vic666

Dear All, I've been in Khao Lak, Phang Nga province, since March. This province is one of those that got no cases of COVID and locked themselves up. Now that everything is becoming more relaxed, I'd like to go back to Bangkok, by riding my own motorbike. So I have to cross many provinces and it seems every governor has set his own rules. 

My questions:

1. are all provinces already open, or only some?

2. is there a confirmed date for the reopening of all inter-provincial traveling?

3. I read that travel at the moment is permitted but not encouraged, even in provinces that have opened up. Can they refuse me to proceed at any of the checkpoints between a province and another (obviously if my temperature stays at 36.5 as usual)?

Thank you for your attention,

Vic 

Thank you Ubonjoe. I will do so on Monday.

The original visa was single entry. I later purchased a multiple entry stamp to avoid paying 1200 THB each and every time I went out.

Dear All, I agreed with my employer to work in a nearby country, where he has a branch. We agreed on some terms of employment but didn't sign anything. Procedures to issue a business visa in the new place of employment started before we sign any agreement and the wok permit was promptly canceled. According to what is written in my contract, cancellation of work permit is equal to termination of employment without notice. The real reason behind this is that more foreigners are coming to work with us and work permits are limited to the number of Thai employees. So one farang goes to work abroad and one is replaced in Bangkok. So far nothing unusual.

What happened yesterday change the all perspective: we didn't reach an agreement on the new employment abroad, so the all thing folded. I was told the work permit has been canceled, the non immigrant B won't be renewed, basically I will be receiving the salary as usual and will be free to work from any country, like a digital nomad, without any visa or work permit related to any country. Which may suits me, actually.

My questions are:

1. if I decide to stop working for this jerk, am I entitled to severance pay according to Thai laws? As my work permit was canceled to make room for another farang without my consent, I didn't actually resign. I was terminated.

2. if the answer to point 1 is yes, I assume this has to end up in court. Do you think I should go talk to a Thai lawyer and let him handle further communications with the company?

3. if the answer is no, I'd better be a digital nomad with a monthly salary...

Thank you for your attention,

vic666

Dear All, I do have a non immigrant visa + a multiple entry stamp in the old passport.

lkv: you got it right. Exactly what happened.

jackdd: you mentioned I could try to rectify the mistake by going out and come back, showing both passports and explaining the all thing. The visa expires on Sept 25. Supposing they are willing to fix the mistake, I could get another 90 days in Thailand. Which I may now need. See my next post...this story gets better and better for readers, but worse for me.

Dear All, thank you for your opinions. My visa was B multiple entry, but as you may know, you get extensions of the original one after 1-3-6 months you work and these are stamps. Those stamps were transferred from the old passport to the new. I though the transfer process would be comprehensive of everything I had on the old passport (visa, last extension of it, multiple entry stamp, last stamp of arrival), not that they transferred only the extensions. I didn't check what they actually did, assuming it's a one-stop job and you don't question what they do. And you can throw away the old passport. BIG MISTAKE.

For ubonjoe and lkv: if the visa is single entry I must buy a re-entry stamp before leaving, each and every time. Otherwise you lose the visa. I know this very well. On my return, the officer could see my visa was indeed non imm B (from its extension stamp), but it said nowhere that it was multiple entry. So she believed it was single entry. And there was no way to persuade her to check in the computerized database they now have. So she said if t's a single visa I needed a re-entry stamp, which for me was unnecessary as my  visa was multiple. Clearer now? I had a multiple entries but couldn't prove it. So it was treated as a single entry. And if you exit without a re-entry stamp you kill the visa.

Anyhow, the good news are that one can enter by air on 30 days stamp more than 3 times in a year, so the all matter of the multiple visa loses importance, as I'll leave Thailand for good.

Thanks for the help,

Vic

Dear All, I'm an Italian citizen with a non Immigrant B visa multiple entries and a work permit. I had all relevant stamps and visa transferred at Chaeng Wattana from my old passport to the new and went abroad without the old one. On my return at Don Muang, the officer said he couldn't (more likely didn't want to) verify that indeed my visa was multiple entry, so I got 30 days on arrival as I didn't have a re-entry permit stamp. Advice for readers: always bring the old passport with you. In November I will be moved to Vietnam, so no big deal. But I have a gap of 1,5 months now and I'd like to travel around S.E. Asia, and exit-enter Thailand a couple of times, also overland. I know that 30 days on arrival are limited to 3 times in 1 year, so these free entries need to be used with caution. Questions:

1. do you think it is worth to go to Chaeng Wattana and try to rectify the mistake, reversing to my non immigrant B and cancel the 30 days stamp? Or is it going to be a waste of time? It seemed to me that their attitude is: whatever happened, it is always the passport's holder fault.

2. if I use 1 x 30 days stamp this month, then I have one more shot left for 1 year. How do I enter Thailand again then? By a tourist visa? This is about the next 6 months I will be based in Vietnam. Every month or so I will come back to Thailand for 1 week: shall I get a tourist visa every time, just for a few days? Any beter solution?

