fiercesnake

Thais don't tend to have the same view to marriage as Farangs gravitate to. In Thai society the general feeling is that if you have been separated for longer than 6 months then you are divorced already so some don't even bother with the formalities of going to the Amphur office. She may have felt that she was already divorced as separation is adequate. Though in this case it sounds like a visa to make money, as many Thais want the big money from overseas though unlike Filipinos don't necessarily want to leave their beloved homeland!

A lot of foreigners from developed countries have a strong tendency to take the law as an absolute as seen by RecklessRon's post above. In Thailand the law is a lot more "fluid", much more open to interpretation and certainly "adjustable" depending on who and how much.

This should be not too difficult in Thailand as divorces are usually easily obtained without a great need to prove too much. Best place to start is the Amphur office in Bang Rak as they specialise in foreigners in Bangkok. Although you could go through any other local Amphur the local staff are often not clued up to foreigners and will actively work to get rid of you and most times give you completely wrong information or advice. Failing this, see a local lawyer.

Overall it should not be your problem, rather as realenglish1 suggests she may have a problem in time, as developed world authorities do take a stronger view on compliance with the law. Good luck, I'm sure you will be fine to sort it!

Ahh but none of you should be concerned. As previously reported Ms. Yingluck is making more money than ever personally and I'm sure her brother wouldn't be going backwards.

I'm sure she will be prepared to help out the poor as recently it was suggested we should be nominating her for a Nobel Peace Prize due to her extreme concern for the plight of others!

The real question is, "Will the rice farmers continue to vote for these scammers and touts in suits???"

They need a "Love" button on YouTube not just a "Like" button. Be proud of that video! Absolutely fantastic job. This is exactly what I see when I live there and don't have to be overseas working.

It is a boring place to many a foreigner and certainly not for the average sex-pat or the bulk of tourists but for others it is heaven just to be near the lush green fields watching the dark afternoon clouds come swiftly over the fields and release their cool rains to soften the ground for the ploughs and buffalo to work their magic.

For me, I love to be there and just listen to the rice grow!

I'm shocked! With all the articles from "The Nation", "Phuket News" and other links posted here recently about how "clean" they were going to make it in very short time frames I thought it must be totally Utopia already?!

Quick let's give them a warning and have our photos taken.

Dealing with their call centres from overseas is very difficult even with a native Thai speaker to explain you aren't in Thailand and can't just "pop down" to the local branch. Seems beyond their comprehension of why you can't do that.

Nonsense. What's with the extreme condescension? Let's not blame the messengers. Actually it's merely beyond YOUR comprehension that your appearing at your bank branch in person with ID, talking to the officer assigned to deal with your problem, and submitting paper forms are often required according to the rules and procedures of a Thai bank. If you aren't in Thailand, that's your problem.

Despite the inconvenience, it's not such a bad system, probably cuts down on a lot of fraud. But OBVIOUSLY you can't just leave the country and then expect you can do everything with just a phone call. If in doubt, go to the branch and ask questions first.

If you don't want to follow their rules and procedures, don't open an account. It's that simple.

I do like Krung Thai Bank. Have had some incredibly good service from officers at my branches--but each branch is its own little fiefdom, and I get along with Thais pretty well anyway. The online banking facility is quite good by Thai standards, no complaints here.

Thanks J but I was speaking more to the original poster. Unfortunately the way you have written your responses seem quite condescending and is probably why I don't write a lot on TV as even a simple reply trying to help a person about a bank question gets some smart reply as above. You can see from your reply above as the letters in upper case are a smug insult as it it "OBVIOUS" and "MY" comprehension that is in question.

Maybe you have had a good experience, lucky for you. Not everyone has these same amazingly great experiences in Thailand or anywhere else especially in regard call centres. Our experience (not yours J) was one of constant misunderstandings from bank employees and misunderstandings that we already had accounts with them and that we were not physically in the country. This was not confusion about legalities in our case. The messages were confused between one branch to another as we were switched over several days from one person to another over a simple issue, not the same as this one above. The problem was that no one was able to give a clear answer or most important take responsibility for what should have been a straightforward question as most just simply didn't know what the rules were in relation to clients overseas.

