90 year-old Don is leaving Thailand

[timendres]

3 hours ago, longball53098 said:

I just read the US Embassy Colombia web page about income letters,,,,,,,,,,,,they are doing exactly what the ACS services in Bangkok said they could not do. Very strange! The US State Dept. is not very consistent in applying the rules globally are they!!!!

I think not. From their website:

 

 

Quote

 

On the day of your notary appointment you will need to present:

• Original or copy of valid U.S. Passport
• Documentation from Social Security, Veterans, private pension from the current year indicating the amount you receive or bank statements from the last three months showing the monthly amount you receive
• Notary fee

 

 

Thus, all the embassy is doing is notarizing a statement from a US citizen. The US citizen is providing the documentation, and nothing more. It is Columbian immigration that is accepting this evidence as sufficient for a visa to stay. If Thai immigration had indicated that this would be acceptable, then the service could have been performed here. However, Thai immigration insisted that the US embassy must verify the income being declared, which was the show stopper.

 

[Jingthing]

I just read the US Embassy Colombia web page about income letters,,,,,,,,,,,,they are doing exactly what the ACS services in Bangkok said they could not do. Very strange! The US State Dept. is not very consistent in applying the rules globally are they!!!!

Exactly! US nationals here are being shafted by our own embassy and their excuses are total lame BS.
At the very least they could provide letters based on government pension amounts.

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[jacko45k]

22 hours ago, Benroon said:

If English people receive a letter in thai where do you reckon that goes ?

 

To the Mrs, she then tells me to put it in the bin. 

[ivor bigun]

To the Mrs, she then tells me to put it in the bin. 

Mine to lol

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[ivor bigun]

They "accepted" and "had a place" for you?  For what?  Which country/city? 
 
Why did you bother to write to cities in cold climates as you claim?  How exactly do you write to "a city"?
 
 

Personally after reading his post ,i think its just a wind up,most of it is rubbish,like staggering with his cane or walker ,all airlines supply wheelchairs and assistance

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[jacko45k]

20 minutes ago, ivor bigun said:

Personally after reading his post ,i think its just a wind up,most of it is rubbish,like staggering with his cane or walker ,all airlines supply wheelchairs and assistance

Wheelchairs that don't fit down the aisle, so a person has to, errr, stagger with a cane. 

[ivor bigun]

Wheelchairs that don't fit down the aisle, so a person has to, errr, stagger with a cane. 

No way you get help,i was even on an emirates flight some weeks ago and they were helping a guy into the toilet

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[ubonjoe]

42 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Wheelchairs that don't fit down the aisle, so a person has to, errr, stagger with a cane. 

Wrong 

The have a special one that can be used to go down the aisles.

Pic of one.

[jacko45k]

Just now, ubonjoe said:

Wrong 

The have a special one that can be used to go down the aisles.

Pic of one.

Never seen that being used, see plenty of regular width wheelchairs at the gate/ aircraft entrance. 

[ubonjoe]

29 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Never seen that being used, see plenty of regular width wheelchairs at the gate/ aircraft entrance. 

What have seen used is one that was like a 2 wheel dolly with a seat on it but I think the one I posted a pic of is the latest and greatest they are using.

Two wheel dolly.

[champers]

4 hours ago, mstevens said:

Letter published in today's Bangkok Post letters section from the OP. Poor guy sounds like he ain't going to be happy whatever happens...

It is the OP in letter form. Signed by Donald Graber. A pseudonym?

[balo]

1 hour ago, champers said:

Signed by Donald Graber. A pseudonym?

It looks indeed to be the same person as the OP . I was wrong , it looks like he is really leaving Thailand at 90.  Maybe he is off to the Philippines? 

 

It would be a short flight for him and hopefully he will be taken care of there. 

 

Also in the Nation. 

www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/your_say/30368326

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by balo

[BertM]

I assume the OP is leaving because he cannot meet the 65k per month income requirement or the 800k bank method and was using the income letters or affidavits to qualify for past extensions without actually having the required income. It's a sad story for him and probably many others who are in the same situation.

Edited April 25, 2019 by BertM

[Jingthing]

46 minutes ago, BertM said:

I assume the OP is leaving because he cannot meet the 65k per month income requirement or the 800k bank method and was using the income letters or affidavits to qualify for past extensions without actually having the required income. It's a sad story for him and probably many others who are in the same situation.

You assume an awful lot as the OP did not specify any such thing. 

[Thaidream]

Let's not forget the OP is 90 years old and has some mobility issues.  He obviously feels he cannot meet the new requirements or does not understand how to meet them.  I have met people much younger than him who have the income and  do not want to tie up 800K in a Thai bank and then have to report back to Immigration  for the 90 day report and then again to prove the money is still there. Some need access to their money to live on  Some do not understand how to transfer funds to Thailand.

