Historically what has caused Thailand to loosen up on their Visa policies

[thecyclist 486]

18 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

More and more I notice a shift in attitude toward expats...on two occassions was told that Thais are tired of expats not speaking fluent Thai...(not a visa requirement)...I could give details of encounters with Thais with an attitude recently...but the Thai apologists would blow a gasket and let me know right quick that I did not smile and speak politely in Thai...

Don't think that fluent Thai changes their attitude significantly:sometimes it helps but most of the time it doesn't make a difference. You also often get the weird situation where you start to speak fluent Thai with a Thai, and they completely ignore your local language skills and keep responding - with vocabulary of 20 English words--in incomprehensible English. 

And the professionals hate :farang speak Thai know too much. They prefer ignorant suckers. 

[wwest5829 2,367]

7 hours ago, Number 6 said:

I believe the exact opposite. My wife then GF obtained her visa with only a letter of job guarantee. Further, she very well could have appeared to be traveling back to US with me to marry. She was given a ten year visas and has made half dozen trips

We traveled on a Round the World ticket in 2013. A first US and Schengen Visa for my significant other. My accompanying letter stating all the travel itinerary and no issues. We traveled again in 2015, this time only the US. 10 Year Visa granted, no issue with my accompanying letter. 

[villagefarang 14,538]

I have seen a lot of change over the years but none of it has affected my life in any significant way. Never had anyone complain about my speaking Thai either. 

[BestB 9,830]

30 minutes ago, Puchaiyank said:

More and more I notice a shift in attitude toward expats...on two occassions was told that Thais are tired of expats not speaking fluent Thai...(not a visa requirement)...I could give details of encounters with Thais with an attitude recently...but the Thai apologists would blow a gasket and let me know right quick that I did not smile and speak politely in Thai...

Love to hear more, because in all my 20 years of living and working in Thailand, i only encounter Thai who expect for foreigners NOT to speak any Thai and are either very angry or pleasantly surprised when one does

 

Yes attitude of some Thai can be annoying, when i speak Thai they assume i am married, because to speak Thai one must be married as i was told.

[villagefarang 14,538]

I spoke Thai long before I got married and never got that response but that was a long time ago. 

Edited November 9 by villagefarang

[thequietman 7,357]

8 hours ago, 86Tiger said:

All they are asking you to do is prove you can support yourself and follow the rules. 

OR...... go to one of their approved agents and you are able to bypass the whole thing.

 

SO .... tell me, is that them encouraging us to follow the rules OR is it the usual corruption that comes out of their offices daily?

 

THink on! (& open your eyes to the reality)

[spidermike007 23,242]

11 hours ago, 86Tiger said:

Guys,

 

I think the entire "crack down" is due to those that abuse the system. 

 

Yes, it has been very easy in past to game the system and stay long term on entry methods intended to be short term.  But reality is it is still very easy to stay in the Kingdom long term with the proper visa.  All they are asking you to do is prove you can support yourself and follow the rules.  

 

 

It is a helluva lot easier for me to stay in Thailand long term than my wife to get a simple tourist visa to the US.  We don't even want to get into what it would take for her to get long term visa........

 

 

YMMV

Apples and oranges. Many Thais come to the US to work, and never leave. So, they want you to be able to prove you have a reason to return. How many foreigners come to Thailand to seek the golden opportunities of employment? And it is far easier to get a multiple entry visa into the US, for your wife, as a woman married to an American, than to get her a tourist visa. The US stopped issuing tourist visas to anyone from a third world nation, who is not rich, over 15 years ago. Except for the tours. 

[hansnl 5,511]

On 11/9/2019 at 4:55 AM, Puchaiyank said:

Historically, not sure...but in the last few years they may be asking: "What would the Chinese do?"  "How can we change the visa requirements to please the Chinese?"  

 

Just a guess...

Quite do.

In fact the copying of what the Chinese do is rife.

[bbbbooboo 751]

Hmmm..... It depends on the current levels of xenophobia I suggest. After all we are described as "aliens" in Thai legislation which should give some insight into the matter

[Alex2554 34]

Good guys in, bad guys out.

Buy a TE visa and enjoy 20 year of comfortable living in LOS.

No money? No honey

[timendres 2,869]

14 hours ago, Alex2554 said:

Good guys in, bad guys out.

Buy a TE visa and enjoy 20 year of comfortable living in LOS.

No money? No honey

Until they abruptly cancel the program and renege on the deal.

[smutcakes 7,195]

This forum is such a strange place some times. You have threads and hundreds of posts about people complaining about immigration in their own countries, letting anyone in, diluting their nationality- on the other hand they are bemoaning Thailand trying to control immigration....

 

 

[meechai 1,078]

2 hours ago, smutcakes said:

This forum is such a strange place some times. You have threads and hundreds of posts about people complaining about immigration in their own countries, letting anyone in, diluting their nationality- on the other hand they are bemoaning Thailand trying to control immigration....

 

 

You have missed one important fact here

 

These are "Non Immigrant" visa extensions

[smutcakes 7,195]

4 minutes ago, meechai said:

You have missed one important fact here

 

These are "Non Immigrant" visa extensions

Dont understand, please explain your point.

[ballpoint 9,953]

22 hours ago, bbbbooboo said:

Hmmm..... It depends on the current levels of xenophobia I suggest. After all we are described as "aliens" in Thai legislation which should give some insight into the matter

Yes, those awful xenophobes, calling non citizens "Aliens".  You'd never catch a good old white country doing that...

 

"The Alien Registration Number or A-number is, in brief, an identifying number assigned to a noncitizen by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the government agency within the Department of Homeland Security that oversees lawful immigration to the United States. An "alien" is any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States. The A-number is yours for life, much like a social security number."

 

https://www.thoughtco.com/alien-registration-number-1951573