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I went in this morning to renew my annual extension of permission to stay - my eighth time for retirement extension. I arrived at the Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration office about 8:15am and there was no problem finding a parking space in front of the building. I went next door to have photo taken (100 Baht) and entered Immigration Office around 8:25am - there were about 7 people there and most of them were waiting to do their 90 day reporting. I was ticket number 1 for "Retirement" extension - I had already completed all my documents (application, copies from passport, copy of TM 6 Departure card, US Embassy "income" letter, Bank letter (got it yesterday), and copies from bank passbook.) It was about 8:35am when my number was announced. The Sr. Sgt. Major that has been there for years, did a quick check of documents and collected 1,900 Baht fee. Then I went to the lady Captain's desk behind his. She checked the documents and then asked me if I owned or rented. When I said rent, she wanted a copy of the rental agreement (which I had with me, just in case). I gave her the copy and she handed me the claim check number and said come back after 1pm tomorrow to get passport. I was finished and on my way home by 8:45am. I used the documents checklist from the Pattaya City Expats Club website - PCEC Checklist. As reported by others, the renewal process is quick and easy if you have all the required documents.

This page from the Pattaya City Expats Club website provides information about filing the form with links to the form and other information about the requirement. Also, there is a link to the IRS Tax Guide for US Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad - the section is at the bottom of the page: Bank Account Information. Also, for the report due June 30, 2010, the IRS website has this information - Workbook on the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) As I recall, there were recent legislative changes that will probably change future reporting requirements. Other than the initial brief information at the time the legislation passed, I haven't seen any articles or announcements on new Regulations to implement the changes. I seem to recall that the new legislation provides for the report to be filed with the persons income tax return instead of separately.

The Pattaya City Expats Club website has information that some may find useful about getting a driving license (car or motorcycle - there are 3 links at the bottom of the page - a sample application form; a checklist for required documents; and a description of the process at the Land Transport Office - Thai driving license If you don't know where the Land Transport Office is located, the website also has Location Map

GB's information is correct from all reports I have received, except having to show evidence of where you live. Maybe this is another requirement that gets imposed and later dropped (e.g., credit card copies and proof of address for 90 day report). I will be renewing this month and like GB, I will have a copy of my lease with me in case they are still requiring it. As I understand it, they want to see lease/rental agreement or evidence of ownership -- I have heard, but cannot say for sure, that the reason is for those renting they want to get the address of the property and name of the owner so they can check to see if the owner is following the law that requires property owners to report foreign tenants to Immigration. Don't ask me where I heard it, because I don't recall, and I can't say for sure that is the reason (just seemed like a logical explanation to me for the added requirement). For those that would like a handy checklist, go to this website and click on Check List for Obtaining or Renewing a "Retirement Visa." It will jump to the last page of this PDF file. If you want to print it out, usually clicking on print will get you a screen that allows you to insert the page number you want to print so you do not have to print out the whole document. Also, for someone who is using the 800,000 Baht in a Thai bank to qualify, but for some reason has not had it on deposit the required length of time (60 days before initial application or 90 days before renewal), if they have any type of income, they can get an "income" letter from their embassy and use a combination of money in the bank and income to qualify. When doing the combination, there is no requirement for the money in bank portion to have been on deposit for any length of time.

The report of my death was an exaggeration. Mark Twain, New York Journal, June 2, 1897

If you download bit torrents, it can be downloaded from - Isohunt or Pirate Bay

Thai financial institutions and banks seem to charge reasonable interest rates computed as is done by western banks for installment loans. The interest rate can be low, but there will be a VAT charge on each monthly payment amount. It is my understanding that farangs generally cannot get financing in Thailand unless they have a work permit and/or Thai guarantor - the guarantor would need to have credit acceptable to the financial institution. As for Thais, there are several factors that may be involved depending on their credit/financial standing. My bf and I purchased our first car from Honda - the manager at the Honda dealership arranged for him to meet with a representative of the financial institution at the dealer's showroom. The financial rep "advised" him of what to put on the application - we also put down 50% of the purchase price as a down payment. There was no visit from the financial institution, but he did get a call from someone to confirm the information. The loan was approved - considering that used vehicles retain their value in Thailand, the 50% of cost loan was substantially less than what the car could be sold for, so the financial institution was well secured. Monthly payments were easily handled through internet banking. The financial institution held the "car book" and provided a photocopy of the registration page along with the "sticker" to put on the car. In subsequent years, they sent a separate billing for registration and after payment received, again sent a photocopy and the sticker. When paid off, they sent several documents to be signed and then mailed him the "car book" showing it was owned by him. About a month or so after pay off, they sent him a letter offering another car loan up to 600k Baht at a good interest rate if he wanted. However, if you deal with a Thai lender that is not a financial institution, the interest rates can be high. About 15 years ago, the bf bought a motorcycle near his home town and obtained credit from the cycle shop. It seems the terms were at a fairly high interest rate, but the rate was calculated on the original principal amount each month. The rate was not annualized (divided by 12 months)and not applied to the unpaid principal balance each month. For example, if the original amount was 10,000 Baht and the rate is 20%, an interest amount of 2,000 Baht is charged for each month - any monthly payment in excess of 2,000 is applied to the loan principal. So, if the loan was paid down to say 1,000 Baht of unpaid principal, it would take 3,000 Baht to pay it off on the next payment.

