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Scott3000

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    Opinion: Mixed blessings for Thai-US relations

    in Thailand News

    Posted

    How soon do we lose historical perspective?

     

    Thailand WON the Vietnam war, hands down. US, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos all lost. Thailand scored big, but doesn't seem to have the elephant's memory, ever since "Lost in Thailand" hit the Chinese cinemas in December, 2012.

    I met a Thai "veteran" of the Vietnam war, in Chiang Mai, in 2016 -- the most complicated year for foreigners in Thailand in recent memory. They told me there were 2 US bases in the province. They got a job at a Base Exchange, then worked their way up to Communications. They told me they were paid in dollars, noting it was "good money", and smiled. They told me how friendly the American GI's were to them.

     

    We sat on a bench at Wat Suan Dok and chatted as the sun went down during the sweltering heat of April. Two weeks later, I had to leave the country for 6 months, for immigration reasons.

     

    If you think of the kind of income that person made, over a span of several years, at the beginning of their adult life -- they could build a whole life from such an opportunity. And from that meeting later on in that person's life, I would say that they had done just that.

     

    Not too many people -- none, to be exact -- remember the mutual "benefits" of the Vietnam war: The US got to engage in warfare from its base in Thailand, and Thais got a huge influx of hard currency. Not just privileged Thais, but regular folks, the kind you might meet taking a stroll at your favorite temple...

    • Like 4
    • Haha 1

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:
    13 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

    So for those who have been in-country for the past 5 months, basically if amnesty is not extended we will not be permitted to do a border bounce.  This article seems to confirm that.

    I cannot see where it says that. Most of what that article is describing is current policy.

    Hi! Though I did not read the article, I read the Thai Immigration page Ubon Joe posted a few days ago (link below). If you look at the lower right corner, you will see the cause for concern:

     

    "Aliens holding border pass

    The permitted period of stay shall be temporarily extended until the border checkpoints are opened.

    *Once the border checkpoints are opened, such aliens must depart within 7 days."

     

    I'm also feeling the anxiety about this, as my 5th month in Thailand draws to a close. I arrived visa exempt by air just after the New Year. I'm in the exact same boat as the original poster.

     

    https://immigration.go.th/content/extend_alien?click=1

     

     

    visa extension after extension?

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    I just read on Reuters that visas for foreigners will be extended until July 30. (article cited with link, below). 

     

    Does this also apply for those of us with visa exempt entries? 

     

    "Foreigners whose visas had expired since March 26 will be permitted to stay until July 30 without having to apply for an extension, said Narumon Pinyosinwat, spokeswoman for the Thai government."

     

    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-thailand/thailand-extends-foreigners-visas-as-coronavirus-cases-slow-idUSKBN2230HS

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    18 hours ago, cubism001 said:

    My plan is:

    fly in from US to Ch Mai middle of April & receive 30 days (I'm a US cit)

    Before that expires, fly to Udon, then go to Vientiane, Lao for a tourist visa.

     

    I've been out of Thailand (in the States) for a couple of years

     

    Does that sound OK?   

     

    Thanks for this advice. My biggest worry was giving up my apt., buying a ticket & not being allowed into Thailand. (resulting in homelessness in the US)..so 14 days of self quarantine in Ch Mai would be okay.  I guess I should apply for the tourist visa asap. 

    I strongly advise reconsidering this trip. Even if your current plan is to stay in Thailand less than 90 days.

     

    -You will be spending an awful lot of time on more than one airplane, congregating at airports.

     

    -Go back to the posts on this thread from early January and read my update about return to Thailand after 6 months away. In particular, Chiang Mai Immigration is back to their old inefficiencies on ALL extensions: They now make you go all the way to the end of the building and wait for 1-2 hours for your extension in a crowded indoor space. In early 2019, by sharp contrast, you were in and out in 15 minutes or less, and you could wait by the large doors at the entrance. You could even wait outside and hear your number called. Now, you have to wait deep inside the building, among many people close together.

     

    -If you need to do a visa run, you're stuck in a bus for 10-11 hours round trip, and the songtaew drivers at the Mae Sai bus station now sardine pack those vehicles before heading to the border, as well as on the return to the bus terminal.

     

    I've been doing quasi-isolation for about 6 weeks, and right now my two biggest concerns are visa extension and visa run, if I end up staying for another 60 days after my current entry expires. I have also cancelled my annual medical and dermatological check-ups that I normally have done in Chiang Mai -- I want to get my exams, but the last place I want to go is a hospital!

