Scouse123

I’ve been seeing more and more posts on YouTube and the web saying “Thailand is finished,” and while that might be a bit extreme, I get where people are coming from. Something’s changed. Many long-time visitors and retirees are growing increasingly frustrated — and not just because prices are rising (which they are). They are rising everywhere worldwide. Dual pricing is more blatant than ever. Not just in parks and temples, but also in taxis, and even in everyday items — you get quoted one price, while the Thai person behind you receives another. Add to that the visa mess — rules changing all the time, inconsistent enforcement, and immigration officers who seem to go by how they feel that day — and it’s no wonder people are getting frustrated. Even ASEAN NOW itself had multiple threads recently where this came up again and again. What’s worse is the shift in attitude. Foreigners used to feel genuinely welcome. Now it often feels like you’re just a wallet with legs. That has been going on for years, but it's become more blatant, and they don't seem to care. Scams are more common, there's more aggression in nightlife areas, and in certain parts of the country, Customer service is a forgotten word. It’s just full-on hustle 24/7. For people who aren’t here for the bar scene or don’t want sex tourism shoved in their face, it’s becoming less appealing. I found it impossible to have a quiet beer in a bar in Nana Plaza, That said, I think many people rushing to Cambodia are doing so because they’re priced out, not because it’s better. Outside of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, the infrastructure is still weak, and Sihanoukville is a complete disaster thanks to failed Chinese casino projects. Cambodia is cheaper and visa-friendly, but it’s not a real alternative to Thailand for most people. It simply lacks appeal. After three or four days, I'm eager to get back home to Thailand. Vietnam, on the other hand, is playing its cards right and getting its act together. Great beaches, solid infrastructure, a growing expat scene, and they’re working on long-stay visa options — possibly even a 10-year visa for foreigners. It’s cleaner, less intrusive, and doesn’t have the same "walking ATM" vibe. For people without roots in Thailand (such as family or business), Vietnam is becoming increasingly attractive. I won't leave Thailand because of my partner, and I have roots here. However, I will live quietly, pay my living expenses, and probably curb my previous penchant for changing cars every three years, etc. I will probably have a spending binge when I go to Vietnam or Cambodia, where I feel I get better value for money. Thailand’s still got a lot going for it, no doubt. But it’s definitely at a tipping point. If they don’t sort out the immigration headaches, stop gouging tourists and policy flip-flopping, and bring back some of the old warmth, more and more people will quietly (or loudly) move on.

There are 230,000 of them in the RTP that could be out enforcing the laws, but they only want the money from fines. Just like Immigration, they don't want to stand up for foreigners who obey the law regarding visas; they want dodgy foreigners who will pay an agent to get a ' rogue ' visa, for which they get a cut of the fees paid.

or a crackdown, whilst they are ' mulling over ' the situation.

Only because somebody had the brains to videotape him and upload it to youtube and make the case against him irrefutable. OItherwise, he would have walked free.

And that slogan is the reason why there will never be justice in Thailand, either from the Police or in the courts. They are a well-organised group with little to no desire for change. The sum up what, in essence, is the meaning of Mafia.

It seems, especially with the Phea Thai party, that they are all jockeying for positions within and are more concerned with outing their bedfellows from other parties in positions of power than they are in addressing the real issues the country is facing.

I sent a passport application on May 27th by normal Thailand Post with tracking. I tracked it, and it arrived at HMPO on June 6th 2025. Both EMS and Thailand Post has tracking right up to delivery in the country it is posted to.

The time, money and effort going into this by too many people with too much time on their hands. He ain't going to jail, everybody knows it. Why keep flogging a deads horse? The country has far more pressing issues. We all know it's rotten with corruption from top to bottom.......... The Thais even kind of like that way of going about things, or at least they are well-used to it. Teflon Thaksin - nothing ever sticks!

The UK hardly has any branches left to go to, to activate a card, that's why they come by post. However, I disagree on security, Barclays bank is way ahead of Thailand's bank on banking and card security, as in you must verify via the app on your phone immediately for any medium or large transactions. A Barclays app can operate on multiple devices securely, whereas in Thailand, only one. With online banking we are issued with secure card readers, Thailand is forcing us to do everything by phone now, and that can be inconvenient, I like using a desktop, and it is often a lot better and clearer way of doing transactions. UK banks do free no fee withdrawals, even with foreign cards, unheard of in Thailand. Thai banks struggle with facial recognition for foreigners in the banking app, well KTB definitely does!

He's not back in the RTP, though, or is he?

A weak response from a weaker individual. Obviously these types of movies appeal to the depraved, enjoy yourself.

