KhonKaenKowboy

IMO, the large number of farang teachers willing to work illegally does more harm than good.  The schools and the government agencies need incentives to have a reasonable path to take to teach legally.  With a revolving door of Bozos coming here every week with no respect for the law, the schools will just keep using them.  And it is almost never that the school gets in trouble.  Why would they pay for WP if experience tells them 1/3 won't start the second semester, another third aren't legally qualified, and the other third can be replaced in a week.

This is an especially brazen case.  Atcany moment you could be served by at least 5 different agencies. The tax problems alone could send you away....even if you did have proper visa and wp.

Were they still giving numbers, when you left?

One time some fat pig with UAL wasn't going to let me check in because I lacked a visa for China, where I was staying for two hours....so yeah, the airlines are more than willing to deny boarding based on visa to anywhere.

8 hours ago, globalspark said:

 As I  stated yesterday there  seems  to be  a more  heavy handed approach to visas in general.  On arrive from  Phnom Penh recently  the immigration was asking lots of questions.I was asked  what hotel I will be staying  something that I was never asked before.The que  was slow  because   every passport  was carefully checked out. I think  a directive  has been issued from above to tighten up.

 I can see in the near future   that  people on just an old age pension will not be welcomed in Thailand as long term residents.

This poster mentioned it.  Ironic, you want to split legal hairs on my post, and you are the one who was caught red handed gaming the system.  I was just reminding readers that you always have and will need to write where you are staying.

4 minutes ago, jonw8uk said:

 

 

Are you replying to the OP? what arrival form?

The one you fill out when you arrive in LOS, land or airport, and they staple it to your passport....tm6....it asks the name of hotel...always some wanger that leaves it blank and it holds up the line...just put anything...blank is not an answer.

Yes, Laos PDR....Please Don't Rush....BTW, the question about your hotel has been on the arrival form every time I entered since 1998.

Plenty of married guys were in line for retirement extensions...a bit more money, thought there is the sworn letter...but I think it is more straightforward.  Much lfewer new rules, interpretations, etc..

Actually, there is a well regarded university in the US named "Stamford.". 

7 hours ago, Elkski said:

Great info guys.   Sorry op that your having trouble.   I bet this is inconvenient?  What is your plan?   

 

Why no ATM card?    Is it due to the risk of torture? Does seem like a Golden egg if someone can force the password out.   

Consumer protection is minimal....while it is excellent in the us if someone raids your account..unless it is the IRS or the state of California.

I think they will do a withdrawal without the book but there is a small fee.  FWIW, there are still certificates forcerificates of deposit, but now they just keep them and send you a receipt.  You can buy them from 50 different banks wityh a fidelity account.  Like stock certificates, they do exist, but the customer rarely possesses them.  I would rather lose a bankbook than an ATM card, which I refuse to have issued here.

Good for you all.  If I had known it was so easy elsewhere and so problematic in CM; I would have given much more serious consideration to some of the lesser known places, which often seem quite nice to visit.  

2 hours ago, OJAS said:

At what time did you start queuing up outside the office? And did you manage to accomplish this seemingly Herculean task completely off your own bat without any assistance from agents?

I got there at 3:15 am.  The tuktuk driver couldn't beilive it.  At 5; you would have been 7 or 8.  As a bonus, we only had to wait 30 minutes or so after the interview to get or pp back.  No coming back at 15:00 like last year.  No agent was involved.

57 minutes ago, glegolo said:

Congratulations really. That place up there seems to be hell on earth, with nasty employees and really stupid enforcement of the immigration-laws. I am surpriced that anyone among us falangs, even prefer to stay and to live up there in CM....

 

Glegolo

Thanks, I have plans to move to BKK, and was delaying to avoid complicating seasoning/renewal.  Chiang Mai is a special place, but.......

I was denied a b in Vientiane in 2005, because I had no wp..it was for teaching and I hadn't started.  Four days later the school had it strasstrasight, and I got a 1 year,,but they wrote in their to apply for wp and show at 90 report..I think it was on s stamp.

Was a beast, but was a success....I will be glad to answer any reasonable questions; just ask.

On 11/26/2016 at 11:44 AM, Lee4Life said:

Hmmmm....I thought foreigners with the yellow Tabian Ban book in their names didn't have to file the TM30, guess maybe I was wrong?

I reported right after I returned from the US.  The problem with the yellow book is that it is proof that you have been there without reporting.  I bit dinged 1600...The good news  is that as a condo owner, I could self report.  I keep hearing..the landlord is responsible...yes, true, but you are the one responsible for having the receipt in your passport..and if you think the cost won,t be passed on to your rent (+some); you are mistaken.

