BREAKING NEWS British Embassy statement on income letters: Officials knew about problems in May and say that US nationals will also be affected

[tropo]

3 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

Guess Philippines is looking good for some. Exchange rate 50peso/USD, beers are in the 50 peso range at many bars, cheap rent, good looking girls. Easier access to western food.

It's been over 50 for quite some time. It's now over 54. The rent is actually more expensive if you're comparing like rentals - much more expensive! ... and access to western food is far easier in Thailand. There's no comparison.

[marcusarelus]

1 minute ago, blackhorse said:

LMAO. I'm in Pattaya and the resteraunts and bars are 99 % full of OLD white men

Kick those dudes out and they would 99% EMPTY.

How about coming to live here for more than 2 weeks and where tourist numbers count , not some village dump

Since I have been coming to Pattaya (20 years) I've seen a major shift in old white guys to Asian people.  I eat at Cherry's restaurant frequently and it used to be all old white guys the last time I went it was me and 2 other tables of old white guys and the rest of the place was Asians.  I think this is especially obvious at Central mall and one of my favorite pizza and beer places the Hopf.  The Hopf used to be standing room only old white guys and bar girl dates.  Last time I went it was down to maybe 5%.  Radical change. 

[tropo]

9 minutes ago, flipside555 said:

 

The link shows the relative number of tourists by country. Low-season, mid-season, or high-season the number of Asian tourists far outweighs Farang tourists. China alone has 10 times the number of British and American tourists.  Farangs are not as important to the Thai economy as some people would like to think they are.

 

Meanwhile, back on topic...

Not to mention that Immigration policy is a political issue, whereas issuing visas is an administrative issue. There's no guarantee that the immigration department will consider the impact on the GDP if they decide to make the requirement a bit stiffer. I would think that from an Immigration officer's (limited) point of view 800k x 1 or 65k x 12 is about the same, so why the fuss about depositing it yearly. You'll save on transfer fees. Expats grow money at home as far as they are concerned.

[CharlieH]

Off topic removed

[onera1961]

"Guess Philippines is looking good for some. Exchange rate 50peso/USD, beers are in the 50 peso range at many bars, cheap rent, good looking girls. Easier access to western food."

 

 

And not to mention English speaking!!!!

Edited October 12, 2018 by CharlieH
Incorrect quote info removed.

[sambum]

2 hours ago, Spidey said:

I feel sorry for myself and several thousand British expats shafted by the British Embassy. How does the withdrawal of these letters affect those not contributing to the economy and making false declarations?

 

People who don't have the means to live here use a Thai agent to obtain their visas, not apply to the British Embassy for an income letter, which is proof positive that they do have the means to support themselves and contribute to the Thai economy. I've never heard anyone making a false declaration to obtain an income letter, have you?

 

I and many others do have a plan B but it's far more onerous than simply sending a form and £52 to the British Embassy and receiving a letter that will satisfy Thai Immigration.

"I've never heard anyone making a false declaration to obtain an income letter, have you?"

Indeed - the people that they should be after will not be affected one iota by this decision!

Edited October 12, 2018 by sambum

[onera1961]

16 minutes ago, marcusarelus said:

LMAO. I'm in Pattaya and the resteraunts and bars are 99 % full of OLD white men

May be when these old men will leave the country, genuine tourist will start going to the bars just like any other countries. Many people don't like to go to a bar where mostly old people ogling young girls over a bottle of beer. 

[sambum]

8 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

May be when these old men will leave the country, genuine tourist will start going to the bars just like any other countries. Many people don't like to go to a bar where mostly old people ogling young girls over a bottle of beer. 

Anybody tell you it's "Low Season" hence no/few tourists, or have you been listening to TAT again?

Edited October 12, 2018 by sambum
Addition of Stats

[blackhorse]

Since I have been coming to Pattaya (20 years) I've seen a major shift in old white guys to Asian people.  I eat at Cherry's restaurant frequently and it used to be all old white guys the last time I went it was me and 2 other tables of old white guys and the rest of the place was Asians.  I think this is especially obvious at Central mall and one of my favorite pizza and beer places the Hopf.  The Hopf used to be standing room only old white guys and bar girl dates.  Last time I went it was down to maybe 5%.  Radical change. 

