vermin on arrival

Wow. Building nuclear reactors here. That would really worry me if I didn't realize that it would probably take 20 years or more for them to actually get there act together and do it(ie skytrain, airport etc.) Otherwise, I would be really concerned about the safety of the facility and the quality of the engineering work. Just look at the probelms with the airport. I wonder if some Thai engineers at the national engineering society would say that foreign experts were not needed and that Thai engineers could do it by themselves.

Also, if the explosion of the munitions dumps in Thailand aren't the result of corruption and weapons smuggling, the rank incompetence of having 4 military munitions facilities explode since 2000 shows a poor ability to care for hazardous materials. If the even one explosions were the result of corruption, I would be concerned about the sale of nuclear materials. Either way it doesn't make me feel very good.

Plus,

Thanks for locating that reference for me.

Politically they are tying to come to grips with things. It remains to be seen whether they will succeed or not. I'm not sure if the economy will go on by itself. I think it still relies on foreign investment and if the political situation doesn't get sorted, there will be hard times. Do you anticipate for these laws which are making foreign investment more difficult to be rolled back quickly?

The fact that they are trying to improve the political situation is certainly a good sign.

As to China and Vietnam, certainly one must wonder what will happen when the political systems change. I would be shocked if they could stay "communist" dictatorships in the long run. I'm actually wondering what will happen in China when they show the transparency in the banking sytem, etc that they were required to do this year by their agreement when they joined the WTO. I've heard from people in China that the banks are hiding many non performing loans from foreign eyes to maintain investor confidence. Has the transparency taken place? For now, I think the fact that they are dictatorships is certainly aiding their growth.

As for Russia, the US really screwed them after the collapse of communism. We deliberately tried to weaken them, and I believe that whole shock treatment switch to capitalism was pushed just to cause chaos and lessen the sense of threat we felt form them after competing with them in the cold war. We knew they weren't ready for it.

I think looking at the return to more autocratic rule under Putin also shows another possibilty of what may happen here. However, I think eventually the people would take it to the streets again big time if that happened. Although wasn't that really what Thaksin was trying to do in a way anyway, create a parliamentary dictatorship and silence all critics. Look at all the people he killed in the drug war,8000, and the 5000 of them in the second phase were never reported in the press until after the coup. And how many of them were really guilty?

I think it is good that they are trying to come to grips with democracy and accountability, and hope that they do, but can anyone say for sure what will happen? An article in the nation today said that the new national draft charter will almost certainly be rejected when it is put to referendum. After that, what next?

I've seen a few comments that the economy will improve after the elections at the end of the year. I certainly would like to take the CNS at its word that this will take place, but how do we know that this will even happen. I've heard that many thais feel that the army will try to find a way to hold onto power and reap the spoils of being in power. In the past, they never gave their power up voluntarily. I hope and kind of feel that they will do the right thing this time, but maybe they won't.

Even if they do return power and have elections, with the issue of Thaksin still unresolved and his shadow looming over the political scene, and the continuing ulcer that you have in the South, I don't think that you will have the political stability to give the kind of certainty/comfort that foreign investors want. Although I would like to see things improve, I am not optimistic about the situation here, especially in the short term.

Having lived here for the last ten years, I do realize what "hot" is during the thai summer, especially upcountry. Bangkok is cool compared to what it is like up there. I was just up in Aran at the beginning of the month and I was cooking when I was outside.

However, I also realize the level of corruption that exists in this country. The last I looked it ranked 61st in levels of corruption. That doesn't mean that that is necessarily what is going on, but it does make one skeptical(or maybe it's just me). Although the military has a better reputation than the police, I'm sure it has its fair share of problems. Just look at the all of the corruption scandals they have with the procurement of millitary equipment.

It would also be a convenient way to hide the illegal selling of military equipment.

Well, I never said there was none to either of these issues.

Which article was this? Can you please show me the reference.

