Handing in your notice is the easy part. A job isn’t everything.
As you total up the leaving gifts and nurse the leaving party hangover, you may find yourself sat in your rented (or even purchased) condo saddled with a whole host of new worries.
After all, at its most fundamental level life in Thailand is not too dissimilar to life anywhere else. You seek comfort and entertainment. You make friends and you lose friends. Sometimes you yearn to get out of the city, and other times you yearn to be back there.
Over time, the detritus of a lived life begins to accumulate. It soon becomes impossible to fit everything back into those two suitcases you arrived with. Maybe at first you purchase a toaster, because you tire of settling for khao tom for breakfast every morning. Then a blender, because you realize how much syrup the local vendor is pouring into your post-run smoothies. Soon these small trinkets become heavy-duty items—maybe a motorbike, because it beats taking the BTS every day. Later, after one too many rainy mornings, a motorbike becomes a car—a car with a meandering paper trail of bank loans behind it. You tire of renting and decide to purchase a condo—have you seen how hard it is to fit a condo into a suitcase?
And those are just the physical items. You’ve got open bank accounts and debit or credit cards. You may have TV/internet subscriptions and phone contracts. You more than likely have insurance plans. It’s possible that you may even have children, in which case they’ll have their own commitments to school and their own friends that you’re about to wrench them away from.
We don’t tend to dream in details. Chances are your long ago perception of working in Thailand was of a pristine vista—a beach sunset, a misty morning populated by smiling, exotically-dressed locals. Very few people dream of moving to Thailand to watch Netflix in their pants in a darkened room, and fewer still dream of the things that darkened room required to exist—the papers signed, the meetings held, the money transferred.
Leaving a country you’ve spent a considerable length of time in is much more complicated than purchasing an airline ticket. Accounts need to be closed, bills need to be settled, possessions need to be shipped on or sold. Sometimes the process of handling these things in a foreign land is as complicated and labyrinthine as it was to attain them in the first place.
In this final section, we’ll briefly run through some of the more common issues that long-term expats face when leaving Thailand for good. There are obviously some topics that are much too big to deal with here—we’re steering clear of anything to do with marriage and visas, for starters. By necessity, this will only be the briefest of overviews, with a few handy links for those seeking further information contained within.
Firstly, we’ll look at what happens when you actually leave your job.
Giving Notice
Probationary Period
As was discussed in the previous chapter, by law the maximum allowable probationary period at a job is set at 119 days. Your employer may decide to extend your probationary period at their own discretion, however this has no legal recognition in the eyes of the law, and if they decide to terminate your contract after the legally-mandated 119 days you will still be entitled to severance pay and a notice period.
You are not required to hand in notice if you decide to quit during the probationary period. However, if you do decide that the job is not working out for you, it’s good practice to inform your employer around 30 days ahead of time to give them the opportunity to find a replacement. 71
After the Probationary Period
Typically, employees in Thailand are required to hand in 30 days’ notice—or one full wage cycle—should they decide to terminate the contract. For some senior positions, or for positions in which it could prove difficult to find a replacement, this notice period may be extended to two to three months. This should be stipulated in your employment contract. Under Thai law, there is no compulsion to serve this notice period. However, you do have an obligation to follow the conditions stated in your employment contract.
As in many other countries, there are some general good practices to follow when handing in your notice:
Be absolutely, 100% certain that you actually want to quit. Remember, once you’ve made the decision, there’s no going back (or if there is the option of going back, expect it to be extremely awkward and involve an awful lot of face-loss). Unless your work situation is literally intolerable and you can’t stand to face another day in the office, it’s always best to wait until you have another job lined up and ready for when you quit. This advice is particularly important in Thailand, due to the exceptionally brief window you’re given to stay in the country after leaving your job (see the section on Work Permits and Visas below). Either way, you should have clear, unambiguous reasons to want to leave your employment—a new career opportunity elsewhere, family issues etc. If you find yourself struggling to come up with any good reasons, you’re probably better off staying where you are.
Inform your manager in person of your plans before informing your colleagues. This is simply good manners. No employer wants to be the last to know that they’re losing staff. Agree to hold a quiet meeting in person well in advance. And for goodness’ sake, be polite. Even if you despise your boss—even if you would like nothing more than to bash their head in with a photocopier—swallow the urge to rip off your necktie in front of them, set it aflame and storm out of their office cursing them and their ancestors for all eternity. Not only will you probably still have your notice period to work out, the expat community in Thailand is small, and word can and does get around. Chances are you don’t want to burn all of your bridges in Thailand just yet.
Write a resignation letter. Make it short, professional and—once again—polite. Include the date and time of your previous meeting with management, your position and the date on which you’ll be leaving. Wish everyone the best, even if you don’t mean it.
Tie up loose ends. Use your notice period to finish up any ongoing projects as best you can. If your replacement is already being trained, offer to help show them the ropes. Handing over contact details (an email/Whatsapp/LINE ID) in case of an emergency is a good idea. Delegate any work you can to suitable colleagues.
The key thing to remember is that although you’re leaving, you want to leave your employers with a good impression. Not only may you be relying on these people to act as referees for you in the future, but as mentioned above word gets around about troublemakers pretty quickly in many fields in Thailand. If there’s one thing that should have become clear by this point in the book, it’s that much of the workforce in Thailand is built on personal relationships and networking. People within many major industries know each other, and they talk to each other. If you leave one person in your network with a negative impression of you, expect them to tell people.
