[Finding FREE Books on the Internet: Besides Using “Project Gutenberg”, What Do You Do?]

If you are after fiction just type New York Best Sellers into a torrent search (lime, hiddenbay etc) you will get all the latest, sometimes garbage, books in the charts. 

They also have non fiction top sellers as well. 

 

 

[Watch Euro 2020 but NO GAMBLING, warn Thai police]

19 hours ago, Deli said:

 

url does not exist

 

 

Works from my bookmark but not when I put the web address in, weird. Used it this morning and it has all games in full dont know why it wont work for new users there is no sign up required.

Try hdmatches.net or soccercatch.com or soccerhighlights.net the first shows full games the other two just highlights. Just checked they all work from Thailand.

 

[Watch Euro 2020 but NO GAMBLING, warn Thai police]

footballorigin.com

this will show full replays the next morning.

fullmatchesandshows.com was another but i think it has moved

[marriage visa]

6 hours ago, teetersb said:

Sadly, the Kap Choeng, Surin Province office has not been accepting the 40K Baht monthly. The main officer there will Only accept the 400K Baht in the bank. I have not tried this year but for 2 years he said NO! So, now I go to Savannakhet and get the ME marriage extension. Not sure if it has changed at that office.

 

Applied there last week, they happily accepted the 40k per month. 

[Advice for non o Multi holders]

Letseng - you are feeding my paranoia.

 

I am hopeful that when Thai borders are opened so will those of places like Laos and Cambodia but as I said no one will know until it is too late to do much about it,  at the moment my resolve is holding and I am sticking to the advice of the likes of Tanoshi and UbonJoe but my nerve may fail me next week. 

 

 

[Advice for non o Multi holders]

I'm in a similar position to those who are concerned, my current 90 days expires mid April and I was planning on using the 60 day extension route. I am confident that there is no need and Tanoshi is right so will just sit it out.

My concern will be what happens when things start to return to the norm (whatever that is with Thai immigration) Will they let us leave and re-enter to activate another 90 days, will they let us apply for 60 days or more likely tell us look you have already had xx number of days so you are now back to getting out of dodge and starting afresh you didn't leave when you should have so that multi entry is now dead. Not one of us will know until its too late.

 

I know what should happen but my paranoia keeps shouting in my ear go get the 60 days you fool, because you know they will be out for a pound of flesh when this all ends.

 

As I said I am going to try and sit it out and not risk myself or any Immigration Officers health by visiting them I just hope it does not come back to bite my as*

[First border crossing for non-0 based on marriage]

Have done this many times and never had any problems you can come and go whenever you please hence the multi entry!, however you need to be aware that not all crossings allow you to hop back across on the same day. 

[Latest nonsense at P.Thani IO for Marriage Extension]

5 minutes ago, RoiEtDale said:

Just one thing that’s a little odd about this story you said this was your fifth annual extension yet still needed a home visit? I’ve done 7 annual extensions based on marriage and they only require either two witnesses or a home visit for your first extension only. So something just doesn’t sound right here. I recently did my 7th extension and no problems no request for witnesses or a home visit so that’s strange. Am I the only person here who has caught on to that part of the ops story? 

I have had 10 extensions and 3 me non o visa over the last 14 years and home visits have been frequent, oddly on the first extension they didn't visit but since they have called 3 times after the application and 3 times unannounced. All of my paperwork has been spot on for every application I have no overstays and am always polite and helpful. I have never had any problems with immigration but the mountain of paperwork drove me back to a me non o this year. I hoped this would at least curtail the visits, unfortunately they then decided to start checking for TM30s so I have had 2 visits in the last 7 months.  This is from Kap Choeng Surin immigration.

[Border run Chong Chom / Osmach Border in Surin Province]

Did this last week no problems at all. I'm lazy so used the Cambodian touts that hang around just over the border to fill in the paperwork Cambodian visa tm6 etc and tipped him 200bt. If you want to do it all yourself it will be no problem. They will just walk away no hassles. 

 

The current costs are 1500 for visa and 300 for quick turn around. However the Cambodian IO on entry insisted on 1800 and would not budge so for the sake of 300bt I just paid up and then had to pay the guy doing the exit stamp another 300. Still cheaper than staying a night so it was worth it. 

[How does your UK pension arrive and what code?]

Max69xl  - You asked why myself and others do not change to transferwise and ditch the transfer from Citibank to our Thai banks.

