Guest Posted November 2, 2001 Report Share Posted November 2, 2001 I want to purchase a motorbike in Bangkok and it appears that this process is a much more complicated than my friend's recent experience in Pattaya. My friend and I both have one-year non-immigrant business visas. He took his passport, two photos, and a copy of his apartment lease to immigration... the next day they gave him a document that certifies that he lives in Pattaya. He simply took this document to the local motorbike dealer and purchased the bike. When I went to the immigration office in Bangkok today, the woman told me that the process is as follows... 1) Get my landlord to fill out a form certifying that I live in the apartment. 2) Bring the form back to immigration. They will then send some paperwork to the local police department. 3) The local police might sit on this paperwork for as long as a month before they actually sign it and send it back to immigration. 4) Go back to immigration again and pick up the completed paperwork. Has anybody recently tried to purchase a vehicle in Bangkok and actually had to wait one month for the "residence certification" paperwork? The immigration officer also told me that I could get a letter from the U.S. Embassy certifiying that I live in Bangkok, but I have no idea if the motorbike dealer will actually accept this form of proof. While I was at immigration, I spoke to another falang who purchased a motorbike in Phuket. He said that the process was as easy as my friend's experience in Pattaya. JGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Hippie Posted November 2, 2001 Report Share Posted November 2, 2001 have you asked if there is a fee for "exedited service?" Or some other phrasing? I am not at all experienced with motorbike buying, but it could be the person is looking for a hand out of sorts, it happens with various government buracracies (here and abroad). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 6, 2001 Report Share Posted November 6, 2001 I will answer my own original question... The easiest way to purchase a motorbike in Bangkok (for an American) is to go to the U.S. Embassy and request a certification of residency. The process takes less than an hour and costs US$55 (certainly not cheap by Thai standards). I then took the document to the motorbike dealer, along with my passport and non-immigrant visa. I was out the door in less than an hour with a brand new bike. If you also want to apply for a Thai drivers license, you'll have to cough up another US$55 for a second certification. You can't re-use the one that was used to purchase the vehicle because it's not returned to you. JGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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