Maestro

Dear Mr. J,

Please note that the ORIGINAL marriage certificate is a requirement for the non-O marriage visa. This is specified as one of the requirements for this type of visa on our visa run website. I also mentioned this to you in our email correspondence when you enquired about the marriage visa.

I am however glad that we were able to talk to the consulate and assist you in getting your visa despite this missing documentation. You are more than welcome and we are very pleased that it all worked out!

Thank you and best regards,
Savan Vegas Hotel & Entertainment Complex.

ATM WARNING
Innovative Thai Advertising
Thursday, 3 May 2012
By marc.cn



I am spending a few days on Koh Samui with my family, one of my favorite tropical islands. The place has everything: from unspoiled beaches and endless coconut plantations, to high-end dining and a good night life. Although I was here mainly for business related reasons I had a great time.

This morning I drove from our villa to the French bakery to buy a baguette for breakfast and then wanted to get gas, when I realized I did not bring enough cash. So I stopped at an ATM (every 7-11 and Family Mart has an ATM here, meaning that you are never more than a few hundred meters away from one) to get some more Thai Baht. In Thailand you normally first get your receipt, then your money and only then your bank card. Not smart, because people may forget their cards after taking their money, but that’s a different story.

Anyway, I got my receipt and money and was waiting for my card to come out. After waiting for about 10 seconds the card still did not come out, and I got a bit worried that my card may have been lost. But that was not the case, because when I looked at the ATM screen I saw an ad with the question whether I liked the advertising or not. Only after clicking that I would get my card back!

I have seen a lot of ATMs all over the world, and many of them have advertising on it. Either before you start, during the transaction or you get your money. But this is the first time that I was asked to let the bank know whether I liked the ad before getting back my card! An innovative idea, but I hope China won’t start copying this.

Source: http://www.marc.cn/2...dvertising.html

hehehoho, on 2012-01-27 22:31:52, said:

If that was true, they wouldn't give you a visa to come in the first place.

→ Laws, regulations, Police Orders, etc. related to visas, immigration matters, and work permits
→ Address and Google Map location of immigration offices (incomplete list)
→ Thai Immigration phone and fax numbers nationwide
        I have compiled and uploaded above list of phone and fax numbers of all Thai Immigration offices and checkpoints in Thailand.
        If I have missed one or you have any updated info, please let me know with a PM.  Thanks!

Since nobody has done it before, here's my guide to the Permanent Resident application process in 2004:

Disclaimer

These are my personal experiences as a single guy living in rented accommodation in Bangkok and working for a Thai company. The details of the process differ from year to year, from province to province, and according to the applicant's situation and reason for applying. This is a guide, not the bible.

Do you need a lawyer?

It doesn't make any difference to Immigration if you use a lawyer or not. It doesn't make you look better or worse. But it does affect the process a little.

A legal firm with experience in PR applications should be able to give you useful advice on how to provide a "portfolio" showing your contribution to society, ensure all your Thai-language company documents are correct and complete, handle translation of documents, and save you some running around. Your own company lawyer - if you have one - can probably help with everything except the portfolio.

If you hire a legal firm, it will probably consider the approval of your application to be the end of the process. If you want them to help you with the various steps after approval, you'd better put that in the written agreement so it's understood by all. If you hand over a lot of documents to them, make a list and get them to sign for them in case any go missing.

Myths

You don't need to be married to obtain PR. There are minimum salary guidelines for each nationality, but these aren't written down and they aren't set in stone. In some circumstances you can apply if you fall short of the minimum salary.

Preparation and documents

First, go to Immigration (Room 301 at the Suan Phlu Office in Bangkok - now changed to Section D of the new office in Chaeng Wattana Road*), tell them which category you are applying in (Investment, Work/Business, Humanitarian, Expert) and request the appropriate documents. They'll give you a sheet "Detailed Information Needed for Residence Permit Applications," TM.9 Application for Permanent Residence, a Personal Information sheet, a sheet titled "Documents required when applying for a residence permit in the category of [whatever you requested]," a sample medical certificate and a sample form for submitting Thai-language maps of your home and workplace.

Many of the 20 documents listed are related to your employer, work and tax record for the previous 3 years and must have been signed (or issued) within 3 months of making your application. Some documents must be translated into Thai and certified by your embassy. Educational certificates must be translated into Thai and certified by the Foreign Ministry.

Others documents on the list include:

(2) a medical certificate as per their official sample (the one that declares you free from syphilis and elephantiasis) issued by a hospital in the 3 months prior to the application date.

