khunjeff

They have yet to explain why checkpoints are so vital to their policing efforts, when they are used sparingly and only for very specific purposes in other countries. And why would pulling tourists out of a taxi and conducting a physical search ever be needed in cases where there was no suspicious behavior?

Most branches of Bangkok Bank have required that for years, but I have not encountered any other banks asking for it at all (Kasikorn, Krungsri, SCB, TTB).

It was more about the fact that they didn't have a regime in place to collect taxes on vape liquids and shisha tobacco. Rather than amending the relevant laws to address that, they just banned the whole lot.

These crackdowns on black smoke have been announced regularly since at least the early 90s, and they never last more than a week or two before silently disappearing. This idea of roadside inspections of vehicles intrigues me, though. Wouldn't it be simpler just to look for the big clouds of black smoke and see where they're coming from? Just a thought.

This is also what I was told by both immigration and BoI on the day the visa was stamped into my passport, so I have no doubt that it is accurate. And it makes perfect sense - it's just the 90 day report rule, but for one year instead. Unfortunately, BoI and immigration have created confusion by using poor wording in their instructions. Almost all of the material they hand out says that you have to notify immigration of your address "every year", which is misleading at best.

The official fine has been 2000 baht ever since the law went into effect 20 or so years ago. For the first couple of years, there were even notices posted at airport immigration counters informing arriving passengers of the penalty. You're absolutely right, though, that during that entire period, the law has always been used pretty much exclusively against foreigners (and pretty much exclusively for cigarette butts and ash - dump a sack of trash out the window and you're fine).

"Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was asked if the scandal showed that anything, including police services, could be bought in Thailand if people had the money to pay. “Come on, you have just listened to one woman. How reliable is she?” he replied." Whenever his mouth is open, he just can't help shoving his foot into it...

Why on earth does the Health Minister get to determine the legal definition of "narcotics trafficker", and make pronouncements about who should or shouldn't be imprisoned, without any debate by members of Parliament?

They didn't apologize to her at all - they apologized to the Thai public for not arresting her: "The MPB did, nonetheless, offer a public apology for the conduct of Huai Khwang police officers in allowing the Taiwanese actress to be released instead of charging her for illegal possession of an electronic cigarette."

Your math is a bit off, but yes, if you never leave Thailand and therefore don't need a reentry permit, you won't save any money using the LTR. If, though, like me and many others, you pay 3800 each year for a multiple entry reentry permit, then there's a net cost savings, in addition to the other benefits. You misread what he wrote. He said "If I do not qualify for renewal in 2027, I will have paid 10K per year for this visa." In other words, if for some reason BoI decides five years from now that he doesn't meet the requirements to use the second half of his ten year visa, he will have effectively paid 50k for five years rather than for ten years. That's just a worst case scenario, as most LTR holders will presumably be able to exercise the second half of their visa without issue.

“The Government of Nauru did not sanction nor authorize the former consul-general, Onassis Dame, to lease the alleged residence,” Nauru’s government said Monday in a statement. https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/pacific/nauru-thailand-denial-01232023060409.html

Beret, jump wings, four stars on the lapel, a uniform, and a snappy salute - exactly what I would look for in a parks director ????

The embassy automatically issues the letter to immigration with every new passport - there's no need to request it, though of course no harm if you do.

Big Joke got rid of the coupons several years ago because so many of them were being illegally sold by airport and airline employees - now you just show your boarding pass from a premium cabin. It's unfortunate in a way, because previously some airlines would give the coupons to high status frequent flyers even when flying economy, and that's not possible anymore.

When her claim was challenged online (by a friend of mine, among many others), she changed her story and said she was actually talking about a US domestic flight - but was unable to explain how being mistaken for an American could have possibly helped her in that case, since there are no separate US citizen lines for domestic security, check-in, boarding, or anything else. The assumption among Thais is that she just invented the whole tale as a marketing ploy to sell her English classes: "look, you can be like me and speak English so well that people will mistake you for an American!"

I was there today for my friend's LTR appointment, and they accepted his cash payment. The sign at the cashier says "cash not accepted", and I believe that policy was enforced early on, but now you can pay the 50k fee by QR code or cash. (I had my own appointment last month, and even at that time they told me I could pay by QR or cash.)

Going by the Immigration announcement from a couple of years ago clarifying the requirement to do TM-30s when returning to your habitual residence, the answer would seem to be "yes". That announcement said that you don't have to do another TM-30 when returning from any domestic trip, and don't need to do one when coming back from overseas if you're on a multiple entry visa or a reentry permit for the same visa. If coming back on a different visa, or a visa exempt, a new TM-30 is required. (It would only be needed the first time you come back into the country, since after that the other rule kicks in.) I don't think it's either necessary or possible to do a new TM-30 if you're just staying at home and not going anywhere.

So, all through the pandemic, and as recently as last Thursday, we've been told that no decisions about entry policy are official until they're approved by the Cabinet and published in the Gazette. And yet now it seems that Anutin's idle thoughts automatically become law; the aviation regulator can choose which vaccines are acceptable; and the Transport Minister can make insurance policy, all without approval by...anyone?

By working for a Thai employer.

Don't worry too much. Once the visa has been issued, no one will look at any of that ever again - all they'll see is the visa in your passport. And if you're applying at a Thai consulate abroad, that information will be in the files of the MFA, not BoI or immigration. The e-visa website asks all those questions, but they're basically irrelevant to the LTR category. As long as you have the BoI approval letter, a valid passport, and the issuance fee, you will get the visa and that will be that.

I've done 7 retirement extensions at CW and was never asked for proof of residence, TM-30, or 90 day report, though I always brought them along in case they were requested.

The vandals will claim to be performance artists acting out the "Chaos" part of the theme.

...while those offenses lead immediately to jail in most other countries.

Yes, exactly.

I don't think even BoI itself knows yet what the procedure will be in five years time, so it's still far too early to be worrying about technical details of how the process will work. Assuming they're still using the same system at that time, though - and that's a big if - they should be able to just change the status of each case to "documents requested", exactly as they've been doing each time they want more information during the initial adjudication phase. Once the status changes, the case will be open for additional uploads.