JonathanBP

The usual xenophobic people are out in force.

Dislikes of hoards of largely Chinese tour group tourists has nothing to do with Xenophobia..........stereotype yes, based on some truth, yes.

I was there in 2012 and joined a monk in meditation in one of the inner temples, only to witness Chinese tourists clambering up onto the altar to have their picture take 'peace symbol' style, my 'inner peace' disappeared instantly. The monk continued to meditate regardless...........the hoards of shouting, spitting, speaking with mouth full, pushing past, queue jumping, smoking and just plain rude hoards are to be avoided...indeed, Angkor Wat is to be avoided in this case.

Coming from a family of diplomats, the summoning of a foreign diplomat comes after much verbal and written communication. It is a strong sign of displeasure. The meeting may be cordial, polite and not really sound like much, but the message is received loud and clear - we're not happy, we don't trust what you're doing. It already means a 'losing of face' in diplomatic circles. Foreign diplomats are not formally called lightly, it means something.

That's what i believed mate. it was not just a case of lifting the phone out the blue and telling him to "come see us now"

There will have been dialogue since this started i'd guess(?) Now it's reached a point where the UK Government is not happy so has gone public. For all people are slagging Cameron, i'm sure he will have been involved in this from the start too. Maybe not hands on, but certainly in the loop, but allowing the FO to do their job. I think he will have given the green light for this summoning too so if he gets an irate phone call from the General he has all the facts ready at hand to tell him why we have taken this action.....

Yes, a Minister or very senior diplomat would have made this request a undoubtedly with a nod from Cameron or Clegg. People tend to dismiss a diplomat being 'summoned' as if it is for a cup of tea, but this is the corporate equivalent to be being given a formal written or verbal reprimand. It is unlikely at this stage that the Primeminister of both countries will talk on the phone, or at least not formally - informally perhaps. Informally a lot happens, but formally, it is very measured. Hving your diplomat summoned is being served formal notice that the other country has displeasure.

They must be insane, how to drive away tourists in an instant

ditto....5.6 strong? Well, I guess it depends on the depth of the quake.

In Bali I experienced a 5.4 that felt really strong and then a 5.8 that felt less than the 5.4. The 6.1 was another story....:-(

I still have he original letter..............Thanks guys....

I need a NEW letter from the consulate? The one I have is only 5 weeks old! Serious?

I'm supposed to go to immigration on Monday....

Thank you, I'm here on 'proof of income' gave them the letter form Brit Consulate, so no money in bank here in Thailand..

So it seems worth it to spend the extra THB 8,000 to get the extension of stay and the re-entry permit

I didn't understand: "The reports of staying longer than 90 days in the country are not needed unless your are here that long"

I shall be gone for around 80 days, and on return will stay.....

Does the re-entry permit allow for one exit or multiple? I travel a lot.....Thanks...

.

Recently I converted my 60 Trourist Visa into a Non-Immigrant 'O'' visa with a view to extending it for a year next week based on income, (what has become known as the 'Retirement Visa').

1. My current validity is until Oct 29

2. I am now going to India for 10 weeks. This had not been panned when I started the process

My questions are:

1. Do I go ahead and complete the process, get the 'permissions' to travel, and just come back in January as planned?

2. If so, what about the 90 registration requirement?

3. If I decided just to forget the idea of extending the O for another year, is there anything I need do except leave the country before Oct 29? There is a paper slip written in Thai stapled in my passport.

4. I'm sure I can get a 60 day visa again whilst in India. I'm just wondering what it simplest or even allowable that this trip has come up.

Thank you to anyone inclined to offer knowledge/advice about the system

Jonathan

I would have thought that any country would welcome digital nomads - representing an 'export'. Digital nomads earn outside of Thailand and spend most of their money inside Thailand.....surely that's got to be good for the economy?

