tayto

Hi

I was enquiring about that topic yesterday at the local garda station and it can be done only if your travelling or for instance teaching in Thailand. You just need to bring ID and a self adressed envelope. The garda i spoke to said it would take about 3 weeks. The certificate is required for any form of teaching in Thailand but as far as i am aware only certain schools and institutes ask to see it. I am no expert on the matter thats just from what i have been reading here and on other websites.

Thanks, smily. I don't quite understand this. Can Irish citizens do this by post, from abroad?

Information from Irish Garda.

How do I obtain a Police Certificate?

Police Certificates are issued only for the attention of Consular Authorities and for Foreign Adoptions Boards. They are not issued for employment or any other purpose. They can however be issued when being used for the purposes of establishing, or registering, a business in another EU Member State.

Where to apply:-

Persons resident in the Republic of Ireland - apply to your local Garda Station This no longer applies

Persons resident outside of Ireland - apply in writing (by post) to the Superintendent in charge of the District covering the area of your principal place of residence while living in the Republic of Ireland.

Details to be supplied:

Full name as on birth certificate (including maiden/married name if applicable)

Date and place of birth (or copy of birth certificate)

Current address

All addresses at which you resided in Republic of Ireland

Purpose (i.e. Embassy) for which Certificate is required

Stamped, self addressed envelope if applying to local Garda Station

There is no fee for the issue of a Police Certificate

Issue of a Police Certificates can take up to 4 weeks depending on the particular application

http://www.thaiembassyuk.org.uk/visa_teacher.html

. On Voluntary Basis

The applicant must apply for a non-immigrant visa, type “O”. at the Embassy. The applicant is required to submit an official recommendation letter from the organization in Thailand to the Embassy. Information on the term of voluntary work of the applicant in Thailand have to be provided for the Embassy’s consideration. If the applicant has appropriate qualification, the Embassy will issue a non-immigrant visa, type “O”, single entry with three month validity to the applicant within two working days. With this kind of visa, the applicant will be permitted to stay in Thailand not more than 90 days. In case the applicant wishes to extend the duration of stay in Thailand, the applicant is required to apply with the Immigration Bureau in Thailand by enclosing an official introduction letter of the Organization in Thailand.

For more information, please contact the Royal Thai Embassy , Consular Section, 29-30 Queen's Gate, LONDON SW7 5JB. Tel. 0207-5892944

Please be informed that a foreigner who is holding a Thai tourist visa is not permitted to work as an English teacher in Thailand, even on a voluntary basis.

A friend recently asked Mae Sai immigration if he could volunteer his services as a teacher for free and they replied that he could be arrested and deported if he did any kind of volunteer work without the proper work permit.

Also read recently about someone in Pattaya arrested for playing a few tunes with a band.

I suppose it depends on the immigration official but as far as I know there is a general rule that we cannot volunteer.

I know we can't talk bad about our superiors (forum rules) , but i hope the next time that local natural

major happenings don't get dumped into the General forum.

Here, here. Locals rule ok

Hope nobody had any damage done.

It was definitly a big one and everybody in the city felt it.

Hope it's not going to be repeated.

Ive got some friends coming to Thailand soon and they have

Asked me ….

Are we allowed to bring 2 liters of alcohol per person into the country? ( Wine )

And ……

Cigarettes, Do you know how many per person we're allowed to take into the country??

Ive got no idea…. So can any one tell me please…?

Thanks …. Mumbo

CUSTOMS & DUTY FREE ALLOWANCES AND RESTRICTIONS

Tobacco....................200 cigarettes

Liquor.......................1 litre

Cameras....................No restrictions

Film...........................Reasonable amount for personal use

Perfume.....................Reasonable amount for personal use

Gifts...........................No duty free allowance

Currency....................Must be declared on arrival

Agriculture items.......Refer to consulate

Tell them to stick strickly to this as the customs people are like vultures, waiting to nab anybody over the limit.

This new bridge across the Mae Sai (river) used to be called "Friendship Bridge" but they changed the name to "Off Topic Bridge" because it isn't the one mentioned in the original post. The original post talked about a third bridge across the Khong River...also known as the Mae Khong (river)....but that's ok because in the Chiang Rai forum if you're not off topic then there probably isn't any topic at all!!!! As you may have noticed (or not) the What's happening around Chiang Rai topic that used to be pinned at the top of this forum has disappeared....probably since nothing has been posted there since last year!!!!! Not alot happening up here....might as well just stay down south.....its way too much trouble to journey way up here....and....quite frankly.....why bother?

