junkofdavid2

There is a very good reason why Thai people sometimes find it hard to get overseas visas.They tend to overstay a lot more than most nations.

While immigration can be very tough,they do have their reasons.

That's right. David, If you could get a visa to a first world country, you'd see that we got our undesirables over there too.

I agree with you. Following your logic, it would also be a "very good reason" for Thailand to make it hard for farangs to get visas, since just like many Asian tourists in America, many farangs find work illegally using the VOA with border runs.

I totally understand the "undesirable Asians" problem you have there, and I am admittedly embarassed when I travel to the US (or even just Singapore!) where I see my fellow countrymen (i'm not Singaporean) acting uncivilized and giving me a bad name... the same as decent farangs who get embarrassed when they see their fellow countrymen acting undesirable too.

"We are all asking "how" the immigration officials at the border can add up the 90 days (instead of the number of stamps)."

"I think no one is denying that they can do it, it just seems absurd that they actually will. It's in no one's best interest to fully implement the new regulations."

Only time will tell.

Have an idea... whoever is the first one who is "caught" for having 90 days and thereby given a mere "last 7 days" to leave..

Let's host a despedida party for him! Free beer and all!

We are all asking "how" the immigration officials at the border can add up the 90 days (instead of the number of stamps).

I think no one is denying that they can do it, it just seems absurd that they actually will. It's in no one's best interest to fully implement the new regulations.

Only time will tell.

Have an idea... whoever is the first one who is "caught" for having 90 days and thereby given a mere "last 7 days" to leave..

Let's host a despedida party for him! Free beer and all!

We are all asking "how" the immigration officials at the border can add up the 90 days (instead of the number of stamps).

We are also asking "why" immigration officials are putting numbers on the stamps, which doesn't necessarily allow them to count the # of days.

This is my take on how it will "practically" be implemented starting January:

1) First they'll look at how many VOA stamps you have. If you have 3 stamps or more, then that raises a red flag, but you will not automatically be turned away.

2) Since you already have 3 stamps, the "lazy" border official will then make a "quick check" of your passport by quickly "browsing" thru your passport, seeing if your stay "seems" to be about 90 days.

3) If your passport "seems" to have 90 days and he's not feeling "lazy" that day, he will then add up all your days. If it's 90 days, you'll be given a 7 day stamp in order to pack your bags and go home.

This sounds crazy? Well, that's how customs officials do it.

You may ask "how" customs officials implement the "impossible" task of preventing smuggling 100%.

The answer is that they don't. They first look for something "suspicious", and if they find one, they probe deeper.

Immigration's case, they first look for the "suspicious" 3 or more VOA stamps. If they see that, they then "probe deeper" by counting the exact number of days. And just like customs officials, sometimes they'll just let you through without inspection, and sometimes they won't.

Good luck to you if you wana take the risk.

Actually, a lot of us are aware of how difficult it is for a Thai to get a visa. I had to get a US tourist visa for my wife a couple of years ago and had to submit a small mountain of paperwork!

Good for her. Likewise, there are "some" farangs who will be able to get a visa with a "small mountain of paperwork". Also likewise, many farangs will be denied, the same way many "legitimate" Asian tourists are denied by the US too.

Im sure the numbers or colored ink on the visa exempt stamps after Oct 1 will make it easier for the imm officials to identify the stamps they need to look at. By using the ink on only the visa exempt stamps (as some people would have a combination of visa exempt entries mixed with entries on a proper visa) it just makes it easier for the officers as they flick through the passport. Obviously an up to date computer system which links all immigration check point together would make it alot easier as all this information would be recorded electronically, but due to the lack of technology at some checkpoints, im sure the lines will get slower and slower because the officers will be busy trying to add up all the visa exempt days and in afew months, they will constantly be looking for entries in a 180 days period which would even take longer. Lets hope they will have caculators to use........................

"The lines will get longer and longer, and the inspection time will get longer and longer...," with all the visa runners "clogging up the system"

This will be the case IF WE ASSUME that all the current visa runners continue to STAY in Bangkok, and thus clog up the borders with their long inspection process.

HOWEVER, if majority of visa runners finally go home this December (and don't wana risk the January storm), then the borders will not be clogged at all... and the immigration officials will have a lot more time and freedom to do the "counting process".

hel_l, some border officials may even do it out of boredom because of much less work from less border runners... May even look at it as an opportunity to earn some "extra income". Since the line's short anyway, he'll have time to do it.