Worse than that instead of trying to find out no one took the initiative to find out even the local branch manager got it wrong and kept sending us back to the call centre whilst the call centre kept sending us back to the branch, both claiming by email and phone calls that it was the responsibility of the other! We ended up having no luck so sorted it all easily with another bank and tend to use HSBC now to avoid future problems,

Anyway back to the original question as I suggested we ask the bank in writing to see if they will allow emails as their general policy is to use only SMS now. The bank has just replied a few hours ago with the following:

"Refer to your inquiry for KrungsriOnline service, it is our security policy that the OTP will be sent through SMS to customer's local mobile phone. However, if customer is living abroad and cannot receive the SMS, we would suggest customer to fill in an application form to receive the OTP through e-mail and submit with all request documents to us for customer's identification verification.

Customer can log in to KrungsriOnline and follow the following steps:

1. Click “Setting”

2. Click “Application Request form” and Next

3. Enter Personal Data

4. Click the last line: Request for Add/Cancel the Receiving One Time Password (OTP) Service via e-mail Application Form.

5. Click  Add the Receiving One Time Password (OTP) Service via e-mail

6. Click 3 boxes to accept the Acknowledgement, Next, Confirm and Print.

7. Sign the request form with the same signature when you opened the account and scan to us with the following signed documents:

: Copy of your valid Passport

: Copy of bank passbook

We will coordinate to relevant department for further process as soon as we receive all completed documents and you will be informed by e-mail when your receiving OTP through e-mail is ready."

As seen above it is the bank policy to use only SMS but as they realise that not everyone stays in Thailand all the time they will kindly allow email now for those living abroad.

I hope this may have been helpful to some.

I've written to them to confirm as this has been up there for years even after they stopped using emails for fear of security issues at the time. Just because they leave an old instruction up there doesn't means it's still active.

I had this before and quoted this to them this very document and just got the call centre girl saying no they don't do it, to me asking why keep it there then it if they don't do it, but obviously no passing the message on or doing something about it up their admin chain. Send a message yourself and let's see if they bother to answer. Most emails on their general website go ignored as do so many big companies with generic email requests but maybe we will get lucky and someone will write back and we can post the response to clarify.

Email unless they have changed the rules back again was disbanded by Krungsri sometime ago. Though some still think they can use it, it is unlikely they will go back to this system. See their latest website ONLY mentions SMS OTP. To be sure you need a highly trusted contact in Thailand to give you the OTP on a cell number you can leave with someone in Thailand.

If you use 1-2-Call SIM's many of the common ones will still work overseas but at extreme rates and I have found to my detriment over several times that they randomly stop working and you cannot change the cell number at Krungsri over the phone or without attending your local branch with passport; obviously difficult if you are in Inner Mongolia. Forget those useless overpriced True so called "International" SIM's. I have never had one or met anyone that had one work outside of Thailand! Maybe in developed countries some may work but I've personally found none. Unless rules have changed they will not register an overseas number for OTP, possibly as it will cost them more for the text???

I found it difficult to deal with Thai banks (not just Krungsri) especially when I'm out of country but all Thai banks are highly insular even they claim otherwise. Dealing with their call centres from overseas is very difficult even with a native Thai speaker to explain you aren't in Thailand and can't just "pop down" to the local branch. Seems beyond their comprehension of why you can't do that. Now I deal with Kasikorn which I find is marginally better.

Other problem when sending money is the faxed documents required by law before sending (yeah who uses faxes now?). Many of the girls will send the money before they get these documents luckily especially in the case of Krungsri, but if you do not supply them after that first time, don't expect them to do it as a favour a second time. If you have a good local branch that you can get their local number from, set it up BEFORE you leave the country and maintain a personal relationship with the local manager or someone in THAT branch. Personal contact and links are far more important in Thailand than in developed countries and it helps a lot with getting through the system if you are overseas. Similar to a Relationship Manger with HSBC.

