manchesterlalala

The first few entries should indeed be 2018. Thank you for spotting this.

The gaps are also intended to highlight that for January and April 2019 there were no inward transactions.

I am unfamiliar with "the first extension rule that allows for only 1 or 2 transfers to be shown". I am guessing that first-time extenders would only have the B400k route if they did not have years of living here to draw evidence from in terms of monthly income from abroad. So does that mean if you get a single-entry and immediately start doing the B40k minimum per month and apply for a year-long extension in the last 30 days of that 90-day visa that they would consider that evidence of foreign income for a limited time frame?

I am a 38-year-old British male married to my Thai wife living here in the Pattaya area. I am preparing for my third extension of stay based on marriage, and have always used the letter from the UK embassy to certify my income from abroad. I regularly send myself money via TransferWise from my UK bank account. I am familiar with the issues regarding the FTT coding and the apparent lottery as to whether incoming transactions are coded correctly, and I am dealing with that separately, but I have a different question/problem.

Today I received a statement from my Bank (BBL) and it showed all the transactions sent from the UK since July 2018.

My questions are as follows…

1.) There are gaps for January 2019 and April 2019. My plan all along has been to argue that December's payments also covered January, and March's payment covered April, were an IO to scrutinise this. Is there leeway for "spreading" these payments, or do these gaps constitute grounds for rejection?

2.) July 2019 does not contain a single transaction from abroad of over B40k, however, there are two separate transactions totalling much more than that. Could they also reject this as a discrepancy, too?

The total from August 2018 to July 2019 is B879,038.39. The minimum requirement would work out at B480,000 over the calendar year prior to application for a new extension. I have made a massive elementary mistake in applying logic to this and thinking that I could easily demonstrate ample finances from abroad to support my wife and I over the course of the year. I was also buoyed by threads and news items I read from Thai immigration stating that they would go easy on us this year given the uncertainty caused over the sudden change of rules for proof of income.

Last week I went to Jomtien and asked them specifically about this. The lady right at the back who usually deals with these extensions was there and responded to my questions. She was very unclear. When I tried to pin her down on specifics she kept on repeating bland, general answers. She got up and asked her boss for assistance at one point. She also kept on stating I required "guarantee from bank"; I presume she was referring to the cover letter to the statements from the bank confirming all transactions came from abroad.

Any actual experiences or genuine reports from others (linked) would be much appreciated. Especially from Jomtien.

I just called Birmingham.

They said they would accept just one of the Thai spouse's passport or ID card, which did not have to have the farang's surname.

They need a translation of the original marriage certificate.

There is only one document required on the Birmingham website, so this is important info which is not included.

I just called Liverpool.

The lady there was much more on the ball on the phone and very confident about the information she required.

She said that they need 4 documents in total.

1) Either one or the other of photo page of the spouse’s passport or ID card, signed

2) Photopage of my passport, signed

3) Marriage certificate (no translation required!)

4) Application form

She needs all 4 documents emailed over and she then has to request consent from London.

No surname change required! I pointed out the requirement on the Hull website and she said this sounded odd, and the surname change would be reflected on the marriage certificate anyway.

******

She confirmed that all applications have to go through London (even for single-entries). The question then is, can you save yourself a trip to Liverpool / Birmingham and just do a postal vote to London? This would probably be a lot easier if the consulates are merely acting as middlemen anyway. The question then is, are London’s criteria different? They do not answer the phones until 9 p.m. Thai time today. So I will have to wait to contact them….

In the list of requirements for a multiple-entry non-immigrant ‘O’ visa on the Hull website on page 4, point 1 b, it states “Copy of spouse’s Thai ID card and Thai passport showing married name”.

Have there been any reports at all of this – Thai wive's ID documents bearing the farang husband's surname – being a requirement for a multi-entry non-‘O’ in the UK?

The Birmingham and Liverpool websites do not mention this. But that, of course, in no way precludes them from actually requiring it.

I’m confident this is just a Hull thing, but would have my fears allayed greatly if recent applicants could confirm this was not an issue.

Those are generic requirements that not all embassies or consulates would require to get a non-b for business purposes. You would have to contact the embassy to find our their requirements. The London embassy's are here: http://thaiembassyuk.org.uk/?q=node/49

Applying at one of the honorary consulates in the UK would not help because they have to submit all multiple entry visa application to the embassy for approval.

Thanks. This is definitely worth closer investigation and a phone call to the Embassy.

Given that the object of these regulations is to prevent foreigners taking jobs from Thais/working illegally, and that I can prove that my business is based in the UK and that I earn £ sterling in my personal UK bank account, one would hope there there could be a way ...