Yes, tayto, like I said in this post from just a few posts above....in the Chiangrai forum its usually off topic or no topic at all...and I guess you are off topic.....but in a very good way.

I brought back this great old thread for many reasons....one is that indeed there is nothing going on in the forum now....just like when I posted this fine piece of reply sooo long ago...and another reason is that the "where is limbo" thread just remineded me of all the good times he and I had together so long ago....like this thread!!! Oh the great old days of consequence without warning!! Maybe if I get really obnoxious I can bring those good old days back again!!!

Chownah

Come on now.........don't be living in the past.

Get out a bit and see all the wonderful things that are happening around you.

BTW any nice new restaurants around town?

Ah!!!! Memories!!!! Memories!!!!! The Good Old Off Topic Bridge Thread!!!

That one was good for a free vacation!!!

Please tell us why you are digging up a year old topic, I know it's boring here but it's surely not that bad when you have to revert to resurrecting a topic which is 16 months old.

goski,

you can do it. you must look deep inside and chant to yourself.. "i am a poster i can post i am a poster i can post where to buy napkins i can post whats up with thai drivers i can post newspaper delivery in chiang rai? i can possst..."

i await your comraderie and smooth neck whence you cross the threshold.

It's the quality that counts, not the quantity.

Just back from an annual checkup at the hospital.

Sriburin hospital have an offer which includes the following

1.consultation

2. check BP,P.WB,H

3.Chest Xray

4.CBC blood count

5. Blood sugar FBS

6. Chol, TG HDL, LDL cholesterol check ( i think)

7.Creatinine (kidney????????)

8.SGOT,SGPT ?????????don't know

9.EKG Heart

10.Bone Density

11.Pen Scope Teeth

12. Massage

I changed the last two to something else called BUN

all for 999 baht but finishes 30th of this month.

Don't eat anything in the morning and just turn up without appointment.

I have lost my motorbike licence. I have a 7 motorbike year licence which I obtained near the 'Wat Fung Min' area of Chiang Rai at the transport dept (Thais call this area 'Con Song'). Any ideas how I can go about getting a new one? What documents do I need and how much do I need to pay? How long does it take to get a new one? I have a photocopy of my licence. Will that help? Or do I have to do the whole driving test again?

In the meantime I think I will have to avoid the cops. I doubt they will accept a xerox of my motorbike license.

You have to go the police station, report your licence has been lost, get a report from them, go to the ''Fung Bin''

with the report card and they will issue you with a new licence.

Not sure of the cost involved.

Hope that's useful.

On a journey south recently from Chiang Rai I saw many signs, in Thai that there were speed cameras ahead

especially south of Chiang Rai city and around Phayao.

I couldn't see any cameras, either fixed mounted or hand held.

Is it a bluff or are there really speed detector cameras here?

Anyone been stopped?

A great night had by all.

St.Patrick's day party in chiang Rai on 17th March in Twenty Four (24) Bar,

Jet yot Road.

Free food. Irish stew/ Thai food.

Start about 7.30 pm. Wear something green.

Top of the mornin to ye all.

Happy St.Paddy's Day.

Don't forget to wear something green to the party tonight.

St.Patrick's day party in chiang Rai on 17th March in Twenty Four (24) Bar,

Jet yot Road.

Free food. Irish stew/ Thai food.

Start about 7.30 pm. Wear something green.

I would be glad to try this out and edit as needed.

Thanks

Thanks everyone,

We've looked at all your great advice

and have applied it as best we can.

She's going to apply for a visa on

Monday 5th Feb.

Fingers crossed, and if it is refused

at least we did our best and will be

better equipped to secure a visa next

time.

:-)

Brian.

Good luck, mountainman..................us Irish are tryers.........so keep trying.

missionaries are exactly this: arrogant. it is nothing but arrogance to believe that ones' religion is superior to another. and it is horrible to remove someones culture and replace it with your own.

//sentence removed//

Gerry and Erg are 100% correct.

Thai people do not like hilltribes or khun doi and missionaries exploit them.

They make fun of them and even the kids are taught that a stupid person is a hill tribe .They make jokes that someone who doesn't know something is a Khun Lao, khun Pama or khun Doi.

Recently I had to take a hilltribe person to Chiang Rai hospital.

She was ignored, insulted and though a private patient who was paying, she wasn't allowed to see the doctor because she forgot to bring a hospital card.

I agree that there are 1 or 2 missionary groups in northern Thailand that are doing a good job but unfortunitly most of them are opportunists that are taking advantage of hill tribe people.

They raise funds on the pretext of helping these people but really they are only lining their own pockets.

