BritTim

17 minutes ago, emptypockets said:

No doubt the child may grow up in Thailand. But with a non Thai mum and dad, what is the claim for Thai citizenship? This isn't the USA  where anyone born there has automatic right to citizenship.

Jus soli is recognised in Thai law. While the law is not the whole story, the Thai Nationality Act (2008) makes clear that those born on Thai soil (with a few exceptions) are entitled to Thai citizenship. See Section 7. Proving that you were born in Thailand is easy if you have a birth certificate issued in Thailand. Proving the exceptions do not apply can be more difficult. Anyway, it should be possible ultimately with a good lawyer to get Thai citizenship for the child confirmed. 

42 minutes ago, givogz9 said:

A newbie question:

if you get denied entry at an airport will they force you to buy a ticket to your country or can you choose?

In Hua Hin airport, they can only send you back to KUL as thats the only intl flight they have. Is it possible they would transport you to a bigger airport to send you packing?

By international agreement, the only hard and fast rule is that the airline that brought you to Thailand is responsible for your removal. This is true whether you are able or willing to pay the costs of your removal (though the airline will, of course, attempt to get reimbursement). Commonly, you are returned to the last embarkation point before arrival in Thailand, assuming you are eligible for entry there. In principle, you can ask the airline to take you anywhere on their route map that will admit you, promising to defray any costs the airline incurs. Sometimes, they will want to force you back to your home country as they know there will be no problems on your arrival there. They want to get rid of you.

In the specific case of Hua Hin airport, it is extremely likely that you will be returned to Kuala Lumpur.

3 minutes ago, DJ54 said:

Interview for passport? .. must be specific to some countries. Maybe OP can get an expedited interview date.. 

Although called an interview, that is not really what it is. It is a reserved time slot to check your documents and accept your passport application. In the event some weird situation occurs which requires a real interview, this will be carried out by UK consular officials.

1 hour ago, DrJack54 said:

Yeah. I have been trendy couple times with Thai gf to assist tourist visa application to OZ.

Obviously your UK and very experienced poster. The OP time frame sounds dicey.

Going to be be expensive booking flight home at last minute. On top of that, is pp handed over to VFS?

What would you suggest. I'm sure others at some point might be in same gig.

First, while the application is in progress, you are allowed to hang on to your passport. You provide photocopies of every page of your current passport and show VFS your original.

He should email VFS tonight (so they see his email first thing tomorrow morning) explaining the urgency, and asking if they can provide a priority interview immediately. Make sure the application is perfect (maybe get someone smarter than he is to check everything). Then, he should cross his fingers. If two days (possibly longer to ensure he can visit Immigration in time) before the end date of his permission to stay no standard passport has been issued, he should talk to the UK embassy about getting an emergency passport to be used for his extension.

54 minutes ago, Caldera said:

Good point. I was wondering the same - the OP didn't write what the child's connection to Thailand is and neither parent seems to be Thai. For that reason, I don't see how a child angle could be plaid at a consulate; not sure what @BritTim has in mind?

There can be many reasons why someone can be better off in the country they were born rather than the country of citizenship of the father or mother. I am assuming such a case exists here. Suppose the mother came from a country like Somalia, and the child has been in Thailand continuously since birth. It is quite reasonable to assume the child would be better off in Thailand than Somalia. Whatever the reason for wanting the child to grow up in Thailand (with his father present) the OP needs to carefully document that before talking to a consulate who might listen.

It is tough. Given the fact that you have a good reason for wanting to be in Thailand with your child, a sympathetic consulate might be willing to help you. You might need a consulate willing to listen. Make sure you take paperwork with you that documents the situation with your child, and why it is in the child's best interests to be in Thailand.

Plan to return by land whether you score a visa or not. If determined to fly in, at least avoid both Bangkok airports, Phuket and Krabi.

Cheapest possibly viable option is Kuala Lumpur who might give you the visa. If not, returning by land (bus to Hat Yai) is possible.

Consulates that would likely give you a hearing and might be sympathetic are Yangon and Hanoi. From Yangon, you can return overland by overnight VIP bus to Myawaddy, entering Thailand at Maesot. From Hanoi, either fly or go overland to Vientiane, entering Thailand at Nong Khai.

I know none of this is convenient, but it is the reality now.

30 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

OP, seems like your between rock and hard place. This most likely a very dumb suggestion but keep in mind just trying to assist. Is it at all possible to physically go to VFS and explain your situation. Even if it meant waiting all day. Perhaps someone does not show up for appointment. 

