KiChakayan

2 hours ago, acenase said:

ONLY IF you DON'T have 20K in funds, you wont gain entry with a valid/un-used Visa.  

Or if you say something suspicious that makes them think you're illegally working. 

 

It is highly unlikey you will get denied entry otherwise. Stop trying to scare people. More times than not if they question you they will ask to provide them 20K in funds and/or a ticket out of Thailand and note that in your Passport. and there should be no problem at all.

 

Show me a time someone has ever been denied entry with an un-used, Valid Visa  and 20K in funds, and return ticket. If you get denied like that it is called CORRUPTION. Period.

Food for thought...

1 hour ago, DonaldBattles said:

After being here for 34 years and working and living in 9 provinces I can never go back to the USA. I have been back 2 times, once when my mother died and the second when my now wife and I went to Hawaii and the mainland to get married. I said good by to all my old NASA friends and relatives and reminded them that the plane flies both ways. No NASA friends or family members have chosen to come.

Be happy in LOS. And thanks for July 20, 1969.

On 9/8/2017 at 10:30 PM, JackThompson said:

It would appear you already had a Non-O visa or extension to start with.  If you had tried to use the Conversion desk (#7) from a TR-type entry, I guarantee you would have had a very different and unpleasant experience - especially using a US-Embassy income-letter.

My understanding was that Non O (or O/A) + Extensions was the "normal" process flow. TV (or exempt?) + conversion to Non O + extensions was an exception. So to me it makes perfect sense that they make it more difficult.

Thanks for reporting good experiences. As far as I am concerned I've been here for only two and a half years, but have never been treated unfairly by an IO. It is the stupid process (yearly extensions for marriage & 90 days reports) that frustrates me.

5 hours ago, maeab101 said:

She has not left thailand show the proof. She could even be dead.

Thought so myself for a while. But then would her brother remain silent?

2 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

the guy said he has money to chill out here for a year and spend his money, that is all

Was so good to have a chat with you mate...

28 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

LOL that's hilarious!!!!

Hmmmhhh.. so have fun. But these are exactly the kind of questions asked when you get interviewed for an immigrant (or permanent resident) visa in other countries. I experienced it first hand. I can also imagine myself answering: "oh I want to lead a cheap life and you should be happy to let me spend my little money in your country".

Thai immigration seem to embrace now a "right visa for the right purpose" paradigm. "right visa for the right purpose" paradigm; so permanent residence with a series of tourist visas, or exemptions must be seen a bit disturbing.

1 hour ago, acenase said:

Whats the way to live here if not with a Tourist Visa?  Not eligible for retirement, marriage or work permit.  I got laid off from my job in the US and have thousands of dollars saved up and instead of traveling to many differenr countries I realized I can live comfortably by renting a condo and only paying $3,000-$4,000 for the whole YEAR. That's comparing to what I'm used to paying for rent in US which was $1,500 per MONTH. 

There's no need for me to work in Thailand because I have more than enough money to live comfortably for more than a year without doing work. I plan to travel to many different provinces throughout Thailand with my home base being Bangkok.  The only thing I have to worry about is getting a new Visa every 3 months, which is the reason for the back to back Visas.  So why would this be wrong for me to do based on my circumstance? If I am doing it, there must be no problem with being a Tourist and having a place to stay in Bangkok for as long as I would like since I can afford it without needing work.

Just a couple of questions: do you have long term plans/ambitions? and what is your contribution to Thai society?

3 hours ago, LotusBoy said:

a few hundred baht 

More like a few thousands. I got a couple in each of my cars.

Everyone intending to stay in a foreign country should clarify his circumstances; What attracts me there? How will I contribute to society? How will I be able to support myself, within the bounds of law? 

If one can find solid answers to all three one should be able to find the proper visa within what is being offered now. 

It is indeed remarkable that, for so long, consecutive short stays have been granted without any questions being asked. Even though there seems to be some change going right now.

What happens to the home visit, when you apply for extension of stay, on the ground of marriage to a Thai national, at the "new office". I can also imagine issues with witnesses is this happens shortly after a move.

On 8/30/2017 at 3:23 PM, Kerryd said:

Not sure how they initially thought he was an "Arab" (which was how it was reported in the ORIGINAL news article for those that think they are smarter than everyone else).
 

I reckon the shopkeeper was from Paris...

10 minutes ago, Suradit69 said:

He isn't actually doing visa runs if he isn't getting a visa and returns with the expectation that he'll be admitted exempt from the need for a visa.

 

Surprisingly not everyone who works here does it within the law, thus the suspicion that some people who repeatedly enter using visa exempt entries or using tourist visas may be working illegally since their behavior is not considered typical for tourists or for those using the visa exempt entry for the purpose for which it was intended.

Well, if this is true, it sheds light on some of the new immigration practices, especially at Don Muang.

Don't get it. The OP relies on visa runs, and WORKS for a company that used to take care of his visa? This just doesn't add up, or ?

Sorry, he left his employer.

3 hours ago, SEEDGER said:

The best "Loop Hole" is something called the "PE Visa". Plop down a million baht  and get 20 years of entry into Thailand handed out in 5 year installments.

But can we be sure the Thais will give us all 4 instalments? If I was I would take it.

1 hour ago, Happy enough said:

I think it works out at 100k a year which is fine but as far as I know you need to do for at least 5 years. 

There is a 20 years option for THB 1M, which is 50k a years. Easy to spend this on visas runs. But as you wrote it implies some commitment.

3 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

doesn't sound like he is gaming anything and i don't see that they are loopholes. i know plenty of people that do it. it's cheaper than getting elite visas and they like staying here so continue to use the tourist visa route then that is up to them. some people have cash flow from rental properties abroad or are just loaded so have no intention of working here but choose to live here and why pay more for a visa than you need to. by the way, why would you care how they sort their visa. were you looking to try to get the person into trouble and just found out you can't?

What is the actual cost of a visa run? If you stay 20 years you might come close to the THB 1M of the Elite visa, which, in theory, gives you much greater comfort. I say in theory because I can't trust the Thais; if you read the fine print, they may discontinue their part of the deal and run away with my money.

The question is: "is one breaking the law or not?". So if you bring your money with you are (should be) fine, if you work in Thailand to make a living, you break the law and ought to be prosecuted and deported. 

There is an lack of depth in the thinking that led to this product. One reason I came to this conclusion is that most people who can afford this visa would already have some proper health coverage, this is my case. So my only choice would be to pay THB 60k to 70k a year on top of my existing coverage, for no extra cover, as couldn't take the risk of leaving my health plan and be unable to return when things go wrong.

One could then think  that to THB 1 M "Elite" option is preferable, but here I get the weird feeling that both offers are "get rich quick" schemes, for distinct groups within the administration. For me this is the only way to understand the obvious redundancy.

My Doctor at Bumrungrad said it isn't available in Thailand. He suggested to look around in neighbouring countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore or Japan... Would anyone have useful info?