The Midnight Run
One thing you absolutely should not do is to simply up sticks, book a flight ticket and flee the country—the so-called midnight run. On the surface, it can seem awfully tempting, particularly if you’re in a miserable work situation. Once you’re out of Thailand, what does it matter? It’s not like your employers have any means of catching up to you.
In reality, of course, the repercussions can be pretty huge. Chances are that you won’t face any serious legal repercussions, even if you do leave Thailand—for most employers it simply isn’t worth the time or energy to pursue you. However, all that stuff we mentioned previously about burning bridges and making enemies still stands. No self-respecting employer will want to take someone on who could potentially flee at any moment. In addition to making a whole host of enemies in one fell swoop, you are also potentially forfeiting your last paycheck, plus any other owed payments (e.g an employment bond).
You’re also leaving your employer in a very difficult position, forced to scrounge up staff to pick up the workload you left behind. Projects are disrupted and classes are left untaught. You may well feel indifferent about putting your old bosses in a sticky situation, but chances are (unless you’re a total misanthrope) that the thought of doing the same to your colleagues is less appealing.
However, do remember that as a legal employee in a Thai organization you, too, are covered by Thai labor law, and there are legal options to go through first. Contact your local branch of the Ministry of Labour with your complaints, being as thorough and detailed as possible. As we stressed back in the first part of the book, Thai labor law is skewed towards the employee to a surprisingly large extent, and there are options.
Dismissal
Dismissal—or to put it less politely, getting fired—is always a touchy subject. Being dismissed from a job in Thailand is, in some ways, even worse than being dismissed from a job in your home country. In one fell swoop, your whole life in the Kingdom is over. You lose your work permit and visa and have to leave immediately. There’s no safety net to protect you if you’re in financial dire straits—and if that is the case, then you face the extremely unappealing prospect of having to return to your home country, hat in hand, the Thailand dream wrenched out from under you in the worst way possible.
Even if you do have savings and plan on staying in the country, you’re still facing down a lean few months of job-seeking with no primary source of income and rent, bills and other expenditures to deal with, in addition to the now added expense of frequent visa runs (depending on how long your search takes). Plus you’re now in the unenviable position of having to explain to your potential employers just why you left your last job—making the job-hunting even harder. In short: it sucks.
It’s difficult not to feel emotional when you’ve suffered involuntary dismissal. It’s common to feel anger at your former employers, to even entertain the idea of seeking revenge. It’s also common to go through a period of depression and self-loathing, and to lack the motivation to get back into the employment game.
It’s important to note, however, that you do have options. As we pointed out back in the Arriving chapter, you may even be entitled to some severance pay if your dismissal is deemed unfair, and possibly even compensation.
What, then, constitutes an unfair dismissal? In order to determine the answer to that question, we must first clarify what Thai law views as fair reasons for dismissal.
Fair Dismissal
We’ve touched on a few of these already, but the full list of things which are considered fireable offenses in the eyes of the law are:
1) The employee has worked dishonestly, or intentionally committed a criminal offense against the employer.
2) The employee intentionally caused damage to the employer.
3) The employee caused serious damage to the employer through their own negligence.
4) The employee violated the employer’s work rules, regulations or any lawful and fair order of the employer, and the employer has given the employee a written warning of such violation at some point within the preceding twelve months (unless the violation was particularly appalling, in which case instant dismissal is justified—obviously this will be determined in any following court proceedings).
5) The employee was absent from work, without justifiable cause, for at least three consecutive working days.
6) The employee was sentenced to imprisonment by a final court judgment, unless the offense was due to negligence or pettiness—in which case, it would only qualify if it caused direct damage to the employer. 72
Note that the employer must notify the employee of the reason for their termination at the time—preferably in writing—for the reason to be considered valid. If the employer fails to notify the employee of the reason for their termination, the reason is considered invalid.
Unfair Dismissal
If you are dismissed for reasons besides those listed above—and you can prove it—then you should be entitled to severance pay.
As stated earlier in this book, according to section 118 of the Labour Protection Act the amount of severance pay owed is determined by the length of your employment, as follows:
* In this instance, salary equates to base wages— fixed welfare and benefits are not take into account.
If the employer intentionally delays paying out severance, an interest penalty is added at the rate of 15% per year, plus a 15% surcharge applied every seven days until all payments are completed. 73
In addition to severance pay, you may also be entitled to compensation if the dismissal is particularly egregious.
As detailed in the Working section, most cases taken to the Labour Relations Committee will be directed towards alternative dispute resolution (such as arbitration) before legal proceedings take place, and the majority of disputes are solved there and then. However, if the case is taken further and goes to trial, the court may require the employer to pay additional compensation if the courts determine the dismissal was particularly unfair and damaging to the employee, under Section 49 of the Establishment of and Labour Court Procedure Act of 1979
The act itself does not determine what, specifically, constitutes unfair dismissal. However, a look at some previous cases gives a good idea of what previous rulings have considered cases for compensation. These include:
1) dismissal of an employee for being married to an employee of a competitive company.
2) dismissal of an employee for gambling outside of work hours (despite the contract stating that the penalty for such conduct would be a financial penalty), and
3) dismissal of an employee after the employer’s business’ annual profit decreased slightly—but the business remained profitable.
On the other hand, some examples of cases which the courts deemed to be fair reasons for dismissal include:
1) dismissal of an employee for insufficient performance during their probation period.