     

    If you're registered on this forum, you get the emails and you have an idea of how things are being handled in Thailand -- also a consideration. I reckon the virus is being handled better than in some places, worse than in others, but it's something to consider and draw your own conclusions.

     

     

    • Like 1

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    2 hours ago, elviajero said:

    There have been reports at other crossings lately too. It’s appears to be a directive from the top. No doubt some IO’s will be taking advantage of the situation.

     

    I’ve been warning this was coming.

    Which border crossings have been reported as problematic?

     

    Also, do you know if it's true that a 24-hour stay outside of Thailand will be necessary to re-enter, as suggested in another post above?

     

    Thanks!

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    8 hours ago, rabang said:

    If it's necessary to arrive via Bangkok I can only recommend using the fast-track service. I feel it decreases the chance of rejection considerably. It is also very nice not to have to wait in the normal line especially after a long flight in Economy.

    I still avoid both Bangkok airports for international arrival as much as possible.

     

    Malaysian air gave me a pass for the fast-track service -- if we're talking about the same thing here: I went thru immigration with almost no queue at BKK. The Immigration officer gave me suspicious looks and a lot of scrutiny over my passport, in early 2016, on that airport visa run, during the period when land visa runs were not permitted. Next airport visa run, I went thru DMK and got pulled into the interrogation room.

     

    After that hassle, I left for 6 months, returned to CNX airport with an SETV, and so began my Thai travel/living plan, which includes both the time frame indicated above, as well as preferred points of entry. In 2017, I paid more money to fly from Bali to CNX via KUL, not DMK, just to avoid Bangkok as point of entry.

     

    I'd prefer not to have any of this on my mind when I enter Thailand, or any other country. So a couple of weeks ago, I flew in to CNX as point of entry, with a happy to be here attitude, and the Immigration officer just stamped me in as a matter of routine, which seems reasonable.

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    20 hours ago, rabang said:

    For the background I have spent about 5 to 6 months each year in Thailand since 2016 with SETVs or excempts, either continuously or in 2-3 months periods. SETVs mostly from my home country. I also spent each year 5 or 6 months without setting a foot in Thailand. Last year I stayed 6 months from Nov '18 until May '19. My METV is valid until the end of April.

    This is very similar to my plan, to live about 5-7 months per year in Thailand and avoid entry at the Bangkok airports, since 2016. So far, so good. Just returned visa exempt right after the New Year after 5.5 month absence & had no problems -- not even suspicious looks or questions from the immigration officer -- at CNX.

    • Thanks 1

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted · Edited by Scott3000

    On 1/19/2020 at 7:59 AM, audaciousnomad said:

    will effectively give me 150 days in 2020, and then fly out and just cool off for 6+ months before returning...

    Would that be a long enough cooling period given that I've been here since last Sept? 

     

    See my post above, on page #102, for my own recent history in Thailand, which has a lot in common with yours. Since 2016, I've spent 5-6 months outside of Thailand each year, except 2018, when I got a job in Thailand, with a legal contract & Non-Immigrant B visa.

     

    While that type of plan does not guarantee success for anybody's future entries -- including yours or mine -- I think you can get the idea: Thai immigration seems to be content if you don't "settle" in their country. They made life difficult for me when I tried to remain here continuously on tourist visas & visa exempt. When I spend several months outside the country each year then return via carefully chosen points of entry, they don't apply so much pressure. 

    • Like 1

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted · Edited by Scott3000

    A little update: I boarded my AirAsia flight from KUL to CNX & passed thru Chiang Mai immigration at the airport w/o problem, visa exempt. Neither the airline nor immigration asked for onward passage, though I did buy a return ticket back to KUL, on a separate booking just in case.

     

    My recent history in Thailand includes:

    2014 thru Apr, 2016: Tourist visas/visa exempt, including the red stamp in 2015, and interrogation at DMK in 2016.

    Apr-Oct, 2016: Leave Thailand for 6 months

    Oct, 2016 - May, 2017: In Thailand using one SETV & visa exempt

    May-Oct, 2017: Leave Thailand for 5 months

    Oct, 2017 - Jul, 2019: In Thailand, including visa exempt, 1 Non-Immigrant B visa, 2 back to back SETVs, and visa exempt in 2019.

