IMA_FARANG
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Posts posted by IMA_FARANG
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I live in Bangkok with a 3 month rental contract for which I pay roughly about 18K Thai baht monthly.
I have a monthly retirement/old age pension from the U.S.
I won't go into the actual details of the rental contract but as I said I pay monthly and get a stamped receipt for that monthly payment.
I have a rental flat in Bangkok with a cable television system. weekly maid and laundry service, a restaurant downstairs where I can get meals, and a small store where I can buy certain things I need including Booze if I want to.
I keep these monthly bills, and have used them at immigration when the question, "Where do you live, and how do you support yourself in Thailand?" is asked of me.
Let's just say I am a retiree from The U.S. and have a U.S. Social Security pension monthly from the U.S.
I won't bore you with the details, let's just say I have been living here for over a year since I found this place here in Bangkok.
Let's just say it is completely legal and accepted by immigration as I have an annual retirement visa that I renew yearly.
Just so you know, it IS possible and legal and CAN be done.
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If you have the money in the bank in Thailand your passbook will show where the funds came from.
In Bangkok Bank the code FFT or sometimes FTT indicates a Foreign Funds Transfer into Thailand.
This code is printed by the computer next to the bankbook date and amount of funds.
Many of the people working in immigration know that, which is why they may ask to see your bank passbook and perhaps photocopy its pages to submit with your initial retirement application.
I've had this done to me before.
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No that is no longer true. at least for many nationalities.
It once was some years back, but the law has no been changed
Not all airlines know that, however, and some will still tell you he old law still applies.
However, some of the nearby South East Asian countries do still have such a requirement, so You may find that going to one of them from Thailand cause problems.
This often comes op when crossing a land border to one of those neighboring countries.
I was once told by a clerk at the check in booth for a flight to Malaysia that , although I was still only 7 month away from my passport expiration date and therefore I was still legal for a free Malaysian entry stamp.
But Malaysia required a 6 month passport for entry so I was close to the limit.
So when I returned to Thailand from Malaysia I went to the U.S. embassy in Bangkok and applied for a new U.S. passport to avoid any problems in the future.
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There was an old law years ago that as a legal foreign retiree you were supposedly allowed to bring into country certain personal items "free from duty or Vat" if you retired into Thailand.
I head about this so-called "law" back in the late 1990s years ago.
That was back when I first started thinking about "retiring in Thailand" and I remember it being in my "planning" for retirement
However there have been at least two military coups since that time and new governments installed and I have never heard any more info on that subject.
As I said I heard back then that you might be allowed to bring in one shipment of personal household items as a retiree duty free when you came to Thailand to retire here.
But that was years ago and as far as I know that law has long gone since that time with the change in governments in Thailand.
I believe that is "old info" and now longer valid.
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No I never suggested you could use a re-entry permit to avoid the required Thai exit stamps and the required other country entry stamps.
All I wanted to point out that if you already have a valid visa/extension in your passport you can return to Thailand and NOT lose your valid visa extension.
For example if I have a single entry tourist visa .(SETV) in my passport and a 30 day extension on that SETV the re-3ntry permit I buy can let me leave Thailand and still keep that SETV from being canceled automatically when I leave Thailand.
That is what the re-entry permit does, it keeps your current visa and extension valid when you exit Thailand and want to return to Thailand after a short rip out of the country.
as an example if I get a SETV and enter Thailand with a 60 day entry stamp, I may then go to immigration and extend that 60 day entry stamp for 30 days more, giving me a total of 90 days (60 days entry stamp PLUS a added extension of 30 days)
Now if on day 80 of that 90 days I decide to take a short trip of 5 days to, for example Laos, the re-entry permit allows me to travel to Laos and return within that 90 day period.
I enter that reentry permit number on my entry card and the re-entry permit keeps the rest of that 90 day SETV visa and extension.
All I wanted to stress in my original posting is that a re-entry permit allows me to NOT automatically have my SETV cancelled when I leave Thailand. as long as I return within the period for which my re-entry permit is valid.
Perhaps I didn't make myself clear in my other posting, but the above is what I intended to say.
I have done this myself and I know it is quite possible and legal.
I would recommend however re-entering Thailand by AIR if you try this as the international airport immigrations has dealt with such things before and LAND borders are generally less experienced than international airport immigrations and therefore you are more likely to have problems with land border crossings.
Seriously, I have been there before an done it.
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As has been said to re-enter Thailand you will need to show a arrival stamp/visa in the neighboring country in your passport.
On exiting Thailand , you will get a Thai exit stamp. entering another country such as Malaysia you will get an entrance stamp for that country.