Let's not forget- these citizens grew up in a World without  technology; where a phone was just a phone and now the World today is changing so rapidly it is hard for them to keep up with it.

 

It certainly would  not hurt Thai immigration to allow someone like this an extension of stay based upon his age. It  is obvious he has an income stream to pay his rent and take care of his meals.  I say- let's all have some compassion for this man.

[JackThompson]

On 4/24/2019 at 7:01 PM, moe666 said:

Jack you make a lot of stuff up, I met the requirements before I meet them now and do not need to use an agent. You had a bad experience at immigration maybe you should move on and get over it. Alot of the stuff you say here has no basis in fact.

I have had more than one bad-experience, which duplicate what others have reported.  Up to you if you want to ignore that evidence, plus the obvious monetary-incentive for it, and the known way that the agent/tribute system operates.

[JackThompson]

22 hours ago, Traubert said:

No Jack. The big ones are Myanmar, China, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos. Their numbers dwarf anything to the west, even as a conglomerate. Myanmar is over 1m alone. China and Malaysian companies in Thailand are nett employers, Cambo and Laos provide the labour that the Thai's wont do.

Retirees? 

 

And "labor Thais won't do" - you mean "won't do for a pittance" - right?  That's what that phase means in my country.  We had good middle-class jobs, but some businesses figured they could pocket that money, so replaced us with foreigners who would work for bare-subsistence, take welfare on top, and then send the wealth earned out of the country - making us even poorer. 

 

From what I see on construction-sites here, the same thing is happening, but w/o the welfare - those Cambodians, etc live in hellish conditions.  Shame it isn't Thais making good money, and joining the middle-class. 

 

One way many get a decent living here, is/was working for smaller businesses that serve Westerners.

 

22 hours ago, Traubert said:

A couple of thousand departing whiteys will have a pee in a pond effect on Thailand.

Effect on the GDP for the investor-class?  Or on the thousands of Thais who are/were making better than average money in better than average working conditions, at the businesses we support?

 

22 hours ago, Traubert said:

You're going to have to get used to the idea that however essential you think you are to the Thai economy, you simply aren't. Even with your travellers cheques.

Go down to the places where immigration is putting businesses out of business, and tell that to the Thais losing their jobs.  Ask them which foreigners they prefer to deal with.

[JackThompson]

8 hours ago, timendres said:

Thai immigration declared that this affidavit was not sufficient evidence of income (and it was not), and wanted the embassy to perform income verification. The US Embassy simply declared that this function was beyond their mandate and resources.

8 hours ago, timendres said:

However, Thai immigration insisted that the US embassy must verify the income being declared, which was the show stopper.

They backed off of the "verification" requirement later, though.  Current rules say "certified."  By those rules, what the UK was doing before was fine.  Also, the French still do plain old "stat docs."  

 

Are any embassies actually "verifying" the figures provided, now?  Some may need whatever document to look right, but that is child's play with graphics software. 

[brokenbone]

16 hours ago, JackThompson said:

They backed off of the "verification" requirement later, though.  Current rules say "certified."  By those rules, what the UK was doing before was fine.  Also, the French still do plain old "stat docs."  

 

Are any embassies actually "verifying" the figures provided, now?  Some may need whatever document to look right, but that is child's play with graphics software. 

i ordered pension statement from my insurance company not long ago, besides stamp & signature it has all the contact info including

phone that my embassy can call to verify before they issue

pension certificate

Edited April 26, 2019 by brokenbone

[Thailand Outcast]

On 4/24/2019 at 11:24 PM, Ctkong said:

If enough people play the loyalty card or sympathy card, maybe some one high up in the authority like the king could take note and make it a foreign policy on compassionate ground ? Given the possibility of Thailand’s image of welcoming foreigners to stay in Thailand being sullied, perhaps they can make an exception for those longtime residents of say 20 years and above a different requirement ? People like don can be the poster child of what is wrong with thailand’s policy .

The only way Don, or anyone else in similar circumstances, could force the hand of the Thai authorities, is to overstay a few days, then ring all the media outlets and arrange for them to be there when he hands himself in and is detained.

 

With the right headline, a story like that will go global, and this may shame the Thai's into some change.

 

Problem is, at 90, Don probably would not survive detention. 

[Jingthing]

I actually don't think anything would work. Sympathy for western retirees abroad in trouble regardless of age isn't exactly in abundance. He can't or isn't willing to meet their rules. That may not be nice and it may be tragic for him but there would no outcry. If anything, it could serve as a cautionary tale about retiring abroad to any country that doesn't offer any residence security such as Thailand. 