You only have to look around you at all the big houses and nice cars that they have.

I have been prohibited from posting websites //please Tayto, see the forum rules// that give a lot of information about this but if anyone would like some, please pm me.

To Tayto and others who wants to discuss moderating issues: Please PM me!

Limbo I am happy that Tayto agrees that there are missionary groups doing a good job. I hope also that he soon will notice that certainly not all Thai people discriminate people from the ethnic minorities.

Living in Chiang Rai many of us have had some kind of interaction with hilltribes - the major tourist attraction here. Through work or volunteering, personal relationships, supporting lunches at a school, sponsoring a student or an event, the Night Market, etc.

Without mentioning or promoting any specific project or organization – what’s been your experience? What impression do you have of their situation?

Mymechew

The hilltribe people of Thailand deserve a lot more help than they are getting.

Many are neglected by the government, getting no education, getting no medical care and in many cases cannot even get I.D . Many are restricted from travelling, even going to university, they have to get special permission to travel.

Then they are // insulting language removed // and hold basic necessities from them unless they conform to the various religions.

Many websites, some very controversial, have been devoted to this , notably

// website removed// which is well worth looking at.

Tayto, pending a discussion with the other moderators I have put you on seven days moderator preview for the time being. The OP asks for a serious response, not for the kind of mud-slinging that obscures the discussion.

Limbo

Funny, when you want a topic closed, they won't close it and when it's in any way controversial it disappears very quickly.

It seems the moderator SBK is offended by my reply, when I posted in the Chiang Rai forum about insurance.

O.K I apologise to the moderator.

but others shouldn't be so quick to make judgement. We are all capable of a verbal faux pas, as witnessed recently on this forum but are not able to erase our words as easy as our moderator.

Many people here are good at being critical and negative but seldom seem to add much to this forum.....to them I say

Others,who have an interest in this forum, are helpful to the many queries and add some healthy discussion.....to them I say

Mr.Moderator you can now erase this topic or do what you will as I won't be contributing anything more to it.

Tayto,

SBK gave herself the trouble to locate topics about healtinsurance for you and for the other readers of this forum. I don't see any reason why to react this way. Your reply is actually very rude and impolite.

In my opinion which I clearly share with other members of this forum, you own her an apology.

Your wordings don't fit within the norms we uphold in this forum for communicating with each other.

If you would have been looking for a specific insurance company with an office in Chiang Rai you should have mentioned that. You posed your question in general terms and so SBK's answer was not only correct but very much to the point as well.

Limbo

Here, here!!!!

Don't know , what's going on here but the intention of the o.p was to get an idea from Chiang Rai forum members what and where they got their insurance cover, a fair and valid request.

All I have received here is one on- topic reply and lots of b***

As previously requested, please close the topic as noyone seems interested in it.

It's like watching a train crash in slow motion

It's obvious I am not going to get any sensible answers to a very straight forward query, without all sorts of off-topic posts.

So please, mr.moderator close this topic.

Please do not post here unless you intend to answer my o.p.

I do not intend to get into a tit for tat with you. This is a genuine question for Chiang Rai forum members, so leave us alone.

Tayto, Have You Ever Seen These Lines:

"May the road rise to meet you.May the wind be always at your back.May the sun shine warm upon your face and rains fall soft upon your fields.And until we meet again,may God hold you in the hollow of His hand"

Svenivan, your ability to post and paste and your choice of colours are comendable, but I fail to see the relevance to the original post.

My my snippy aren't you.

Well, I guess that is what I get for trying to be helpful to someone.

I guess I just didn't realize that there were insurance companies serving only Chiang Rai residents.

Yes, we have insurance companies in Chiang Rai, you should visit here some time. We're not as primitive as you seem to think. I'm sure our moderator Limbo would give you a tour and some tips about courtesy and manners.

Actually I said that cater solely to Chiang Rai residents.

It's too bad you can't accept some simple pointers to mutiple threads that already address the issue you raised with graciousness and good manners.

Please do not post here unless you intend to answer my o.p.

I do not intend to get into a tit for tat with you. This is a genuine question for Chiang Rai forum members, so leave us alone.

My my snippy aren't you.

Well, I guess that is what I get for trying to be helpful to someone.

I guess I just didn't realize that there were insurance companies serving only Chiang Rai residents.

Yes, we have insurance companies in Chiang Rai, you should visit here some time. We're not as primitive as you seem to think. I'm sure our moderator Limbo would give you a tour and some tips about courtesy and manners.

You like playing with fire?

Who's fire?