Eneukman

No change at Jomtien Immigration (Chonburi) last month when I did my annual extension. Applied around 2.30 or so one afternoon and went back at the same time next day to collect my passport. They did take my photograph when I collected my passport.

Alan

I didn't have to complete a form when I did my 90 day report and my annual extension last month. I've still to obtain a re-entry permit though.

Alan

Well after 23 years I have seen 1 fight 3 Thais and one attempted necklace snatch, where I lived in the UK I saw far far more violence and crime

You have only seen 1 fight here in 23 years?!?!?!

When I lived in Pattaya, I could see more than that in a single weekend.

Remind me never to go on a night out with you. I don't think I've ever seen a proper fight here. Somebody I know was apparently in the process of being beaten up when an off-duty policeman intervened. Somehow, I doubt that it was a random attack.

safe ? look at the south of thailand, everyday a teacher, army boy, innocent bystander is killed by the religion of peace

Simple, don't go there or if you live there move somewhere else.

As I understand it, some people in the far southern provinces want to become independent.

Alan

Whatt thee fug they want with my bank acccount data?

'Who can guarantee data security?

But for the record, I buy more often at 7-11.

Immigration can see my bank account data every time I apply for an annual extension! Anyway, off to do my 90-day report in Jomtien later today so I'll see what they say.

Alan

Did my 90 day report Tuesday morning. Had a bit longer wait than normal but nothing untoward. No form to complete though I was reminded that I needed to renew my permission to stay next month. The officer confirmed that in Jomtien I could do this up to a month before the due date.

Alan

Whatt thee fug they want with my bank acccount data?

'Who can guarantee data security?

But for the record, I buy more often at 7-11.

Immigration can see my bank account data every time I apply for an annual extension! Anyway, off to do my 90-day report in Jomtien later today so I'll see what they say.

Alan

I did my annual (2nd) extension of my visa for retirement purposes at Jomtien immigration this morning. I had Rose at the outside copy service prepare my papers as usual. (Immigration paperwork hack...always ask for Rose, or one of her delegees, to prep the paperwork for whatever you need done at immigration. A very nice and thorough Filipina who's fluent in English. I always tip her 100-200 baht for a great service.)

I do everything myself and tip no one.

All the pre-completed pdf documents are saved on my PC and all I need to do is change the date on them and print them out.

I do the same for re-entry permits and used to do the same for the 90-day reporting, but for the latter a form is no longer required.

Even if I do need photocopies I prefer to get them somewhere that charges 1B or 2B (or less) instead of the massive 5B charged in most farang traps. 5B would be expensive even in the UK.

Exactly what I do, though if I had forgotten to copy something (at home), I would just pop across to the shop and get it done in a minute or two.

Alan

I checked earlier this morning and all 4 letters are now also showing as having been accepted into the UK yesterday! Hopefully, they should now be delivered within the next couple of days or so.

Alan

Not so far. They are all showing as having left Suwarnabhumi but nothing since. Other letters I sent registered air mail in the last few months all showed that they had been delivered in less than 2 weeks!

Alan

Thanks Dim5Star.

I see that that particular flight leaves at 08.55 in the morning but as there is only a short connection time for the next flight to Heathrow, our letters should have arrived in the UK on Thursday 12th May and should, if Royal Mail were doing their job, have been delivered by Monday or Tuesday at the latest!

1 letter out of 4 being delayed I could understand but not all of them!!!!!

Alan

I made a couple of phone calls yesterday and neither letter posted on Monday of last week has arrived. I've been able to email one of the letters but cannot really do so with the others.

A friend from Scotland goes back home at the end of next week so I can re-print the letters and give them to him to post when he gets home.

I'll make inquiries at the Post Office in Jomtien next week.

Alan

I've used Registered Air Mail from Jomtien a number of times and in the past have always been able to see when it was received in the UK. A few years ago, I could virtually guarantee that mail sent registered airmail would be received in the UK within 4 or 5 days though latterly it has been longer.

One item was a letter to HM Revenue and Customs so that was important though I did speak to someone there before posting the letter. I need to telephone them again today so I'll ask whether my letter has been received yet.

Someone on another forum suggested that sending mail by DHL wasn't that more expensive so I may have to consider that next time for important items.

Alan

Hi all,

On Monday of last week, I posted 4 letters back to the UK by registered airmail. All letters were marked England, though the girl in the Post Office asked if this was the UK, which I confirmed it was.

Using the tracking service, I can see that all the letters were received at the Suwarnabhumi Mail centre at 10.44 am on 10th May (Tuesday). The next entry is at 14.19 the same day when they were all shown as "Departure from Outward OE". Does this mean that they have left the airport in Bangkok and are on their way to the UK either direct or via some unknown destination? (I have sent a few letters registered airmail over the last 2 or 3 months and there has always been a delay of a few days before they were shown as arriving in the UK but not more than a week.)

