Boy this Thai Visa help section use to be a lively place a few years ago..

[zydeco]

45 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

Can't speak to HCMC, but I would try Cebu (warmer, like here) or Bagio (cooler but rainy) for the PI.  Both have malls, decent housing and such - and generally safe. 

Unfortunately, you also have Duterte, which means Thailand is still better. If you think there is anti-Farang sentiment, here. Wait until the Philippines goes full China and drives every American/European into the sea.

[JackThompson]

29 minutes ago, rott said:

If you are under 50 and single I do not see the problem, up to six months here and six split between Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam. (or wherever).

This aint the only place in the world.

There is no indication "up to 6 months here" will be permitted by the hard-line faction - currently running Bangkok-airport and Poipet/Aranyaprathet immigration.  In a recent report, they were quoted as saying "tourists stay a week or two" - never-mind that a Tourist Visa provides 60-days (not including the extension).  It all depends which faction wins the internal struggle over the policies which will decide exapt's fates here.

 

But, I agree that someone coming here who has not formed a relationship, might be wise to make longer-term plans in another country.

[dcnx]

20 hours ago, DrJack54 said:

And your point? You want advise how to stay los? Or just a complain. Cut to the chase. You want ask about options to extend your stay, there is already plenty!

He specifically said he didn’t have a point.

 

It’s no wonder so many of you ended up here and are now stuck. ????

[asdfrules]

3 hours ago, zydeco said:

Unfortunately, you also have Duterte, which means Thailand is still better. If you think there is anti-Farang sentiment, here. Wait until the Philippines goes full China and drives every American/European into the sea.

Duterte, really?  I haven't noticed any anti-western sentiment coming from him.  Pretty sure I'll stay away from narcotics there tho ????  Not that I've been paying super close attention the politics there lately.

Philippines I can stay there 3 years without a single visa run.  In Thailand, every 3 months I avoid arrival by airports and force a smile and suck up to officers at land crossing.  I think if I can avoid that hassle and stress of that, I will feel pretty good.

[JackThompson]

6 hours ago, zydeco said:

Unfortunately, you also have Duterte, which means Thailand is still better. If you think there is anti-Farang sentiment, here. Wait until the Philippines goes full China and drives every American/European into the sea.

That will never happen - Duerte or not.  The PI people love Americans and America far too much. The main problem I had living there, was all of the gals I met - sweet though they were - wanted to leave and "go to my country" - where I had no desire to return. 

 

The USA's failure to back the PI against the Chinese, as they began stealing their exclusive economic zone in the Philippine Sea was sad.  As Duerte stated, he could not fight them head-on, alone - would have been a bloodbath.  Sad he was put in that position, but I do not think that is the end of the relationship - just another setback under a US-regime which was completely sold-out to China.

 

But consider that the US Social Security for this region is now based in the PI, UK persons get pension-increases if they live there, but not in Thailand, and that our embassy letters went away here.  All just a coincidence?  It seems our nations would prefer we live in the PI - where we are, perhaps, deemed most "useful" to current geo-political strategy of some Western governments.

 

4 hours ago, asdfrules said:

Duterte, really?  I haven't noticed any anti-western sentiment coming from him.  Pretty sure I'll stay away from narcotics there tho ????  Not that I've been paying super close attention the politics there lately.

He pushed hard on the drug-problem, but that angle of attack is not the core-solution.  People use drugs when they are hopeless - why the opioid epidemic in the USA spread most virulently where the good-paying jobs were shipped out. 

 

If the West needs to offshore something, why not put more factories in an ally's country for a "win-win" - instead of directly-funding the buildup of an enemy's military with a massive trade-deficit?

[NightSky]

11 hours ago, whitefarang said:

I would not recommend anyone coming here . I stay on a marriage visa . Been here around 15 years . Came here when my Thai wife and Thai son when he barely could walk . He had to fight his way through education , completed his Mattayom not long ago and is on an international university now . And he got in not because he had such excellent teachers at school . That came from him and I doing what those " teachers " refused to do . To educate . 

