stbkk

Something similar to Bungsamran but with smaller fish is Sakuna. Its very 'local' so don't expect much in the way of nice toilets etc. but they charge not much more than 100 baht a day, with no dual pricing. And they mix the bait for you!

They do have the odd bigger fish in there as well, just to keep you on your toes. My 10 year old son landed a giant Mekong of around 50kg there last year.

Check out the Bangkok hooker site for more information, and some other options.

http://bangkokhooker-fishing.com/

Just a quick update on the turn-around time, for information.

I handed in two renewal applications (mine and my sons) on Monday 2nd Feb. I was informed by both email and phone that the passports were ready for collection last Thursday afternoon (19th Feb.) and collected them both this morning.

Steve

When I went on Monday the girl did not even look at the original Tabien Baan I had, just the copy and translation.

She briefly flicked through the originals of my and my sons (2) passports though.

So let us place this into perspective:

Only 100 persons of each nationality is awarded permanent residence that rather turns this into a very expensive lottery, the chances are extremely slim.

If awarded a permanent residence the total cost will be 200000 baht. Now, considering that extending our visas each year costs 1900 baht, that means obtaining a PR is equivalent to105 years of annual 1900 baht regular visa extensions. Plus taking into consideration that all this will mean is that there is no need to have certain monies saved in a Thai bank every year and not having to visit Immigration once a year and that`s about it. Nothing else would change, most of the rules that are in force for those on non Immigrant visa will still apply, including the 90 day day reports and other limitations that affect ex-pats living in Thailand.

If for a total of 200000 baht obtaining a PR was guaranteed providing the applicants met all the criteria, then I would have no hesitation going for it, but considering it`s a 7600 baht lottery ticket with odds that are probably 1000s to one, than no way. It`s simply not a good deal and not worth the gamble.

If you apply or not is clearly up to you. But a couple of clarifications on your above post.

1. You don't have to do a 90 day report if you have PR.

2. The 100 per nationality limit is hardly ever reached for most nationalities. When they used to publish the approvals on the immigration web-site, 'Western' nationalities (UK/USA/Germany etc.) usually only had a few each, each year. If this is a factor for you, you can always check with the PR department in immigration, they are very helpful.

Right. The pen is only mightier than the sword if you are not the person the sword is being pointed at....

I agree with the 'security' answer. While the requirements to get PR have changed a bit over the years, once its granted that's it, nothing else needed ever, apart from the re-entry permit if you travel.

As far as citizenship goes, I understand that one of the requirements for citizenship now is that you provide a letter stating your intention to renounce your existing citizenship once you have been granted Thai citizenship. That sounds a lot to me like a step at least on the road to no dual citizenships for naturalized Thais, and certainly is a show stopper for me.

The statement that you will give up your other nationality is not enforced and is certainly not binding. It is was something the interior ministry bureaucrats put in the ministerial regulation and is not supported by any law.

A number of people have said its not binding, but I'll be very interested to hear if anybody has actually got to the granting of citizenship stage yet that has had to sign this letter, and if so, what happened?

You submit the declaration of intent during the application phase, not upon being granted citizenship. If you do not provide such a declaration, your application does not get processed.

Sorry, didn't make myself very clear. What I meant was had anybody who has provided the signed declaration actually got granted citizenship yet, and if so, what happened? Were they asked about the letter or asked to provide proof of renouncing their previous citizenship?

I agree with the 'security' answer. While the requirements to get PR have changed a bit over the years, once its granted that's it, nothing else needed ever, apart from the re-entry permit if you travel.

As far as citizenship goes, I understand that one of the requirements for citizenship now is that you provide a letter stating your intention to renounce your existing citizenship once you have been granted Thai citizenship. That sounds a lot to me like a step at least on the road to no dual citizenships for naturalized Thais, and certainly is a show stopper for me.

The statement that you will give up your other nationality is not enforced and is certainly not binding. It is was something the interior ministry bureaucrats put in the ministerial regulation and is not supported by any law.

A number of people have said its not binding, but I'll be very interested to hear if anybody has actually got to the granting of citizenship stage yet that has had to sign this letter, and if so, what happened?

