watso63

Goodbye Scotland, it wasn't nice owning you.

No more Labour governments put into power via Scottish votes. Maybe in my next passport I can call myself English.

Then we can have a war to fight for what's left of the oil & gas reserves.(Historically the English have always treated the Scots harshly when they rebelled, so why not now)?

Life's looking better already.

Seriously, the SNP almost disappeared without Alex Salmond (as I'm sure UKIP would without Nigel Farage). He had to come back to rejuvinate the party, the argument, the fight and the cause! A pipe dream, the Scots have it good and they know it. Apart from "Braveheart" what do people living in the modern world really care about the past? Housing, pensions, jobs, security.

Bring it on Scotland, I'm really looking forward to this one.

Applying from Malaysia is done online.

How to apply

You must apply and pay for your passport online.

Before you start you need:

your current passport

2 identical new photos of you (or your child, if its a child passport application)

any other current passports issued by other countries

a MasterCard, Visa, Visa Electron, Visa Debit or Maestro (UK Domestic) card - Maestro (International) cards arent accepted

Read the guidance notes to help you fill in your online application. Check which supporting documents you must send with your application. Any documents that arent in English (including documents showing an address) must be translated by a professional translator.

You will need to print, sign and post your declaration form at the end.

EXPATS & DHL must be more trustworthy in Malaysia than Thailand.If a delivery address is an issue in Thailand why on earth would someone go to the trouble of applying for a passport only to give an incorrect delivery address? The internet or "WWW (WORLD WIDE WEB) is just that, so if it's good for Malaysia then it should be good for any country that has a recognised democracy... and is not subject to a dictatorship or Martial Law...DOH???

Have they moved the goal posts again?

Just thought I'd check up on current procedures and saw this:

Getting your passport

Your passport will be delivered to the UK Visa Application Centre where you applied - you must collect it in person.

They will contact you - using the details on your application form - when your passport is ready to collect.

You must bring your existing passport as photo ID.

Contact the Passport Adviceline

Telephone: +44 (0) 300 222 0000

Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm (UK time)

Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, 9am to 5:30pm (UK time)

Find out about call charges

Is there anything wrong with this page?

Last updated: 21 May 2014

So, no more proxy as you have to collect in person.

I remember the 1st time I encountered Russians on a foreign holiday was in Tenerife. I never went back there again. The 2nd time was in Thailand. Same experience, except that I live here now and know how to avoid them as I don't stay in hotels hotel full of them. Sad, but true.

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Check out the differences between the M60 (image 1) & the GPMG (image 2). Foresight and barrell flash eliminator are two easy ones to spot.

That picture in the OP is priceless.

Come to Thailand and go home with a snappy in a real Jeep, complete with .30 cal machine gun.

I was thinking an M60, but perhaps my eyes (and the times) have changed. 7.62mm

You are correct...It is an M60

No, no, no.

The L7A2 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) is a 7.62 x 51mm belt-fed general purpose machine gun which can be used as a light weapon and in a sustained fire (SF) role.

In the SF role, mounted on a tripod and fitted with the C2 optical sight, it is fired by a two-man team who are grouped in a specialist Machine Gun Platoon to provide battalion-level fire support. In SF mode, the GPMG, with a two-man crew, lays down 750 rounds-per-minute at ranges up to 1800 metres.

The GPMG can be carried by foot soldiers and employed as a light machine gun (LMG), although it has largely been replaced by the lighter 5.56 x 45mm Minimi in this role, in most regiments. A fold-out bipod is used to support the GPMG in the LMG role.

Versions of the GPMG are mounted on most Army vehicles and some helicopters.

Calibre 7.62mm

Weight 13.85kg (gun plus 50-round belt)

Length 1230mm (light role)

Barrel length 629mm

Muzzle velocity 838m/s

Feed 100-round disintegrating link belt

Effective range 800m light role, 1800m sustained fire role

Cyclic rate of fire 750 rounds per minute

A friend of mine changed his route yesterday on Friday. Instead holidays in Thailand he will take a flight at Suvarnabhumi right away to Vietnam.

i guess he is not the only one.

Yeah, because Vietnam's nice and quiet at the moment...not!

