ukrules

I'm sure you will find a beer somewhere even if it's behind closed doors but in general : No

I'd just ignore him

All is OK, the BKK Post has an article with some general saying its all a misunderstanding and before anything can be enforced they need to review the entertainment zones.

Is that a u-turn?

I certainly hope so, but it's difficult to know with this government. I know I can't post a link to the article, but a search on "Paiboon: Secton 44 alcohol ban 'misunderstood'" should turn it up.

I'm aware "secton" should be "section". It's not my misspelling, that's how it's spelled by the BP.

This is the same justice minister who said the distance should be increased to 500 meters

I wonder if the guy who's been widely reported as saying the distance should be extended to 500m will keep his job ?

There seems to be some 'face saving' attempts happening right now.

So I just had a quick look at google maps and it seems that the British Club in Bangkok is about 100 meters away from something called Siam Commercial College

I wonder if this or any of the other membership based clubs are going to stop serving alcohol due to this new regulation ?

The Mandarin Oriental hotel is just a stones throw away from Assumption College, this too ?

They mentioned in a second announcement that this is going to be in force immediately but there's also talk of people being sent letters in Chiang Mai telling them it will be enforced from anywhere between August 19th to August 22nd which is when it actually becomes law about a month / 30 days after being published in the government gazette.

So I guess things will become clearer over the next few weeks but lets make no mistake here, places are being shut down right now even though it's not law yet.

Here's one example : I read about this on one of the main Bangkok newspaper websites about the police going to a Bangkok bar named Sanrak Hut which is near to the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC) last night and telling them to close at 9pm. I think when they said close they meant close and don't open again for alcohol sales, ever.

One thing's for sure, if it's enforced as planned it's going to wipe out huge amounts of the hospitality / tourism industry.

I'm sure there will be legal actions against this.

The Thailand Elite site says PE visa? Privileged Entry? As this is not a tourist visa it must be a non immigrant? From the site it says the below - now does this mean I can just get a work permit for my company no questions asked without jumping through any hoops, Thai staff etc? Any holders of the card got a work permit before and after getting this visa? Is it just a question of getting one or do requirements still need to be met? Also anyone on this visa applied for residence after having it for so long?

Government Concierge - Immigration Service - Driver's License - Work Permit

Privileged entry, whatever that means, just gives you entry into the country. Once in the labour laws apply to everyone including PE members.

Non-immigrant simply means non-citizen. But I don't believe that Thai immigration class TE visas as one of the non-immigration visas needed for either work permits or PR.

Work permits are issued by the department of labour and only when you are employed by a Thai company/entity and after you and the entity jump through all the hoops. TE is not a short cut to a WP or a way to avoid the hoops.

As far as I'm aware a TE member that wants a work permit to work for a Thai entity would need to change to a qualifying non-immigration visa.

Incase you haven't seen it here's the link for a residence permit (PR). http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/doc/residence/26122546_regulation_notice_en.pdf

If you have a PE visa based on your TE membership and for some reason you also want a work permit then you need to get an additional B visa and a work permit the same as everyone else who has a work permit to enable them to work in Thailand.

This subject is touched on in the documentation issued when you join and it says that the concierge service can help you with the arrangements. The requirements are going to be the same as for a regular visa and work permit in addition to the PE visa.

So like others have said, this isn't the visa to get if you're going to be working in Thailand as you still need to go through the same process as all other workers, however there may be some benefits to this, like in a scenario where you're employing some executives in a large company environment, a family visa would perhaps make things easier for an employees family.

I could see it being useful for those who own businesses in Thailand but don't work there, lots of foreigners own businesses like hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc and don't work in them. They leave that to the employees and employ local management.

It's just a matter of showing your passport to the phone company, they don't change the sim card or anything.

When I registered mine they entered some details into a computer then an sms text message came to the phone which confirmed it was registered

Drinkers, smokers, or any drug addict should be re-located in a island so they can continue killing themselves freely.

It would be much simpler to relocate all the puritans as there's a lot less of them.

Also, I believe they did that once before about 400 years ago and it didn't turn out too great.

Do you have currently hold a license to sell alcohol ?

Yes I do!! For 5 years now!!!!!!!!

Well this is concerning, I wonder if they will actually follow through with it especially as you have a license.

I own a little licensed restaurant but it's nowhere near any schools.

Exaggerated...knee jerk reaction by all.

Go back and read the original story...it excludes hotels/restaurants/venues...that have the appropriate government blessing. I bet it has more to do with preventing more alcohol sales in those areas..and possibly might be used as leverage for "fill in the blank" for establishments that have the official government papers/permits to operate.

