Australian consul in CM

[Ned]

I Googled the above and came up with two addresses: one in Sansai on the Doi Saket Rd and the other off the Canal Rd near the city. Which one is it?

Also, I'm doing a retirement extension soon with a combination of money in the bank here and funds in Australia. Can the consul here give me a letter or some sort of stat dec confirming the money abroad?

Thanks

[evenstevens]

to my local knowledge and experience ,there is only one

doi saket road sans sai

micheal u will find is a great fair dinkum aussie,who had alexander downer as one of his students.

he can do all as u requested,but it would be very wise to book a appiontment,not just rock up

the very best of luck cobber

[masuk]

Take bank statements, Centre link statement, etc to prove they're fair dinkum.

However, I think Immigration are only interested in what you've got in the bank here in Thailand, not in Oz, unless interest or whatever is transferring here..

Hope you've worked out what you'll do with the increase in the pension starting tomorrow. 300baht a fortnight! whoooppee.

[Ned]

I'm not a pensioner but live on oz term deposit interest. I transfer some over to my bank here when needed. Not the required 65K a month but I've got a few hundred thousand baht in a thai bank too. In combination they top the 800k requirement.

Thanks for your replies and all the best to you.

[Lizard2010]

Take bank statements, Centre link statement, etc to prove they're fair dinkum.

However, I think Immigration are only interested in what you've got in the bank here in Thailand, not in Oz, unless interest or whatever is transferring here..

Hope you've worked out what you'll do with the increase in the pension starting tomorrow. 300baht a fortnight! whoooppee.

Yea but with the Australian $ dropping

Who knows what will happen in the future

They are talking about it dropping further

I hope it does not change too much

Also

Does anyone have address or Phone No for the Consulate

If so can it be sent to my PM

Thanks

[masuk]

Australian Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This post is headed by an Honorary Consul

Address

Australian Consulate,

236 Chiangmai-Doi Saket Road,

Amphur Sansai,

Chiang Mai 50210

Thailand

Telephone

+66 53 492 480

Fax

+66 53 492 426

[masuk]

Take bank statements, Centre link statement, etc to prove they're fair dinkum.

However, I think Immigration are only interested in what you've got in the bank here in Thailand, not in Oz, unless interest or whatever is transferring here..

Hope you've worked out what you'll do with the increase in the pension starting tomorrow. 300baht a fortnight! whoooppee.

Yea but with the Australian $ dropping

Who knows what will happen in the future

They are talking about it dropping further

I hope it does not change too much

Also

Does anyone have address or Phone No for the Consulate

If so can it be sent to my PM

Thanks

A bit worrying, but I'm sure we'll still eat ok. drink less, party less!!

[northernjohn]

I'm not a pensioner but live on oz term deposit interest. I transfer some over to my bank here when needed. Not the required 65K a month but I've got a few hundred thousand baht in a thai bank too. In combination they top the 800k requirement.

Thanks for your replies and all the best to you.

Makes no difference what you do or have. You must be able to prove 800,000 baht in the bank or guaranteed income of 65,000 baht a month. Or a combination of the two. They will need to see a guarantee of the money coming in. Not a past record.

[evenstevens]

I'm not a pensioner but live on oz term deposit interest. I transfer some over to my bank here when needed. Not the required 65K a month but I've got a few hundred thousand baht in a thai bank too. In combination they top the 800k requirement.

Thanks for your replies and all the best to you.

Makes no difference what you do or have. You must be able to prove 800,000 baht in the bank or guaranteed income of 65,000 baht a month. Or a combination of the two. They will need to see a guarantee of the money coming in. Not a past record.

^^^^^^ N/J ...as usual wrong again.....seeing its around midnite, when u have posted,guess tiredness has crept in ,long day on the board u know

ned, been through the same process as u are about to undertake, my super agent due to her dilengience and expertise in visa matters at the ????dept

managed to secure my ret visa with out any funds in my bangkok bank a/c whats so ever, and fully legal and accepted at the ?????? dept

for personal reasons i cannot post the loopholes if one likes to call them that ,but again all legal and above board

cobber my super agent(who is a thai/aussie ) is located in the nimminhedin area,and for a fee of around 5000 baht approx,she absoulately takes great care of you,and most importantly she expertly dots the eyes and crosses the tees for you, if you feel u need her service ,just p.m. me,and i will happily supply them to u...,again good luck cobber

a very nice morning to all

[harness]

When you use the combination of money in the Thai bank and interest coming from an account overseas must that interest be paid monthly or can it be paid once a year?

[Konini]

Yea but with the Australian $ dropping

Who knows what will happen in the future

They are talking about it dropping further

I hope it does not change too much

For selfish reasons, none of us with money in Australia or in the Aus dollar want to see it drop. However, when you consider the economy as a whole, primarily because the majority of revenues in Australia come from export of grain/livestock/minerals/oil etc, all of which are priced in US$ on world markets, it is far better for Australia if the dollar is below 90 cents to the US$. I think 87 cents used to be touted as the perfectly balanced figure for everyone, that may have changed now, but it certainly wouldn't be upwards.

Personally, I'd rather have a bit of personal pain and see the economy healthy, because taking the long view, I'm going to be drawing my income from Australia for many years to come (I hope), and the better the economy, the better the returns on our investments will be.

[Konini]

The term 'money coming in, not past records' worries me a little. When we finally get around to applying for the retirement extension, we are going to be relying on previous tax returns to prove income rather than deposit 800,000 baht into the bank, partly because Thai banks don't always pay up quickly when employees are proven to have stolen money from your account, and because the return we would get on that is a fraction of what we can muster in Aus. Although our rent and utilities total more than half the 65,000 baht a month, we probably only spend 7 or 8 months if that in-country; we go to Aus for 4 or 5 or 6 weeks every year and UK visiting family for maybe 2 months - that's not counting holidays in between, and when here we don't live terribly extravagantly. This year we have transferred a lot of money over because we moved out of serviced apartments into a condo and made some improvements - not strictly necessary, everything was beautiful (as it should be in our rent bracket), just not really to my personal taste - but that's money we won't have to spend/transfer every year.

I'm hoping that this isn't going to be a problem for us. We're genuine, and have more income than is required, but it's in the form for rents, dividends and capital gains on selling the shares (blue chip only so no gambling or risk to our capial) after the dividends have paid out. It's not guaranteed as such or a regular monthly amount. In the dividend seasons we make a lot, now it's finished for blue chips until November when the banks start recording. Even the rents aren't guaranteed to be a regular amount, we're at the bottom of the market so no problem in always being fully tenanted, but repairs, maintenance, rates, body corporate fees etc are paid as they arrive, not spread out in equal payments each month.

I really hope we won't have a problem, although I'm now doubting what I've written, because we certainly can't be the only self-funded retiree's with self-managed super funds here (which we can't start drawing on until we're 55, 65 if we want to have it tax free, which we will do).

Reassurances needed to a jittery person.

[dhream]

Australian Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This post is headed by an Honorary Consul

Address

Australian Consulate,

236 Chiangmai-Doi Saket Road,

Amphur Sansai,

Chiang Mai 50210

Thailand

Telephone

+66 53 492 480

Fax

+66 53 492 426

Number dialled plays the recorded message "Not in Service" has done for a while.

No email. And who has a fax machine these days?

So how to book an appointment unless you just 'rock up'?

[Konini]

It's a business - builder supplies, concrete pavers, statues, fountains etc. I don't know the name of the business, but if anyone else does I'm sure they'll post it here, or perhaps someone is going there for a Stat Dec or something over the next few days, or even just driving past if you live out that way.

I have an email address for it but I don't know if he wants it spread around - probably OK, but unless I knew that for certain, I can't bring myself to pass it on to anyone. He really is a lovely man, and very generous with his time too.

[dhream]

The term 'money coming in, not past records' worries me a little. When we finally get around to applying for the retirement extension, we are going to be relying on previous tax returns to prove income rather than deposit 800,000 baht into the bank, partly because Thai banks don't always pay up quickly when employees are proven to have stolen money from your account, and because the return we would get on that is a fraction of what we can muster in Aus. Although our rent and utilities total more than half the 65,000 baht a month, we probably only spend 7 or 8 months if that in-country; we go to Aus for 4 or 5 or 6 weeks every year and UK visiting family for maybe 2 months - that's not counting holidays in between, and when here we don't live terribly extravagantly. This year we have transferred a lot of money over because we moved out of serviced apartments into a condo and made some improvements - not strictly necessary, everything was beautiful (as it should be in our rent bracket), just not really to my personal taste - but that's money we won't have to spend/transfer every year.

I'm hoping that this isn't going to be a problem for us. We're genuine, and have more income than is required, but it's in the form for rents, dividends and capital gains on selling the shares (blue chip only so no gambling or risk to our capial) after the dividends have paid out. It's not guaranteed as such or a regular monthly amount. In the dividend seasons we make a lot, now it's finished for blue chips until November when the banks start recording. Even the rents aren't guaranteed to be a regular amount, we're at the bottom of the market so no problem in always being fully tenanted, but repairs, maintenance, rates, body corporate fees etc are paid as they arrive, not spread out in equal payments each month.

I really hope we won't have a problem, although I'm now doubting what I've written, because we certainly can't be the only self-funded retiree's with self-managed super funds here (which we can't start drawing on until we're 55, 65 if we want to have it tax free, which we will do).

Reassurances needed to a jittery person.

Don't worry, if what you say is true, you really have no worries. Many here will envy your multiple income sources. But if you really are super conservative, then get out of shares (even blue chips) and buy physical gold, which is at a record low right now. Gold is being manipulated by desperate and powerful entities, but it can't last forever, remember all the talk of 'kicking the can down the road'? it's still happening, it never went away, the media just found other stuff to hand-wring over. I'll leave it at that lest I sound like a tinfoil hat wearer.

Also, you only need the THB 800,000 in the three month preceding your application, then you can remove that which you won't use to a safer haven. Finally, if you have what you say you have, then temporarily, or even permanently, losing your THB 8000,000 by theft or other misfortune, is not a death knell. Many new cars in Australia cost about the same, or significantly more, so it's hardly a kings ransom to an Aussie.

As for your outgoings, why not set aside an 'average' amount each month to hedge for and minimise the 'ragged' outgoings, this may need topping up now and then, but it will help you budget with much less uncertainty, and the unspent money can roll over to take care of future expense peaks.

having said all that and given you free financial advice! Mate, if you need 'reassurance' with your nest egg, as claimed, then I suggest only good strong drugs will calm your imaginary jitters.

If all you want is reassurances about 'flash money' for immigration, well, I've already suggested how to handle that. Forget the 'combo-income' route, as by going that route, the Consulate will gouge you annually for a miserable one page affidavit, its all just an inter-governmental revenue-raising scam.

Edited September 20, 2014 by dhream

[evenstevens]

Australian Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This post is headed by an Honorary Consul

Address

Australian Consulate,

236 Chiangmai-Doi Saket Road,

Amphur Sansai,

Chiang Mai 50210

Thailand

Telephone

+66 53 492 480

Fax

+66 53 492 426

Number dialled plays the recorded message "Not in Service" has done for a while.

No email. And who has a fax machine these days?

So how to book an appointment unless you just 'rock up'?

my appiontment with micheal was through my super agent,

now the cry will be

god damn those greedy agents.saloon passages ,bribes, etc etc

my motto to them is very simple

if u cant beat them..join them

and P.M. sent

[dhream]

Australian Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This post is headed by an Honorary Consul

Address

Australian Consulate,

236 Chiangmai-Doi Saket Road,

Amphur Sansai,

Chiang Mai 50210

Thailand

Telephone

+66 53 492 480

Fax

+66 53 492 426

Number dialled plays the recorded message "Not in Service" has done for a while.

No email. And who has a fax machine these days?

So how to book an appointment unless you just 'rock up'?

my appiontment with micheal was through my super agent,

now the cry will be

god damn those greedy agents.saloon passages ,bribes, etc etc

my motto to them is very simple

if u cant beat them..join them

and P.M. sent

Thank you evenstevens,

I never begrudge fair fees paid toward a good cause, and any cause that furthers my cause, is a good cause.

[dhream]

When you use the combination of money in the Thai bank and interest coming from an account overseas must that interest be paid monthly or can it be paid once a year?

It is not just 'interest' it is income from any source. It must be at least THB 65,000 per MONTH. Think of it as a paycheck, which is what it is. You pay yourself to live here. If you have this sort of money anyway, then to my mind, flashing the A$30K for three months of the year (then removing all but what you need to live on on a month to month basis) is the way to go. The income route means tedious and expensive visits to Consulates.

[dhream]

It's a business - builder supplies, concrete pavers, statues, fountains etc. I don't know the name of the business, but if anyone else does I'm sure they'll post it here, or perhaps someone is going there for a Stat Dec or something over the next few days, or even just driving past if you live out that way.

I have an email address for it but I don't know if he wants it spread around - probably OK, but unless I knew that for certain, I can't bring myself to pass it on to anyone. He really is a lovely man, and very generous with his time too.

So the Consulate is housed within a business premises?

Not an actual separate Australian Consulate?

If so, it's good to know they are being frugal, but hard to believe!

Governments usually love swinging their big diplomatic dicks, with extravagant palaces in toney neighbourhoods, at our expense, of course.

Some of the Embassies of tinpot countries I've seen in London, and other capitals in my time, beggar belief, and probably half the country they represent.

Do I have an issue with Government profligacy in general? Perhaps... :-)

[dhream]

To save me a trip, could any kind countryman tell me if Passport applications are lodged directly in BKK or does one hand it to the Counsul here in CNX for onward dispatch?

I'm not applying for a renewal, but I have reason to believe my recently issued new passport has sustained damage to the microchip page. The regulations allow a damaged electronic passport to be replaced free of charge (but only if the chip is damaged, physical damage replacement costs are still down to the holder).

Thanks.

[Sparkles]

Australian Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This post is headed by an Honorary Consul

Address

Australian Consulate,

236 Chiangmai-Doi Saket Road,

Amphur Sansai,

Chiang Mai 50210

Thailand

Telephone

+66 53 492 480

Fax

+66 53 492 426

Number dialled plays the recorded message "Not in Service" has done for a while.

No email. And who has a fax machine these days?

So how to book an appointment unless you just 'rock up'?

I have never had need to speak to the Aus Hon Consul Michael Walther, I believe, but the number I was given was 053 492480

[dhream]

I'm not a pensioner but live on oz term deposit interest. I transfer some over to my bank here when needed. Not the required 65K a month but I've got a few hundred thousand baht in a thai bank too. In combination they top the 800k requirement.

Thanks for your replies and all the best to you.

Makes no difference what you do or have. You must be able to prove 800,000 baht in the bank or guaranteed income of 65,000 baht a month. Or a combination of the two. They will need to see a guarantee of the money coming in. Not a past record.

^^^^^^ N/J ...as usual wrong again.....seeing its around midnite, when u have posted,guess tiredness has crept in ,long day on the board u know

ned, been through the same process as u are about to undertake, my super agent due to her dilengience and expertise in visa matters at the ????dept

managed to secure my ret visa with out any funds in my bangkok bank a/c whats so ever, and fully legal and accepted at the ?????? dept

for personal reasons i cannot post the loopholes if one likes to call them that ,but again all legal and above board

cobber my super agent(who is a thai/aussie ) is located in the nimminhedin area,and for a fee of around 5000 baht approx,she absoulately takes great care of you,and most importantly she expertly dots the eyes and crosses the tees for you, if you feel u need her service ,just p.m. me,and i will happily supply them to u...,again good luck cobber

a very nice morning to all

Surely you mean THB 50,000 ?

THB 5000 seems a little too good to be true for any agent, much less one with a with a Nimmanhaemin address.

[dhream]

Australian Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This post is headed by an Honorary Consul

Address

Australian Consulate,

236 Chiangmai-Doi Saket Road,

Amphur Sansai,

Chiang Mai 50210

Thailand

Telephone

+66 53 492 480

Fax

+66 53 492 426

Number dialled plays the recorded message "Not in Service" has done for a while.

No email. And who has a fax machine these days?

So how to book an appointment unless you just 'rock up'?

I have never had need to speak to the Aus Hon Consul Michael Walther, I believe, but the number I was given was 053 492480

Whether you call the number with or without the country code +66 and/or local '0' prefix, it is a non-working number. But thanks for his full name. :-)

[Konini]

I just found this in an email, his signature file so it can't be a problem

Mike Walther

Australian Hon. Consul - Chiang Mai
Jinda Charoen Konsong
236 Chiangmai Doi Saket Rd (Highway 118)
Amphur Sansai
Chiangmai 50210

Phone: 08 1837-7750
Fax: 053-492-426

As I said, he really is a lovely man, devotes mornings to consular work and doesn't charge a single cent, never has done. One of the few good ones left.

As for the money, some may envy our position, but they certainly didn't envy us when we were both working a minimum 60 hours a week without holidays for the first 14 years, driving around in ;old bangers which my husband struggled to keep on the roads and not spending a cent we didn't have to; we left England in 1987 with GBP 1,200 to our names, and with no children (by choice) retired 7 years ago last week at the age of 43. I know it's not going to be the end of the world if we lose the 30K - and chances of that happening are very low - but we worked bloody hard for that money and would hate to see it go, particularly as we're very risk adverse, and getting an income statement once a year isn't such a mess about for us.

I'm only jittery about the lack of a pension payment every month not being acceptable, that's what most people have, definitely not jittery about our investments. Many years ago, probably 15, a friend asked my advice, took not a blind bit of notice of it, and invested a sizable chunk into gold. Although he was fortunate enough not to have to sell, he made a horrific loss on paper, and his money was tied up with zero return until just a couple of years ago. I know stock markets are prone to risks, but as long as we stick to our 'approved list' - BHP, NAB, CBA, ANZ, ASX, Woodside Petroleum, Santos, Woolworths, Wesfarmers, Brambles and Origin - I think we're never going to be at risk of losing. There are 2 other companies which we invest in, Transurban and Sydney Airports, because we don't have any infrastructure on the list, they both are top 30 companies with solid financials have a never ending, index linked income stream, and pay good dividends.

We actually chase the dividends, waiting until a couple of weeks before they're due to go ex-div, just waiting, waiting, waiting for that day when there's some bad news and they drop 2 or 3 %, as all the top 10 companies do more often than most people realise, and probably 8 times out of 10 they've made that 2 or 3 % back up and more by the recorded date, so we can still sell the following day without making a capital loss, or when there are no other dividend shares around, we leave it in there for 45 days and get the franking credit. We've been doing this for almost 20 years without any problem because we stick to the top 10 or 15 stocks and don't deviate from them, no matter how tempting it may be to make a quick profit on some poorer share. We've come though several market corrects, the Asian meltdown and the horror of 2008, and have never lost a cent, purely by being disciplined. Intra-day trading on blue chip shares can and very often does see the price go down 1% or more at the opening of the market, regain it then go up 1% then lose it and if you're only looking at the figure in the newspaper the next day, you'd say they hadn't moved, or they'd gone up or down a couple of cents. 100,000 at a 2% capital gain less about $250-ish in brokerage fees depending on the exact amount isn't a bad day's work for anybody, and there's more than one parcel doing that at any given time. Of course it can go the other way and you're stuck with them for a few days or a week. Even if it's for a lot longer, like in 2008, the blue chip's still pay good, franked dividends, better than the return from any bank or bond, and you only make a loss if you sell. Sometimes it's worth copping a loss to free up money if all parcels are in the market at the same time, the loss only comes off the capital gain total at the end of the year., but both of us hate to do that and will only do it if one of the shares on our approved list go down 5% or more.

Our actual income flow isn't a problem, we pretty much live on renal income without touching anything else, and I keep about $50k in cash in an easily accessible account for airfares, insurances, spending money and emergencies, so the actual cash flow or having to make a budget isn't a problem, I was just concerned about convincing a Thai official who doesn't understand such things that you have to look at the annual figure not the monthly one, and the annual figures for the last 10 years are hardly like to change. I suppose I could start making a regular monthly payment to another bank, either here or in Aus, that might be the best thing to do actually, thanks for the suggestion.

And don't forget, it's coming up to the last week in September. Is there anywhere to go and watch the AFL grand final this year? Most of the Aussie bars seem to have shut down over the years. I know there's one on Loi Kroh road, but unlike the English obsession, I've always seen Aussie Rules as more of a family game, and would imagine there'll be plenty of expats wanting to sit somewhere pleasant with their wives and kids

[Konini]

^^^^^^ N/J ...as usual wrong again.....seeing its around midnite, when u have posted,guess tiredness has crept in ,long day on the board u know

Makes no difference what you do or have. You must be able to prove 800,000 baht in the bank or guaranteed income of 65,000 baht a month. Or a combination of the two. They will need to see a guarantee of the money coming in. Not a past record.

ned, been through the same process as u are about to undertake, my super agent due to her dilengience and expertise in visa matters at the ????dept

managed to secure my ret visa with out any funds in my bangkok bank a/c whats so ever, and fully legal and accepted at the ?????? dept

for personal reasons i cannot post the loopholes if one likes to call them that ,but again all legal and above board

cobber my super agent(who is a thai/aussie ) is located in the nimminhedin area,and for a fee of around 5000 baht approx,she absoulately takes great care of you,and most importantly she expertly dots the eyes and crosses the tees for you, if you feel u need her service ,just p.m. me,and i will happily supply them to u...,again good luck cobber

a very nice morning to all

Surely you mean THB 50,000 ?

THB 5000 seems a little too good to be true for any agent, much less one with a with a Nimmanhaemin address.

No, 5,000 baht would be right. Earlier this week my husband went to another agent who gets a lot of mentions here, and they wanted 6,000 or 7,000 (I honestly forget) for converting his tourist visa to a Non-immigrant, the same amount again for applying for retirement extension, and then the same again for me getting a non-o as his dependant (I divert any income for myself into a trust fund which goes directly into super before it gets to me, so on paper I'm just short of the required income to apply in my own right). But, but, but I have to go to another country to apply for my non-o as his dependant. I do the travel, I do the worrk, I fill in the form, I pay for it. And they want to charge me for that? And they want to charge separately for converting his tourist visa to a non-o so he can apply for a retirement extension? Sorry, but no thanks. I know what is required, I know how to fill in a form, and although Chiang Mai immigration is a bit of a mad house, Chiang Rai immigration isn't, nor are most of the other offices around the country. We often go away for a couple of days here and there, we'll just make sure the next trip away is to a place with an immigration office (unless you have to apply in the province you are located in. If we have to go to Laos anyway to get me a non-o, we could maybe pick up his retirement stamp en-route, which would keep our dates nice and close. Maybe I'm being a bit cheap, but 3 separate charges, basically for filling in forms? And one set of forms I have to lodge myself anyway.

[Konini]

^^^^^^ N/J ...as usual wrong again.....seeing its around midnite, when u have posted,guess tiredness has crept in ,long day on the board u know

Makes no difference what you do or have. You must be able to prove 800,000 baht in the bank or guaranteed income of 65,000 baht a month. Or a combination of the two. They will need to see a guarantee of the money coming in. Not a past record.

ned, been through the same process as u are about to undertake, my super agent due to her dilengience and expertise in visa matters at the ????dept

managed to secure my ret visa with out any funds in my bangkok bank a/c whats so ever, and fully legal and accepted at the ?????? dept

for personal reasons i cannot post the loopholes if one likes to call them that ,but again all legal and above board

cobber my super agent(who is a thai/aussie ) is located in the nimminhedin area,and for a fee of around 5000 baht approx,she absoulately takes great care of you,and most importantly she expertly dots the eyes and crosses the tees for you, if you feel u need her service ,just p.m. me,and i will happily supply them to u...,again good luck cobber

a very nice morning to all

Surely you mean THB 50,000 ?

THB 5000 seems a little too good to be true for any agent, much less one with a with a Nimmanhaemin address.

No, 5,000 baht would be right. Earlier this week my husband went to another agent who gets a lot of mentions here, and they wanted 6,000 or 7,000 (I honestly forget) for converting his tourist visa to a Non-immigrant, the same amount again for applying for retirement extension, and then the same again for me getting a non-o as his dependant (I divert any income for myself into a trust fund which goes directly into super before it gets to me, so on paper I'm just short of the required income to apply in my own right). But, but, but I have to go to another country to apply for my non-o as his dependant. I do the travel, I do the worrk, I fill in the form, I pay for it. And they want to charge me for that? And they want to charge separately for converting his tourist visa to a non-o so he can apply for a retirement extension? Sorry, but no thanks. I know what is required, I know how to fill in a form, and although Chiang Mai immigration is a bit of a mad house, Chiang Rai immigration isn't, nor are most of the other offices around the country. We often go away for a couple of days here and there, we'll just make sure the next trip away is to a place with an immigration office (unless you have to apply in the province you are located in. If we have to go to Laos anyway to get me a non-o, we could maybe pick up his retirement stamp en-route, which would keep our dates nice and close. Maybe I'm being a bit cheap, but 3 separate charges, basically for filling in forms? And one set of forms I have to lodge myself anyway.

[mamborobert]

It's a business - builder supplies, concrete pavers, statues, fountains etc. I don't know the name of the business, but if anyone else does I'm sure they'll post it here, or perhaps someone is going there for a Stat Dec or something over the next few days, or even just driving past if you live out that way.

I have an email address for it but I don't know if he wants it spread around - probably OK, but unless I knew that for certain, I can't bring myself to pass it on to anyone. He really is a lovely man, and very generous with his time too.

So the Consulate is housed within a business premises?

Not an actual separate Australian Consulate?

If so, it's good to know they are being frugal, but hard to believe!

Governments usually love swinging their big diplomatic dicks, with extravagant palaces in toney neighbourhoods, at our expense, of course.

Some of the Embassies of tinpot countries I've seen in London, and other capitals in my time, beggar belief, and probably half the country they represent.

Do I have an issue with Government profligacy in general? Perhaps... :-)

Its not a consulate per se...but rather a Honorary Consul. As such they do not do the full range of duties and is more of lifeline and assistance when can type role, as well as Austrade/Education type opportunity promotions. Al lot of these Honorary roles are given to the individual rather than the city as such. If the Honorary Consul resigns or moves on it does not create an automatic vacancy.

Perth had a Honorary Thai consulate for many years served by an ex ADF senior officer who served several years in Thailand as an advisor, acquiring a few Thai awards. When he retired there was no honorary consulate for a few years and what there is now is a poor shadow of the good Brigadier Jamieson.

A real loss when he finally moved on to a well earned rest. May sound odd, but he was one of those people who make you realise how little you achieve in life but a great bloke. Rest assured you got your moneys worth of Government service from this gem......a good consul a great man.

Brigadier William Drayton Jamieson Honorary Consul-General of WA

Brigadier W.D. (Bill) Jamieson was invited by His Majesty The King of Thailand to become Honorary Consul-General for Thailand in Western Australia on his retirement from the Australian Army in 1978. He is a Patron of the Thai-Australian Association and is actively involved with the Thai community. In 1997 His Majesty appointed him a Knight Commander of The Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand and in 2004 a Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of The White Elephant. In 2001 he was elected Vice Dean of the Consular Corps of Western Australia. His military career included Active Service in New Guinea in World War II as well as in Korea and Viet Nam. He also served in the United Kingdom and India and spent two years in Thailand as the Senior Australian Defence Officer with the South East Asia Treaty Organisation.

Edited September 20, 2014 by mamborobert

[northernjohn]

Australian Consulate in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This post is headed by an Honorary Consul

Address

Australian Consulate,

236 Chiangmai-Doi Saket Road,

Amphur Sansai,

Chiang Mai 50210

Thailand

Telephone

+66 53 492 480

Fax

+66 53 492 426

Number dialled plays the recorded message "Not in Service" has done for a while.

No email. And who has a fax machine these days?

So how to book an appointment unless you just 'rock up'?

my appiontment with micheal was through my super agent,

now the cry will be

god damn those greedy agents.saloon passages ,bribes, etc etc

my motto to them is very simple

if u cant beat them..join them

and P.M. sent

You as usual give no information just unsubstantiated claims backed up by superlatives.

Edit

Just realized you are admitting you are admitting you are passing money under the table.

Edited September 20, 2014 by northernjohn

[mamborobert]

Northerjohn...this post is about the Australian Consul. To the best of my knowledge you are not blessed in being Australian. This post of yours much like others does nothing to contribute other than aggravate people and get your post count up. How about contributing something positive and constructive on topics that you have some knowledge on rather than this frenzied scattergun approach?

Our former Prime Minister Mr Keating had a nice turn of phrase but his best came from the bible and encapsulates your post on this topic...... Proverbs 26:11-12

Mods...I'll take the ban.....

Edited September 20, 2014 by mamborobert

[masuk]

It's a business - builder supplies, concrete pavers, statues, fountains etc. I don't know the name of the business, but if anyone else does I'm sure they'll post it here, or perhaps someone is going there for a Stat Dec or something over the next few days, or even just driving past if you live out that way.

I have an email address for it but I don't know if he wants it spread around - probably OK, but unless I knew that for certain, I can't bring myself to pass it on to anyone. He really is a lovely man, and very generous with his time too.

So the Consulate is housed within a business premises?

Not an actual separate Australian Consulate?

If so, it's good to know they are being frugal, but hard to believe!

Governments usually love swinging their big diplomatic dicks, with extravagant palaces in toney neighbourhoods, at our expense, of course.

Some of the Embassies of tinpot countries I've seen in London, and other capitals in my time, beggar belief, and probably half the country they represent.

Do I have an issue with Government profligacy in general? Perhaps... :-)

Have you seen the Italian Consulate in Chiang Mai? A mighty big house and gardens, but then, it might be private.