theonetrueaussie

I have an Australian passport and wondering where the best place to get a chinese visa would be, I currently live in phuket. Is there anywhere here that I can get a visa or will I have to go to bangkok and how long will it take in bangkok?

If non-EU Members can proof, they run a business which earn enough money, they can open a company in the EU or work from there. I knew some non- EU Members who did exactly this. So, it can't be that difficult.

A bit like a foreigner arriving in Thailand, setting up a company and getting a WP you mean ?

My thoughts exactly. But we are dealing with a bunch of people who'd struggle to order a bowl of noodles in Thai from a street vendor. Do doing all that is going to be a bit beyond them.

If all you had to do was set up a company here and pay taxes most people would do it...But you have to employ 4 thais AND the company must be 51% owned by a thai person....SO you expect people to come here and pay all the money to set up a company that you do not OWN and hire 4 thai employees that you do not need just to get a work permit...and then you wonder why people do not do it!!!

So does anyone know if the visa exempt crackdown starts today or tomororow ?

I've read about it being 'from' the 12th of August and 'after' the 12th of August which is today.

I'm sure you'll find out in the next few hours by all the texts pouring in from billionaires turned away. What a shame.

Never going to happen, After talking to both officials in a Thai embassy overseas and one of the immigration bosses at the airport I was told by both that I could basically come in as many times as I wanted on a tourist visa as long as I can prove that I was not working and prove that i was bringing in funds from outside the country. I am a CEO and have a company back in my home country with a good sized bank account in my home country.

They basically said they are trying to stop all the illegal workers so as long as you can prove you are wealthy and bringing cash into Thailand from outside the country you should still be fine. Makes sense seeing we spend 10x more then most of the teachers and retirees living off their pensions here.

Although saying that, it is Thailand and the rules could change at any time, although seeing the rules on retirement change could be fun for us young folk that seem to take the brunt of abuse on the forums here from retirees...just saying

This thread is not about Tourist Visas it is about Entry Stamps. It has nothing to do with how much money you have or spend. If you are a serial repeat offending in/out stamper you will have a problem.

Same Same but different

 

it would seem that similar to the thai government many on this board cannot grasp non-traditional work models.

 

 

we grasp them very well and understand why the thai government has decided it doesnt want these people living in thailand indefinitely. rather it seems these non -traditional crybabies cannot understand that the world doesnt necessarily think they are as valuable as they think themselves.

 

HAHA people like you make me laugh, Why would a country want freelancers that spend a lot of money (90k+ month), pay for all their own healthcare and are NO financial burden on the country at all....When they can have people who work in the country, earn 30k baht a month and get free healthcare and possibly other Thai benefits.... If I ran a country I know who I would want coming in.

It is not about complaining about the situation it is asking a valid question. Yes there is the elite card but many people including myself do not want to stay 5 years, we only want to stay 1 or 2 so $15k for 1-2 years is just ludicrous. Most freelancers will just move to other places like Saigon which means in the end that the Thai people and government lose out on A LOT of money that would otherwise have been spent in Thailand.
 

metered taxis have not changed, I went to the metered taxi stand on my return to be told 900 baht to rawai. Guy had his meter on until he got past the police/army checkpoint at the exit from the airport then turned it off. I did return at 5pm and traffic was horrendous, I think the driver was thinking he should have used the meter lol.

To get a tourist visa is easy in KL but to get an education visa it is not very easy at all from what I have read. I took an early flight and arrived at the embassy around 11am. The wait time to be served was a whole 30 seconds, had to make them wait while I filled out the form followed by a 20 minute wait while they processed the form and I was then asked to pay.

Kl really is an amazing place, Easy enough to get a tourist visa and so many great places to shop not to mention 5 star hotels at very cheap rates.

I think the majority of people that buy the elite card would be digital nomads, Can you work on it..of course...can you work legally.. NO. Many people will buy it and work for companies overseas, By the law if you are here on holidays and respond to a work email then you are working here illegally!

But who would have to check on the Farnell's background? What are the regulations for surrogate matters? Do they exist in Thailand? I think the whole story is a scandal anyway. The poor little kid.

Thai people love their families. In Gammy's case, having Downs,...also brings great "merit" for family members.

Really?? The Chinese woman may have actually put pressure on the Aussie to reject the DS baby out of cultural stigma attached to handicapped people.

It's hard to know what the truth is in this story. Too many people with different stories, and the clinic which could have vetted the surrogacy failed to and has now disappeared.

We will never find out the truth, With all the press on the aussie couple and all the money the thai surrogate will be getting, both sides will be saying what others want to hear and the truth will be buried.

thai women never lie right...Just like all the women in patong that only started working as a bargirl today...... Soon as the surrogate found out how much money she could make she would say absolutely anything!!