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/vietnams-anti-china-riots-scaring-off-foreign-businesses-095605375.html#BASqiCU

Yes, it might be said that right now, it's more dangerous to be in Vietnam than it is to be in Thailand !

Still, the buildings being burnt down are owned by mainland Chinese companies, and the ones being killed are Chinese workers in those companies. So you should be safe if you're from Europe. But the violence might spread out of control, some Taiwan companies in Vietnam have been attacked. And Singaporean companies are a bit worried.

Hey, Burma is 'safer' than Thailand and Vietnam !

And who'd have thought that 2 years ago??? Anyway, not for me, I've seen Rambo V, or was it, III or IV. Can't remember!

A friend of mine changed his route yesterday on Friday. Instead holidays in Thailand he will take a flight at Suvarnabhumi right away to Vietnam.

i guess he is not the only one.

Yeah, because Vietnam's nice and quiet at the moment...not!

That picture in the OP is priceless.

Come to Thailand and go home with a snappy in a real Jeep, complete with .30 cal machine gun.

I was thinking an M60, but perhaps my eyes (and the times) have changed. 7.62mm

The L7A2 General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) is a 7.62 x 51mm belt-fed general purpose machine gun which can be used as a light weapon and in a sustained fire (SF) role.

In the SF role, mounted on a tripod and fitted with the C2 optical sight, it is fired by a two-man team who are grouped in a specialist Machine Gun Platoon to provide battalion-level fire support. In SF mode, the GPMG, with a two-man crew, lays down 750 rounds-per-minute at ranges up to 1800 metres.

The GPMG can be carried by foot soldiers and employed as a light machine gun (LMG), although it has largely been replaced by the lighter 5.56 x 45mm Minimi in this role, in most regiments. A fold-out bipod is used to support the GPMG in the LMG role.

Versions of the GPMG are mounted on most Army vehicles and some helicopters.

Calibre 7.62mm

Weight 13.85kg (gun plus 50-round belt)

Length 1230mm (light role)

Barrel length 629mm

Muzzle velocity 838m/s

Feed 100-round disintegrating link belt

Effective range 800m light role, 1800m sustained fire role

Cyclic rate of fire 750 rounds per minute

Just try to be at least 2km away if the army starts playing with these things 555.

Here you go spouse be prepared for a bit of a wait, get the assistants name & note the exact time & date of the call for future reference. +44 3002220000 Just don't hold your breath. If your fee has been taken, the best you can expect is confirmation that it is being processed, but that in itself is some reassurance ie it hasn't gone awol.

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How can HMPO justify a thousand mile round trip (x2) for overseas residents after publishing this snippet yesterday?

Glasgow team helps keep trust in UK passports

“HM Passport Office also utilise a video interview service for first time adult passport customers resident in remote areas of the UK. This service uses 23 local authority offices in Scotland to host a video interview. This service is also used in 3 local authority offices in Wales and 1 in England. Staff in Glasgow Office conduct the majority of the interviews and approximately 70% are for customers attending local authority sites in Scotland and 30% for customers attending local authority sites in England and Wales”.

There you go, I said something like this should happen earlier in this thread. Now get a grip back in Blighty. I can Skype my brother no problem from out here in the Surin outback. What are you waiting for?

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A bit of an update to my experience (so far).

I submitted my application at Trendy on 9 April and my bank account was debited on 15 April. I am due to travel to UK on 3 June.

I phoned the HMPO people in UK today and eventually got put through to the tracking guy who gave me a reference number in case I have reason to call them again in the future. He basically told me that my passport is going through "the checks" but he couldn't say how far it had progressed and whether it was likely to take another day, week or month. He told me that it was highly unlikely that I would receive my new passport before 2 June ... no big deal - I'll get an ETD next week at the Embassy and head back to Songkhla to transfer my stamps to that from my current passport. I am none the wiser as to when I'm likely to receive my new passport. Luckily, the unis are on holiday until August ... hopefully it'll all be sorted before then.

I agree with Scotthai - it is a big deal, in fact it is a dog's breakfast as we know. The fact that they cannot give a timescale is shocking.