(3) certificate of no criminal record from your "domicile" and certified by your embassy. This means the country whose passport you are currently using, and you need to apply direct to your country's police for this. If your country has criminal record checks with and without fingerprints, you'll probably need the one with fingerprint check. Immigration can do the fingerprints for you free of charge (Room 301). If your country has federal and state record checks, you'll need the federal one. Expect this to take 3-8 weeks in Western countries but it could take up to 3 months.

(17) maps in Thai language of your place of residence and work (if applicable).

(19) "Personal Information sheet and the applicant's portfolio, which includes detailed information about family background, knowledge and ability, working experience, special ability, social work, work place, residence together with photo (using the A4 document folder)."

The photos required are of the exterior and interior of your home and workplace. It might be a good idea to have yourself in the photos too.

The portfolio depends on what you have available. The purpose of the portfolio is to establish that you are an upstanding citizen who is unlikely to get into financial or other trouble in the future. Anything that portrays you as a somebody, as someone who is a cut above the rest or as financially secure is worth submitting. Some suggestions:

* Complete resume going back to school.

* Letter to Immigration from yourself detailing your contribution to Thai society.

* Documents supporting your contribution to society.

* Reference letters from senior Thais supporting your good character and application. Obviously, the more senior or well-known, the better. Give your referees a template letter in Thai to make it easier for them.

* Membership of charitable organizations.

* Membership of non-profit organizations, such as chambers of commerce.

* Newspaper clippings mentioning you or written by you. Any publications written by you.

* Certificates or diplomas.

* Copies of bank books, certificates of transferring money into Thailand, share certificates, pension records, provident fund records, condo ownership and other assets.

Applying

Immigration is open for applications from about mid-December until the last working day of the year. Only two weeks. You take your file in and an officer will check the documents. Quite likely there will be something that needs correcting or updating, but from now on you deal with this officer so it's easier to get questions answered. You'll also get your fingerprints taken at this point.

The officer will give you an appointment sheet with details of the date and time for your interview and Thai-language test in March or April and tell you to bring along your annual Income Tax return (Por Ngor Dor 90/91) and company tax documents for December. This officer isn't a total expert on documentation, so don't be surprised if you get requests for corrected/updated documents right up until June the following year.

The Interview

In my case, the officer who interviewed me was the same one who accepted my application and documents 4 months before, so things were pretty relaxed and friendly. I had a young lawyer with me. Since I speak Thai pretty well, the whole discussion was in Thai. Mostly it was about the documents, my background, and the PR process. Every now and again a question came right out of the blue, like "What religion are you?" So I got the impression my Thai language skills and general demeanour were being examined. The officer typed on a PC the whole time.

After the discussion, she printed out a long statement (in Thai) from the computer, asked the lawyer to read it to me and explain anything I didn't understand, and then we both had to sign it. The document was a long series of statements such as, "I explained to the applicant that after receiving notice of a successful application, he must come to the Immigration office within 30 days. The applicant said he understood." In fact, some of the statements hadn't been made in the interview.

After we'd signed, she asked the lawyer to leave. Then she gave me a sheet of 10 multiple answer questions written in Thai. Since I don't read Thai very well at all, she read the questions and the answers, pointing at the ABCD answers as she read them. Some of the answers had little pictures which made them easier. With some of them, you could tell just from the answers which was the odd one out, even if you didn't understand the question.

Some of the questions were pretty easy, some required a basic knowledge of Thailand (How many provinces there are, etc), and one was about the PR process (i.e. the stuff I had signed in the statement). The only problem I had was that the questions were phrased in formal written Thai style rather than the spoken Thai I'm used to. If I didn't understand the question, it was pretty easy to figure out the question from the answers.

The test doesn't take long. After that, you go into a partitioned area and introduce yourself in Thai while they record it on camera. It looked like an ordinary Sony still camera to me, so the video mode would probably not be more than a couple of minutes. I kept my intro short, but I was asked a couple of questions after I finished.


Approval letter

I received my approval letter 16 months after making the application. The letter is in Thai but there are separate instructions in English on what documents you need to get the Certificate of Residence (you must do this within 30 days):
1. Original and copy of passport (certified true copy by you)
2. Original and copy of the House Registration book of your residence (certified true copy by the owner) and details of the local police station whose jurisdiction it is in. You will be put on this House Registration later.
3. 12 4x6cm photos not more than 3 months old.
4. Fee of 191,400 baht (if single) or 95,700 baht if the spouse of Thai national or PR holder paid in cash or by cashier's cheque (in Bangkok only). A copy of any cashier's cheque.