Highdiver,

I believe the debate is the degree to which it takes place. Yes, these things do happen in other places, but I, as do some others on this forum, believe it happens much more here.

To be honest, I don't know enough about the people involved in the bios to give a fair comment. Hence, the backpedaling in my earlier post. I have seen the bios and the few times that I read them wasn't really quite sure what to make of them.

Are lingling and I the only ones who feel that this whole explanation of heat/phosphorous leak hard to believe/a cover up?

I mean this is the 5th explosion of a thai ammunition dump that I've heard of, 4 of which have occured while I've lived here. That in a region that has been rife with the illegal arms trade.

Bingobongo,

Nice posts. Very clearly showing the thai business community's documentation of the downturn of the Thai economy .

Plus,

I don't think the issue here is whether there are successful thai businessmen, but rather, how it is primarily being achieved. Is it because there is true social mobility and successful entrepeneurs or because people are locked into family/old boy networks and reaping the benefits therein?

Also, one may wonder about the nature of these bios. Are they truly showcasing innovative businessmen, or is it more of a eulogy/ingratiating flattery? Maybe this is not a fair comment.

1. The first sentence looks so easy; "sneak out of North Korea, travel through China and Laos and than enter Thailand"..... does anybody have any idea what kind of enormous distances we are talking here? It's absolutely unbelievable and amazing how they can travel such huge distances, with or without the help of smuggling rings.

2. I am completely puzzled how citizens of such a poor country like North Korea could have pad such big amounts of money...

3. I were to live in North Korea, I would try to leave the counry also....

LaoPo[/color]

My understanding of the situation is that there is an underground railroad of sorts run by Christian groups to transport North Koreans away from the appalling conditions in North Korea to Thailand so that they can eventually be repatriated to South Korea. The Thai government knows that this is the case and eventually sends them along. I'm suprised that there is such a hold up in sending them onward.

Is it to placate the North Koreans, or in some way some international opinion coming out of the UN, or is it, as suggested earlier, an effort to separate the real refugees from North Korean agents? Or is this all part of the new anti-foreign policies that have been working their way into Thai policy for the last 6 or 7 years and that even legitimate political refugees are not desired in the kingdom? Or maybe it is just TIT?

Yeah, yeah right. The hot weather causes the ammo dump to explode. More likely some high up officers are indulging in illegal arms and ammo sales and smuggling which is rife in the region and trying to cover the evidence. No we didn't sell the arms; they were all blown up sir.

They say this is the 2nd time for Lopburi. You had Pak Chong. I was there when an arsenal blew up near Aranyaprathet about 5 years ago. I wouldn't be suprised if some of those arms eventually work their way around to the insurgents in the South.

I'm reading a book about the history of the Serbs now and it spends a long time discussing the war in Bosnia. Apparently corruption was so rife there that illegal arms selling was going on constantly. The Bosnian Serbs would sell weapons from the old JNA to the Croats, whom they were temporarily at peace with in one region, the Croats would sell them to the Muslims, and then the weapons would be turned back around and used against the Serbs.

TG,

I can understand your desire to emphasize certain positive things that are going on in the kingdom, but, with all do respect, you seem to do it to the point of turning a blind eye to many of the negative things which do exist/are occuring here.

I also don't think that it is fair to say that people who disagree with your opinion and present certain evidence to dispute your opinion are necessarily pompous,stupid,disrespectful, or idiot farangs(although some actually may be). By doing so, you end up lowering the tenor of the discourse in the discussion.

In the end, I really don't know you so maybe this comment is unjustified.

I suspect that a lot of the electronics talked about are computer parts, hard disks, keyboards, circuit boards etc.

Endure,

Thanks for the clarification.

Somtamgaiyang,

Very interesting and enlightening post. Not that the conclusions are very suprising.

I remember when Orange came in and got dicked around left and right until they gave up and, I believe, sold out to their Thai partners.