Sure the Asians follow flags. I just did the baht bus the full length of soi bukaho, every bar /resteraunt full of non Asians.. Not A single one. All old white dudes.

I suggest on your annual visit you check it out but in low season

[marcusarelus]

2 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

May be when these old men will leave the country, genuine tourist will start going to the bars just like any other countries. Many people don't like to go to a bar where mostly old people ogling young girls over a bottle of beer. 

I guess you have never been to Pattaya.  No one else would go to the bars that the old white men go to now.  Besides they don't let Thais in.  The Japanese bars don't let the old white guys in either.  Maybe 10 guys sharing one beer from a country that has a lot of tourists but I doubt that is good business.

[soalbundy]

Whatever, we need correct information as to what, if anything, is being planned by the IO so that we can plan our actions to comply with the new regulations, if there are any, at the moment all we are doing is speculating about 'what if'. Certain is only that the BE will stop issuing confirmation letters in December, that's all we have. The ball is now in the immigration head offices court in Bangkok to issue a statement regarding their regulations for the future and no matter how painful or inconvenient they may be, we will have to abide by them.

IF a meeting took place in May where the IO expressed their dissatisfaction regarding confirmation practices in general then I am surprised that they haven't issued a statement regarding new regulations already, a sign perhaps that nothing has changed. 

[tropo]

8 minutes ago, onera1961 said:

29 minutes ago, tropo said:

Guess Philippines is looking good for some. Exchange rate 50peso/USD, beers are in the 50 peso range at many bars, cheap rent, good looking girls. Easier access to western food.

And not to mention English speaking!!!!

You have your quotes messed up. Tropo didn't say that. In fact, Tropo disagrees with most of what you quoted.

[marcusarelus]

3 minutes ago, blackhorse said:

Sure the Asians follow flags. I just did the baht bus the full length of soi bukaho, every bar /resteraunt full of non Asians.. Not A single one. All old white dudes.

I suggest on your annual visit you check it out but in low season

I live in Thailand and have for the past 20 years.  I go to Pattaya to shop and eat once a month.  I go to the same places 12 months a year and can watch the changes. It has switch from old white guys to Asian tourists.  I watched the Brits leave and the Russians come now it's the Chinese. 

Edited October 12, 2018 by marcusarelus

[blackhorse]

May be when these old men will leave the country, genuine tourist will start going to the bars just like any other countries. Many people don't like to go to a bar where mostly old people ogling young girls over a bottle of beer. 

Have you even been to Thailand let alone to Pattaya? Doubt it

[zydeco]

2 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

IF a meeting took place in May where the IO expressed their dissatisfaction regarding confirmation practices in general then I am surprised that they haven't issued a statement regarding new regulations already, a sign perhaps that nothing has changed. 

Of course, it could also be that following the May meeting, were it held with all embassies, that Thai Immigration discovered that this would be too much of a problem to enforce.  And so, while they didn't back off with an official statement, they just let things rest as they were.  Then came the British Embassy, which decided to go public and institute their nuclear option.  Now, everybody could be in trouble because the British just wouldn't let things slide. 

[soalbundy]

1 minute ago, zydeco said:

Of course, it could also be that following the May meeting, were it held with all embassies, that Thai Immigration discovered that this would be too much of a problem to enforce.  And so, while they didn't back off with an official statement, they just let things rest as they were.  Then came the British Embassy, which decided to go public and institute their nuclear option.  Now, everybody could be in trouble because the British just wouldn't let things slide. 

Not everybody, just the poor bloody Brits (maybe, we just don't know). The machinery, the system, for visa extensions is centered around these embassy letters, I can imagine that to change this could be expensive and disruptive (staff retraining, new computer configuration, extra workload, greater confirmation time for the IO before extensions are given etc.). The modus operandi could be, if the BE is so bloody minded, up to them, we can be bloody minded as well, everybody else is on board, the ship can sail, everything stays as it is.

[TommyDee]

actually good news coming very soon on this subject.  will post somewhere here once released.  its far from bad tho.