Picking up the Certificate of Residence

When you go to Immigration they give you a sheet "Procedures in obtaining the Certificate of Residence (TM.16)" that describes most of the following procedures. In Bangkok they will take you to Room 202 and you'll never deal with Room 301 again.*

You pay the fee, give them 4 photos, have your thumbprint taken and give some information that will be forwarded to your local police and end up in your Alien Registration book. They will take the embarkation form out of your passport and write the details (i.e. flight number) of your last entry into Thailand on it. Then they'll stamp your passport with details of the Certificate of Residence. At some point in this process they will decide how to spell your name in Thai and may not ask you about it. If you want it spelt correctly, find some diplomatic way of giving it to them early on. You pick up your Certificate of Residence (actually a book) the next day and take it plus the letter they give you to your local police station. You must do this within 7 days of submitting your documents, not 7 days from receiving the Residence Certificate.

Obtaining the Alien Registration Book

You take the Residence Book and the letter they give you to the police, along with 4 photos, tabien baan (House Registration book), and copies of your passport, Residence Book and tabien baan. Plus the police will need the names of your mother and father in Thai script. Pay 400 baht for the current year and 800 baht for the next 5 years. Pick up the Alien Registration book a couple of weeks later. Then start the process to get put on the tabien baan.

Being put on a House Registration book

You apply at your district office to be put on a tabien baan. You'll probably deal with someone senior and have to provide copies of passport, tabien baan, Residence Book and Alien Book. There is no charge at all. After submitting the documents, they give you a letter which you take back to Immigration and make an appointment to go back to the district office. Immigration then gives you another letter which you take back to the district office.

For the second interview at the district office you need two Thais to act as witnesses. One will normally be the owner of your residence. The officer will ask you all a lot of detailed questions (how you know the witnesses, what's your blood group, etc) and write out an interview form for each of you, to which he'll add your photo and thumbprint and send them to the Interior Ministry "as evidence." Then you are put on the tabien baan and have reached the end of the process.

Traveling outside Thailand

Before taking a trip outside Thailand you must apply for a 1-year endorsement of your Residence Book (1,900 baht) and a re-entry ("non-quota Immigrant") visa in your passport (1,900 baht single, 3,800 baht multiple) valid for one year.

What you get

(Certificate of Residence and Alien Registration Book)

Benefits of Permanent Residence

• No need to leave the country within 7 days if employment is terminated.
  
• No need to extend or renew any visa, or report your address every 90 days. But you do have to obtain a re-entry visa if you go out of the country.
  
• Allowed to buy a condominium without having to remit funds from abroad.
  
• Entitled to apply for citizenship after 5 years.
  
• Entitled to be appointed a director of a public limited company even if the majority of other directors on the Board are non-Thai.
  
• Supposedly easier to obtain a work permit.
  
• Allowed to go through the "Thai passports only" channel at airport Immigration.

"Disadvantages" of Permanent Residence

When applying for a Thai driving licence, they will insist you have a valid re-entry visa in your passport and residence book, even if you are not intending to go out of the country. They will require your house registration certificate and include your unique 13-digit number on the driving licence. Many banks and hotels act like they've never seen an Alien's Registration book before and may insist on seeing your passport, perhaps because the Alien's Book doesn't contain your name in English.

Updates from members in this topic

• Please see the latest (Dec 2009) information and documents from the Immigration Department. Many minor requirements have changed.
  
• The Bangkok Immigration Bureau moved to Chaeng Wattana Road on October 1, 2009
  
• The health certificate must be from a government hospital and a blood test for syphilis may be required.
  
• Tax receipts may need to be certified by the Revenue Dept.
  
• You may need a letter of guarantee from the Labour dept.
  
• You must appear in the photos of your workplace and residence.
  
• You may need to produce your salary slips for the last 2 years.
  
• If you have a child, you will need to take a DNA paternity test.
  
• If you are married to a Thai, an Immigration officer will come to your residence to verify that you are in fact married and cohabiting.
  
• Since 2007 the Thai-language test is a panel asking the applicant questions, but the questions are simple and the panel friendly. See this member's experience of the interview in 2011.
  
