chrisinth

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Multiply this by hundreds of times on International flights landing at Swampy... coming soon. And 99% of those denied will not have a second passport. Fireworks ... when being totally denied after flying 16,000 kilometers. !!!!

Not really. I doubt very much that anyone flying 16k would come without a visa, qualify for a visa on arrival, or for a 30-day entry. People with multiple consecutive entry stamps are people living/working in thailand without proper documentation/visas and doing hops to the borders or nearby countries. They don't fly 32,000 kilometers to enter Thailand on another 30-day stamp. Nice try at scaremongering however.

If the op's story is real, and that's a very big if, then Thai immigration are doing the right thing by their lights. Someone refused entry should either go to the nearest Thai embassy on consulate and apply for the appropriate visa or return to their country of origin and do the same. With the proper visa, they should have no problem entering The Kingdom.

Nonsense.. Simply because you doubt it, doesn't mean that 100s probably 1000s a day don't fly into Thailand, long haul, with more than 3 recent visa exempt stamps expecting another..

I can count perhaps 10 offshore workers in my mates alone who do this exact thing every month.. Another who works around Asia who is through the airport maybe once a week or twice a month.. He has to get a new passport every year or so just for the accumulation of 30 day stamps.

I would imagine offshore workers who want to spend their down-time in Thailand as genuine tourists would have no trouble entering even with multiple 30-day entry stamps, separated by 4-6 weeks, in their passports. This would be especially true if they had outbound tickets to and hotel bookings to show if challenged. Those who have condos, cars, wives, and children, etc. and are actually living in Thailand may have to actually obtain the appropriate visa. We will just have to wait and see how it all gets sorted out. However, I would expect that just showing the ownership papers for a condo/car and/or a bank book with a decent balance would be enough to get an offshore worker in, no matter his circumstances.

It's been said many times, the purpose of the crackdown is to prevent people for working illegally in Thailand. I don't think there is any push to give free-spending offshore workers the boot and prevent them from spending their loot in Thailand.

I would be a bit cautious with the advice of showing evidence of having wives, owning condos, etc when coming in on a visa exemption. I understand that the main purpose of this drive is against people working illegally, but wording about visitors entering the country using the correct visas was also in the initial statements.

I don't think however that this will affect rotation workers, that have their rotations on 30 days or less. The people it will affect are the workers who have rotations of 37 days or more and who are not married.

IMHO

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if they can afford a house, they should be able to afford 400,000 in the bank. And if the are working illegally, they are not wanted in Thailand. Just as they are not wanted in any other country. Nothing to do with Thailand shouting itself in the foot, etc.

They are certainly wanted by their students and the parents of their students....

Finance for a house and car are easy enough. Getting 400k in cash and locking it up for 2 months every year, not so much.

Drifting for a second Mario, if they are illegal, ie, working without a work permit, how are they getting finance?

They are working on a slave's salary, at the whim of the employer, open to extortion to anyone who would have a bad hair day.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

That just makes it even more confusing for me.

OK, let me ask the question slightly differently, if these teachers are on tourist visas or visa exempt stamps, earning little money, how are they able to get finance from the banks (or where ever) for their houses and cars?

Bit of advice to walking in the rain at this time of year, don't go out with stainless steel walking sticks or golf clubs in flat open areas.........................

Personally, I think the OP needs to ask Dimpy for help on this........................

I have stayed in many many hotels around Thailand, often not alone, but have never seen two names put on a hotel receipt.

OP, as a matter of interest, how much of an age difference is there between you and your wife? It may be relevant to helping get you the answer to your question.

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In a class system, a person born a peasant will always be a peasant. ...

What about a Thai Family ... three sisters, born not that far apart in terms of years.

Sister 1 stays on the Farm and harvests the rice ... just as the generations before her did.

Sister 2 seeks her fame and fortune in Pattaya, makes a shit load of money ... does her 'class' change from that of the sister who stayed on the Farm?

Sister 3 is sent to University, obtains her degree, moves from the Farm to Bangkok, earns a good wage and her presence doesn't reflect the tanned skin of working the fields, nor the qualities of the 'working girl'.

She then goes onto to marry a Dentist, lives in a very nice house, drives a Benz ... has she 'shifted' Class?
.

It all depends, in your example, who is judging the class order.

For instance, if it is family hierarchy then regardless of what jobs or way of life the sisters have, the eldest will always remain at the top. If it is social circles, then that would become different.

The social circle of sister 1 (in your example) would be unlikely to meet the social circle of sister 3 and vice virsa so one couldn't judge these two on an overall basis.

