Tomtomtom69

There are however arguments to be made in favor of what you said, regarding governments not working in favor of citizen's interests and why don't they do things like prevent foreigners from taking jobs in their countries. However, if you have a Thai family, then if the government didn't allow us to work here like you insinuate (fortunately they do) then why should/would they allow us to live here? That makes no sense. Equally, in such a situation and one where countries (including those in the west and elsewhere) stop allowing foreigners to work (except temporarily perhaps) one would need to reexamine whether it's a good idea to marry a foreigner and have a family with them as there would be untold difficulties with such a choice. One could argue that's already the case now to some extent but it would be infinitely more complicated if what you want to see happen, were to occur. If it did, then forget about the DTV or any scheme to allow foreigners in.. We'd need to divorce our Thai wives, abandon our Thai children and find wives in our own countries, have children with them and stay there, like in the good old days of yesteryear. The ways of the future are that all countries and notably Thailand too, will be forced to open up in a way never seen before. You may not believe it, but in the decades to come, Thailand will start to resemble an Asian version of the west. Given the aging population and extremely low birth rate and the country's adoption of progressive politics this is basically inevitable.

I don't understand why you were rejected. Surely it was just a case of missing a document, which you could have provided then with later and still gotten the visa

I'm in the same situation. Simply put - highly unlikely. Why would they care? Especially if you're a remote worker, the DTV just seems so much better.

You can't realistically raise a family here and work abroad. I know some people do that, but it's not a good way of living. You can't spend all your time here if you're not working unless you're retired because you'd run out of money. Most of us have to work and unless that's remote work, it will either be in Thailand or abroad. Based on your logic, international schools should discard their foreign teachers and hire Thais and thus turn international schools into Thai schools. I'm afraid that what you desire in Thailand will never happen because like the west, Thailand will become multicultural...eventually anyway. Right now the Burmese and Cambodians are coming in and they're replacing Thai workers, never to give them their jobs back (yes, many Thais don't want those jobs and/or there's a labor shortage) but it doesn't change that fact. The DTV will ensure more remote workers come in (who won't be threatening Thai jobs) while Indians are already coming in large numbers and taking all the positions at Indian restaurants and at many stalls at MBK and some other types of businesses.

NO. There are differences in how various IOs want TM30s to be done.. Some only need one done once a year or whenever their extension is due. Others need a new one each time you return from abroad or another province. This is a fact. Many IOs are going back to the dark old days of 2019 and doing things the harshest possible way, because they can. Nothing you say changes that. Maybe your IO is more flexible. Others are stricter.

What are you talking about? Each immigration office has different rules on the TM30. Some require a new one each and every time you've spent time in another province and are resuming residence at your usual place. Others only when you come back from a trip abroad (including a short border run). Others still, in both cases. There's no general rule like you claim.

It is. Sending an email that has nothing to do with Thailand is hugely different from selling jewelry presumably to clients within Thailand. The latter is clearly working from Thailand. She got caught for making Thailand look bad. As you probably know, defamation is a criminal offense in Thailand and foreigners that make the country look bad are deported. The easiest way to do so, is find something else to charge them with, because it's an automatic and quick deportation that way. She was also blacklisted by the way. Essentially all for saying bad things about the Kingdom.

The Chinese vlogger defamed Thailand in one of her YouTube videos. She also sold jewelry online and hence that was the easiest way of getting rid of her. I don't know if she sold the jewelry to Chinese living in Thailand or only to those in China but this activity clearly goes beyond what a digital nomad is supposed to do as she was physically involved in carrying out tangible activities that would be considered work (such as mailing items to clients) and accepting payment for them. VERY different to someone working from their bedroom or home office on a desktop or laptop, writing emails and holding Zoom meetings for a foreign company, not otherwise getting into trouble with Thai law and obviously NOT engaging in illegal activities such as operating an online gambling operation.