If you just turn up at Trendy, it is actually difficult even to get to talk with VFS. You are checked for an appointment confirmation before you are even allowed in the lift (elevator).

3 hours ago, Ashaz said:

Will they accept my UK insurance like they did, but only just, last November, or will they just give me a 30 day tourist "visa" (if only...) or will they refuse entry altogether?

Most likely they will just give you a visa exempt entry (assuming you have an onward flight booking within 30 days). Given your travel history, it would be extremely harsh if they denied you entry altogether.

17 hours ago, 007 RED said:

I doubt very much that his arrest and possible deportation has anything to do with one day overstay.

Here, I very much agree with you.

When I talk about a sloppy post, I do not suggest he has told us the whole story. My comments were on the overall timeline which I suspect is close. There is plenty of evidence that the authorities are seriously upset, and want to be rid of him. Unless he is rich, he is not going to be back in Thailand for a long time.

5 minutes ago, homeseeker said:

2 hours each way...

 

Its the only one for do 1 year retirement renewal in BKK area as far as I know.

 

Have u ever visited CW?

 

a backwater in the middle of nowhere....

Indeed, by public transport from some areas, two hours is credible. It ought to be less than an hour by car/taxi and expressway.

On 2/2/2020 at 12:20 PM, unblocktheplanet said:

Looks like they're working this out with the Thai Embassy in their own country. Thanks, everybody.

I know working with the Thai embassy seems logical. However, you might want to warn your company that the embassy will usually be completely clueless about anything other than the services they provided themselves. The company needs to deal with someone who fully understands Thai immigration and labour laws and practices. The Thai embassy does not. Note: the longer they leave this until employing an expert, the more difficulty there will be in resolving it. Good luck!

If you are set on Thailand, and unwilling to consider Thailand Elite, this is how you should proceed, recognising that, as time goes on, you face increasing hassle and risk,

• Forget about a Non Ed visa through a language school until tourist visas become impossible. Too many applications for Non Ed visas are now being refused, and (even when you have the visa) the extensions can be problematic.
• Definitely start with an METV from home country. Your initial entry through an airport is safe, and (as you realise) this will get you 8-9 months with extensions and border bounces by land. You must do a border bounce for a fresh 60-day stay every 60 days (or 90 days if you get the 30-day extension from the immigration office). You should do this by land as entering by air as a long stay tourist involves risk (though some airports might be OK).
• When your stay on the METV is exhausted, you will need a fresh tourist visa. Best would be a further METV from home country.
  • If you get an METV from home country, research which airports appear safe to enter with a visa. The Bangkok airports and Phuket airport should not be used to enter as a long stay tourist. There is a big risk that they will not accept your visa.
  • For a single entry tourist visa, you will need to carefully select the consulate to apply. Besides looking at the chances of a successful application, you must also ensure that you can enter by land (whether successful in your application or not). Currently (subject to change) suitable consulates where you may be successful in your application are Yangon, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Ensuring land entry can mean fully overland, or taking a flight to Vientiane and crossing to Nong Khai. There are a few land crossings to avoid (notably Poipet/Aranyaprathet).
• When your permission to stay on a tourist entry expires, talk with your doctor about whether a justification for a medical extension might be possible.
• When it is no longer possible to get tourist visas, you will need to fall back on Non Ed visas. Carefully verify whether and where students of your chosen school have succeeded in getting their visas. Further research how much hassle students have with extensions and how long they are able to extend.
• You have two (currently completely safe) visa exempt entries by land in a calendar year. Those are your insurance policy, and should only be used in an emergency (except possible right at the end of the year).

Everything is subject to change without notice. Good luck!

I think, realistically, the easiest way would be to live in the Philippines, and come sometimes to Thailand for medical treatment. Bumrungrad is expensive, so I assume the cost of travel and hotel for medical trips would not be a major impediment to such a plan. To be honest, while there might be ways of getting through two years on education and tourist visas, it would be tricky and stressful. The only easy way would be if you were willing to spring for a five year Thailand Elite Easy Access membership (500,000 baht).

13 hours ago, NanLaew said:

You are correct. There isn't one. So what is your point exactly?

 

It doesn't matter a jot what you or I think he is either. Based on what the Immigration Officer saw, the OP isn't what he considered to be a tourist. Furthermore, based on the surge of similar threads about being let in with a last warning or refused entry, it is their country and it is their rules.

In my opinion, the immigration officials ought to be enforcing the laws of Thailand, not making up their own rules on who ought or ought not to be admitted.

