Rob Browder

1) It is illegal to work w/o a work-permit. 2) It is illegal to work while on a visa/extension which prohibits working. 3) It is "common practice" to hire foreigners and tell them "not to worry about it" - often during a 3 month "probation" period. Most foreigners do not get caught. But, if you get caught, they won't be able to help you from being arrested, jailed, deported, banned - all possible outcomes. IMO - if living in Thailand is not a high-priority, vs somewhere else (Cambodia, etc), then maybe it's worth the risk. Alternatively, one can get that type of work in Cambodia, Vietnam, etc - then come back to Thailand afterwords.

What you need to understand - Thai Immigration don't "really care" if you live here 360+ days/year, IF you pay them off via their agent partners - either safe-entry by air, or a agent-van border-run. They simply are not "allowed" to shake-down the short-term tourists, because that would anger "deep pocket" people (big hotels, etc). If you don't have the 20K, OR a flight-ticket out, you are (bleeped) if they single you out - then airport-detention, forced to buy a flight to Vietnam, then who knows what they do when you get there. Even meeting all requirements can fail if "coming too much/often as a tourist" - without paying agent-tribute. Back when I was here on tourist-entries, I carried 20K Baht in travelers checks, purchased from Bangkok Bank. They do not care if you can prove you "really have" the money in a Thai or foreign bank - will not even let you get it from an ATM to prove it beyond all doubt. They are just using these "requirements" as a rationale. On several (reported here) occasions, they have even refused to let the foreigner prove they met them - just "not a tourist" and denied.

I always considered that instruction a set-up - so they can lock you up, and boot you from the airport. If told this at a land-border, what one should do is enter at a different land-border - not walk into that obvious "must fly in" trap.

This is all for show. Why is that evident? When did they stop him country-banning the Caravan Hordes in 2018? The SCOTUS had just re-affirmed that law in 2017, but he refused to use it to stop them. As a result, the flood was even worse than under Obama, up until he turned the WH over to Fauci for the "pandemic" (sic). When did they stop him from enforcing the Felony prohibiting employing Illegal-Aliens? They never did. But he WANTS those ~50 Million keeping American wages in poverty, so he won't order it enforced. Instead, we get Obama's "Bad Hombres Out" policy, of which he said correctly in 2016, "If we only enforce the laws against crime, we have an Open Border to the Entire World." Sadly, even lousy Obama and Biden deported more. Now, he says he wants to give the illegals a "stipend" to do a "touch home base and return" Amnesty, to make absolutely sure Americans can't have their stolen careers back - and our wages remain in the toilet.

"Odds Are" he will get in ok. They may not even ask any questions. But I would not roll the dice - it's simply not worth the potential trouble. By air is the worst choice. If refused, you get locked in airport-detention, and forced to fly back where you came from. If denied entering by land, you just walk back and cancel your exit-stamp from the other country, and sleep in a hotel that night.

In this case, I think you got so much doubt, because you reported two "seemingly unlikely" things - quick-service for your eVisa (DTV people had reported delays there), and not needing a printout of your eVisa to enter Thailand (from a paper-obsessed bureaucracy). Both results are good news, of course - and thanks for reporting.

I would say it is more likely Trump asks them to Play Us with "maybe promises," in exchange for whatever favor. If Trump cared about Americans, all the traitor-visas which replace Americans with cheap labor would be rescinded, so that the 3/4 of American STEM workers could return to their former jobs. And, we would be watching the felony-busted employers of illegal-aliens (existing law) being perp-walked on television right now in orange-jumpsuits - then, the illegals fired en-masse across the country, and millions of Americans returning to their former middle-class jobs in food-packing, construction, etc.

... and, after 2 months, that is somehow proven? After 15 years together (he showed them pictures), they are going to file for divorce within 2 months of getting married? No, this is not logical IO thinking - it is an excuse they made up. And,, so what if he is getting "legally" married for the extension, after his job ends - so he can stay with his 15-year partner? My wife and I "legally" married for my then-extension. The Buddhist ceremony was for her and her family. We are still married - ~15 years later - but would be living together, regardless. Given how easy a divorce is here, "legally married" is not even that much of a "commitment." Putting up with immigration's abuse, to stay with your Thai wife/gf, is what shows "commitment."