2) dismissal of an employee in line with the company’s conditions on retirement, 74 and
3) dismissal of an employee who initially submitted their letter of resignation to their company’s HR department, then returned and retrieved the letter before it could arrive at the intended recipient, thereby claiming that they had, in fact, never resigned at all. 75
In short, there’s a pretty heavy common sense element to the court’s decisions. Company restructuring, severe economic downturn or poor employee performance are all considered fair grounds for dismissal. Personal issues (which do not affect job performance or otherwise affect the company’s reputation) are not. As an employee, it’s good to keep a written record of everything surrounding the events of your termination should you decide to bring the case to court. No doubt your employer will be doing the same.
Typically, the aggrieved employee will seek damages equivalent to what they would have earned had they continued working for the same employer until retirement age—which depending on their age, may be a hefty chunk of change, totaling millions of baht. By law, however, the damages awarded usually cover only outstanding wages, payment in lieu of advance notice, payment for unused annual leave, special severance pay (in some cases), and other benefits as detailed in the employment agreement.
For more detailed information on what happens in cases of dismissal, law firm DLA Piper has an excellent and comprehensive guide, which is available at www.thailandstarterkit.com/tools-work.
Visas and Work Permits
Once your employment in Thailand is officially finished, your work permit is essentially null and void, as is your extension of stay in Thailand. In the eyes of the law, it’s time to get the hell out of Dodge—you’ve lost all your Thailand privileges. In reality, of course, this would be a somewhat Kafkaesque policy even for Thai immigration, so they generously offer you a 24-hour window in which to leave the country following cancellation of your visa and work permit.
As 24 hours is an awfully brief period of time to cancel your papers and head to the border, some expats apply for a 7-day extension of stay at immigration—for a fee—which gives them enough wriggle room to tie up any loose ends in-country before leaving.
The process generally goes like this:
A date is set as the official last day of work. Get a good night’s sleep before this day, as it’s going to be a busy one.
On said date, your employer will take your Work Permit to the Labour Department and get it cancelled, preferably early in the morning to give you plenty of time to deal with the rest of the paperwork. Congratulations, you are no longer a legal employee in Thailand.
You’ll then head to Immigration, preferably with a representative of your employer in tow, to get your extension of stay cancelled. If your employer does not come, you’ll need documents from them confirming that your work permit has been cancelled and that you have fulfilled all of your obligations as their employee. You’ll receive a stamp informing you that you have to leave the country that day. However, don’t fret …
Apply for an extension of stay while still at Immigration. You’ll receive 7 days, for the princely sum of 1900 baht. You now have a week to tie up any loose ends, hold a big going-away party, finally inform your neighbors just what you think about them after enduring months and months of their late-night karaoke sessions, and anything else that needs doing before you leave.
If you’ve got a new job lined up, it’s also possible to use this 7 day period to get things sorted out for the changeover. Your new employer can submit the documents for your new W.P, and if it arrives on time you can extend those 7 days to a brand spanking new long-term extension of stay, all within Thailand.
Of course, this relies on a lot of things going right—your documents being submitted on time, all i’s dotted and t’s crossed, and your new employer actually caring enough/having enough free time to do so. More often than not, you will have to do the dreaded visa run—either taking all the documents required to get a Non-B to a Thai consulate in a neighboring country (most commonly Laos or Malaysia), or if those documents are not yet prepared, applying for a tourist visa to be converted to a Non-B visa at a later date.
If you plan on leaving Thailand for good via plane, you’re in luck. Immigration staff at the airport rarely expect you to have cancelled your W.P beforehand, and are more than happy to cancel your visa there and then. You can leave your W.P with your employers, or alternatively cut it up into little pieces and throw yourself a small parade (we don’t actually recommend you do the second one).
If you plan on leaving overland, reports differ. Some expats report being waved through with all their documents cancelled and no questions asked. Others claim that they were refused departure until they could provide proof that their work permit had been cancelled. It’s best, then, to be on the safe side and ensure that your employer has cancelled your W.P and you’ve got your exit stamp from immigration before leaving overland.
Moving Your Money
Moving your hard-earned cash out of Thailand can be a complicated process, with both official and unofficial regulations and a whole array of hidden fees hampering your efforts. Put simply: it’s much easier to move money into Thailand than out of Thailand. While this makes good fiscal sense from the government’s perspective, it can be a bit of a nuisance for foreign workers in Thailand.
Firstly, there is a $50,000 restriction on how much money can be transferred out of the country before you have to complete a Foreign Exchange Transaction form and provide supporting documents. These regulations were, admittedly, a lot stricter before the Bank of Thailand loosened them back in 2010 (previously you were limited to just $20,000). 76 You are also restricted to transferring the equivalent of one year’s salary before you have to apply for permission from the BOT, stating your reason (e.g supporting family). 77
If you plan on moving your money out of Thailand the old-fashioned way, you’re allowed to take up to $20,000 (or equivalent) in cash out of the country before you have to declare it. This involves completing, signing, and submitting a Foreign Currency Declaration Form at Customs. You are allowed to take a maximum of 50,000 baht in Thai currency out of the country before declaring it, unless you’re traveling to one of Thailand’s neighbors (Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, and/or Vietnam), in which case the restriction is 500,000 baht. 78
Some other important things to consider when moving your money include:
Transfer Fees: Almost all providers deduct a fee of some kind from international transfers, be it a fixed fee, a percentage or both. As there are seemingly countless providers to choose from, each with their own Byzantine fee structures, finding the best deal can be migraine-inducing. Using a price aggregator like Moneytis is the best way to find the best deals.