I agree with the 'security' answer. While the requirements to get PR have changed a bit over the years, once its granted that's it, nothing else needed ever, apart from the re-entry permit if you travel.

As far as citizenship goes, I understand that one of the requirements for citizenship now is that you provide a letter stating your intention to renounce your existing citizenship once you have been granted Thai citizenship. That sounds a lot to me like a step at least on the road to no dual citizenships for naturalized Thais, and certainly is a show stopper for me.

As above, the Bangkok hooker website is a great source of info.

My personal experience is that for a cheap and cheerful alternative to Bungsamran try Sakuna. The fish are smaller, but still numerous, and they have the odd bigger one to around 40-50kg. Its MUCH cheaper though, hundreds of baht and no two-tier pricing.

Its very 'local' though, with limited tackle (none for hire as far as I know), pretty horrible toilets, and not such a choice of food.

My experience: I also changed my job after submitting my application. However, I had completed all of the paperwork and was in the 'waiting period' (nearly 6 years in my case) between the PR dept. confirming I had submitted all of the documents and that they were in order, and the actual granting of my PR.

I also went abroad to work for a period in this 6 years, but was back in Thailand working with a new company (with a new WP) when my PR was finally granted. I was asked for my current WP at the granting ceremony, but I think this was only for information, and it was certainly not compared to the one I had when I submitted my application.

I suggest you check with the PR department at CW, they are very helpful, as I'm sure you have already found out.

One thing is for certain, is that if you do not have a valid re-entry permit when you leave the country during your 'under consideration' period, your application will lapse, and you will have to start from the beginning again. I made sure that I was always back in Thailand to renew mine whenever it got close.

Good advice. When I applied (back in 2006) the first thing I did was go to the PR dept. with the wife and talk to the people. They were very helpful and friendly, as they were all the way through the process.

I'm sure they will help you sort out any concerns you may have.

Forgot to mention: We did all of the paperwork ourselves, and while it was time consuming, it was not hugely difficult.

Hi,

My 2 boys (13 and 10) have been going to St.Andrews at Sukhumvit 71 for years, and they both love it.

It has decent but not fabulous sports facilities, and from my point of view the quality of education is excellent. As far as I know, the Dusit campus is only for younger children.

I'd suggest they are worth a visit to check it out for yourself.

Steve

If you are serious about them being taught properly in English, and can afford it, I'd send them to a good international school.

In my opinion its the only way to ensure some sort of consistency of teaching by native English language teachers.

I have regular face-to-face meetings with my kids teachers at the end of each term, as well as formal written reports.

Pilot is a great venue, with a lot of variety for lure fishing.

Barramundi, Giant Snakeheads, Asian red tail catfish, Pacu, etc. Check the links on the post above (especially bangkok hooker), and they have all the details you need.

They have also upgraded their selection of lures and flies etc. over the last couple of months, and there is a decent selection now.

Also its very foreigner friendly with regards to quality of facilites, good toilets, etc. Some of the other 'local' places are a lot cheaper, but you generally get what you pay for.

Enjoy!

No problem, you are very welcome! The only reason to be out in this heat is fishing, in my opinion....

I agree with you about the more fly rods around, I was there a couple of weeks ago and there were probably around 10 after the barramundi.

According to the poster for the shop, its not really a tackle shop more for 'chado' branded t-shirts and stuff, so I'll be pleased to see your feedback.

Also, how were the Pacu taking the fly? I didn't get a single take at all last time I went, which is a real first on that lake.

Steve

Interesting post from SteveB2 indeed.

My own experience (applied 2006, granted 2012) was that everything was completely above board, no 'extras' asked for or offered.

One personal friend (applied 2008, granted 2012) was exactly the same as above.

However, both of us did the complete process ourselves, with only assistance from wife (my case) and girl-friend (his case).

There are a few posts in the excellent thread by Camerata mentioning different experiences though, usually where there is a lawyer in between.

You are right, if you are married to a Thai you can go straght for citizenship.

But I understand you have to provide a letter announcing your intention to renounce your original citizenship when granted Thai citizenship. I personally am not prepared to do that, although obviously thats a personal choice.

its a pretty subjective judgment as to if it is worth while or not.