You applied 7 weeks before your travel date - under the old system with Hong Kong you would have been perfectly safe with that timescale.

We were obviously at trendy the same day - my card payment was taken a day later.

I am waiting for a response to my question about what they advise me to do if my passport is not back by 16th June (8 weeks after the card payment was taken) as I shall then be staying illegally in Thailand.

Foreign criminals in the UK get better treatment. The various agencies/authorities fall over themselves making sure a hurdu, arabic, punjabi, polish, romanian or any other nationality get legal representation and a translater at the earliest opportunity. Just a whinge really, but you get the picture???

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In your situation, as you have 2 properties and have (or had) several million baht in accounts in Thailand ...

Would it not be better in the long run to just get a 1 yr extension based upon investment ?

Understand that 10 million in investment , which can also be real estate will qualify.

So this may be the lowest risk option for your situation

More info on investment extension...

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/659800-investment-visa/

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My first visa was a 12 month multi entry B visa. It was granted to enable me to look for investment opportunities in Thailand. As part of my application I submitted a letter from my chartered accountant confirming that I had 500KUSD cash in at call bank accounts. After doing due dilligence for three years I have not found a single investment where in my assessment the pontential return (yield and/or capital growth) offset the manifest domestic risks such as corruption and political instability. I do however hold large short term positions on the SET from time to time. Moving forward I see nothing that may diminish the aforementioned risks. In fact they would now appear to be increasing exponentially. The tourist visa crackdown is another example with this nebulous "suspect" someone might be working statement by immigration and the subsequent threat to blacklist forever.

So no thankyou. No 10 million investment visa for me.

As with Simon43, I am shortly due for a border run. I will be monitoring the situation closely. Should I encounter any unjustified mistreatment by immigration whatsoever, I intend to transfer several more million baht out of the country and to also sell my hard assets.

I will move on to either Cambodia or Indonesia. As I posted in another thread, they have just introduced a 25 year visa for anyone who marries an Indonesian citizen. Those married to a Thai can only dream of such a luxury.

Oh. I should also mention another of my practical solutions. I sold one of my big bikes. I still have four others and a couple of trucks. I may sell them also depending on what transpires during my next border run. No...I don't view vehicles as assets, but rather as liabilities, but go figure, I had my bike for two years and made 10KTHB more than what I paid for it.

In my humble opinion Farangs here should watch very closely the way the Vietnamese have just turned on the Chinese living there. I was in Indonesia back in the early 90s and I saw exactly the same thing happen there. Mobs of locals running through the villages smashing up and stealing from the Chinese merhchants and gold shops.

Think of Thailand as a bus. No one is driving that bus at the moment. It is sailing down the highway at top speed. With no one at the wheel. When the crash inevitably comes, someone may stand up and blame the Farangs for the carnage. It is happening now in Vietnam. It has already happened in Indonesia. Don't for a second think it can not happen here. And if it does, it will happend very swiftly.

I do not wear a tinfoil hat, but, as my OP suggests, I am rather pragmatic. If Thailand wants to increase the risk to my assets by not providing clear rules, and consistent and reliable application of those rules, then I am left with little choice than to remove my assets from exposure to that risk. And if things really fall apart...I will also remove myself.

More paranoid than pragmatic I would say. Thailand's always been risky, but yuo've splashed enough cash about in the past already. Fine go ahead and plan for what you think's best for you. If you don't want the investment visa, to marry a Thai national, educate yourself or get a job then you are limiting yourself to what choices are on offer. If you did get blacklisted and banned for 5 years you have quite a few large assets/liabilities in Thailand that would be difficult to manage ie properties, cars, motorbikes etc. Not easy to shift in a hurry and I feel the vultures are already circling looking for distressed sales.

Anyway best of luck....oops, seems he's gone already. Ah well.

just who in their right mind would invest in pounds! after scotland succeeds and switches to euro, pound is gonna lose just how much of its value exactly? good riddance.

Have you been drinking? Leaving virtually the strongest currency in Europe to adopt the Euro? Yeah, makes great sense.

Once you have independence then the English will breathe a huge sigh of relief and be considerably wealthier.

you win. joke of the century

A strong rebuttal can be made, but this requires an acknowledgement that English taxpayers have been losing out for years thanks to the Barnett Formula an issue, like Euroscepticism, where political leaders fear to tread.