I don't think anyone has ever been deported for online work based outside of Thailand for a non-Thai company UNLESS there were other circumstances involved. For example, an illegal boiler room, scam center, illegal online narcotic sales, illegal gambling operation that sort of thing. Or if you are a YouTuber and defamed Thailand but were also caught selling jewelry online, some of it within Thailand (which is clearly working here) that sort of thing..

Based on what? There's nothing to suggest a DTV holder won't be able to secure a certificate of residency through immigration (although some embassies still issue these) or more importantly given what I just stated, obtain a drivers license renewal. Of course I can't be 100% sure, but I don't think they'll treat the DTV like a tourist visa especially with its long validity.

Why? Have you ever heard of an immigrant working in the west being replaced by a local down the line? Nope, immigrants stay forever, bring their families and eventually push us natives out of a job. Not saying that's how Thailand should do it, but this notion that an expat should only be able to work here for a limited period and then be replaced by locals is pretty sad. You wouldn't be able to have a future here. Wouldn't be able to have a family unless you brought them all to your country.

Thais don't live in condos. They live in these great dwellings called houses.

Chinese citizens barely use cash anymore. It's all QR codes now. Very difficult to use cash in China these days.

I doubt it. The fact it's a 5 year visa indicates they are happy to have people use it for de facto residence. With the non-O or non-B multiple entry 1 year visas, you can effectively live in Thailand by doing border runs (or better yet) spend a couple of days out of country every 2-3 months then return (you get 90 days on each reentry). Has never been an issue and no questions asked. Only Ranong is sometimes a little fussy (they'll let you in, but might at first ask for 20000 Baht but if you pushback and show them your non O or non B they'll stop asking). I think it will be the same with this visa, especially if you're spending a few days out of country every few months with the occasional 2 or 3 week absence.

WHY did you fail? Surely they would have told you what documents you were missing?

Why were you rejected? Assuming you had the 500000 Baht or equivalent in a foreign or Thai bank account and could meet the other easy to meet requirements, it sounds like a piece of cake.

Point 2 - I do. Agree with you on point 4 only. Point 5 - that's a strange one. One would think that the more you can speak the local lingo, the better.

Depends. It's almost never that bad unless you're heading into the city on a Friday afternoon.

I don't like either but I'd prefer the second one. Sitting in the comfort and privacy of my own car is far superior and preferable to being stuck in a metal box with thousands of sweaty strangers.

How do you watch Thai TV if you can't understand Thai? How do you go for a massage if you can't speak Thai? If you want to live here, learn the language. Same as Afghan refugees do when they migrate to Sweden. They learn Swedish (OK, not all of them, but surely many of them do). If you can't speak Thai, you'll never be able to communicate effectively with those you live amongst.

Foreigners cooking food for Thais, even during Covid and for free, is illegal and we know how that went down. Foreigners were threatened with deportation.

You need glasses and to do a simple Google search. Jackie Chan is Chinese born and clearly Asian. His accent is NOT American. Yes, perhaps there is a hint of an American accent but it's still largely Chinese. His English is of course, very good.

That's the case in ANY country, in theory at least. No, only the government can decide whether a foreigner can come and stay or not. Thai citizens who don't work for immigration have no say in the matter. Just like we in the west have no say when it comes to whether we want to be replaced through mass immigration. No one asked for our permission. No matter what our opinion is, and how unpopular mass immigration is, it continues because governments do what they want, irrespective of what their citizens want. It's the same in Thailand. The government allows masses of foreigners to come in as tourists and some of these become expats. The Thai people have no say in this. I'm pretty sure a lot of Thais don't want 40 million tourists a year, nor do they accept the presence of millions of migrant workers. Yet every year there are more tourists, more expats and more migrant workers.

Her English isn't that good. It's about average for a Thai person. I realize he may have been a bit out of line but she clearly didn't want to listen to what he had to say.

Jackie's English is very good but his accent is NOT American. That is the point. I'm responding to this ridiculous notion that according to this story, the man looked Chinese but spoke in an American accent. In other words, he was probably one of the millions of Chinese-Americans.