drbeach

13 minutes ago, KhaoNiaw said:

They're not talking about permanent residency. It's illegally obtaining nationality through corrupt district officials who will create them an ID. It's been going on for years and you hear about arrests every now and then. This sounds like a really big operation though. 

WHat? Can I do the same? LOL...not that I'd want to risk getting caught...but just saying. Why is this being allowed. Surely these people are taking an enormous risk, are their citizen details even recorded in a computer?

5 hours ago, GalaxyMan said:

I'd like to know how 250 Chinese got Thai permanent residency rights. My understanding is that only 100/nationality can receive it each year.

Maybe they didn't get it all in the same year.

2 hours ago, pookondee said:

OP, Maybe you could divulge if its one of the big name chain type appartment complexes at various locations?

 

Im sure many would be interested to know.

And then others might be able to confirm if its just a one-off, or happening everywhere.

 

Its a worrying development if this spreads and becomes the norm.

 

That would just about be curtains for me if this is just being directed at farangs only.

But it would not suprise me in the least.

Well, foreigners of any nationality, but even then, a worrying trend if true.

Why not rent a house? I'll never ever rent, buy or even stay in a condo again, given the experiences people have shared here. None of this nonsense applies if you rent a house, perhaps on the outskirts of a city.

17 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Wrong

You can apply for a 60 day extension with any type of entry. 

 

To the OP you can apply for a 60 day extension but some offices may say no.

When I was on a non-B, they didn't approve my application for a 60 day visit wife extension. They said I was on the wrong visa. This was back in February 2018 at CW. However, it's possible they thought I wanted a 12 month extension because they had us fill out all the paperwork like that form where you write down how you met your wife. I didn't question the rejection because my non-B multi was expiring, I had a business trip to Myanmar coming up and decided just to go to Laos first for a non-O, so never did do the 60 day extension. In fact, if I had, I would have found myself wasting money on the extension and a possible re-entry permit. I decided a few days in Laos to get a new visa would make more sense.

12 minutes ago, JensenZ said:

 I'd say it's way more than a "rumour".

 

I would way it's a certainty that there will be an extension as nobody can fly anywhere right now. What would you expect them to do with stranded tourists who cannot get home? Lock them up?

Exactly. The only country that did seem to haul away all foreigners, back in March or April I think it was, was Cuba. They forced all foreigners into quarantine while awaiting flights out of the country.

Highly unlikely a country like Thailand would or even could, do the same. Aside from the obvious beating to it's reputation, the logistics would be impossible. Plus Thailand has far, far more foreigners than Cuba. And for what?

I think people should just calm down and stay put (but with a solid "just in case" plan). 15 days is a long time and I think something will be announced by next week. Even more likely now that the government seems to be keen on slowing down the arrival of newcomers and flights, in light of the incident in Rayong a few days ago.

1 minute ago, Donga said:

Excellent reporting and handling of the situation.

Having been back in Australia six weeks, got to say I feel much less safe here than in Thailand.

The Thais have done a marvelous job, and I have every confidence they will continue to control Covid-19.

Those folk who question and jeer from the sidelines ought to get out more.

What? That last statement sounds very authoritarian. Nobody should question anything? Where did you go to school Nakorn Nowhere high?

6 hours ago, LALes said:

I flew BKK-Phuket on Monday.  Piece of cake.  Only thing different was empty middle seats and masks.  Flight was surprisingly full.  Even 3 across in a few rows.

I thought they ended the social distancing restrictions on domestic flights.

12 hours ago, Paiman said:

It is good if you have a Thai pick you up at the airport. They get the feeling you are taken care of and won't bother you too much.

That was almost necessary back at the beginning in May (except when flying into Bangkok) but is no longer the case now.

On 7/12/2020 at 3:26 PM, bluesky1234577 said:

Right, it is almost impossible. But, the thing is I need to go out to change my visa type....

No you don't. Agents can fix your issue if you are willing to pay the price. However, even that may not be necessary. Speak to immigration first and in the worst case scenario, send your passport off to an agent.

It was only a matter of time before westerners were booted out of the Koh Rong islands too, after they were effectively evicted from Sihanoukville starting around 2017.

7 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

This is soooooooo BS ludicrous. It is a golf course for Christ Sakes and she works at the golf course. Sort of like being at a fire dept and getting wet. 

Or getting burned.

19 hours ago, problemfarang said:

No the reason at nonthaburi was because my visa is expired. For both extansion and 60 days.

 

But CW said its not a problem

 

I have no idea anymore. I accept that will leave the country and try to come back again. Seems there is no other solution

 

Thursday will try CW first for 1 year if not, 60 days.. if not.. nothing to do.. go laos 14 days get non-o come back thailand 14 days... 

You'll receive an extension.

You certainly won't be getting into Laos anytime soon. So forget that option.

On 7/13/2020 at 5:03 PM, ubonjoe said:

I think there is about a 100% chance of it. They would of already said it would not be extended by now. No cabinet approval of no amnesty is needed.

