kman90

1 hour ago, bamnutsak said:

 

Yuck.

 

Tony Cartalucci.

 

What a maroon.

 

Is this sort of propaganda allowed here?

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 😂

19 hours ago, johng said:

No I don't think so,  but believe what you want and if you believe that then get ready for WWIII.

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.

5 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

It seems the Swiss man is a jerk.. I agree it is not good to hit a woman,but to blow up the story like this and everybody has an opinion about, but we all don't know what is behind it... and we can see that 500 people are demonstrating for a free access to the beach... so probably there is much more that is not written here, but that is known by the locals...That is the only thing that I write we don't know what is/has happened before he hit the woman..And if someone dare to say he is well informed , he can only claim what he has read on the internet, but he doesn't know what is really going on

"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.. 🥱

10 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Thailand also has more tourists.

Yes, the roads are dangerous, but a stat like that is meaningless.

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... 

17 minutes ago, BritTim said:

 

You can avoid it (either legally with border bounces, or by risking a fine).

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  ...

16 minutes ago, hydraides said:

You could in theory just not do the 90 report at immigration

 

max fine of around 3000 baht if they catch you

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.

23 minutes ago, BritTim said:

.. After that, you are supposed to do 90-day reports (unless you leave the country within 90 days). 

So by leaving and re-entering every 89 days someone could avoid doing 90 day reports altogether?

Or is that not feasible at all?

7 hours ago, Caldera said:

 

Sure. If you enroll at a university in Chiang Mai to study there, but instead of moving to Chiang Mai continue to live in Phuket, that would obviously be dodgy.

 

If you want to stay in Phuket, you should be able to find a language school there that can facilitate an education visa and extensions based on studying there.

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.

1 hour ago, BritTim said:

 

Sound advice, but is very unlikely to result in the 15-month permission to stay (with no further extensions during that period) that is available with the Chiang Mai University program.

 

Another option would simply be not to do 90-day address notifications. They can be legally avoided by doing border bounces (obviously with a re-entry permit which you can probably receive at the same time as the visa/extension) or just risk an eventual fine.

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

1 minute ago, BritTim said:

There is no law that should prevent your immediate return. However, at least at some crossings, there are strong financial incentives on the officials to find excuses to block hassle free entry. It is hard to predict what will happen at specific border crossings under specific circumstances.

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??

Just now, RedArmy said:

No, there are no such things as "Bribes" in Thailand.

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

4 minutes ago, RedArmy said:

It is, but some border crossings require a "Sweetener" to ensure a same day return back into Thailand.

Classic