Several people told me they were no longer asking for it, but would accept it if offered. When I did my last report on Jan 13, I had a copy of my CAT bill with me, but did not offer it. I was not asked for anything other than the address report form itself. As to 3 months of bank statements, amount that should be in bank (if using income to qualify), etc. appears to be at the whim of the Immigration Officer. As GB points out, doesn't hurt to be prepared. I try to have everything that I think they may want (or have heard reported that they might ask for) - I provide the basic documents - if they don't ask for anything else, I don't offer it - but, if they should, hopefully I will have it with me.

The website's section on Visa & Immigration has a preceding page to the one linked by RichLB: Extending Your Stay on an Annual Basis Upon entering Thailand, your passport was stamped at the Immigration checkpoint with permission to stay in the Kingdom until the date specified on the stamp. The only way to legally remain in Thailand past that date is to apply for an extension at a Thai Immigration Office. For most categories that qualify for an extension, you will need to have entered Thailand using a Non-Immigrant Visa. However, if you meet the qualifications for an extension based on retirement, you can convert a Visa Exemption or Tourist Visa to a Non-Immigrant Visa upon showing Immigration that you meet the qualifications. This is a two step process more fully discussed in the extension for retirement section. The Immigration Act of 2522 governs such extensions and is implemented by the latest Immigration Police Order 777-2551 , which sets forth the categories, requirements and documents needed for granting extensions. Although we do not attempt to cover all categories, we do provide information on the most common categories. Regardless of which category you are applying under, you will need the basic documents . Other documents you need will be determined by the category for which you are applying for an extension. For information on the most common categories, select: For Retirement Married or Related to a Thai For Education For Purpose of Busines s This page is at Extending stay The underlined text is dark blue on the website and links to an English Language translation of the Immigration Act and Police Order. The BASIC DOCUMENTS (emphasized in this cut and paste from web page text) is also in dark blue and links to another page showing the basic documents needed for all extensions. The documents shown on the page RichLB linked are the additional documents required for a retirement visa and is linked from the listing for purpose of extension, e.g., "For Retirement." The Basic Documents are shown as: BASIC DOCUMENTS NEEDED WHEN APPLYING FOR AN EXTENSION OF STAY The following documents are the usual ones required for obtaining any extension of any category of a Non-Immigrant Visa. If you have them completed and readily available, the process should go smoothly. If you do not have them already, there is a photo and copy shop next door to Pattaya Immigration that opens about 8am

There have been several reports that Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration office is now asking for a copy of rental agreement or house book. Although I don't recall exactly where I heard/read it, I heard/read that the reason is not to verify where the farang lives, but rather to identify landlords that have not reported to Immigration that foreigners are residing their condo/house. Not sure, but I think the landlord can be fined if they don't make the required report.

The "Consul" in New Orleans is an "Honorary Consul" as are many others in various cities in USA. The Consulates in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are regular consulates staffed with Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs personnel. These Consulates' websites show they are still issuing the Non-Immigrant O-A Visa (called either long stay or retirement visa on their websites). I agree with GB that the process here in Thailand for retirees is much simpler (and probably cheaper since getting the O-A requires a medical certificate (USA doctor fee), police clearance (costs vary), and some require bank letter/retirement letter be notarized). As for Thai bank account - not all bank branches require a Non-Immigrant visa to open an account - shop around.

There apparently was a rally there last night - my bf went with friends. This morning he said the red shirts would be going to Bangkok - wasn't sure as he didn't know English word for where they were going, but I think from his attempt at describing it, it is probably the Court house where the verdict will be rendered.

I don't have a problem opening Gay Thailand, but I have the same problem with Bangkok Post - But recently I have been having to spend a few daya a week in Bangkok and the place I am renting there is wired for Internet connection. When I am in Bangkok, the Bangkok Post pages open quickly. Not being a computer geek, I have no idea why it should open extremely slow from Pattaya and quite fast in Bangkok.