When the TaxPayers Alliance last examined the figures in Unequal Shares: The definitive guide to the Barnett Formula, by former Treasury economist Mike Denham, we found that identifiable public spending per head in England is £7,535 pa (2007-08).

But in Scotland it is 22 per cent (£1,644) higher.

Good riddance.

And another delusional, blue-eyed kid ("less than 21 years old") who thinks that all he has to do is flying into Thailand - probably on a visa-on-arrival - and can live happily near palm-fringed beaches and bathe in tropical bliss "for some years at least" without ever having to hammer out a concrete plan taking into considerations the numerous restrictions foreigners - particularly ones who intend to work! - have to deal with.

How about a work permit? Given any thought to that? You (and your girlfriend) CANNOT work in Thailand without a proper work permit, even if you run an online business. It's illegal.

How about your visa arrangements? Thailand is becoming very strict with regards to foreigners who just come to stay "for some years at least" without holding appropriate long-term visas or extensions of stay.

How about health insurance? Anything in mind yet?

While $ 2,000 to 3,000 per month may be very sufficient for two people even when they stay in Phuket (Phucket???), it all depends on how you define "eat good and live good".

Why don't you do quite a bit more research on your own, devise a concrete plan, and then return to TV and present it for comments, feedback and suggestions? Give us some beef to chew on, not just a thing broth with no meat in it!

But no, instead you just want to go the easy way, present a rather vague and rudimentary idea and expect that forum members will go to great lengths doing all the hard work for you and lay out a plan that might (or might not) be agreeable with you.

The magic word is "Internet". With some time effort, there you can find exhausting information on all types of accommodation, price ranges, locations, restaurants, general living cost, attractions, environments, official regulations and requirements for potential Thailand residents, and much, much more.

Good answer but so unnecessary for such an obvious troll...or are there really such stupid people out there???

"I sent my application on 27 February. Supposed to have been delivered to my house. It's what I paid for, but no, instead I had to drive over 1000km to pick up my passport on 9 May. Glad you like the current service, but plenty of people don't. Did the counter assistant actually check your passport against the photocopies provided? That is supposed to be the whole point of the "VFS PARTNERSHIP" , to physically check the old passport and eventually to stamp cancelled on the back page. Others have said they didn't. Anyway, it's still a crap system and a complete waste of British Taxpayers money. I'm just glad I can sit back and relax in the sun without having to "pay in" anymore."

I made a comment about the counter service but everyone has used it as an excuse to complain about every other aspect of the service. I am beginning to wonder who has a problem with the English language.

To answer your question, she did check quite thoroughly all photocopies against the passport, she was very efficient and knew exactly what she was doing. There was no cancelled stamp.

I can understand your frustration and possibly in 10 weeks when I have not had my passport back I too could have a complaint, but not against the counter service.

I understand my language very well thank you. I did say that I was glad you liked the service you received, but just pointed out that others did not. In my case I was told that I could collect my passport at 09:00 hrs, but when I got there I had to wait until 10:00 hrs followed by a furher wait inside and then gave up when I tried asking the counter assistant??? a few basic questions in English. As for the stamp, once the application process has started your passport is effectively cancelled, so why they don't stamp it at the beginning seems a bit strange.

Because if they did that, one would only need to make one trip to BKK and the new passport could be couriered to your home address rather than collected in BKK .

HMPO wrote to me in an email dated 17th April:

In order to guarantee public protection and so that the passport once replaced cannot be reused for illegal purposes should it be intercepted by a third party it is important that the replaced passport is physically cancelled. To ensure this takes place, the new passport is returned to the UK Visa Application Centre in Bangkok where the customer must present their “old” passport for it to be physically cancelled at which time they will then be presented with their new passport.

In countries such as Malaysia the passport is now couriered direct to your home from the UK (along with the old item which has been physically cancelled), the only reason HMPO state for one to go BKK a second time is to collect the new one and get your old passport cancelled.