Exchange Rates: Generally speaking, banks do not provide a great exchange rate for international transfers. This is very much deliberate: dubbed a hedging fee by some companies, the providers deduct the difference from this unfavorable exchange rate for themselves, sometimes swiping up to 4% of the initial transfer. This is not a negligible number—consider that if you’re moving 100,000 baht out of the country, your provider is taking a whole 4000 baht (around $120) for themselves—largely without you knowing it.
It’s worth checking sites like Xe and of course Google to check to see how much your provider is deducting on these transfers.
Transfer Speed: Generally speaking, a bank transfer will take two to three business days to clear, while a money transfer service such as Transferwise will take three to five days. However, transfers in general can vary enormously depending on which country you’re transferring to and which service you’re opting for—for example, a bank transfer to Hong Kong can be completed in seconds, whereas a check from the USA can take up to six weeks to clear. 79
There are a number of different options for moving your money, each with their own pros and cons:
Bank Wire Transfers
A bank wire transfer is one of the more traditional methods for moving large amounts of money out of the country. In order to wire money to a bank outside of Thailand, you’ll need the exact name on the recipient’s account, the account number, the amount of money being transferred, and the receiving bank’s SWIFT code (or IBAN code if the bank is in Europe). 80 If you’re planning to move over $50,000, you may also need supporting documents to prove you acquired the funds legitimately (e.g paychecks). It’s also possible to transfer money online if you already have access to internet banking.
As mentioned above, each bank will have its own fee structure. You can choose whether the fees will be paid by the sender, the receiver or split between the two. Generally speaking, the sender will pay the fee unless otherwise specified. If you’re sending money to your own home country bank, you can opt for the receiver to pay the fees if you get a better deal—however, do note that even if the receiver picks up the tab, the sender will still be charged a small fee regardless. It’s also a good idea to check the current exchange rate for your chosen currency using a site like XE against the bank’s given exchange rate (which the bank should be able to tell you) to ensure you’re getting the best deal possible.
Bangkok Bank is a good option for transferring money, as not only is their exchange rate extremely competitive, they also maintain a number of correspondent offices in several countries including Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, China, the USA and UK, as well as over 1,000 partner banks, making transfers to those countries extremely cheap. More information about this service can be found at www.thailandstarterkit.com/tools-work.
Agent Wire Transfers
Using an agent like Western Union or MoneyGram to transfer funds is generally much faster and more convenient than relying on banks, with the money arriving at its intended destination within minutes. On the other hand, they can be fairly pricey.
Western Union has an enormous number of branches across Thailand—almost 5,000—and they can be found in post offices, shopping malls and even BTS stations, so finding an office isn’t a major problem—their website allows you to search for a local branch. MoneyGram branches are a little more sparsely distributed, but there are still plenty out there.
To transfer money using one of these agents, pop into one of their local branches and fill out a transfer form, including the personal details of a recipient in your home country. You’ll probably need some personal identification (e.g a passport). You’ll be given a control number (known as an MTCN at WU), which you can pass on to the recipient. The recipient then pops down to their local branch of Western Union, MTCN and some form of ID to hand, and receives the money.
Both Western Union and MoneyGram also offer a direct bank transfer service, which works in a similar way. Like a bank wire transfer, you’ll also need the account details of the receiving bank (e.g account number/IBAN)—a full list of requirements for WU can be found at www.thailandstarterkit.com/tools-work. Bank transfers with WU can take between one to three days. MoneyGram funds are generally deposited either the same or the following business day.
It’s all simple and straightforward—however, you pay a heavy price for this convenience. In addition to a fixed fee (which is deducted from your payment), there are also fees hidden in the highly unfavorable exchange rate, with bank transfers at Western Union charging between 4% to 7.5% of the total amount transferred.
PayPal
One of the most convenient methods of transferring money is via the online payment service Paypal. Provided you have Paypal accounts linked to both your Thai and home country bank accounts, you can transfer money between the two with just a few clicks of a button. The process is fairly straightforward: simply transfer the money from your Thai bank account into your Thai Paypal account, select your home country Paypal account and click Send. You can then access your home country Paypal account and select Withdraw to deposit the money into your home bank account. 81
Transferring money using Paypal is comparatively cheap for small transfers, with fees as small as $0.50 (up to 1%) for personal payments. Exchange fees take up a larger chunk of transaction, which can range up to 2.5% depending on the country you’re exchanging to. However, for smaller sums (say, less than $1000) this still works out cheaper than a wire transfer. 82
One of the major drawbacks of using Paypal to transfer money is that it can be relatively time-consuming. It can initially take up to 10 days to set up a linked Thai Paypal account (although setting up an account is free), and around a week for funds to be transferred to and/or from a linked bank account to Paypal. 83 However, for small sums it’s significantly more convenient than dealing with banks and cheaper than using an agent wire transfer.
Forex
If you’ve done any research into transferring money abroad, you may have noticed a number of companies offering to transfer your money for a much more favorable exchange rate than the banks are offering. Dubbing their service FX (Forex) International Payments, using these companies is inherently a gamble—as many of these small companies are essentially unregulated, you’ll have very little legal recourse if something goes wrong.
