Old Croc

Migration Acts, Regulations, Police Orders, etc., even Immigration Departments themselves, exist for one specific reason - to control the entry and stay of an alien in a country. John Lennon's Imaginary plea for no borders doesn't exist, not even for the British! Every country has the right to decide who can enter and stay, and under which conditions. They can refuse entry to anyone at any time if they decide the entrant doesn't, or won't, meet their requirements. Some countries, Thailand is one, have provisions to appeal such a decision, many others don't, mainly on the basis that the complainant has not actually entered the country. If you want to enter and stay long term using a visa (or visa exempt) designed for short term tourism, don't be surprised if one day you get denied at a border. Whining about it, and laughably claiming they have no legal right to do so is naïve. Yes, of course Thailand government is riddled with corruption and inconsistencies, it's part of the way the place and the economy works. I've used the system to my advantage, and grumbled about being ripped off at other times. However, I'm able to understand that's how many things are achieved here as opposed to the bureaucratic mechanisms and corruption mainly for the big end of town, in Western countries. I know which system is cheapest for me and it's one reason I choose to live here.

I think many here would be denied under reason #4.

Maybe no longer valid, but pre-covid I bought some larger casual clothes from one or two of the souvenir shops at the carpark at Promthep Cape. A mate once bought a bundle of 3xl golf shirts from a little outlet in the Chalong Tesco (Lotus's?) mall. Haven't been there, but some say you can get larger sizes at Robinsons in Phuket city.

Bite your tongue!

I like a daily, happy ending massage after my golf game, followed by prolonged drinking sessions with the mates and a few girlies before heading home to my leased penthouse suite for a well earned sleep. Of course I only dine in 5 star hotel restaurants. The pension just doesn't cover this basic retirement lifestyle! The Australian government should either, at least, double the pension to allow their citizens to live like civilized human beings, or negotiate with the Thais to give discounted prices for these basics to foreigners who prop up their economy by deigning to live in their country!

Unfortunately lifeguards/lifesavers don't guarantee people wont still drown. Scores have drowned at Bondi over the years, and still do so. You can't always help stupid tourists who plunge into the sea like lemmings. I took these pics at Patong in 2006. A small stature lifesaver is helping a giant Brit and his girlfriend (obscured) back on the bank after they were swept into deep water on a very rough day. These guys do go into the water to assist.

It's also a fact, obvious to most, that I was responding to your last insulting sentence. I did not express an opinion about your other statements.

Seems to work well in a mill pond.

I've never met stevenl, but am aware he has been living on Phuket with his family for decades. He is a dive master and has his own diving business and shop in Kata a couple of streets from the beach. His experience and opinions on matters such as this are manifestly more valuable than your offerings. If you checked any of his 32.000 posts on this forum you wouldn't be making such idiotic insults.

Kata and Kata Noi are adjacent, but separate beaches.

I was surprised to see 2 sitting on our local school oval a couple of days ago.

First, find a comfortable planet which humans could colonize when we destroy our own rock. Then, work out how to move the whole box and dice several million light years away to the new digs.

It's the many changes that are always the worry. I am an OA who years down the line found a new onerous criteria suddenly added to my extensions. Are you happy that changes wont happen to this visa class when some greedy politician decides he should get a bigger share of your wealth? The 90 day reporting is a non event now with the new on-line system. One of the few positive changes imo.

Anyone clever enough to have that sort of financial standing isn't stupid enough to spend it jumping through the maze of Thailand's immigration hoops.

The requirement for health insurance was put to cabinet by the Health Department (Anutin) not Immigration. It is their amendment.

I changed from retirement to marriage a year or so ago. I've now been "under consideration" twice. The first year, just before the period expired, I rang the IO several times to try to ascertain if the extension had been approved as I didn't want to make the 125km journey only to be told to come back later. Nobody could help, the advice was to just come on the last day. It was ready when I showed up on that day. This year, I didn't bother to check, just went there on the last working day (it expired on a Saturday) and was told quite strongly that I should have rung first because it had only been approved the day before, and it may not have been ready on time! Same office, typical Immigration inconsistancy.

Pre-covid, I knew of a group of regular 6 month tourists who rented bikes when in Phuket. Every year they would head up to HH for about a week on their rented bikes. (Must have had friends there) The bike owner knew, and obviously had no objections. Incidentally, one of them was apparently a <deleted> rider and had several prangs over the years, He and his wife ended up in hospital several times and often seemed to be swathed in bandages. I believe he rode through the window of the local Honda shop one time.

I recall many years ago an extortionating scheme in Phuket that involved staff at gas stations putting weed inside car filler caps with the cops stopping the driver just down the street to extortionate them.

Does the condo have a working elevator?

I went out from Cairns on that very dive boat some time after they left the 2 Americans on the reef. The extensive checking, double checking and signing in regime that had then was annoying until you realized why.

See my post above.

When I applied for my new oz PP a couple of years ago, I kept the old, still valid, one until the replacement was at the consulate ready for pick up. They then cancelled the old one, stamped it a reference to the new one sufficient for Immigration to transfer visas, extensions, etc., then handed it back with the new document. Immigration transferred their visas, etc. when I applied for my next extension

I seem to recall he used to keep bars of gold in his apartment and one was stolen. The local rozers didn't seem that interested for some reason.

Like the bus drivers just before they plummet off a mountain. Just talking about the price with the missus this morning - just over 10 baht locally. A close reli is alternating between working for hours in the sun, sleeping for 14 hours or playing on his phone for 4 or 5 hours at a time without moving from a squat. Used to be fairly well built, played soccer, now rake thin.

My wife is on the phone just now talking to her sister in Bangkok who won 150k yesterday. This thread doesn't specify only in Thailand, so my story. In 1976, I was part of a work syndicate of 6 who won first prize in a lottery in Australia. My share bought most of my first house, and paid for a month long ocean cruise which included a stop-over in Thailand, my first ever visit. A succession of wives and partners, who always claimed (the bigger) half of the assets, whittled it down over time. Later in life, a period of singularity, good investments, and retirement funds enabled me to re-establish a comfortable base for the rest of my life. Thailand is consuming much of it, and I may yet meet my target of spending my last dollar on my last day.