We are all asking "how" the immigration officials at the border can add up the 90 days (instead of the number of stamps).

We are also asking "why" immigration officials are putting numbers on the stamps, which doesn't necessarily allow them to count the # of days.

This is my take on how it will "practically" be implemented starting January:

1) First they'll look at how many VOA stamps you have. If you have 3 stamps or more, then that raises a red flag, but you will not automatically be turned away.

2) Since you already have 3 stamps, the "lazy" border official will then make a "quick check" of your passport by quickly "browsing" thru your passport, seeing if your stay "seems" to be about 90 days.

3) If your passport "seems" to have 90 days and he's not feeling "lazy" that day, he will then add up all your days. If it's 90 days, you'll be given a 7 day stamp in order to pack your bags and go home.

This sounds crazy? Well, that's how customs officials do it.

You may ask "how" customs officials implement the "impossible" task of preventing smuggling 100%.

The answer is that they don't. They first look for something "suspicious", and if they find one, they probe deeper.

Immigration's case, they first look for the "suspicious" 3 or more VOA stamps. If they see that, they then "probe deeper" by counting the exact number of days. And just like customs officials, sometimes they'll just let you through without inspection, and sometimes they won't.

Good luck you if you wana take the risk.

We are all asking "how" the immigration officials at the border can add up the 90 days (instead of the number of stamps).

We are also asking "why" immigration officials are putting numbers on the stamps, which doesn't necessarily allow them to count the # of days.

This is my take on how it will "practically" be implemented starting January:

1) First they'll look at how many VOA

Accepted as tourists.

Long term stay of spouses is much more difficult in Thailand than in the US. Obtaining green cards for the spouse of a US citizen is much easier than obtaining a visa and work permit for the spouse of a Thai. Obtaining citizenship is much easier for the spouse of a US citizen than for the spouse of a Thai.

I agree. I am talking about "tourists".

Yes, a lot of these "tourists" are not really tourists, and end up working... just like many farang "tourists" here.

Cheers,

David

Comment: Even for legitimate Asian tourists from rich Asian families, do you know how ###### hard it is for us to get a visa in "your" countries USA, Australia, Canada, NZ, etc???

180,000 Thais residing in Los Angeles alone...

How ###### hard is it?

180,000 sounds like a lot. Even more if you count the Filipinos (probably much more than the thais). However, it's small compared to the number who are denied outright in the US embassy, without any questions or explanations....

Hi!

I'm not here to say that this is some sort of "good revenge" on western people, as many of these farangs in this forum had nothing to do with their own country's visa rules applied towards Asians.

However, this is interesting:

Case: Farang complains that while he has lived here for years, he is "not" illegally working here, so Thai government ppl are imbacils by making it hard for ALL farangs to get visas.

Comment: Even for legitimate Asian tourists from rich Asian families, do you know how ###### hard it is for us to get a visa in "your" countries USA, Australia, Canada, NZ, etc???

Even with our "complete documents" and proof that we are only going to visit your countries, your embassies deny us outright. We just take it with a grain of salt, accept that it's "your" country's "right and prerogative", and accept and admit that many of our fellow Asians decide to overstay in your countries to find illegal work, ... and so we just accept the USA visa denial.

Despite this, I've never heard of Farangs complaining that legitimate Asian tourists have a hard time getting visas in the West.

Well, wake up, smell the coffee! It's the same thing here in Thailand. So many farangs working illegally, and so Thai government makes it hard for "all" farangs, including "legitimate" ones.

The "legitimate" farangs complain that the "hard" rules shouldn't be applied to them, and that it should only be applied to the "non-legitimate" farangs.

These "legitimate" want the Thai government to go through the "painstaking trouble" of "carefully" studying each and every case of each and every farang and to make sure that it's applied to only the "bad" ones.

Well I agree with them.

However, following that logic, shouldn't Western governments such as yours also extend the same courtesy, and also go through the "painstaking trouble" of carefully studying each and every case of each and every Asian tourist, and make sure that only the "bad" ones are singled out???