A number of months ago, a short time after the coup, I remember reading an article in the nation in which the author stated that approximately 100 families were basically in charge of the country. These families were high up in the police, in the army, from the old feudal landed aristocracy, and included some nouveaux riche like Thaksin. Both political and economic power are closely related. It must be really hard to break through these networks and get a piece of the pie.

Since the Thai economy is based on 70% exports (including tourism)

Export and tourism account for about 60% of Thailand's GDP.

And Somtaamgaiyaang, plenty of Thai entrepreneurs (i.e. business owners not employees) have become successful without a real "rich daddy" or corrupt connections. No offense, but you were disrespecting those good honest hardworking people with that ignorant and stupid comment of yours.

And the point that I've been trying to argue regarding Thai economy (and I haven't been bothered to do so recently) is that it's not destined for a collapse like so many who have proclimed the love for Thailand on here have said. Sure it's down right now. But it's still far from completely going down the tube like some "acknowledgeable Thailand enthusiasts" keep banging their heads on. That's why I've been posting those positive economic news.

TG,

Yes tourism really is an economic boon for Thailand. I do wonder how the change in policy towards foreigners will effect this in the long term(maybe not much, but maybe more than you think), and I've heard conflicting opinions on whether the industry is doing well or poorly now. I think that the export industries will be hurt by the rise in the value of the baht, and I really think that the main people who reap the benfits are the really wealthy. I'm very suprised that the numer of Thai electronics that are exported. I suspect that they go to countries like Cambodia as I genrally found them to be not of such high quality when I used them(maybe I was just unlucky).

I've never gotten the impression that there was a lot of upward social mobility in Thailand. The gap between the rich and poor seems to be staggeringly large. What percentage of the population even has a college education, or a high school one for that matter? There really seems to be no major educational reform in sight. The date which was constitutionally required for universal high school education passed during Thaksin's regime with barely a comment about it's being unfulfilled. I believe this bodes poorly for the long term outlook for the country and its economy. Other countries in the region like India, Vietnam and China, put much more of an emphasis on this, and Thailand lags behind.

I know there are Thais who work hard and make something of themselves, but the number that pull themselves up must be a small percentage. I think it must be quite difficult without connections, and if you are not from the upper classes.

As an aside, and I hope people won't take this the wrong way, a friend of mine who once managed Thais said that if they talked about work as much as they talked about what they were going to have or had for lunch, the business would be booming. However, as many people have said this is part of the reason many people like to live in Thailand-as a genralization the people have a real social ethic as opposed to a work ethic(excluding the Thai Indians and Chinese).

Thailand may not be heading for a collapse, but I don't share your optimism about the state of the kingdom and its economy now. Between the situation in the South, the political turmoil/instability from Thaksin, the ultra-nationalism of the CNS, and the negative attitude towards foreigners in official government policy, it really seems that the preponderence of evidence points to some hard times for the Thai economy and Thai people. The uncertainty has to hurt business. How long before it ends?

I'm no expert on economics, but it really seems to me that Thailand is not doing great and that in the future things will get worse. Thailand is a regional leader, but look at the competition-Kampuchea, Burma and Laos. My understanding is that Malaysia is doing better and that the future of Vietnam's economy is much stronger. It really has the feel that something bad (both economically and socially) will happen here soon. Although there has been evidence given in support of the strength of the Thai economy, it appears that the evidence against this is more compelling.

On thing that does disturb though is the desire by some people on the forum to tell people who have negative opinions or criticisms to either shut up or leave. I think that this attittude is counterproductive to an understanding of events. I remember that this also bothered me when I first came to Thailand when talking to many long time residents in the the kingdom(their many critiques of the nation). However, now after being here almost 10 years, I realize that most of what they said was true; I was just too green to know. I don't want to call anyone names or make assumptions about people, but that was the case with me.

PhilHarries,

They didn't require an outbound ticket from me at the airport when I came in on the 9th using the 30 days visa exempt although I did have a copy of a confirmed reservation with me when I went. Tiger Airways certainly made no check of a thai visa in my passport in Singapore either when I used a one way ticket to return.

