Immigration Enforce The Law

[taxexile]

from the latest edition of the hua hin mirror.

they report that last month , the immigration department visited many offices in hua hin that employed foriegners , visas and work permits were checked.

violations led to arrests.

most of the problems encountered were to do with foriegners on retirement visas setting up businesses in the name of their thai wife and then work in the business themselves.

"hua hin is a special city with a very peaceful atmosphere and the immigration office is determined that no bad farang will be allowed to live in hua hin" said pol. capt. saksuthee of the immigration dept.

when inspections are conducted it is possible to levy an on the spot fine of 10,000b , the police are reluctant to use this option if the offence is only a minor one.

serious offences result in arrest , charging and prosecution through the courts.

since the beginning of 2007 charges have been brought in 5 cases.

1. the german owner of a local restaurant , who has a work permit , hired two phillipine singers who did not have work permits. both the owner and the two singers were arrested.

2. a swedish person who was helping his wife to cook in the kitchen of their business was arrested.

3. a guesthouse owner did not make a report within 24 hours regarding guests staying , and was charged accordingly

4. a german man , whos mother is thai , was arrested for serving drinks to his german friends in his mothers restaurant.

5. a thai builder was arrested for hiring 2 burmese workers who did not have work permits.

you cant be too careful.

[Boo]

confusing abt the german man, if his mums thai & he is working in HER place then it should be an easy process to get his own thai id & passport & not get arrested!!! Weird.

[cdnvic]

I fail to see how busting the owner of a bar for getting a few beers for his mates keeps "bad farang" out of Hua Hin.

[markuk]

i can see the new immigration counters being installed, two lanes Bad Farang (Red), Good Farang (Green) choose the red channel and get bused to Pattaya!!

[PhilHarries]

Hardly major league criminals here. One Thai, so that's not a bad farang, one with no stated nationality forgetting to report guests within 24 hours, two guys helping wife/mother out and a man hiring non-wp'd singers. High noon in Hua Hin indeed and these were the serious offences, beggars belief!

I see the Pattaya bashers just can't resist a jibe. Must be strange for them in their distorted world of hate and venom living only for the moment when they can release a stream of bile at their chosen target.

10

[Thai-Spy]

confusing abt the german man, if his mums thai & he is working in HER place then it should be an easy process to get his own thai id & passport & not get arrested!!! Weird.

Then again, claiming his rights as a Thai would subject him to taxation, military service, etc.

Possibly a case of trying to have your cake and eat it, too?

It could also be that the article doesn't distinguish between a birth-mother and a step-mother.

[November Rain]

Glad to see they've got their priorities right and are going after the habitual, hardened criminals... If these are the worst cases of "Bad Farangs" they have found in HH, I guess we must have a town full of saintly farangs here, never mind just "good" ones...

Edited March 6, 2007 by November Rain

[joskydive]

i can see the new immigration counters being installed, two lanes Bad Farang (Red), Good Farang (Green) choose the red channel and get bused to Pattaya!!

Ha ha ha you're funny!!!!!!!!!!

[chuchok]

you cant be too careful.

Under the current Law,going to the WC might be deemed as "working". A whole new meaning to the term "taking the piss".....

[johnnyk]

you cant be too careful.

Under the current Law,going to the WC might be deemed as "working". A whole new meaning to the term "taking the piss".....

Shouldn't be a pompem if you pay someone 10 baht to hold it for you... 20 baht for me because it takes two hands

[pumpuiman]

when inspections are conducted it is possible to levy an on the spot fine of 10,000b , the police are reluctant to use this option if the offence is only a minor one.

This is the real reason we see no real offenses listed.

"Reluctant to use this option" my foot.

[Snowbirds]

i can see the new immigration counters being installed, two lanes Bad Farang (Red), Good Farang (Green) choose the red channel and get bused to Pattaya!!

I can't see how hard working people or honest business operators should be classified as bad "Farang." It's wrong policy! These people are productive immigrants. Only those, who brought in Eastern Europian ladies or Thai Isan girls to work in the red light district or on the street side, if any, should have been arrested and deported. They should not allowed to be in either Pataya or Samui.

[cdnvic]

i can see the new immigration counters being installed, two lanes Bad Farang (Red), Good Farang (Green) choose the red channel and get bused to Pattaya!!