Thanks,

Alan

Thanks for the clarification. This will be my wife's first visit to the UK purely to visit various family members and friends. I'll make sure that I can cancel the flights and hotels at reasonable cost.

It's still some months before she will have to submit her application but i'll register her and complete the application form as far as possible to ensure that there are no surprises nearer the time.

Alan

If I remember right, once you start an application you only get so long to complete it before it becomes inactive. Its not 5 minutes, something like a month.

Best bet is to do one to get the hang of it, detail needn't be accurate, and then delete it. Start a new one when you are ready.

When you do the dummy make a note of the information you will need when you come to do it for real, this will save hunting for something and running into a session expiring message.

Thanks, I'll do that. Can you print out the information as you go along? (I know I can take a print of the screen, if necessary.)

Alan

Not as such, only as you suggest by screen dump.

Printing the application is the very last step, in order to do that the application must be completed, appointment made and application paid for. Once the application has been flagged as completed, no further changes can be made.

There are 2 main benefits from a dummy run, firstly, getting the hang of adding supplementary data. This is done via an 'add' box and quite straightforward once you have grasped the concept.

Secondly there are 2 questions that may require a text answer, better to have the answer ready so they can be copied and pasted in.

They are question 81 - "PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY THEY ARE PAYING TOWARDS

THE COST OF YOUR TRIP?"

and question 87 - "IS THERE ANY OTHER INFORMATION YOU WISH TO BE

CONSIDERED AS PART OF YOUR APPLICATION?"

Thanks. I'll probably take a screen print as I go along so I can remember what answers I've put in. My wife is totally computer illiterate, so I would have to type everything in for her.

I can think of a few answers to submit in response to question 81, though some of them may not go down too well

Alan

Thanks for the clarification. This will be my wife's first visit to the UK purely to visit various family members and friends. I'll make sure that I can cancel the flights and hotels at reasonable cost.

It's still some months before she will have to submit her application but i'll register her and complete the application form as far as possible to ensure that there are no surprises nearer the time.

Alan

If I remember right, once you start an application you only get so long to complete it before it becomes inactive. Its not 5 minutes, something like a month.

Best bet is to do one to get the hang of it, detail needn't be accurate, and then delete it. Start a new one when you are ready.

When you do the dummy make a note of the information you will need when you come to do it for real, this will save hunting for something and running into a session expiring message.

Thanks, I'll do that. Can you print out the information as you go along? (I know I can take a print of the screen, if necessary.)

Alan

Thanks for the clarification. This will be my wife's first visit to the UK purely to visit various family members and friends. I'll make sure that I can cancel the flights and hotels at reasonable cost.

It's still some months before she will have to submit her application but i'll register her and complete the application form as far as possible to ensure that there are no surprises nearer the time.

Alan

Thanks for the above information. I'll be going through the process in the near future.

A slightly off topic, but related question. I understand that my wife will have to attend an interview at the Trendy building in Bangkok. As her English language skills are limited, will the interview be conducted in Thai or English?

Thanks,

Alan

My wife wanted to go to Khao Yai National Park on our way to Korat last week. I too had to pay the farang price of 405 baht. We just drove through the park, stopping off at the visitor centre. Definitely not worth the 405 baht entrance fee - won't be back.

I did get in for the Thai price at the Ban Chiang Heritage Centre near Udon Thani though.

Alan

Unless you have changed your address since your last extension without telling Immigration, you do not need to include proof of address in your documentation. They will already have your current, correct address on their records for checking against the address on your visa extension application.

Jomtien Immigration wanted proof of my address when I extended my permission to stay (based on retirement) in August last year. They accepted my Thai driving licence as proof.

Alan

I did my last 90 day report around 2.00 pm mid-week at Jomtien last month and was in and out in less than 5 minutes.

When I did my annual extension last year, I had forgotten to take with me proof of my address. I was asked whether I had a Thai driving licence, which I was able to produce. It was copied there and then. Only once had a problem there and that was my own fault.

Alan

Good luck to all overstayers. Hopefully there will be some sort of amnesty period. Nobody intentionally wants to be in an overstay position, but sh#t happens.

You are incorrect there are hundreds probably thousands of farang on voluntary overstay. Yes people intentionally overstay..

Give me one example of an intentional overstay flouting the law. Everyone's circumstances are different. Some people have difficulties. It does not make them bad! How did they hurt you? The laws here are difficult and inconsistent. Give them a break.

Let me tell you about a friend's cousin, whom I have the misfortune to know.

He got some money when his dad died so decided to come over to Thailand for a holiday. I don't know how much he received but it was probably the equivalent of a year's salary for many people.

I believe he stayed at least part of the time in Pattaya, but fortunately I never saw him during that time. He squandered all the money he received getting drunk in beer bars and on girls. I don't know the full story but he ended up being arrested for being on overstay and ended up in the Immigration Prison. His sister refused point blank to help him and as far as I know his brother, who lives close to his sister has had zero contact with any family members for decades.