Do you mean a 12-month extension-of-stay, based on retirement or Thai-family, with a multiple-re-entry permit? Per comment above - a potentially good option if planning to do this annually. This seems to be getting confused with 180 days for "tax residency," which has no relation / effect vis-a-vis immigration policy.

Most "tourists" would have no idea how the system works here. Even many expats are in-denial about it. But, yes, there is "sharing." They literally "buy" their jobs, with the expectation of ROI from brown-envelope money (not only immigration). Funds collected are shared locally (incentive for local offices / entry-points), with a share going up the pyramid-scheme to the top. Those not sharing "properly" get busted - such as the Sadao entry-point a couple times, and some "rogue" IOs who tried something "on the side." Big Joke's contribution was cleaning up the "optics" of the operation, with "no tips" signs, shutting-down the "too obvious" antics of the Chiang Mai office, and similar. Contrast to "our" passport-countries, where the low-level apparatchiks get good pay and benefits in exchange for NOT engaging in such activity, so that all corruption-money goes directly to lawyers, campaign-contributions, govt/private revolving-door employment -> govt-contracts, etc.

That massive rise - about 1/3 of total debt (the graph does not go to zero on the y-axis) was not due to people begging for handouts. Rather, it was due to the govt buying into a lying narrative, spread world-wide, about a virus which was only ever dangerous to the very old and very sick. They literally forced people to stop working for literally no good reason. The elderly/sick could have quarantined, with a fraction of the damage to the economy and govt-debt - and only even that, until the effective treatments for the old/sick were determined, which was about 6 months after the "event" began. Of course, anyone "noticing" the treatments since-proven to actually save lives were banned from speaking about them, at the time - because they were "off patent," and would have interrupted the great "global experiment" in mass-psychological-manipulation of masses - then, in-progress. From my observations, we now know exactly how Pol Pot was able to do what he did.

No, he doesn't sound worse. And he doesn't get "lost" getting to podiums, and such. That said, Trump is clearly completely clueless on the details and implications of policy, and generally rudderless - seems to "believe" the last thing he heard, hence the conflicting statements. But, none of this is new. See his 1st Term.

I never heard of this, either - may be be specific to CW - certainly not written-down anywhere I have seen. Given their attitude, I would go out to Laos - Vientiane - and apply for the Non-O via eVisa online. I just saw a report it was delivered by email the next-day: Otherwise, you could do a border-bounce for a visa-exempt entry, using an agent-van to avoid the risks of that - then do the Non-O, with your "seasoned" marriage.

They won't take bribes directly (in reports I've seen) - likely because there are cameras watching. Such must be pre-arranged through their agents.

Do This, if you don't want the nauseating 5AM Van ride (I don't blame you). Just call them and make arrangements. Then, go the day before, using your chosen transport, and stay at a hotel near the border. The next morning, you get up at a normal time, meet the van near the border - pre-arranged with them - likely a nearby restaurant, where you can wait with your coffee. Do the crossing and return, then make your way back via your own chosen-transport. Win-Win outcome.

I have never heard that before. I HAVE heard that if married to a Thai, they insist on using the marriage-based option, vs the child. Also, that if an unmarried couple is separated, the child must THEN be living with the applicant - where your scenario applies. I also recall joint-custody cases being accepted, though, in divorce situations. That said, I would not be surprised if some IOs / offices have insisted on what you describe, simply as a way to avoid doing the extension ("too much work"). If I were you @farangzy I would bring bank-records showing the 400K is seasoned 2+ months, just so that isn't an issue. The mother and child should attend with you. Also, be prepared they may also try to make you leave the country for a Non-O Visa, first - though there is no legal reason for this.

"Legit" in Thailand? No such thing here - but "Normal" would fit. Covering any required bank-balance is a standard part of Immigration's agent-partners.