When you leave that country you will get their exit stamp, and reentering Thailand you need to get a Thai entry stamp.
To be legal, you need to leave Thailand and enter another country, and leaving that country you need tor reverse the process.
The only exception to hat is if you have a current extension to our visa AND you purchase a re-entry permit to keep that extension valid.
It's not "rocket science:", you have to go out of the door legally, before you can come back in that same door.
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20 hours ago, Upnotover said:
1. get a police report.
2. get it translated.
3. apply for a new passport.
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I now see you say you are a U.K. national.
As I said I am a U.S. national who "lost" my passport about 3 months ago.
However, except for the U.S. embassy the information above is the same.
I as a U.S. citizen also was given a one year temporary passport from the U.S. embassy as my bank passbook was "lost" at the same time.
Not sure if that is possible for a U.K. passport or not.
For me it was a requirement to let me access the money in my Bangkok Bank account
Needed that temporary passport to prove my identity to the bank.
Remember you will need access to any money you have in a Thai bank to pay for your new passport.
That is why when you apply they will give you a new one year temporary passport.
At least the U.S. embassy will.
However, when I filed a police report, for me there was no need of translation.
The U.S embassy accepted he signed and stamped police report and gave it to me free of charge.
Of course I had to pay the usual fee when applying for a new permanent passport.
In my case I picked the new passport up at the U.S. embassy in Bangkok only 7 days after my application was made.
That may not be the case for you, but it was a great relief to me at the time.
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Good Morning indeed.
But wasn't something missing in this post?
Never mind, it has also happened to me before.
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Nice to hear some good news about the U.K. and getting a Thai passport renewed.
Seems you knew what you wanted to do and got t done.
Good for you.
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But more importantly is your visa to stay in Thailand still valid AFTER you are divorced from your wife or do you actually have a yearly extension of your current visa based upon your marriage to a Thai.
By which I mean, is your marriage visa still valid or is it really a yearly extension based on your marriage to a Thai.
If your original visa has expired (is out of date) but it has been extended by reason of your marriage to a Thai each year you may be in for a rude shock if you divorce your wife as the reason for your yearly extension of that visa may end with your divorce.
You have to be very careful here that you still have a legal reason to stay in Thailand, a valid current visa that allows you to stay in Thailand after your divorce is made final.
Ask your Thai lawyer abut this.
I am NOT an expert on this subject, ask some one who is.
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Ubonjoe is correct.
However, be aware your original tourist vis is a single entry tourist visa and leaving Thailand will void that visa if you leave even with a 30 day extension.
If you are planning to travel to Laos you will also need a Lao visa, which can be obtained on arrival in Laos.
Also if you want to keep your single entry Tourist visa valid even with a 30 day extension you should buy a exit re-entry permit for 1000 Baht to allow you to re-enter Thailand from Laos to keep your single entry Tourist visa extension valid on your return from Laos.
I am not the expert, but believe that as an Aussie national you can also get a visa exempt 30 day entry on your return from Laos as an alternative to a Thai re-entry permit.
But as I said I am not an expert as I said before.
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Since I am approaching my 71st birthday in October 2017 I can assure you there are a number of ways to do what you want.
let's just say I retired in 2011 with a monthly pension and have been living in Thailand since that time.
It is perfectly possible I you plan ahead, know the requirements, and have a little common sense.
If I can do I so can you.
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Crossing a land border with an overstay can lead to you being refused return entrance to Thailand
and being forced to stay in another country where you do not have a legal visa.
Would you rather be in detention in Laos or Cambodia?
Think about it.
There was recently a post by someone who is or was stuck in Laos, not allowed to return to Thailand, and unable to afford an air ticket out of that country.
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Technically, YES it is.
If your computer is located in Thailand that is enough to meet the definition of WORKING on-line from Thailand, and that requires a work permit.
It does not matter if you directly or indirectly profit or get any income from this activity just having the computer in Thailand and using it here is enough to meet the legal definition of "working in Thailand"
However, having said that, as with many things the law in Thailand does not deal directly with such a situation.
In fact the law on working on-line from Thailand is way out of date and does not even consider many on-line activities.
So, in fact until the law is clarified as to what is definitely legal and what is illegal, you are in a "gray area" legally and therefore the exact answer is unclear,
Personally, I would advise being very careful, and keeping any such activity "under the radar" until the law is made clear.
But I am not a lawyer.
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Two years ago I was handed such a form for "Personal Information".
I was told to take it outside and fill it out as I waited for my queue number to be called.
As it happened I needed to go to the bathroom, and I threw that form into the trash along my way.
I got my extension as usual, and was never asked for that form when my passport and extension was ready.