Cabinet meeting tomorrow may give us an answer.

And that would presumably mean if it's extended, someone like myself can thus wait until near the end of the extended amnesty to go for my 60 day visit wife extension, since it starts on the day of application? If so, that would be swell.

The 1-year extension can thus wait for a couple of more months.

Funny all these late mask mandates. Many US states, then Canada, Iran and now the UK all within the past few days/weeks.

Meanwhile, in the Czech Republic, no longer required when outdoors since May 25. In Vietnam, mostly not required in public anymore since May or June (except in a few businesses and to board flights and of course on board).

5 minutes ago, WuhanVagabond said:

What "papers in order"? THe IO claimed Visa Amnesty = overstay and excludes one from consideration for other visas. This is clearly untrue; so I don't see why you think this is a "benefit" to me. 

 

I was stunned it was right in the open with all the non-uniformed workers right there. I thought this kind of thing was more on the down low. I mean, they were literally funneling people to this IO.

Stop complaining. Pay the money or make arrangements to leave. You can't have it both ways.

On 7/11/2020 at 7:37 AM, young Farrang said:

most likely end of amnesty. 

 

I read somewhere you need to deposit $3000 in a cambodian bank account in order to enter, is there some more information regarding this requirement?

Yes it's still in effect. But even getting to Cambodia will be challenging. You'd have to transit via Seoul!!

On 6/30/2020 at 2:52 PM, KhunBENQ said:

Standard postal mail to many countries has been interrupted for quite a while (months).

The situation has gradually relaxed, but seems that USA is still not on the list of countries for standard airmail.

I try to find the latest thread...

No issues for airmail coming in the other direction. Letter postmarked June 23 posted from California arrived at my house in Thailand July 10th.

2 hours ago, RR2020 said:

 

My answers would be :

 

A/  NO

B/ Flights to many places already, you can fly out anytime you want.  But destinations are not all.

C/ Nearby countries are mostly in lockdown, you will have to fly somewhere thats open, like EU, Turkey, Dubai, USA, Korea etc..

D/ Yes, but you need a COE before you can board the flight.  COE will only issued in your home country and only if you married to a Thai or have a work permit etc...   

E/ YES

 

At this stage you have probably given up................. so no point in F and G.

 

USA isn't open to foreign tourists at the moment. So that's a no go. Europe is mostly OK though.

8 hours ago, Peter Denis said:

@stouricks

In response to your 'Confused' reaction > The main point is that when using another method than the 800K/400K 'money-in-bank', the Immigration officer handling your application can request that you not only prove that the funds came from abroad, but also that you provide evidence of the SOURCE of that foreign income.

The reason for that additional evidence they might require, is to ensure that you have a steady stream of foreign income so that there would be no need for you to 'recycle' the funds.  But IO when making that regulation, did not take into account the possibility that you could have sufficient funds (e.g. from heritage, winning the lottery, etc.) and thus have no need for a steady income stream.  That's why it is at the discretion of the officer handling your application to ask for that additional evidence of the SOURCE of your foreign income.  If you look like a 'wealthy well-to-do farang' they often do not bother asking for that evidence, but if the officer has some doubts about your financial situation they can ask for it.  And obviously, you also have the dumbbells at Immigration that do not understand any of this, and might press you for evidence of a monthly pension even if you can show that you have millions on your foreign and thai bank-accounts.

And there is also the 'more sinister' motive by some, to push you to a Fixer Agent or Brown Envelope solution to solve the matter.

>> So if you suspect you would encounter difficulties because of that SOURCE evidence, the solution is simply to make use of the 800K/400K money-in-bank method which does NOT require that you prove the SOURCE of the funds

Note: And the foreign origin of those funds only has to be proven when applying for the Non Imm O Visa for reason of retirement, it is not required for a Non Imm O marriage Visa application, nor for the 1-year extension of stay - be it for reason of retirement or for reason of marriage).

Bit difficult for anyone to be able to determine "recycling" of funds given that would involve an enormous paper trail going back and forth. Shouldn't it be - you show the transfer receipts of funds from abroad, and that's enough? I can't imagine anyone asking for more proof than that, since that's conclusive. If I show a transfer receipt from my account abroad going to my Thai account that should be it. incidentally, in my case i don't have the same amounts coming in every month. I'm meeting the minimums, but one month could be say 50000 Baht, another 56000 another 62000 another 180000 another 45000 and so forth.

Huh. That's interesting. Cambodians and Laotians have barely worn them to begin with, does that mean these countries will suddenly find themselves having to wear face masks for the first time since the crisis began, despite Laos having zero active cases?

How about Vietnam, which was VERY strict early on in the crisis, but has since eased off? Will they once again be required to wear them?

Thailand has been pretty strict enforcing the rule for entering certain businesses and on public transport. I guess this will re-enforce the message.

3 minutes ago, mr mr said:

*new normal* is so 2 months ago. 

 

we are stronger together.

"Apart together"