In purely financial terms, certainly not.
- Even doing all of the work yourself (which I did, and its pretty straghtforward, if time-consuming) there are a lot of costs for translations, time etc.
- Then when finished and approved the re-entry permits are actually more expensive than for non-PR's. Of course if you do not ever leave the country you don't need one.
- And also there is the big cost of the PR itself, which is the best part of 100k even if you are married.

However, the other side is the peace of mind factor.
- No more contact with immigration for 90 days reporting etc.
- No more exposure to changes in rules for extensions etc. E.g. increases in retirement extension amounts, requirements for marriage visa etc.
- While they have tightened the criteria for application and approval over the years, once granted thats it.
- Security of stay. I was previously on an extension linked to my work permit, so if I had lost my job would have had to leave the country the same day! Now It has no impact at all, I do not have to worry about showing income or money in the bank for extensions etc.

it was a lot of effort, and a long wait, but on balance I think I would still do it again, just for the peace of mind factor.

I guess its not unreasonable to expect breakdowns to any mass transport system sometimes.

But a total system failure for this length of time would seem to be more than a slight glitch?

I'm not familiar with comparable systems in the region, Singapore/Malaysia etc., have they had anything similar?

Just FYI,

The twin shops at On-Nut merged a couple of months ago, and the one 'down' Sukhumvit from the skytrain station closed.

It's still owned by the same family, they just did'nt want to be bothered running the two different shops from what they told me.

The stock etc. looked pretty much the same, so I don't think much else has changed.

Steve

Be careful, the turning off the main road is quite easy to miss.

Coming from Chon-buri to Bangkok on the Bang-na, you need to be in the local access lane immediately after the big junction with the road that goes across to highway 7.

You then turn left immediately after some sort of building supplies type of place, down what looks like the access road to a Moo-baan. The access to this road is not very 'road like' at all though, so its not very obvious!

Once you are on that road its easy, Pilot is a couple of 'k's down on the left, with a big sign.

Camarata's guide is all you need - its a great piece of work.

Some key points though:

Prerequisites:
1. You must have had a work permit and paid tax for the last 3 years.
2. There is a fairly straightforward Thai language test, so you must be able to speak some Thai. I'm not sure exactly how difficult this is now, as when I applied in 2006 my 'taxi Thai' was more than sufficient to pass, but the test has changed a bit since then!

Paperwork:
1. Loads - Its quite a bit of an effort to get it all together, and to their satisfaction.

Time:
1. My application from 2006 took nearly 6 years to be approved.
2. In 2012 most of the applications from 2006, 2007 and 2008 were approved pretty much in one go. According to posts on this site since, not much movement since then though. It seems that what was once a fairly regular and orderly process is now not so.
3. Applications are accepted for 2 weeks in December each year, so if you are interested and qualify, you are just in time for this year!

Cost:
1. Excluding the application fee. Rough figures, just under 100K (paid on approval) if you are married to a Thai, just under 200K if single.

I hope that helps.

Lots of discussions on here as to if its worth it or not. In purely financial terms probably not, but I personally feel a lot more comfortable not having to worry about visa's etc.

good luck, and be patient if you apply!

Absolutely!

Its fantastic.

Don't worry too much about the pattern, they seem to take all sorts. I've had success on Montanas, woolly worms, general 'bugs'..... etc. etc.

My 9 year olds favourite method is to drop any old fly about 2 metres in front of him after a humungous tangle. Invariably a Pacu will take it while he is trying to untangle things, and they have a right old pulling match until (usually) the fish gets away. Luckily thet don't grow to giant Mekhong size, or I could end up fishing him out of the pond!

Honestly though, be prepared for the fight of your life. I've had rainbows of 10lb in the UK, and my biggest Pacu to date at pilot was about 3kg, and took all my flyline off in one run! It's the first time I had seen the backing on that reel since I loaded the line on it, and I was REALLY worried about what sort of knot I had tied it on with. Luckily it seems I was a bit more patient and throrough in my younger days, and it was a nice secure needle knot!

Have fun.

Steve

PS. Make sure you use a braided leader. You'll see why when you unhook your first Pacu.

Sorry to be ignorant, but where is Wat Rajabopit?