However, that doesn't mean it might not change in the near future. Probably erring on the side of caution and having a ticket would make sense. I would just make sure it was one that would be fully refundable.

Jii was being facetious. I know him. He was playing around and having a little joke.

It was THE LAST government that actually made the new rules not this government.I'm affected too,but the truth is they made the rules before they were kicked out and this new government haven't actually had the time to change anything. Just Imagine showing 400,000 three months in advance before applying to renew your marriage visa.They are going to start giving a 5 year visa in Malaysia to people married to citizens.

Phil2,

Yes, these rules were started by Toxin. As I stated in a reply to my first post here, since 2000 the rules here have been continuosly gotten more strict for us like a notch being turned up on a rack. However, either this governement or the head of immigration and his cronies have seen fit to enforce them in a way that really is harsh. They could have chosen not to enforce them or to scrap them, but they didn't, and now things are much worse.

Peace Blondie,

I believe that the confusion and disorganization is done intentionally to make farang want to leave. Nobody likes to deal with the huge amount of uncertainty that these people are creating. Any official I talked to during this fiasco( and I talked to many from 3 different jurisdictions-Suan Phlu, Airport and Aran) said the orders came down from up high. They may not have been telling the truth, but that is what they said. Yes, they don't always enforce all of the silly rules, but I still respectfully disagree with your interpretation.

I also think that this affects more people than you may realize.

CClub, what you say makes a lot of sense. It also feels that way to me. Since 2000 there has been a steady clamp down and change in rules here against foreigners, slowly but surely. Under Thaksin, the government was nationalist, but with his sale of Shin to Temasak his nationalism was shown to be a self-serving sham. Now the ultra-nationalists are in power. It doesn't really seem like it is going to stop. I think it will only get worse as time goes on.

Visa Runner,

Good synopsis. However, I was allowed back in at the airport without a forward plane ticket being presented or requested. However, that may change in the near future, and it would make sense to at least have a reservation to show them there as I did. I would expect at the land crossings that the ticket would be a neccesity.

Also, my home embassy in NYC would only issue a single entry tourist visa as well. Talk about a waste of time going there.

Sunny,

I think if there were someone with a masterplan it would be the head of immigration who has been handing down all of theses rules or decidng to enforce all of the old ones. However, incompetence may be a better explanation than malfeasance.

Livin in LOS,

LOL! I can laugh about it now that I'm back in the country, but I was cetainly quite upset when this happend. I needed to wait a while before posting or I would have said some things I would have regretted about this country and its governence.

Phil Harries,

My understanding is that the slate is wiped clean for the 2nd group of 6 months. It seems to be more of a problem for the immigration officer who has to calculate everything differently for each individual entering the kingdom depeninding on his 1st date of entry.

Naka,

Certainly, I'm not suggesting we bend over and take it, and I'm suprised that you took it that way. I'm in fact suggesting the opposite. I went and on 4 different occasions discussed the matter with 19 different immigration officers(8 when I was at the airport and given the stamp until the 3rd in two different discussions, 6 at Suan Phlu in 3 discussions, 2 at Aran in two discussions and 3 in the last discussion when I paid my overstay) all to no avail.

Lopburi,

It is good to know that a couple of the regional embassies like Vientiane are now good to get tourist visas again.

Simcity,

I will be in touch about the non-immigrant O. Thanks

1. Your first 30 day entry was Oct 4 so your six month period ended 3 April. Last entry prior to that day only gets the number of days remaining in that six month period. This seems to be the normal way immigration is using the six month rule. Unfortunately not many people had any idea that this would be the case prior to it happening.

2. Ticket out of the country has always been a requirement for 30 day entry, just as 10,000 baht is required. Previously they have seldom been checked but starting this month the tickets are become a normal requirement at some border crossings.