However, if my reading is correct, sister 2, in the line of her work could meet both parts of the social circles of sister 1 and sister 3, but discretion would be called for and her social status would remain anonymous, her class remaining hidden.

In short, class would be determined by social groups, unless a mixture Money, Connections & Personal Wealth exposes the single person to a wider audience.

Class, IMHO, has everything to do with social standing.

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This will be an impossible situation, a catch 22. If you can't speak thai when questioned they will say they don't believe you are a a genuine student of Thai. But if you can speak thai they will say the same thing as that would mean you already know Thai and so don't need to learn it.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Why would you need to speak Thai if you were learning Mandarin?

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Same old story. American company buys foreign company and closes down its home operation. time to boycott.

Yes, boycott ALL American operating systems.

BTW, which American OS did you use to post that? Mac/Unix, Unix, Linux/Android, Windows...

Did you use the American invented and controlled internet? TCP/IP? A router? A modem?

Well?

Boycott all of them.

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Further to my previous post, many TEFLERs work illegally without WPs on non imm visas based on marriage or retirement.

Watch out they will be coming fo you next.

Will they kick out all genuine marriage and retirement holders to 'get'  the illegal TEFLERS who have made a life in Thailand.

Keep looking over your shoulders. 

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Fozzy, where I realize that the thread is visa related to TEFLER's, your above post broadens the "what is wrong with the education system" subject.

If a person is in the country visa legal, who's fault is it that he/she is working without a work permit, regardless of their qualifications? Theirs certainly, but it is also the establishment who is employing them as well.

If you think the visa crackdown is directed towards TEFLER's, then the next logical step would be towards the companies/schools employing them. At the end of the day it is their (companies/schools) responsibility to provide the work permits, regardless of what you may have been told. Probation periods should be carried out under a work permit, no excuses.

IMHO, this is where the problem lies, at least more so than prospective teachers having to do border runs.

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The bar owner can't stay home some nights, because "he" is the business, and also because of the likelihood of staff stealing. If he's not in his bar, meeting, greeting and drinking with customers - he goes broke. He has to be in his bar, socialising with customers, and this usually involves drinking.

Can confirm this. I was a bar owner for 5 years, in Hua Hin during the nineties. Sitting there talking with customers you automatically drink a lot every night. Being sober, it would be difficult to listen to their <deleted> anyway. It was a cheerful period, drenched in copious amounts of alcohol. Fond memories, but I wouldn't do it again.

Probably if you are a bar owner in the West it is different, you are busy serving drinks and tallying up all the time. Also in a neighborhood bar, the customers know each other, and keep themselves entertained, whilst in a tourist bar somebody needs to chat up people who come in, otherwise they won't stay long.

Might very well be a nice experience to run a bar in Thailand for a while, but I don't think it can be recommended to do it for a very long time.

IMHO, it depends on the individual. I had my last alcoholic drink on the 1st May 1999. On the 9th September the same year (9-9-99) we opened a bar, and ran that bar for almost 13 years. Not once was I even tempted to have a drink.

Before May 99, I led a life of drinking, involved in working environments where drinking was not only normal but expected. 15 pint + nights out were the normal. Living full time in Thailand at that stage averaging about a dozen bottles of beer a night, every night.

There is nothing big and clever about what I have just written above. I was lucky enough to have been able to get a handle on it. A lot of people can't do that by themselves, and this is where my admiration from organizations which provide support for those in need comes from. Once a person recognizes what they have become, that is the first step of a long walk.

I have always said that I was never an alcoholic, because I never went to the meetings............... For clarity, this is said as a joke, I will always support people who not only recognize something is wrong but also have the determination to do something about it.

And probably more importantly, the admiration of the close friends/spouses and organizations committed to supporting these individuals.

I'm going to be a bit optimistic with this and hope that the mother is in good health.

Hasn't been the victim of a crime or been in an accident.

Of course the pessimistic side to this is that as she was a previous employee of the bar, someone would surely have her phone number or contact details. If she couldn't be contacted, that would to me indicate concern as above. Reporting the child as being abandoned after only 4 hours would suggest more details to the situation are known by the bar owner than has been reported.

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Clarification will come after the August 12th deadline.

It would seem logical (yeah, yeah) that clarification would be given before the 12th August.

Again, how relevant is the 12th August now regarding land crossings? They seem to be implementing their restrictions already, the 12th/13th August will be addressing entry by air.

At least, that's how I understand it with the information I have seen, the official release being contradictory to what is actually happening, ie, the official release only addressing visa exempt.

