2 weeks ago when I crossed back into Thailand from Laos, there were no machines.

 

This afternoon when I crossed back, there were finger print sensor machines in use, with a bevvy of friendly Thai women to advise and help those who were confused by the machines ==> right hand 4 fingers, left hand 4 fingers and then both thumbs.

 

My turn came, the finger-printing went fine and then the usual confusion when the IO saw my Elite visa.  Cue discussion with IO colleagues as to how to process this!  5 minutes later and I'm back in with another year stamp.

 

I'll repeat this next weekend (I'm in the middle of relocating to Laos, so am moving my worldly goods one box at a time each weekend) ????

If they rolled that out at the main airport , you'd be starting to cue before leaving the plane

How will they react to those with a couple of fingers missing?

14 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

If they rolled that out at the main airport , you'd be starting to cue before leaving the plane

 

They have. You are.

 

1 hour ago, RichardColeman said:

If they rolled that out at the main airport , you'd be starting to cue before leaving the plane

The airports got this first, see for example here:

 

 

Simon43 is moving on and out. WOW. Good luck as I have read you posts for quite some time. What is the reason for out of here? 

3 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

If they rolled that out at the main airport , you'd be starting to cue before leaving the plane

They have, and I stood in line for about five minutes when I arrived a couple of months back.

8 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Simon43 is moving on and out. WOW. Good luck as I have read you posts for quite some time. What is the reason for out of here? 

LoL, have you been living under a stone? ????

 

I'm tired of being the frog in the the 'slowly boiled frog' scenario.  I value my privacy and detest any authority intrusion into my private life with a vengeance. 

 

When living in Laos and Myanmar over the past few years, I never had to do TM30s, never had to do 90 day reports etc.  I knew exactly where I was in terms of my visa.  I was able to obtain permanent residence after 3 years (Myanmar) and after 5 years (Laos - down from 10 years because I'm a Scientist -special provision).  For both countries, the PR fee was low and no need to marry a local.

 

While I find the Thai people very friendly as individuals, I do not share the same opinion of this military junta and its cronies.  The uncertainty on visa rules and reporting requirements for foreigners is such that I'm no longer prepared to base my future in this country.

4 minutes ago, simon43 said:

While I find the Thai people very friendly as individuals, I do not share the same opinion of this military junta and its cronies. 

After the last coup, there were so many Junta huggers on this forum - where have they all gone?

12 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I do not share the same opinion of this military junta and its cronies

What the F are you smoking dude!!! Hypocrisy at it finest

 

"Human rights in Myanmar under its military regime have long been regarded as among the worst in the world."

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights_in_Myanmar

 

"The military of Burma holds a large amount of power in the government, despite the end of the last Burmese military dictatorship."

 

Why would any normal human run away to the 2 s##t holes Laos or Myanmar? enjoy LMAO !

 

Edited July 14, 20196 yr by madmen

The uncertainty on visa rules and reporting requirements for foreigners is such that I'm no longer prepared to base my future in this country.

 

You and hundreds of others...apparently including tourists from western countries...Thailand is no long a most favored tourist or retirement destination...will continue to fail as a destination of choice...

Here is the thing though, in SEA, what seems to be easy and accessible as far as visa, permits and living in a respective country, could turn overnight not to be so like the case in Thailand where everything was simple and straightforward until some paranoids got up one day and moved the goalposts again and again, asian people has this inheritable fear of foreigners, and will try to limit and contain them to pender to their electorate by creating even more fear hence tightening of regulations and so forth...

I do not share the same opinion of this military junta and its cronies

What the F are you smoking dude!!! Hypocrisy at it finest

 

Off-topic for this thread. The difference is that the Myanmar and Lao authorities don't stick their noses into my private life - the Thai do.  I can't change human rights in any of these countries, but my free English teaching and volunteer work is welcomed and condoned in Myanmar and Laos, and rejected/barred in Thailand.

...permits and living in a respective country, could turn overnight not to be so like the case in Thailand where everything was simple and straightforward until some paranoids got up one day and moved the goalposts again and again...

 

Very true indeed.  At least in both Myanmar and Laos, PR is relatively easy and cheap to obtain.

Now I'm confused, @simon43. If you already have PR in Laos, why the need for you to get a business visa (as you mentioned in another recent thread)?

 

I wholeheartedly agree with your take on regular Thai people vs. the Thai government / officialdom.

8 minutes ago, Caldera said:

Now I'm confused, @simon43. If you already have PR in Laos, why the need for you to get a business visa (as you mentioned in another recent thread)?

 

I wholeheartedly agree with your take on regular Thai people vs. the Thai government / officialdom.

I never said that I have PR in Laos - I said that I can apply for PR after 5 years of residing in the country.

21 minutes ago, simon43 said:

I never said that I have PR in Laos - I said that I can apply for PR after 5 years of residing in the country.

Thanks for clarifying. What you wrote in post #8 sounded like you have obtained PR for both Myanmar and Laos already:

 

"When living in Laos and Myanmar over the past few years, I never had to do TM30s, never had to do 90 day reports etc.  I knew exactly where I was in terms of my visa.  I was able to obtain permanent residence after 3 years (Myanmar) and after 5 years (Laos - down from 10 years because I'm a Scientist -special provision).  For both countries, the PR fee was low and no need to marry a local."

 

2 hours ago, dbrenn said:

After the last coup, there were so many Junta huggers on this forum - where have they all gone?

The most prolific one is still here and thanks the PM for his service almost on a daily basis. But a few others seem to have changed their mind. There's hope.

 I knew exactly where I was in terms of my visa.  I was able to obtain permanent residence after...