First time ever in 12 trips over here from the US that I had to sign a statement before boarding that if I was denied entry, I would be paying for my own ticket back.  This was Lufthansa..so maybe they are tired of getting stiffed...and yes, they did check my visa, too.  Funny how the OP took until page 6 to tells he didn't have his show money.  That has been going on for decades...and that was also enforced more about 10 years ago at maesai...even saw some people passing the money through the fence for a family to re-use...I this k it was ten thou per person and twenty for a family...and berberlieve it or not there are families over here with young kids from theUS and elsewhere, who clearly don't have enough funds to avoid becoming a burden on Thailand.

Correct...I did that 12 years ago..July 26 to zAugust 25...but I even accounted for the 31 day month.  I was surprised when they said I overstayed, but they would let me slide...I think that is why there is the grace period...people still don,t use calendar days (banks do).  The next time, I was aware and came in about midnight, but they stamped everyone or the date of the flight.  I think even now, they often know what flight you were on, before looking at your card.

6 hours ago, buick said:

 

i agree with what you say with a slight modification, you say living here on tourist visas is forbidden.  i would say 'living here on tourist visas while working in thailand (no work permit obviously) or without sufficient funds to support yourself is forbidden'.  i provided some detail on my experience a page or two back in this thread.  here is some more detail.   i've spent more than 250 days a year in thailand for the last 10 yrs.  in year 4, 5, or 6 (i can't recall exactly), immigration at suvarnabhumi pulled me aside and asked what i'd been doing in thailand.  i said i'm retired and too young to get the retirement visa (i was 44, 45 or 46 at the time).  they instructed me to obtain tourist visas and avoid visa exempt entries when possible (they said nothing about the elite scheme).  if it was truly forbidden, i wouldn't be here.  it is all speculation as to why they are 'okay' with me.  i get my visas in my home country (USA) and they currently require proof of funds to get a tourist visa so they know i have enough money to support myself.  in order to stay for the 250 days, i get a SETV and extend (90 days).  i then fly to hong kong, the PI, vietnam or europe (i always stay at least a week usually two).  i return on a visa exempt entry, extend that (60 days).  then do that again, 60 days.  that is 210 days.  then i fly back to USA for two months and return with an SETV and start all over again.  last year i did three visa exempt entries in a row (and extended each).  i had no problem although i was wondering if i would, i had my flight out of thailand plus my thai bank account statement just in case they pulled me aside.  so you just have to be ready for a 'discussion'. again, if it was forbidden, i would not have been allowed in.  i am now 50 and will be getting the retirement visa soon.

 

(i see another TV member has just now touched on the same topic !!)

If it is perfectly legal, then why do you get nervous every time you enter and the IO starts looking at your entries?

The clampdown started 10 years ago, with them marking number of consecutive 30s at maesai and others..Also overstay increased from 200 to 500.  The ED visa thing was widely abused..can't really blame them for that, either.  It would be interesting to see things that often matter a lot:  skin color, nationality, tattoos, hair....style is everything here.  It still can happen to anyone, though.  Systems create system players, who engage in testing the limits of the system...and often cry foul, when they are called out.  Notice, almost all of those called out are doing exactly what is forbidden, and that is living here on a tourist visa.  If I was early 40s, I would take a hint and go to cambo or Myanmar.  Finding the new frontier is the name of the game...a lot of the things that made LOS famous are clearly on the decline, if not completely finished.

I don't think they want people to liger to get the extra day...my experiences were like the others...and as most know, something as silly as a clock does not determine the date...the IO does...never disrupt the routine...maybe then they will want show money or an onward ticket...

On 10/7/2016 at 10:38 AM, Bulldozer Dawn said:

 

BTW is the skytrain...1 day unlimktrd is 140 THB..I think..3 day subway is 210 THB....MRT subway is a little cheaper....there will be more integration on fares in the future.

39 minutes ago, Grubster said:

You know you are right about that. I've done it and came up short.

Especially if you are fat, bald, and your extremities are disproportionately short..the bad teeth don't really get a discount, either.  5000 here is crazy and unnecessary.

12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If I still wanted to get to know some of those ladies in Nana or Cowboy, I wouldn't give a rat's bottom about where the bosses money came from, but I would be thanking the deity that such places exist.

BTW I know enough bargirls to know that any reference to trafficked or forced participation is BS, if that is what you were implying.

No, its worse than that.  Its money laundered from boiler room operations that have bilked people like you and your parents out of millions on fake share schemes.  Google bkk boiler room...and the same wholes try to fix prices at NEP...not allowing good promos or hh...that's even worse..oh, and I've never seen more transvestites anyplace in my life..nice crowd.