Not sure if they will accept email scans yet for your documents; check with them in writing, don't rely on call centre girls, many don't know their own rules and certainly with anything outside of Thailand receives mixed often incorrect responses. Many of them will tell you what you WANT to hear not give accurate details. As there is little accountability with these people, if they tell you something wrong and YOU have a problem the most you will get back is a nice smile and nothing will happen.

Bottom line, sending money IN is very easy, they like that (funny about that); but transferring money OUT of Thailand from international destinations even on the Internet can prove difficult as they need proof of you all over again and specific proof of why you are sending money and in what category it goes so they can "tick" the box for legalities. If you are still in Thailand, don't be lazy or rely solely on call centre "advice"; talk in person to you local Krungsri branch manager as suggested.

I never ceased to be amazed at Thailand's totally inept politicans and public servants. Do they take a special entrance exam for lack of common sense or who can draw the best poster with crayons to make the most useless ideas but that look good for public dissemination?

Will this really stop teenagers smoking? Great strategy guys; you can't even enforce the most basic laws already little own trying to force culture to change by a law that will be ignored like all the other laws that are regularly ignored.

Chalermsak Chantaratim, secretary general of the Ombudsman's Office, said that if the ombudsman finds the ministry's reasons unacceptable, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra would be asked to intervene.

Should Yingluck decide to side with the Foreign Ministry, then the government's defiant behaviour will be taken to Parliament, Chalermsak said.

Should both the government and the legislature decide to let Thaksin continue holding a Thai passport, the ombudsman will then seek a judicial review from the Administrative Court, he said.

So when his cousin doesn't revoke his passport, they'll ask his sister to revoke it, and when she doesn't revoke it, they'll ask his political party to revoke it.

Save the three year processing time of the above and go directly to the court review.

.

But that's the whole point of this all - make it look good but make it take a LOT of time, and in the long run nothing will happen.

Typical political games - "We"re looking into it" - mirror job.

Get a lawyer and see if you are even right about a passport hold but also ask about ... a case called In re Marriage of Reynolds (1998) 63 Cal.App.4th 1373 that basically states you are entitled to retire at age sixty five and can not be required to work to support your spouse beyond that age.

This sounds correct though I am unsure of US law. Essentially you will not be the only one in Thailand disappearing from a ludicrous "developed world" system which is grossly unfair. By moving to Thailand you have several factors in your favour if you stay away for the period of the statute of limitations of CSA debts. You aren't required to pay till you die, but these facts are not well known and as the poster above suggests check with your lawyer on time periods and age limits.

When the children come of age they can visit you. You can pay their airfare, BUT this is a big choice as it requires discipline on your part NOT to return until your statute of limitations is exceeded on past debts. This also means the children may find it difficult to visit you if they are young and under the care of their mother who will restrict access as she is greedy for money, regardless of the emotional and psychological effects on the children. Many women use this as emotional blackmail against men and the government agencies are often staffed by a significant proportion of insensitive officers (often women with personal vendettas of their own) that lack ability to gain other more attractive government positions. Hence your chances of dealing effectively between her lawyers, government agencies and her directly are well against you so you need to consider the fact she may attempt to turn the children against you by saying how you ran away. Even phoning back to the children may be difficult if they are young.

Essentially you need professional advice to confirm if these statements are correct in regards to limitations of debt (usually 7 years), age limitations and consider the age of the children now and in the future. It is unlikely she can enforce a hold on your passport but you could face prosecution in the US on return if you return within whatever the statute of limitations on CSA debt is for your state.

The case on your child support may also be closed from the day you leave your home country IF the USA has NO reciprocating agreements with Thailand and from there the debt is calculated from the day you leave your country permanently. Thailand does not usually arrange child support for other countries as does the Philippines so this is strongly in your favour. This may be done simply by a declaration at the airport that you are leaving the country PERMANENTLY.

Understand you are not the only father in this dreadful situation and there are a number of organisations that can offer support in this area as either way it is not the best situation but Thailand is a great place to live a life. Don't worry about the Thai police coming to get you. This is a CIVIL matter not criminal so unless she claims you abducted the children the ex can scream all she likes to the Thai authorities and they'll just smile back and ignore her Good luck.

I wonder why the hi-so people act as if they can get away with anything. Because they can?

