bkkcanuck8

6 minutes ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Latest news seems to be saying there's a bit more to the story . Wifes long term boyfriend paid a visit , sort of thing 

I sort of got the feeling their might be potential for that from the story that was the OP.  It is why the police should stick to investigating and providing the results of their investigation and the Crown Prosecutor or DA (not sure what it is called in Thailand - the equivalent position) decides on what charges (if any) to pursue and the courts to decide on if there is enough evidence of anything else other than pure self-defense motives behind the killing.

12 hours ago, keith101 said:

If he is charged with a crime causing death in defending himself then it will another reason for tourists to stay away and all expats to be wary of defending themselves .

So far, the process has followed what it should.  The police are not there to determine whether it is self-defense... that is what the court (or the equivalent to DA/Crown Prosecutor) should be for. 

19 hours ago, Chicken George said:

<deleted> hitting the fan as people asking for money back as worried they won't get their order till next year. Who can blame them? The government were slow to order on behalf of private hospitals then said money up front. Many who have ordered have not put their names down for free government jabs.. Can't see people getting their money back now.????

Private hospitals would have no problem finding new people to take the spots and pay for the vaccines.  I have been vaccinated by Pfizer, but I would be happy to take the Moderna vaccine as well early next year.

59 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

This article is to say very confusing for some one as ignorant as me. The 10 -15 baht I assume is thousands. Compare the monthly income to what a policeman or shop assistant gets these figures sound quiet reasonable. I think the minimum daily wage is somewhere around 300bht. In most countries and I am sure in Thailand delivery drivers are a second income? Would love to be advised by someone who knows.

The way police are paid and what they have to pay for (required to do the job), there is an expectation that they will have some supplemental income coming their way (tea money).  I would prefer police have a higher wage and all things like motorcycles and uniforms provided by the state and a much stricter moral code with regards to not allowing corruption. 

As far as a shop assistant, they don't have the additional cost of fuel and motorcycle wear and tear (i.e. mileage expense). 

10 hours ago, The Fugitive said:

Magnificent post! 100% correct. We knew a poor Thai lady who took her own life because of financial worries caused by lack of tourists.

And the international tourists are not going to flock back until the world as a whole recovers... you might have an increase with a full reopening... but you will still be missing probably 80%+ of the normal tourists...  and it will take probably at least 5 years post for us to know the long term impact (people's behaviour would have been altered by the pandemic).  I know I am not very keen on getting into a big petri dish to fly the friendly skies.

On 9/25/2021 at 11:56 PM, law ling said:

1. Sad to read this (and "but for the grace of God ...").

 

2. 13+12 out of over 8 million ... I wonder how that compares with the other covid vaxes (and vaccines generally).

I would also like to see a breakdown of those to see how many of those adverse effects were from allergic reaction to the ingredients in vaccine, as well as how many were healthy, how many had multiple health issues, etc.  I like raw data myself (all of that is available to researchers).  These are all the numbers that are taken into account when approving a treatment or vaccine (or even emergency approval) and this data is constantly updated with ongoing re-evaluation of the effectiveness vs risk (effectiveness has to far outweigh risk for it to be approved even for emergency use and for it to continue being approved for specific uses).   [On a side note, many more than that died/severely impacted because of Ivermectin toxicity poisoning... but at least they were worm free].  No vaccine is risk free, but then this century the life expectancy has almost doubled -- my guess -- a good portion of that is the result of vaccinations.

6 hours ago, Lite Beer said:

Stupid topic.

He can stay as long as he wants.

No, he can't... It is naive to believe there is not an established support network behind him -- if he loses that, then they have to find someone else ... or allow it to transition temporarily to a 'democratically elected' government for a few years.

^Continuation (since I cannot edit it):

Acceptance or rejection of proof of vaccination should be based on scientific data that is available, and from that point of view it should be based on a combination of what combination of shots you have received and what does the best science we have say about the level of protection it gives an individual at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months etc.    Sinovac at 3 months could well be more protective than Pfizer at 9 months (yes, I do believe overall Pfizer is a better option, but Sinovac is not worthless when it comes to protection).   The data we have right now in Thailand to do with effectiveness is that Sinovac may have a lower initial protective value or it's half-life is shorter... We also have data that 600 nurses were 'infected' (actually for antibodies to work you have to be infected, but lets say in this case infected means infectious for argument).  Healthcare workers would typically be more at risk since the overall initial viral load that they would be exposed to would generally be greater than elsewhere.

The UK is not basing their rejection on science though, which means that their rejection would have an inherent bias.

On 9/24/2021 at 12:17 AM, ThailandRyan said:

Wonder why the UK is being such a Richard on this. It seems Canada is ok with the AZ Vaccine from elsewhere.