It was just something the higher ups in immigration wanted as a survey, it went away by itself in a couple of months.
The most offensive part was that I was supposed to list my Bank accounts in Thailand and provide the account numbers on the form.
As I say it ended up in the trash.
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Yes it is possible at CW.
In fact I just did it there last week.
The fee is still 1900 Baht.
Copy passport I.D. page downstairs and arrival stamp downstairs in copy shop.
Photos (packet of 5 photos is 100 Baht)
Fill out form upstairs, sign it, and get queue ticket.
Wait until called and pay fee of 1900 Baht.
When called again collect passport with 30 day extension
I am extended until 27 July 2017.
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- Popular Post
What do you mean by "express immigration"?
I am over 70 years old and always travel with a booked wheelchair from the airline.
I am wheeled from the plane to immigration and through the express lane.
Then they wheel me to the baggage area where they pick up my checked baggage.
Then through customs, maybe a stop at an airport bank to get Thai currency, and then downstairs to the taxi queue.
Normally I tip the wheelchair person maybe 100 baht for his or her service.
If you note their is a sign at the airport that lists three classes of people who are given priority lane service
They are:
- Those in wheelchairs or disabled
- Those 70 years of age or older
- Those (mainly women) who are pregnant or traveling with young children.
For your information, if you take the time to look, you will see a sign stating this as you enter the immigration areas in swampy.
Both outgoing and incoming at swampy.
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Just o correct one statement, you are not forced to get a 54 page visa when getting a new passport.
At least in Bangkok when I got a new passport the application form clearly gave me two choices.
I could choose the smaller 28 page passport or the 54 page passport.
I chose the larger passport, simply because I normally get many visa stamps, and it seemed a better choice.
The price is the same.
My passport was "lost: in January 2017, so that was when I applied for a replacement.
And yes, I filed a police report on my lost passport with the Thai police.
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Most likely in Bangkok.
What is your visa and what is your nationality?
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Just for the record I have a signed 3 month contract with my residence management.
I am billed each month for the previous month to include electricity, water, and telephone
charges.
I pay monthly, and the invoice is stamped monthly by the residence management.
Included in the agreement is a cable T.V system , weekly cleaning and 40 p1eces of laundry at the residence laundry downstairs monthly.
I keep the stamped invoice/receipts and use them if asked by immigration for my proff of residence.
I pay between 18K and 20K monthly for rent.
I have a monthly pension of about 50K Baht depending on the dollar/Baht exchange rate.
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I honestly don't know.
I traveled there by air,
Lao Air has a flight from Swampy to Vientiane and on to Savannakhet but it arrives to late and requires spending a night in Savannakhet.
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Having applied for 5 annual retirement extensions I can ASSURE you that it has been always been the case that CW has always been for those living or residing in Bangkok (immigration area one ONLY.).
They stress that point and have for years.
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That is the nature of the human female.
It has been that way for many generations.
Women were the first farmers, they brought a few seeds back to the cave to drop outside the cave entrance and women were the first humans to realize that those particular leaves of that one tree when mashed up with some water and fed to their babies would stop the babies fever and crying.
10,000 years ago human knowledge was spread and cultivated by women, before men took over and started wars.
Although men dispute it women were the first farmers, the first doctors, and probably invented the first religions.
The carved "fertility figures" of pregnant women you can find worldwide from that era are the proof.
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As others pointed out there are a number of valid ways to do it.
I arrived in Thailand 5 years ago on a Non O multi-entry visa then and have extended it each year annually in Bangkok.
In my particular case I get my Social Security pension sent to my Bangkok Bank account by direct deposit from the U.S. each month.
It takes some paperwork to set up a direct deposit that way initially but once you have it running the money arrives in your Bangkok Bank account on the 4th of each month.
I've been doing it that way for over 4 years now, and it works fine for me.
I am a U.S. Army Vietnam veteran if that means anything, but not retied military.
Ubon Joe - Advice please help?
in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits
Posted
Overstay and failure to do 90 day reports are two different things.
Actual overstay is not leaving Thailand when your visa has expired and the fine for that can be 500 Baht per day, usually up to a 20K Baht maximum and a person may be banned from re-entering Thailand for actual overstay depending on how long the overstay is.
Not reporting for 90 day reports if required Is a different situation from actual overstay and may result in a fine of 200 Baht a day for non reporting, usually up to a 2000 Baht maximum but possibly a fine of 5000 Baht may be made if the failure to report is determined to be deliberate and repeated.
As far as I know, and I may be wrong, no one has ever been deported for failure to do required 90 day reporting.
That is the difference between actual overstay and failure to do 90 day reporting.