Few agents will touch a marriage-based extension, and those who do ask for a PILE of money - because Marriage-based extensions must get district-approval, who want their fat-cut of the "action," for that sign-off. It's all "in house" at CW, but still goes to a higher-up.

Is he from India, or a similarly poor country, where "working illegally in Thailand" would be a step-up? Otherwise, why would the IO factor in something like this? If he was a "marriage scammer," what difference would 2 months wait make? What is the worst that could happen, from the IO's POV? He gets divorced, his permit-to-stay is immediately invalidated, and ... or, worst case, he stays in Thailand and spends money into the economy a bit longer, until the extension expires? As this was the initial 90-day Non-O step, he will be back submitting the phone-book of paperwork again, in 90-days, for the 1-year extension. This report matches a long-standing pattern of harassment and abuse of those extending by reason of marriage at some offices. Immigration HATE doing marriage-visas, and generally hate the Thais who marry us. Granted, the IOs in Issan, tend to be at least "civil" about it, in my experience.

The flu makes little children / babies sick. This didn't. And, the flu-tests were coming up negative, world-wide. No one who did a few minutes of research believed the "Just the flu" meme. Some morons even fell for the "viruses don't exist" meme. These were to put out there to tar anyone who questioned the "official story" as "lunatics," of course. Folks who can read and comprehend research papers did not believe what was coming out of the MSM and govt, either - which was also clearly a pack of lies. Yet, the "left" believed all that. Their cartoonish buffoonery was unparalleled, as they tried to strong-arm all of us into acting-along with their MSM-induced delusions - even telling us we "must" inject a potentially-deadly experimental formulation of a type never before used widely, "or else" - even as we watched young and healthy people around us injured and/or killed with it. Now THAT was truly insane.

Both sides trying to avoid the fact that this was a lab-modified virus, work on which they had worked jointly. Moderna patented the "gain of function" spike-protein in 2016 (exact genomic-match). So, was the bug that leaked the result of combining that spike with a bat-virus in the Wuhan lab, or the Rocky-Mountain Lab, or the UNC Lab? That is the only question. But, it's clear why Trump kept saying "China Virus" - to deflect from the US-Govt / contractor involvement in this dangerous / insane "gain of function" research.

The "mass deportations" are as FAKE as everything else he "talks" about. Americans are held in "hand to mouth" poverty by ~50-Million Illegal aliens, and tens-of-millions more "legal" foreigners - almost all from dirt-poor countries - all more than willing to undercut Americans on wages, because it is "less bad" than what their ancestors created for them at home. Trump is doing NOTHING about that. In fact - it gets worse. Now, he proposes a Shamnesty, where he provides them with a taxpayer-funded "stipend" to fly home, then come back "legally" to continue occupying American's former jobs - making sure he and his friends NEVER have to pay 1st World Wages to Americans, EVER Again. As far as Alcatraz,,the "pope" pic, etc - just more bread and circuses to get his base morons and their blue-haired evil-twin morons to fight over Exactly NOTHING which will impact their lives in any meaningful way, ... such as, say, enforcing the existing felony prohibiting employing Illegal Aliens, which would ensure the Illegals lost their jobs, and had no reason to stay any more - so that 1/2 of the American people could return to the middle-class.

I always do it 30-days in advance - probably due to experience with more troublesome-type extensions in the past (marriage-based), where they may ask for unexpected things. No days are lost doing it early - but no penalty up to the last day, if you have everything they want.

He doesn't seem to know much of anything. I guess his "staff" won't break the news to him about the Constitution? It's not that long of a read, but he hasn't bothered? Then, his fans excuse his betrayals as "they tricked him." This was just another distraction, as he breaks all his promises to his supporters - again, just like he did the last time. See also, "Alcatraz." It's a big circus show, to get the blue-haired left-morons and the equally-clueless "still support Trump" morons to fight.

He supported the Ukraine War, also. The "Hoover Institution" might as well be an official DOD (MIC) sub-agency.