 

Fifteen years of troubles with immigration . Every time there hassles with having to hand in extra non required documents . I been asked how many times a week I have sex with my wife . The freaking brutality . Been asked to hand in old passports . For what ? They refused to tell me . The abuse of power . Translation of my foreign marriage certificate refused suddenly , having to go head over heels to some ministry of foreign affairs to get a Thai marriage certificate with the expiration date of my visa near . Maps of the way to my home not good enough anymore . Messing with my file , altering it . 

 

Asylum seekers get a better treatment than guys here bringing in money and good will here . My son fully agrees with me . This country doesn't like Farangs . When he finishes uni we are out of here .

 

Done with the never changing bull .Below I see a link to some article...Thai immigration reveals new requirements for.... There we go again and that raises a question I would like to ask . I am on a marriage visa . 400,000 on the bank . In case immigration ever raises that amount let's say from 400 to 500 thousand are guys like me exempted ? 

 

good luck everybody .

 

If that happened and you were asked those questions it is a disgusting way to be treated and I cant blame you for wanting better for you and your family.

[Toosetinmyways]

 

I am a believer, that starting years ago, if people had followed the rules perhaps immigration would not have started taking the hard line that appears to be the case at present. Surely if your stay in Thailand is dependent on a visa you should be in the position to obtain a visa to match your lifestyle. Nobody forced you to resettle in Thailand if you are visa dependent.

I spent a year in Thailand on SETV from Vientiane and from the 4 visa van runs I did I guarantee that at least 3 people out of the 10 passengers openly admitted they were working in Thailand on SETV. So if you look at that statistic from an immigration point of view, someone with a bunch of SETV and VE in their passport there is a 30% chance of catching an illegal worker. As it is hard for the IO to prove that, they can just use a convenient excuse to ban entry. Of course innocent travelers will be caught up by accident.

My gripe about extensions , was the fact that using the lump sum the money had to be in a Thai bank, but using income method the money could stay offshore.  It should have been either funds offshore or funds in Thailand. Good to see that both systems look like it will be the funds in Thailand method.

Regarding income affidavits from embassies, how could they confirm true income, when one of the methods used was forming an offshore company in the UK , transferring the equivalent of 65000 baht in and out every month then taking your audited accounts to the embassy to be signed of as true. Another way that a workaround system affected  genuine people.

My prediction is next it will not be a restriction on number of SETV issued but length of stay in Thailand. Maybe 4 months per calendar year?

 

[JackThompson]

On 1/20/2019 at 2:32 PM, whitefarang said:

having to go head over heels to some ministry of foreign affairs to get a Thai marriage certificate with the expiration date of my visa near

They were hoping you wouldn't go through the MFA step, and all the other humiliation.  You were "supposed" to go to an agent, pushed by running out of time on your permitted-stay.   They add more and more "extra requirements" to run out your clock.

 

On 1/20/2019 at 2:32 PM, whitefarang said:

Asylum seekers get a better treatment than guys here bringing in money and good will here .

Not in Thailand they don't, since Thai elites are not trying to "replace" their population with a permanent citizen-underclass, as many of our govts back home are intent to do by hook or by crook.  Here, they bring in enough with temporary work-visas (and illegally) to keep wages from ever reaching the middle-class levels, which are being purposefully-eroded in the West.

 

But, that is not an excuse for immigration's "extra requirement" bull, done to folks supporting a Thai family.  Per reports, this appears to be getting worse - even at Chang Wattana, now - forcing people to not touch the 400K during "under consideration," which can go beyond one-month.

 

On 1/20/2019 at 2:32 PM, whitefarang said:

In case immigration ever raises that amount let's say from 400 to 500 thousand are guys like me exempted ?

We married to a Thai folks were not grandfathered the last time, but the retired guys with a "new gf every week" were.  Go figure.