 

Unfortunately this is not possible as the transfer from Citibank is generated automatically by the UK govt for state and civil service pensions. The only only way around it is having the pension paid into a UK account then transferring it yourself to transferwise. They will not pay direct to transferwise, I did ask but was told its not possible.

 

I got the impression from my local IO that the BNT code was not that much of a problem but I also had issues with the back up proof he required as he did not seem to keen on the letter provided to confirm the source of the money. I'm working on that one and may make another attempt next year if I get fed up of leaving the country every 90 days. To be honest the non o process is so much easier it still feels a winner at this stage for me. 

 

I will not need to do anything for a another 11 months and who knows what the requirements will be then as that is a long long time for many more changes to happen with the current immigration dept. 

[How does your UK pension arrive and what code?]

I receive a UK civil service pension which is processed by citibank to my Kasikorn account and this shows as BNT (bahtnet). 

I have also transferred money from HSBC by swift and oddly this also showed as BNT.

 

I tried and failed to resolve the issue of the code with both my bank and immigration both offered sympathy but not much else. I chose to revert to a non o multi entry visa, which I have to say also removed a lot of stress from the whole process. As long as the option is still available it beats the mountain of paperwork and uncomfortable feeling when visiting an immigration office for an extension. 

[Marriage Ext Rejected - What are my Options?]

I was in a similar situation to you, immigration would not accept my proof of income and questioned my fully documented 12 months worth of 40k a month deposits. I thought about questioning it or trying to change things but after a couple of sleepless nights decided it was easier to go to Savannakhet or HCMC and I can assure you it was far more stress free than the local immigration process.

My local office is ok the staff have never given me hard time and were apologetic about not being able to help this year, but even so it was always a stressful day doing that extension and like you I have been here 12 years. Despite the fact that I will have to leave the country every 90 days this is much better for both mine and the wife's stress levels.

 

Go for it you and the wife will feel much better.

 

[Mukdahan to LAOS Visa on Arrival]

Went two weeks ago it was 1500bt.

[Savannakhet, a visa to die for ?]

This may seem stupid but is there a different door queue for picking up the visa? if you arrive before 12 and they are still open taking applications until 1pm don't things get confusing ?

 

 

[Marriage/Retirement - Interpretations explained.]

Thanks for the info from Korat it's good to know. Good luck at Savanakhet sounds easy, but looks like long queues because of so many getting tourist visas. 

[Marriage/Retirement - Interpretations explained.]

Showing them the amendment to the police order is for the braver than me and to be honest I think  it would be of little use because of the loss of face issue..

 

I am from a country which no longer provides proof of income and I also made sure I had a full 12 months worth of statements backed up by proof of the source of the pension, they are just not interested in looking.

 

I will use another route but as I said before it just sits uncomfortably when you know you meet the requirements in full and others can get what they want by using agents while not meeting the legal requirements. But as has been said many times before we choose to live here and have to play by their rules. 

[Marriage/Retirement - Interpretations explained.]

Can confirm teetersb's comment about  Kap Choeng tried for marriage extension based on income and got the same response. No 400k no get. Full proof of income over 40k per month was provided in the form of bank statements and letter from the bank, all deposits were from outside Thailand and clearly marked as such on the statements and were a pension but they were just not interested as far as they are concerned it is 400k only. Very frustrating that even when you do it the right way you can still get shafted.

 

Be interested to know if anyone has been successful using the income method 65k/40k without an embassy letter at Kap C as I don't know of any yet.

 

  

[BKK Bank passbook NOT showing SWIFT transfer as foreign transaction]

42 minutes ago, ICECOOL said:

I had this issue recently and Immigration are insisting I get a separate statement from the International section of my bank listing the transfers. Kasikhornbank are charging me 1500 baht which along with the letter and the original verified statements is equivalent to what I was charged by the Oz embassy for a stat dec. Oh and it takes up to two weeks. Was told by bank staff the high fee was recently imposed. Fee gouging but what can you do. Interested in other bank fees to compare. 

I need to do this through Kasikorn next month so at least I won't be so  shocked when they ask for 1500bt. Did the bank understand what you wanted from the get go, I have had bad experiences with local banks that end up requiring call center phone calls before clarity is reached!

[Bank Statements for Retirement Extension]

4 hours ago, Chassa said:

Does BTN in my Bangkok Bank book mean Bank of Thailand transfer (overseas) or bank transfer (local)?

BTN refers to the bahtnet (google it, to long to explain it). In another thread started by Tanoshi it has been indicated that Immigration are aware that this will indicate the money has originated from outside Thailand but you will still need to get a statement from your bank to show this. I bank with Kasikorn and they show it as BNT so either seem to mean the same thing.  Hardest part is getting your local branch to understand what you want. 