Eventually, a Catholic priest paid his overstay fine and the British Embassy paid for his fare home, retaining his passport until he repaid them for the cost of his airfare. As far as I know, that has not been repaid nor is it ever likely to be repaid.

He has a son, who must be in his teens or even early twenties, from a previous visit to Thailand. He came over whilst his son was young intending to visit him but ended up staying in Bangkok. He hardly ever supported his son, though his dad used to send some money when he was alive.

I have every sympathy with people who are seriously ill and who may be unable to deal with visa issues but people like my friend's cousin deserve to be banned from entering the country for a lengthy period.

Alan

Are you writing 'UK' on the address? Somebody once told me that UK is the code for the Ukraine. I'm not sure how true this is but that might be where your mail is going. I normally write United Kingdom in full on any mail I send.

I always put England rather than UK as it seems to be less confusing for them. Nothing ever lost so it seems to work.

I do the same after a Post Office employee added England after Scotland on an envelope.

My experience is the opposite. I nearly lost my UK (Great Britain) pension because letters from the pension office requesting proof that I was still alive within 8 weeks, arrived 12 weeks after date of letter. Two other letters from them were also 6 and 8 weeks late and delivered to the wrong house despite my address being correct (in Samui).

I recently received a letter from the Inland Revenue requesting that I submit an additional form within 17 days of the date of the letter. Only problem was that the letter didn't arrive until about 10 days after their totally unrealistic deadline. I must check that the form I returned has been safely received by them.

I too get occasional letters from my pension provider asking me to confirm I'm still arrive. They usually require someone to witness my signature though I'm sure they could send an email asking for the completed form to be returned to them.

Alan

I now send e-cards rather than actual birthday or Christmas cards. When I did send actual cards, I didn't seal the envelope (laziness on my part) but presumably anyone who looked in the envelope would see there was no money and could put in the card back into the envelope with no-one being any the wiser.

I had to send a bulky letter to the UK earlier this week and even sending it registered airmail only cost me 181 baht. The tracking service works well; I had to use it a couple of days ago to tell my bank in the Isle of Man that a letter they had denied receiving was actually received by them on 24th February - 7 days after posting it!

Alan

If someone is on overstay they may have a problem in getting married !

Best resolve the overstay and then get married .

I doubt an Embassy would report a person as being an "overstayer"

Thats understood but the overstay could be fixed inside a day by flying out from the airport in early morning, paying the fine etc and fly back in on a tourist visa ,

if the birth cert is not ready inside the first 4 weeks , the marriage visa would be delayed again ... so one thing is equally as important as the other .... Etc etc

I didn't think an embassy would report their own citizen either but maybe they are obligations we don't know about.... In relation to stamping or issuing documents I would assume a valid passport must be presented for anything ?

Who says a birth certificate is required in order to get married in Thailand ?

Here is a guide to what is normally required....

http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/marriage.html

I didn't need my birth certificate when I got married last year. I even got married in a different province from the one stated on the form I obtained from the British Embassy in Bangkok.

Alan

Yes, I've always found that if you have everything in order and organized that the annual extension of stay based on retirement at Jomtien is quick and painless.

I've never been asked for a proof or address. I usually bring along the most recent copy of my 3 BB bill as well as the deed for my condo, but never needed to supply them.

I was asked for proof of address at Jomtien in August. Of course, I had forgotten to bring that but my driver's licence was accepted.

I've never had a problem at Jomtien.

Alan

No one's ever been prosecuted for remote online work, it's not explicitly illegal just currently in a grey area.

The UK doesn't require you to pay taxes on any income outside the UK (unlike the US).

You don't need to pay taxes in Thailand if you don't remit earnings to Thailand in the same year they're earnt.

If you have money in your overseas account and you remit some to Thailand, how do they know a) where you earnt it; or when you earnt it

Basically they can't.

Virtually all of my income comes from various sources in the UK (1 pension, 1 annuity and dividends from stock exchange investments). The income is paid into a current account with a building society. When the balance exceeds a certain amount, I transfer funds to an off-shore account in the Isle of Man, the interest on which is exempt (at present) from UK income tax. I then transfer funds to my account with Bangkok Bank 2 or 3 times a year. As you suggest, it is virtually impossible to state when that money was earned.

The downside is that I can see the UK government, in the not too distant future, taxing those of us who claim to be non-resident for income tax purposes on our worldwide income or lose our personal allowance. From a personal point of view, paying tax on income from outside the UK won't be a major issue for me as thanks to the low interest rates just now, the additional tax payable would be less than about £40 or so. Even if interest rates were to increase, I doubt my tax bill would be much in excess of £200.

I think the only time the tax authorities might take an interest in your overseas earnings would be if that money was remitted direct to Thailand.

Alan