3. Do not understand how you obtained a 3,800 baht re entry permit for a visa. These are issued by immigration, not Consulates, for permitted to stay stamps, prior to exit, after you are in Thailand and are only valid for the period of the stay stamp (60 days for a tourist visa entry).

The exact rules for 30 day stay have not been clearly explained and highly advise anyone that can to use tourist visas to avoid any possible problems this might cause.

I understand your first point now Lopburi, but it was not clearly explained prior to its implementation.

As to your 2nd point, yes I knew that these rules were on the books, but they were never enforced. This was the first time in around 50-100 trips in and out of thailand over 9 years when something like this was requested of me.

Point 3-The 3800 baht for the multiple re-entryrentry permit was paid after my entry to the kingdom on my ftourist visa in January.

To have to use a tourist visa on every trip is extemely difficult and costly. I've come 6 times in the last 6 months, four on the free 30 days and 2 on my tourist visa. At times I only come for as few as 4 days. Your advice makes sense, but as the officer at the airport said to me when I paid my overstay, many embassies want you to get this in your country of origin(although I hear that penang is still good). Manila, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, and Yangoon are all no good. This would be an extravagant cost for a 4 day stay!

Thanks CClub. I really tried to include everything relevant to the topic in this post. I believe that it is really important for everyone on the forums to understand the situation we are now in in Thailand. Too often I read posts here and see such divisivenes with people trying to put down others who are in different situtions here, but we need to realize that in the end we are all in the same boat here; we are all foreigners and in some ways fundamentally outsiders no matter how much we try to conform to the norms here.

I've been spending much time in the past 9 years in my stays in Thailand, but now unfortunately it seems that I'm going to have to start rethinking my living situation as a "semi-permament" resident in Thailand.

Kiakaha,

How do I qualify for this non-immigrant B? As far as I know they've been cracking down on these as well.

This is the first time I’ve posted on Thai visa news although I’ve been a lurker for quite some time. I’d like to clarify my situation before I report my experience. I’ve been coming to Thailand for the past nine years and I use it as my base. I don’t work here and I’m not a visa runner. I work in Taiwan. I spent about 5 months a year in Thailand, 4-5 months a year in Taiwan, maybe 1 month in the states visiting my parents and maybe another month traveling in the region. I’m not old enough for a retirement visa; I’m 42. Just so you know this will be a very long report on the enforcement of the new 30 day visa exempt rules.

When they announced the new visa restrictions in September, I made sure to get a tourist visa. However, the Thai embassy in NYC would only give me a single entry visa as a matter of policy (that’s all they give anyone). In a way, this visa was useless to me because it was only valid for 3 months and I would not be hear for an extended period of time, but I was playing it safe as it would still be valid in the beginning of 2007 when they said they would be enforcing the new rules. I then plunked down the 3800 baht for a multiple re-entry permit (something I will never do again-a complete waste of money for someone in my situation) on it so I would get as much mileage out of the visa and minimize my days in Thailand on the free 30 day entries.

Now here is where my story gets interesting. I arrived in Thailand on March 14th from a trip to the PI after they had started to count the days spent in Thailand on the 30 day visa exempt at the airport. I arrived first on October 4th and spent 8 days. Then I arrived on Oct 31 and spent 9 days. I arrived on November 30th for a 21 day visit. I had two visits on my tourist visa for a total of 21 days, but these were not counted (Jan 11-Jan23 and Feb 19-March 6) as they were on the tourist visa. The visa officer was unsure how many days to give me on the stamp, which was strange. I was talking to him and the visa officer next to him in Thai. The office next to him said that I had only used 38 of the 90 free days so to give me a full stamp. Eventually he did.

On the 17th I left to Honk Kong and returned on the 20th. When I came in at the airport, the immigration office was only going to give me a stamp allowing me to stay until April 3rd even though I had only used 41 of my 90 days. She and the officer next her said that since my 6 months were up that I would have to leave on that day. I began to argue and pushed to get my full 30 days. I had only used 41 days, and it would only take a very cursory look at my passport to see that I wasn’t living or working here and that I was just a frequent visitor. They took me to speak to a supervisor.