I can't see how hard working people or honest business operators should be classified as bad "Farang." It's wrong policy! These people are productive immigrants. Only those, who brought in Eastern Europian ladies or Thai Isan girls to work in the red light district or on the street side, if any, should have been arrested and deported. They should not allowed to be in either Pataya or Samui.

This is Hua Hin.

[huainnews]

you cant be too careful.

Under the current Law,going to the WC might be deemed as "working". A whole new meaning to the term "taking the piss".....

Or, as too many forum contributors tend to do, 'talking a load of crap'

[Bonaparte]

Great News

About time they did this, I have a work permit which is an overhead, all foriegners working here should have the same.

If the bar owner is in his bar he is working he requires a work permit. The stupid fool has probably put the bar in his (wife/girlfriend) ex Bar Girls name to avoid the paper chase and overheads. The Bar owner probably has prostitutes in his bar which is illegal also.

Same for some of the local builders, here without the correct Visa's and Work permits

Kick them out.

[toptuan]

I can't see how hard working people or honest business operators should be classified as bad "Farang." It's wrong policy! These people are productive immigrants.

They're taking away jobs that belong to Thais. That's how the Thais see it. Whine all you want, but that's what matters, if you live here.

Don't tell me about them creating additional employment for Thais either. Since they themselves are illegal, the farang-bosses would have no qualms about employing Thais outside the system as well (cash salary, no accounting, thus no taxes etc.) which equally angers the authorities. Or, they simply employ other illegal immigrants as well.

Get legal or get out. Your basic motivation to work illegally is personal greed. It makes a bad name for the rest of us who work with a permit, a B-visa, and pay our income taxes to the Thai government.

Edited March 9, 2007 by toptuan

[Snowbirds]

I can't see how hard working people or honest business operators should be classified as bad "Farang." It's wrong policy! These people are productive immigrants.

They're taking away jobs that belong to Thais. That's how the Thais see it. Whine all you want, but that's what matters, if you live here.

Don't tell me about them creating additional employment for Thais either. Since they themselves are illegal, the farang-bosses would have no qualms about employing Thais outside the system as well (cash salary, no accounting, thus no taxes etc.) which equally angers the authorities. Or, they simply employ other illegal immigrants as well.

Get legal or get out. Your basic motivation to work illegally is personal greed. It makes a bad name for the rest of us who work with a permit, a B-visa, and pay our income taxes to the Thai government.

I have to admit that my perspective was not covering with all angles and I was wrong. However, you are right! Thanks!

[toptuan]

I admit my post took on the tone of a "rant." But happy you could see through the ranting to the core issues that really bother a lot of us "legals."

I have a Dutch acquaintance who works illegally as an English tutor, pulling in about 130,000 baht a month. Not much in terms of Western income, but an absolute fortune in Isaan. No income taxes, no visa or work permit expenses. Ah, such a carefree life! This English tutor's accent is so heavy I have to listen very intently to understand him.

It's not so much the money that he makes (about 3-4 times more than legally-working native speaker English teachers), but it's his attitude that grates on me every time we get together for a beer: "You poor, stupid Sod! Why do you keep slugging it out at a university, making peanuts the legal way, when you can have all this (points at new sports car), doing it my way?" Followed by deep belly laugh, and another toast to my complete idiocy. I keep reminding him that all it takes is one "raid" or one dissatisfied student to lodge a complaint with the authorities, and he loses all (unless he's got the authorities wrapped around his little bribery finger, too).

No one should ever be belittled for trying to be above-board and obeying the law to the best of their ability. I know, I should get new friends. But, hard to come by in rural Isaan.

Hence, my rant. Thanks, I feel better now.

Edited March 9, 2007 by toptuan

[Bonaparte]

I can't see how hard working people or honest business operators should be classified as bad "Farang." It's wrong policy! These people are productive immigrants.

They're taking away jobs that belong to Thais. That's how the Thais see it. Whine all you want, but that's what matters, if you live here.

Don't tell me about them creating additional employment for Thais either. Since they themselves are illegal, the farang-bosses would have no qualms about employing Thais outside the system as well (cash salary, no accounting, thus no taxes etc.) which equally angers the authorities. Or, they simply employ other illegal immigrants as well.

Get legal or get out. Your basic motivation to work illegally is personal greed. It makes a bad name for the rest of us who work with a permit, a B-visa, and pay our income taxes to the Thai government.

