rushdentillidie

Thanks for the reply s.

I think the best way for me would be travellers cheques in sterling and then to get them changed in Thailand. As the baht rate now is shocking 45 baht to a pound .

The rest I will use my credit card, as a poster recommend paying money onto this and then with draw the credit balance. Although i will look into opening Thai bank account while I am over there.

Could anyone also recommend the best places in Bangkok to exchange a large amounts of cash. Would a bank be the best bet, do you get better rates for the more money that is exchanged?

Thanks for the update.

Regards

Hello all,

I am due to go to Thailand next month for my wedding. Could anyone advise me of the best way to take money or transfer money to Thailand. Normally when i go i just take the money with me. But this time i will be taking a large sum, as i am travelling for a longer time period and have extra costs to pay for. I am from the UK and have a UK bank account.

I have look at a few options like western union but they charge a stupid transfer rate. My bank will allow me to withdraw money in Thailand but again will charge a fee for this service, and also only allow a certain amount to be withdrawn each day. I have no problems carry the money in person but would this cause problems at customs. How much can be carried into Thailand with out been declared

If anybody has any experience in doing this or any ideas, it would be great to hear them.

Regards

I am looking for some advice regarding Sin Sot payments. At the moment my wife and I hoping to have wedding ceremony in April at her village, after getting married in Bangkok last year. Now sin sod was discussed between us a while back and we agreed on a price. Although now after speaking with her parents and people in her village they think that the price should be higher more due to her social status ect.

Now for me to meet this payment would require my to borrow money from my parents, who are not so welcoming about paying for a wife. My wife are now caught up between ourselves and parents. She wants to come to the UK as we planned, but does not also want to upset her parents and is upset about what people will say in the village. The same goes for me, although I would not care what the village people think. But I do care about my wife and what she thinks, and understand what she is saying. So I need to find a way forward

After reading though the forum I noticed that many people have different ideas sin sod, but has anybody experience in dealing with this or any ideas would be a great help.

Regards

We went in for the TB test a week ago and were told by IOM that there was suspected TB. I'm no expert, but looking at the X-rays I just couldn't see it myself.

Likewise on our second visit to the hospital my wife was told her x-rays were all clear.

Could be wrong, but came to exactly the same conclusion as you rushdentillidie regards a quota.

Have to say we were fortunate though in that the sputum results came back negative. A major relief on all counts.

RLM

Thanks for sharing RLM, it seems that they are many cases like this after reading over people reviews.

I hope like you once the results come back the will show all clear.

Regards

My apologies for implying that your wife's health was not a concern for you. My remark was meant to be a general one, not directed at any one in particular. My excuse, for what it's worth, being it was late at night after a frustrating day.

As the IOM is a highly respected inter-governmental agency, I assume that one reason the government only accept certificates from them as there is less chance of them being wrong than others. Though as my doctor said to me only yesterday, no doctor is perfect and they all make mistakes!

However, I suspect the main reason being that in some countries it would be very easy to pass an envelope to an unscrupulous doctor and get a certificate without a test.

Dont worry about it, no offence taken.

I guess in my mind, is was hoping to have the visa paperwork sorted out by now. But it will just take more time, I am sure we will get there in the end.

Regards

Hello there,

I hope this is the best board for this posting as I was not sure.

I am marrying my fiancee in April, and because of this I am hoping to take an extended holiday of around 4 to 6 weeks. Where in the past we have just used hotels I was thinking this time that renting an apartment might be more cost effective.

Although my time spent in thailand would need to be split between Bangkok and Mukdahan, as we still have visa's work to sort out amongst other things.

Could anybody recommend any good websites or places to find apartments for rent? is it even possible to rent for only 1 month or so?

We would just be looking for a studio apartment with A/C and not really fussed about which area of Bangkok to be based. Although something in the range of 7-10k a month would be ideal.

Would somebody as be able to advise on the best visa to get. I have been thinking about a tourist visa of 60days, which I can apply for in the UK. Or would it be easier just to take the 30 day stamp, leave and return Thailand for an extra 30 days.

Thanks for your help

Regards

Although it seems to me that they might have a set quota that they have to meet each month (UK driving test rings bells).

As an ex driving instructor I can assure you that the UK driving test does not have any sort of quota. I doubt very much that the IOM have a quota for TB tests. What would be the point?

To be frank, were my wife in this position I would be more concerned about finding out for sure that she was free from TB than trying to find another hospital to issue the certificate without further tests!

