NorthernRyland

what is Loei like the coldest weather in the country or something? The drivable mountain peaks around here are 1200m and I don't think they're going to get 8c tomorrow but I've never actually been there in the early mornings to measure. Weather in CM is hot garbage. Too much pollution and cars put a heat blanket over the entire region. People tell me it's colder in Isaan now. There's a tip for Bob, stay away from Chiang Mai, at least 100 kilometers in any direction.

Nice so much better weather than Chiang mai province. I didn't know it got that cool there. I haven't seen even close to 13c this year in Samoeng and it's more north in the mountains and even higher elevation (500 compared to 250 in Loei). We got rain the other day and the temps seem to be dropping now but still won't hit 13c tomorrow I bet.

I don't like Thai's have reached the level of civilization where they understand corruption is like poison and it kills everyone slowly. I've talked to them about this before and they seem to understand it's wrong at a surface level but also a sense that's it's the privilege of officials to do so. I'm sure it's part of the brainwashing they get in school towards authorities in general. Submit, bow, acquiesce etc...

The great mystery to me is why so many Thai people drive so desperately. It's like they have the emotional development of a teenager. It's actually very disturbing to me especially after seeing it for so many years.

It makes more sense when you consider there was no official agreement between the departments. Immigration may think it's a joke too but no one ever asked them. What they did totally turned the whole immigration system upside down and they did this unilaterally (a person mentioned one guy signed off on it) but that's not the same as going through parliament or something. My brother has basically given up on running a business in Thailand is trying to sell now. One of the primary reason is the hassle he goes through every year and apparently he has to pay bribes just it through do extra documents requested etc... That's how immigration normally is so what you say about soft power makes no sense they would tolerate this.

Yes but it's not even been 6 months since it was issued. What remains to be seen is what happens when you get past the 12 month mark.

I think this is debatable. It's like how you see them build roads here and then rip them up to install utilities. The departments don't communicate and then have conflicts later when they have to interact out of necessity. Maybe this time it's slips through though and they have no choice but to honor it? I don't know how it will play out but unless everyone agreed it's time to end the annual extensions there's going to be some conflicts eventually. This begs the question, why have the 5 year elite visa? Why make retirees, married people and business do annual extensions anymore?

but where are you going to get this new man from? The police are paid a pittance and pulled from the lower ranks of society where there is apparently a commonly held belief that corruption is an acceptable way to get ahead in life. Fixing the Thai police would probably require some sort of mandatory anti-corruption campaign starting in the very early years of schooling. Unless the common man and society believes corruption is wrong and they feel shame about it nothing will change in my opinion.

Speaking of police escorts it's so baffling to me they insist on driving on such insane speeds through cities. They're blocked off parts of the road but someone could easily make a mistake and get on to the road and have some nasty collision. Even the police don't seem to understand basic road safety here. It's truly a lost cause.

well you don't understand the brilliant system they have. The police come AFTER you've been hit and killed but stay in the office until then. It's all very logical and sensical once you wrap your head puny farang around it.

You made a typo: useless-lazy police force.

Crime is already so low in Thailand. It's the frekin' idiots on wheels that are going to kill you. Why Thailand can't figure this out is beyond me.

You're just assuming because they issued a visa with a 5 year expiration date and multiple entires that they will let you re enter without scrutiny. Correct me if I wrong but there has never been a non-O or tourist visa which didn't require an annual extension. They're basically rolling out the red carpet for remote workers while keeping the rest of the retirees, married, business owners etc... on a short lease. It makes no sense in the context of how it works here. Good luck just make sure you have some backup plan if the pre-2024 Thailand reasserts itself next year.

This is really delusional thinking. Not sure how long you've been in Thailand and paying attention to these matters but they've been slowly cracking down on tourist visa abuse over the years. I lived in Thailand 10 months out of the year for 15 years on various tourist visas and even the old non-O they used to issue without proper justification (they closed that years ago) so I know this first hand. I'm married now and not interested in the DTV but I'm just saying immigration hasn't had a change of heart. The DTV is for the same people who were living in Thailand on tourist visas just last year and the department that issued is doesn't have the power to change immigration policy so radically. Good luck just my 2 cents.

that's promising but I'll be waiting closer to the 12 months mark to feel more confident.

how does that change anything? The IO at the port of entry is now going to get to decide if they want to grant the reentry and has been noted there has been no official statement on how to handle this. It's possible all the local IO's have never been told anything either and they're justing waiting like the rest of us.

