AjarnMartin

A friend of a friend (really!!) tried to enter Thailand yesterday to visit his Thai girlfriend and was refused entry by Thai Immigration who sent him back home to the UK. It appears he has a 'criminal record' in the UK for a traffic infringement which I find a bit questionable.

More seriously, a friend is actually arriving at the beginning of December with his Thai wife and children for a Thai marriage ceremony upcountry. He has been here many times and never had a problem before but he is not 'whiter than white' when it comes to his police record having committed a few 'minor infringements' when he was a lad, if you get my drift? He and his wife are obviously concerned.

My question is twofold: a) Has Immigrationed been stepped up recently because of the Paris debacle, and would it be better for him to apply for a Tourist Visa at one of the Thai Consulates in the UK for an actual stamp in the passport?

His 'friend' arrived yesterday in the hope of a Tourist Visa on entry and my friend was going to do the same because he is only here for 28 days.

I'd be very grateful for some genuine help. Thank you!

I am not surprised at them having to do this. I was once an avid 'early-adopter' of their products but ceased my allegiance following very poor after-sales service. Basically, they couldn't have given a toss but it seems that their strategy has turned round and bitten them in the backside.

While I agree the school day for some children is ridiculously long especially in more rural areas where they use the school bus and are often out of the house for over 12 hours,but the other half of me is wondering what they shall do with the extra time,I suppose it will be iPads,telephones and Internet shops as always.

We will soon know when the already slow internet gets bogged down that little bit earlier with the advent of schools finishing earlier.

They're actually not leaving school early, rather core subject curriculum (Math, Science, Thai, English, Social Studies etc) will finish by this time, and then the afternoon 2-3 hours will be spent with Art, P.E., Music, etc. My school is also offering supplementary Computer, Thai and English classes (with no extra fees - it is calculated into our weekly hours).

This is the plan, anyway, at my school being one of the 4,100 that will pilot this program. It is a primary school in a very rural location. We are not cutting down on the core subject teaching hours, but rather the government is cutting out all the "extra curricular" activities and making them elective in the afternoons.

Either this will be the greatest thing since sliced bread, or will be an absolute abysmal failure. I have a feeling that some of the teachers have no desire to teach above their standard 12-14 hours a week, and these classes increase that by 3-4 hours. I have gone from 19 hours to 23, but that's ok, because I'm the foreign teacher and get paid so much, so mai bpen rai....anyway, these old school teachers will not want to do any extra activities and will probably instead send the kids out t oplay.

I hope not, but speaking with teachers at other schools, this is the general fear. The kids will just have open reign of school grounds every day from 13.30 to 16.00....

...open rein... :-) the phrase is actually associated with horse riding ...

tomorrow the headline news will be: "Prayut: the handshake with the US ambassador was not stagged"

... or staged... :-)

Had to do an image search for Scottish breakfast. Looks good, mate. Happy hunting.

This one...

or this one...

Bit disappointed not to see a slice of 'clootie dumpling' to finish the picture off. What memories... Good hunting. ?

If there are two words the Nation has absolutely flogged to death it is 'hails' and their other favorite 'lauds' .

I know the economy is in the doldrums but surely their budget must be enough to cover the expense of an up to date dictionary and even better a thesaurus.

If not , perhaps we could all chip in a baht each and send them one for Christmas.

I agree whole-heartedly! The language used in BOTH Thai English-speaking newspapers and within tv news items is often archaic to say the least. Try, for example, to count the number of times the verb "to slate" is used instead of "to schedule". Little do they know that "to slate" has both a positive and negative meaning which are interchangeable in some of the news texts as both meanings apply! 555 I did, at first, take the opportunity of writing to the Editor of the Bangkok Post about it but it fell on deaf ears. The journalists are obviously using Victorian text books when studying for their qualifications.

it's 3 years now

What is 3 years? None of the DL's are.

Sure! My most recent DL has been made valid for SIX years... Maybe they didn't have a calculator for the more common FIVE year extension? Ho hum! ?

I am about to apply for my first marriage extension to my Non-Imm 'O' and can find no reference to the number of 'sets' of copies required for submission to Immigration. I have also seen reference to the need for my wife to submit the original of her Tabien Baan. This is in Phetchabun but we now live in Bang Khae. Is this relevant and could we submit copies? Her Mum is loathe to send the original via the postal service.

