality, especially by naturalization. In order to acquire Thai citizenship a foreign national must first renounce their existing citizenship. It's inconceivable that the advantages of doing so could possibly outweigh the advantages of Thai citizenship.

You do not have to renounce your current citizenship to obtain Thai nationality.

Based on the last information I read on the citizenship thread(s), you have to provide a letter stating your intention to renounce your original nationality if you receive Thai nationality, as part of the application. As far as I am aware this is a recent requirement which is apparently now also mentioned in the interview process. However, as has been mentioned several times when I raised this in the threads, it is only a letter stating your intention, and intentions can change. I don't think it has been in force long enough for anybody who has provided such a letter to have received citizenship, so who knows what will actually happen.

I personally have no intention of renouncing my original citizenship ever, or of lying on a formal application, so while this is still a requirement that counts me out!

Permanent Resident or Not, I don't think they check to see if you have 4 employees. This is because Immigration will not renew your visa if your company does not have 4 Thai Employees. So basically its impossible if your are not a PR to apply without those 4 employees (2 if you are married)

I am a PR and have never been asked before or after becoming a PR to show 4 Employees. What is required is your employment contract or Business Registration if you are the owner and relevant permission to stay in the kingdom.

According to my accountants they check for the 4 employees when applying for a NEW work perment, but not when renewing. Of course this being Thailand it may be different next time!

Dear all,

This is a real new one on me, and goes against pretty much everything I have read here over the years.

My company accountant renewed my work permit at the beginning of the year as usual, and later when we were discussing the documents they had needed to provide they told me the following.

Apparently when you apply for a NEW work permit you have to provide evidence of 4 Thai employees for each new work permit. However when renewing a work permit for somebody who already has a residence permit (I.E. Permanent residence) 'only the applicants tax record and company VAT is needed'!

Can anybody confirm this? It doesn't really affect me at all as my company needs the employees anyway, but I am really interested if anybody else can confirm this! The accounting company has always been fine in the past (4 years experience with them), and I have no reason to doubt them other than what I have always 'understood' from reading TV.

Got my work permit renewed last week. No problem at all. i have PR, which may help.

What is PR may I ask?

Permanent residence. A lengthy process that costs a lot and gives you little, apart from a pretty certain ability to stay in Thailand for as long as you want to, even if you lose your job.

I and many others think its worth the time and money, whereas many others disagree.

When my accountant renewed my WP last month I was only asked to provide the same old stuff as before. I have permanent residence though, so maybe that made a differene.

Where abouts are you, Bangkok or somewhere else?

1. Yes you still need a work permit.

2. Yes you need a re-entry permit if you want to leave the country. You also need an 'endorsement' on your PR book, which means that the total cost is MORE if you have PR.

The fee is per applicant, although I don't know about children.

Hope that helps.