• As of April 2012, the 2006 applicants were still waiting for their final approval. The process can get delayed due to political instability.

nikster, on 2010-10-04 15:22:02, said:

Corruption can be brought to it's knees very quickly.
BUT NOT FROM THE TOP!
A few years ago a journalist (i think it was) urged the Thai people to stop paying the police their regular  "tips" for just one day.
I can't remember what happened to her ...... was she killed?
The point is that if the Thai people did this for one day the entire system of corruption graft and nepotism would collapse.
So long as the country thinks it is acceptable for an officer of the law to stop anyone he/she likes and demand money for absolutely no good reason whatsoever, corruption will continue.
Singapore reduced corruption very quickly but they are not the same as Thailand....size and the nature of corruption here make it different.
As sea change in public opinion and above all public tolerance/acceptance of this  sort of thing is called for.half the time the general public don't realise they are coalescing with corruption.they think it is acceptable to give public servants "gifts" for easing their progress through a bureaucratic process or giving someone a free holiday or 10% kickback when they award you a contract.
look at the state of the roads in thailand - they are a direct result of insufficient funds being left in projects to complete the in a satisfactory way. Hardcore is cut back foundations are insubstantial all because the money needed to do a proper job has gone into the pockets of DOZENS of people  from Govt ministers to local contractors.

It's the "smaller" people who pay the "big" powerful people for favors - if all  the "small" people stop then the corruption stops.

meaowma, on 2010-09-24 07:41:49, said:

What is that, you all work in thai embassy or something? Are those some bot-generated answers here in this forum?
Are you for real talking about law obeying in thailand?
A country where every foreigner who gets into a car accident is always wrong. Always thai wins, even if thai is high of dope and rammed a parking car. As long as the car belongs to a foreigner, its foreigners mistake since "if he wasnt here, the accident would have never happened"
A country where it is natural that people give pribe to a policeman when they are being stopped. Even if there was no law broken, everyone does it. Policeman are rich in thailand since they break law daily.
There are many policeman @ fullmoon party from bkk to just catch some drug abusers, then hold them in some basement until the foreigners rich friends would bail him out with some 500 000 baht or more.
A country where it is prohibited to have sex toys and porn movies (in the hand of foreigners), but on the steerts thais sell it every day.
A country where prostitution is illegal !
A country where they literally killed around 500 people in the nighttime just recently and told foreign media it was about 50. They shot even children with snipers. I was in bkk at that time.
A country where only money and power matters not law. A good example is one case where the son of an high military official shot a policeman in a bar and around 50 people were to witness that! Later in court no one knew or saw anything.

People, if you indeed are people not bots, get real.  I am not saying overstaying a visa is a good thing and should be unpunished, but i think 20 000 baht is enough of punishment already.

I think thai byrocracy is very very retarded. The most idiotic law is that you have to have ticket in and out from thailand before you get visa. If you indeed get 30+30 days visa, you can extend it right ? You can extend it for another 30 days. But maybe you cant extend it? You can never be 100% sure.
Now, how can you exactly plan your leaving 3 months upfront and buy the ticket out, if you even do not know can you extend it for sure or not? Most probably you end up buying a ticket out and that often will be wasted. You have to buy new one later on, or at least change the dates and pay some fee in best case scenario.
This law itself is so retarded, it is just beyond any reasoning. If a foreigner has enough money, and has 60 day visa, why must he have ticket out? If he wants to overstay, he can still do it whether he has the ticket-out or not.

Thailand is the only country where i have been to, that asks more money from foreigners in a museum or other siteseeing than from locals. Signs that say: "for foreigners 1000 baht" , "for thai: 200 baht" are common.

I am not philippines, thai or cambodia fan myself since i like order and law! In those 3 countries there are no real law, it is mixed up with money, power, clear lies, racism.
I do like taiwan and south-korea in asia.


All the best for you people, any flame is welcomed.

Phuket hoteliers seek solution to price-cutting woes


A sign in Patong advertises a special low-season room rate to passing motorists.

PHUKET: In a bid to keep small hotels and guesthouses in Patong from falling into bankruptcy, a group called the Patong Hotel and Guesthouse Association (PHGA) is calling for hoteliers to end current price wars by agreeing to set minimum room prices.

The informal consortium of hoteliers wrote in its “Letter of Awareness Awaking” sent to members last week: “During the past high season, even on New Year’s Eve, several hotels where selling good rooms at 700 baht per night. This year, new hotels have opened up nearby and I am afraid that due to competition the prices will go even lower than that,” the statement read.

"If a solution is not found quickly, for the incoming high season this ‘war of prices’ will continue and even though the number of customers may increase, lower room prices will not be sufficient to cover all the costs and many hotels will face bankruptcy,” it warned.