 

But as you are no-doubt aware, it's just a clique in officialdom which hates us for taking care of Thai families, not 99.9% of Thai people.  I want to stay, and realize that down the road, an agent may be the only way to get an extension, since the "legitimate" route is being increasingly blockaded (varies by office) each year.  The crooks in some areas want "tribute" payments, plain and simple.  I'll avoid that as long as I can, but can see which way the wind is blowing.

[JackThompson]

12 hours ago, Toosetinmyways said:

 

I am a believer, that starting years ago, if people had followed the rules perhaps immigration would not have started taking the hard line that appears to be the case at present.

If that were true, every change would not be accompanied by a "pay us off to stay" route.

 

12 hours ago, Toosetinmyways said:

Surely if your stay in Thailand is dependent on a visa you should be in the position to obtain a visa to match your lifestyle. Nobody forced you to resettle in Thailand if you are visa dependent.

I spent a year in Thailand on SETV from Vientiane and from the 4 visa van runs I did I guarantee that at least 3 people out of the 10 passengers openly admitted they were working in Thailand on SETV.

Westerners?  What were they doing - teaching English?  If so - yes, schools often don't provide the paperwork, and the govt does nothing about this, and refuses to allow less "qualified" native-speakers to fill the gap (like Cambodia) while English-learning suffers (unlike Cambodia). 

 

Some claim there are also some "dive instructors" here illegally - which would be very easy to find and arrest on the piers. 

 

The LAST place to find illegal-workers from higher-wage nations accurately would be the immigration line, since there are only a couple "under-the-table" jobs they would take.

 

12 hours ago, Toosetinmyways said:

So if you look at that statistic from an immigration point of view, someone with a bunch of SETV and VE in their passport there is a 30% chance of catching an illegal worker. As it is hard for the IO to prove that, they can just use a convenient excuse to ban entry.

For awhile, they were denying-entry on working-illegally - then switched to "cannot afford their stay" - which if dependent on proof by the visitor, evidence of which they refuse to accept, means the MFA's pre-vetting is meaningless, so all visas are meaningless.

 

12 hours ago, Toosetinmyways said:

Of course innocent travelers will be caught up by accident.

It's random/arbitrary who they hit - even going after retired snowbirds from Europe/USA only staying a few months/yr, now.

 

12 hours ago, Toosetinmyways said:

My gripe about extensions , was the fact that using the lump sum the money had to be in a Thai bank, but using income method the money could stay offshore.  It should have been either funds offshore or funds in Thailand. Good to see that both systems look like it will be the funds in Thailand method.

Regarding income affidavits from embassies, how could they confirm true income, when one of the methods used was forming an offshore company in the UK , transferring the equivalent of 65000 baht in and out every month then taking your audited accounts to the embassy to be signed of as true. Another way that a workaround system affected  genuine people.

For USA and AU, lying on the affidavit was a felony in one's passport-country - a strong deterrent.  If Thai authorities found a liar, they could refer for prosecution.  The real "problem" was, the affidavits were less expensive than agent-fees, which are shared with immigration. 

 

With this change, many of those now w/o letters, faced with having to make mo-xfers exceeding their needed spending in Thailand, and who don't want to sit 800K in a Thai bank for months, will end up paying agents.

 

12 hours ago, Toosetinmyways said:

My prediction is next it will not be a restriction on number of SETV issued but length of stay in Thailand. Maybe 4 months per calendar year?

If worried about "illegal work" - a week out between entries would suffice - and without forcing even more Thai businesses (employers) to close, in formerly vibrant areas, due to immigration pointlessly keeping their customers out.

[farangx]

52 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

13 hours ago, Toosetinmyways said:

My prediction is next it will not be a restriction on number of SETV issued but length of stay in Thailand. Maybe 4 months per calendar year?

If worried about "illegal work" - a week out between entries would suffice - and without forcing even more Thai businesses (employers) to close, in formerly vibrant areas, due to immigration pointlessly keeping their customers out.