A suspended sentence. Forty eight hours of community service. Outrageous and disgusting, even for Thailand's judicial system! Jail time and many millions of baht in compensation was a realististic sentence.

Agree, and I wonder whether there has been any compensation awarded as part of the court decision. Very little detail and the points any professional journalist would ensure are in the story are all missing, so typical of the poor reporting from the Nation which never seems to improve.

Anybody found any details on this aspect on any other boards? Please share.

Last time I stated a similar comment that the level of journalism is appalling here, I was accused of Thai bashing! But totally agree with your statement that there appears to be no real questioning of important people here to get to the bottom of any issue or deep critical thinking on virtually any issue, especially one that may upset anyone with money or power here. I don't think this is limited to "The Nation" either. The reality is that Thailand is still a developing country where a lack of higher level education is the norm amongst the masses and hence a lack of transparency from government, business, courts and police is normal.

Most of the posts here are spot on with criticisms on just so many levels. I wonder what the average Thai thinks about this judgement, as I could imagine if it was my child or wife that was killed by such a senseless act the rage and hurt I would feel at this sentence would be unbearable.

I lived there many years on and off but moved to Thailand for the reasons listed here and consider it the right choice; regardless of how many other annoyances that exist in Thailand.

I was there for the Marcos-Aquino revolution before anyone starts with I don't know what I'm on about, No mate it is just a plain poo-hole! The poverty is totally astounding, the corruption has become endemic from the bottom of society to the top especially with minor crime and stealing anything that is possible to take The taxi drivers of Manila are in league with Satan and the Church of Rome continues to place its hideous little ideas throughout their modern culture.

How the UN can recognize it as an NIC (Newly Industrialized Country), putting it in the league with South Korea in historical context

when it was recently an NIC and rates the Philippines with a medium HDI (Human Development Index) seems to beg our belief! Even most Filipinos find it hard to believe they have seen any real development since the Marcos years as the population continues to soar and real unemployment continues to remain at a phenomenally high levels. Everyday in the Philippines for many people is a "crisis" and is a word regularly employed by the average Filipino. In Southern Mindanao where I once lived was rife with terrorists and especially local rebels all armed to the teeth with assault rifles, 12 gauges, auto pistols and especially knives which can be even more dangerous in crowds.

As some posters have pointed out correctly, there are still pockets of fantastic places to visit but you will need a while to get to them, especially if you travel to Palawan. Palawan is one of the truly last frontiers that a tourist can still go to without feeling like they have to go on expedition with Indiana Jones but still has that air of adventure and fun. Other areas previously mentioned can also make for a memorable trip but when traveling in the Philippines unfortunately personal security, including avoiding continual unexpected scams, must be of the utmost importance as this regularly detracts from the beauty of the Philippines and friendliness of many who are genuinely friendly.

worth 6 months of his salary or about Bt5.4 billion

Something wrong with that figure?

Billions or millions (as shown in a later post)? Hey what's a few million or billion here or there? Is there a difference; only a few zeros, does it matter?

Great to see even the journalists and editors of the Nation are so well educated from the Thai system.

Wasn't it in several other threads recently arguments about the of general education in Thailand being "on the blink", and as always, NOTHING changes!? How people can argue the case that it's just TV posters doing Thai bashing when people question their system is beyond me!

Don't know about you but if my salary differed by a few billion or million, I wouldn't call that a minor discrepancy!

Perhaps they can hold off until JUST before the next election, then what do you know, just magically it will be implemented across all of the remaining provinces with great fanfare and chest beating!

Making a lot of vowing lately!

Hmmm, unfortunately not a lot of actual fulfillment to all these vows.

May need to actually produce some true visionary policies which include a well thought-out long term education plan, improved employment prospects for all and much improved economic management. Oh but there's the basic problem, the word that comes to mind true "management"!

Out of 63,000,000 people is this the best they can find?

One poster suggested on another thread that what's really happening here is the potential making of the Shinawatra dynasty; which could be quite debilitating for the country if it takes hold.