 

My apologies, confusing grammar.  I should have said " I knew exactly where I was in terms of my visa.  I would able to obtain permanent residence after,,,"

11 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

My apologies, confusing grammar.  I should have said " I knew exactly where I was in terms of my visa.  I would able to obtain permanent residence after,,,"

And you are teaching English? 

 

I've been working in Myanmar for 5 years.  PR..... No way thank you.

Move to a communist country as you don't want the Government to know your business. I'm struggling with this one. 

Edited July 15, 20196 yr by emptypockets

And you are teaching English? 

 

Yes - it's called a typo.  It happens sometimes when typing in forums. 

 

"Move to a communist country as you don't want the Government to know your business. I'm struggling with this one. "

 

Struggle away.  The Lao government isn't interested in me to report my online teaching or volunteer work - they confirm that I can do both of these activities without needing to provide additional documents/paperwork after I receive my visa and WP.

 

They are not interested in me to report every 90 days.  Nor are they interested in how much or how little money I have in the bank.  Nor do they ask me or my landlord to do TM30s.

 

They ARE interested in my Cubesat (micro-satellite) design skills, and that's where I will share my knowledge with them - on my terms (==> non-military use).

7 minutes ago, simon43 said:

 

 

 

Yes - it's called a typo.  It happens sometimes when typing in forums. 

 

"Move to a communist country as you don't want the Government to know your business. I'm struggling with this one. "

 

Struggle away.  The Lao government isn't interested in me to report my online teaching or volunteer work - they confirm that I can do both of these activities without needing to provide additional documents/paperwork after I receive my visa and WP.

 

They are not interested in me to report every 90 days.  Nor are they interested in how much or how little money I have in the bank.  Nor do they ask me or my landlord to do TM30s.

 

They ARE interested in my Cubesat (micro-satellite) design skills, and that's where I will share my knowledge with them - on my terms (==> non-military use).

Will you still be a regular on TVForum simon? Would be great to get some regular info.

 

Hundreds, if not thousands of us will be forced to join you soon,

 

Good luck for the future.

17 hours ago, simon43 said:

LoL, have you been living under a stone? ????

 

I'm tired of being the frog in the the 'slowly boiled frog' scenario.  I value my privacy and detest any authority intrusion into my private life with a vengeance. 

 

When living in Laos and Myanmar over the past few years, I never had to do TM30s, never had to do 90 day reports etc.  I knew exactly where I was in terms of my visa.  I was able to obtain permanent residence after 3 years (Myanmar) and after 5 years (Laos - down from 10 years because I'm a Scientist -special provision).  For both countries, the PR fee was low and no need to marry a local.

 

While I find the Thai people very friendly as individuals, I do not share the same opinion of this military junta and its cronies.  The uncertainty on visa rules and reporting requirements for foreigners is such that I'm no longer prepared to base my future in this country.

Simon, Good for you! I too am looking to jump ship. I just returned from a fact-finding trip to Cambodia. Was not too impressed. Laos is next on my list to investigate...

I certainly will continue to be a regular poster.  I just made my 3rd trip over the Mekong in as many weeks - this time for a meeting with the Lao Ministry of Telecommunications to apply for my ham radio licence (all went very well).

 

On this time out, Thai Immigration had also put the fingerprint scanners on the stamping out side, but only required to scan 4 fingers on your right hand.

 

Here's something that intrigues me:

 

Why are the immigration officers at Nong Khai Friendship Bridge immigration so miserable and their Lao counterparts just over the bridge all smiles and making jokes with me?

On 7/15/2019 at 8:01 PM, simon43 said:

They ARE interested in my Cubesat (micro-satellite) design skills, and that's where I will share my knowledge with them - on my terms

this is extremely interesting to me.

On 7/19/2019 at 2:35 PM, simon43 said:

this time for a meeting with the Lao Ministry of Telecommunications to apply for my ham radio licence (all went very well).

I held a General Class license in the USA since 1985.

good luck with your move and let us know how things go.

 

Hi, off-topic, but I've held a ham licence in Thailand since 2002 - HS0ZIB.  I became the first resident radio ham in Burma since 1965 - XZ2A (probably because the government department was sick to death of the 6 years of weekly pestering them for a licence).

 

Getting a ham licence in Laos is actually straightforward, but only one foreigner is a resident ham there.

 

As for the Cubesat, I spent 15 years working as a satellite systems designer in Europe, designing environmental sensors and antenna systems.  Nowadays, one can build a Cubesat in one's bedroom ????  I designed one while living in Myanmar (Myansat I called it). But the Burmese military wanted me to share satellite knowledge with them, which I wasn't prepared to do.

 

Bringing things back on-topic, scientists get a break as regards permanent residence in Laos ==> needing only 5 years of residence, not 10 that others need. 

 

 

On 7/14/2019 at 11:26 PM, simon43 said:

but my free English teaching and volunteer work is welcomed and condoned in Myanmar and Laos, and rejected/barred in Thailand.

Ah, it's free now. What happened to the 100+ K baht/month for your online services?

41 minutes ago, Vacuum said:

Ah, it's free now. What happened to the 100+ K baht/month for your online services?

I teach online from Monday through Friday ==> paid teaching that earns me about 100k THB per month.  But I do not teach online at the weekend because I prefer to keep this time for 'myself'.  That's when I teach for free in the local community ????

On 7/15/2019 at 6:58 AM, dbrenn said:

After the last coup, there were so many Junta huggers on this forum - where have they all gone?

Unfortunately the benevolent Prayut turn into another example of what a dictator is all about.

On 7/19/2019 at 2:35 PM, simon43 said:

On this time out, Thai Immigration had also put the fingerprint scanners on the stamping out side, but only required to scan 4 fingers on your right hand.

Only on the first time you have to scan all fingers, after this only 4 fingers of the right hand.

Edited July 21, 20196 yr by jackdd