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ask-covid-astrazeneca-genx-side-effect-1.6003923

 

There are two different brands of the AstraZeneca shots for COVID-19 available in Canada: The AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine, manufactured in the United States and elsewhere, and COVISHIELD, manufactured by Serum Institute of India. You don't need to worry about mixing them. They are interchangeable.

 

"Same recipe, same molecule, just different factories," said Dr. Don Sheppard, a medical microbiologist and director and founder of the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative in Infection and Immunity in Montreal in a recent CBC News interview.

 

"Health Canada has evaluated the manufacturing process by both factories and said that they're identical." 

That is that even though Canada is a western country, it is not hampered as much by the colonial superiority complex that the UK is saddled with... 

1 minute ago, Charlie Halliday said:

Chinese are restricted to taking a maximum of USD50k per year out of the country. The capital controls in China will likely tighten even further as their economy is slowing. So what I'd love to know is where are these 1m people coming from. I'm here because I like it here and my wife is Thai. The pros and cons of living here beat the UK into a very distant second choice. Sure there are minor annoyances here, mostly red tape, but quality of life here is good if you've planned well finacially. It's a horrible place to be if you're a poor grubby farang. The reality is  there are a few 100 wealthy foreigners in Hong Kong and Singapore who may buy a 20 to 40m baht property but that's all. A million is laughable.. And the fact that the Govt has not even given a mention to the many foreign millionaires already living here indicates the whole concept is a scam. 

There are ways around that... buying an all inclusive vacation including funds to gamble at casino offshore like Singapore etc... pay the tour company the total price (large) --> corporation moves money offshore as part of business....  then go to casino and have ready laundered money. (basically).

They could implement easing but with the following restrictions:

- Owners of property must be resident (i.e. live here in the house 6+ months of the year). 

- Implement capital gains on foreign ownership if property divested (without buying a new one) where the proceeds are not inherited by Thais (high capital gains with proceeds earmarked for land reform for 'poor').  Proceeds of sale have to go into a trust account if the purpose is selling one property to buy another.

- Property must not be for investment purposes.

First shot of Pfizer (Khon Kaen 2 weeks ago), second shot next Sunday.  If given the chance I will get boosters or Moderna next year. 

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Immigration should make a visa for long stayers, instead of renewing every year with a lot of paperwork, and abolish the 90 days report... If you stay for 3 years or longer in Thailand you can apply for the long term visa valid for 5 or 10 years and only go to immigration if there is a change in address, passport, or something. It would be be welcomed by a lot of expats and pensioners and surely be attractive for new people. Ans please stop harrassing the foreigners, with the sometimes stupid laws, as forbidden to play darts, or bridge, or some other games that are normal games in the western world, but everything here is like connected to gambling..There is much more work for the police to do in catching drugsdealers, burglars, thieves, and traffic laws... So please treat people with respect, and understanding, instead of being the christmastree after you caught another one

The requirements for longer stays would have to rise... they request 800,000 baht in the bank to prove you don't need to work.... that requirement would have to rise for longer visas...  what I think they could easily implement is an annual extension that is simply - show me the money in the account (and show me the balance did not suddenly disappear after the last renewal; maybe half that at the midway point??).... but to be quite honest the process has always been fast and easy for me anyway.

Quote

Would it not be better to have an amnesty for long overstayers?

There was, I was in overstay at that point and everyone was warned to fix their overstay before the new regulations came into force... (and the it was extremely widely publicized to where I cannot find anyone that did not hear about it)...  another amnesty would defeat the purpose of tightening the enforcement and only make people think that this will become a regular affair.  If they have been here 10 years, they must have not got their visas in order last time.... that is no fault of the Thai immigration police. 

7 minutes ago, placeholder said:

And as I've pointed out, if you invoke "intent", then the evidence is clear that people who have wives and children,  own homes, and have lived in Thailand for decades  clearly have intent to live out their lives in thailand. What does the possibility that they can be evicted if the Thai govt. so chooses have to do with the question of intent?

True, there intent may be to live out their lives, but many here have also been saying they are an immigrant because 'they feel' like it and your feelings and your intent has no weight under Thai law that I know of... you are temporary and have to meet the requirements on an annual basis to get another temporary extension to a temporary visa.  At any time the requirements may change and you have no option but to leave the country because you were always temporary.  A Non-Immigrant, regardless of what you intend, is not much different than a tourist visa (with an annual length rather than a 3 month length), both temporary, both you have to prove to a certain extent that you can live here without working because it is effectively the same.

9 minutes ago, placeholder said:

What strikes me as particularly ridiculous about your allegation that "intent of immigration" is a crime is that it is in complete contradiction to facts on the ground. Plenty of non-citizens in Thailand have marriage visas, have children, own a condo,or in certain cases, a house, and have lived here for decades. If that's not strong evidence of intent to live in Thailand permanently, what is? Are those people being kicked out of the country?

