The mystery of exactly how many expats live in Thailand

[jaiyen]

As usual,   they haven't got a clue !!  With all the paperwork they demand every 90 days, this proves that they do nothing with it except store it then destroy it. Never use it for any statistics.

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, Assurancetourix said:

In a thai mathematics classroom ;

Yesterday I bought a pad thai for 35 baht ;

I gave a 50 baht note  and I said give me back  15 baht 

but he needed to use his calculator to check 

I have often taught my wife math shortcuts. She always marvels at how easy the solution is. She never fails to mention how dim her teachers were in school, and how they never even made an effort to demonstrate the smallest degree of creativity, to get the students to learn the material. No math shortcuts, ever. Just rote learning, taught by people who barely had a handle on the material they were teaching. The educational system here is woefully bad. 

 

Now Thailand is threatening to pull out of the PISA international standards rankings. I can guess why. And it is not he lie this man states in this quote-

 

Thailand may boycott the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) this August if the test organiser refuses to allow the Education Ministry to proof-read the translated examination papers in advance. Refusing to join would be an unprecedented move. Thailand has taken part in the test since 2000. Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsetta confirmed he has sent a request to the organiser asking for the proof-reading. "I am aware that examination papers should be kept in secret. However, if the translation quality is poor and not done by linguistic experts, our students may not be able to understand the questions perfectly. If that's the case the test won't reflect their true abilities which is not fair on Thai students," Mr Teerakiat told the media Thursday.

 

 

 

[mikosan]

2 hours ago, NormanW said:

I'm half English half Scottish and half Irish. 

I wonder they'd place me???

What's the missing 4th half? 555

 

[Joe Mcseismic]

3 hours ago, jlwilliamsjr18 said:

Expats are in fact one of the golden geese of Thailand. Do the math, if each one, spends 100 dollars a week, thats a sizable hunk for the economy.  So, why kill this golden goose?

A tiny, tiny insignificant percentage of Thailand's GDP.

[Joe Mcseismic]

1 hour ago, KhunKenAP said:

Thai government does not want anyone to know the true number. They are afraid if we knew we might together and demand change to all the immigration laws or demand they be administrated on using a common definition and application.

 

This "BS" of different interpretation by office and officer is CRAZY.

More likely that they don't want voting age Thais to know.

[geoffbezoz]

11 minutes ago, mikosan said:

What's the missing 4th half? 555

 

nothing missing, just the Irish half doing the sums ????????

[apophyss]

TM30 and every other problems (for us)

but they dont know how many alien live here ?

[Mick501]

25 minutes ago, jaiyen said:

As usual,   they haven't got a clue !!  With all the paperwork they demand every 90 days, this proves that they do nothing with it except store it then destroy it. Never use it for any statistics.

This is important for both your safety and the safety of your property, don't you know?

[emptypockets]

25 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I have often taught my wife math shortcuts. She always marvels at how easy the solution is. She never fails to mention how dim her teachers were in school, and how they never even made an effort to demonstrate the smallest degree of creativity, to get the students to learn the material. No math shortcuts, ever. Just rote learning, taught by people who barely had a handle on the material they were teaching. The educational system here is woefully bad. 

 

Now Thailand is threatening to pull out of the PISA international standards rankings. I can guess why. And it is not he lie this man states in this quote-

 

Thailand may boycott the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) this August if the test organiser refuses to allow the Education Ministry to proof-read the translated examination papers in advance. Refusing to join would be an unprecedented move. Thailand has taken part in the test since 2000. Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsetta confirmed he has sent a request to the organiser asking for the proof-reading. "I am aware that examination papers should be kept in secret. However, if the translation quality is poor and not done by linguistic experts, our students may not be able to understand the questions perfectly. If that's the case the test won't reflect their true abilities which is not fair on Thai students," Mr Teerakiat told the media Thursday.

 

 

 

And how does that relate to this topic?

[Isaan sailor]

We have an inverse relationship of expats to Thailand.  The higher they drive the Baht—the lower our numbers.  By their actions, I believe BoT has already figured this out....

[Matzzon]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The mystery of exactly how many expats live in Thailand

Another even bigger mystery is why this might be of importance on a single individual level?

[Riker65]

I would say Thais living in the US is around 1 million, naturalize citizens,  lawful permanent residents,  long term stay tourist on a 6 month B2 entry stamp, with no reporting every every 90 days, they leave the US come back after a short visit at home, return to the US for another 6 months once again , no onward ticket needed. When the US issues a B2/B1 Visa it is normally for a 10 year period. 

[SuperTed]

23 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I have often taught my wife math shortcuts. She always marvels at how easy the solution is. She never fails to mention how dim her teachers were in school, and how they never even made an effort to demonstrate the smallest degree of creativity, to get the students to learn the material. No math shortcuts, ever. Just rote learning, taught by people who barely had a handle on the material they were teaching. The educational system here is woefully bad. 

