kman90

You can't "settle" a criminal case with money. From what it seems she is pressing criminal charges. The only option is if she decides "not to press charges". Also she can (and will) sue him for injuries, which is a civil case, which can be "settled".

Calling for censorship? If you think he's a grifter or a Chinese asset, explain why, make your arguments, isn't that the point of free speech and freedom of the press? And if you think the US doesn't meddle in other countries' affairs on a daily basis, I have some magic beans to sell you 😂

Their supposed logic is: "If we let Putin take more land he will become a threat to NATO. However if we make Ukraine a part of NATO he will not become a threat to NATO...." Which makes 0% sense. Their real logic is: "Russia's sphere of influence is getting too big this last decade, let's drag this war out as long as possible, draining them economically and also use the war as a justification to impose massive sanctions blocking their economic recovery during and after". Let's call a spade a spade. I'm not necessarily against it as it seems Putin has become a dictator, purging many adversaries (like Xi). But playing influence games under the threat of nuclear war is pretty dumb.

Because you need them to keep your economy running. Increasing the national birth rate would also fix the problem. But that's much, much, more expensive than simply throwing immigration at it.

Or maybe Thais still have some sense of national identity and pride. Unlike European societies who faced a labour shortage for the last few decades due to declining birth rates, but chose to fix it with mass immigration, trading national identity for quick economic prosperity.

Wannabe gangster Tekashi Swiss9

"blow up the story"?.. By discussing Phuket news on a forum designed specifically for expats in Thailand, in the sub forum "Phuket news"...??

This guy seems like the typical bully wannabe gangster who thinks he's untouchable over here because he has a bit of money and is friendly with the local police. I've encountered an English man who acts similarly. Nice to see him get a rude awakening and realise his "power" only goes as far as the bribes he can afford (real gangster stuff...) And it's funny to see some Europeans here defending him..... maybe some more big bad gangsters.. 🥱

True, stats can be misleading. It is crazy at face value though

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate Sort by "per 100,000 inhabitants per year", descending order. The roads are more dangerous in Thailand than in war torn African countries. It's Mad Max rules.

Thanks for the info. So I guess domestic flights would be no problem at all as you'd have a valid visa (regardless of reporting status). I guess it's a safe enough option if one was not planning to travel outside Thailand during the length of the course. And just wanted free roam around Thailand for the year. Then just pay the missed - report fine (fines?) at the end. Unless there's something else I'm overlooking which could cause a problem...

Ohh so the 90 day report saves you from doing border runs / flight re entries? But it would look dodgy if I keep entering at Phuket airport or the Malaysian border if I'm studying in Chang Mai. Getting stopped at the airport or border would be a nightmare .. No time to pack stuff, plan , book flights ...

I'll want to fly some times with my girlfriend during the year, to see her family up north or to another city in Thailand or to neighbouring country for a holiday... Do 90 day report stamps need to be present in my passport? Or surely my file on the immigration system will notify the immigration officers that I did not report last time? (sorry for the n00b questions .. I have 0% knowledge about the 90 day report system 😕) The fine is very fair. But mostly I don't want to get deported / denied entry / banned.. I think it's better if I just leave Thailand and come back in January 2024 with a renewed passport and a fresh year... And then start education immediately next time..

Russian Vodka and dodgy Chinese engineering.. bad combination.

So by leaving and re-entering every 89 days someone could avoid doing 90 day reports altogether? Or is that not feasible at all?

I had a bit of a problem with that as I re-entered too many times this year including one land crossing at Laos and one at Malaysia. I actually tried the two most popular language schools in Phuket and they sent pics of my passport to their officer friend in immigration. The response from both was something about too many stamps and espically the Laos border stamp being a problem. Because the Laos border is "in a different province". It was a red flag for them for some reason. I also did a Laos border run last year before I went back to my own country, maybe that was noticed too. But it seems the University in Chiang Mai has more power or legitimacy, they don't seem to mind about the stamps.

When you say "with no further extensions during that period" do you mean that I won't have to do any 90 day reports after the first? So - one 90 day report after 3 months then a full year visa with no reports? I think this is what she implied, but it wasn't explained in great detail / language barrier. Is that ever possible or are 90 day reports always required regardless of the school / university?

I'm currently looking at the same option for 75k. I'm also in Phuket. Did you go for it? Was it legit? I'm worried I won't be able to pass the 90 day report thing at Phuket Immigration. If I'm supposed to be in Chaing Mai university it seems dodgy. Anyone have any info to add to this thread????

Hey, how was your border run? Do you remember where the actual checkpoint was in Satun? I keep seeing companies advertising a border run to "Satun", but no mention of what checkpoint. Was it the "Wang Prachan Boundary Post" checkpoint??

I've stay in 2 different hotels with a Laotian girl, both times I checked in alone then she came later from her own place and still not a words said, even when walking past reception in the morning. No problems. I stayed in Memory Hotel near the river, and another hotel near the river can't remember the name

Actually it provides much greater assurance. There are 64 countries allowed to enter under visa exempt stamp. Including Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar.... (I imagine a fake passport from ones of these countries is also very easy to source) If you're using the exact same visa system as these types of countries, then in my opinion, the authorities could use it as a "reasonable justification" to charge you 1300. Especially if you are not appearing to be a tourist by bouncing straight back. I'm not saying it make perfect sense or that it's official. Just that it has plausible deniability. The E-visa is only applicable to Western Europe and USA. And there's a lot of paperwork to provide to get it. Hard to reasonably justify slapping another 1300 on that for any kind of security reason. We'll see

I've read somewhere that the reason for these obstacles is to deter illegal workers. Perhaps the requirement to stay in the bordering country for a few days makes it unfeasible for them (missing 3 days in work per month + accommodation costs). And if the person can afford 1,300 baht.. they are probably not an illegal worker (maybe this is their justification of the 1,300 "fee"?) If I have an approved e-visa how could they suspect me of being an illegal worker? I will try it next month and report back

Thanks for this. Just to clarify something, you said: "If I had a tourist visa already then I could just go straight in" So.. if I get approved for the online e-visa (60 day tourist visa) on the day my visa stamp expires... could I come back across the border same day??

Apologies, I meant to write "donation"... auto-correct ey?

Classic