When I was in Indonesia immigration had a crack down on digital nomads for working illegally. Nett result: The landlords lost a tenant, the domestic staff put out of work, domestic staff lost their insurance cover, motorbike rental place lost a customer, taxi driver lost a customer too, local restaurants lost regular customer, the local private doctor lost a patient, and the 'banjar' lost its ability to collect local tax from the foreign resident. All in all, the $4,000 a month spent went elsewhere. Many re-located to Thailand. However, Cambodia is now on the map, VietNam too, and as soon as the internet becomes more reliable. then Thailand will also start losing this income if they see digital nomads as 'working illegally'. Digital nomads are creating jobs and providing employment, not taking it away.

does your country allow digital nomads to move in and stay permanently?

Only from other EU countries, from elsewhere, no it doesn't, but it should.

The Thais could invent a new visa for on-line workers, let's say a 5 year permit, add some taxation rules to it etc.

and have you been writing ad nauseum on forums encouraging your country to do so?

No, I've not lived in 'my country' for 40 years.

It seems you want to decide who has a right to express and opinion or not. I have spent almost all of my life, including birth and childhood, schooling as a foreigner in Asia and Africa, and some in South America too. I am of mixed heritage, raised with more than one language and have a differing view of this type of situation. Being 'foreigner' has been my entire life.

What I don't care for in these forums is how some individuals like to nit pik at other people and make it far more personal, using projections and images about people they don't even know, or discounting them as they don't fit some standard. Are you really saying that in order for me to have an opinion about Thai law then I need to have lobbied my own Government? That's one way of discounting everyone else's opinion apart from your own. Opinions are like <deleted>, we all have one. And most opinions do not define us as 'nice' or 'not nice' people - they are simply what they are, right or wrong - and you're free to express yours in disagreement without and attempt to prove me wrong, ineligible or as anything else

I would have thought that any country would welcome digital nomads - representing an 'export'. Digital nomads earn outside of Thailand and spend most of their money inside Thailand.....surely that's got to be good for the economy?

When I was in Indonesia immigration had a crack down on digital nomads for working illegally. Nett result: The landlords lost a tenant, the domestic staff put out of work, domestic staff lost their insurance cover, motorbike rental place lost a customer, taxi driver lost a customer too, local restaurants lost regular customer, the local private doctor lost a patient, and the 'banjar' lost its ability to collect local tax from the foreign resident. All in all, the $4,000 a month spent went elsewhere. Many re-located to Thailand. However, Cambodia is now on the map, VietNam too, and as soon as the internet becomes more reliable. then Thailand will also start losing this income if they see digital nomads as 'working illegally'. Digital nomads are creating jobs and providing employment, not taking it away.

does your country allow digital nomads to move in and stay permanently?

Only from other EU countries, from elsewhere, no it doesn't, but it should.

The Thais could invent a new visa for on-line workers, let's say a 5 year permit, add some taxation rules to it etc.

so what your saying is a foreigner who works legally in Thailand currently pays their income tax, social security etc gets a 1 or 2 year WP at present, but a new WP system needs to be created to give on liners 5 year permit for paying a "bit" tax...?

ah that sense of self entitlement is shining though again...

how about on liners, form a THB 1.0 or 2.0 million Thai Ltd company, pay 25-30% withholding/provisional tax, (as work is done outside Thailand) pay for private medical insurance, pay into the social security fund and are subjected to annual auditing of their books = annual extension/WP ?

Wow..we went from expressing an opinion on Thai immigration to an accusation of 'sense of entitlement'.

I would have thought that any country would welcome digital nomads - representing an 'export'. Digital nomads earn outside of Thailand and spend most of their money inside Thailand.....surely that's got to be good for the economy?