However we are assured by the HMPO website that cancellation in fact happens as soon as your application is filed, so exactly, why can your passport not be physically cancelled at that point and the new passport subsequently couriered direct to your home (same courier service doubtless as used to send passports to trendy), thus saving the second trip to BKK?

This system would be extremely simple for any competent organization to implement, but would, of course, cut down on the fee that Trendy could then charge HMPO for their 'service'!

Don't forget there will probably be quite a few British Passports travelling by post to friends, or friends of friends for collection from Trendy on behalf of far away applicants. Hardly secure, but HMPO will just wash their hands of this practice by saying the responsiblity and security of the passport lies with the holder and is therefore not to be recommended. Try convincing someone who stands to save several thousang baht???

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"I sent my application on 27 February. Supposed to have been delivered to my house. It's what I paid for, but no, instead I had to drive over 1000km to pick up my passport on 9 May. Glad you like the current service, but plenty of people don't. Did the counter assistant actually check your passport against the photocopies provided? That is supposed to be the whole point of the "VFS PARTNERSHIP" , to physically check the old passport and eventually to stamp cancelled on the back page. Others have said they didn't. Anyway, it's still a crap system and a complete waste of British Taxpayers money. I'm just glad I can sit back and relax in the sun without having to "pay in" anymore."

I made a comment about the counter service but everyone has used iy as an excuse to complain about every other aspect of the service. I am beginning to wonder who has a problem with the English language.

To answer your question, she did check quite thoroughly all photocopies against the passport, she was very efficient and knew exactly what she was doing. There was no cancelled stamp.

I can understand your fustration and possibly in 10 weeks when I have not had my passport back I too could have a complaint, but not against the counter service.

I understand my laguage very well thank you. I did say that I was glad you liked the service you received, but just pointed out that others did not. In my case I was told that I could collect my passport at 09:00 hrs, but when I got there I had to wait until 10:00 hrs followed by a furher wait inside and then gave up when I tried asking the counter assistant??? a few basic questions in English. As for the stamp, once the application process has started your passport is effectively cancelled, so why they don't stamp it at the beginning seems a bit strange.

I am grateful that they didn't stamp my old passport 'cancelled' (although I agree logic says this is what should happen).

I thought I had planned my passport renewal sensibly by starting on the process on 26th March (the day of implementation of the new procedures) knowing that my permission to stay ran until 16th June. To cut a long story short, my card payment was processed on 16th April and it is cutting things fine based on the apparent 8 week turnround time.

It is the issue of permission to stay that becomes the major consideration with this appalling processing time.

I reasoned that Thai immigration would not be linked to the HMPO or any other international computer system. Therefore, I decided to try to arrange a retirement extension based on the old (cancelled) passport. Fortunately, I was right and I had no problem getting the extension - OK, it will cost 500 Baht to eventually transfer the details into the new passport but I at least have peace of mind of knowing that I have avoided the risk of staying here illegally.

I was being rushed by the TG to go visit her mum when I wrote that. I was going to add that by not stamping at the beginning, it does actually allow someone to chance their luck with a border crossing or gaining a new visa/extension of stay. So it just proves again that Trendy are not really that switched on, fortunately for you lol.

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"I sent my application on 27 February. Supposed to have been delivered to my house. It's what I paid for, but no, instead I had to drive over 1000km to pick up my passport on 9 May. Glad you like the current service, but plenty of people don't. Did the counter assistant actually check your passport against the photocopies provided? That is supposed to be the whole point of the "VFS PARTNERSHIP" , to physically check the old passport and eventually to stamp cancelled on the back page. Others have said they didn't. Anyway, it's still a crap system and a complete waste of British Taxpayers money. I'm just glad I can sit back and relax in the sun without having to "pay in" anymore."

I made a comment about the counter service but everyone has used iy as an excuse to complain about every other aspect of the service. I am beginning to wonder who has a problem with the English language.

To answer your question, she did check quite thoroughly all photocopies against the passport, she was very efficient and knew exactly what she was doing. There was no cancelled stamp.

I can understand your fustration and possibly in 10 weeks when I have not had my passport back I too could have a complaint, but not against the counter service.