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Maybe one of the days the story will be different, a bag containing a hand grenade, the action of snatching the bag pulls the pin...

Or a remote trigger......................

That would be music to the ears.

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Your vitriol reminds me on "FatDrunkandStupid" I think you are him.

You've got $$$$ dripping out of your ass and a GF with a Master's Degree but no common sense to get a Non-Imm Visa.

Maybe you should add Special Needs to your resume.

That thought about FatDrunkandStupid passed my thoughts also, as Bulldozer Dawn posted some stuff about me in a now deleted post (thanks Mods) that not that many people know.

If that's true, it's kinda of sad because FatDrunkandStupid is quite a smart bloke as far as intellectual quotient is concerned (we used to discuss the Thai Stock Market through a PM).

Agreed FDAS seemed to have a high IQ but sometimes you'd wonder if he could tie his own shoelaces.

Could tell you the precise cubic capacity of a jam jar, but couldn't get the lid of it.......................

To me, the relaxed approach to enforcement of laws was one of the things that attracted me to Thailand. It was so different to the rigid enforcement of regulations that I had followed for 23 years in the armed forces and the clinical enforcement of PC correctness in the UK.

For any long term person here, think back to when you first came and be honest with yourselves........................

For clarity, I don't have a record and am not hiding from anyone either.................

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They have not changed. I have taught at some of the best private and government schools in the past 5 years here. 97% of the English Thai as well as the Philippine teachers are lacking in English skills. Without a native speaker all Thai will suffer. Even a Native English Speaker who lacks a degree can speak clearly and well enough to teach a Thai student. 

 

 

Something I don't get.  Most farangs in Thailand will say that Thais in general do not speak English well.  The vast majority.  Therefore, all these years of having these so-called TEFLers have done nothing to improve the English proficiency of Thais.  Zero.  So removing them should have zero effect. 

 

A point that I have also wondered about. Of course it is easy to blame the Thai education system (and I can see the point there), but as a dedicated English teacher to do nothing about it?

I do understand the hierarchy in most of the schools, but when peoples dedication is towards their wages rather than their job description, then nothing will change.

Note: This is not a direct dig at all teachers, just the ones who complain bitterly but sit back and let the world roll on.

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Any self respecting Aussie bloke would not wear a necklace.

With the exception of the ones trying to snog a couple of LB's in the early hours of the morning on Beach Rd.....................

At a distance, a speedboat is only a big jetski...............................

And we all know how that story could end.

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I've always been curious. Does the tourist visa prevent me from working for a foreign company while I'm here? Let's say that I'm a programmer, and I'm living in Thailand, but still working for a company I started in the United States. All my money comes from the United States, but I spend it all here. Is that prohibited by the tourist visa? I had always assumed that the working visa was only required for people who wanted jobs based in Thailand, but maybe that's not the case. I would assume they would want people like that here, as all they would be doing is bringing more money into their country. Can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks!

The thing is, many people have tried to solve this but the immigration officials have said "not interested because you are not working for a Thai company in a office in Thailand". Then there are the more strict Phuket officials with their own interpretation of the laws saying it is illegal but they seem to have their own rules anyway.

In practise the immigration officials in most cases are not interested on busting some writer or programmer or whatever online worker in some condo room, staring his computer all day. Foreigners getting busted are usually either bar owners working without permit in their own bar, language teachers or people in offices in Thailand.

So like all things in Thailand, it is "it depends and TiT".

The big thing with working online is that it isn't easy to prove unless you are specifically targeted. It is time consuming and difficult, especially if you are using dynamic IP addresses or working with proxy.

This is not an immigration issue but a labour department one.

Unless you like to brag about it and bring it to everyone's attention................................

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I'll find out how this is going to pan out for me next week when I fly back in after being back in Malaysia for a month. Looks like I wont face being turned away at the airport until 12th , so apart from a few questions I should get in. Out on 2 August and then back in on 16th September , so that could be the one when things start getting interesting , I'm relying on my Malaysia residency card , work contracts from Malaysia , return ticket itinerary and a Immigration officer with "discretion" to get let back in. Would it be worth mentioning I have legal custody of my children (Will be getting the proper Visa when i finish work in Malaysia)or will that leave the door open for them to tell me I'm not a Tourist if I'm in Thailand visiting my kids ?? I suppose it adds a bit of excitement to what was becoming a bit of a mundane trip

Ajarn.com just had an update from our Dept that a directive was issued today. It states no tourists can have back to back tourist visas now under any circumstances at any entry point, land or air. Info has always been very reliable from our source. Seems like this is a response to the much publicised issues on ThaiVisa.com from the weekend.