Elite card just seems more like a way to make money off people working illegaly, Seems good for anyone that wants to stay in thailand long term but for the majority of people they only want to stay 1-2 years and a 5 year commitment is just too much. Makes more sense for people that are working here illegaly to buy it as they can then work and not have to worry about visas, of course a few rich people will buy it.

You cannot work with the Elite visa and if its found you are it will more likely be revoked. No one says you have to stay for 5 years it multi entry and you can come and go with ease thats the point of those who can afford it.

Cannot work on visa exempts and tourist visas either but people do. That is the point it is really only makes sense for people who want to live here continually and most of them would be working wether illegaly here or for an overseas company. please note i said most not all, I am sure some very rich people would buy it or people who live here and have < 5-10 years before retiring here but I do not think they will be the majority.

Elite card just seems more like a way to make money off people working illegaly, Seems good for anyone that wants to stay in thailand long term but for the majority of people they only want to stay 1-2 years and a 5 year commitment is just too much. Makes more sense for people that are working here illegaly to buy it as they can then work and not have to worry about visas, of course a few rich people will buy it.

 

3 different schools in phuket all confirmed that you only need to go 2 days a week for 4 hours a week. There are also many people here that train muay thai or come for fitness goals that take longer then 3 months and they no longer have an ed visa for muay thai or any visa for people with fitness goals.

As for the elite card, the way myself and many others see it is that it is basically ONLY for people who are super rich which would be the minority and the majority would be people wishing to live here long term and work illegaly. For most people a 5 year commitment to one country is just too much especially seeing you have no idea what will happen in the future.

 

 

No Muay Thai gyms outside Thailand ?

 

Why would you need to come to Thailand for fitness goals ? 

 

Poor excuse for an ED Visa if you ask me.

 

well seeing as PHUKET has many fitness places and is trying to become one of the main fitness places for people to come and lose weight and train, great weather and cheap healthy food. Why would they not want people like me coming who are wealthy and spending $40-50k a year here....or are you just a grumpy old man like alot of others on this forum that don't want anyone else coming to thailand...I am picturing you as that grumpy old man yelling "OFF MY LAWN" right now :D
 

3 different schools in phuket all confirmed that you only need to go 2 days a week for 4 hours a week. There are also many people here that train muay thai or come for fitness goals that take longer then 3 months and they no longer have an ed visa for muay thai or any visa for people with fitness goals.

As for the elite card, the way myself and many others see it is that it is basically ONLY for people who are super rich which would be the minority and the majority would be people wishing to live here long term and work illegaly. For most people a 5 year commitment to one country is just too much especially seeing you have no idea what will happen in the future.

 

Schlog please let me know where these new 2 bedroom condos are for 20k, would love to know for renting in the future, We looked at 5-7 different Western modern condos and found no 2 bedrooms for less then 40k, even now we pay 55k for a 2 bedroom in rawai after getting a 15k month discount for 6 months rental.

 

The problem with the base downtown and the other new apartment complex's is that there are not alot of 2 bedroom apartments in them so they are much more expensive then renting 2 x 1 bedroom apartments.

 

Haha you work for The Base or you got a flat there? DCondo down the road got a lot of 2 bedroom apartments for rent..

 

haha no i don't work for them but we did just did look at LOTS of apartments, Yes Dcondo just down the road had some but the owners are charging even more then the recommended rental suggested by Dcondo. I think they wanted 45-50k a month for a 2 bedroom. We went to both Dcondo's and the 2 bedrooms were alot more then renting 2x1 bedrooms. We also had a look at a few others around the place but settled on 2 x 1 bedrooms at the base downtown as it had the best facilities and the rooms are much bigger then Dcondo.

From what we saw the base was the best place we saw to rent near central festival but we were only looking at condos we did not want a villa or house which would be cheaper. But like others have said looking on the internet is pointless, The pictures can look great but until you actually go and see the places you won't know for sure and I would definitely not book anything for a year over the internet without seeing it in person first.

keep in mind they are advertising their 1 bedrooms for 25k month although going in person you can get them down to around 18k for a year. Remember the base downtown was pretty much completely sold out which is why sansri commisioned the base uptown so not sure how many people will be living there and how many 2 bedrooms are actually for rent. Best bet is to come here and go in and see the girls and bargain hard.

There are 3-4 new apartment complex's around central festival so better to come here and then go and see what you like.

The problem with the base downtown and the other new apartment complex's is that there are not alot of 2 bedroom apartments in them so they are much more expensive then renting 2 x 1 bedroom apartments.

sounds like slave labor for the maid :(

We actually just signed a deal for 2 x 1 bedroom units in the base downtown. We found the staff very pleasant to deal with and I would definitely suggest going in and talking with the staff as we got our rooms for A LOT less then that but we signed a 1 year contract. The amenities there seem very good and the gym was well equipped with good equipment, Security stopped us several times and asked us why we were there which did not happen at many other places we went to visit.