I will report back / create a new thread when appropriate.

Even if you were able to get a non 'B' visa it wouldn't entitle you to work. To be able to work you would need a work permit, which you wouldn't get unless you're employed by a Thai company.

Correct. Sadly, that does not answer my question.

A business operated from within Thailand is not fully UK-based.

Off-topic and incorrect.

If you have a company legally formed in your home country you might be able to get a multiple entry non-b visa for business that would allow unlimited 90 day entries for a year by applying for it at an embassy or consulate there. See: http://www.mfa.go.th/main/en/services/4908/15388-Non-Immigrant-Visa-%22B%22-(for-Business-and.html

I can confirm that this still works as per December 2015. But better use a honorary consulate rather than the embassy

Would anyone be able to expand on this please? What exactly would that entail?

From the information in the link, it appears that you would either have to work for a Thai company (specifically Point 2.1 [1]), or have dealings with Thai companies (specifically point 2.1 [2]), which you would have to be able prove with supporting documentation.

I take it merely having a company registered in the UK, which is verifiably active and trading, would not be enough to secure this visa?

For background I am a digital nomad (freelance translator) working online here in Thailand but fully UK-based. My attention was piqued here, because I am looking for any other option that saves me from marrying the TGF

When I first started applying for the triple-entry tourist visa from Hull in early 2012, I contacted the office by phone to discuss the visa and ask a few questions.

When I told the lady at the Hull Consulate that I planned to squeeze just under 9 months from the visa, she immediately corrected me, telling me that it was for 6 months: 3x 60 days. Armed with the information I had garnered from this very forum, I explained that I was intending to get 30-day extensions on the entries.

Her response was interesting. IIRC, she essentially paraphrased the line from the official information you quoted in the OP. She didn't scold me, but she wanted to convey that I should in no way take getting an extension for granted.

Obviously, this ran counter to what I had read on this forum and others. Fast forward nearly 4 years, and my passports are full of extension stamps and, on them, the initials of immigration officers.

In conclusion, I concur with the sentiments above. Consulates and Embassies provide the official line; the reality in the immigration offices – and, by extension, the information on this forum – is different.

I saw this posted on Facebook by a guy in Pattaya

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Yes, I remember that.

They were also handing out this slip at the information counter. I just found it in my back pocket!

just wondering what paperwork a foreigner staying at a friend's/wife's rented home would need? sounds like more complications are on the way.

Proof of address is nothing new, it's always been the norm in my experience.

Do you expect Immigration just to take your word for it!

These new experiences to some, are a result of some local Immigration offices not enforcing an existing requirement in the past.

Given my reading of previous instances of "new" processes being reported, I would be surprised if people did not say this is just a case of the rules finally being applied.

However, I have been on the triple-entry tourist visa for three years now. I have made several trips to the immigration offices in Saphan Hin (Phuket Town), Chaeng Wattana (Bangkok), and now Jomtien/Chonburi –

and I have never been asked for this proof of address before.

I wonder if this is a surprise to other people?

First I couldn't find the stairs, there are no signs directing you to the 2nd floor, then I found the stairs, at the end of the waiting area, behind a small corner.

On the 2nd floor there are several offices, doors open, but nothing that looked like a service desk, no signs, no nothing. Then through half open door I saw 2 foreigners sitting in a small office room, I slowly and carefully stepped in, expecting to be kicked out by Immigration staff, since I was sure this is not where I am supposed to be.

When I read this it sounded so similar to my experience, I forgot I was reading someone else's post.

I also had to look hard for the stairs. When arriving at the top of the stairs, there were three apparent directions to go to. To the right there appeared to be people (farangs) sat out on some balcony (smoking?). Immediately ahead there was what appeared to be the entrance to a toilet. This meant that the only way to go was left.

The left room was the only one that looked like an office. But I thought it couldn't possibly be the right place. It had signs saying 'Major crime suppression division' and suchlike. "Well, that's not me", I thought. Then I remembered that I am a foreigner in Thailand, obviously to be dealt with like a major criminal, so I went inside. Lo and behold, it was the right place.

There is an initial 'greeting' room, and a further room behind some partitions where people are sat down at desks working. Nobody was in any kind of identifiable uniform. I actually went into the 'greeting' room and walked out again, because nobody had 'greeted' me. The second time I was addressed by a little chap dressed casually and wearing some Buddha amulet. Previously he had been laughing and joking with his other buddies, in no particular great haste to attend to people. Foreigners slowly started arriving in there. The loud conversations between the 'staff' continued. A scene no doubt many readers can imagine: foreigners with heads down looking sheepish and waiting to be attended to; and seriously relaxed Thai immigration staff bantering with each other with a highly inappropriate casualness and tone.