This is spot on, the Thai's deserve better respect, I have a Work Permit which allows me to do certain thing's, has restrictions and I respect this.

Many foriegner's here working illegaly, kick them out.

Edited March 9, 2007 by Bonaparte

[importford]

Great News

About time they did this, I have a work permit which is an overhead, all foriegners working here should have the same.

If the bar owner is in his bar he is working he requires a work permit. The stupid fool has probably put the bar in his (wife/girlfriend) ex Bar Girls name to avoid the paper chase and overheads. The Bar owner probably has prostitutes in his bar which is illegal also.

Same for some of the local builders, here without the correct Visa's and Work permits

Kick them out.

I don't think that the bar owner can get a work permit.

[cdnvic]

If the bar owner is in his bar he is working he requires a work permit. The stupid fool has probably put the bar in his (wife/girlfriend) ex Bar Girls name to avoid the paper chase and overheads. The Bar owner probably has prostitutes in his bar which is illegal also.

Where I come from the stupid fools are the ones who make accusations based on zero evidence.

[cdnvic]

I don't think that the bar owner can get a work permit.

As long as he meets the qualifications he can. Requires a Non-immigrant B visa and a minimum of 4 Thai employees.

[toptuan]

I don't think that the bar owner can get a work permit.

As long as he meets the qualifications he can. Requires a Non-immigrant B visa and a minimum of 4 Thai employees.

Oversimplified. What about capitalization requirements?

[cdnvic]

I don't think that the bar owner can get a work permit.

As long as he meets the qualifications he can. Requires a Non-immigrant B visa and a minimum of 4 Thai employees.

Oversimplified. What about capitalization requirements?

Oversimplified is right.

For full information, ask in the visa forum, it's not my area of expertise. I was just citing an example of some of the qualifications needed. I'm not going to go through the whole thing just to point out that bar owners can get work permits.

[toptuan]

I don't think that the bar owner can get a work permit. :D

As long as he meets the qualifications he can. Requires a Non-immigrant B visa and a minimum of 4 Thai employees.

Oversimplified. What about capitalization requirements?

Oversimplified is right.

For full information, ask in the visa forum, it's not my area of expertise. I was just citing an example of some of the qualifications needed. I'm not going to go through the whole thing just to point out that bar owners can get work permits.

Yes, we do need to let potential "legals" know it's not as easy as falling off a log, right?

[cdnvic]

Yes. Contact Sunbelt, Indosiam, or any other qualified legal adviser for more info.

[PeaceBlondie]

Folks, let's keep it on topic, and leave out the insults against other posters and their countries, okay? Otherwise, this discussion will be closed, as well. Thank you.

[johnnyk]

I don't think that the bar owner can get a work permit.

As long as he meets the qualifications he can. Requires a Non-immigrant B visa and a minimum of 4 Thai employees.

Yes, there are bar owners in both camps.

I know several who have perfectly legal B-visas and work permits that allow them to manage their bars/pubs/guesthouses.

I know other owners without work permits who scrupulously do nothing more than enjoy a beer at the bar or read a newspaper, they will not even pick up a glass that isn't the one they are drinking from.

None of them have pompems, they know the rules and they play by them.

[Bonaparte]

I don't think that the bar owner can get a work permit.

As long as he meets the qualifications he can. Requires a Non-immigrant B visa and a minimum of 4 Thai employees.

Yes, there are bar owners in both camps.

I know several who have perfectly legal B-visas and work permits that allow them to manage their bars/pubs/guesthouses.

I know other owners without work permits who scrupulously do nothing more than enjoy a beer at the bar or read a newspaper, they will not even pick up a glass that isn't the one they are drinking from.

None of them have pompems, they know the rules and they play by them.

Have been asked about my Visa and WP, I have these for Malaysia not Thailand, we have similar problems with foriegners working illegaly here also but not on such a blatant scale.

If you are the owner of the Bar (foriegner) and you are in the Bar then you are working, are you telling me that you sit drinking in your Bar from 1600hrs to midnight and you do not change money, count money, pay a bill or tell a member of staff to do something in all that time. Its illegal, get the correct papers or leave.

Edited March 11, 2007 by Bonaparte

[johnnyk]

Not so.

Stay in Malaysia, better for you.

If is a big word.