6 hours ago, shadowofacloud said:

Yes, I think I overanalyzed the whole thing. To me it was a bit of a hierarchy:

 

 Visa

 - stay permit

 - extended stay permit

 - re-entry permit

 

All under the same visa "entity", to use technical nomenclature.  But it seems it is does not work this way.

 

Well, a lesson for future re-entries.

The point is that Immigration at the airport needs to see the stamp/sticker that provides the authorisation for you to enter Thailand. In your case, that was the re-entry permit. Anything else they want is cross referenced from the re-entry permit.

Some agents can arrange VIP queuing. This is not illegal, but some members who see nothing wrong with VIP lines at airports will object to you paying to avoid the queues at immigration.

8 hours ago, cleopatra2 said:

From the 0P he was on Criminal Visa for at least 8 months. This would take him to the time he allso claims to be on VE and 30 day exemprion

Yes, there are discrepancies in his timeline. Issues started about a year ago, he left for half a year, returning on visa exempt + extension, then court proceedings lasted eight months. Everything more or less lines up if court proceedings lasted six months. I suspect a sloppy post rather than deliberate misinformation, but cannot be sure.

3 hours ago, cleopatra2 said:

in post 57 it is claimed a year ago the police officer  made it difficult to obtain first criminal visa .

Yet in july the poster is using tourist visa 

I understand that to mean that he tried to get an extension of stay a year ago, and was unsuccessful. On that basis, he wisely left the country. Showing less intelligence, he returned later.

1 hour ago, cleopatra2 said:

July last year you claimed to be on Tourist Visa +playing the 30 days VE whilst running a restaurant .

When exactly did you commence the criminal visa ?

You need the extension of permission to stay based on court proceedings after you are arrested, and if your current permission to stay is expiring. Based on his previous posts, that was when he tried to do a border bounce after the extension of his visa exempt entry (so, somewhere in the August/September time frame).

5 minutes ago, 007 RED said:

I suspect all they will be able to do is put you in contact with a Bangkok based lawyer.  As I said earlier, he/she will have to be very good and that comes at a price.

Further to 007 RED's excellent post, I would add that you should not blow money on lawyers that you must have to pay for your air ticket back to France. You are going to be deported if the prosecuting police have it in for you (which based on your account appears to be the case). If tried earlier, bribes to the police might have overcome their antipathy towards you. By now, it has gone up the line, and only truly massive bribes might save you. Accept reality, and make your plans accordingly. Perhaps, see if you can arrange to live in Vietnam, and (at least) have your wife and baby visit on a regular basis.

6 hours ago, misterphil said:

Can you advise? You say you can work on a Non O visa? I have a Non O visa, Thai wife and we have a son together. 

 

Can i work on this visa? 

Yes, you can. Of course, you still need a work permit. To work, you need both a qualifying visa/permission to stay and the work permit.

As others have written, there is no immediate problem in what you propose. That said, I always advice people not to burn those land based visa exempt entries except in an emergency. They are your insurance policy if unable to enter in another fashion. I especially feel this in your case, first because it is so early in the year, second because your plan of using serial single entry Non O visas may be refused by the consulate or immigration without notice.

Why not exit Thailand to some other town in Laos if you dislike Savannakhet, and travel up to Savannakhet early Monday? For instance, you could exit Thailand at Chong Mek and spend a night or two in Pakse.

26 minutes ago, tcp7 said:

To be honest with you guys, I can disclose an extra bit of information, this occured in Kalasin, the original complaint was registered at a small police station in a city where everyone literally knows everyone, my lawyer suspects she has some close knit family ties to the police officer who originally instructed this case and that officer has been literally breathing on our necks for this entire year, the whole trial.

If this is the case, blacklisting is inevitable.

31 minutes ago, tcp7 said:

Oh and also had a question: Given I don’t get any blacklist time, would it be possible to arrange the IDC to sent me to a closer destination say Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar or do I really have to fly back to France?

If you are being deported, the airline and receiving country must be informed of the deportation, and are allowed to refuse to accept you. In practice, all airlines and other countries routinely refuse deportees without going to the trouble of trying to understand individual cases. The only exception is that your national airline and home country are obliged to accept you. Regardless of blacklisting, you are being deported. You will, in practice, have to buy a (probably expensive) one way ticket on Air France.

8 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Maybe leave while your appeal is underway.

If an appeal is issued, there is zero chance that the block on him leaving the country will be lifted. If it is made clear that he accepts the verdict and sentence (as recommended by his lawyer) the block on leaving should be lifted almost immediately. The issue with immigration (a separate issue) then becomes the only real problem.

As @ubonjoe wrote, this seems an overreaction by immigration. I wonder if there are details to this story that we are unaware of.