Anyway, if you find the stairs, once you reach the top it's left you want to go. Stand there, and eventually, when someone can be bothered, you will be attended to.

The answer to that question would normally be answered by the term in the contract relating to repayment of the deposit. However, I'm going to make a guess – based on the low value of rent you pay, and the fact that you are asking this question – that you didn't sign a rental agreement?

The idea of the deposit being retained by the landlord in lieu of the final month's rent is one of which have I heard a lot. I have rented lots of accommodation all over Thailand and S.E. Asia over the past 6 years, and I can only say from personal exerience that this has never happened to me: I only ever got the deposit back on or after the day I left the property. In other words, I have always had to pay the final month's rent.

Of course, the simple answer is to just ask the landlord

'Meanwhile members of the judiciary have been taking sides for a long time, so they would seem unsuitable as neutrals whose decisions could be trusted by both sides.

In reality, it's not worth wasting time on this quest. Amid our longstanding polarised conflict, there is no non-partisan figure left that might help resolve the dispute."

AMEN! Nothing more to say here.

Correct and whoever is in power will always use it to go after his enemies. So we can only hope that whoever we support gets into power. No matter what way as this conflict will never end.

So far my side is neutering the PTP and with some luck puts them out of the game for a long time. I have seen that both sides go after each-other.. both sides want full control and both sides use means that are not legal. I just support the side that I think is least bad of them.

Thank you for being so disarmingly honest about how TVNF commenters see this conflict.

It really is frustratingly reductive, and highly indicative of how people, once having chosen a corner to root for, will not allow their views to be influenced by rational argument.

So,

1.) government appointed bureaucrats for previously elected positions?

=

dem-supporting, crypto-fascist, monarchist elites back in their gravy train positions, unchallenged where they apparently exclusively belong.

2.) a military/dem/monarchist/elite-controlled senate with veto powers over policies proposed by MPs voted for by the great unwashed?

=

forget about progressive albeit tokenistic policies such as micro credit for farmers and elementary health insurance, which lift the poor from a miserable to a dignified poverty.

3.) super powers for the senate?

=

so even if their new, German-style voting structure does not eliminate the latest incarnation of the PT party, and PT still get the largest number of votes, PT politicians will not be allowed in the cabinet for more spurious reasons (perhaps for appearing on a cooking show on a Tuesday)

My reading has always been that the drafters of the 1997 constitution sought to do away with unelected bureaucrats and open up positions with decision-making powers to make the entire system less cumbersome, more accountable, not least more efficient from the decades of non-too-mysterious fund-siphoning and cronyism.

Very interesting to see how the Thaksin phenomenon has brought the elite full circle.

(edited for paragraphing)

Thanks everyone for the constructive comments.

I did some very brief checking of other ads before placing mine. I cannot remember which website I was on, but I saw a bike older than mine (but with fewer kms, just) going for 80. Others were 75k. It was largely based on this that I priced it at 80k.

However, I have now had a look at the prices on this forum for Phantoms (should have done that before, hey?). I have seen that 2003 models are priced at 45k. So I wholeheartedly agree with the above: I think if I priced mine at 40 it would go very quickly!

Based on prices for comparable models to mine here, I have now priced the bike at 69,000. (Weather cover, lock and saddle bags included in the price.)

As I live remotely in Asia, and can come back to live in Thailand at anytime, and likely will in the future, if I don't get offered what I want I will keep it with friends. I don't have to sell it.

++++++++++

Just as side notes to the above...

I am currently in the Philippines and travel to BKK regularly (in fact I will be there in a couple of weeks for a long weekend), so the documentation thing will not present an issue. I have all the documents with me. This will not influence the pricing!

A brand new Phantom was 88k IIRC. I think the fact this is bike is out of production works in a seller's favour. The Phantom is still popular, parts are still readily available (as mentioned above), they are easy to service at any Honda dealer, but the pool of supply is now limited. The bikes are getting older, so it wouldn't push the bike's price up, but I see this as an argument for value retention.

Reluctant sale. Just over 20,000 on the clock. New tyres put on recently. I am third owner and book is in my name. Very well maintained and cared for. Excellent saddle bags included in price. 80,000 baht wanted. Contact me by message here at ThaiVisa.

Thank you everyone for the comments.

The fact that

2) I am no longer a resident in Thailand with a lengthy visa/work permit/proof of residence, and

3) the fact that the bike will very likely be sold in a different province to the one in which it was registered

appear not to be issues, which is encouraging.

