chrisc38

32 minutes ago, bwpage3 said:

Maybe his Aunt wasn't rich and he is trying to get around the rules?

 

11 years in Thailand, in his 30's with no job?

 

That mean's he came to Thailand in his 20's not enough years of work to save anything?

 

I think being in Thailand for 11 years and getting around the system for 7 years using ED Visa's he knows the rules the same as everyone else.

 

Surely if he had money, he would have already had an Elite Visa.

 

Probably working on-line and doesn't want to state that

If you must know i got lucky in the IT boom before i moved and got lucky again with bitcoin. I also got lucky doing this for so many years, an elite visa would have been a waste of money to do before this, don't know why ya'll keep suggesting i should have done something different, obviously what i've done the past 11 years has worked, time for the next thing, not a big deal, but i wouldn't have done anything different. The four hours i had to endure at don muang airport sure beats wasting 300,000 baht which i would have wasted had I bought and elite visa 3 years ago. If i had followed the advice given here i'd have a lot less bitcoin than i do now. 

1 minute ago, joecoolfrog said:

As you have pots of money why not get the 5 year elite visa , no hassles then.

So if i had bought the 5 year elite visa 3 years ago i would have wasted 3 years of it now no? Why would that be better?

For the record i'm not a digital nomad never worked a day the whole time i've been there, I stay in Thailand for the booze the girls and the temples *sic. I agree, i milked the system for a long damn time, i'm not bitter about the whole thing, just thought i'd share my experience. Could i get Elite Visa? sure, could i do other visas, sure, no problem, just never did because what i was doing really did work well for me. I don't see why i should have got a visa when clearly i never needed one for past few years. I expected this to eventually happen, my only mistake here I think was i thought there was a fly thru to buriram but there wasn't so i had to go through the general immigration line where the damn supervisor is buzzing around hoping to catch me.

What i was doing was actually more expensive than ED visas 11,400 for extensions a year and 6-8 flights out a year + hotels etc, do the math.

As for speaking Thai, actually I think it worked well cause that ugly short Tom got out of my face before i could say something i would later regret. Believe me she isn't the decision maker there.

I could speak Thai before i finished high school so please don't question my ability, and yeah some of your translations for the only Thai words i wrote in my piece show your inability not mine.

As for paying for the flight out, right, air asia could have paid it, but they could have made me wait in the detention center while they "found me a flight out", for $70 and you know you gonna have to go anyway why be an idiot for? You the cheap one not me, and if you leave it up to them they would send me back to HCMC where i'd have to get a express visa which costs a few hundred, honestly the people who suggested this i hope they follow their own advice.

I didn't argue anything i just asked a few questions, gave up cause it was obvious didn't matter what i said, how much money i have, I was getting denied. If you want to be the dumb guy who kneels down and takes it in the mouth that might be you, certainly ain't me, i know full well if i'm denied entry i can still get in another way. People who say this probably work for someone and are used to being pushed around, good for you, if you were in my shoes you would have signed the paper! lulz

If i had shown attitude i'm sure they would have put me in the hole and not let me walk out that easy.

So now I'm swimming in my 4 star resort pool drinking dollar beers and a bevvy of cambo/viet girls waiting on my new passport, somehow damaged my last one (saves you $100).

So yeah I don't really care if you think I'm breaking the law or not, 11 years mate that's a long time you can't do that buy being an idiot and throwing your money around like a moron, I had a real long run, probably more than most people here were able to get away with as well.

I'll be back from my extended holiday soon. can count on that.

Since when is having a pocket full of cash not an appropriate means of living in the country

I have lived in Chiang Mai Thailand for 11 years, I first came to Thailand in 2008 on a business visa. I then switched to an education Visa which I did for 7 years. During those years the rules kept changing until the final straw was i had to renew the visa every three months or something ridiculous so i just stopped doing it. So I went to hcmc for a few months got a tourist visa and came back to Thailand, then I just did tourist visa's from there, went to hcmc a few times, then 4 times in Vientiane until i got a red stamp that read (this person travels to Thailand many times on a tourist visa). I never tried to get a tourist visa again.

So since late 2017 i was just flying in and out of the country every few months, I did this because getting a visa was just a hassle asking for permission to leave the country every time reporting all that and since i like to go to hcmc to see my friends there it was just easier to come in and out every two months, obviously not the cheapest route but i'm not exactly hard up financially. It worked for me.

So last week I fly to hcmc for 4 days and returned to Thailand, normally i use the fly thru but i was flying onward to a location in isaan that doesn't have the fly thru option (I didn't realise that till i got to Bangkok).

I fly into Don Muang with my good friend who traveled with me, he's only been in and out a few times and hasn't been living in Thailand as long as I have.