[Income Letter from Bank]

My UK pension is transferred by Citibank to Kasikorn and always shows as Domestic on my book and statement. I also transferred money from HSBC by SWIFT a few months ago and that also showed as Domestic. All transfers also show the code BNT.

 

Opening a Bangkok Bank account seems the way forward as a few comments on the many threads indicate they are the most likely to show transfers as international.

 

I think all we can do is wait and see if anyone gets through with transferwise or Kasikorn etc transactions without scrutiny of the codes then all will be happy or ? 

[CONFIRMED: Here is exactly what’s needed for retirement & marriage extensions (income method) from 2019]

2 hours ago, skatewash said:

In the world of Bangkok Bank transaction codes BTN [sic] stands for BAHTNET (Bank of Thailand Automated High-value Transfer Network).

 

-- https://www.bot.or.th/English/PaymentSystems/PSServices/bahtnet/Pages/default.aspx

 

I would imagine that Kasikorn's BTN stands for the same thing as in the case of Bangkok Bank's BTN.  This is not particularly good news because it basically means that a domestic (not international) transfer has taken place between one Thai bank and another Thai bank.  This may not be recognized by your bank as an international transfer and it, in fact, seems to be a domestic transfer using the Thai BAHTNET network.

It's not clear from what you say what you are using exactly to transfer the money from the UK to Thailand.  SWIFT?  TransferWise?  If you were using TransferWise then yes opening and using an account at Bangkok Bank would show the correct FTT (Foreign Telegraphic Transfer) transaction code you want (because Bangkok Bank is the bank TW uses in Thailand -- at least at the moment).  However, if you're using SWIFT to make the transfer than that may indicate a specific problem with Kasikorn Bank and you would be best advised to talk with them directly.

Thanks for the possible answer about the code. 

 

My money is transferred from the UK by Citibank the bank the UKgov uses for state and civil service pensions how they process that I assume is swift but couldn't be 100% sure.

I just checked an old statement and found that back in June when I transferred funds direct from my UK bank the same code showed up so it is not just my pension it would be any funds I move here. From this I assume it must be something at the Kasikorn end so I will have to try and take it up with them if not a change of bank will be in order. 

 

Thanks again for trying to help. 

[CONFIRMED: Here is exactly what’s needed for retirement & marriage extensions (income method) from 2019]

My Kasikorn account does not show my UK civil service pension as intl it clearly says on the statement Domestic Money Transfer and a code BNT0000 so it looks as though it is hit and miss with KK depending on which UK bank the money comes from. I am not looking forward to the hassle involved in proving the money source to get the required letter so I may try opening a Bangkok Bank account as most seem to think they are more likely to show intl transfers on statements.

 

Cant find out what the code BNT stands for so a visit to my local branch may help but I'm not holding my breath.

[Thai immigration reveals new requirements for retirement, marriage extensions (visas)]

2 hours ago, Expattaff1308 said:

I queried this when I first got my State pension paid into Kasikorn. They told me after quoting a letters/number sequence under the the transaction (Domestic Transfer) with this code number the Bank can tell it is an Int. Transfer I asked could they tell where it came from and they rang again to tell me it was my state pension.

Thanks for that its good to know someone has already asked the question through Kasikorn. Now all I need to do is get the local bank staff to understand what I want.

[Thai immigration reveals new requirements for retirement, marriage extensions (visas)]

On the face of it I see this as making it easier no more expensive letters from the embassy, just prove you have 65/40k a month coming into a thai bank every month.

 

However as a Brit my civil service pension is administered by Citibank as I think are state pensions, this is then sent to Thailand and transferred to my bank (Kasi) from a bangkok source not sure if they use Citi or whoever but I know when it shows on my statement it clearly says Domestic not International. This may cause a problem when asking the bank to confirm that the funds are sourced outside Thailand. I should think most Brits on state pensions may have problems such as this but hopefully letters confirming the source and the bank statements proving the sum is over the required amount will suffice. I said hope as we all know we are at the mercy of the IO who is looking at your paperwork on the day you apply.   

[Immigration / police visiting foreginers houses]

TommyUk1960 - yes I am on a marriage extension but others I know on retirement extensions are getting the same treatment.

As for the village head it is easy to get him to do this sort of thing as they are always going to the local Amphur or signing official docs in the village for all locals, I assume its part of the job. He might think it a bit strange for a falang but the process of acting as a witness for people living in his village is normal.