Sambotte

Well i will certainly not argue here. Or ?... Nop. Well...

If everything is fine and easy FOR YOU (you read the reports here yes ?) hmmm... Good for you.

What can i say ? Did i read any point here ? I mean except assurance is good when you get ill, or most retiree buy a house ????

And nop you will not spend the money for something else, since it's STUCK IN BANK AS LONG AS YOU NEED EXTENSION.

Do-you-follow !? ????

Well... 5 years 500K It's 100K a year, 8.000 a month... I am not rich but i can afford that.

Or less if 20 years visa.

Or that's the price of a good car, dead money too including maybe you ????

Marriage well it cost in itself if i may say so ????. I don't know for the changes or not.

But retirement : problems with pensions, or a not cheap semi-permanent deposit in bank... And lease. And health assurance. And what next ?

Student : are checked.

Exemption or tourist : problem if often, and schedules to make.

IMO Thailand does not want Cheap Charlies anymore, sorry guys ????

Just kidding... Somehow...

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

What type of problems do you mean / or think may exist?

 

Elite Visa is pretty much 100% hassle free.

A tourist visa for example if very official hmm... But people can get deported at airport ?! 

Not the way i like to travel ????

So i try to check if this can never happen with the Elite visa.

That would be the main benefit imo (airport relax everytime like in the old times), but the other are good too (no paperwork and stress/necessity to get approval somewhere every few months).

And the costs are to think about. If you need to keep 400-800K in bank, that's a cost anyway. And health assurance. And a lease. And maybe a agent or whatever (never done). 

All that with no garantee you will get your visa, and the extensions. Hmm ????

9 minutes ago, Kelsall said:

You get hassle free living in, or traveling to, Thailand. 

That's the main point imo.

I am a traveller, but find Thailand the best place, and want to be able to live in maybe 6-8 months a year, variable, free (no planning).

And the Elite visa is not necesarely more costly in fact.

Could some "Elite members" confirm there is absolutely no known problem with this Visa ? 

East coast like Hua Hin, PKK, Chumpon, have sandflies.

Not many mention of those <deleted>.s but if you are allergic (like many people), it mean you just DON'T GO NEAR THE BEACH... That could be a issue.

Very south is Songkhla, a medium town witch i loved for years (or was it because of a GF ? ????)

Interesting city, medium big and you have Hat Yai 30mn easy taxi if needed (shopping, hospitals etc.). Few tourist. Not much english. But interesting (local people, medium city, no tourists). Some bombing maybe around there but frankly you should fear drivers more... (Kills much more).

North of Phuket on the west coast i would try Khao Lak. Amazingly good beaches and it's like 30kms of deserted beaches. Small town but many north europeans there, so english not a total problem. Many restaurants, hotels, houses, but not bar-type, very quiet.

Ranong : heu no thanks, i have tried, not good.

I liked Chiang Mai, i like even more Chiang Rai (smaller, less traffic etc.), but the burning pollution problem is HUGE. Nice place 6 months a year, but you better be somewhere else in pollution season (january to june).

Visa in Consulate can be very irrational too, noticebly in Thai consulates...

Vietnam, on the opposite, like in Phnom Penh : 1 hour visa possible, 3 months, multi-entry, no documents.

Cambodia : not so good... Only one month.

Malaysia was 3 month on arrival years ago, easy.

Laos : not so good, only one month. 

The best way is like Panama, Mexico, Colombia etc. : for many passport holders, just arrive, get a stamp for 3 or even 6 months, period. Can go out and come back too without any particular type of visa or whatsoever.

Thailand : the worse now : exemption on arrival only one month and LOTTERY. Win a pay stay in detention, exit pay ticket, with no clear rules applied... This has really to change, give a very bad image, not to mention a very heavy problem.

It's actually a very good initiative. Especially if visa become online, multi-entry, for directly 2 or 3 months (without a unneccesary visit to immigration).

I don't know if many here travel to Cambodia and Vietnam and Laos, but let's be honest : Thailand is far the best for quality (hotel, food, transport, massage, etc.), security, tranquility <deleted> ! Vietnam is so f. noisy for exemple ! Stupid klaxon all the time... Availability of products, shopping center...

