Make Thailand a "hub" for digital nomads, suggests influential Thai politician

[onebir]

Viral game for 2021: fantasy hubs

[PETERTHEEATER]

Me? I'm standing by ready to BOOST the hub pile then, we will really take off!

[Laughing Gravy]

A top fella is Korn, articulate and intelligent. He is right what he says but also knows that for this to happen the infrastructure and the way foreigners are treated here will never work. One day I hope he is PM as he has the potential to make a difference.

[Pottinger]

"....three friends of his who were from the UK and stuck in Hua Hin during the height of the pandemic..."

Surprised they didn't expire from Hua Hin Terminal Boredom Sickness. Still, good to see that hubs are back on the menu; one does appreciate a good hub.

[davidmann]

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Another day, another hub... 

AT. LAST SOMONE with Brain. ,,,,,great idea     ,,,,,, i would do it. ,Thailand  1970 clean beaches. ,Thailand 1980  cheap. easy visa , until 2010. ,Thailand.  overpriced impossible to get Visa. ,,Thai beer cheaper in France than Thailand ,i fail to understand why the Thai Bt so strong ,and why its got so hard to get visa. ,that was before corvid.  ,today. well best stay where you are ,travel is what  old people did in the past  , history 

[scorecard]

3 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

Another day, another hub... 

Your a clever well accredited finance expert Dr. Korn, get back to it and contribute many things of value to Thailand within your expertise.

 

If you've nothing better to do than engage in discussions about digital nomads you need to rethink your priorities. 

[connda]

But but but - they'll take food from the mouths of Thai babies with Thai programmer fathers and mothers.

But I have faith in the bureaucratic machination of Immigration and DoL, i.e., it will never happen.  Well, unless they have 3M THB in a Thai bank or a million dollars USD in pocket change.

[paulbj2]

49 minutes ago, CraigInBangkok said:

I agree with your post but also understand the negative comments knowing how things work here and how quickly they can change their minds. It does seem quite ridiculous to me, that on a marriage visa, I am eligible for a work permit but cant get one for freelancing.

The reality is that there are already 100s of 1000s of farangs in Thailand working  as "digital nomads" or otherwise working "on the black" in the digital economy. Chiang Mai where I spent a fair bit of time, is full of workspaces for such people and I knew many people who were doing just exactly that. The problem with this idea is that the people doing this are not paying any tax and they are not going to want to start paying! 

 

If the Thai government are prepared to offer the digital nomad something sensible for their tax $s like the right (and obligation) to subscribe to the healthcare system (another win for Thailand as most farangs will take one look at the public hospitals and decide to go private and pay), if not, digital nomads will just carry on working the way they always have, on study visas, on tourist visas - on any visa they can get their hands on and not pay tax!

[rtco]

3 hours ago, Pilotman said:

crowd of wandering dropouts

There are plenty of clever people who can work remotely who are not "wondering dropouts" as you call them. Since the beginning of the year so much has gone online and there is no reason why Thailand cannot capitalize on that. The only reservation is the "time zone" issue when you're dealing with the other side of the world but even that's manageable.

[Jimbo2014]

Hes right, it would be good. But to make it happen they have to reform immigration and that isnt going to happen quickly.  

[Pilotman]

5 minutes ago, rtco said:

There are plenty of clever people who can work remotely who are not "wondering dropouts" as you call them. Since the beginning of the year so much has gone online and there is no reason why Thailand cannot capitalize on that. The only reservation is the "time zone" issue when you're dealing with the other side of the world but even that's manageable.

yes there are, but not many, if any,  of the serious players are bumming around Thailand.  

[mberbae]

Why work from home when you can pay for hotel rooms and meals

out in another country , not to mention having to deal with antiquated

Immigration rules  and bank deposit requirements ?!!

[ChipButty]

He needs to get more it's been going on for years

[theonetrueaussie]

3 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Good luck getting tax out of that crowd of wandering dropouts. Try Google and Amazon first mates, see how that goes. 

HaHa, I can pretty much guarantee when I was working full time as a digital nomad I was paying more in taxes then you even earned in a year! Not all digital nomads are poor little one!