When I was in Indonesia immigration had a crack down on digital nomads for working illegally. Nett result: The landlords lost a tenant, the domestic staff put out of work, domestic staff lost their insurance cover, motorbike rental place lost a customer, taxi driver lost a customer too, local restaurants lost regular customer, the local private doctor lost a patient, and the 'banjar' lost its ability to collect local tax from the foreign resident. All in all, the $4,000 a month spent went elsewhere. Many re-located to Thailand. However, Cambodia is now on the map, VietNam too, and as soon as the internet becomes more reliable. then Thailand will also start losing this income if they see digital nomads as 'working illegally'. Digital nomads are creating jobs and providing employment, not taking it away.

so why did Indonesia crack down on "digital nomads" then ?.....if the TV threads are to believed, only xenophobic, racist Thailand will not give "digital nomads" a long term visa, indonesia, Singapore and few other places welcomes them with open arms...

If digital nomadsare not getting legal, they are not creating jobs or employment for anyone so please dont use a teneous example of how digital nomads provide jobs and income to the local noodle seller, the local noodle seller would be in business with or without "high spending" digital nomads....

Um.....'so please dont use a teneous example of how digital nomads provide jobs' - it is in my personal experience....I didn't just make that up. I knew/know people who are 'digital nomads' or running their companies remotely and who have large houses, cars, domestic staff...not 'noodle vendor' people.....but people earning a significant income. Not all digital nomads are a guy with a laptop barely making ends meet. There is obviously a 'profile' here, or an image, regarding the standard digital nomad - however, not everyone fits that profile.

Of course the local noodle seller would be in business still.

I would have thought that any country would welcome digital nomads - representing an 'export'. Digital nomads earn outside of Thailand and spend most of their money inside Thailand.....surely that's got to be good for the economy?

When I was in Indonesia immigration had a crack down on digital nomads for working illegally. Nett result: The landlords lost a tenant, the domestic staff put out of work, domestic staff lost their insurance cover, motorbike rental place lost a customer, taxi driver lost a customer too, local restaurants lost regular customer, the local private doctor lost a patient, and the 'banjar' lost its ability to collect local tax from the foreign resident. All in all, the $4,000 a month spent went elsewhere. Many re-located to Thailand. However, Cambodia is now on the map, VietNam too, and as soon as the internet becomes more reliable. then Thailand will also start losing this income if they see digital nomads as 'working illegally'. Digital nomads are creating jobs and providing employment, not taking it away.

does your country allow digital nomads to move in and stay permanently?

Only from other EU countries, from elsewhere, no it doesn't, but it should.

The Thais could invent a new visa for on-line workers, let's say a 5 year permit, add some taxation rules to it etc.

I would have thought that any country would welcome digital nomads - representing an 'export'. Digital nomads earn outside of Thailand and spend most of their money inside Thailand.....surely that's got to be good for the economy?

When I was in Indonesia immigration had a crack down on digital nomads for working illegally. Nett result: The landlords lost a tenant, the domestic staff put out of work, domestic staff lost their insurance cover, motorbike rental place lost a customer, taxi driver lost a customer too, local restaurants lost regular customer, the local private doctor lost a patient, and the 'banjar' lost its ability to collect local tax from the foreign resident. All in all, the $4,000 a month spent went elsewhere. Many re-located to Thailand. However, Cambodia is now on the map, VietNam too, and as soon as the internet becomes more reliable. then Thailand will also start losing this income if they see digital nomads as 'working illegally'. Digital nomads are creating jobs and providing employment, not taking it away.

Lion Air failed their IATA safety tests and are not members, they are also on a list of airlines not allowed to fly within EU airspace owing to their safety record. There have also been a number of incidences in which pilots have been found to be under the influence of drugs. - I would never fly them, or any airline not IATA certified.

British Consulate was easy....I sent them 6 months bank statements. My income comes in form various sources, none of which is pensions. I received my letter, it was accepted in Krabi.

It won't be a "multiple entry new visa with travel permit."

But an extension of stay with a multiple re-entry permit.

However you will either need to stay in the country until you get the extension of stay or get a rentry permit.

It should be ฿5,700 I'm not sure where the extra ฿180 came from. ฿1,900 extension of stay ฿3,800 multiple re-entry permit.