With all due respect my wife's health is of paramount importance to me!

This is why we went to Bumrungrad to check for TB the same day off our own backs. My concern would have been if this test also showed suspect TB. Would we then have to wait the 2 months for the IOM to confirm the cultures. Surely the sooner treatment is administrated the less time the TB has to grow, develop and possibility spread. I don't claim to be a doctor far from it, this is just from research I have done. Into how TB is handled and dealt with in the UK and Europe.

But maybe you are right 7by7 about the quota, although the IOM does cause a inconvenience, and seem to have the monopoly in this field. If the embassy will only take certificate issued from them, what happens if they are wrong?

But we just have to be patience and wait for the results. Although I always thought that the visa itself would be the most worrying time, we still have that part to come

Regards

7by7

I would be astonished also that this type of institute would do such a thing. Just strange that there are two instances quite close to each other in that this has happened to the OP and ourselves.

As you have said TB can be caught at any time just fishy the two scenarios, especially as the OP had an OK from another doctor

Hi there thanks for the update,

It is nice to read that somebody else is in the same situation as us. I would not think that the IOM are involved in a scam as such, because the retests are free I believe (we wont be paying again) Although it seems to me that they might have a set quota that they have to meet each month (UK driving test rings bells). As in previous posts I find it hard to believe that my wife passed her yearly TB test 2 months ago with University, and then the retest at Bumrungrad hospital the same day.

Although all I can say is the the IOM is a very slow process should anybody fail the TB test. I am not sure why the IOM would not start treatment with my wife as a precautionary measure until the cultures come back. This would save us 2 months, and stop any TB from growing. Form what research I have done this is standard procedure in European clinics.

I do feel that other options should be available in Bangkok, as the UK embassy will only recognise the IOM it does not allow for a second option.

Roll on march

Regards

I just like to say that I can not recommend enough the food and service. we received here during our trip to mukdahan over new year.

Nice quite location just outside the city, and with some great view across to Laos.

My wife and I enjoyed the meals we had here, and the menu selection is great for both western and Thai food. My wife's parents also stayed in the room for rent over new year. They where very impressed with the service and room.

We will be visiting again when we are back in Mukdahan, and will be recommending to my parents to stay here on the next trip. Rather than the locals hotels.

Thanks again we hope to be back soon.

I know this is not directly related to Thailand but I hope somebody can help.

I have been offered a job in myanmar with my current company. For me the visa work permit and accomadation will all be allocated for me. But I am woundering if my wife who is still a Thai national will:

A) Require a visa to stay for up to a year.

Be able or require a work permaint to work.

The reason I ask this is because I know that Myanmar is part of ASEAN and from the research I have done it seems that nationals of the member nations can travel freely between each other. But is this like the EU where nationals are able to work also with no work permit.

Any advice would be a great help

Regards

yes sorry for the capitals but i was posting via my mobile so could not change. thank you for your post and the information provide it is helpful, and a sgin of hope still. regrads

THANKS FOR THE UPDATE I AM JUST WORRIED ABOUT THE TIME SCALE THAT WE APPLY FOR THE VISA. WE HAVE ALREADY SATRTED THE SAMPPLE TESTING TODAY SO THE 3 WILL HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY THE END OF THE WEEK. IS IT THEN THE CASE THAT THE RESULTS WLL BE GIVEN, OR DO WE HAVE TO WAIT FOR 2 MONTHS. IF THIS IS THE CASE I THINK THAT OUR TRAVEL TARGET DATE OF THE END OF MARCH WILL BE MISSEED, AS I BELIEVE THE CURRENT VISA WAITING TIME IS AROUND 2 WEEKS.    THE OPTION OF TAKING THE X-RAYS DIERECT TO THE EMBASSY WITH A COVER LETTER AND ALL CLEAR FORM A DIFFERNT DOCTOR DOES SOUND LIKE A WAY FORWARD BUT IF THE IOM ISSUSE THE OK WITH THE WEEK THEN THAT WOULD BE OK. IT SOUNDS STRANGE THAT MY WIFE WOULD HAVE TB BECAUSE SHE WAS TESTED AT UNIVERSITY 4MONTHS AGO AND WAS OK, PLUS THE 2ND TEST GAVE HER THE OK. WHEN THE DOCTOR AT THE IOM SHOWS US THE SPOT BOTH OF US COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING ALTHOUGH WE ARE FAR FORM DOCTORS. HOPEFULLY EVERY THING WILL COME GOOD IN THE END AND AT THE END OF THE DAY HER HEALTH IS THE MOST IMPOARTANT. THANKS AGAIN