When I went to speak to the supervisor, there were about 6 officers there. I pushed my case. I showed them the stamp when I arrived on the 14th and was allowed to stay until April 12th. Why would they only give me to April 3rd when I arrived on the 20th, only 6 days later. They said there was a new rule that at the end of the month period you must leave Thailand regardless if how many days you have spent in the country if you are using the 30 day entry. They showed me the memo in Thai. It meant nothing to me since even though I could speak ok Thai (my vocabulary is not so large) my reading skills are weak. I said that this was not convenient for me and was there anything special they could do for me. They said no, but that all I needed to do was to go to Aranyaprathet. I didn’t need to spend money on a plane ticket out. I will say that I was quite polite to the officers and they were very friendly. Also, my appearance was quite neat and proper. I’m 42 years old and don’t look like a bum or sleazy sexpat (not there is anything wrong with that

I was quite miffed by this new unannounced rule and decide to go to Suan Phlu and try to get this changed or at least some decent explanation. When I arrived in Suan Phlu I first discussed it with a officer at the information desk. They saw that I had only used 41 days and sent me to the counter to get my stamped changed. When I talked to them(as I said before my conversations were in Thai except for a few words in English to make up for some of my deficiencies in vocabulary), they said that there was a new rule that at the end of the 6 months you had to leave whether or not you had used your 90 days. I complained. I said I had done everything by the rules. I only used 41 days. I had gotten a tourist visa because immigration had wanted everyone to get a background check. I wasted 3800 baht on a reentry permit. I don’t work. I’m not a visa runner. It’s very obvious from my passport. On one day they gave me until April 12th and then 6 days later they gave me until April 3rd. They said the 1st officer had made a mistake. I then pointed out that if someone came into Thailand on Oct. 4 and left on Oct. 5 and then came back on April 2nd using the 30 day visa exempt stamp that person would have to leave on April 3rd. They said yes that person would. I said that this wasn’t fair. They agreed. I said I wanted to complain. They sent me to room 205.

When I got there, I repeated the whole story. They said yes I had done nothing wrong and that it wasn’t fair, but I had to leave anyway. They said the best they could do for me was to give me a week extension for 1900 baht. I said that I didn’t want to pay this. They told me to go to Aran. It was only 4 hours away. They said I would have to wait until April 4th to reenter and get my next set of 90 days on my 2nd 6 month period. I told then I didn’t like Cambodia so they suggested that I overstay one day. I said that I was concerned that Aran might have different rules because immigration was decentralized and could they give me a note instructing Aran immigration to let me in. They said they couldn’t because it was a different chain of command. They only have authority in BKK. Aran was in central command. The airport was also a different command (I believe there are 6 different commands in total). I had already known this so I asked if they thought I would have any problem getting in. They said no. They told me that 3 or 4 other people had already complained about this. I asked them how things would be 6 months from now; they said they weren’t sure.

April 3rd comes along and I take the trip to Aran. I decide not to overstay since I know that sometimes there is a problem with this. Manage to find the casino bus by Lumpini to take me straight to the border. It was a little confusing because I haven’t left Thailand by a land route in 3 or 4 years. When I get there, I go up to an officer who is free and ask him about my situation, being very polite. I ask if I can return on the same day. He says no problem as long as I have a forward air ticket out of Thailand. It’s a new rule. LMAO! I was shocked, but not terribly. TIT! I then went to talk to the supervisor. There were two other westerners there with the same problem. They were speaking to him in English. I spoke to him in Thai. I showed him my passport and told him that both Suan Phlu and the airport told me to come and renew my stamp at Aran. I showed him my stamps which clearly show that I’m not a visa runner, didn’t work here and was just a frequent visitor. I told him I followed all the rules. He said that this was a new rule-ANOTHER UNANNOUNCED NEW RULE! He was sympathetic and said that the government didn’t want people crossing back and forth at the land crossing and that I should go to the airport. This was funny. I would have laughed if I weren’t truly disgusted. I now was forced to overstay by immigration. I told him I didn’t want to do this. He kind of gave me a sad look. I turned straight back to BKK. I talked to a Thai sitting next to me on the bus. I was so upset I told him how the new government doesn’t like foreigners anymore. He was surprised as have all other Thais I’ve mentioned this to have been. Most Thais don’t even realize this is happening.