I'm from Australia, in my late 30's now and dressed normal new Adidas trainers decent clothes, If you've been here a long time you'd look at me and know i'm no English teacher nor do i look like I have no money, as if that has anything to do with anything.

So my mate goes first she goes through his passport intently then the lady pulls over her manager and he get's pulled aside, same thing happens to me.

They walked me past the immigration checkpoint to the right where they have a desk and a computer.

A short annoying tomboy officer raises her voice and says "why you in out so many times?"

I speak Thai pretty fluently at this point and reply in a demenour voice "oh it's because..." she cuts me off, you can't come in out all the time!! 

So i try to explain to her but she's just talks over me and walks away seemed pretty frustrated.

Meanwhile my mate is at the desk where the officer is asking him why he comes to Thailand and he's like for tourism. Asks if he has money, yes, he shows him 20,000 baht, does he have a return ticket, yes shows him.

Noone talks to me, noone asks me why, how much money i have, do i have return ticket nothing.

BTW my friend also speaks Thai very well though he just replies in English.

A lady walks out points at me and says "he works in vietnam!"

I contort my face cause i havn't had a job for 15 years, i don't need to work.

The walk away,

another 20 minutes pass guy comes back to his desk another lady comes out and says "send them back".

Another 15minutes pass and yet another lady comes out and we have to go with her, it's me my friend and a loation lady who is caught up in this mess also.

As we walk towards another immigration office further in the terminal I ask the lady, what's going on?

She explains that last year 2018 i spent more than 180 days in the country as a tourist and that's against the law.

I ask her what act i'm actually in violation of as I can't find that in the immigration act.

She says "because you need to look deeper"

Ok, but you are enforcing it you can't tell me what's the number so i can look it up.

Just more silence refuses to answer.

So we get into the room where there are several immigration officers who are copying details of our passports into the books as if i'm being charged at the police station.

One guy asks why i come in and out so much, I just say cause I go to see my friends in hcmc (sometimes i stay there for months).

No, you must have Visa! They exclaim.

I say i can enter the country 30 days without a visa what's the problem?

No, you must have Visa!

I'm done arguing.

An Air Asia representative enters the room to sign the papers also, which made me realize at that point i'm not getting in to Thailand, but also made me start thinking that what they are signing is probably to expunge their responsibility for bringing me their. 

Paperwork is done, they ask me to sign.

I pick up the paper and try to go sit down, he snatches it out of my hand and says "No, you must sign"

I say in Thai "i'm not signing anything until I read it first".

They seem a bit shocked that i can read thai.

It basically was saying that I acknowledge all responsibility and that I agree to be held in the detention center. LMAO

I say in Thai again "I've done absolutely nothing wrong, their is nothing to say that i can't come in an out of the country many times, and if that were the case then it's Air Asia's responsibility for bringing me here knowing full well I'll be denied entry"

The Air Asia representative had a shocked look on his face.

The immigration officer says, OK don't sign sit down you go back to HCMC.

I say in Thai again, i'm not going to HCMC i don't even have a visa to go back there, i'll book a ticket an go wherever i want.

OK he says.

It's at this point I know the whole reason i'm being denied is just utter BS.

The air asia guys says come with me, we go outside the room and says "ok so where you want to go we can send you to phnom penh. I'm like whichever is the eariler flight siem reap or phnom penh.

so he asks for 5000 baht for the tickets lol, righteo whatever dude, here's the money go get the tickets.

So he goes gets the tickets comes back, we go into the immigration room they take some photos of us and hand us back the passport.

At this point i'm just glad to get away from those annoying c#ts.

Air Asia escort us up to to the international departure gates VIP style basically then says "enjoy your flight"

Me and my mate just laugh.

But here's the real kicker.

I open my passport and there's a stamp in there. It says the reason i was denied was "ไม่มีปัจจัยยังชีพ" i think the exact term means no subsistence or no way of supporting oneself, basically no money.

ummmmm but i had money my mate had money, money wasn't the real issue but it seems to me it's the only thing they can deny you entry for.

I wish I had opened my passport in the office i would have thrown my money on his desk, and told him he could keep it as he looks like he needs it more than i do.

Really annoying.

Can i get a visa, yeah i could have, well i'm going to have to now, just super annoying cause now i have to get a new passport before applying for it.

No money, what a joke.

Only reason i'm writing this is that i hope if someone reads this don't sign the damn paper, tell them you don't want to go in you'll buy a ticket out right now, i was lucky i flew with air asia as they have flights all the time and it was their responsibility to get me outta their.

Remember, Don't sign it! If you go to detention you have to pay for that privilege and your airline no longer has to help you out.

I'm also curious to know how many other people are being denied and getting stamped as having no money when you actually do.