But... Chinese go massive in Vietnam for exemple. Many shop here speak chinese. Massive hotel all the coast, ugly but adapted to chinese mass, cheap...

-> Compétition increase for tourism now in SE Asia. 

So Thailand want to keep a lead, and this visa upgrade would be good play (if online, and no "bad lotery at airport")).

There is a chance too Thai immigration will move back to be expat friendly, because what happen since a few years, making it hard for expats (or partial expats), has made a lot to go away (counting as tourist i guess and anyway was big source of income). So next : get rid of bad immigration at check-point (must be checked before, period, arrival should be "welcome" again), get rid of the massive paperwork and repetitive visit to immigration, stupid rules everytime you move, etc. well : just make expat feel their money is welcome again... Make it "easy Thailand if you can pay" again.

IMO Thailand made the mistake to count only on short-term tourism from China and India.

But shorter trips, big compétition... Thailand may reconsider expats.

So first step : visa 3 months, online, multi-entry (i forgot this stupid re-entry permit too wich was such a bad example of uneccessary paperwork and problems).

And no surprise at airport.

And get rid of all the uneccessary and all-the-time changing rules for expats (90 days, change of address, notification on return, etc.)

= Sure more tourists, travellers, expats. = more money. Should be ok ???? 

On 11/3/2019 at 1:37 PM, uhuh said:

Friend is retiring to Colombia (he is 29), has been living there  for almost 3 years already,  speaks Spanish very well.

All prices that he ever quoted were cheaper than Thailand,  sometimes just a bit, sometimes a lot.

Exception: flights from Europe are cheaper to Thailand than to Colombia.

Especially cheap were condos (almost half the price of Thailand) and prostitutes (Colombians seem to be cheap, Venezuelans dirt cheap - but at 29 he gets lots of girls without paying by the hour, anyway).

 

2 problems: 

1. He is a businessman and got fleeced, lost almost 100,000 USD.

2. Healthcare. He doesn't have a solution for this. 

In my experience nothing beats how easy it is to rent a condo and a scooter in thailand. Tooks me 1 hour last time, monthly rate, no long lease, not even a deposit, very cheap, brand new, and quiet.

On the opposite, in Colombia i never found a way. Long lease, garantor, 6 month upfront, you name it, like in France, a pain in the ass. And no scooter to rent.

Hotel quality is of course way behind Thailand (unbeatable), small beds, very noisy... Not so cheap.

For me, beyond visa rules, and of course ambiance (i love latino athmosphere, and as a French especially, although not speaking spanish, i fell very welcome in LA), well i must admit i do not care as some here about the price of the beer ????Guys seriously...

But i do really care about those basics : rental without hassle of condo and scooter, and noise. Countries where taxis klaxon like 10 time a minute ! it's a big issue for me ! Like Philippine too. 

For the girls, well different style huh... Colombians are the best. Elsewhere in LA well how to say ?... I like thin, not big. But there are feelings in LA. Definitely not in SEA.

I am still searching. But obviously it become more difficult in SEA. Thailand make a clear message, farangs not welcome to stay "any-more" ????. Cambodia well... hmm... I will check Vietnam again.

Colombia, i don't know why, as something special. I may return. With a lot of courage to find a good condo/rental... Real issue there imo, like in France, compare to Asia. And the noise.

No perfect world i should settle someday ????

47 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

Say what. Maybe this is specific to airline you use. I fly in out los every 2 weeks. The airline staff (in Asia and other countries I fly to) want to see VISA or reentry permit or Onward flight. Since this comes up often on Thai visa I have taken time to ask boarding check in staff about this. They confirm what I post.

In any event if issue arises, step back from check in and book most cheap flight onward. ~ 1000baht.

Most Thai consulates require onward flight for visa, hence airlines not concerned. Flying visa exempt different.

Actually you may be right.

I travel a lot, but i barely remember the last time i needed a visa. French passport, usually visa on arrival (Colombia, Panama, Mexico, Philippines, Cambodia, Madagascar, South Africa...). I am asked to show a onward ticket then.

Some countries require a kind of online autorisation to desembark, but it's not a visa, i have been asked then by Ethiopian for a onward ticket recently.