Good afternoon, Me and my wife are in the process of applying for a UK settlement visa, we have all the paperwork in place apart from the TB test certificate which we went to do yesterday. On completion on the test the doctor at the IOM said that the x-ray taken Could show signs of TB. We then had to go back to the Phyathai hospital to re-test, up-on the 2nd test the doctor at the hospital says that the x-ray shows all clear. Returning to the the IOM office the doctor again said that he was not happy with the x-ray and would need to do further testing. Normally i would accept this but when the doctor at the hospital said all clear it had us wondering. So we decided to go to Bumrangrad hospital to do a extra test ourselves, the results of this again show all clear and was confirmation by the doctor in the hospital and we have confirmation of this. We have taken this 3 x-rays back to the IOM office and awaiting what the doctors there says. The questions that I have are, is the IOM the only place in Bangkok that the embassy accept for the visa? If this is the case is they no way to get a second option. As we now have to wait 3 days for samples to be taken and then a further 2 months to confirm for sure, is they anyway that we this process can be made speeder? The second option that we have would be to apply for a tourist visa for my wife to come to the UK this way. But is they anyway that a tourist visa can be turned into a settlement visa in the UK, or would this have to be done in Bangkok. I know that this sound impatience in not wanting to waiting, but the current circumstances would mean that waiting a extra 3 months would be a waste of time and money, as my wife is due to finish university in march. Any advice or experience in this matter would be a great help. Thanks again.

Good afternoon,

I wonder if somebody could clear up a problem that I have with the visa fees. my and my wife are going to apply for the visa later this month when i am back in Thailand. But after checking the visa websites i have found 2 different fees. From the UK embassy in Thai i have found the fee to be 33930 baht which works out about £618 with today's exchange rate.

http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/visafees.aspx

Although on the follwoing website, i see the fee to be £585

http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/visafees/

Could someone please confirm the correct price. Also is it possible to pay the fee in Pound Sterling or does it have to be in Thai bath.

Regards

Me and my wife are currently in the process of completing an application for a settlement visa for the UK With luck we hope this will be granted with-out any problems.

I was wondering what happens when the visa is granted, and what documents if any are provided on collection of the visa. I understand that the visa will allow my wife 2 years to live and work in the UK, where after with have to apply for ILR But would this visa alone enable to her to apply for work in the UK, or will she have to apply for a NI number or any other documents before she is able to take up work. If so what would she need and how is the best way to go about getting these.

The other question i have is with health care, would she be entitled to NHS care up on arrival in the UK or will we have to go privet. As we are hoping to start a family over the next few years and would the children to be born in the UK rather than Thailand. We have looked into the possibility of her becoming a UK citizen but this will take many years.

Thank you for your help,

Regards

I have traveled to Hong kong and Macau with my Thai wife and not had any problems. But I believe any ASEAN nation, Thai's can travel with no passport. But always best to check the nations embassy website before you travel. I also feel it is best to have a return ticket and medical insurance for both of you's for the least probelms at passport control.

Happy traveling

Regards

Good afternoon,

Does anybody have any experience with completing the on-line application form, my wife and i hope to get the visa to be able to use in march so we think that applying in December/January would allow is enough time to do this, i know that a date can be stated on the form for the start day of the visa.

I will be in Thailand for Xmas and new year, and we are hoping that we can go to the embassy together to pay the fee and hand in the supporting documents that we have. Does anybody know how far in advance you can book the appointment to go to the embassy when applying on line, is it a case of a few days or weeks?

This would be for the UK visa.

My second question is about the TB testing, how long does this normally take to get the certificate if the testing is all ok. can this be done in one day or is it best to factor 2 days or so, to complete this.

Thanks for the help

Regards

Hi all,

I am looking to travel out to thailand for the new year, and to go to my wife's sister's wedding. Due to work commitments i will not be able to fly out until the 26/12.

Has anybody got any ideas about the best airline to use, or has travelled on these dates in the past. I am willing to travel to any airport in the UK although i live in the North East. I have been looking round and the prices seem to be up to 4 times the normal price i.e £380 with emirates/etihad

I am hoping to get a flight around the £1,000 is this possible?

Thanks for you help

Regards

Good afternoon,

Me and my wife are in the process of getting all the paperwork together for when we apply for the visa next month. Although I a few questions, as for the evidence we have been able to collect most of it i.e accommodation, job contract, bank statements, mobile phone bills ect.

