madi

If you live here and are not on a proper Visa, you are breaking the law.

If you work here under false or fake degrees, you are breaking the law.

If you are working without a work permit, you are breaking the law.

Since we are not Thais, we can be deported for breaking the law.

We are all just visitors.

Thailand grants very few Non-Thai people a status that names them a permanant resident or citizen.

Thailand is for Thais. Respect that. I do. I love the place but I am not Thai. My children are but I am not. I keep to my own business. To do otherwise is a stupid thing to do here in Thailand for we Farang.

Even we who follow the law can be sent home (Will not happen I know) because we are not Thais. We are ALL just Farang. We are NOT Thai.

Always keep that in mind.

I do.

I think I fall into a category mentioned above, where I work outside Thailand, but come back into the country every other month, for about 25 days. I stopped applying for visas, as it was time-consuming, costly, and unnecessary. I just come back in every time and get a 30 day stamp. I have lived, and on occasions worked, in Thailand for over 15 years. I married a Thai woman, have two children, several properties, and have invested a large amount of money in the country. I wish to remain living there, and being married to a Thai, and with children in school, I should be able to? If I have to start getting visas again, so be it. I qualify for a retirement visa, I think, being over 50 years old, and having sufficient capital in a Thai bank. What I don't need is to have hassles, when I return to Thailand on my return next month. I hope the smoke clears, and it becomes easier to understand exactly what the new regulations are...????

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Just get a Marriage visa.

It is an O Visa and they stamp Thai Wife in your Passport.

You renew it once a year. It takes 15 minutes.

Well the options are dwindling for those who are under 50, financially viable (no desire or need to work) but who wish to reside legally in LOS. The option of getting the 3x tourist visa out of Penang to tide one over for about a year appears to be over (and will likely be at all other embassies and consulates in short order).

I have no problem with the government taking measures to control it's borders and keep out "undesirables" and lot of the other marginal flotsam that washes ashore here but it seems to me there should be some way to also accommodate those who are under 50 and self-supporting either from businesses based outside of Thailand or have enough of the folding stuff already that they don't have to work (and don't want to get married).

Seems to me the easy answer is just to remove the age restriction on the "retirement extension" to a non-imm O visa and retain the financial viability requirements. The age of the person should not matter to the government...only that they are financial self-supporting (without working in Thailand).

Malaysia's "My Second Home" expatriate residence program allows anyone whatever age to "retire" there as long as they meet various financial requirements. Maybe this will dawn on the Thai authorities that this may meet their goals too.

Like the PG article says...many property developers, house/apt owners, and business operators of all sorts may see a not insignificant effect on their businesses if these changes are not handled carefully.

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Your post makes a lot of sense and I agree with it.

They do have options

If you are rich you can stay here several ways.

Start a business.

Put investments in Thailand.

Put money in Thailand.

Please correct me if I am wrong but I think I read that this new rule is only in affect for those who do not FLY into Thailand. Just fly into the airport and there is no problem.

So if you have enough money to fly in and out, you CAN still stay.

You can do that. The cost is very low now with the discount airlines.

I would think--and this is from talking with Thai immigration, that if you are close to 50--in you mid to late 40s, some of this is negotiable.

You can volunteer to do something and get a work permit you know.

Just help Thai people in SOME WAY and you can stay.

For the people who DO work and are not given a work permit--this is another problem very different from yours.

Thailand KNOWS that most of the teachers it needs to teach English, Chinese, and so on--are not able to qualify for the work permit because they do not have REAL University degrees. Thailand needs to give these people the right to work and face up to the fact that Thailand is unwilling to pay for higher level education requirements for its teachers. It is unfair to hurt the people teaching your Thai children just because you are angry at SOME few people who make headlines.

Let me ask you all a serious question.

Would you let your child be taught by someone without a teacher's credential back in your home nation?

A teacher in California for example must have a 4 year degree and then another 3 semesters of Education classes on top of that in order to get a teachers license. They are observed for a long time before they are given the OK to be credentialed by their university. Then and only then are they given the teachers license by the State. The University must be a REAL school and not some fake internet setup. I think all of you here would want that for your children. Also all teachers are finger printed on Both hands and checked for their past record for crime. That is good too and you all know it.

So some of you are posting that it is OK to let someone without the proper background teach children here in THAILAND? That is nonsense and we all know it. Someone with only a high school degree or less is OK you say? Someone with two weeks in a stupid little TEFL school is OK? Please spare me. Are Thai children less worthy in your minds? They deserve less?

This is Thailand and whatever the Thai government does is up to them but I hope they DO check the backgrounds of teachers here. Thai students do not need second rate.

If you have a fake mail for degree--BYE BYE.

If you have NO degree--BYE

If you have a criminal record for a serious crime--see ya.

I do not hate you but I do NOT want you to teach our children. I have children here in Thailand and they deserve better. You all know it.

They can do a blood test for DNA.

Either he matched or he does not.

His confession means nothing without physical evidence.

My first reaction from him is that he wants attention.

He got it.

But this does not mean a thing.

Do the blood test.

My bet is that the blood will NOT MATCH.

