garydubbs

narrithiwat crossing 4 days ago the group coming back from Penang with double entry tourist visas

Penang tend to cross at danok. Any reason why they crossed at narrithiwat?

2 reasons:

nearest border crossing to koh samui (where they came from)

nearest border crossing to khota bharu consulate

I wonder how that one works out in practice. Dear Friend may give them a job on paper and needs to pay salary, plus paperwork, and must run a large business to comply with number of Thai workers per expat. And the WP must somehow come from the Labour Departement (tea money?). And the taxman hovering somewhere?

Yes, they refund all these expenses of course. I don;t know all the details because I am not doing that, but I have a friend who has a company with 500 employees (mostly Thais, but some qualified foreigner too) who did the favour to a couple of friends to give them work permit for his companies, but those guys are not really working with him. They are lounging around Sukhumvit partying all year. They have money,they are young and they don't want to leave. I didn't ask every detail. But trust me, they have been around for about 10 years....

I don't spy because they are friends, but I wouldn't do that, because I spend only few months in Thailand (mostly Nov-Mar)

Sorry but you are definitely confused!

A Work Permit does not convey any rights to stay in Thailand (nor is it illegal to have a Work Permit and not work of course!).

In order to obtain a Work Permit the applicant must first have the appropriate Visa - no Visa, no Work Permit - and a Work Permit will not be issued on a Tourist Visa.

The scenario you describe is impossible, legally, and useless in practice.

Patrick

seems very plausible to me, nothing on the work permit says how many hours must be worked only

i stop being suprised here years ago.... ..buy a legal visa from a THAI consul (WHO HAVE THE POWER TO REFUSE) and then be refused entry at teh border...idiotic to say the least

It's again worth remembering that possession of a visa doesn't guarantee the holder admission to a country, it's the Immigration Officer at the Border that has the final say, this applies to most countries in the World, including the likes of the UK, the Schengen Area and the United States of America.

yeah, i agree with this. i had a nightmare trying to get my wife back into the UK after we went to Paris for a weekend last year. she had valid UK and Schengen visas too. took 15 minutes of talking before they would let us enter

great news. if this keeps up i might start taking the family back there on holiday

(vowed to never return again before)

The three month extension is what most language schools use.

Classes 2 days a week, 2 hours a day. Immigration office every 90 days.

So, even if it changes to 4 x 2, it's not that big of a deal.

At least for those of us that are in it to actually learn the language.

Maybe not a small deal either: It could double the school price.

People paying ~20'000B/year now may not agree to pay 40'000, or even 30'000...

for many the only option will be the thai elite card so 40K will be cheap by comparison

paging macwhalen..

Bugger ... that's going to stuff up a lot of the plans of the overstayers.

I hope there are the usual exemptions such as 'Medical' etc.

Yeah - I think roughly one day into my overstay I'd be making plans to get out of the country, but that's just me. Some of the overstay periods on this document are nothing short of hilarious - 10 years of staying illegally in someone else's country is pure Ronnie Biggs IMO. That's 10 years where you had no legal right to stay in the country much less work, yet somehow managed to feed, clothe and shelter yourself. Let's start putting two and two together and stop making excuses for people. There will always be exceptions but that's for Thai Immigration to decide, not the members of Thaivisa.

wifes/girlfriends can earn income/own businesses too if you are implying all overstayers are working illegally

Guys, I got both stamps too, but I believe what soutpeel is referring to is this:

I'm not counting any chickens until my funds are seasoned but its a good feeling to know that I wont be forced to go anywhere near a border between now and mid-August. As inane as some of the doomsaying speculation is, we're all keen to see just how heavy-handed Immigration will be implementing the crackdown - I just want to be able to read about it from this side of the border.

will be interesting to see if it actually gets worse or the crackdown is already in place. the August 12th deadline was supposed to just affect airports, land borders already in place am i correct?

<deleted> my parents suitcases cost more than 10,000 baht

talk about throw the baby out with the bathwater

idiots

I'm starting to get the hint. I have no issue with stopping border jumpers/deadbeats giving all foreigners a bad name. I just think this hasn't been thought through properly. Or perhaps it has and they just want all of us gone. Example? Let's say you jumped through all of the hoops and get yourself a BA in Education/PGCE/M.Ed (coming next surely). You breathe a sigh of relief. You're good for as long as you like, surely? However, your new boss is an <deleted>. Or the school closes. Whatever. You get a new job offer at another school.

I'm not 100% sure, but it seems the only option of a border run (to cancel visa/work permit in order to get a new one when you re-enter) may be out of the question. Anyone that has taught and changed jobs has had to do this. It is 'technically' possible to change schools without leaving on a WP, but almost impossible in reality. Perhaps I'm wrong and they would allow a visa run if you hadn't done one for years? However, going into Cambodia/Laos or wherever for half an hour may see you refused entry. And Thailand would lose a good teacher. If that were to be the case, they don't deserve them.

Thailand could easily fix this by allowing a transfer of employer on a work permit. There are reasons they won't do this even for those well qualified. They want you to try it out for a few years at the same school and bugger off.

Are Thailand just telling us all to go away without actually saying it, which is typically Thai? To those sneering in a bucket of smugness...you could be next.

individuals will have to decide if the lifestyle is worth it

edit: i misread your post, if you already have new school just head for nearest border and get a new B visa, restart the process

Desirable long term guests in any country should be:

1. Those who have expertise in business/science/etc and can fill positions of professional need. This would include English teachers.

2. Those who have money and want to spend it, regardless of their age. This would include those who spend money on education.

agree but i fail to see your point?

1 is welcome but must apply for work permit

2 is welcome but must apply for ED visa

2 is not welcome unless they are 50.

sorry, 2a is welcome and can spend some of their money on a thai elite card, 2b can spend money on education by applying for an ED visa and appropriate school/university

life gets a lot easier when we conform to the rules rather than trying to make the rules conform to us

Desirable long term guests in any country should be:

1. Those who have expertise in business/science/etc and can fill positions of professional need. This would include English teachers.

2. Those who have money and want to spend it, regardless of their age. This would include those who spend money on education.

agree but i fail to see your point?

1 is welcome but must apply for work permit

2 is welcome but must apply for ED visa

its against the law to take gold out of thailand?

Number 3 is just the standard impetuous nonsense we see all the time. If you have money and want to live in Thailand under 50, go get the Thai Elite Card - 500,000 baht for five years.

Thailand has exceptionally generous visa options.

Bullsh*t. Over 16000 dollars (3225 per year!) wasted while you can get 12 month business visa in Cambodia for 280 dollars.

you get what you pay for been to phnong phen recently?

"Demand is said to be high for Vietnamese workers. They are regarded as being skilled, easy to train and hard-working."

no wonder they are in demand

To form a partnership requires no investment. It would only require 1 million baht of registered capital when the partnership is registered to get you a work permit. You don't need the 1 million to be in the bank or invested.

if i form a partnership with my wife and capitalise do we still need to employ 2-4 employees?

2000 baht a month? LOL

can train as Dusit for that and enjoy those amazing jacuzzis they have

thanks i'll have a look