Instead of also (just like the current Thai government) giving a difficult set of "blanket" rules for all Southeast Asians ??? (except Singapore passport)

I'm not saying that the current difficult set of rules is correct, nor am I saying that Farangs "deserve" this revenge (As I said earlier, it's your government who is doing this to Asians, not necessarily you directly).

I'm just showing the big picture, and that this is a mirror of what your Asian friends go through when applying for visas in your "first world" countries.

Point to ponder.

To Webster 13b...

1) When you got your B visa in Malaysia last November 20 (and you already had a work permit), did they give you 90 days or 1 year?

2) What documents did you show aside from your work permit? Did you include Por Ngdor 01?

3) Did you go to KL or Penang?

I'll be getting my Work Permit this December 2nd week... just before my 90 day Type B expires. I wana know where I can go to get a ONE YEAR multiple in a nearby country with a work permit, but no Por Ngdor 01 yet (tax payment form), because my work permit will still be new.

Anyone can answer the last question.

Thanks!

Hi,

My brother is invited to teach her for 2 months next year... but shortly before coming here, he will be in Lithuania.

Does anyone know if he can get his Type-B Visa in Lithuania?

Any experience of it being difficult?

He'll be in the Philippines before that, but I understand it's tough to get a B-Visa in the Philippines, even with complete documents.

...Sunbelt? Lop? Anyone?

Thanks!

I opened a bank account this week with Thai Farmers Bank . All they required was my passport, they filled out the application form, gave me an ATM card and passbook and all done in 20 mins. Cost me 250 baht for the ATM card , that was it. They did not ask for a work permit or any other documentation.

Got mine in Kasikorn Bank Nana Branch... asked for a work permit but i just said i didn't have one "yet"...

After reading Mouse's post about paypal going to work with Thai bank accounts from September 14th onwards, I decided to register a seperate paypal account specificly for use in Thailand.

Went through all the fields giving all requested info and registered succesfully.

Then they ask to register a creditcard with them so they can verify your account, to lift the 100 US$ limit.

I got this brilliant idea to try my regular Be 1st Bangkok Bank Visa Electron Card.

Entered the 16 digit card number, card holder's name and address and then got baffled by the request for the 3 digit cvv code (normally found on the backside of a regular credit card).

Now under the first 4 digit block of the Be 1st Card's number is in smaller print another 4 digit number, in my case equal to the first 4 digits of the cards number...

I used the last 3 digits as the cvv number and behold, it got accepted!

They deduct 1.95 US$ from your card, and then ask you the expanded use number, which should appear on your monthly credit card statement. A statement you certainly do not receive in Thailand on a visa electron card... Bummer...

Two days later when updating my passbook there appeared indeed a withdrawal of 72.65 Baht. Which roughly equals the 1.95 US$ Paypal said it was going to deduct...

So now paypal got their 2 bucks, now I just have to get hold of that expanded use number.

Took my GF to my Bkk Bank branch after explaining what I was after and why (not easy ).

The clercks at the counter certainly had no clue either, and anyway have no way themselves to access the details of the use of your card.

They did put my GF in touch with BuaLuang (which manages Bkk Bank Be 1st cards) on their telephone, after which the BuaLuang staff asked my GF to punch in the complete card number, followed by the PIN number.

They then confirmed the 1.95 US$ charge by Paypal, and also gave my GF the 4 digit expanded use number...

Straight home, logged onto my paypal account and put in this number which was duly accepted by paypal's system...

Now my account status is indicated as verified, with no limits on transfers...

So I guess I'm now probably the first person in Thailand to succesfully use a Thai issued Visa Electron card for an on-line payment to an American Company

If indeed on September 14th actual moneytransfers between Thai banks and paypal get possible, I guess a lot of people are going to get pretty relieved.

Even with the drawbacks of paypal, discussed endlessly on boards everywhere, it still is a hugely convenient way to make and receive payments....

I hope this lengthy post somehow can be of use to other fellow ThaiVisa members...

Cheers,

Monty

Hi, how did you enter the billing address of your visa electron card? I tried but it doesn't work. In the Bank system, my Visa Electron address is written in Thai Characters. Paypal website doesn't accept Thai. So how did you get past that step? Help please!

Done it now.

So long as you know how your address is stored at your bnks end, I guess it should be ok - but it was a bit nail biting putting it in the first time after getting so many bads by trying to use a UK address...

