thalenoi Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 I have: non-immigration visa, retirement extension International drivers licence medical certificate from local Chumpon hospital Got " receipt of notification" from Phuket immigration stating my adress Went to local office in town and was told all ok except the wording in thai of "receipt of notification" from Phuket imm, it should have said something else..... Gf gave some phone calls and said "well if you give 1k baht tea money you might have DL today" I refused.... My options are contact my country's embassy to get certificate of residence (by mail if they do that?) and hit local town office again, go to Ranong (closest imm office) to get other type of paper from immigration (which one then?) come to Bangkok, visit embassy and go to Pahoyontin cutting short local chumpon office (expensive trip) or pay tea money.... Any recommendations? Do really need that thai drivers license??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage_Kwai Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 If you have a valid international licence from your country, I don't see the rush to get a local licence. The next time you go back to Bangkok, get it done then. I had my embassy confirm my address. No hassles, even way back then. It just took longer (like three days) and I had to pay someone to fill out the form in Thai... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Remember that an "international driver's license" is not valid without a valid license from your home country. The IDL is simply a certified translation of your current valid driver's license. Both are required (actually for a new Thai DL, if the home country license is in English you do not need the IDL). I was told that the only proof if address acceptable was that from your embassy. This was at the Mochit branch here in Bangkok. As always, YMMV cuz TIT. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardinalblue Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 I would recommend going to BKK and try there. I had no problem in March getting a Thai driver's license. The only difference was i have a calif valid license and not international and a work permit rather than a retirement visa. A lot of paperwork and had to take eye test and response test but no actual driving test nor written test due to valid US license. I also didn't need anything from my embassy stating my local address even though i heard others had this requested of them. Maybe individual tellers making decisions? As to the extra fee request, sounds like just another way to make some baht off a so-called rich foreigner.... CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardinalblue Posted September 1, 2005 Report Share Posted September 1, 2005 Forgot to add.. As a resident if stopped by police or in an accident, much better to have a thai license.. Actually, you could get into trouble meaning extracting money from you if they know you are living here but not having a thai license as my understanding an international one is only temporary for residents as us.... Feel better with a thai license and insurance (bought a car) for the unexpected... CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage_Kwai Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Agreed, if you're going to be here a long time, get the local licence. I only suggested staying with the international (as long as it was valid) as a temporary measure until a Bangkok trip was necessary, thus killing two birds with one stone. Also, through previous experience, the local driving licence is as good as a Thai ID card. The banks accept this in lieu of your passport, and you can get the local Thai admission rates at most of the places that practice double pricing. I've managed to get the 'for life' Thai driving licence; they don't issue them any more, though. Still makes most police scratch their heads when they see a red coloured Thai licence in my hands... :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted September 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Well I am off to Udon Thani tomorrow but plannd to avoid the big mango, Ill stop there on the return and visit my embassy, their website confirms you need a residence certificate issued by them. As always some do some and don't need like CB... I also read a certificate from immigration stating your adress does the trick, but not for me, costed me 300 baht to get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted September 2, 2005 Report Share Posted September 2, 2005 Looking at my notes, CB did not need the proof of address because he had a work permit. If you only have a Non-Imm visa, you need the document. Cheers, SD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregchambers Posted September 3, 2005 Report Share Posted September 3, 2005 bet u that embassy will charge more than 1k for address confirmation - nasty but should have gone with the flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickfarang Posted September 4, 2005 Report Share Posted September 4, 2005 The U.S. Embassy charges 1200 baht for this, if memory serves. In my book, its better to follow the straight-and-narrow by doing it "the right way" rather than paying someone tea money to bend the rules for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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