These forex companies can be divided into two categories—those which sell you currency directly, and those which connect you with a third-party (peer-to-peer forex transfers). Some examples of the former category include Smart Currency Exchange and HiFX. These work in a similar fashion. You create an account via their website, call them up to negotiate a rate with a trader—say, 0.25% (for Smart, if you are transferring less than €2000, you’ll have to pay an additional fee of €5) and, after confirming the transaction, wait for a confirmation email. You can then transfer the money to your home country account. Note that you may be charged an additional fee by the receiving bank. 84
Peer-to-peer currency exchanges include companies like Transferwise. These essentially operate by matching you up with a partner who wishes to send money in the opposite direction—so if you’re converting THB into USD, it’ll hook you up with someone hoping to convert USD to THB. Rather than transferring internationally, both you and your partner do a domestic transfer—so you deposit the required sum of money into their Thai bank account, and they’ll do the same in your home country account. For this exchange, Transferwise deduct between 1% to 1.5% of the transfer as a fee.
Cryptocurrency
An increasingly popular—but inherently risky—method for transferring money is to convert your money into a cryptocurrency (e.g Bitcoin) and then sell it as soon as you return to your home country. Provided you do it fast enough, your money shouldn’t be too affected by fluctuations in the notoriously unstable value of the currency—and you may even make a slight profit, depending on how much you’re willing to gamble.
Crypto advocates—and we all know one—will point out that this a foolproof method to transfer money internationally without incurring fees or dealing with unfavorable exchange rates. However, it is not without risk—as we’ve already established, cryptocurrencies exist in a legal grey area in many parts of the world, including Thailand, so it’s worth doing your due diligence first. In addition to that, the savings you make may not even be all that great—once you include the fees deducted by many crypto marketplaces, you may actually be paying more than you would using one of the other methods in this list.
If you do decide to put your cash into Bitcoin, Thai marketplaces can be found at BX Thailand.
Cash
For the technologically illiterate, there’s one foolproof and oft-neglected option—cold-hard stacks of dosh. Simply withdraw your money from your Thai account, either convert it into your home currency in Thailand or hop on a plane and do it when you get home.
This method can also save you an awful lot of money compared to the other methods in this list. Professional money-changers like Superrich can potentially deduct less than 0.1% of the transfer fee.
The risks with this method are fairly obvious—it’s all too easy to misplace a bag or fall victim to wandering fingers—and you’re also restricted to taking out$20,000 before having to declare it at customs, as we’ve already stated. There may also be restrictions on how much money you can legally take in to the country, particularly in certain currencies—for example, the most you can take into Malaysia in cash is a mere $10,000.
For a thorough and extremely comprehensive guide to transferring money into and out of Thailand, check out the Thailand Starter Kit article “How to Send Money to Thailand: The Fast, Cheap and Reliable Way” by Karsten Aichholz.
Leaving Thailand
In addition to leaving your job and repatriating your hard-earned cheddar, there will no doubt be a whole host of other tasks to deal with when it comes to leaving Thailand. In this section, we’ll briefly run through some of the more common issues you can expect to find.
Accommodation
Renting
The majority of expats in Thailand—particularly those not planning to settle permanently in the country—will be staying in rented accommodation. Purchasing property in Thailand is something of a minefield for foreigners, involving seemingly endless hoop-jumping and loophole-exploiting. Purchasing a condominium unit is a little easier, but still time consuming.
Leaving rented accommodation is generally a much easier and more informal process outside of the major cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai. In most provincial towns, it’s easy to find apartments or townhouses to rent on a month-by-month basis, and large deposits and restrictive contracts are not the norm. Simply announce your plans to leave at the end of the month and go.
Things in the capital tend to be a little more formal, although it largely depends on the landlord—and even then, renting accommodation is usually a little more free-wheeling than it is in most Western countries. Serviced apartments, for example, are available for weekly or monthly rentals.
Generally speaking, rental agreements in the majority of condos in Bangkok last for 12 months. Shorter (e.g six month) contracts are available, although usually the monthly rent is higher. These agreements are secured with a deposit—usually the first month’s rent in advance, plus two months down (so for a condo for which you pay 15,000 baht a month, you’ll need to pay 45,000 baht up front).
Be sure to check your rental agreement thoroughly before signing; it should explain the conditions you’ll need to fulfill to guarantee the return of your deposit. It’s fairly standard stuff—no damage to furnishings or to the accommodation itself, bills and rent paid in full, and so on.
Damage to furnishings should be beyond what could be reasonably considered general wear and tear before the landlord has reasonable grounds to deduct money from your deposit. A good tactic for ensuring that your landlord does not attempt to gouge you for damage you weren’t responsible for is to take photos of all furnishings immediately after moving in and keeping those dated photos stored somewhere safe. If you’re renting via a property agent, they’ll usually provide an inventory beforehand as a matter of course. It’s also a good idea to give the place a thorough deep clean before leaving, preferably by a professional, to prevent your landlord deducting cleaning expenses. Remember, a condo is not a hotel, and a housekeeper will not be along shortly to make up the bed and pick your empty Mama cups off the floor.
Most contract terms in Bangkok state that if you vacate the premises early, you’ll forfeit the security deposit. This is something that will be hashed out during the contract period. It is possible to negotiate a Diplomatic Clause before hand, stating that a lease can be terminated early provided that adequate notice is given and a minimum rental term is guaranteed—however, this is entirely at the discretion of the landowner. 85
Owning
If you’re truly burning all of your bridges with Thailand and plan on selling any property you own, there are a number of ways to go about it.
You can sell directly, using an online resource such as Bangkok Expats or the more old-school method of placing an ad in a prominent window/on a bulletin board/attached to a telegraph pole, or you can sell through an agent.
