Hotrats

Because it is so much more complicated and more work for them. A retirement visa extension is relatively straightforward. The retirement extension can be approved on the spot, whereas the marriage extension can only be approved at head office. I remember when I first went with my Thai wife to apply for an extension based on marriage, they did all they could to persuade me to change and apply for a retirement extension. As it turned out the retirement extension was far better for them (less work) and me (less paperwork required and can be approved on the spot).

I'm pretty sure your visa extension application has to be made in the province where you reside.

It was at Nonthaburi Immigration office.

I have just received my new British passport from VFS. No certificate or letter was given. But no letter was required. I simply completed the form as provided in the link above by DrJack54 and the visa stamp was transferred from my old into my new passport. This was free of charge and pretty straightforward other than the fact that they required a copy of every page from my old passport.

I have a TIN and a Pink ID. Numbers are not the same.

Yes. I have had a Visa Credit Card from Bangkok Bank for many years. The credit limit is equal to the amount held on deposit by the bank.

Many thanks for the speedy and helpful reply. I too have been living in South East Asia for over 20 years, so your experience is very encouraging.

Thanks for that info. I am about to get an MRI scan done here in Bangkok, probably with mrithailand (as recommended by Sheryl. I will then have to decide whether to have any needed follow up treatment here in Thailand or back in the UK. So I have 2 questions, 1) were you charged by the NHS as a non UK resident? and 2) how long ago did you do this? Thanks.

I haven't had a will actually drawn up at my amphur office, but I did take my will which had already been drawn up by my lawyer here in Thailand, to be registered with my local amphur office. Apparently having the will registered with the amphur makes things easier should there be any problems with probate, but I don't know about having them actually draw it up as well.

I have multiple accounts with one branch of Bangkok Bank, all in my name. 2 fixed savings accounts (one for immigration 800k and one as guarantee for my credit card). I also have 2 "current" savings accounts also in my name. I also have a joint account in my and my wife's name. Never had any problem opening any of these.

I have a 5 year Thai driving license. On all my visits to the UK I have used it without any problems, including for car rental. However, on a recent trip to France I had to get the International Driving Permit as the French do not accept a license in any other language than French (contrary to what some other posters have said above).

Marks & Spencer.

Yes, you can. But the shop will add a 3% charge to cover the credit card fees.

It's definitely not working as normal this month. My 90 day report is due today (10th April). I was aware of this and submitted my online report on 5th April. Then just 2 days ago (8th. April) I received the notice to submit my report. Meanwhile my report is still "pending".

All the games are available to watch for free on Thai TV. The only problem is to work out which games are being shown on which channel. Most games are being shown on True4U - channel 24. On my TV one can choose the audio you want between the Thai commentary or the English commentary.

Yes. The yellow book, plus the pink ID card, are useful for any time you need to show proof of address; and that includes when renewing your driving license.

Update to my post above: right at the end of the 3rd day of waiting I finally received the approval email for my 90 day report. So it does seem like the online reporting system is working well, although the response time may be a bit longer after returning from abroad as opposed to to a report done without having left the country.

It works fine as long as you have been in Thailand since your previous report, however, problems seem to occur when you try to submit your next report having returned from a trip outside Thailand and therefore not done the next report on the originally required date. My latest report is still showing "pending" 3 days after submitting it online 90 days after I returned from a trip abroad. Not sure whether I should continue waiting or have to go into the Immigration office in person.

Very true. Good point. I don't read Thai, so I was relying on my trust in the lawyer to provide an accurate and true translation of what we had initially written in English. In my case though I was able to also ask my wife to check the Thai translation.

I had my will registered at my local district office. The lawyer who helped me draft the will strongly advised doing it. For him it was just a part of the normal process; making it more 'official'. The will had to be in Thai language. His colleague accompanied us to the office to act as an official witness, he couldn't be a witness himself as he was already one of the named administrators / executors of the will.

I flew back in to Thailand recently through Suvarnabhumi. No TM 6 required. When I queried this with the immigration officer he assured me that no details of a TM 6 would be required for my next renewal of my Retirement visa.