[robsamui]

4 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

From the Thai authorities point of view. a digital nomad is a Youtuber

doing video in Thailand and on Thailand without paying any taxes on it

or an illegal internet scam artist (Nigerian romance, chinese gambling or russian forex)

The *vast majority of Thais are primitive and superstitious, believe in the reality of ghosts, are grossly undereducated and know nothing of science or world history. Their society teaches them (and they genuinely believe) that Thailand is the biggest nation in the world, and the best. 

 

Thus it has come about that not only are they deliberately educated to not think for themselves or be capable of imagination or initiative, but they know absolutely nothing (other than Hollywood movies) about the Western world at all. They have no awareness of what is socially acceptable, politically correct, how people live, their customs, traditions and religions, what kind of housing they have, how much they earn, the difference in outlook between Europeans and Americans - or even where on the globe these two continents might be.

 

And yet these are the people who are coming up with the policy-making and administrative decisions today, in Thailand, and concocting scenarios concerning such foreigners

 

As far as most of the soldiers and (their relatives) who are governing the country are concerned, computers are for 'play game' and 'look YouTube'.

The idea that  
a) there is a style of full-time work that can be done from home via computer is unknown to them. These are the people who ban alcohol on election days because they believe the locals will all get drunk instead of voting.

 

And:
b) that any individual could be trusted to work (from home) productively, without being constantly supervised, just isn't part of their experience or thinking.

Anything remotely connected with the needs and wants of Westerners in the 21st century is a mystery to the Thai government and it's likely that the idea of making Thailand a "hub" (555) for the Covid generation of remote workers will be dismissed out of hand.

 

Another opportunity missed.

*Yes, of course, their are many Thai people who have lived or studied and worked abroad. But in terms of percentages it is very small, overall.

Edited October 14, 2020 by robsamui

[SpanishExpat]

3 hours ago, NightSky said:

Unofficially Thailand WAS a major global hub for digital nomads..

 

The nomads have lived up to their name and moved on.

The problems started to rise as the moron government did raids in co-working spaces/ coffee shops. 
 

However, it’s totally Thailand’s fault, as there was never a proper visa for that type of people. I’ve known dozens of digital nomads over the years in TH and just very few had a work permit via the rip-off BOI companies. Most lived on METV or Elite Visa. 
 

[Pilotman]

2 minutes ago, theonetrueaussie said:

HaHa, I can pretty much guarantee when I was working full time as a digital nomad I was paying more in taxes then you even earned in a year! Not all digital nomads are poor little one!

I doubt that very much. Want to swop tax histories with me? ????

 

I never said that they were, I said that not many, if any, of the  really serious players are nomads bumming around in Thailand.  I think that those serous players, certainly the ones that I have met,  have a bit more ambition than that.  Most of the ones I meet here, have little money and no ambition to speak of.  Maybe you are the rare exception 

[Guderian]

I thought their priority was trying to breathe some life back into the tourism industry? A bunch of digital nomads (who often seem to be very short of money from what I've seen) is hardly going to replace 10 million Chinese visitors.

[ChipButty]

There used to be loads of professional gamblers around where I live sleep all day and gamble all night

[Christie Paul]

You arrive in Bali on a tourist visa - $25.00. 

 

You then go to immigration and fill out a form in which you claim you are working online as a blogger or Youtuber etc.

 

You wait 15 mins. Bang your visa has been extended for 12 months. 

 

You are now legal to work onlline in Indonesia. 

 

 

[BritManToo]

12 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

I never said that they were, I said that not many, if any, of the  really serious players are nomads bumming around in Thailand.  I think that those serous players, certainly the ones that I have met,  have a bit more ambition than that.  Most of the ones I meet here, have little money and no ambition to speak of.  Maybe you are the rare exception 

Ya gotta admit he's as good at boasting as the rest of them though.

 

I'm surprised nobody has thought of encouraging pensioners to live here.

They have guaranteed incomes that will keep coming until they die.

Edited October 14, 2020 by BritManToo

[Misty]

A great first step would be to start with revising existing rules and regulations surrounding work permits and business visas/ business visa extensions.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Make Thailand a "hub" for digital nomads, suggests influential Thai politician

Seems we've gone full circle back to a hub strategy, Thailand is just clean out of new ideas.

Government & immigration are not interested in letting anyone live here for free, even if they spend money.