This leaves the first issue. Unfortunately, I do not have my old passport with me. It is back in England with my folks. I am guessing a copy of the appropriate pages would probably suffice for the DLT. Maybe even a fax. Due to having a 50% success rate with England/Thailand post I would be reluctant to ship over the real thing.

As has been pointed out, all of this is the buyer's responsibility. The thread was really about me arming myself with the facts regarding potential transfer issues. If the buyer needs an agent and an envelope with xxxxx baht to get the job done, then that will be for him to do if he wants the bike.

manc

Thanks for your input on this matter, Denkiblue.

"1. Passport number change will be a big problem. For any vehicles to change owner, up-to-date and accurate ID papers (passport/work permit) are needed. I don't believe that details in the greenbook are affected - it is just that 'current' ID copies of ID with valid visas etc. are needed. (This means that a previously left copy of an old passport which was signed would only work if that passport were still valid - which it wouldn't be if you had a new one issued 'normally') "

As this will inevitably happen to all foreign motorcycle owners in Thailand, I find it difficult to believe that LDTs around the land will not have come across this issue before. There must be a way around this. I was thinking maybe I may have to show my old passport at the LDT, together with my new one, to prove the continuity. Surely this would resolve the issue?

---

Over 200 people have read this thread already and only one helpful chap has responded. Please don't be shy. Contributions are welcome.

I moved to the Philippines from Thailand earlier this year and left my 2010 Honda Phantom with a friend in Bangkok. As it looks unlikely that I will return to live in Thailand, I am starting to consider selling my bike, but am anticipating numerous issues and would appreciate some advice on these. I will break them down. If you only have advice on a particular issue, please respond by providing the number reference to the specific issue you are responding to.

1. I am the legal owner of the bike and my name is in the green book. I have seen that my passport number is also in the green book. I recently renewed my passport, so the passport number in the green book is no longer valid. I have read that the DLT will require my papers (including my passport) to do the name change. Will this detail create a problem? Will I have to change my details on the green book before I can submit it to the DLT for a change of owner?

2. As explained above, I am no longer resident in Thailand and, as such, do not have a non-immigrant visa, work permit, or proof of address. If I go back to sell it, I will be going back on a 30-day visa exemption stamped at swampy. Does this preclude my being able to sell the bike?

3. I purchased the bike and had it registered in my name in Phuket. The bike has Phuket plates. The bike is in Bangkok (and can be moved to stay with another friend in Pattaya if needs be). If I sold the bike to a buyer in Bangkok or Pattaya, and the buyer wished to get it registered at the DLTs in those locations, would this create a problem given the bike is registered in Phuket?

Thank you in advance for your constructive advice.

manc

Never understood the draw of M&Ms. Whether when they were on the beach road in Rawai or as now in Nai Harn, I always thought the pizzas looked a kid had made it at school.

Amalfi very good. Never been to Modena but it always looked busy whenever I drove past.

Agli Amici in Chalong is also very good. It's co-owned by a Venetian called Michele who had a place on Nanai in Patong. Always thought he was the master pizzaiolo on the island. I highly recommend him; they are good guys, too.

After discovering DaVinci a couple of years ago, that became my favorite. I went there once a week after being taken there for a pizza with a chef from the old Six Senses in Rawai. I stopped going after one instance where I woke up very ill after eating there one evening. Without being too graphic, it was a true body shock of simultaneous vomitting and diahreaa. I wrote an email to the proprieter explaing what had happened. I was sure it was the cheese they had used, as this is sometimes the source of troubled stomachs. I never received a response and, accordingly, I never went back.

PS: Nikita's is great for a drink and enjoying the views, but the food has always been disappointing. Don't understand why expats would go there; tourists, okay.

The Japanese promised Thailand the return of all its lost territories when they (Japan) strolled into Thailand as paying guests in 1940,That was a fine example of cheap political rhetoric,

Note that Thailand has already requested a delay in the full implementation of A.S.E.A.N. on the grounds of the fact that its business community in general is not as yet prepared for open markets and competition in trade, banking Insurance etc..

The Japanese are using the proposal as a goad to prod Thailand to move as timetabled, nothing more nothing less..

When you consider that most of Thailands important business is controlled by a few families its understandable why they dont want ASEAN and Thaksin does.

Thailand's protected inefficient and ineffective protected businesses, which have no idea about customer service will get slaughtered in open market competition, where they have to compete.

And that, sir, is it in a nutshell. For a long time, Thai businesses have been able to swivel the finger in front of customers' faces, safe in the knowledge that the competition will be equally as useless and apathetic, meaning customers just have to put up with it.

If this EU-style, barrier-removing supra-national legislation is implemented, it will very quickly be reversed here in Thailand. Indigenous labour, commerce and capital cannot and wil not compete.