 

Now Thailand is threatening to pull out of the PISA international standards rankings. I can guess why. And it is not he lie this man states in this quote-

 

Thailand may boycott the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) this August if the test organiser refuses to allow the Education Ministry to proof-read the translated examination papers in advance. Refusing to join would be an unprecedented move. Thailand has taken part in the test since 2000. Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsetta confirmed he has sent a request to the organiser asking for the proof-reading. "I am aware that examination papers should be kept in secret. However, if the translation quality is poor and not done by linguistic experts, our students may not be able to understand the questions perfectly. If that's the case the test won't reflect their true abilities which is not fair on Thai students," Mr Teerakiat told the media Thursday.

 

 

 

Thanks for the stats. But Thais don't care about education. Rama V introduced it to convince the West of Thai's cultural integrity, the basis of his successful argument that Thailand should not be colonized. 

 

Thailand's ability to resist invasion has allowed it to have the largest non-petroleum based economy in the region. Malaysia is undergoing tremendous development, and have pulled ahead of Thailand in education and standard of living, based on their massive petrol revenues.

 

But Thais have been content to live the "sabaai sabaai" life and not strive for more. That is their cultural choice, and that culture is no doubt the reason so many of us are happy to live here.

 

No one knows how many expats live in Thailand, because it doesn't really matter to the Thais. "Good guys in, bad guys out" is certainly a good policy; I've seen the benefits, although there is still a long way to go.

 

Hopefully the next campaign will be "happy people in, whingers out". Sadly, this will result in the collapse of TVF. But it will leave the rest of the Kingdom that much more "sabaai" .

[Just Weird]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Whether or not previous data sets are even comparable, the reality is that the mystery of exactly how many expats are living in Thailand remains.

The reality is that it is a "mystery" only if you choose to disregard the officially provided 2019 figures.  It is not a mystery to those that accept the latest official figures and, unless you have some evidence that can be produced (cynicism isn't evidence), there is no reason to doubt them.  

 

Informal and unofficial figures given to Thaivisa from various government agencies from the last decade are irrelevant to the current position and using 10-year old numbers as an argument to justify your "mystery" doesn't make any sense. 

[marcusarelus]

50 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Typical set of data from Thailand....raises more questions than it answers. Think to yourself here, the powers that be have this data that they are supposed to analyse...how can you analyse if you don't know what is being measured, how and by whom, over what time period? They then make "policy" with their analysis. And it is not only ex-pats....it's tourists numbers, road deaths, educational attainment , trade figures; you name it, it's the same, hear no accurate data, hear no accurate data, see no accurate data. No wonder the place is such a mess. 

The worst is an uneducated Farang.  Read about it and then get back to us.

http://web.nso.go.th

[FarFlungFalang]

2 hours ago, Dazinoz said:

Not doubting but where did you get that figure from?

 

I emailed my accountant about a year ago (after 5 years here) and asking him questions in that regard. Originally I planned to stay here until death do us part (and could still be the case), but with an unplanned sick baby and immigration rules changing I now plan to head back and try for the pension (eligible? in 2 1/2 years). He told me that I was still regarded as an Australian Citizen.

 

Having said that after 5 years I was kicked out of Medicare and have to "rejoin" when I get back.

 

The 2 years is in regard to claiming the OZ pension and getting portability,that is being able to get the pension whilst overseas.If one is outside of Oz for 2 years or more you are no longer considered to be residing in Oz(different from citizenship)  you have to reside in Oz for 2 years before being eligible for portability.

[xerostar]

But no Aussies, tfft.... 

 

They don't notice us because we're .. ahem .. so well behaved ! ????

Edited July 28, 2019 by blackcab
An oversized emoji has been removed

[mikey00]

2 hours ago, hansnl said:

I think this is rather near to the truth.

However, very strange numbering.

I heard that from the Netherlands there are about 10,000 expats living in Thailand, about 7000 on a pension or social payments.

And that from a country of 17 million.....

And still no Aussies ????

[BigC]

This doesn't  make sense 

 

You could be retired and live  with a thai spouse  so does this count for 2 points or 1?

[marcusarelus]

51 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

I have often taught my wife math shortcuts. She always marvels at how easy the solution is. She never fails to mention how dim her teachers were in school, and how they never even made an effort to demonstrate the smallest degree of creativity, to get the students to learn the material. No math shortcuts, ever. Just rote learning, taught by people who barely had a handle on the material they were teaching. The educational system here is woefully bad. 

 

Now Thailand is threatening to pull out of the PISA international standards rankings. I can guess why. And it is not he lie this man states in this quote-

 

Thailand may boycott the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) this August if the test organiser refuses to allow the Education Ministry to proof-read the translated examination papers in advance. Refusing to join would be an unprecedented move. Thailand has taken part in the test since 2000. Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsetta confirmed he has sent a request to the organiser asking for the proof-reading. "I am aware that examination papers should be kept in secret. However, if the translation quality is poor and not done by linguistic experts, our students may not be able to understand the questions perfectly. If that's the case the test won't reflect their true abilities which is not fair on Thai students," Mr Teerakiat told the media Thursday.