I understand my laguage very well thank you. I did say that I was glad you liked the service you received, but just pointed out that others did not. In my case I was told that I could collect my passport at 09:00 hrs, but when I got there I had to wait until 10:00 hrs followed by a furher wait inside and then gave up when I tried asking the counter assistant??? a few basic questions in English. As for the stamp, once the application process has started your passport is effectively cancelled, so why they don't stamp it at the beginning seems a bit strange.

Expensive stamp, that is!!!

Went to the Trendy yesterday, first time, for passport renewal. Much more convenient than Regent House, have stayed at the Miami hotel a couple of times. A lot more facilities in the building so much better if you have any waiting time.

My appointment was at 3pm and it was absolutely chaotic outside the lift. I saw the visa desk but was not sure so I asked the guy if it was also for passports, he said yes and pushed me to the front of the queue. I was about 40 minutes early and expected to wait but she took my name ,gave me a ticket and sent me through. When I went in the office it was chock a block which did not look good, I checked my counter number and there was no one there. I went straight up, gave my name and handed in the docs. She checked them over, asked me to sign the photocopies and gave me a receipt, job done. In and out in under ten minutes.

A couple of specific points. She told me it would take 4 to 6 weeks and then asked me to repeat what she had said. Must be a sore point.

I asked when payment would be taken and she said that payment is taken in the UK when they start to process the application. Something that bothered me a little as my cards are not cleared for use in Thailand. People with foreign cards should bear this in mind.

There is a notice on the counter with the fees, jumbo being 114.01 GBP, as on the website.

Job done In and out in under ten minutes

Did you ask them if they had a masters degree in checking British passport documents.

Because to order a British citizen whether elderly or disabled who lives in North or South Thailand to travel at least 2,000 kilometres to present their documents with no other option period, and have the job done in under ten minutes. I would say they should have some kind of masters degree, so the elderly or disabled British citizen cant say "at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask" on their 15 hour bus journey back home

You can imagine the uproar from the likes of age concern etc if they made a british citizen in the UK travel from John o' groats to Lands end to present their passport documents and be in and out within ten minutes

If they're that good, employ them in Liverpool???

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I do not know about Liverpool. My last renewal about 4 years ago was at a post office in Sheffield. Took over an hour.

I sent my application on 27 February. Supposed to have been delivered to my house. It's what I paid for, but no, instead I had to drive over 1000km to pick up my passport on 9 May. Glad you like the current service, but plenty of people don't. Did the counter assistant actually check your passport against the photocopies provided? That is supposed to be the whole point of the "VFS PARTNERSHIP" , to physically check the old passport and eventually to stamp cancelled on the back page. Others have said they didn't. Anyway, it's still a crap system and a complete waste of British Taxpayers money. I'm just glad I can sit back and relax in the sun without having to "pay in" anymore.

Sent from my GT-N5100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Went to the Trendy yesterday, first time, for passport renewal. Much more convenient than Regent House, have stayed at the Miami hotel a couple of times. A lot more facilities in the building so much better if you have any waiting time.

My appointment was at 3pm and it was absolutely chaotic outside the lift. I saw the visa desk but was not sure so I asked the guy if it was also for passports, he said yes and pushed me to the front of the queue. I was about 40 minutes early and expected to wait but she took my name ,gave me a ticket and sent me through. When I went in the office it was chock a block which did not look good, I checked my counter number and there was no one there. I went straight up, gave my name and handed in the docs. She checked them over, asked me to sign the photocopies and gave me a receipt, job done. In and out in under ten minutes.

A couple of specific points. She told me it would take 4 to 6 weeks and then asked me to repeat what she had said. Must be a sore point.

I asked when payment would be taken and she said that payment is taken in the UK when they start to process the application. Something that bothered me a little as my cards are not cleared for use in Thailand. People with foreign cards should bear this in mind.

There is a notice on the counter with the fees, jumbo being 114.01 GBP, as on the website.

Job done In and out in under ten minutes

Did you ask them if they had a masters degree in checking British passport documents.