With a visa or re-entry, last for me was in Thailand, not been asked for a further ticket, but to show my retirement visa (not sure they wanted any visa but possible). 

Not a very big deal, as you say you may want to try it and to buy a ticket at airport, personally i prefer to know before. And to buy a cheap forward ticket.

Already so many issue with travelling nowaday.

Example : a trip from Asia to Latin America, transit AT AIRPORT in Vancouver (not even a real stop, we where in a separated room for 2 hours), so a technical transit, same plane, well you better know you need a online autorisation for Canada ! Crazy but real. This one was difficult to know, and a saw many people having to stress to do that online in the middle of China (witch was a real stop/change of plane, but no online autorisation required there for transiting at airport in China)... 

I miss the good old time when i had fun to take a flight, no massive crowd in airport, no visa required, no return/onward ticket required, no multiple-redondant security check, smoking in the plane (yeah that one was bad), almost empty plane, etc. ????

Britim no offense but you post very inacurate info here.

I confirm as a frequent traveller that airlines (well i don't know for the Brits they are specials ;-)), since a few years, always ask me for the next ticket (onward in my case), with a visa or not.

I did pass last time without any, coming back to Thailand, but with a retirement visa (meaning i was living in the destination), and proving it.

Some airlines may be able to check online the return/onward ticket, some not (Ethiopian last time admited they could not check).

One of those things that make traveling (not just going on holiday) nowaday more complicated...

For the 3 months after, i think it should be ok. Airline is covered, and immigration will probably use another excuse to deny you if they want.

But of course.

Don't do anything serious about pollution, witch kills or harm way more than tobacco.

North Thailand worst area in the world for pollution, with farmers out of any control, with burning forest to get mushrooms, with songthaew and tuk-tuk emitting huge amount of toxic smog... Nothing done, too much work.

Smokers as scapegoat are so much easy. Just put taxes. No effort, big money...

How the world is stupid (not only Thailand) by putting so much energy and money to fight the smokers, and doing nothing about pollutions... 

They will do something because money speaks in Thailand.

And now the whole world knows about the smoking enormous problem in north Thailand, and the pollution all year in Chiang Mai town.

But as usual it will take years.

- Easy : law and enforcement against the songthaw and tuk-tuk, amazingly polluting the city, and maybe the diesel cars. Put traffic controls : easy. And solutions, like filters or whatever works.

- Easy : stop being stupid like ending the smoking ban now (that's unbelievable), and stop the mushroom thing too.

- Not so easy (need army i would say) : control the farmers, no more fire !

- Difficult for Thai obviously : learn how to deal with farming waste, and preparation of lands.

- By the way start to control/fine the many trash fire they like to do anywhere in Thailand.

- Very difficult : like Singapore with smoking problem with Indonesia, prepare huge diplomacy to stop the burning from Myanmar and Laos.

Will take years if they can realize. 

But yes indeed tourism (and real estate for another example) in the whole north will suffer, media will watch, so money loss will make Thailand address this big issue, somehow... 

Insane...

And they will do nothing unless money from tourism drop significantly.

Ho wait no they put commission in place, and talk about thinking on how to follow the END OF THE BURNING BAN, witch is UNBELIEVABLE !

Or they ban cigarettes smoking, yeah, more easy. When i see a songthaw smoking i wonder ho many time more pollution just one makes : like 100 time more smoke ? 1000 times ?!

So no, until money drop, they can not :

- Control the songthaw and the fabulous fk. tuk-tuk, witch represent a huge pollution in Chiang Mai town ! Easy to do but nobody think about it obviously. And then the diesel cars. VERY EASY TO DO : put control in traffic, size vehicules, period !

- Stop the Fk. farmer burning, by law and harsh punishment (the one they prefer to make against the farang), enforce it, make example, send army <deleted> !

- Make the mushroom think illegal and harsh punishment.

- And then, more difficult but Singapore did that with smoke issue from Indonesia : diplomacy to stop Myanmar and Laos (other primitives countries) from burning like pledge too.

- And of course i forget the obvious : learn ho to deal with farming waste and land farming.

But they actually DO almost NOTHING ! Are in denial mode, complaining about the heat. For years ! And even now it's worldwide known.

