Hello everyone. I’m moving back to the Kingdom, my birth country from the US in September and I hold a UK passport. I’m going to be looking for land to buy and steward with organic, regenerative and permaculture practices. I also want to build a hempcrete house for my Thai Mum. I was going to enter with my UK passport and a tourist visa whilst waiting and working on getting my Thai passport back once actually back in Thailand. I did have a Thai passport but my parents didn’t bother to renew it when I was about 14 (If I need more time for this than a tourist visa allows, I plan to get a 1 year education visa as my Thai is not strong enough anyway and currently already have my Thai tutor I’m working with)
Seeings as I haven’t been able to get back for about 6.5 years whilst working and saving hard to live mortgage free, I’m hoping to get advice on the following please -
• Should I bother shipping all my power tools? (I have a rather large and expensive collection of high quality power tools which is everything I need to build a hempcrete house) I’m thinking of selling them all to avoid taxes and then buying again in Thailand, but would rather not as it took me several years to build my collection.
•What are the most useful and practical things you wished you would have brought with you from your home countries when moving? I’m finding the decision of what to sell and what to pack rather difficult 🤔 I want to condense my "personal stuff" to just a few boxes.
•Is there a shipping company anyone would recommend that will ship about 10 large-ish boxes? I contacted Seven Seas shipping but they won’t ship my items from the US without a valid 1 year visa which I can’t get until I leave the US and return to the UK? Should I just post all my boxes separately from the US and mail to a Thai friend in Bangkok through normal post, rather than shipping it altogether with a shipping/relocation company to get round this?
•what’s been your experience with shipping to Thailand? Is there anything you wish you would have known before or have learned and would kindly share? Anything I should avoid shipping altogether because of ridiculous tax? Is air better than ocean freight?
•I need to ship my dog over but the petexpress in the US quoted me $7000 to ship my 55lb dog. Is it worth paying this for the extra service?
•Is there anyone out there with like me who has got their Thai passport back or do you know anyone that can help? I was born in Thailand to a Thai mother AND father but then moved overseas at a young age to a British adoptive father. I contacted Siam Legal but they won’t help me, they said I have to go to the Embassy in Bangkok? I’m finding it hard to get advice and in my research comes up all about visas and not passports.
Ufffff I’m finding this entire process very stressful and would appreciate you sharing sound advice and experience?
Thank you, Ka.
TLDR : Answer Summary
A user is moving back to Thailand, seeking advice on visa options, shipping personal belongings, acquiring a Thai passport, and bringing a pet. They plan to enter Thailand on a UK passport and are considering a tourist visa or an educational visa to improve their Thai language skills while obtaining their Thai passport. They also ask whether to ship expensive power tools that may not work with Thailand's electrical system, and seek recommendations for shipping services. The community provides insights on visas, shipping experiences, and shares advice on managing the stressful relocation process.
