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The reason for the changes do not matter. You are either going to have to leave or you get to stay a little longer. 

 

You can waste your time arguing and debating about the WHY while the smarter ones will be working on Plan B and preparing accordingly. 

 

 

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Paranoia? Mandatory health insurance for expats is likely to come in the future, and how can you plan for retirement in Thailand when insurance is nearly unobtainable once you hit normal retirement age of 65-70? 

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On 5/24/2019 at 9:03 PM, Essecola said:

Cambodia and the Philippines are awful compared to Thailand and Bangkok. Try getting seriously ill in Cambodia and see what medical services are there. Nothing reliable

Short flight or bus ride for that matter if you prefer Thai health care.

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15 hours ago, TaoNow said:

Anyone who is afraid of what Immo might do next to disrupt their life here has either invested too much or too little in Thailand.

Yes- very interesting comment.  Similar to the often stated Thai comment-  Foreigners would have no problem in Thailand if they didn't come to Thailand.

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On 5/26/2019 at 4:47 PM, Small Joke said:

But that cancer invariably starts with the uneducated 'they took our jerbs' brigade. 

More like, "They were used as pawns to take our livelihoods away."  In my country, this is not a symptom of being uneducated - rather, of having that experience.  As you can imagine, those whose lives were ruined are not happy about it - whether blue-collar or white-collar.  But, I would agree that, all too often, some fail to blame the actual perpetrators of the crime - the business and political class.

 

Xenophobia is something else entirely - more akin to ethnic "supremacy" - having one's sense of worth built on a formation of racial/ethnic identity.   While the former may lead to the latter, they are very different.

 

In Thailand, the "stolen job/career" dynamic would be directed at Cambodians, Laotians, and Burmese - who are the populations used to undercut wages to the point Thais won't do the job any more.   Westerners are not here to "take Thai jobs" for the most part - especially not those applying for retirement-extensions - so xenophobia and greed (corruption) are the issues we face - not fear of job-loss.

Edited by JackThompson
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On 5/26/2019 at 4:47 PM, Small Joke said:

Some exploit it. But that cancer invariably starts with the uneducated 'they took our jerbs' brigade. 

How many foreigners are there in the Thai police or Immigration service?

Without us they wouldn't need an Immigration service!

Edited by BritManToo
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16 hours ago, berrec said:

validate all this for you to get your 90 days extension...........

Is this about a 90 day address report as there is no 90 day extension? You are dealing with an office that simply wants to mess you around. Maybe easier to do another trip to Singapore! Although are they insisting on a Tm30 on return?

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Let me sum it up right from the poster mouth " operate independently " confirms the right hand has no idea no control as to what the left does "  just confirms to me at least why one department points out a problem and nothing get done a big reason something so simple can't be fixed this setup is laced with corruption that being said when it comes to money they require things that just don't make a whole lot of sense?

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The fact that this thread has survived 2.5 views over two weeks indicates that it is a topic that cuts to the nerve of visitors to this section of the TV forum.

 

I would just like to re-state the obvious:  Given the current (and past) state of the Thai government, it would be impossible for the Immigration Division of MOI to organize a massive corruption scheme to arrange a national system of payments by agents to get around the income, seasoning and/or bank deposit requirements for, e.g., retirement extension.   

 

Yes, a few offices have found a way to extort hapless ex-pats on an ad hoc basis, for example as some (illegally) charge 300 baht (with no receipt) for an address certificate (as was customary in IO Phuket in years past). 

 

However, with the continuous rotation of immigration officers, and changes in the national Immigration Division leadership, it would be impossible for the local graft-minded officers to orchestrate a national syndicate. 

 

Be real folks: Whatever IO corruption you encounter is local.  That doesn't make it right.  But my argument above should reduce your suspicion that there is a national plot to push ex-pats out.  So, relax.  For now.

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On 5/24/2019 at 7:06 PM, TaoNow said:

There is no coordinated conspiracy to push you out of the country. 

