Briggsy

Nationalities?

Just to show you (and the villagers) who is in charge. Pay up or no sleep for you!

Transit? Less than 12 hours? Not clearing immigration? Possibly no visa required.

Is this rice berry repackaged as rainbow rice?

As mentioned many times, the duration of the visa is undoubtedly generous. I don't accept a link between the 500,000 Baht or equivalent required bank balance and "people who want to setup illegal businesses, work illegally, sell drugs, etc." These people would normally have no problem showing 500,000 Baht or equivalent. And that type of person has always had a way of staying in Thailand. The DTV will have no bearing on this. But, in summary, it is definitely easy, maybe too easy, to obtain the DTV and I expect tightening of the conditions at the embassies. In fact, we have already a report from Savannakhet consulate of that. Unexpectedly, any tightening will always start at the embassies and consulates closest to Thailand and then spread outwards.

I would say a tick but... There is no obvious mark in the centre There is no tick!!! Those critters like to hang on for 48 hours filling up with blood. It occurred in bed. All the tick bites I have had in Thailand have been in the forest or overgrown land. So, I would guess at a spider.

We rarely receive an update to these stories. I suspect this is because the local police arrange the outcome rather than it going to court.

@tgw I wish you were right. Please see my lengthy post of Nov 27 (on page 51) in the other DTV thread which lays out how Immigration have repeatedly denied entry to holders of multiple entry visas. So, sadly, there certainly is room for "going around that to charge extra".

One would assume he had a friend to sort things out for him, accommodation, banking, transfer of funds, travel. That really is quite a level of resourcefulness to manage over ten years of overstay.

Prostitution in huge numbers exists in every province in Thailand. The sector for foreigners is dwarfed by the sector for locals. So, I don't know why I am reading, "She will be sent to Pattaya," so often. Far more likely it will be a large aap op nuat in any provincial capital.

There is a world of difference between 30-year-old single mothers choosing to come to Pattaya to work the foreigner scene aiming for long-term financial security and teenage girls trafficked, usually from hill tribe backgrounds, to Bangkok to work in the Asian scene. They are kept in line by violence and intimidation and the forced use of drugs. "Forcing and coercion" describes the latter perfectly. They did not choose to come. The procurer goes to the villages, promises their parents a good job in Bangkok, pays some money and whisks them off and then they are trapped in a world they did not choose. They are kept in that world because they are powerless, enslaved by debt, kept in line by the thugs that are paid to ensure that, forced into drug addiction and have their movements severely restricted. They are certainly not free to leave.

Yes, happened to me in the UK. Somebody paid with a Canadian Shell card. It turned out that was not acceptable in the UK, only UK Shell cards. Money deducted from my pay. The year was 1989. I wrote to him in Canada and he sent me a cheque in Canadian Dollars that cost me £15 to cash leaving me with next to nothing!

Looks like a nice house, well, it did.

We have been down this road many times before. Foreign police department donates highly trained detection dogs to Thai Customs/Police etc. The dogs are then not used as it is lambaak to have to transport them around and look after them 24-7. They will just be dumped in a kennel or compound somewhere as has always happened previously.

It is not clear if the snares were targetting the elephants. In fact, they probably weren't. If they were wire snares they were probably after an animal about the girth of a baby elephant's trunk such as a civet cat, wild boar, etc. All protein for the pot.

Don't move to the countryside. Those fighting cocks will drive you up the wall.

I do exactly this too. If you need to cancel/change the flight date, you can deal with the airline. If you buy through a ticketing agency, the airline may direct you to them which can be a hassle. Still, I hope the victims here get all or some of their money back. Consumer rights and avenues for recompense are limited here.

All these initiatives espouse lofty aspirations. By the time it gets down to the enforcement level, and here I would assume that would fall to the police, it will have morphed into a money-making scheme. Guaranteed. You could stand by the side of any busy road in Thailand and witness multiple serious traffic infractions every single minute. If anything, it has got worse in the last ten years.

From the report it sounds as if she has a myriad of problems not just the rings and bracelets.

Yes, I had the same experience from Immigration Jomtien, that is the Certificate of Residence is worded multi-purpose. "Apply for a driving licence, buy, sell [a vehicle] or transfer a vehicle registration." I suppose it saves them having to muck around. They can just use the standard template each time.

As I explained at great length in my post of Wed 27 Nov in this thread, the previous behaviour of Immigration at the border, particularly the 2 Bangkok airports, towards long-stayers not on extensions issued by local Immigration Offices does not fill me with confidence. The poster @rkh_ clearly stated the IO's scepticism and implied disapproval of this visa and its allowance to stay full time. This is my second piece of evidence. The third piece of evidence, again previously explained at length, is Immigration's track record of contradicting the MFA and very liberal interpretation of the denial of entry rules. I explained how METV-holders were routinely denied entry if Immigration felt they had "stayed too long". Finally, again previously explained at length, I made the point that I hope I am wrong but previous experience points in the other direction. I hope we don't see denials of entry to DTV-holders. Please read my post of Wed Nov 27 which clearly lays out the previous behaviour of Immigration. I hope this explains my viewpoint to your satisfaction. @GroveHillWanderer

What do you mean by "can no longer get a work permit"? There is no upper age limit.

Get a job and a work permit. No need for 400,000 in the bank if extensions based on work permit. If no job in Thailand, then work overseas, 400,000 or 40,000 per month should not be a problem. If no need to work, 400,000 or 40,000 per month should not be a problem If no job and no money, please explain what you are living on and how you are "supporting your Thai family"

259 for 470 grams in Makro Pattaya.

Banks have to consider compliance issues both domestic and international. The potential regulatory investigations, fines and reputational damage lead them to err on the side of caution.