I have also received conflicting advice with regard to the need for 'letters from banks' regarding income but I have an Embassy letter giving adequate pension entitlement. I'm confused.

Any help and advice would be gratefully received. Thank you.

My point was kind of that, the bars do not give even close the protection people think they do but they still put them everywhere. With correct bolt cutters anyone can enter any place, quietly, within seconds.

I haven't seen any fires but neither have i heard of any burglaries... but logic dictates that there are plenty of both in Thailand.

Of course you are correct.

So... please enlighten me what this clips has to do with my post.

The average Thai bugler does not carry bolt cutters on his motorcycle. Burglary is a crime of opportunity. You don't have to make your house safe as a bank you only have to make it safer than the house next door. Your theory is all wet.

Buglers don't want to be noticed. Cutting through bars and barking dogs and sirens and flashing light all get a robber noticed.

Lets say you live next to me. I have TV cameras, signs, alarm system, bars and dogs. You have nothing. Do you think your house is safe because the robber thinks you are poor?

Put up bars and every other method you can think of to stop or make crime difficult and you will be safer than the man who does nothing.

I'll huff and puff and blow your house down! Not my house.

Having heard 'Reveille' a number of times, I would have thought that 'buglers' (sic) wanted to be heard? ?

I have just been to the Thai Consulate in Glasgow, Scotland today and been informed about a NEW requirement of copy of wife's passport and/or ID card to obtain Non Imm 'O' based on marriage. All the documentation needs to be seen at application and sent to London Embassy for approval. Fortunately, I had a copy of the mem'sahib's ID card on my laptop and London have approved my new Non Imm 'O' already!

Like many others on TV in a fix, UbonJoe was my main source of sage advice, to whom I'm so grateful. :-)

Sorry to be a bit thick, but what is 15/1 and 18/3??? Thanks.

I'm amazed at all the great answers I received. Thanks so much guys, I really appreciate it.

This opens up a whole lot of possibilities for me. I'll go get my residence certificate soon (I've done my 90 day report 2 days ago) and once it's done I'll go see the dealershop. Then on to get my local driving license.

All that's good news for me !

Hi vinmelo89,

Ubonjoe is always a sound source of advice as are others on this thread. I can't add to the advice about buying the car which is a straightforward business.

However, on the Thai Driving License... Seven days ago I had to renew my five-year license and the process has now been changed by the government (at least in Phitsanulok) for this. First, regardless of already having a Thai license for seven years, I had to sit for an hour through a Thai 'safe driving' video and then drive round a pre-marked-out, concrete road system in my own car to prove my driving skills. It was totally 'Mickey Mouse', but a mandatory test, alongside the 'vision and reaction' test. After five hours of going through hoops, they issued a SIX YEAR Driving License. All done and dusted!

Good Luck and a fair wind... :-)

But why is the website also in Thai?

This is Thailand. The language of Thailand is Thai. Need I say anymore?

I can if you really want me to!

In fairness, I think Bubblegum was querying the fact because Thais presumably don't have to use the 90-day process whereas farangs do. A reasonable point...

Some people are very lucky... I applied online on 8 April for a 90-day Notification which was due to expire on 20 April and my "Confirmation" is still "PENDING".

It got to the expiration date so I went to Phitsanulok Immigration who could shed no light on why I was still PENDING. They said, "new system, no know!!!".

Does anybody have the Helpline contact details, please? The first number on the online documentation is "disconnected" and the second is useless.

Thanks

I fly semi-frequently from Phitsanulok to Bangkok and return. I am not fully handicapped but can only walk short distances. I always request a wheelchair and have always received that service. I can climb and descend the ramps but have always received courteous assistance.

So my experience is very good with Nok Air.

My only complaint is that they require that I sit in an aisle seat which means I have to get up to allow others in and out as I am the first on and last off.

I'm in exactly the same situation as you and I also fly between PHS and DMK relatively often. Like you, I have received nothing but the most courteous service from Nok Air. :-)

Hi Kenny,

I lived there for four years before moving to Phitsanulok because of work and it's one of my favourite places. I go back regularly at holiday times and have lots of friends there.

There are plenty of good restaurants (mostly in one central area) and the nightlife is good and varied, if you get my drift? What are you after?

There are quite a few 'farangs' who congregate on a daily basis at "Toffee's" in the town centre where you can drink coffee and beer and 'shoot the breeze'. They are of various nationalities, English, Irish, Welsh, German, Australian, etc and a good crowd.