 

It may be just a clumsy way of 'culling the herd.'

The second sentence seems to contradict the first. Why cull the herd at all if there's no agenda to make life progressively tougher for expats and repeat tourists?

In other circles, such non-coordinated strategies are known as landlord harassment. 

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12 hours ago, TaoNow said:

However, with the continuous rotation of immigration officers, and changes in the national Immigration Division leadership, it would be impossible for the local graft-minded officers to orchestrate a national syndicate. 

It's the IO leaders organising the corruption.

They pay a lot of money to be head of immigration in the most profitable offices.

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People naturally assume that actions are aimed specifically at them when in reality it's just the government trying to act in its best interest.

In the past it was relatively simple - mostly Western tourist, but now you have massive increases from China and soon-to-be India with populations five times more than the West.  Not to mention other countries.

I think it's in Thailand's interests to tighten Visa regulations to stop the hordes of people from completely over running the country and creating a burden in the future.

More is not always better.

 

 

 

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On 5/24/2019 at 8:12 PM, BritTim said:

I also believe that a significant proportion of the Thai elite feel (as in many countries) that their national identity is being eroded by the presence of so many foreigners bringing their own cultures and behaviour into the country.

In that case, they should be worried about the horde of Hindus and Chinese that are pouring into this country and staying here, legally and illegally. Mainly targeting Westerners, who are already a tiny percentage and who are mostly hidden away in their own little ghettos, however, is what is happening. And they are probably the people least likely to change the culture. They don't bring in entire families and financial networks from abroad. They don't put up temples (the churches here mostly "historic" and non-functional culturally), they don't create mafias (except for the Russians--the only "approved" White people for Thailand), and they don't direct the government to buy submarines from China "or else."

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On 5/25/2019 at 1:58 PM, natway09 said:

Sweden is one country that insists on medical cover even for a 3 month visa

Settle down, it is for the good of the majority

In case you haven't noticed, this ain't Sweden.

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57 minutes ago, zydeco said:

In that case, they should be worried about the horde of Hindus and Chinese that are pouring into this country and staying here, legally and illegally. Mainly targeting Westerners, who are already a tiny percentage and who are mostly hidden away in their own little ghettos, however, is what is happening. And they are probably the people least likely to change the culture. They don't bring in entire families and financial networks from abroad. They don't put up temples (the churches here mostly "historic" and non-functional culturally), they don't create mafias (except for the Russians--the only "approved" White people for Thailand), and they don't direct the government to buy submarines from China "or else."

Reading this forum may lead you to think there is a vendetta against Westerners, but they are actually treated better than most other nationalities. Those from the Indian subcontinent have long found travel to Thailand difficult. Applications for visas are often denied without explanation, and those arriving with a visa are still sometimes denied entry. Those from India and China travelling without a visa cannot get a 30-day (extendable) visa exempt entry. They can only get a (non extendable) 15-day visa on arrival which is sometimes denied. They can only apply for regular visas in their home country: no going to Laos or Malaysia for a tourist visa and then entering by land.

The crackdown on Westerners is fairly recent, and unwelcome. We are now experiencing what those from Africa and the Indian subcontinent have been suffering for decades.

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2 hours ago, zydeco said:

In that case, they should be worried about the horde of Hindus and Chinese

Culturally, Thais are more closely related to Hindus and Chinese. Their religion, gods, language, words, scripts all are based on Hindu cultures with Chinese influence. 

 

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24 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Culturally, Thais are more closely related to Hindus and Chinese. Their religion, gods, language, words, scripts all are based on Hindu cultures with Chinese influence. 

 

Although they both need Visas to enter Thailand as opposed to most Europeans who do not!

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42 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

Culturally, Thais are more closely related to Hindus and Chinese. Their religion, gods, language, words, scripts all are based on Hindu cultures with Chinese influence. 

 

No problem, then. Thailand will just love 1.4 billion Indians marching right in and setting up shop.

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