Your alcohol and ladies who serve such...will simply not be going away. It just may be a bit more expensive (taxable/tea money) to keep open.

Expect prices to go up...as the baht devalues. There is alot of cash being thrown around in these places.

You go back and read it! The law is NOT clear and if you think you understand what it says you are probably in a minority of one.

I am afraid not my friend!! Just came to my restaurant on Loi Kroh Rd Chiang Mai! I am 250 metres from High School. Gave me 30 days notice!! Effective Aug. 19th, no more aicohol sales!! They are going about this the wrong way! Instead of shutting you down for serving alcohol, why not shutting you down for not carding and serving these people!! Just takes a little enforcement from the BIB!! You can't make this shit up!! Vietnam is looking pretty good right now!!!

Do you have currently hold a license to sell alcohol ?

Ah..now I know what all that roadworks and fence building going on along the coast road is for !! The Park is just south of Hua Hin next to the Officer Training college.

Yes I believe the King is in residence in Hua Hin.

The King suddenly and unexpectedly left Hua Hin last month sometime and returned to the hospital in Bangkok. There's no talk of when he will return to Hua Hin.

I wouldn't want to be driving down the Phetkasem road next week, it's going to be pretty busy.

LOL, you couldn't make it up. They appear to have wiped the entire hospitality industry in a major capital city off the map.

Something is either lost in translation here or someone has deliberately done something to make the current government look incredibly foolish in front of the whole world.

Not too familiar with Bangkok too much but how does this ban on alcohol sales near universities cause Soi Cowboy to go dry? Are there nearby Universities?

Yes, there's a school of some kind somewhere down Sukhumvit Soi 23.

So, if someone who's not eligible for a retirement or marriage extension of stay wants to plunk down 500,000 baht to in essence buy a promised 5-year visa, more power to them. But at least, go into it being an informed consumer and be aware of whom you're dealing with, and what's occurred with the program since its inception.

With the 5 year membership you get the visa immediately, what more is there to say ? You don't need to worry about the future, It's in the passport and ready to use.

So in Bangkok this will mean no alcohol can be sold along a large chunk of Silom, Sukhumvit, all of Soi 23 including Soi Cowboy and the once popular Khao San Road party area.

I'm going to be very surprised if this actually happens.

As this is a law I guess it will apply to the whole country. If so then I believe it will close down alcohol sales in a huge number of the tourist destinations nationwide.

There was always a bar ran by the student union on campus back in the UK, they probably still have them.

I tend to go late in the afternoon midweek, it's always empty as well. Most of the time I'm the only one in there. It's been like this for as long as I can remember, including at the old office before they moved.

It might be a little different in the high season but my 90 day reports are coincidentally timed to miss most of that whole period over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

If his phone records clear him, why can't the public verify that like any normal country? Why can't defense teams or journalists record or verify any evidence?

I have one phone, it never leaves my computer desk. I guess you could say this phone proves I'm at home 24/7 365 days a year.

The cell tower is very near to my house and I will always be logged onto that tower with this phone.

What you don't know is how many other phones I have.

I'm pretty sure I got some of these from Homepro but I've also seen them in Tesco and Makro in the past. Both this one and the slimmer one.

so what is new about it?

At some point in the past (18 months or so I think) this 5 year option didn't exist, the only option back then was the 20 year membership.

Way before that I believe a lifetime membership was available for 1 Million Baht.

I'm no trial lawyer but I would have thought that CCTV from the last place both victims (the bar) were seen together would be essential.

In the video he mentioned that this is the video entered as evidence by the prosecution which raises a couple of questions :

Do they have any CCTV in the 'AC' bar ?

Have they ever had any CCTV in this bar ?

If not then, why not ?

Things would be a lot clearer if we could see what happened in the run up to the incident.

So does this mean that if I have several criminal records back at home but then have enough money to afford an Elite Visa, I could stay in Thailand worry free?

Wow, money does talk !

Probably so unless you have active warrants.

It's not much different than retirement extensions.

No restrictions on criminal records for those either.

It's a good question though.

Does the elite care application ask about criminal record?

You do need to make some kind of declaration about not having been sent to prison for more than a certain amount of time, I can't remember how long it was as it wasn't relevant to me. The point is, this appears to allow membership to anyone unless they've been convicted and sentenced for a serious crime which attracts a significant custodial sentence.

The application form also asks if you've been made bankrupt.