The local area has some stunning scenery but it depends how and how far you want to travel? There are two national parks and Khao Khor advertises itself as 'the Switzerland of Thailand'. All between 60 and 100 kms from the town centre.

I'm there again for Songkran so, if you decide to go, enjoy!!!

How is the Baht weaker and yet we are getting fewer Bahts to the £ and $ - an enigma...?

TAT's excuses are a bit lame... If it wasn't meant for the western market, why is it in English?

In nearly eight years of teaching here, I've never heard of this practice, but as yet I've never asked my students... Research will begin today. :-) Still on topic and an observation, but I've noticed a higher proportion of students using their left hands in Thailand than was the case in the UK. Is this, like double-jointedness, a feature of genetic mutation I wonder?

It's a simple flat rate. You finance the vehicle at X years; the interest rate is Y years and you pay X*Y interest.

To convert that to APR, find out how much your monthly payments will be. Let's go with a 1,000,000 over 2 years @ 3%. That's 60,000 baht interest paid. Added with the loan amount that's 1,060,000 divided up by 24 payments...44,167 baht month.

c=^(rP)/_1-(1+r)-N

r=¹/₁₂ interest rate

P=principal

N=number of payments

44,167=(1/12r*1,000,000)/1-(1+1/12r)^-24

Or 5.66% APR.

I took the liberty of whipping up a spreadsheet where you can adjust the parameters of the flat rate loan and it will spit out an equivalent APR. This of course assumes same monthly payments. But I believe that's what you are asking for.

I'll leave the 'best choice' for others. I'm much more active in the motorcycle forum, but am good with math...so that's why I jumped on this thread.

flat rate to apr calculator.xls

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the calculator and the knowledge about lending rates. The most useful piece of information I've received from TV sources! Now I understand it.

What I can't understand is lenders asking for the full interest payments for the duration of the loan if you want to settle early? I shall look more carefully at contracts in the future. Actually, as they're in Thai, it will probably be a Thai lawyer... :-)

You can get a work permit attached to a Non O just as well as a Non B

It depends on the reason of the Non-O and extension.

Based on retirement for instance you will not get a work permit, while based on being married to a Thai national it is no problem.

Mario,

You do a sterling job in this forum but I find the responses to the OP and the subsequent posters fraught with ambiguity.

It is perfectly possible to work with a Non-Imm 'O' if your 'extensions' are neither for marriage nor retirement!

I am proof of such, having come here in 2008 with a Non-Imm 'O' which has been extended, without difficulty, every year since by virtue of my job. As has been pointed out by various respondents, the key is that a Work Permit is required in addition to the visa allocation, whatever it may be.

It would seem that not only the visa regulations are open to individual interpretation by Immigration offices but also the work permit regulations by the Labour offices? It was ever thus.

Thank you for your sage advice on many topics.

Ubonjoe has more of the nitty gritty on the topic but I came here on a Non-Imm 'O' in 2008. I found a job, got a WP and have used the same visa on extensions since then. I have NEVER had to prove my income to Immigration and I'm single. The 90-day reporting regime is much less of a hassle these days, allowing postal application, but I'm fortunate to be within easy reach of an Immigration Office which is very professional.

Hi Geoff, the medical required for the WP is not onerous. It only requires the doctor to confirm you are free from elephantiasis (I joke not), HIV, etc. and that your blood pressure is OK. I've just had one done at a local private hospital for the princely sum of 180 ThB.

Strangely enough, I have recently experienced a problem with ONE programme I want to download, via VPN, from the BBC iPlayer in the UK which normally works perfectly.

I contacted the BBC and, having checked, they say everything should work.

The programme is from a series called HARDtalk in which they interview the good and the great; the high and the mighty about current affairs worldwide.

This particular programme, in the aftermath of the attack in Paris, is an interview with Flemming Rose, the Cultural Editor of Jyllands-Posten who commissioned cartoonists to portray the Prophet in his Copenhagen newspaper in 2005.

It's odd that of all the programmes available through the BBC, this is the only one which won't download???

Don't know about the fabric itself but anything rubber deteriorates in the temperature and humidity here. Just try putting rubber bands round anything and see how long it takes to disintegrate. Waistbands on trousers and boxers suffer the same fate, unfortunately. I've also experienced plastic doing the same.