The Pattaya City Expats Club website has a listing of Thai banks with links to their main pages and to their currency exchange rates. Traveler's check rates generally use the abbreviation TT or T/T at the top of the column. Link to PCEC website page

Hmmmm. Seems to me it is comparing apples and oranges. Lvdkeyes said he uses his debit card not a credit card. The above terms says drawn from credit of your credit card account.

It is my understanding that the proof of income letter is valid up to one year prior to renewal. I went through the US Passport renewal process about 3 years ago. When I renewed my extension at Immigration, the passport had about 8 months validity. My extension was granted to the expiration date of the passport. Immigration told me to bring in my new passport and they would change everything over to the new one. I went to Bangkok and made the application and payment to the American Citizen Service (ACS). They took my passport briefly, completed some paperwork, and then returned my passport to me. They said to pick up the new one in two weeks as it had to be sent to US for issue. It so happened they scheduled an outreach visit to Pattaya a few days after I was told to come back and pick up the new one -- I emailed them and asked if they could bring it with them and let me pick it up here in Pattaya. They responded with a "can do." When I picked up the new passport, they gave me a "letter" for Thai Immigration (I recall it had some verbage advising that a new passport was issued). They also took my old passport, punched holes in it, and gave it back to me. I went to Immigration and gave them the old passport, the Embassy letter, and the new passport. Immigration put in several stamps (not like the originals, but in essence a history of the same information starting with information from my original Non Immigrant O visa and all the subsequent extensions, etc.) There was no fee involved in the changeover. At the time of the changeover, Immigration then extended my stay from the old passport expiration date for the additional 4 months to the regular one year expiration date. Since then, I make a copy of the two pages that has all those stamps plus my subsequent extensions, etc, This seems to be sufficient as they have not asked to see anything from the old passport. Personally, I have found the Chonburi (Pattaya) Immigration office to be very efficient. My last renewal took about 10 minutes with a "pick up tomorrow" comment.

Although they say a residence certificate, I'm not so sure that they mean the Immigration Certificate of Residence that one gets for a Thai driving license, registering a vehicle, etc. I know Bangkok Bank requires that you not only have a Non-Immigrant visa, but that you also have a one year extension stamp by Immigration (e.g., extended for retirement, married to a Thai, etc.)to have Internet banking. My guess is they will accept the extension stamp in the passport and make a photocopy of it as well as the passport face page to go with the application -- not sure if they still do this, but in the past they sent the application and photocopies to Bangkok for final approval and setting it up. Before going to the trouble to go to Immigration for a Certificate and paying 200 Baht, I would first go the Bank Branch and see if the extension stamp is sufficient.

About the only time I used IE was for access to Bangkok Bank (had it as my IE homepage). A couple of days ago on the off chance Bangkok Bank might have changed things, I used my regular browser Firefox -- pleasantly surprised to find Firefox is now supported.

Sounds interesting - I live in a housing village off of Jomtien Beach Road. I do not have a telephone line from TOT or TT&T, but I do have ADSL. TOT has the monopoly on telephone lines (from what I have read, TT&T leases their lines from TOT and have now set up a separate company to handle ADSL rather than marketing it directly as they have in the past) My ADSL line is from CAT - they ran a line from their junction on Jomtien Beach Road to my house using the existing power line poles. Although they are about double the cost of TOT ADSL, the speed is acceptable and most important, it is consistent - Also, unlike my friends that have TOT or TT&T, it is very rare to have an outage. CAT offers only ADSL, no regular (voice) telehone service. I just now did a speed test -- San Francisco Server - .77mb/s Download, .01mb/s Upload Bangkok Server - 1.14mb/s Download, .23mb/s Upload So, if they replace their current lines with fiber optics (or add fiber optic for their current service area), it may be available for me to get.

After having observed some houses "for rent" in my housing village for several months, I mentioned it to my farang leasing agent. My opinion was if it wasn't being rented, the rental rate was probably too high - so, I asked him why they didn't just lower the rent and collect less money than they wanted, but that would be better than no money leaving the house vacant for months. His comment was that most Thai owners will not come off their asking price as a matter of face - they tell their family and friends they have a house for rent at X price. So, to them it is better to let it sit empty than lose face by accepting less. I don't know if that is correct, but knowing how other things seem to work in Thailand, it could be an accurate assessment. The houses that I had noticed some 2 to 3 years ago - one was rented about 2 months ago and the other is still empty. That being said, when I rented my current place, my bf talked the Thai owner into taking about 5,000 less a month on the basis that we would lease for 2 years instead of one - after the first 2 years, the Thai owner did not renew her agreement with the farang agent - so I dealt direct with her for continuing the lease - also met her husband who is a farang from Australia - which might explain her being willing to negotiate when we first leased the place.