Well, they will finally do something because of tourism and image (face) impact, but i guess they will do the minimum.

Sorry this (and environemental issue generally in this crazy world) piss me off.

They do something... They ban smokers from many places, like airport ????

Pollution is a way bigger problem (and kills MORE than cigarettes, and is totally passive-not a choice), but as usual mankind prefer to target some scapegoat, and to not deal with real problem (like climate change for example too).

NOT specific to Thailand i must say honestly !

For the massive and increasing pollution in the North, the ONLY way things would change is IF tourists stop going there when it happens. Money loss = reaction, that's for sure.

But tourists don't know or don't care yet.

Media and forum like here could change that if people wanted it.

Very informative and essential post, thanks.

I join those who think the immigration problems will get worst, it's the direction it takes since a few years on many different things related, so... For any expat, any visa, as reported. Some want to stay in denial mode, fine for them until...

Actually it came to my mind that the main point could be : what entry point is better to avoid ? Like Don Muang obviously. Makes travels not easy but may be a solution, at least temporarely.

Others ?

And relative to both the "immigration lottery better to avoid" part, and a back-up plan, maybe interesting to thing about train and land border. Again there was stories about bad borders ? But at least you are not in risk of detention, airport extended time, and ticket to buy last minute...

And boat ? Seriously.

Would be of course better if immigration could change this rude orientation with no clear and simple rules applied. The new 800K requirements, the 24h address change report, or the 90 days reports, are others nonsense or willingness to put farang out.

For me i will not renew my retirement extension, for sure. So will only spend max 90 or 180 days per year in Thailand, maybe... Depends actually, of quantity of immigration issues reported, possible solutions (train etc.), and of the new countries i will explore. 

15 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

yeah, last December, and imagine the face of the people behind me, she moved to the side and call somebody to replace her at the counter, forgot to say that she also claimed I had too many stamps, that I traveled too much and why did I stay so long in China & Macau

Yep, in my large experience at immigrations in the world, some are not asking (legit or stupid) question, they just play the power abuse thing. But it's (very) rare in most countries i think (well not sure but in my experiences).

In 30+ years of many travels, i only had problem in Vegas, as i said for no reason other than a frustrated IO, once but after 1hour+ a supervisor gave a green light, pissing off patently the bad IO ; actually another time long ago in LA but less longer, just a ton of questions, no obvious intend to make problem ; and in Jamaica a few years ago : here on the pretext i had no return ticket to France ! (i had a legit continuation ticket though), a bad IO denied me, i was never able to see a supervisor (or to be checked by) : low order-standard country...

That's all, i pass the "not welcome feeling" or stupid questions here and there sometimes, no big deal and usually quick, i can talk.

My post and worries are more related to the general feeling Thailand does not want expats anymore, and a legit visa could be kind of a lottery at airport if so. I may be wrong, or not, i just don't know but that one was weird considering all the changes they made recently toward farang not in a tourist pack of Chineese ????

Anyway in countries who pretend to have "order" (like USA for the big example), such disorder in the forces, even rare, is really bad (police, immigration, homeland...). Not much better than anarchy or communism (joking... maybe...).

Somehow, AI and automated analysis could be better (not susceptible to abuse power for frustration or a bad day - or whatever very human, if no strict order and supervision inside the forces -)...

Or worse.

Well, we will see, the AI and total surveillance revolution has started here and there in the world.

Everything fine, it looks like Big Joke heard me :

https://forum.thaivisa.com/topic/1087733-big-joke-promises-ai-in-four-months-to-keep-the-bad-guys-out/

I'm a good guy, so in 4 months i expect no more problem at airport... ????

9 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

actually, the  most impolite and miserable Immigration officials I have ever had the misfortune to interact with have been in US Airports. Thai's don't come close.  

Agree with that. Especially Homeland bad cops guys... Actually... Had only one issue in Vegas, where a bad cop tried everything to piss me off and to deny me entry for no reason, and openly expressed his frustration when his supervisor said i was a ok guy.

I'm almost old, have been travelling a lot in my life, always polite, well dressed, and legit, for info. French passport. Rarely had a problem going so long for no reason.

And here again the point is it's with a retirement visa for witch i putted 800k in bank + fees.