Because to order a British citizen whether elderly or disabled who lives in North or South Thailand to travel at least 2,000 kilometres to present their documents with no other option period, and have the job done in under ten minutes. I would say they should have some kind of masters degree, so the elderly or disabled British citizen cant say "at least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask" on their 15 hour bus journey back home

You can imagine the uproar from the likes of age concern etc if they made a british citizen in the UK travel from John o' groats to Lands end to present their passport documents and be in and out within ten minutes

If they're that good, employ them in Liverpool???

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By enforcing the regulations as they are doing they are throwing out the baby with the bathwater: for instance, with the under 50s, offshore workers, certain travellers, folks from other developing countries or teachers who are not necessarily trying to work illegally.

I highly doubt the vast majority of people being effected by this in various ways and to numerous extents are really criminals, 'poor quality' people or are remotely trying to 'play' the system. Many of these people are just doing what they can within a system that is unaccommodating, lacking, faulty or corrupt and some of them have more than likely been benefiting Thailand way beyond the price of a thousand baht visa. See dozens of posts in various related topics for examples of why a teacher might spend periods of time working illegally through no fault of their own, for instance.

If people's lives are to change without notice, if they are to be left stranded outside a border, if they are to be questioned, accused, blacklisted, deported or detained....

It is Thai Immigration and every one of their officials who are most responsible and should be held most to blame, not just for the sure inconvenience, the difficulty and indeed even probable suffering for some people due to their utterly unprofessional introduction of actually enforcing their own law, but also those same Thai Immigration officials should look to themsleves and/or their colleagues for being most responsible in allowing things to have got to this point at all.

Perhaps they can also be paid ABOVE THE TABLE to interrogate each other as to why they now might think it's appropriate not to allow for a period of grace so everybody can make the changes necessary for us all to live our lives as best as we possibly can.

PS. I actually totally condone this enforcement, if implemented better.

How can it be Immigration's fault if a teacher is working here illegally? Blame the teacher for not getting everything in order first or blame the teaching establishment for not ensuring the legal requirements are implemented prior to employment. Thailand has very liberable visa rules. The UK, USA, Australia are many times harsher. Just remember the 7 P's before coming here. PROPER PLANNING and PREPARATION PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE and then enjoy.

Genuine tourists are fine. All they have to do is prove to the immigration officer at the border checkpoint that they really are tourists by presenting evidence such as their travel itinerary, hotel booking, tour bookings and any other documents to prove their travel in Thailand is genuine, Lt Gen Pharnu said on Wednesday...

What am i to do, when i'm between job's or waiting for work i have several times spent my time in Thailand, i arrive with absolutely no plans other than the hotel booked for the first 2 - 3 nights from that on i usually do whatever i pleases and feel like to do. I arrive on the arrival visa and a quite few times i have done the border run. I wont as it stands now be able to show hotel booking, travel itinerary or tour bookings because i like to stay on my own terms. I'm not working here, i'm not a drug carrier i follow the laws here and i don't do anything illegal. I even drive motorbike with helmet and have a international licence. I spend a shit load of money here and probably also way to much and have done so for 5 - 6 years now. I stay in thailand 3 - 5 times a year for periods from 10 days to 2 months as i like it much more than my cold clima.

As i can understand from this i'm no longer to be considered a genuine tourist and might risk a charge of working illegal in Thailand, yet i fail to understand why i would work for a month in thailand for a salary that can be done home in 1 - 2 days. I'm sorry to say but it's getting more and more clear that this country have a high percentage of no brainers or people who forget to put on the thinking cap.

Time to move on?....I recon it might be the best, can the Philippines offer me almost the same but at a lower price...Yes, and goodbye Thailand may you rest in peace.

You could have always got a tourist visa first....See ya!

One of the problems is an inflexible one size fits all policy. I can't see why the postal service via Liverpool should be a closed door for people with mobility or any health related issues if accompanied with a certified doctors/hospital letter. The only concession seems to be collection can be made by a nominee requested at the beginning of the application process.

There are bound to be many expats unaware of the recent changes to the new procedures and will inevitably fall foul of them. It seems the best policy is to apply in plenty of time and check the procedures of the local immigration office as to whether a letter from the embassy is required to certify the new passport. If I make it to 71 I just hope alzheimers hasn't kicked in. If I make it to 81 I think I will be beyond caring. They wouldn't deport an 81 year old...would they???

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