[tingtongtourist]

2 minutes ago, Thailand Outcast said:

The only way Don, or anyone else in similar circumstances, could force the hand of the Thai authorities, is to overstay a few days, then ring all the media outlets and arrange for them to be there when he hands himself in and is detained.

 

With the right headline, a story like that will go global, and this may shame the Thai's into some change.

 

Problem is, at 90, Don probably would not survive detention. 

if it were me id just say "lets call the whole thing off"

and hope for the best

 

wouldnt need be travelling out of the country at that age

 

 depend on where he lives the authorities most probably wouldnt come after him and haul him away.

 

what are they gonna do? 

Put him in detention centre at 90y.o?

and its even a bigger PR and logistic problem to repatriate

 

probably if he was up nakon nowhere they would have turn the blind eye and nobody annoy him

but now hes gone public who knows

 

[Odysseus123]

9 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I actually don't think anything would work. Sympathy for western retirees abroad in trouble regardless of age isn't exactly in abundance. He can't or isn't willing to meet their rules. That may not be nice and it may be tragic for him but there would no outcry. If anything, it could serve as a cautionary tale about retiring abroad to any country that doesn't offer any residence security such as Thailand. 

Agreed.

 

Sympathy is zero.

[Thailand Outcast]

21 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Agreed.

 

Sympathy is zero.

It's not about sympathy.  The Thai's have no sympathy. 

 

It's about the world media focusing on Thailand's visa laws that would see a 90 old go to jail, after residing in Thailand for decades. 

[Spidey]

On ‎4‎/‎24‎/‎2019 at 8:10 AM, marcusarelus said:

I wonder how you ever lived in Thailand.  1.  Direct deposit account for SS.  2.  Normal every day account and phone banking (not too much in this acount for safety). 3.  FD account.  4.  Stock trading account.   5.  The one where you keep the big bucks.  That's 5. 

I have only ever had one account in Thailand. It's all I need. Have several accounts in the UK to do all the other stuff.

[Spidey]

On ‎4‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 11:39 AM, Jingthing said:

You assume an awful lot as the OP did not specify any such thing. 

They never do.

[Cat ji]

Quote

It's not about sympathy.  The Thai's have no sympathy. 

What, 60-something million? No sympathy? What, for 90-year-old farang expats, or generally?

Imagine if we generalise like that about others. We could start with "Western"/White expats.

 

Quote

It's about the world media focusing on Thailand's visa laws that would see a 90 old go to jail, after residing in Thailand for decades. 

Come off it - you really think the world media would focus on that? Maybe if they could include "sexpats" and sex tourism, something like that.

[JackThompson]

13 hours ago, Cat ji said:

Quote

It's not about sympathy.  The Thai's have no sympathy. 

What, 60-something million? No sympathy? What, for 90-year-old farang expats, or generally? 

Imagine if we generalise like that about others. We could start with "Western"/White expats.

Yes - a mistake to conflate "Thai Immigration" with "The Thai People" - and I see this mistake often.  I get the impression that many here don't deal with regular Thais - just authorities - so don't know the difference. 

 

The fact is, no one is being hurt more by the policy-changes / corruption / rudeness of immigration more than the Thai people affected.  They cannot pick-up-stakes and move elsewhere, as we can.

[jacko45k]

14 hours ago, Jingthing said:

If anything, it could serve as a cautionary tale about retiring abroad to any country that doesn't offer any residence security such as Thailand.

And modifies the qualifying renewal requirements for those that are already retired there, without due regard for those unable to meet the new requirements. 

[tingtongtourist]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

And modifies the qualifying renewal requirements for those that are already retired there, without due regard for those unable to meet the new requirements. 

Really only new requirements is:

 

- amount of time you need to keep money in the the bank....

which provides proof that you do hold that money, instead of just some BS income letter

 

This has been pointed out SO many times but people still dont get it.

 

Of course if you NEVER had 800/400k baht to start with, but still (SOMEHOW)  managing to get many yearly extensions,

sure its gonna be a problem.

 

Funny, so many posters here

cry about PC,

crying to mods if someone challenge them,

report people,

invite to my ignore list (lol)

cite laws that others break,

 

Actually for years, these same guys take every chance to ask:

 "have he got a work permit for doing that"

(everytime someone is doing something to help themself or Thais)

 

Now many of these same posters been caught out and quite obviously been breaking a very BIG law for many years.

 

hmmm what goes around comes around hey?

maybe Thailand gonna invite you to their ignore list.

5555