1 week out in between entries Jack, are you kidding me?  Are you advocating illegal work for foreigners in Thailand to deny Thais of their jobs.  A minimum of 3 months in between an SETV should be the way to go.  This is will force whoever that is hiring that farang to find a replacement, that way the farang gets to lose his job when he leaves Thailand.  If he wants that farang badly then he can always wait a few months for his return.

 

Edited January 21, 2019 by farangx
didn't like typo

[impulse]

On 1/19/2019 at 9:02 PM, JLCrab said:

Yes -- things were much more fun when a typical post was (my all-time favorite):

 

I don't qualify for any long-term stay option in Thailand so how can I stay long-term in Thailand?

 

The big difference being, of course, that prior to 2014, there were viable, cheap (albeit a PITA) options.  Today, not so much.

 

[JLCrab]

4 hours ago, JackThompson said:

With this change, many of those now w/o letters, faced with having to make mo-xfers exceeding their needed spending in Thailand, and who don't want to sit 800K in a Thai bank for months, will end up paying agents.

In a Khasod article linked on here a few days back, it said Mr. Surachate 'Big Joke' was considering a change to IMM law that would be 'abolishing' the 90-day report. That would require a change to Section 37 of the Immigration Act (1979). Once you change one section of the Immigration Act, you can change ANY section so, at that point, some may take aim act the 'agent enabling' Section 35 of the Act.

 

Who knows?

[JackThompson]

7 hours ago, farangx said:

1 week out in between entries Jack, are you kidding me?  Are you advocating illegal work for foreigners in Thailand to deny Thais of their jobs. 

 

First, how types of illegal jobs would a person from a higher-wage country take? I count two - English Teacher (only illegal, because the schools refuse to provide the paperwork, according to many reports here), and Dive-Instructor.  It would be easy to catch those folks red-handed on the job, and idiotically-inaccurate to try to "suss-them-out" at entry-points.

 

It is immigration who is providing "L Visas" to those coming into the country en-masse to suppress wages and deny Thais decent-paying jobs in many fields.  Millions of illegal-workers, also, per many reports.  Expats from higher-wage countries are not competing with Thais, and offering to work for dirt-wages, in construction, cooking, cleaning, etc. 

 

Given this, "illegal working" is clearly a fake-reason to deny entry in cases where the foreigner could earn several times more money working legally in their passport-country, than working illegally in Thailand.  Even bad-clique IOs don't use this as their official-reason to deny-entry any more (after telling the visitor "too much time in Thailand" was the actual and illegal reason)

 

7 hours ago, farangx said:

A minimum of 3 months in between an SETV should be the way to go.  This is will force whoever that is hiring that farang to find a replacement, that way the farang gets to lose his job when he leaves Thailand. 

How many jobs would let a person take a week off every 2 or 3 months - plus time-off for at least a 1/2 day for the extension? 

 

7 hours ago, farangx said:

If he wants that farang badly then he can always wait a few months for his return.

If the employer really wanted him, they would get the proper paperwork in-order, so the farang could get a B-Visa and Work-Permit.  English teachers report that schools usually "eventually" get around to this, but lie, and tell their teachers is is "ok" to work on a tourist visa during an "evaluation period."  As that period is usually only a few months, illegal English teachers are much less likely to run into problems with immigration than Law-Abiding longer-stay Expats, who have their own independent, foreign and legal revenue streams.

 

Let's face facts - these problems only exist because immigration wants a payoff from the self-funded expats - not to target illegally working English teachers.  The PM, himself, asked immigration to be "flexible" with Visa-Exempts, specifically citing illegal English teaching; this makes sense, given Thailand's population is far behind it's neighbors in English proficiency, and cracking-down on the illegal employers is not something they are willing to do.