I said nothing about criminal activity, in fact most immigration infractions such as overstaying your visa - ARE NOT CRIMES (something that many on here constantly forget). What you and many fail to understand is that you have no rights to reside here and if immigration deems that you are not being honest about your intent, they can refuse to approve/extend visas or even refuse you entry.  If you were caught at a legal rally in Bangkok protesting the government, they would have no problem deporting you... you did not violate the law, you did not violate the freedoms granted by the constitution.... but since you have no right to reside here... you can be deported.

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I didn't see on any of the forms a question about intent. 

You are applying for a non-immigrant visa... and you have intent of immigration... wrong visa (so it should be voided).  If you enter on a tourist visa, and they find your intent is to work... they will void that visa (even if you have not worked illegally yet).  BTW, Thai laws are written in Thai not English...

33 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

If you are on overstay, you are classed as an illegal immigrant, not an illegal non-immigrant. 

If you overstay, you are classed as an illegal ALIEN.  They also assume you are illegally trying to stay here permanently.

8 minutes ago, Neeranam said:

The US has one of the craziest, outdated immigration systems in the world. Not much is going to change however with they woke society, unless Trump runs again.

Until the US selects a president that understands that they may be voted in as a republican or democratic president, they are president of all Americans not just one a subset of supporters from one party (core belief of that person)... Donald Trump was not that man.  Reagan I believe understood, and I believe Bill Clinton understood (even If I did not really like him).   This century, the US has had a set of presidents that even in the best of times -- has been driving the US faster and faster to bankruptcy.  Now even the fabric of the US is so destroyed, that you have the people divided believing in completely different realities (rather than the same reality but different viewpoints on policies)... The US empire is quickly coming to an end.  I doubt the US will even survive as a single country to reach the average lifespan of an empire (around 500 years). 

1 hour ago, Sir Anthony Rumbold said:

There's no difficulty, the definition could not be clearer, more understood or deliberate. 

 

Thailand defines our status, not the other way round.

 

We do not become immigrants in a country because we wish it to be so. 

 

If you wish to emigrate to Thailand you have to plan to get permanent residency, which for a man of suitable age, means working for three years and paying tax (among other requirements). The visa system is such that until we get permanent residency we remain transient.

 

Our visa status is what we are, to wit, 'temporary visitors for purposes other than tourism' is the definition of the non-immigrant visa type encapsulating retirement, marriage and other reasons for visiting here. 

Until you are granted permanent residency status you are temporary.   Depending on the immigration system and the immigration interpretation of what you can do on a visa, but none of those interpretations do not change the classification of the visa you have or what you are under the law.   For example, I worked in the US for a few years (before becoming VP of the UK office), I was working on a TN1 (NAFTA - temporary visa).  If I wanted to get a green card to the US, I would have to start the process and only one visa (also temporary) allowed for transition... but it did not mean it was permanent.  I would have had to change my visa from TN1 to H1B which allows for dual purpose (I told the company I would stay on a TN1).  Dual purpose meant I could have intentions to apply and start the process to become an immigrant, while staying on a temporary visa... but I would still be a temporary employee (any other visa if you did that - you basically told the immigration office you were staying on a visa that was intended only for temporary and your intentions were permanent -- and they would deport you.  In fact the company had many ex-students working on H1B at the company while in the process of getting permanent residency....  Shortly after the dot-com bust happened and the company downsized to less than half it's employees.... anyone that had an H1B but became unemployment had 10 days to leave the country since H1B is a work visa... and the process of applying for permanent residency was voided.  Those that had permanent residency had the legal right to stay since they were recognized by the immigration system as immigrants.

54 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Nothing remotely racist about what I've posted. Not sure what kind of game you think you're playing now but it is not cool.

People on retirement extensions started with an O or OA NON IMMIGRANT visa. That includes people of any race or nationality.

Later, if they wish to continue living in Thailand, they apply for annual retirement extensions.

People with this status are simply not immigrants.

Immigrants are not on conditional one year leashes. 

Yes, they indeed can continue to live in Thailand as long as they are able to get annual extensions, but their status is never immigrant and it can't ever be immigrant based on such extensions. 

Correct, it is nothing more than an equivalent to a tourist visa for one year based on the lack of need to work since they are retired.   Immigrant is someone with Permanent Resident status.  No matter how long you are on  temporary visa (Non-Immigrant, Tourist, temporary work permit), you gain no more status than someone entering on the equivalent visa today... you have to prove that you CURRENTLY meet the requirements to get another visa of the same type.  If you no longer meet those requirements - you have to find another requirement you meet or you have to go back home (i.e. temporary).