 

[Jip99]

2 minutes ago, TommyDee said:

actually good news coming very soon on this subject.  will post somewhere here once released.  its far from bad tho.

 

 

 

You little tease!  ????

[blackhorse]

 

 

You little tease!  [emoji3]

_zzzzzzz

 

[soalbundy]

3 minutes ago, TommyDee said:

actually good news coming very soon on this subject.  will post somewhere here once released.  its far from bad tho.

 

A cliffhanger if ever there was one ! 

 

[blackhorse]

A cliffhanger if ever there was one ! 
 

No doubt yet another one married a IO officer.

[tropo]

55 minutes ago, TommyDee said:

actually good news coming very soon on this subject.  will post somewhere here once released.  its far from bad tho.

 

LOL> "far from bad tho" does sound far from "actually good news" tho...

[Benmart]

On 10/10/2018 at 3:13 PM, KhunBENQ said:

So many disbelievers yesterday calling a Chiang Mai poster a troll

 

Fortunately no mention yet about Germany.

A friend even uses the honorary consul in Pattaya.

He says he always has documents/proof with him.

But the "verification" done by an assistant with little interest to look at.

I await the official notification from the US Embassy. Second and third hand "information" is non-official.

[kiwikeith]

On ‎10‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 9:15 PM, poohy said:

Thanks oh Great British embassy for throwing us under the bus!

the fact you have known since May does in no way help you!

 

complete and utter wasters 

They don't need the 1.300 BHT fee .

Funny I thought they would grab it.

[Thaidream]

11 hours ago, tropo said:

actually good news coming very soon on this subject.  will post somewhere here once released.  its far from bad th

It would make perfect sense for the BE to reverse its course- continue to issue letters -for the foreseeable future- and indicate the matter is under study.  This is what the US Embassy has indicated and it makes sense-   Things can be under study for many months or even years.  In the meantime- Thai Imm can ask for added info if they want.

Everyone ends  fairly happy and there is no confrontation.

[wayned]

49 minutes ago, Benmart said:

I await the official notification from the US Embassy. Second and third hand "information" is non-official.

I have an appointment at the Embassy on Tuesday morning to get my yearly affidavit.   I sent them an email Thursday night asking about the Affidavit and this is I received at 0656 yesterday morning :

 

You are able to get your income affidavit on Tuesday. We are aware of the U.K. Embassy’s statement to the press. The U.S. Embassy’s current income affidavit policies can be found on our website: https://th.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/notaries-public/. We are currently evaluating options regarding the future provision of this document.  We urge all citizens to ensure they are in compliance with Thai visa requirements.

I guess that's about as first hand that you can get.  A few years ago we went through this BS and the US Embassy said that they would not do anything other than what they are currently doing, a sworn statement from the US Citizen, as they had no ability of certifying that any back up documentation supplied was real. I heard that a few immigration offices have asked for back up documentation in addition to the letter but mine in Nakhon Sawan has not.  I guess that I'll see next Tuesday afternoon after I get my Affidavit on Tuesday morning

[Orac]

I see that Tommy Dee has an interview with the Vice Consul up on the Fabulous103 website - basically she is doubling down on the statement that Thai Imm in Bangkok have confirmed Thai bank statements showing 65k income will be accepted.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

[TommyDee]

12 hours ago, tropo said:

LOL> "far from bad tho" does sound far from "actually good news" tho...

Actually, once implimented and understood  it will make life for everyone easier..  this was out interview with the British Embassy..  makes it very clear.. I think anyway ????

 

 

[wayned]

23 minutes ago, Orac said:

I see that Tommy Dee has an interview with the Vice Consul up on the Fabulous103 website - basically she is doubling down on the statement that Thai Imm in Bangkok have confirmed Thai bank statements showing 65k income will be accepted.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

Under the current rules, there is no requirement that the 65000 baht income be brought into the country or be in a Thai bank.  It only states that your income has to be 65000 baht/month.

[Cricky]

13 hours ago, TommyDee said:

actually good news coming very soon on this subject.  will post somewhere here once released.  its far from bad tho.

 

I haven't heard any bad news yet, its all been good news to me.

 

Life is great,