The reality is that there is a general lack of visionary opposition that can gain the attention of the masses whereas the charismatic leadership of Shinawatra easily persuades the uneducated and naive to have faith that all will be well to just have faith. Notice it's all sounding a bit religious with all this vowing and pledging.

Way to go Khun deputy transport minister...just one flaw in your cunning plan are not the vast majority of personages being held up actually non-thai passport holders, therefore installing these will actually do very little to easy any congestion ?

Ahh yes he has a cunning plan! You just don't understand the depth of Thai politicians and senior public servants. You forget this is THAIland for Thais, so the emphasis is to be sure not to inconvenience THAIS in THAIland! When you realise this you will see the wisdom of his cunning plan!

Some excellent suggestions! Unfortunately it will be just another discussion as these people are not in power and those in power are interested only in "looking good".

People, experts and business can complain, discuss, blog until the cows come home about major educational weaknesses in Thai government schools but nothing changes. The government over many years has systematically failed to improve education for the masses for a long time, not just the present government. I would suggest that the great bulk of politicians' kids are educated in wealthy private or international schools and as such many of these politicians would have degrees from accredited overseas universities.

Not only do governments think in the 3 to 4 year term for re-election purposes but they also know the system is flawed as they personally benefit for their own businesses from the masses lacking any real education which gives them a large cheap uneducated and therefore lowly paid workforce. True educational benefits take years to realize, as the ultimate gain to society is hardly ever achieved quickly and certainly the government that improved education will not reap the benefits for many years until large groups of people go through an improved system to better their society at a much later date. Very few politicians are deeply concerned for the advancement of their society as a whole or the "vision" for the future; rather more their own petty materialistic vision for themselves and their own rich business portfolio.

These proposals will fall on deaf ears and the usual political response will be "we're looking into it (with a smile)"!

"She say bad words to me!" Always amazes me how this aspect of Thai culture is the number one event to upset Thais. Using bad words seems THE number one priority if someone speaks to or about another Thai in a bad way, this can cause all hell to break lose.

The list of national problems such as jet ski or tourist scams, corruption, prostitution, mafia, southern insurgency and so on pales into insignificance if, Oh My God... someone says bad words! Expect to be sued or "disappear" if you should dare make this mistake in the Land of Superficial Smiles".

Oh sorry did I cause someone to lose their face somewhere? So Sorry Just !

Phuket AGAIN???!!! Is there a day where Phuket is NOT in the news about some scam? Patong AGAIN? Why do people persist to go there? For all the glorious places in Thailand the magnet of Patong continues to attract the naive and even the not so naive.

Until tourists vote with their feet to choose better areas of which there are many (even on Phuket) these scams will persist and the BIB (soon to be GIB if the girls programme is widened!) will continue to drag their feet in response. But of course not to lose face the commanders will have many press conferences saying how hard they are working to combat crime there. Same old.

your post is so typical of thailand bashing on TV , you just forgot the proverbial " another nail ..." otherwise i would have thought that you copied and pasted it from another topic

You have failed to read the reply thoroughly, typical of TV posters that reply quickly without thinking. It indicates the area of Patong in Phuket and the police which exist there have a major problem with constant scams and lack of change. This is not a bash of Thailand in general. Note that it says there are many more areas in Thailand which are "glorious" (oh is that Thailand bashing?). If we can not discuss areas of Thailand which need improving then you really are truly naive!

Phuket is in the news everyday, especially Patong, with the same basic message of scam after scam, closely followed by some police commander sprouting how they will have yet another "crack-down" but you know what - NOTHING changes there! Tomorrow or within a few days there will be yet another report of the same style. Perhaps I'll look out for it and post a copy for you and then perhaps you can suggest when the posts come thick and fast that the posters are all "Thai bashers"? Perhaps some posters just want a better Thailand than scam after scam?

Phuket AGAIN???!!! Is there a day where Phuket is NOT in the news about some scam? Patong AGAIN? Why do people persist to go there? For all the glorious places in Thailand the magnet of Patong continues to attract the naive and even the not so naive.

Until tourists vote with their feet to choose better areas of which there are many (even on Phuket) these scams will persist and the BIB (soon to be GIB if the girls programme is widened!) will continue to drag their feet in response. But of course not to lose face the commanders will have many press conferences saying how hard they are working to combat crime there. Same old.