    Jul, 2019 - Jan, 2020: Leave Thailand for nearly 6 months. Return by air to CNX, visa exempt.

     

    So basically, my more recent experience is more in conformity with the desires of Thai immigration, and it appears to be working. 

     

    I also want to point out, Chiang Mai Immigration is back to their old, pre-Big Joke, pre-2018 inefficiencies for extending visas. I was amazed by how fast the visa & visa exempt extensions had become in 2018-19, at Chiang Mai Immigration -- my 2019 extension during low season took about 10 minutes; 2019 extension during high season took about 15-20.

     

    Six months later, January, 2020, they now divert all extension seekers to "Counter 8", which is a sort of time warp into the inefficient past. The extension process took 2 hours. I went mid-week, and Chiang Mai Immigration was not particularly crowded -- except for foreigners corralled into the "Counter 8" side of the room. All other areas of Immigration appeared to move fluidly, including the extension process -- once you're released from "Counter 8".

    • Thanks 2

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted · Edited by Scott3000

    19 hours ago, acenase said:


    It says from KLIA to use the KL Sentral train goes to Padang Besar which takes 5h 39m then from there 45km car to Hat Yai Airport (HDY) is this right? 

    There are plenty of ways to get from KUL to HDY without flying into Thailand -- it's a 500km trip on heavily traveled roads. I don't like Malaysian bus service for such a long trip, so that would affect my choice of transport. My preferred method is not even listed on Rome2Rio!

     

    Pick the method that works best for you and do that. The key is, you can cross from Malaysia into Thailand, by modes other than air, then quickly get to an airport at Hat Yai and proceed on your journey in Thailand. I am not aware of any potential traps or things to avoid along the way.

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    1 hour ago, ubonjoe said:

    Normally Air Asia does not ask for a ticket out of the country within 30 days. If needed a low cost one way ticket to any nearby country would be accepted.

    Thanks Ubonjoe!

    I actually will buy a low cost ticket out of the country -- back to KUL at the beginning of hot season. I just want to buy that ticket closer to 59 days from date of entry, i.e., late February, so that's what I'll do.

     

    Part of my new immigration plan for Thailand is to mix it up a bit more and not live full time in the kingdom -- and that's exactly what the Thai authorities want -- it's just a matter of getting these little details right. I thought long and hard about crossing the land border on January 2 -- but that seems like I'd be "burning up" a land entry that I'll probably want to use near the end of 2020.

     

    Again, thanks & happy new year!

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted · Edited by Scott3000

    Hi!

     

    I bought a one way ticket to Chiang Mai on AirAsia, for early January, after nearly 6 months outside of Thailand. I know I will need another onward ticket to be admitted on the plane, and for the best chance with immigration at the airport. I have a US passport.

     

    Will I be able to just buy a ticket out of Thailand in late February -- when I plan to leave for the hot & rainy seasons (about 5-6 months) -- or do I need a plane ticket departing Thailand within 30 days of arrival?

     

    Thanks in advance!

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    12 hours ago, BritTim said:

    Your experience is meaningless without knowing your history of visits to Thailand, especially over the last year or two.

    It's very limited -- from the previous page:

     

    One visa exempt plus extension, arriving July, 2019

    Non-Immigrant B for a contract job thru Dec 8.

    Hadn't been to Thailand since a two week stay in 2015.

     

    Glad it worked out for the poster, but his chances of getting back in w/o hassle were pretty good from the start. For longer stayers, it doesn't seem to represent any shift in policy at the Bangkok airports or elsewhere.

    Border Run Alternatives

    in Thai Visas, Residency, and Work Permits

    Posted

    13 hours ago, BritTim said:

    Visa exempt entry could be a problem at any airport with extensive prior history.

    Thanks BritTim!

    I am in Malaysia & was thinking of flying to Thailand in about 2 weeks.

     

    Sounds like it would be much more prudent to wait until the New Year, and do one of two things:

     

    1. Enter by land crossing; or

     

    2. Take the ferry from Langkawi to Koh Lipe.

     

    Do you have any info on entry by water? This option just came to mind. Somebody else on this thread mentioned Langkawi in September. I might go there in early December, instead of going to Thailand so soon. If the boat option is like a land crossing, in terms of immigration, this new alternative could prove to be the most interesting of all!!!

     

    What are your thoughts on that ferry idea?

     

    Thanks again!

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