Selling by yourself is cheaper, but obviously limits your potential market. Although placing on ad on a forum like Bangkok Expats exposes you to thousands of potential customers, the sheer number of posts means that unless it’s a great deal it’ll be quickly buried. You’re also in a weaker position when it comes to negotiating, particularly if you don’t speak Thai or have little experience in Thai business matters.
Alternatively, while selling through a property agent means your ad is more likely to be seen, and they can handle most of the nitty-gritty of negotiation, they will also generally deduct a 3% commission on the sale. 86
The actual process of selling can be surprisingly quick, particularly if the buyer is paying in cash (not unknown in Thailand), with the transfer of ownership completed in as little as a day. However, for more cautious sellers, additional time taken by surveyors and/or lawyers to ensure that everything is present and correct will stretch that time out further. Similarly, you may be delayed if the buyer is purchasing via a mortgage.
Redirecting Mail
If you’re planning to move to another part of Thailand, you can notify Thailand Post of your change of address beforehand in order to get your mail redirected. This can be done at any of their many offices across the country. However, if you’re planning on leaving the country, Thailand Post will be of little help—you’re better off asking friends or neighbors to pass the mail on to you.
Utilities
If you’re staying at an apartment or renting a condo, you don’t have to worry about cancelling electricity and water—your landlord will handle this for you. Internet and TV is a different matter altogether.
However, if you’re a condo owner, it may be necessary to cancel your utilities before leaving. The process of cancelling electricity and water is broadly the same: simply contact the company up to a week before you’re due to move out (preferably as soon as possible) and state that you wish to cancel your bill. You’ll need your passport or a Thai ID card, a house registration document (known as a Tabien Baan)/land title (known as a Chanote)/condo title deed and your last bill. If you’re staying in rented accommodation and wish to cancel your utilities, you’ll need either a letter from your landlord, a copy of the tabien baan or a copy of your landlord’s ID card—although do note that in the vast majority of cases it’s much easier for your landlord to handle this, and they almost always will as a matter of course. 87
For Bangkok residents, electricity is handled by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA). The MEA’s headquarters are located near Chit Lom BTS, and are open from 7.30am to 3pm. You can also contact them via their hotline on 1130. 88
Outside Bangkok, electricity is handled by the Provincial Electricity Authority. The PEA’s headquarters are in Chatuchak in Bangkok. Their call centre can be contacted on 1129.
Mains water in Bangkok is handled by the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority. Their main office is located on Prachacheun Road in Laksi, Bangkok. They also have another 14 branch offices. You can call the MWA on 1125, or drop them an email at mwa1125@mwa.co.th.
For those living outside of Bangkok, water is handled by the Provincial Waterworks Authority. Their HQ is on Chaengwattana Road in Bangkok. They also have ten regional offices, the addresses of which can be found at the aforementioned link. The PWA’s call centre number is 1662.
TV/Internet
In rental and serviced apartments, TV and internet is usually provided directly by the building, and you need only hand over a bill once a month. However, in most condos, you’ll be responsible for signing up for an internet and TV package yourself—which means you’ll also be responsible for cancelling it.
There are a number of internet providers in Thailand, generally offering very similar packages. The big players are True, 3BB, AIS and CAT Telecom, with a few smaller companies like KSC Internet and CS Loxinfo bringing up the rear. Many offer bundled TV and internet packages, so we’ll cover both TV and internet in this section.
One general truism of internet providers is that while signing up is a fairly easy and painless process, cancelling a contract can be an enormous headache, involving lots of frustrating calls to the provider and potential financial penalties, and Thailand is no different—for example, AIS deduct a 4000 baht installation fee from the customer in the event that they cancel or suspend a 12-month contract prematurely. The terms for cancellation should be included within your provider’s contract, so check carefully before contacting them.
Cancelling cable/satellite TV needs to be done at least 30 days in advance. The company will schedule a time in which to pick up the rented cable box or satellite dish.
Contact details for the bigger providers are as follows:
True
http://www3.truecorp.co.th/new/
http://truevisionsgroup.truecorp.co.th (TrueVisions Cable)
Call Centre (account maintenance): 1242
AIS
http://www.ais.co.th/en/
Call Centre: 1175
TOT
http://www.tot.co.th/index/
Call Centre: 1177
CAT Telecom
http://www.cattelecom.net
Call Centre: 1322
Selling/Donating Possessions
Chances are that if you’ve lived in Thailand for long enough, you will have accumulated some furniture, appliances and other odds-and-ends. Some of these items may be bulky appliances like washing machines, which it would not be feasible to pay to have shipped onwards to your next destination. Some may have simply fallen out of your affections. This leaves you with three options—dump ’em, donate ’em or sell ’em. Not much needs to be elaborated on for the dumping option, so we’ll assess your options when it comes to either selling or donating your goods.
Selling
There are numerous outlets available through which you can sell your unwanted goods. A good first port-of-call is one of the many buy/sell Facebook groups, such as Bangkok Expats and Desperately Seeking Bangkok (DSBKK). It’s common to see leaving sale posts on both pages, as departing expats attempt to sell off all their unwanted goods in one big bundle.
There are also local buy/sell sites like Kaidee, which operate in a similar fashion to eBay. You post your items, plus a brief description, and include your phone number of LINE ID for contact. Posting items to Kaidee is free, although you may be charged a small fee for extra pictures or to become a featured listing. Do note that Kaidee does not offer English-language options, and it’s statistically likely that your buyer will be Thai and may not speak or write much English, so seek the help of a Thai friend if you choose to go down that route.