Thanks.....they told me to come back in 45 days to 'convert' again....sigh

1. Yes.

2. No.

3. proof of address (rental contract preferred, with copy of house book and ID-card of home owner)

 

Plus copies of you passport and arrival card, a passport photo and 2,000 baht for the conversion.

Visa Update : I am now truly confused. Was initially told that I could enter Thailand on a 60 day  TR visa and then convert to Non O at immigration with required papers for  immigration.

I did so today. They kept all the relevant papers for 'retirement' but said that as I entered on a tourist visa I would only get a 90 day O visa. They instructed me to return in 45 days to 'convert' this visa again for the princely sum of Thb 5,880 for a multiple entry new visa with travel permit.

I've read and re-read every piece of information given me and I can only conclude that either I didn't understand or this officer did not understand. Thoughts? Advice?

I just do not understand the complaints re carry ur passport.

I carried my original passport from USA to and around in Nepal, five times.

to Tibet twice, once overland.

to Bhutan three times.

to India six times with one one-month continuous stay.

to VN, Lao, Cambodia, Singapore, Manila, Japan, parts of EU including the Cannes Film Festival three times.

 

My travel included air, bus, long distant taxi (in India! + elsewhere), taxi, tuk tuk, yak, and horse ... all alone.

There are other activities where my belongings were able to be stolen including swimming and beach trips.

 

I have never lost my passport.   All that travel alone over a 20 yr period and still have them, past and current.

 

Why?  How can that be ?

 

I don't get drunk, do not do dope, and watch the company I keep.  I carry passport in a neck pouch or that in a sealed plastic bag.  I could lose it tomorrow, especially after I have written this, but that is a pretty good record.

 

What is your problem?

I have no objection to carrying my passport, and almost 100% of the time do, EXCEPT to the beach, that's insane....and that is what I objected....I lived in South Africa for 6 years, Argentina 1, China 1, Mexico 1 year, all needed ID, except China allowed a photocopy of a passport.

Who would take their passport to a beach anyway? If I go alone, I don't take my wallet either!
 

Mostly I never dispute another country's rules, I obey out of respect....but this is totally RIDICULOUS! Take my passport to the beach? No way, would never take my passport to the beach, or kayaking.....would rather pay thb 2,000 than risk having my passport stolen. I go to the beach with THB100 in my shoe, leave everything else at home So what then? THB 100 in my shoe and no ID? They are going to follow me home to see my ID or arrest me? Even in China, I could carry a photocopy with me. No-one expects the original passport, it is insanity, total insanity. So what are they going to do, patrol every beach in Thailand and fine every tourist THB 2,000 for not having their passport with them? Sure, they'll make a ton of money for one season only, then the tourism industry will die. Silly rules, impractical rules. This will never work.

1. Yes.

2. No.

3. proof of address (rental contract preferred, with copy of house book and ID-card of home owner)

 

Plus copies of you passport and arrival card, a passport photo and 2,000 baht for the conversion.

Hi Again,

Just spoke to Krabi office as the Consulate called me from Chiang Mai to say my letter of income was on its way to me.

So, it IS POSSIBLE to convert in Krabi, but he asked me about my bank account. I said that I did not have a bank account but a letter of income from my consulate. He replied 'We will have to talk when you come in about the bank account'

OK, now I'm confused..I thought it was either prrof of income OR THB800,000 in a savings account. No? Thanks.

A simple confusion that doesn't require a lawyer. For the conversion (and later for the extension) you must show:

- an income of 65,000 a month (This is done with a letter from your embassy confirming your income)

OR

- 800,000 baht in bank account in Thailand (That is done with a letter from your bank and your bank book)

OR a combination of the two totaling 800,000

You are going for the income route, thus only need the letter from the embassy.

wow, that simple?

so, to re-cap, and thanks everyone for the generous time you are giving to answer my questions....thank you for adding the all important 'OR'.....

1. I need the letter form the Consulate verifying my income, that's it?

2. Police & Health Reports?

3. Anything else?