@Neil *****

No apology needed my friend.. my observation was a general one that looked at this issue from the wider perspective of 'any foreigner' looking to invent a corporate identity (or trust) that could potentially be called into question by the authorities.. there are legitimate methods of protecting your tenure when title is vested in your wife's name.. which others have already suggested.. i didn't suggest there weren't other valid reasons for a foreigner to want to protect their 'investment' or that it wasn't acceptable to do so.. only that it was dangerous to try and do it without understanding the risks.. your reply seems to suggest i am blind to the relationship problems that could materialise.. which couldn't be further from the truth given that I'm married to a Thai and our marital home is vested in her name.. why you jump to such a conclusion i have no idea.. i was simply pointing out that if your mechanism is dis-allowed by the Thai govt when you try to invoke it then you will have failed in your intent.. so it's a case of 'buyer beware' if you are given advice that appears to be offering a cast iron solution to your dilemma!

@Neil *****

I think you are missing the point here.. if a foreigner is going to the trouble of creating corporate machinations in an effort to protect his investment.. he is doing so to remove any legal right his Thai wife (or partner) may have to the subject land / property.. it is something he clearly sees as 'his' asset and he wishes to retain control of it.. both during his lifetime and upon his death.. he is attempting to create a situation where the asset can never pass into his wife / partner's estate.. and potentially pass into her Thai family's estate further down the line.. this could be because he has children from a former marriage for example.. and he sees them as the rightful heirs to his wealth and that would include the land / property here in Thailand.. so if the Thai govt can see through the machine created to vest title in the name of a foreigner.. who is looking to protect his investment in this way.. and they force the transfer of title into his spouses name.. then he has failed in his attempt to secure the land as a will-able asset.. has wasted a serious chunk of money in establishing the 'illegal' framework at outset and is likely to incur further costs in complying with any govt order.. not to mention the possibility of them fining him as well as any lawyer or accountant involved in the scam.. and even if they were to simply order him to sell the property and keep the sale proceeds.. he risks having to sell it at a bad time when the market is not as buoyant as maybe it was and having to accept a lower offer than the property is really worth.. or even worse the govt assume control of the sale and accept the first offer they receive without any regard to its true market value.. there are so many possibilities of course.. but all of them represent a risk to the foreigner.. and at the end of the day his property has been 'seized' indirectly.. since he can no longer live in the dream house that he built with his own blood and sweat and probably much love.. and if he gets lucky and walks away with the majority of his capital back in the bank he will have to start all over again.. and for many people, especially those that came here to retire and are winding down.. that may be a bridge too far.. the property was their dream and their dream has been seized.. or at the very least tainted by the attention of the authorities.. which all the villagers will know about of course.. once the drums starts beating!

I've been an active member of this group for around 6 months now.. and have found Tod's input invaluable to my visa journey.. people seem to forget that this is free advice being provided by volunteers.. if you want the right to complain or demand some sort of redress then go and pay a lawyer for the advice you need.. or go and pay an agent tens of thousands of baht.. then you can claim the right to opine the service you received and level criticism at the value of it.. when you are offered 'free help' you can take it or leave it.. on the understanding there is no contract for services.. if you don't trust the advice or feel you know better then it is your perogative to dismiss it.. you can go elsewhere or perish the thought you can open your wallet.. i suggest anyone that has an issue with the running of this channel leaves the group.. since continuing membership only serves to contradict the stated grievance.. imo it's acceptable to let the group know why you feel the need to withdraw your support.. but not to single out any one administrator for criticism.. it's run by a team and that team should take collective responsibility for any errors or mistakes.. as well as the credit for the praise that comes their way.. and the appointment or removal of administrators is an internal matter for them to handle.. this is not a co-operative and as members we are not shareholders with the right to vote.. Tod's pride has no doubt been hurt by the criticism he has faced and this has led him to question his worth to the membership.. but he has no reason for self-incrimination and this poll is completely unnecessary.. from what ive seen, his contribution has been essential to the development and success of this channel and will continue to be so.. you also have to take some perspective here.. there have been thousands (maybe tens of thousands) of very grateful and very appreciative members.. and you suddenly get one isolated 'complainant' who feels they have been badly advised or badly treated.. I'd suggest the consensus point of view is undoubtedly positive in the great scheme of things.. and the problem may lye with a complainant's unrealistic expectations.. or unwillingness to see reason.. but the occasional disgruntled 'punter' comes with the territory since it's impossible to grow any organisation without having to eventually fight a few fires.. it's time to put this one out and let Tod get back to doing what he does.. serving others out of the goodness of his heart.. enough said!

Surely it depends upon whether he is remitting the funds directly to a lawyer (ie. the lawyer handling the transaction) or into his own Thai bank account before passing the money on to the lawyer (or to the seller) because if the money goes through your own bank account before you pay for the property there should be no rules concerning what currency was remitted from overseas.. all that matters is that you can afford to pay for it in Thai Baht when you need to.. the difficulty in remitting in dollars without conversion by the remitting bank is that you don't know exactly how much will be credited in local currency by the Thai bank upon receipt of your dollars.. it all becomes 'hit and miss' and tbh either method could be more beneficial depending upon the day of the week.. meaning one day you get more baht sending the dollars and the next you don't.. personally i like the certainty that conversion with my home bank gives me.. and it also removes an unknown layer of charges with the receiving bank in Thailand.. however if you don't have a Thai bank account and have to remit to a Thai lawyer directly.. then the lawyer should, advise on any laws concerning the transfer.. since like everything else here these laws can change over time.. so best to check with them first imo.

@Paul *******

Surfshark no longer fools the BBC tech.. they know you are overseas and prohibit access to the service.. tried it unsuccessfully and cancelled!

@Nishant ***********

My understanding is that you MUST return to the office / desk that issued the stamp to request a correction.. but your situation is not error based.. so in the first instance I'd go to my nearest immigration office and explain the problem.. they may be able to help you.. or at least give you the answer you are looking for my friend

Surely the simple answer is to go to the immigration office that issued the visa/permit and ask them to help you reinstate the stamps in your passport?

Almost impossible without paying a middle man a chunk of money!

@Gregor *********

Yes.. i agree that it's important to be factually correct regarding your situation and the type of 'permission' you require when you are seeking advice in such a forum.. but when you are not requesting help from anyone then it's hardly important 😉

@Gregor *********

I'm fully aware of this.. it matters not what they choose to call it.. it comes down to the same thing in my book.. the right to live in Thailand with my wife.. don't know why people get so hung up on labels to be honest.. unless of course they have applied for the wrong visa/permit/stamp.. it only becomes relevant if someone is asking the group for advice on their specific situation.. not so much when someone is simply posting their story 🧐