I was warned to stop using them but I never actually got stopped at the airport. If you get back to back tourist visas year after year something happens right? Pretty sure people get denied entry or they get pulled aside at the airport and intimidated.

isn't this like a tourist visa though? they'll issue tourist visas but if they think you're in the country "too long" they won't admit you and warn you etc... I don't see any reason why this isn't like a tourist visa where they'll decide if you've been in the country too long on said visa. It's not like a non-O where you've reapplied every 12 months, it's just one application process. My guess is this will raise eyebrows with immigration. Even people on business extensions need to re-apply every 12 months so I don't see them giving this great privilege to online workers who have 500k in their home bank account, let alone people who paid 600k upfront for the "elite" visa which is not looking so elite now.

yeah but he can't predict what immigration does with this oncoming deluge of online workers wanting to live in Thailand for years on end. That visa has the capacity to attract hundreds of thousands of online workers to Thailand and could really upset the balance of things. It's very hard for me to see them allow such a massive policy change.

Good riddance no matter how much you hate journalists you don't hate them enough. Truly the enemy of the American people.

Exactly, 40 million tourists per year is too much and not looking for the traffic but happy for them all the same. The reason I'm commenting on this is because I've seen many YouTube videos promoting this new visa and it could potentially seriously ruin peoples life if it goes the way I think it will. Imagine quitting your job, or selling your house because some person who's been in Thailand 12 months has you sold on the idea you can have 500k in your bank once every 5 years, leave the country overnight once every 6 months and then work online and live in Thailand for the rest of your life. These people have no history in the country and may not even know about the other visas and how they all interact but if they did they should get this distinct impression this is too good to be true, what's the catch? The scenario I think plays out it is that in 6 or 12 months you go to re-enter and immigration says "why are you staying in Thailand so much, you need a proper visa for staying more than 12 months" and you say "I have the 5 year DTV", and they respond "yes you can use it for 5 years but you can't live in Thailand without the correct visa". You argue with them and they remind you nowhere in the terms does it say you GUARANTEED 5 years of back to entries, you've made that up. Boom your whole life is wrecked now and you're in panic mode all because some slick kid on YouTube got your hopes up. Tragic if this happens to people. I've been there before and lived through this. It doesn't matter if you have the visa, they'll issue you tourists back to back but entering the country is another matter. I've always been able to buy the visa because it's not their job to scrutinize your immigration history, that happens at the border when you try to enter.

Yes but the money can be a problem. The DTV basically drops the in-country banking requirement with the tradeoff of having to leave every 6 months. Many retired people would do this anyway so they've basically made it much easier for people with less money to retire in Thailand. Again, this is out of character for them to drop requirement so easily. Something doesn't add up.

Oh and one other point, they just announced a new bronze Thailand elite visa for 5 years right? Why would they allow the vastly cheaper DTV to cannibalize their sales so easily? None of this makes sense to me so I would expect surprises down the road.

It's apparently one level deeper in that this other department created the visa which is then issued through the embassy/consulates. What I heard though is that the ministry of the interior (which is "immigration"?) has made no comments on this new visa and stated clearly how/if it can be extended. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. The people that created the visa may have been interested in juicing tourist numbers during high season but never actually coordinated with immigration (the ultimate authority on who enters or not) and agreed on letting all these people in for the entire 5 year term of the visa. This is classic Thai government at work and the same reason we see immigration offices have divergent polices and making up rules as they go. My only point is to be cautious because it's never been the policy of immigration to allow entry so easy for any non-immigration visa. There's always hassle and asking why you're in the country so often etc... Does anyone really think they've had a change or heart, especially given their silence on the matter?

As I understand the department responsible for creating the DTV visa is not technically the same department as immigration and there has been no public statement on how re-entries are going to work and if they will even allow them. Maybe someone else can clarify this. This is typical in Thailand that two departments will not communicate and coordinate with each other so I would expect surprises once the first 6 month period arrives. Personally I can't see immigration giving out a 5 year visa so easily, especially since it undercut the elite visa now. None of that makes sense does it? All these retired and married people still have all these steep requirements and annual extensions but they're going to let anyone that can prove a job and 500k baht in their HOME bank get a whole 5 years? I very much doubt this.