Craigslist is another option—on the bright side, its listings and interface are all in English, and it’s used by a higher proportion of expats than sites like Kaidee. The downside is that Craigslist gets far fewer hits than a site like Kaidee, so selling your items for a good price may require a little more perseverance. 89
Donating
Donating unwanted goods can be surprisingly difficult in Thailand. Whereas in most Western countries there are convenient local charity shops (Oxfam and the like) on most high streets, here in Thailand you have to do a little legwork.
There are a number of organizations that accept donations. These include:
The Mirror Foundation is a group which donates unwanted items to deprived schools and needy communities throughout Thailand. They accept pretty much anything—clothes, electronics, furniture—provided it’s in reasonable condition. They are located at 191 Vibhavadi Soi 62, Bangkhen, Laksi, Bangkok 10210, and can also be contacted at 02-973-2236-7.
The Pankan Society sells your goods at a couple of the city’s shopping malls (namely Paradise Park and The Nine Centre in Rama 9) in order to raise money for the Yuvabadhana Foundation, a group who provide education funds for needy children. They’ll accept anything, but as they’re selling your items they need to be something people will actually want to buy (i.e not too torn or dinged-up). Donations can be made at either of the malls mentioned above.
The Thai Red Cross offers assistance and relief to victims of natural disasters, most commonly flooding. Like the Pankan Society, they’ll sell your items on to raise funds for their good work. You can find them at 1873 Amnuay Noratham Building, 2nd fl., Rama 4 Road, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, or can contact them on 0-2256-4622.
The Rajvithi Home for Girls is a foster home, caring for around 400 girls aged between five to eighteen. Obviously bear in mind the target audience for your donations before making them—a sweaty old Chang beer singlet is probably not suitable attire for a five-year old girl, but toys, school supplies and other little trinkets will come in useful. Rajvithi will also no doubt appreciate your time, too, if you have it—speaking from experience, they’d be extremely appreciative of an impromptu English lesson or singalong for the kids. It can be found at 255 Rajvithi Road, Rajvithi, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400, and can also be contacted at 02-354-7484-5. 90
Health Records and Social Security
If you’re working legally in Thailand, it’s more than likely that part of your salary is being siphoned off into the government Social Security Fund—usually around 5% of your gross salary, and less than 750 baht per month. This entitles you to care at a local hospital—albeit limited, crowded and hurried care at one of the country’s extremely busy social security hospitals. When leaving your job, your employer should contact the Social Security office to inform them of your pending departure. You are not entitled to a refund.
Many employers will also provide their staff with health insurance from a private company such as Bupa. As with social security, this coverage is terminated immediately upon the end of the employee’s contract—should you hand in your notice before your contract expires, cancelling this insurance is one of the things your employer will do during the notice period.
If you’d like your medical records forwarded to your next doctor, you’ll first need to sign a release form at your local doctor’s office. They may need to see a copy of your passport, and the passports of any relevant family members. You’ll also need to ensure that you’ve settled all your bills before the records will be released.
Closing Bank Accounts
Closing a bank account in Thailand is relatively straightforward. Obviously the first step is to move the money out. This can be done via a wire transfer (as detailed in the previous chapter), providing you have the SWIFT code for your other bank account/s, or simply withdrawing everything (risky, depending on how much money is inside).
To close a Thai bank account, you’ll need a form from your bank requesting termination of the account and a signed photocopy of your passport—both can be done at the majority of branches, although you will need to do it at your home branch (e.g the branch where you opened the account). Note that by law it is not possible to close a Thai bank account without doing so in person. If you’ve already left the country and have decided to close your account, you’ll have to entrust another person to do so by granting them power of attorney. 91 It’s also possible to simply empty your bank account completely (this can be done remotely via internet banking)—after a year, it will expire by itself.
All in all, it’s much easier to do it before leaving.
Vehicles
Moving vehicles both into and out of Thailand can be both difficult and time-consuming—usually it’s easier to simply sell your car or motorbike. However, if you happen to have grown attached to your ride and wish to take it home with you, there are a few things you need to be aware of.
Firstly, you’ll need to file an Export Declaration (known as Form No. 101) with the Thailand Customs Department. You’ll need to submit (the inevitable) copy of your passport, invoice, a Foreign Transaction Form (if the value of the object is more than 500,000 baht) and, where applicable, a Government ID card, State Enterprise ID card and/or export license, plus whatever other documents are deemed necessary. 92 You’ll also need to submit any necessary fees, duties and taxes. Once everything—including the vehicle—is all in order, the vehicle will be released and will now be clear to travel.
You’ll also need to clear customs in your destination country. While it’s possible to do this yourself, it’s usually easier to contact a customs clearance company to handle the bulk of the paperwork for you. Most export companies can put you in touch with a reliable local company, and also assist with Thai customs. 93
For countries that can not be reached easily overland, moving your vehicle can be done via roll on/roll off transport ships (ro-ro) or container, with container transport tending to be more expensive, but more reliable. There are a number of options when it comes to containers—twenty foot (large enough for one vehicle), forty foot (large enough for two vehicles) and so on. Prices obviously vary greatly, but as a guideline one exporter quotes a price of around 100,000 baht to export a car to the UK; this price covers the container itself, all necessary paperwork, insurance and delivery to the port.