That poor little girl should be a teen ager now.

Did mom or dad kill her? NO--No DNA match.

Someone killed the little girl and likely it was not this poor sick man gotten in Thailand.'

Likely, the killer is laughing as he watched this new junk from his home.

OTOH, the OP says "I have a one year visa. It is a marriage visa."

If this is NOT an extention of stay but actually a visa and the OP leaves every 90 days, the

reporting time starts upon return for another 90 days.

Good information but in my case, it is an extension. I have not left Thailand for 3 years.

2000 baht sounds like the price I will pay.

It sure could be worse if they wanted to go by the law I read.

I will pay it this week and then just mail my 90 day report in after that.

Easy enough. I was just not aware of the law. I was at immigration and I show them the passport each year and no one ever said anything to me.

But as it is said, ignorance is no excuse.

All of you are a great help to me and lots of others.

Thanks again

Madi

1. If you are obtaining this one year stay from immigration it is not a visa but an extension of stay.

2. You must report your address every 90 days when on an extension of stay if you do not leave the country. Your first extension of stay was report one. You are now overdue by several years if you have not traveled.

3. The normal fine for late reporting is 2,000 baht. This could increase.

4. A computer system has just been installed and I would expect this will now be checked more closely. In Bangkok they moved last year from upstairs to the main floor 1 area.

Thanks for your quick and good reply.

So do you know how much I will be fined when I report this week?

Is it 2000 baht for not reporting? My one year Visa extension is now just 30 days old.

Thank you all.

Here is the story.

I have a one year visa. It is a marriage visa.

Do I have to show up every 90 days to report and immigration? Before you call this question stupid here is what is up.

Here is why I ask.

A few years ago, when I first was married to my now Thai wife, the Thai Immigration officer told me when I was crying a bit about this 90 day reporting rule, that I could avoid the problem if I just did not go to the room where you are supposed to report and instead just showed up each year at the renewal place. This is the area where you re-new your visa each year on the 1st floor now.

I have done this now for two years and there has not been any trouble.

Is this still going to be no problem for next time or should I start reporting each 90 days. I can now since my visa is now just 30 days old. Have things changed?

This is so sad and my feelings go out for all who have lost here.

This story brings out emotions of us against them on all sides but this misses the points.

Here are just some to think on here.

Police all know that crimes of passion and money are all too common everywhere on the planet.

Calm down and think a second.

1) The vast majority of Thai women who are attacked here in Thailand are attacked by THAI men.

2) This young woman with a drunk old Thai boyfriend killing her would be NO story because that kind of thing is common. Police here know that is so.

3) Most all of us have been taken by a woman at least once in our lives. Women by men too.

4) If you have not, you are lucky.

5) NEVER EVER trust your money to ANYONE.

6) NEVER love anyone more than yourself.

LAST

This could have been you or me.

That is a fact. Do not delude yourself to thinking you are superior.

I know a lot of you like posting about crime in general in Bangkok and Thailand. About that, it is clear that people who drink have a much higher violent crime rate than do people who do not drink everywhere in the world. This is a fact.

It is also a fact that Thailand has more drinking than do most nations.

This pretty much explains the crime here. Also the more crowded a place is (population density) the higher the crime rate in most places on earth. Thailand is very crowded and Bangkok is super crowded.

So I do not think Thai people are any more likely to do violent crime under these conditions than do any other group. Also remember that the vast majority of murders occur between people that know each other.

Now back onto this crime.

A woman brings another man--not family--to her boyfriend's apartment? This man is not a friend of the victim here.

Does this seem normal to you?

Is it possible that she brought the man for the purpose of doing just what he did? How do we know they came over to watch a football game? I mean we only have the story of the woman here. Was anything robbed? Likely things were taken.

Would it be possible that the woman went up with the victim here and then she opened the door for the crime to take place? Were there any other people who saw this crime in progress?

I just would have real trouble believing that this young man would knowingly take another man up with this woman to his room to watch a football game? A young man in Thailand is not likely to want a man in his apartment with a girl he likes. Three is a crowd you know. nor do I believe he wanted this man in his apartment to watch football.

Call me strange but I think the entire story is nonsense.

This man was likely robbed and murdered in the process of the crime.

Great news on the child to come.

I am posting in response to a poster who wrote that it is a Thai law that a child born here must have a Thai name if they are Thai

I am American and my wife is Thai and we had both our sons born in Bangkok. We live in Bangkok.

Their names are not Thai in any way. I named them both after my brothers. My Last name is not Thai. They are Thai citizens. My wife of course has a Thai name. She is happy with their names.

So while I am very happy for all that choose another way, it is not true that one must have a Thai name. It is true that the names must be translated into Thai for the birth certificate here but the names are still the same but just spelled in Thai.

I am not sure why anyone would think that it is a law that a parent must name their children a Thai name? This is simply not the case. Anyone who tells you otherwise is mistaken.

We were never asked to do any such thing like change their names to a Thai name by the Thai government. And yes--they both have Thai IDs.

Congratulations on the children everyone.

I know how hard you all work and I respect you all. The names are all good.