nerjaron

Thanks Bob, the mystery deepens. I'm sure Hokeus will be following the story without my help.

Bob, Hokeus has you pinned as definitely British but I still have my doubts. Please put me out of my misery - British or American?

Well said my friend, I'm from the north-east and the original comment was in my view quite condescending bordering on racism. Regarding Bob, I have found his posts entertaining in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. I would say from his writing style and grammar he is almost certainly American. His post about leaving is quite controversial, and if it is genuine I wish him all the best and I hope he finds peace and tranquillity wherever his travels may take him.

not required however some immigration offices are not following the rule changes to TM30 made June 2020. Thinking CM is one example. Which immigration office?

Hi All I recently received a reminder from Immigration that my 90 day report was due 2 weeks hence. However I had been to Europe in September and returned to Thailand on a re-entry permit which was stamped on my return to Suvarnabhumi. My understanding was that absence and re-entry would re-set the time clock and my revised 90 day report would be due in mid December. I emailed Immigration who didn't reply so I asked my wife to phone them. That's when my problems began. The IO told my wife that they do NOT issue reminders, therefore the email I had received must be a scam (despite the fact that all my details were correct). After toing and froing through several subsequent phone calls the IO eventually conceded that they DO in fact issue reminders, automatically via computer so the information the IO had given to my wife several times was completely incorrect. Having established that the reminder was indeed genuine and not a scam the IO asked my wife if I had notified my address to immigration within 24 hours of my arrival. This completely floored me since I thought that all I was required to do was to ensure that I made the IO at the airport aware of the fact that I was entering Thailand on a re-entry permit. I was completely unaware of the requirement upon me to notify my address within 24 hours of arrival and there were no issues highlighted following a previous absence in May, again using a re-entry permit. Clearly I have misunderstood the requirements and fortunately no further action is envisaged due to my failure to comply with this requirement in September. Having given a long-winded outline of the situation, may I ask forum members how in fact I should notify Immigration of my address within 24 hours of arrival - should I follow the TM47 route, or is there another form I must use? Thanks to all in anticipation of some useful advice.

I posted the above 5 days ago and not a single reply! As I am still a comparative novice on this site I have obviously gone wrong somewhere - did I post in the wrong forum? Have I breached a Forum rule? Please someone tell me how to get my original post some comments - it is a very genuine and serious request and I would be grateful for some guidance. Many thanks.

My wife and I have been discussing how we may be able to help her son and his girlfriend to set up a small business (hairdressing/cutting/beauty). Her son and his girlfriend are both working in fairly low paid jobs with little prospect for advancement and they are ready for a complete change. Neither has been in business before and neither is qualified in the work they would like to do. Both are mid 30's. They are aware that they would have to attend training courses before setting out on such a venture. My wife and I are prepared to pay for their training and even build a salon on my wife's land (further down the line) near Non-sung in Korat province. The larger proportion of the outlay would naturally come from me and I am prepared to take the risk that the venture might fail and I would like some guidance from those of you who have already been down this road in Thailand so that I may avoid some of the pitfalls. Some questions which come readily to mind:- 1. I am 74 (my wife is 61) - would the powers that be even contemplate allowing me to be involved in a business at this age? 2. I am aware of the 51% Thai ownership provision, and if my participation is acceptable I am thinking that my wife, her son and his girlfriend should have equal shares of 17% each and I would hold 49% - is this reasonable? I would effectively be a "sleeping partner". 3. Does the business have to be registered? If so, how and with whom? 4. Do business start-up loans exist here? How and where to apply? 5. Are there any hair cutting, nail technician or ladies hairdressing training courses in Korat? 6. Apart from providing finance and business advice would I be able to do admin work and financial control? 7. Can anyone point me in the direction of any written or internet advice (in English) on these topics? 8. I know there will be thousands of things to consider so any additional advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in anticipation of some constructive replies.

Seems to be a bit of a grey area then? A friend in another province, also over 65, already does voluntary school work and the school head sorted out the formalities for him. Perhaps I shall try that route.

This is interesting, I have recently thought about contacting a local school to offer my services (free) in any way I can and I was about to read up on work permits until the above "Can apply until the age of 65". I'm 74 - does that mean I am not eligible for a WP and therefore unable to carry out voluntary work?

Many thanks for all the responses - I should have mentioned its 100mm (4") pipe. The general consensus seems to be that whilst it's not pretty, it will probably be ok so I intend to leave it. If it fails at some point in the future I have enough DIY knowledge to fix it myself. By then of course the pipes will be full of my and my wife's doodoos but at least my welding mask will come in handy for some protection! Thanks again to all.