The letter suggested adopting several “price seasons” and a basic framework for classifying standard rooms so that minimum prices could be agreed on by any hotel joining the campaign.

However, the letter also recognized the limited impact the campaign would have if only a few hotels took part. It also acknowledged that classifying and categorizing rooms would be a “difficult task”.

The PHGA listed a downturn in tourist arrivals, operating cost increases and the strengthening of the Thai baht as factors contributing factors to the crisis, but it identified the main culprit as oversupply.

According to the the most recent Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) figures, Patong has 14,821 rooms in 264 "accommodation establishments", or about one-third of the total 43,036 rooms on the island.

"People do not come to Patong because the rooms cost 500 baht. They are coming anyway and they are used to paying more. It is the ‘war of prices’ between the hotels which has set the prices so low," the letter read.

"Even though there is still an economic crisis in [the] USA and in Europe, a room for 1,000 baht is still a cheap room. But of course, if we sell it cheaper, anyone will be glad to pay as [little] as they can,” it continued.

Bert van Walbeek, chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Thailand Chapter, supported the call, but said the campaign was unlikely to garner wholesale support.

"I think working on this terrible price dumping that is happening everywhere is very good. It’s a sad story that the hotel rates in Thailand, including Phuket, are 30% less than anywhere else in Asia,” he said.

Creating better marketing awareness and sales training would be much more effective than setting certain rates, because implementing something like this in Thailand is ‘mission impossible', he said.

Trying to establishing fixed minimum rates might also run into legal difficulties, he added.

Preechavude “Prap” Keesin, President of Patong Taxi Federation and son of Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, agrees with the proposal.

"If this problem goes on, it may cause business operators to suffer and ruin confidence in investing in Patong,” Mr Prap said.

"The real problem is that oversupply has forced prices down, and I think it would be better if the prices were regulated,” he added.

Despite agreeing that a state of oversupply exists, Mr Prap's Pisona Group last week reportedly took the first step towards applying for permission to build a new 744-unit resort across 20 rai high in the Patong hillsides. If completed, the project would be the largest on the island in terms of room numbers.

Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) President Dr Sirichai Silapa-archa disagrees with minimum prices, arguing that the forces of supply and demand should be left alone.

"There should be a better solution. The problem is too many rooms and not enough customers. If prices were set [artificially] high, they wouldn’t sell and trade would go 'underground'," he said.

Suchart Hirankanokkul, President of the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter), was also wary of the legality of such ‘price fixing’.

"Actually they cannot do that; it’s competition in the free market and without legal support there would be no way of making sure [PHGA] members cooperate,” he said.

What they should do is call a meeting and just ask for cooperation to stop the price war,” he said.


-- Phuket Gazette 2010-09-20

u know what ---- i think  man like Burma's Junta leader Than Shwe( am aware of his relationship with THug Sin) is the best to handle these Reds ! or the way Chinese handle Uighurs ! sorry to say these - I dont support either Than shw e   or Chinese ! but with the Red shits which are funded from dubai-russia-montenegro-uganda-siera leone-  should e dealt  with nothing but machine guns -

Thanks for all your help.
I went to Chiang Mai immigration and they gave me a form. It's in Thai but I have attached it

Basically they want, (if you dont have the 400k), copy of work permit, salary contract that shows more than 40k / month
Tax receipts for the last 3 months
Company registration

Then you need 2 photos of you and your wife together. House photos not necessary.
Wife to go along with id card. Baby doesnt have to this time if you have.
House registration

Apparently thats all but TIT !! - I'll let you know how I get on!

Any problem is more likely to be with Philippine immigration and her exiting the Philippines than than entering Thailand.  Single girl travelling alone may well raise red flag at Cebu.  Would suggest, as a minimum, you provide her with a letter of invitation for her trip.  Others members may add more.

BigBikeBKK, on 2010-09-03 21:30:02, said:

Things started to get horrible since the coup who removed a legally elected PM.
do you enjoyed seen millions of people desperate without food, have a tour here in the countryside where a bed or even a mattress is a luxury and pair of shoes something many people will never afford in their lifes.
Life was thousand times better between 2000 and 2005 for rural Thais, just learn the language, have a tour in the countryside and ask them for yourself.
Of course elite multibillionaire Thais (0.00x%) of the population now is much richer, just see the Forbes article, after the coup they have enriched more than any other elite in the world.
And millions of Thais are just starving...surviving eating frogs and ants' eggs and drinking raining water....