Thank you very much for your atttention and advice.

All the best,

Vic

Jenny...whoever you are:

THANK YOU!!!

Everything works perfectly and the new Ubuntu is great. 

You have made my day.

All the best,

vic

Dear All, I wanted to install version 17 of Ubuntu from a DVD and something went very, very wrong. Now I can't even see my desktop. The laptop is screwed up.

I need somebody familiar enough with Linux to undo whatever I've done and re-install Ubuntu from another source, without of course wiping out the files inside. I suppose this post was more suitable for the classifieds section, but the computer services listing looks very sad with zero posts.

I will of course pay for your time.

Please contact me if you can help.

Thanks,

vic

Muay Thai Online Shop (est. 2009) FOR SALE - ฿150000 (bangkok)

www.best-muaythai-equipment.com

This muay thai/muay boran/krabi krabong online business is 100% legit and simple: you get paid by customers, place your orders at the factories/shops, pay the suppliers when the orders are ready, package, go to the post office and ship. Average mark on every item sold is 400 THB for muay thai and up to 1000 THB/item for muay boran and krabi krabong, as these are hard to find even in Thailand.

I have been running this business since 2005, even though this version of the website in Wordpress has been around since 2009. What you get when you buy this online businesses:

optimized for SEO website + hosting paid until 2015

9 years customers portfolio/manufacturers database/about 1200 email addresses

existing trust from customers and suppliers

existing online marketing structure (links to forums, social media, Pinterst, Facebook, etc)

access to the owner and factory of the elusive MUAY THAI brand, the best in Thailand in terms of quality; also the only one willing to do custom-made orders. Very hard to contact as they have no website, no shop and no advertisement anywhere. But I know the owners very well, we do business together since 2005.

access to artisans producing very high quality weapons for krabi krabong - very hard to find both here and abroad

access to possibly the only seller of muay boran uniforms, handwraps, etc in Bangkok

The site has not been updated or improved for about 2 years because I was focused on other online ventures.

This is perfect if you:

1. live in Bangkok, love muay thai/muay boran and know people who train and/or trade in boxing/martial arts equipment;

2. look for a business you can comfortably run from home.

3. speak Thai or have a partner who does;

4. are good in SEO and online marketing;

5. spend time on martial arts forums;

6. know gyms and people who train in your country;

I never kept any form of accounting so I cannot show you any proof of income or guarantee any level of monthly profits. You need to revamp this site and implement a good online marketing plan, to attract targeted traffic and generate orders. The potential is definitely there, but for 2 years it hasn't been tapped, even though I received daily inquiries and a few orders (mostly for muay boran and krabi krabong) every month.

After 22 years I'm leaving Thailand, that is why I sell it.

Please contact me for any information you may require.

Dear All, I've been a long term tourist for ages, living in Bangkok for about 9-10 months/year on tourist visas. I guess I never had any problems only because every year I return to my home country in EU and get a 2 entries visa, then I get another 1 or 2 similar visas in Laos or Singapore and the problem of staying in Thailand for almost a year is solved. I suppose a tourist is someone who goes back home at least once a year for a while, rather than somebody collecting visas from SE Asian Thai embassies. But this may change after Aug 12.

Thsi summer, I'm able to obtain a 3 entries Tourist visa from a Thai consulate near my hometown. In September I'll arrive at Suvannapoum with it. I'd like to hear your opinion about the following:

1. is it better to get a 2 entries visa, rather than 3, as 3 entries seem quite rare and might be scrutinized/questioned/deemed fake by the immigration officer, who can surely see all my visa history by swiping the passport?

2. I won't have a flight back to my home country, which is required to get a visa. In 20 years nobody at airport immigration has ever asked me to show such ticket, probably because if you have a visa you already should have shown the two-ways ticket at the consulate. This time they may ask for it. Would a real airasia flight to say Phnom Penh or KL (bought online in advance) be considered as a flight out of Thailand? Or does it have to be a return ticket?

3. Can they refuse entry at the airport to a proper visa holder, or reduce the visa length at their discretion?

Now it seems it's getting personal: the immigration officer vs the hunted. Failure and success lie in the ability to persuade him/her that you are not working in Thailand and that you have money to stay for the length of the visa, so additional paperwork like bank statements, hotel bookings etc may help.

Looking forward to read your opinions.

Thank you for your attention.

I have been here since 1991. I agree with you 100%, your post describes my vibe too. I have no hard feelings towards Thailand. I've had the best years of my life so far here, but it's time to thank our host and leave. There are other lands of smiles around...