But the problem that we have is showing that we have known each other for over 2 years, we have during this time emailed each other every day and speak on MSN everyday. But aprat from printing all these off to paper we are not sure how esle we can show the embassy.

Does any body know if the embassy will acpet this data visa a DVD or USB drive, because oterwise we will have thousands of sheets of paperwork, the same is also true for the photos that we have taken.

Any advice or past experince would be a great help.

Regards

Good afternoon,

I know that this question most have been asked a thousand times before, but after looking though numerous posts and research on the Internet and via the embassy website, i am just confused now. So i am hoping that somebody can point me in the right direction.

My and my Thai wife are hoping to settle down in the UK next year after she finishes university, following research we did before, we believe that a spouse visa would be the best way to achieve this, as it would allow her to work when she comes to the UK, and would get the 2 year leave in the uk.

We pick this rather than doing the Fiancé visa which would cost us more in the long run. We have been a couple now for 2 years, and we got married earlier this month in Bangkok, and have registered our marriage both in Thailand, and sent off the ORC paperwork via the embassy for the UK.

My first question is when would be the best time to apply for the visa, as we are hoping to move to the UK at the end of march 2010. I believe that current waiting times are around 4 months.

The visa that we have been told best to apply for is the "Spouse/civil partner of a settled person" using the application form "VAF4A - Settlement" I have seen on the VFS website that applications can be made on-line, is the correct. Or is best to complete the form by hand and submit it along with all the supporting documents? If anybody with experience of the process could give an overview of the application process it would be a great help.

Apart from this, we know that we need the TB test, and need to get a translated copy of the marriage certificate which we have. We have also been put together a pack of supporting documents using information from this site, which we feel proves our case. But does anybody have experience of anything else that can help with the application or common problems that can easily be avoided.

We have considered using a agency, but for the money they charge, i don't feel that it is worth it and think that it is best to go it alone with the embassy using help form the internet and friends. I would rather use the cost of a agency for the flight tickets,

Thank you for your time and patience and i look forward to reading the reply, and sorry for asking a question that has already been asked, but as i am sure you are aware, we have all be at this stage and is very important process to the couple involved.

Reagrds

Thank you for all the repolys.

I am sure that if i follow all the advice we will be fine, i have driven in many other countrys before in Europe, but i dont feel that will be much help here lol. It's just when you read a few posts and articals on the internet they paint a bad picture of driving standards in thailand. But for a place like Ubon i feel that it is the best way for transport and getting around.

Regards

Good afternoon,

Has anybody got any experience with car rentals in Ubon. We will be travelling there next month for 5 days to visit my girlfriends family. We will be flying to Ubon, but looking on the internet i have not been able to find many company's that offer cars in the area. As for the car we only require a small to mid size car with air-con.

So if anybody as any recomendations, or has done this before it would be a great help.

I also hold a full UK licence, and know that i need to get a international driving permit. But has anybody got any further advice on driver in thailand and the best precautions to take, i know that it is good practice to photo copy all documents ad things like this.

Thank you for you help.

Regards

Thanks for you response, they have been very helpful.

We are still looking into the best visa for us, as i am sure you all aware the visa process is not the easysist thing to do, and in my view is just a con to make money. One further question that i do have is with the FLR if we did go down this route, How long would it take for us to apply and get the FLR notice back once we are married in the UK.

For us i think that it would be best to marry in the UK for family reasons.

Once again thank you for your help.

Regards

Good afternoon,

I know these types of questions are asked all the time, but please bear with me. I have been looking over this board and on the internet, but still have a few questions that i hope you could help me with.

I have been with my Thai girlfriend for over 2 years now, we have travelled lots in Thailand and the ASEAN region. She is still studying at univeristy untill march next year. We then hope after her study that she can come to the UK and marry, and then live in the UK. After research I have found that the Fiancee visa would be the best way to do this.

My first question is does anybody know how long the process can take and can a start date for the visa be set. As I have read in some places that the visa will start from the day it is issued. As we do not intend to travel untill march we would like the visa to last as long as possible.

My second question is that after we marry in the UK, I understand that at first she will be able to stay and work in the uk for 2 years. But where do we apply to to get this information and things like NI number and ID card.

Thirdly i would just like to know other people experince with this, and any advice that you can give that will help during the application, what are the best supporting documents to take.

Thank you for your time and poatince i look forward to your response

Regards