The next day after I got back to BKK, I booked a flight to Singapore on Tiger Air. I also called my travel agent. I told her about how I was turned back at Aran and asked her to find out the new rules. When she got back to me she told me that the people at immigration weren’t sure and that the rules were changing rapidly. They didn’t know how things would be in the future; she asked them to stop doing this as it was losing her business many customers. What a disgrace to run a country this way. I guess the head of immigration is behaving autocratically now that the CNS is in power and changing the rules on his own whims.

When I got to the airport on the 6th, I had to pay a 3 day fine. While paying the fine, I discussed my case with the officers there. An older officer with some rank came to discuss things with me. I talked to him for about 20 minutes. Again the officers were very sympathetic. I told him the rules were not fair now. He agreed. As all the officers I had already talked to before had said, he had told me these new rules were a headache for them. He complained that the manual counting of days on a rolling basis at the airport without a proper computer program was a problem. We agreed that it wasn’t an intelligent policy. He said that the person who is making the rules now has never had to take care of an immigration office and deal with people coming and going from the kingdom. He had to send an evaluation report every month to his superiors and every time he complained about the new rules. He also talked about the uneven enforcement of the rules. He asked me whether the days on a tourist visa and the 30 day visa exempt days be counted together. I said no. He said that some officers do and some don’t depending on where you are. I know that the immigration policy is to be decentralized and allow officer discretion, but THIS IS LUDICROUS. TIT.

When I came back on the 9th, I had a copy of my reservation at the end of the month, but was not asked for it. I told the officer I was starting my second period of 6 months and showed her the relevant stamps. She very quickly gave me a new set of 30 days without asking to see a forwarding ticket so this rule is not being enforced at the airport. I’m now back in Thailand.

Many people on this board always say that the rules are the rules, and the only people who will have problems here are the bad ones. This is rubbish. I followed the rules and still was forced to leave. They just change the rules like we change our shirts. Right now they are changing the rules at the drop of a hat. Maybe they are posting them on the Thai Immigration website or maybe you need to call the different posts or commands to find them out, but immigration is making no effort to make them freely available on this website or in any papers. The officers themselves are not sure what is happening and in many cases disagree with them, but have to follow them. It seems clear that this is done on purpose by the person in charge to make foreigners so frustrated that they leave, or that the person in charge is a petty dictator or incompetent and does things by the seat of his pants.

I see some posters saying that the new rules must be done logically and that the people with problems are ones who are up to now good. However, with a cursory look at my passport, it is easy to see that this is not the case. Yet, the officers don’t have the discretion to make an exception. Thus, the logic appears to be that the person in charge wants foreigners here out. Maybe you are here on a non-immigrant, retirement or work visa, and your rules will be changed without notice and you will be screwed or have to jump through hoops to stay as well. I think things here will get worse before they get better. Periodically in Thai history they have accepted foreigners and then expelled them. It appears that we are at a stage when some diehard anti-foreigners are in charge now, and attempting this.

In the past, being polite and neat in presentation when dealing with immigration would help one. The officers could use their discretion and decide who to be tough with and who to treat well. Although all the officers were polite and sympathetic to my case, they had nothing they could do even though they agreed with me (or at least said they did). This approach seems to no longer work.

This whole experience was very frustrating. I hope that sometime in the near future there will be some consistency and coherence in the immigration rules. Unfortunately, I think that things will only get worse.