I dont know what elements Paypal checks on, I was hoping this thread may show some light on that.

I wonder how other people get on with this ?

Hi Bob!

How were you able to get PayPal verified? I tried it, but I can't because my Kasikorn Bank Visa Electron Debit card has my address in THAI LANGUAGE. Since PayPal's website doesn't understand Thai, I don't know how to do it.

Were you successful? How?

Hi, does anyone know of any problems associated with receiving money via Paypal, and then withdrawing it from a Thailand bank?

The answer to this would help all of us who wana do business here...

Hi!

1) Has anyone here sent items to the USA or other countries using Thailand's EMS service at the post office?

*I'm emphasizing "ITEMS" to stress that I'm not talking about simple paper mail or documents...

2) Did the stuff arrive safely and completely? (any incidents of theft?)

3) How long did it take?

4) How much did it cost? (and what was the weight of your item)

5) Can it be tracked?

Thanks!

You said that Vietnam gives 1 year multiple type Bwith a WP, and KL give 1 year multiple type-B with a WP AND 3 months PND01.

Does this imply that normally, I could get a 1 yr Multiple Type-B from Vietnam if I already have a WP? Even if I don't have 3 months of PND 01 yet?

You have to understand that personal changes at Embassies/Consulates and hence different interpretations of the laws. However as of right now, this is all that is needed.

www.sunbeltasiagroup.com

Which Vietnam consulate, from experience, would possibly do that? The one in Hanoi or the one in Ho Chi Minh?

You said that Vietnam gives 1 year multiple type Bwith a WP, and KL give 1 year multiple type-B with a WP AND 3 months PND01.

Does this imply that normally, I could get a 1 yr Multiple Type-B from Vietnam if I already have a WP? Even if I don't have 3 months of PND 01 yet?

Thanks Sunbelt! You guys really are good. Actually, I have an existing 90 day Type B visa whose application was done by you guys.

When i applied at the embassy, my docs were very complete compared to other applicants (although I don't know if theirs were granted or not, the next day).

LAST QUESTION: I'm now aiming for that ONE YEAR MULTIPLE B VISA after my work permit is done (also by you guys). However, since it took time to fix the company papers and work permit etc....

When I do apply for the 1-year B Visa, I probably will only be able to show one month of salary and therefore only one month payment of tax. I remember you saying that KL wants to see 3 months tax payment before they grant a One year Multiple B visa. Any update on this? Any other country that might grant a one-year B if I have an existing WP and can show one month of salary and tax? (By the way, my salary is only 20K baht, but I'm not using "extension of stay")

Thanks!

Thanks Sunbelt! You guys really are good. Actually, I have an existing 90 day Type B visa whose application was done by you guys.

When i applied at the embassy, my docs were very complete compared to other applicants (although I don't know if theirs were granted or not, the next day).

LAST QUESTION: I'm now aiming for that ONE YEAR MULTIPLE B VISA after my work permit is done (also by you guys). However, since it took time to fix the company papers and work permit etc....

When I do apply for the 1-year B Visa, I probably will only be able to show one month of salary and therefore only one month payment of tax. I remember you saying that KL wants to see 3 months tax payment before they grant a One year Multiple B visa. Any update on this? Any other country that might grant a one-year B if I have an existing WP and can show one month of salary and tax? (By the way, my salary is only 20K baht, but I'm not using "extension of stay")

Thanks!

What if I have a ONE YEAR MULTIPLE ENTRY TYPE B NON-IMMIGRANT VISA, still valit for 10 months. And then, I leave my current job and my current work permit is therefore cancelled. Is my ONE YEAR MULTIPLE ENTRY TYPE B VISA still valid?

Sunbelt Asia!

What if I have a ONE YEAR MULTIPLE ENTRY TYPE B NON-IMMIGRANT VISA, still valit for 10 months. And then, I leave my current job and my current work permit is therefore cancelled. Is my ONE YEAR MULTIPLE ENTRY TYPE B VISA still valid?

Anybody know where I can get a cheap medical certificate easily and quickly for my work permit? I don't have any diseases whatsoever. I heard you can get it from as low as 50 baht to as high as 500 baht. Is this true? Where can I get the 50 to 100 baht one?

Reply appreciated asap.

Thanks!