Could you post a link to that or upload a copy of the document mataleo?

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5555, Except for the UK Passport Holders. What's the current waiting time for a new passport for them 8++ weeks ?

Renewing UK Passports in Thailand Key Visa

At present it is taking 3-4 weeks to arrive back in Thailand.

That's good news. One of our guys went for his 'interview' on Monday (14th July) and was told the expected delivery was 8 - 12 weeks.

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What is amazing (not unsurprising) is nobody has said you must stay out of the country XXXX days / weeks / months before we will consider to allow you back in again.

Meanwhile over at TAT, the spin machine has thrown a belt and they are looking for a new part.

It will be interesting when they get the belt fitted and tightened.........................

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As far as I know, there are no re-entry permits for tourist visas, only Non-Imm visas.

OK, apparently there is. This is from one of the first sites I looked up: http://tielandtothailand.com/requirements-for-thai-tourist-visas/

Re-Entry Permit Requirements for Thai Tourist Visas

A re-entry permit allows you to leave Thailand for a brief period to travel to another country and then re-enter Thailand on the same visa. You neither forfeit the days remaining on your original single entry tourist visa nor do you have to pay for a new 60 day tourist visa. However, you must apply for a re-entry permit at a Thai Immigration Office before you leave the country, so plan your traveling schedule accordingly!

You will need:
•Passport with a valid Thai tourist visa
•Copies of the photo page, current visa page, and immigration card, and extension stamp page (if applicable)
•Re-Entry Permit application (form TM.8) (Be sure to print it double-sided)
•One 2?x2? passport photo
•1000 baht ($30 USD) for single re-entry; 3800 baht ($120 US) for multiple re-entry

Make sure you show the immigration officers at the airport that you have a re-entry stamp both when you depart from and arrive to Thailand. Also be aware that if you decide to leave Thailand without first securing a re-entry permit, you will subsequently end your visa. You’ll then have to go through the entire process of getting a new one unless you have additional entries left to use.

NOTE: A re-entry permit is applicable for any visa type tourist, business, dependent, or retirement visa. A multiple entry re-entry permit is better suited for those who have a yearlong visa.

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As far as I know, there are no re-entry permits for tourist visas, only Non-Imm visas.

Could well be right KB, on reflection I've not heard anyone applying for one.

However it would be a waste of 60 days if the plan was to visit a neighboring country during the valid period.

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"Now, those on a visa run who are allowed back in will find an "O-I" (Out-In) mark next to their latest stamp marking entry. From August 13, nobody with an O-I sign on their passport will be allowed to re-enter Thailand if they cannot produce a proper visa."

How did everybody miss this?

If a genuine tourist on a long stay gets a O-I sign in their passport how long are they not allowed to enter for?

And what is the "proper visa" next time they want to come in if they are under 50 and not working?

sorry but such an important decision, and all is given is a vague statement in The Nation is shambolic.

I think it is confirmed by information at Chong Chom today. ONE visa run only.

You go out and come back in you get "O-I" marked on the entry stamp. This suggests that you can come in for 30 days, go out/turn round and get another 30 days (if you are from a G7 country).

That is it.

Frankly, that is more than sufficient for the casual visitor/tourist.

As for under 50's not working, then marriage is the only option for a longer stay.

Not it isn't at all. All the young backpackers go out and in multiple times. Now a young group of aussies who just finished high school and want to spend some time travelling SEA are <deleted>. They can't fly into BKK, pop over to Siem Reap, come back Thailand, head up to Laos, etc.

They will get marked O/I and have their travel severely limited.

Thailand is going to lose big here. One of the reasons Thailand is so successful for tourism is because it is the hub for traveling around SEA. If tourists can no longer access a travel hub, then it will cease to be one. This could shack things up in a big way for genuine tourists.

However, if someone is continually coming in and going out, they will now need re-entry permits to keep their tourist visas valid. For the future, forget the visa exemption for that sort of travel.

Can't see them putting I/O next to a re-entry??

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Criminals hide without any visa or visarun... I saw a few people overstaying already 7-10 YEARS.... also the secretary at the embassy moaned why to hassle the tourists, the criminals will anyway to hide without any visas...

And how will they do when exiting Thailand ?
They will get one of new "ban" for 5 or 10years ?
They may not appreciate that and decide to change of country :-)

I think what Gabor says is wrong. "Proper" criminals will have the correct visas.

It may not be in their given names or their original passports, but they will have the correct visas.............................