Been going there for over 25 years and own a house there in Mindanao.

Simple; BUY $US here from a bank in Thailand. Look online for best rates (often Krungsri, yellow bank). DO NOT try and exchange Baht for Peso at banks here or there, you will lose out every time.

The two banking systems do not do well together. Even transferring money online to the Philippines can be expensive as it usually requires a triangulated transfer arrangement, often with Chase-Manhattan in New York via the SWIFT system and you end up losing at the Philippine end. Cash is king there, but you must take personal security and common-sense as a major priority there.

Can exchange US dollars at a better rate there than any other currency on the street. Do the mathematics and you'll see why if you research more on the Net. Change a little at the airport when you get there. Be EXTREMELY careful about where you change on the street in any Philippine city, a bank though offering slightly lower rates than exchangers or local shops is much safer.

Do not display large amounts of cash or show off in anyway in the Philippines. Enjoy yourself there, but remember it is not Thailand.

Why don't they just bulldoze Patong totally? Problem solved!

Gosh every week it seems that there are multiple articles involving scams, touts, corruption, tuk tuk bashings, disputes, crooked ladyboys etc., from Phukhet, especially Patong. Of all the great places in Thailand Phukhet's Patong is a major disappointment. A tunnel to avoid it sounds great but how much better could the money be spent on more pressing issues? But that's Thailand for you, make it look great so we can say to the world, "We're there, we made it, we're developed!" As one poster said it, people don't go to Phukhet for massive urban development, maybe the government is missing the point?

Honestly sounds great but really the money could be better spent to improve the real problems facing Phukhet. It's a beautiful island ruined by bureaucratic politicians and old style corruption at all levels.

Fears of loosing your anonymity by registering with the Embassy seems unwarranted unless you have an ulterior motive for doing so. We that live here, most anyway, still file tax returns so the big secret is out anyway.

I think it is likely that the Embassy is trying to update the ACS outreach service that currently limits its visits to (primarily) big tourist locations. Great for the Embassy staff but not so good for us folks living 400 km + from Bangkok in less touristy areas. I have been requesting that they add Buriram or Surin to one of there outreach locations and they assured me they would look into it. Even a visit by them once a year to the area would save me an unwanted trip into Bangkok. So if you are not wanted by law enforcement and live in the Buriram Surin area then please sign up. I hate the yearly trek into Bangkok to get my Embassy income letter which they can provide on the spot. Plus new pages, new passports, etc.

If you are unfamiliar with the ACS outreach service check it out. They come to you for many of the services that used to require a trip into Bangkok - if your lucky enough to be in an area that they service. From what I see our Embassy wins hands down over our European expat buddies.

I'm not American, so I don't get it. If you LIVE here why the heck do you have to report to THEM every year? That's the problem with people from the "developed" world, they've been socio-culturally conditioned to believe that their system is superior and they will be truly protected by THEIR system of government and every other country is inferior. Especially true re the US government.

No wonder so many posters suggest it's more about Big Brother checking whether its citizens are coughing up or simply recording loads of data about individuals. I notice one poster stating that even though he'd registered with them, when he really needed them, he couldn't contact them and received no reply. That sounds more likely. Most embassies seem the same; if you aren't important or have contacts, you never seem to be able to get to the people that really matter when you really need, so why bother? No I think it's more for them rather than their altruistic concern for you!

sounds like a real mess of basically 3 carriers all competing with themselves?..but that said ANYTHING that smacks AirAsia up the head is a massive positive in my mind.

All these extra extras fare loadings are coming to an end; just last week the EU drafted a bill to make low cost airlines publish the complete full inclusive fare..NO MORE Starting from fare and Asia will have to follow as they are just coping the same European business plan

I think Thaivisa needs a "LIKE" button similar to Facebook. Totally agree. So annoying with the nonsense of additional charges by the time you add all the extras on. Air Asia is a classic for never having a single flight that claim a few Baht to whatever destination they make up on their ads.

Most people should get a good laugh out of this one, coz you know it's so true: