back in uk now

[zeth77]

I recently came across a Web site that had some very useful information about the British pension that is paid to people living overseas,if the country has a reciprocal agreement with Britain then your pension is not frozen,the Philippines is one such country, the advice given was go to the Philippines for a few days and inform the pension authority's and your pension will be unfrozen, I will find the website that has the information on and follow the link .

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[cumgranosalum]

1 hour ago, Enoon said:

 

Is it 15 million people (the number who voted leave in the "Big Opinion Poll") deciding the future for a nation of 64 million people?

 

And then a PM acting against the Constitution, as a Dictator, not placing the matter before the elected representatives of "the people"? (Parliament that is. The notion that this will go to an Order in Council, before HM, is ludicrous)

 

To make a "unilateral" decision to leave would itself not be acceptable to the EU, as it would not be "in accordance with the Constitutional requirements of the country initiating Article 50".

 

Dictators are not welcome in the UK (as they seem to be elsewhere).  Cromwell was enough, such that the return of the King was met with much celebration.

 

The cry of "Dictator" will be heard more and more.  For some it is reason enough for war.  It has been in the past.

 

Which is what provoked Heseltines angry outburst.

 

Happily there is a good chance that it will not come to that as the matter, undoubtedly, will go before the courts.  All of them, up to the highest in the land.  They are unlikely to "rule away" Parliamentary Sovereignty.

 

As an aside it should be understood that pre-departure the European Court would continue to have authority over British courts as that is now part of British law and could overule any decision.  The European Court will continue to have authority until it is removed (Repealed) by Act of Parliament.  This has been pointed out by Ms May who has stated that European laws now integrated into British Law can/will be removed by Parliamentary Repeal (the only way they can be) after Britain leaves. 

 

Thus the European Court can overule any ruling by British Courts that such Dictatorial behaviour is "in accordance with the Constitutional requirements".

 

You need to brush up on how Britain does "Democracy".

 

 

your knowledge of democracy and British history appears to be minuscule - with such a paucity it is no wonder you don't understand the subtleties of British democracy - but that is what the politicians rely on

[NoshowJones]

Wait till the council tax bill comes in, the cost of running a car, unless you have a company car, the regular wet,

cold, and windy weather, mixing with all the immigrants, the amount of income tax you have to pay, the very strong

possibility of Sharia law in the future, not safe to walk the streets in the cities, do you want me to go on?

[NoshowJones]

On 10/4/2016 at 0:17 AM, alzack said:

Thanks its going very well My Thai wife and son very happy. Its great to buy all the FARANG food so cheap now, food we used to search for in the land of smiles but its been an effort to do it, but happy we did

 "Its great to buy all the FARANG food so cheap now".

Yes, that is one of the very few plus points.

[zeth77]

your lifechoices.com.au is a website that is especially for us baby boomers,and has the link to the other websites that explains overseas pension payments in detail. Hope this helps.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[JSixpack]

On Tuesday, October 04, 2016 at 0:17 AM, alzack said:

Thanks its going very well My Thai wife and son very happy. Its great to buy all the FARANG food so cheap now, food we used to search for in the land of smiles but its been an effort to do it, but happy we did

 

Excellent. No more pining and searching for Coleman's mustard, Branston Pickle, Marmite, pickled beetroot, and proper pork scratchings! What with the pound (or "ounce") headed for 40, it appears other Brits should seriously consider leaving Thailand.

 

 

[transam]

10 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

 "Its great to buy all the FARANG food so cheap now".

Yes, that is one of the very few plus points.

Unfortunately his lady will crave Thai stuff, which she will want, the ingredients are in the UK but cost a fortune....His lady will probably get pissed off after a few months....Mrs.Trans did during a 2 week holiday.......

[Grubster]

I sure understand the education part but the rest is apples to oranges.

[Pat in Pattaya]

3 minutes ago, transam said:

That is a load of crap...

 

No it's not, it's the 100% truth. Stop kidding yourself.

[cumgranosalum]

36 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

Wait till the council tax bill comes in, the cost of running a car, unless you have a company car, the regular wet,

cold, and windy weather, mixing with all the immigrants, the amount of income tax you have to pay, the very strong

possibility of Sharia law in the future, not safe to walk the streets in the cities, do you want me to go on?

"mixing with all the immigrants," - clearly no sense of irony!

[NoshowJones]

Back in Glasgow last month trying to prevent kicking over all these cups sitting beside

all these Eastern European women sitting begging on the pavements all around the city centre.

Edited October 11, 2016 by possum1931
added emotican.

[nontabury]

1 hour ago, zeth77 said:

I recently came across a Web site that had some very useful information about the British pension that is paid to people living overseas,if the country has a reciprocal agreement with Britain then your pension is not frozen,the Philippines is one such country, the advice given was go to the Philippines for a few days and inform the pension authority's and your pension will be unfrozen, I will find the website that has the information on and follow the link .

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk
 

 

 A good idea, unfortunately I think the UK authorities will require a contact address,in order that they can contact you. For instance the yearly form confirming 

that you are still alive,this  will also require a signature from a suitable person.

[transam]

1 minute ago, nontabury said:

 

 A good idea, unfortunately I think the UK authorities will require a contact address,in order that they can contact you. For instance the yearly form confirming 

that you are still alive,this  will also require a signature from a suitable person.

That they WITNESSED your signature in person...

[F4UCorsair]

On Thursday, October 06, 2016 at 4:13 AM, Anthony5 said:

 

So you are from Australia, where the average electricity rate is 12 Baht/kwh and in Thailand it is 4.5 Baht, and you call me a tight arse when use 3200 Baht a month and you use 2000 Baht at a 3 times higher rate.

 

 

 

The rate In Ausyralia varies greatly from state to state, but I doubt It would be B12/kw hr (about A 50 cents) In any state.

Victoria, where I live, Is among tje highest, and my peak rate Is A 25  cents/kw, and off peak A 8 cents/kw hr.

 

Sorry, can't efit typos.

[The manic]

On Tuesday, October 04, 2016 at 3:18 PM, alzack said:

Well happy to elaborate on that

1 had been out of the UK more than 25 years (France,germany usa, Korea, then Thailand)  No property in uki, kept a bank, paid all 44 years tax,national insurance,no debts, no court orders nothing.

 

2 having decided to rent a place, we were turned down by landlords 5 times, deposits, searches, fees lost 5 times. In the end we had to pay 9 months rent in advance plus deposits to secure a rental contract. In a nutshell, my credit score was NIL/zero. they just  could not trace me,where i had been.

 

3. The main reason to return was for my son to get a better school. This was an uphill thing. there are certain times of the year in UK when you must apply. Of course during this early process I was still in Thailand, thus no UK address to apply. Most would not accept an application with out a local address!

After writing to 10 schools in the area  I chose (my home county) we did get 2 schools that agreed to take him in.

He started September and blended in very fast, his english is good.

 

4. The tax system is difficult. I wanted to claim the tax relief for my son, which every one gets for a child. After 3 months i still wait. They wanted, and still have, every piece of original documents, passports, birth, marriage papers on and on.  In 10 years I have lost out in the tune of 30K gbp, I could not claim that relief in thailand. it will happen they assure me

 

3 my income and with my sons age (10) i qualified for housing. council tax benefits. same same with documents but more.

There is a thing call HABITUAL HABITATION TEST this basically means I had to prove to them i really was returning to live. (A lot of people from India/Pakistan/Africa have abused the system it seems) So in the end it means these documents and actions

a LONG TERM rental contract

b School acceptance letter

c A car insurance document

d Register to   vote

e doctors/  dentist register

f  T v licence

g Buss pass

h Tax records/all income etc, but all showing the new address

i letters of reference  from old friends (3 police friends helped a lot)

 

imagine a spider web and every  form and official paper pointing into the center of the  web with the new address. i passed, a lot do not.

i still wait for the increase of state pension which was frozen in thailand.

On top of all this of course is my wife's spouse visa /settlement visa which is well in hand.  It helped a lot that she had a 5 year visitor visa, which allows her a 6 month stay, so she was able to travel with us to get us all settled in. Nearly all the items above are relevant to her visa application too. We are nearly there now,  The sending of original documents has been a problem as they cannot be in two places at once

At 73 yrs old, I never thought I would return but i do it for my sons future, things not looking very good for Thailand really. I do miss many things (not the heat) i walked a lot in our city in the North, the markets, the people working hard to put rice on the table, no handouts, lovely people. i always related to the poor in the North. The rich,the elite, The military, the police and the corruption and politics frighten me to death

The slow but steady erosion of the Pound's value has also been a great concern  these past 8 years. When we built our Farm in the mountains, south of Chiang Mai, we were getting 74, at one point when we bought the furniture it was 78.every  month less and less baht for the monthly Pension transfers.

Those who own a property in the uk, much of the about might be easier . We still own the farm in thailand, maybe  at a later date a PLAN B?

All the  best and thanks for nice comments wishes  Cheers

 

 

 

God Almighty!  All that to get back into your own country for the dubious pleasure of British food and and an English State school education.  Wait till the winter sets in with weeks and months of short days, dark mornings, early night, slippy leaf coated pavements, drizzle, grey skies, bitter cold, rotten hospitals,and the miserable temperament of the defeated Brits. The bus pass is cool though. Good luck. 

 

[The manic]

On Tuesday, October 04, 2016 at 3:18 PM, alzack said:

Well happy to elaborate on that

1 had been out of the UK more than 25 years (France,germany usa, Korea, then Thailand)  No property in uki, kept a bank, paid all 44 years tax,national insurance,no debts, no court orders nothing.

 

2 having decided to rent a place, we were turned down by landlords 5 times, deposits, searches, fees lost 5 times. In the end we had to pay 9 months rent in advance plus deposits to secure a rental contract. In a nutshell, my credit score was NIL/zero. they just  could not trace me,where i had been.

 

3. The main reason to return was for my son to get a better school. This was an uphill thing. there are certain times of the year in UK when you must apply. Of course during this early process I was still in Thailand, thus no UK address to apply. Most would not accept an application with out a local address!

After writing to 10 schools in the area  I chose (my home county) we did get 2 schools that agreed to take him in.

He started September and blended in very fast, his english is good.

 

4. The tax system is difficult. I wanted to claim the tax relief for my son, which every one gets for a child. After 3 months i still wait. They wanted, and still have, every piece of original documents, passports, birth, marriage papers on and on.  In 10 years I have lost out in the tune of 30K gbp, I could not claim that relief in thailand. it will happen they assure me

 

3 my income and with my sons age (10) i qualified for housing. council tax benefits. same same with documents but more.

There is a thing call HABITUAL HABITATION TEST this basically means I had to prove to them i really was returning to live. (A lot of people from India/Pakistan/Africa have abused the system it seems) So in the end it means these documents and actions

a LONG TERM rental contract

b School acceptance letter

c A car insurance document

d Register to   vote

e doctors/  dentist register

f  T v licence

g Buss pass

h Tax records/all income etc, but all showing the new address

i letters of reference  from old friends (3 police friends helped a lot)

 

imagine a spider web and every  form and official paper pointing into the center of the  web with the new address. i passed, a lot do not.

i still wait for the increase of state pension which was frozen in thailand.

On top of all this of course is my wife's spouse visa /settlement visa which is well in hand.  It helped a lot that she had a 5 year visitor visa, which allows her a 6 month stay, so she was able to travel with us to get us all settled in. Nearly all the items above are relevant to her visa application too. We are nearly there now,  The sending of original documents has been a problem as they cannot be in two places at once

At 73 yrs old, I never thought I would return but i do it for my sons future, things not looking very good for Thailand really. I do miss many things (not the heat) i walked a lot in our city in the North, the markets, the people working hard to put rice on the table, no handouts, lovely people. i always related to the poor in the North. The rich,the elite, The military, the police and the corruption and politics frighten me to death

The slow but steady erosion of the Pound's value has also been a great concern  these past 8 years. When we built our Farm in the mountains, south of Chiang Mai, we were getting 74, at one point when we bought the furniture it was 78.every  month less and less baht for the monthly Pension transfers.

Those who own a property in the uk, much of the about might be easier . We still own the farm in thailand, maybe  at a later date a PLAN B?

All the  best and thanks for nice comments wishes  Cheers

 

 

 

God Almighty!  All that to get back into your own country for the dubious pleasure of British food and and an English State school education.  Wait till the winter sets in with weeks and months of short days, dark mornings, early night, slippy leaf coated pavements, drizzle, grey skies, bitter cold, rotten hospitals,and the miserable temperament of the defeated Brits. The bus pass is cool though. Good luck. 

 

[eastendanto]

Hi Alzack,

 

firstly top man (and brave) for uprooting and coming back to UK with your Thai family, wish you and your family all the best. Sticking with the red tape bureaucracy that hits you...(people complain about the Thai bureaucracy but there are quarters of the UK government that give them a good run for their money)!!!

I live in the UK and trust me the bureaucracy will only get worse....

 

I am interested in your comment about paying 200k baht a year for a private British school in Thailand for your son and bringing him back to UK where he would get free schooling. Was the reason for bringing him back to study in UK purely a financial one or was it also an academic one i.e. even though you were paying 200K per year was the schooling not up to a standard that you would get for free in the UK?

[cumgranosalum]

1 minute ago, eastendanto said:

Hi Alzack,

 

firstly top man (and brave) for uprooting and coming back to UK with your Thai family, wish you and your family all the best. Sticking with the red tape bureaucracy that hits you...(people complain about the Thai bureaucracy but there are quarters of the UK government that give them a good run for their money)!!!

I live in the UK and trust me the bureaucracy will only get worse....

 

I am interested in your comment about paying 200k baht a year for a private British school in Thailand for your son and bringing him back to UK where he would get free schooling. Was the reason for bringing him back to study in UK purely a financial one or was it also an academic one i.e. even though you were paying 200K per year was the schooling not up to a standard that you would get for free in the UK?

 

Bureaucracy in UK is one of the most streamlined in the world....and despite criticism the education and healthcare systems are still up there with the best. just look at the University league tables.

After Brexit hits the UK may take a dive but it will be a brave government that completely dismantles NHS

[CharlieH]

Various posts removed. 

 

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[zd1]

I would like to wish the op good luck on his move, it appears that he has done this primarily for his son and that should be admired.

Myself and my missus are moving the other way we are both mid to late 40's we don't have any children just our dog and cat which are spoilt rotten but they don't need an expensive education.

We are now both at a stage in life where we want to go back to Thailand for a while the missus has been in the UK for almost 30 years now and her parents aren't getting any younger, my both parents are dead so there isn't really anything holding us here.

We have just sold one of our properties which will fund the move and give us some capital to invest in a business, we will keep a couple of properties a flat in London and a holiday let in Wales which will give us some money that we will keep in the UK.

With regards to brexit I voted to remain mainly for selfish reasons I was just about to put a property on the market and didn't want any turmoil in the housing market and I was going to be taking money out of the country and didn't want sterling to fall drastically, well the house sold for the asking price so that was ok but the pound has taken a bit of a hammering I think it will eventually go up again but not sure on the time frame so will only be changing smaller amounts until things look clearer.

To be honest I think that the western world on the whole is going through quite a bit of turmoil the American people have the choice to vote for either an orange nutter or a dangerous nutter, Europe isn't any better and I can see the eu falling to pieces which will be very unsettling for a lot of countries to say the least. The UK with its unelected pm and tory party fighting everybody from the teachers to the doctors to the disabled and poor is in my opinion looking bleak.

[transam]

3 hours ago, Pat in Pattaya said:

 

No it's not, it's the 100% truth. Stop kidding yourself.

I don't frequent your 'base'.....

[thaibeachlovers]

On ‎05‎.‎10‎.‎2016 at 11:18 PM, Anthony5 said:

 

If you gonna be pedantic because I said neighbor instead of mate, and misinterpreted that you are from the UK, I'm gonna stop replying to you.

But tell me where I can be called a tight arse, with a 350m² property on 1 Rai of land with swimming pool and all luxuries, running 2 aircons every day because only 2 rooms are occupied.

 

I think the Archa all day at your 2500 Bhat/month Thai apartment makes you confused.

 

But I see when you start the you can't own land in Thailand argument, that it's just about jealousy.

 

Oh and since you have to quote friends and mates for figures about aircon usage, it is clear that you can't afford an aircon yourself.

 

Goodbye I....

 

 

 running 2 aircons every day

I hope you are not a believer in global warming then.

My wife's house in the village had no AC and we survived very nicely with fans.

 

Running one AC in town, I never paid more than 1200 baht a month.

[Benmart]

Good luck my friend. Things here have certainly changed, some for the good and otherwise. I also have a UK friend that is going back due to similar circumstances. World economics have a way of changing the lives of many. Best wishes.

[Acharn]

Good luck to you. I know many Thais find that they love cold weather, once they learn how to dress properly for it. If I went back to the States I'd have full medical coverage, but housing is terribly expensive and I don't think I could adjust to the climate after 35 years here. The U.S. doesn't have housing subsidies for older people and there is no public transportation in most places. My biggest reason for staying is family. I have no close relatives remaining in the States, but my late wife's family take good care of me here. Of course that may change, but lots of clients of nursing homes are abused, too.

[rickudon]

Well, lucky if the OP can make it work, but if his income is limited hard to see how he can do it without generous helpings of benefits OR already have a home.

 

Myself, my income is insufficient to have much chance for a settlement visa for my wife, and renting even a 2 bed home of any sort would take about 80% of my pension in the UK. Taking into account fuel bills (i would estimate about double in the UK), car RUNNING costs, petrol (also about double for both) It would use up all my pension even before you buy any food. I would be dependent on benefits - and if i can do that calculation I am sure UK immigration would as well and deny my wife a visa.

 

I can live in Thailand for 40,000 baht a month (including daughters school fees). So I'm not going back until they stop my marriage visa extensions, because the pound has fallen to low, or health forces me to go.

[alzack]

9 hours ago, Pat in Pattaya said:

Been here for 14 years and would go back tomorrow if I could, but genuinely stuck here, at least for now. We know the UK is far from perfect, but at least it's home and it's real life and you can have a life....sick of this place now, what with the heat, crap food, fake 'expats' language problem, the roads, crap infrastructure, corruption, I could go on forever..and I can't see it getting any better. I'm 43 so will go back at some point, maybe when the kids have grown up, not a chance I'm seeing my days out here sweating my b*lls off..

 

Good luck to ya, how you found the energy at 73 to go through this move and everything that it entails is a credit to you, and I don't hand out compliments easily..

Thanks a lot for that But a lovely son makes it all so easy i think, i like your words >>>

 

"sick of this place now, what with the heat, crap food, fake 'expats' language problem, the roads, crap infrastructure, corruption, I could go on forever..and I can't see it getting any better."

Sums a lot up for me. !6 years was enough. All going good in old Blighty and after 44 years of paying tax NI, at last getting something back

Thanks to you all, 73 is all in the mind. 

All the best to you who hang on in the Land of smiles

[maprao]

Alzack you said in point 2 that because of your income and son you qualify for housing benefit. I thought when taking our wives back permanently we were not allowed any recourse to public funds???

Interested as I looked at the same for the same reasons with a reasonable job and decided against it.

[mania]

7 hours ago, zd1 said:

We are now both at a stage in life where we want to go back to Thailand for a while the missus has been in the UK for almost 30 years now and her parents aren't getting any younger, my both parents are dead so there isn't really anything holding us here.

We have just sold one of our properties which will fund the move and give us some capital to invest in a business, we will keep a couple of properties a flat in London and a holiday let in Wales which will give us some money that we will keep in the UK.

 

Hi

 

This is the exact reason my wife & I went to live in Thailand in 2012

 

Good for you & your wife will greatly appreciate being with her parents for their final years  I know mine sure did.

 

Also good idea keeping some property  should you decide as we did to later return, but also it provides

a nice income for you while your living in Thailand if you decide to rent it out.

 

Good Luck

 

[cumgranosalum]

For me one of the biggest questions is whether or not I can justify to myself living in a country with such an appalling political situation - by living and working here I'm tacitly supporting it.

[bojo]

The following is a generalisation and obviously doesn’t apply to all, and with many other factors involved.  However IMO…………..

Nearly all children in a Thai government school; unless parents are wealthy; their future is going to be challenging

Most children in International schools in Thailand have good chances of gaining entry to a Western Uni. (Those wanting to go to one of the top Thai Unis need to have perfect Thai language skills and also have studied somewhat at a Thai secondary school for syllabus requirements; so I have been lead to believe.) Please correct me if I have misunderstood.

Nearly all children in poor British secondary education and without wealthy parents have not much hope at all

Any child in a decent British secondary education or fee paying school followed by Uni, has a very good chance of a successful future.

It is also my opinion that most of the Thais that one meets throughout the Kingdom who say they have a degree, have mastered the same level of education as a 13 year old in the UK who attends a decent school. I jest not.

Personally, I can see why the OP has returned to the UK

I did, and even after spending loads for many years on international schooling in Thailand, things are at a whole different level here if you move into a decent school’s catchment area or have the cash for going private. But Jesus, I miss my old lifestyle………..

Regards