 

 

 

India has re joined in 2019 I believe.  I see no reason why Thailand should pull out.  Just crazy and confirms what everyone was saying about the government. Awful.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Used to be 20.000 Swedes in Thailand, now only 19.999 (I left). Now there are more Thais in Sweden than Swedes in Thailand (I recon most of them are females).   

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The discrepancy in these estimates, Thaivisa was told, is due to the different ways in which various government departments and agencies class foreigners as ‘expats’ - i.e a foreigner who lives in Thailand permanently - with many ‘long stay’ foreigners actually still officially classed as being tourists.

Unless you have residency or citizenship then you are classed merely as a tourist (long term)

marriage or retirement visas are subject to annual renewal with 90 day checks... so at any time you could be asked to leave.... expats by definition usually means you are given leave to reside in a given country for an extended period of time, not here in Thailand.

As a retiree here I most definitely do not feel as though we are made to feel welcome by immigration rules & regulations, I've just done my 42nd 90 day check at the local office (as online refuses to work for me) and the TM30 being another prime example... I understand they want to keep tabs on short term tourists who may be hopping around the country but....

If I choose to go to the coast for a weekend stay I do not see why when returning to my own home I should have to tell immigration I'm back at my permanent address !

[Joe Mcseismic]

2 hours ago, xerostar said:

But no Aussies, tfft.... 

 

They don't notice us because we're .. ahem .. so well behaved ! ????

No, it's because you come under "British", which is half true.......

[Dazinoz]

19 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

The 2 years is in regard to claiming the OZ pension and getting portability,that is being able to get the pension whilst overseas.If one is outside of Oz for 2 years or more you are no longer considered to be residing in Oz(different from citizenship)  you have to reside in Oz for 2 years before being eligible for portability.

I was actually going to mention this. I get conflicting stories. I have been told I need to be back in Oz 2 years to collect pension when eligible. The other story is I can get immediately on return if entitled but have to live there 2 years to be eligible for portability. Two different scenarios so which is correct?

[maxcorrigan]

4 hours ago, jlwilliamsjr18 said:

Expats are in fact one of the golden geese of Thailand. Do the math, if each one, spends 100 dollars a week, thats a sizable hunk for the economy.  So, why kill this golden goose?

Of course it is a sizable lump,  but they don't do logic in Thailand, "not allow" so emigration will just carry on strangling the goose, until it's too late and neighbouring countries take up the slack, shame really!

Edited July 28, 2019 by maxcorrigan

[bbbbooboo]

Hmmm.... less than used to, that will be for sure.

[connda]

5 hours ago, rooster59 said:

i.e a foreigner who lives in Thailand permanently - with many ‘long stay’ foreigners actually still officially classed as being tourists.

Like all of us married to Thai women - we're no doubt classed as "tourists" and pretty much treated like that.  Year to year we support our family and each year we're put under the microscope to make sure that as gloried tourist we haven't engaged in criminal activities and after 10 years of marriage make sure that we aren't gaming the Extension Based on Marriage. 

[Traubert]

9 minutes ago, maxcorrigan said:

Of course it is a sizable lump,  but they don't do logic in Thailand, "not allow" so emigration will just carry on strangling the goose, until it's too late and neighbouring countries take up the slack, shame really!

What about the cost of administrating these golden geese? How much of the $100 dollars a week goes towards that? I doubt there's much change even though expats will rigorously deny that they cost the TG anything at all.

 

Of course the standard reply will be 'don't do so much administration,' but do they have the infrastructure to automate it yet? I'd guess no.

 

Ask yourself how much CW Immigration alone costs to run.

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, Traubert said:

What about the cost of administrating these golden geese? How much of the $100 dollars a week goes towards that? I doubt there's much change even though expats will rigorously deny that they cost the TG anything at all.

 

Of course the standard reply will be 'don't do so much administration,' but do they have the infrastructure to automate it yet? I'd guess no.

 

Ask yourself how much CW Immigration alone costs to run.

Let's assume they get 1,000bht for every foreigner that walks through the door (fines/extensions/agents backhanders) ...... they're making $$$$$$$$$s

[CMNightRider]

I think a bigger mystery, is why and who is behind coming up with such restrictive and idiotic rules and regulations for retirees to live in Thailand.  I'm sure this question will get some of the western apologists and Thais posing as westerners saying what restrictive and idiotic rules.

 

Well, for those who don't have the sense God gave a goose, these numbers are even more difficult to determine now with so many westerners leaving the country over immigrations latest rules, not to mention their "smart van" running around harrassing foreigners. ????

 

The smart van should be an embarrassment but immigration seems to be proud of their advancement in technology.  You just can't make stuff like this up.