They must be kept on a short leash, go through hurdles each year for a visa, and definitely not be allowed to work for any length of time without the clause of it's benefit being taken away at a moments notice.

[Pilotman]

22 minutes ago, Misty said:

A great first step would be to start with revising existing rules and regulations surrounding work permits and business visas/ business visa extensions.

why?

[Dart12]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

yes there are, but not many, if any,  of the serious players are bumming around Thailand.  

At what level does one need to be to rate a "serious" player? 

[GinBoy2]

33 minutes ago, robsamui said:

The *vast majority of Thais are primitive and superstitious, believe in the reality of ghosts, are grossly undereducated and know nothing of science or world history. Their society teaches them (and they genuinely believe) that Thailand is the biggest nation in the world, and the best. 

 

Thus it has come about that not only are they deliberately educated to not think for themselves or be capable of imagination or initiative, but they know absolutely nothing (other than Hollywood movies) about the Western world at all. They have no awareness of what is socially acceptable, politically correct, how people live, their customs, traditions and religions, what kind of housing they have, how much they earn, the difference in outlook between Europeans and Americans - or even where on the globe these two continents might be.

 

And yet these are the people who are coming up with the policy-making and administrative decisions today, in Thailand, and concocting scenarios concerning such foreigners

 

As far as most of the soldiers and (their relatives) who are governing the country are concerned, computers are for 'play game' and 'look YouTube'.

The idea that  
a) there is a style of full-time work that can be done from home via computer is unknown to them. These are the people who ban alcohol on election days because they believe the locals will all get drunk instead of voting.

 

And:
b) that any individual could be trusted to work (from home) productively, without being constantly supervised, just isn't part of their experience or thinking.

Anything remotely connected with the needs and wants of Westerners in the 21st century is a mystery to the Thai government and it's likely that the idea of making Thailand a "hub" (555) for the Covid generation of remote workers will be dismissed out of hand.

 

Another opportunity missed.

*Yes, of course, their are many Thai people who have lived or studied and worked abroad. But in terms of percentages it is very small, overall.

A lot of what you say is true. The disconnect between how an undereducated population understand the relationship of their country to the outside world is staggering.

 

My poor wife is very conflicted. Of course as a Thai she is is proud of her country.

But she grew up as a teenager in Chicago and was educated in the US, and will shake her head on the mentality of her fellow Thai's.

 

Her cousin prior to embarking on a trip to Canada to work in a fish processing factory told me, without doubt Thailand was bigger than the US & Canada combined!

 

I listened to my wife trying to explain to her the reality of that, and the conversation was to say the least bizarre

 

Thailand likes to claim to be the 'hub' of almost everything, and I think if I hear the word hub one more time I may throw up.

 

Stop worrying about trying create some mythical hub of nomad expat workers and concentrate on educating your own people first!

[BritManToo]

7 minutes ago, Dart12 said:

At what level does one need to be to rate a "serious" player? 

Having an income higher than nothing for 12 months in a row.

Anyway this is another idea that will never work, imagine the paper chase immigration would require to issue such a VISA and the impossibility of a 'digital nomad' trying to prove it.

Edited October 14, 2020 by BritManToo

[Dart12]

44 minutes ago, SpanishExpat said:

The problems started to rise as the moron government did raids in co-working spaces/ coffee shops. 
 

However, it’s totally Thailand’s fault, as there was never a proper visa for that type of people. I’ve known dozens of digital nomads over the years in TH and just very few had a work permit via the rip-off BOI companies. Most lived on METV or Elite Visa. 
 

how does one get busted for working online?   Seems like something hard to prove, no?

[BritManToo]

3 minutes ago, Dart12 said:

how does one get busted for working online?   Seems like something hard to prove, no?

As specified in the post you quoted, they raided co-working offices and coffee shops.

Most people can't keep secrets anyway and openly boast they are working online to anyone that will listen.

First two things young people reveal about themselves in Thailand .......

1) I'm a vegan

2) I'm a digital nomad.

Edited October 14, 2020 by BritManToo

[jacob29]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

yes there are, but not many, if any,  of the serious players are bumming around Thailand.  

Not many, if any, of the 'wandering dropouts' are bumming around Thailand - unless they're planning on overstay. Someone as skint as you're implying couldn't afford the visa extension.