Hi, may I ask any builders/plumbers for an opinion on the attached picture. This was installed yesterday to carry waste from an upstairs toilet to the drain. When the builder came to make the connection he discovered that the toilet had been installed above one of the aluminium ceiling supports below, necessitating the pipework being diverted to clear the obstructing support. When I arrived onsite I was horrified to find that he had used 4 x 90 degree bends, which in my opinion was a recipe for disaster. I expressed my concerns via my Thai wife but the builder assured my wife that the pressure from above would push out any obstructions from the short horizontal runs. I was still unhappy and asked my wife to ask them why they didn't just use 2 x 45 degree bends, one at the top and one at the bottom with a section of pipe in between, a simpler, cheaper, easier solution eliminating any horizontal runs completely. The builder obviously hadn't thought of this and dismissed my suggestion out of hand (loss of face?) and continued to box in the pipework (but not before I took a picture) so the problem is now hidden from view. For clarification, a 45 degree bend at the top would also have cleared the aluminium support. Am I over-thinking this, or should I contact the head of the building company to force the builder to re-make the connections as per my suggestion? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Many thanks to all who contributed to this topic (including the less serious ones). There is so much advice which describes my predicament perfectly - I didn't realise that so many had been through similar situations and used so many different approaches to deal with them. For now I am trying a combination of ideas and taking things slowly and carefully. Thank you all. If I may, I would like some advice on another topic. My wife obtained her British citizenship last year so she is now a dual national. We are going to the UK next month for a quick visit and although I am aware of the need to use her Thai passport for leaving and entering Thailand (and UK passport for England) my wife has posed an interesting question: when departing Thailand previously she has always had to produce her official "permission to enter" UK documents. Now of course she doesn't need these and she is afraid that if she is forced to show her UK passport the airport staff will insist on stamping her out on her UK passport, causing problems when we return. How have others dealt with this scenario? Thanks again.

My wife and I are having a house built on our land at Nonsung (near Korat). Ever since the foundations were laid my wife's sister and her husband (both 70's) have been regular (almost daily) visitors to our building plot where they frequently interrogate the builders and act as if they own the place. I have often complained to my wife that I don't like this behaviour and it's our house not theirs, but my wife says it's normal Thai behaviour and I shouldn't worry. Today we have returned from the city to find that a 20m section of our makeshift wooden fence and a large amount of straw have been completely destroyed by fire. The sister was at a house nearby and said that her husband had set a fire on our land but it got out of control and he couldn't stop it. The fence was quite dense and almost impenetrable to keep out the cows from next door. I was furious and told my wife that I didn't want her BIL anywhere near our building plot, but she became upset with me and said she couldn't say that to her relatives. I modified the statement and said that I didn't want him on our land unless I was present, but this still didn't sit well with my wife and she said that she would only go so far as to tell him that he "shouldn't do anything on our land". Does anyone have any constructive advice on how to keep this guy away from our property without causing an international incident? I am well aware of the folly of building near the wife's relatives but this has been her lifelong dream, but I am sick to death of these people interfering with our build, and now also our land in our absence. I am also aware that I can't own land here but I do own the house jointly with my wife. Thanks in advance.

Many thanks for your further advice ubonjoe. As a lifelong civil servant (retired) I have seen many examples of ambiguous correspondence and perhaps I am a little over cautious with my literal reading of the letter. However I am now reassured by your reply and this will be one thing less for me to (needlessly) worry about in the run up to our flight in November. Ning and I are very much looking forward to getting back to Thailand after not seeing her family for over 2 years. Thanks again!

Following all of the much appreciated advice, I subsequently applied for the Non-O visa which was approved in double quick time. Forgive me if this follow up question is a bit dumb, but the notification letter (attached) does not specifically state that it (the letter) IS the actual visa and I am left wondering if something is missing. There is nothing in my passport to show that the visa has been granted. Do I just show the letter when I arrive in Bkk and they give me a 90 day stamp in my passport? Then when I apply for the 12 months extention another stamp in my passport? Please forgive my ignorance - although I have been to Thailand many times these have always been on the 30 day visa exempt route and I want to be sure I have the full documentation. Thanks again to all. NonOvisa.pdf

Many thanks to all who have replied, this has helped enormously. Regarding the last part of my original query, is there any way to obtain a 12 month extension at the outset, and apply for a re-entry permit when I leave Thailand in February? Thanks again to all.

I have been avidly reading these forums and it suddenly dawned on me that I need advice about my situation. My Thai wife and I are currently located in the UK (my wife on the 5 year route, attends her citizenship ceremony tomorrow!). We have booked flights to Bangkok on 3 November (arriving 4 November) returning to UK on 2 February next year. My intention was to enter visa exempt for 30 days, open a bank account, and apply for a 60 day extension. My issue is the "onward flight" provision. I understand that this has to be within the 30 day visa exempt period but of course our return flight is not until February. Does this mean that I will need to book a "throw away" flight before 30 days have elapsed or is there a simpler way around this dilemma? I have no problem applying for a visa, which I believe would give me 60 + 30 days I need if this is easier. All being well, on return to the UK we will make arrangements to rent out (or sell) our house and then return to Thailand for an indefinite period, and this raises a further question: as it is my ultimate intention to live long term in Thailand would it be possible for me to obtain a 12 month extension under either of the above scenarios and apply for a re-entry permit at the airport when we leave in February? Sorry it's a bit long winded!