I have been "working online" in Thailand for 10 years. There are 2 kinds of working online: selling stuff, which require offline work too (source goods, visit manufacturers, package and ship), and selling digital products/services (ebooks, SEO services, affiliate marketing, build websites) which only require a good internet connection. Either way, you can make money without paying any taxes, without bothering about a work permit. You will be breaking the law but who will ever find out? It's not a crime to ship parcel from post office and to buy stuff at shops, Chatuchak etc. When you start shipping containers things change, but there are ways around everything. The manufacturers will help you sort things out if you don't have a company. Your only concern will be the visa, that' why many people opted for ED or repeated Tourist visas. Now to answer your final question: to set up a company to do what is called work-from-home is IMHO plain stupid, but if you really have to do it, it can be an export company, as I assume you will be selling stuff made in Thailand. You'll need an office or at least a sign outside your house, accounting, fake employees, deposited capital, pay taxes etc etc and a good lawyer to set up everything. here on thaivisa all these info are available for free. If you sell IM services, like SEO, then you could register your company as a consultancy firm and you'd be an adviser on everything about IT. Or something like that. I hope this helps. Like I said, I've been doing this for 10 years and at the beginning I wanted to open a company, get a work permit, do the right thing. Then money started pouring in, so I concentrated on online marketing to get customers and forgot about the all open-a-company thing, enjoying my tourist visa. Now, with the new regulations, the easiest/best thing to do is to leave Thailand and start all over in Cambodia, Philippines or Indonesia. I hope this helps...

So you have been living here for 10 years working online, by your own admission making bucket loads of money working, plus you have never paid a single satang in tax whilst living in Thailand on Tourist (maybe Visa Exempt) Visas and what's more you seem to be proud of it.

People 'working under the radar' (not just answering a few emails whilst on holiday) who have been cheating the system (and the Thai People) for years have now made it more difficult for a lot of expats who want to stay and don't want to break the law here but don't for various reasons meet the current visa criteriae.

The current crack down is aimed primarily at flushing out a certain category of ex pats who are cheating Thailand by working 'under the radar'; I note that you recognize that this particular party may be over.

.

this crackdown, like many other in the past, will come and go. the party is not over, there are always ways around everything if you have creativity and cash.

regarding working under the radar, please picture this scenario before talking nonsense: you go to chatuchak on sundays, buy a few things and package them nicely. monday morning you go to the post office to shipe them to the customers you got from your online time at home or at the internet cafe.

your money has helped local sellers and thai postal service. many tourists buy many things and ship them home for themselves, friends or to resell. many people come here 4 times/year to buy 200 kg of clothes at pratunam to resell back home in summer. is this called working illegally in thailand? yes, it is, technically. does it negatively affect the lives of thais? no, rather it helps the economy. does it affects the lives of righteous expats like you? hardly. you enjoy your privileges of having a work permit, of working for an company on an expat contract with full benefits, and dislike all the dodgy farang who live under the radar. just because they don't give 40% or more of their income to the tax and revenue department, like you are forced to do. this is what you really don't like, the fact that you pay taxes and I don't.

a final thought for you: there is a huge difference between people who buy items at chatuchak and sell on ebay, and people who live here scamming other expats, working as middlemen, hacking ATMs and so on. this crackdown is aimed at cleaning thailand's image as a safe haven for criminals. look how many have been caught in pattaya or phuket on arrest warrants issued years ago. these are the bad apples. the only thing you and I have in common with them is we're all farang. don't generalize.

I have been "working online" in Thailand for 10 years. There are 2 kinds of working online: selling stuff, which require offline work too (source goods, visit manufacturers, package and ship), and selling digital products/services (ebooks, SEO services, affiliate marketing, build websites) which only require a good internet connection. Either way, you can make money without paying any taxes, without bothering about a work permit. You will be breaking the law but who will ever find out? It's not a crime to ship parcel from post office and to buy stuff at shops, Chatuchak etc. When you start shipping containers things change, but there are ways around everything. The manufacturers will help you sort things out if you don't have a company. Your only concern will be the visa, that' why many people opted for ED or repeated Tourist visas. Now to answer your final question: to set up a company to do what is called work-from-home is IMHO plain stupid, but if you really have to do it, it can be an export company, as I assume you will be selling stuff made in Thailand. You'll need an office or at least a sign outside your house, accounting, fake employees, deposited capital, pay taxes etc etc and a good lawyer to set up everything. here on thaivisa all these info are available for free. If you sell IM services, like SEO, then you could register your company as a consultancy firm and you'd be an adviser on everything about IT. Or something like that. I hope this helps. Like I said, I've been doing this for 10 years and at the beginning I wanted to open a company, get a work permit, do the right thing. Then money started pouring in, so I concentrated on online marketing to get customers and forgot about the all open-a-company thing, enjoying my tourist visa. Now, with the new regulations, the easiest/best thing to do is to leave Thailand and start all over in Cambodia, Philippines or Indonesia. I hope this helps...

Dear All, I'm leaving Thailand so I'd like to sell my muay thai online shop and all database of customers, suppliers etc. The site is www.best-muaythai-equipment.com and it has given me a nice income since 2007.