Leaver

When you first came to Thailand and explored Thailand, did you really go to a village in Issan on your own accord and decided you like it, or were you lead by the nose by a Thai lady? I mean, who goes to Issan on their first holiday to Thailand? As for perfect base for traveling for holidays. travel to where? International, or domestic?

I didn't advise anything. I simply asked another member who posted how easy it was to reside in Thailand because Thailand has a visa for everyone, what visa would he advise for a single person who is under 50 year of age.

This advice was not included in the other member's post, but I agree, 50 is the magic number.

Ahhh, but the twisting and turning. Can you remain resolute? ????

Errr, if Thai police want to extort "tea money" from businesses, it's certainly not our place to claim it's corruption. ???? The people that should be deterring crime are the criminals. We all know this. Or, just go pay an "agent." ????

Are overstayers sentenced to gaol before being deported? That's called being "detained" not being imprisoned. What are the sentences for overstaying? Yes, there's a fine, but is it a criminal offense? Does the guy up in Issan who is an overstay for 3 years get sentenced to gaol for overstaying? Can you post a link where an overstayer has been sentenced to gaol?

Why do you say it's a smart move, like he has a choice? ????

It was a losing situation from Day 1.

Yes. Some other members don't seem to know this.

Based on an overwhelming amount of observations over the years of businesses opening, only to close not long later, pre covid, of course.

Hardly paradise. More like the end of the line.

As have the same script, thousands of times before. ???? Aspire to retire in Thailand, living by a beach. End up living in a rice growing village up north, with no assets in your name. What a way to see out your twilight years. ????

Policing, or extortion?

Yes, it can be done, but in most cases, it's not legit. Sure, TiT, but if under 50, the legal options are limited.

That's my point. If one is under 50 years of age, the legitimate visas available are limited.

No. Another member said, "Thailand is easier than most to stay in if you meet one of the many visa criteria." I just asked for his advice to those under 50 years of age who wish to reside in Thailand, Elite Visa aside.

Did you read my post? Here it is for you, again. "I'm interested in what advice you would give to a self funded foreigner who is under 50 years of age for living in Thailand, other than Elite Visa?" Huh? I'm over 50 years of age and have a retirement visa. I use an agent because I refuse to move 800,000 baht into a 3rd World Country that's under a military dictatorship, and that 800,000 baht is earning more than the cost of the agent back in my home country.

I expect the protests to start up again in the near future. Younger Thai's are more aware of the situation than ever before.

Funny reply. You personally attack me, and do not address my post/s at all. Could it be because it's you who hasn't a clue, or perhaps have simply been out of the game for too long?

Who said anything about working? I will clarify, how does a wealthy individual, who is self funded, with an income stream, and does not have to work, live in Thailand, if under 50 years of age?

I concur. From there, the OP can plan his move to a village in Issan in the future. ????

I'm interested in what advice you would give to a self funded foreigner who is under 50 years of age for living in Thailand, other than Elite Visa?

There are offenses, and there are criminal offenses. Eg. not wearing a helmet. Yes, not wearing a helmet is a traffic offense, but not a criminal offense. I believe overstayers are detained, not gaoled. They go to a detention center, not a prison. Am I wrong? You say an overstayer is put before a judge. I have no knowledge of this, but happy to learn. Why would an overstayer be put before a judge? There is no presumption of innocence for a strict liability offense. What is there for a judge to rule on? No, you do not become invisible when using wifi with a VPN and talking on a messaging app, just because you turned off GPS and location services, and as a side issue, what of the person you are contacting, law enforcement can reverse trace. I am not sure what sloppy police work has to do with tracking a person via their phone, but it may interest some that law enforcement can turn on the microphone of a device and listen in. They effectively make the phone their "bug." No need for a building entry. In any case, all over Thailand there are overstayers. Some by days, some by months, and some by years, and some by a lot of years. With some basic investigative work they could find them. ATM's, sim card, utility bills, property ownership, vehicle registration, finding their wife etc. They could start with the longest overstayers first, but no, lets do random stops in Tree Town with a squad of around 20 officers who want to show bar owners they are all thirsty for some "tea." Once again, if 2am closing isn't going to start the "tea" flowing again, what next, pool table licenses, dart board licenses? How long before police play their final card, the elephant in the room, and start raiding bars for prostitution?

We are discussing overstayers, not criminals. Once again, to my knowledge, overstaying is not a criminal offense. In those days you didn't have to register the sim cards. Then, people started using unregistered sim cards to detonate bomb, hence, a registration process was implemented. That involves ID Cards or Passports. Sure, he could pay a bar girl to set up a sim card for him, but if he uses the phone to contact or connect with anyone or anything, for example a bank account, they have the phone, and have him. You may find this short clip interesting. If this is what Google collect from a phone that has no sim card and is not connected to the internet, you can be sure law enforcement can collect a lot more. As for VPN's, well, no one is anonymous on the internet. I wouldn't trust VPN company claims of zero knowledge logs. Even government agencies in America have set up Tor exit nodes to capture data, so Tor can no longer offer anonymity.

So you don't think presence in Tree Town the other night, doing random stops, has anything to do with the current 2am crackdown? Is that correct?