Phayathai Hospital is on the Soi that runs on the North side of Robinson Department store - you can see their sign from the intersection with Sukhumvit (Northwest corner of Robinson Dept Store). Sriracha is about 40 minutes from Pattaya traveling North on Sukhumvit (Highway 3). It is associated with the Phayathai hospitals in Bangkok. The Scottish guy is named Gavin and he is in their International Relations Department. He can be contacted by telephoning 038-770-200/8 Ext: 2426. He is very helpful and can answer most questions about the Hospital. They have one wing that caters to westerners (some English speaking nursing staff) with room comparably equipped to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, but not decorated quite so nicely with regular TVs instead of flat screen -- I do not recall the room rate, but it is I believe a bit less than Bangkok Hospital Pattaya. Most signs in the Hospital are in Thai and unlike Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, a lot of the staff other than the Doctors do not speak English (most of the Doctors speak English to some degree). However, as mentioned by the OP, Gavin arranged for him to have an interpreter that spoke good English. They are similarly equipped to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya, but may not have the latest diagnostic equipment (they do offer CT scans, etc.).

Yes. Started as a fever and severe headache. I took aspirin, no real effect. BF went to pharmacy and brought me Ibuprofin, which worked to reduce fever and headache. About two days later, I had a rash on my chest. Looking up symptoms for Dengue fever - that appeared to be it. I arranged for a friend to take me to Bangkok Hospital Pattaya the next morning as I expected a hospital stay. The next morning, Friday, I could hardly stand or walk because of pain in my legs (one of the reasons Dengue is called bone break fever). At the hospital I saw the doctor and he ordered a blood test, which confirmed it was Dengue fever. The Doctor was a bit upset that I was taking ibuprofen as it is a blood thinner - can be dangerous if you have the hemorrhagic strain (there are 4 in Thailand - if you get hemorrhagic, you are then immune - but with the other 3 strains, which are not life threatening as I understand it, you can be infected again). I was admitted to the hospital, given IVs and pain medication. They had to send the blood to a lab in Bangkok to confirm the strain. The next day the Doctor told me it was hemorrhagic. My two days in the hospital I did not have fever or pain. They did a blood test daily and when satisfied with my white blood cell count, released me. It was not a pleasant experience, but I think I was lucky to have a very mild case. If somone is already sick or elderly, my reading on the subject indicates that the hemorrhagic variety can result in death. Doctor told me biggest problem with that strain is internal bleeding - the reason not to take blood thinners (I was given Tylenol during my hospital stay). I was quizzed a bit by Hospital staff on where I lived as they had to make a report to the Government - when they confirmed it was hemorrhagic, they had to file another report. A few days after release from hospital, the City left a notice in my mail box that they had sprayed the area. The mosquito that carries Dengue fever is active in the early morning and late evening (daylight). If you get a high fever and headaches (often right behind the eyes, but mine is in the forehead area) - consider getting checked. The rash usually appears around day 4 and the pain around day 5 -- The Doctor told me it normally runs its course in about 7 days.

The presentation at the August 23 meeting of the Pattaya City Expats Club was about getting and renewing a Thai driving license. The speakers were from the Land Transport Office. The following excerpts from the Club's Newsletter notes the speaker advised those in the audience that had a Thai driving license would find that things have changed when they go to renew. She (Emcee) then called upon our distinguished guest, Khun Kahorn Whangchit, Chief of the Banglamung Branch of the Chonburi Provincial Land Transport Office. Khun Kahorn thanked the Club for the invitation, but as he did not speak much English, he called on Khun Kanchana Sanamchai from their Rayong Land Transport branch office to give the presentation. Khun Kanchana then proceeded to explain how to obtain a Thai driving license for either a car or motorcycle (a separate license is needed for each). She called for a show of hands on how many in the audience had a Thai driving license and noted that there were many. She then said that because of recent changes, the procedure would not be the same as it was when most got their license. She mentioned that there were now three eye tests, one to test for depth perception, another to test for lateral vision, and a third to test for color blindness. The coordination test consists of a device that requires one to demonstrate how quickly they can hit the brake when signaled to do so.

Foreign Currency Deposit (FCD) accounts can be expensive - if I recall correctly when a representative of Bangkok Bank was speaking to the Pattaya City Expats Club, there are fees for depositing funds, maintaining the account, and withdrawing funds. I don't recall the amounts, but they seemed rather high to me. Also, no interest paid on the account. As I understand it, if you have money in a FCD, you can transfer any amount of it out of Thailand - if a Thai Baht account, there are restrictions on the amount that can be transferred outside Thailand. So, the only advantage I can see is if you wanted a large amount available quickly for some contingency or potential purchase, but still wanted to be able to transfer some or all of it out of Thailand.