[JackThompson]

5 hours ago, JLCrab said:

In a Khasod article linked on here a few days back, it said Mr. Surachate 'Big Joke' was considering a change to IMM law that would be 'abolishing' the 90-day report. That would require a change to Section 37 of the Immigration Act (1979). Once you change one section of the Immigration Act, you can change ANY section so, at that point, some may take aim act the 'agent enabling' Section 35 of the Act.

 

Who knows?

Nonthaburi - an unfriendly office, generally - is reported as not accepting online or mailed-in 90-day reports.  TM-30 rules vary by office.  If Mr. Surachate really wanted to fix things, the first step would be to demand all offices adhere to a common-standard.

 

They got rid of 90-day reporting for "Smart Visas" - not sure how.  But it would make sense to streamline the TM-6 / TM-30 / TM-28 / 90-day-report overlap into one process.  Fewer fines are generated when a process is straightforward, but maybe actual security issues will trump greed, in this case.  

 

As to changing the Act itself - long overdue on one hand, but they might just make it worse, given the mind-set of at least a strong clique seems to be moving backwards in time.  Immigration seems to be shifting to the Chinese total-corruption-government model now - away from clear and published processes via rule of law.

 

In that context, I don't see them doing anything that would reduce "flexibility" of IOs to generate illegal-money streams - provided those are shared with the hierarchy, as it appears agent-money is now. 

Edited January 22, 2019 by JackThompson

[JLCrab]

33 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

In that context, I don't see them doing anything that would reduce "flexibility" of IOs to generate illegal-money streams

Does what you choose to see make a difference?

 

Section 35 of the Immigration Act is the Section which gives the high-up IO the 'flexibility' to waive the general conditions for extension. 

 

Per the Immigration Act: Application for extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom under Section 35, per person, each time 2,000 baht

 

Also this: Section 63. Whoever leads or brings an alien into the Kingdom or does in any way supporting or assisting or facilitating an alien in making an entry into the Kingdom in violation to this Act, shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding ten years and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht.

 

That 'flexibility' to charge more than 2000 baht for an agent initiated extension could one day become very costly for the agent and maybe the IO guy himself.

Edited January 22, 2019 by JLCrab

[JackThompson]

36 minutes ago, JLCrab said:

Does what you choose to see make a difference?

 

Section 35 of the Immigration Act is the Section which gives the high-up IO the 'flexibility' to waive the general conditions for extension. 

 

Per the Immigration Act: Application for extension of temporary stay in the Kingdom under Section 35, per person, each time 2,000 baht

 

Also this: Section 63. Whoever leads or brings an alien into the Kingdom or does in any way supporting or assisting or facilitating an alien in making an entry into the Kingdom in violation to this Act, shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding ten years and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht.

 

That 'flexibility' to charge more than 2000 baht for an agent initiated extension could become very costly for the agent and maybe the IO guy himself.

That language would seem to apply only to entry-points, not "extensions" of those already "in the Kingdom" (could be a translation issue, though).   But I am sure there is a law that applies to the activity in question.

 

I doubt anyone is appointed to a position of power who is not on-board with the various unofficial distributed-revenue-streams.  But, an IO acting on their own and not sharing revenue through "proper channels" would certainly be (and have been) hung out to dry - to set an example.

 

Unless the process requires making a hard-copy demonstrating seasoning, there is not even a way to tell the real from fake applications, absent bank-audits related to all applications.

Edited January 22, 2019 by JackThompson

[JLCrab]

29 minutes ago, JackThompson said:

 

I doubt anyone is appointed to a position of power who is not on-board with the various unofficial distributed-revenue-streams.

I don't care what you doubt. That is the law. Maybe nothing will ever happen to those who violate it but I get tired of you and others referring to the "illegal income stream" with the same gravitas as an overdue book at the library. It is all the status quo until it isn't. All it takes maybe is one person to be snubbed or dissed somewhere along the daisy-chain for the thing to unravel.

 

And someone whose extension of stay has been obtained in contravene to the regs has entered the Kingdom illegally.

Edited January 22, 2019 by JLCrab