School
Having school-age children can greatly complicate the moving process. There are a few things you can do to make the process as smooth and painless as possible.
First, consider delaying the move until the end of the school term. Thai government schools and most private schools follow the Thai calendar, with the year separated into two terms—the first running from May to late September, the second from late October/early November till late February/early March. International schools and many universities tend to follow the Western academic calendar, running from around September till mid-July (with breaks around Christmas and Easter time).
Ensure that your children are up-to-date on all their tests and assignments before taking them out. All items such as library books, textbooks, ID cards and so on should be returned, and any outstanding fees paid. Make sure that you inform the school as soon as possible so that they can make any necessary arrangements.
Some important documents to forward to your child’s new school include the student’s academic record, any relevant certificates and/or diplomas and information about any standardized tests already taken (e.g GCSE/SAT).
Pets
Leaving Thailand with a pet is not quite as simple as booking them a seat on a plane, handing them a bowl of water and leaving them to watch Marley and Me for the duration of the flight. If you don’t want to damn your furry four-legged friend to a life spent among the soi dogs, you’d better start the preparations early.
First, you’ll need to ensure that you’re aware of all the current regulations regarding pet importation in your destination country. There is obviously not nearly enough room in this book to cover the many and varied requirements of every country on the planet, but thankfully Care For Dogs has a good overview for the EU and US/Canada on their website. 94
Some of these regulations require a lot of time. For example, EU countries generally require a serological (blood) test for rabies. This sample needs to be taken at least thirty days after the animal has received its rabies vaccination. After the sample has been sent to an approved laboratory—and that means a laboratory in, of course, Europe—and you’ve received a positive result, you must then wait a full three months from the time the initial blood sample was taken before the animal is allowed to travel. So that’s a minimum of four months waiting from initial vaccination until your animal can board the flight. 95
Other regulations which seem fairly standard for most countries include microchipping and an up-to-date vaccination booklet. Of course, if you’ve already imported your pet into Thailand (and are not taking home an animal you acquired in the Kingdom), your pet should already have been microchipped. More information on importing pets into the country can be found in the Thailand Starter Kit article “Moving to Thailand With A Dog or Cat: A Quick Guide” by Thomas Wanhoff.
If you’re traveling with a dog, you should start psychologically prepping them for the flight to prevent them getting antsy. Purchase a crate and a water feeder—the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has some set guidelines on the exact specifications that your crate must adhere to in order to ensure that the animal has enough room to stand, sit, move around normally and—of course—breathe, so make sure you follow them. Larger crates may have to be pre-ordered, so once again give yourself plenty of time. It’s a good idea to purchase some puppy/baby pads to absorb any—ahem—liquids that the animal produces during the trip. Set the crate up somewhere familiar to your animal, and place their favorite items (toys, bones etc.) inside. Give them time to get familiar with the crate—the last thing you need is for little Fido to have a psychological breakdown as soon as the lights go dim and the engines start up.
Between three to seven working days before the flight, you’ll need to apply for export permission from the Thai Department of Livestock Development. You’ll need to bring a completed application form (Thai language only), an original vaccination card signed by a licensed vet, plus photocopy, a copy of your passport’s photo page, your microchip card, a Rabies Test certificate (EU only), any necessary additional papers required by your destination country (e.g USDA health certificate for the US) and, of course, your animal. It’s a good idea to have plenty of photocopies of all of these (well, except for the animal), as the airline will also need them. Applying for the export license costs 50 baht. Once the process is done, the DLD will send you two copies of the export license and Thai vet certificate, one of which will be affixed to the side of the crate used for moving the animal.
When booking the flight itself, you’ll need to inform the airline of the breed of the animal, the dimensions of the crate or cage, and the total weight of both the crate/cage and the animal combined. Usually the animal will be considered excess baggage, and you’ll be charged accordingly.
At the airport, you’ll need, in total:
• the original Export Permit
• the original Health Certificate
• the original Vaccination Card
• the original Rabies Test result Certificate (for entering the EU)
• the original Microchip Card
• Medical history and copy test results (if your dog has any)
It’s a good idea to keep your last pet’s meal small to prevent any ‘incidents’ during the flight. It’s also sensible to give them plenty of exercise on their last day before the flight. Make sure that the door to the crate or cage is sealed tight and the water bottle is full, and arrive at the airport with plenty of time to go before departing.
If all this sounds too complicated, there are a number of relocation services specializing in moving pets. One of the oldest and most reliable in Thailand is Boonma, who handle the whole process from vaccinations to delivery at the airport for a very reasonable price.
Other Things To Consider
If instead of returning home you’re planning to move to a new country, you need to ensure that you have everything in order before leaving. Research visa requirements as early as possible—some visas, such as work visas, may take a long time to process in some countries. Have all the paperwork you may need ready to go (passport, social security, medical records, insurance policies and so on).
Organizing shipping for large items is also something that should be done early—it can take as long as a month for your goods to arrive, depending on the destination and the route you choose. If you’ve had a Thai driver’s license for a while, it’s wise to renew it before leaving.
Finally, research, research and research again. Just as you no doubt had to when you arrived in Thailand, you will have to adapt to a whole new culture in your new destination, with its own idiosyncratic quirks and traditions. The internet is your friend in this regard. Read as much as you can, join expat groups online, talk to people who are already living there.
Above all else, do not be afraid. Your experiences in Thailand show that you can survive in another culture—perhaps even prosper. Don’t see this as a burden, but appreciate it for what it is—the start of another adventure.