And how about people forced into doing this because they are in poverty and need the money and then a friend, or even worse, a family member seeing it on the internet? It wouldn't be very nice if it was your daughter or a relative, would it?

Common decency laws???

Ah, He might have friends in high places, though. Like the 30th floor of a condo block....😁

Not at all. My tax has already been submitted by the due date, it has nothing to do with tax. The DTV visa states you must leave the country before 180 days, for one or two days and when you re-enter the clock starts again for a further 180 days. The alternative is to submit a great deal of additional papers to immigration to extend the 180 days. I have no wish to extend, provide a load of documents to immigration or to see them unless necessary.

Thank you. I have always skipped the TM30 as I was told if I was returning to my permanent address (20 plus years) then there was no need, unless I have been doing it wrong. I have never been pulled up on extension renewals. Likewise, I recently returned from the UK and just did the TDAC with my usual address and no questions were asked, but I am still on retirement extension until next month. I have only ever interacted with immigration on one home visit in all that time, and then once a year on retirement renewals.

I was wondering that, too, as next month I switch from retirement extension to an already granted DTV. There hasn't been any mention of 90 day reporting. I will leave for a few days every 178 days, I always do, sometimes more often, but do I need to do the 90-day report on the DTV? It isn't difficult for me, I just would avoid it if I could, but I don't want to leave myself open to a fine. If I do the report on the new DTV, is it a case of reporting in person the first time or every time?

Well, It looks like others have noticed my observations. Swathes of England are being left behind - it's like they're in a different century

I agree with every point you make above. Just to let you and any posters from North West England and Cumbria know that work has begun, and they are building a £ 2.5 million super mosque on the edge of the Lake District. Now that will blend in with the stunning countryside..........NOT! They believe there is a need for one, as there are approximately 100 Muslim families in or around that area. https://thedavidvance.substack.com/p/the-lake-district-super-mosque https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2029550/construction-lake-district-first-mosque

We will always get those types on here. You speak as if it's a simple task to uproot your life, leave behind family, give up jobs and careers, and move across the country in search of a "better" town or city. Is it our fault that our towns and cities have become unrecognisable, when it's the government that chose to place migrants disproportionately in Northern areas, regions that both past and present governments have long neglected? Your post oversimplifies what, for most people, is an incredibly difficult and complex decision.

Exactly my point. When I came to Thailand, I did so legally—obtaining the correct visas and bringing sufficient funds. I built homes, bought cars, opened a business, and supported two Thai girls through their education. Their futures, and that of my now-extended family, have improved significantly since I became part of their lives. One is now a nurse, and the other works in Central Bangkok. I’m not asking for gratitude, but I do believe that people who make positive, lawful contributions like this deserve at least to be acknowledged, not mischaracterized. I certaily do not think it's too much to ask that people coming to the UK have something to offer the country and enter by the correct channels, and by that I don't mean the English channel.

Not biting, not listening. And I am not going to spend my hours going backwards and forwards over the next few days with the likes of you, who obviously doesn't want to face facts and probably has nothing better to do than sit on his computer all day. I've said what I said and put in a thread what I saw. That's it, that's all, end of.

Which just backs my point up of a system that is completely broken and in chaos. Waiting hours in hospital corridors, unable to get an ambulance, not enough teachers for the class sizes. People unable to get housing and war veterans sleeping on the streets. However, money has been found to give the Chagos islands to Mauritius, a country that has no legitimate claim over the islands and is 1500 miles away from them to the tune of 30 billion over 10 years, but they can't pay pensioners a winter fuel allowance. Starmer was under no pressure to do this - he forced it through, against the wishes of the original native population, the Chagossians, who were forcibly removed from the islands. They don't want to come under the control of Mauritius, a country cosying up to China and Russia. This is just another example of where taxpayers money is being frittered away on ill thought out, knee-jerk policies.

Working people in Britain are exhausted. They are grafting 50–60 hour weeks, paying through the nose for fuel, bills, council tax, and mortgages—while being told there’s no money for them. Meanwhile, we see migrants, many of them young men, put up in hotels with no bills, phones in hand, and no contributions to the system we keep afloat. It’s no wonder people are angry. British women don’t feel safe walking alone any more, and we’re told to just accept it in silence. But here’s the truth: —we’re being failed by a government that mismanages immigration, strips public services, and demands more from working-class people. That's how Labour works and always has been. Kier Starmer's comments last year were, ' We are going to smash the gangs transporting migrants to Britain ' instead, it has gone from bad to worse. It’s not ‘compassion’ to house people in hotels for years—it’s chaos. And it’s not ‘racist’ to want borders, safety, and fairness. We need policies that protect workers, respect our communities, and hold the powerful to account—not ones that make ordinary people pay for elite failure.