Immigration chief: Don't scare the tourists away by being too strict - we need them and their money

[GeorgeCross]

1 hour ago, saengd said:

My (Thai) wife has a five year tourist visa to the UK but that doesn't mean she can be a tourist there for five straight years...if she spends more time in the UK than she spends in Thailand in a twelve month period she will not be allowed to enter again, effectively six months in every twelve is OK.

 

yes, but the UK clearly states this is the case, here it is at best implied

 

your wife knows she cannot be in the UK for more than 6 months in one 12 month period, here she may, she may not, because there is NO RULE that actually states this only an implied 'rule' that the boss made up one day.

 

and that is the problem.

 

state it clearly and the 'problems' will fade away. just like i know i will only get another extension if i have 400K in the bank, not 300 or 399 but 400 or more. so i don't even try unless i have it!

 

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by GeorgeCross

[Bruntoid]

1 hour ago, saengd said:

My (Thai) wife has a five year tourist visa to the UK but that doesn't mean she can be a tourist there for five straight years...if she spends more time in the UK than she spends in Thailand in a twelve month period she will not be allowed to enter again, effectively six months in every twelve is OK.

Is this new ?
 

I’ve always wanted to do the 6 months UK, 6 months Thailand thing, if only to get a break from the Mrs! or can she only enter the U.K. with me ?

 

ie my idea I stay here while she catches up with her mates back in the U.K. 
 

How much is it ? 

[saengd]

46 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

yes, but the UK clearly states this is the case, here it is at best implied

 

your wife knows she cannot be in the UK for more than 6 months in one 12 month period, here she may, she may not, because there is NO RULE that actually states this only an implied 'rule' that the boss made up one day.

 

and that is the problem.

 

state it clearly and the 'problems' will fade away. just like i know i will only get another extension if i have 400K in the bank, not 300 or 399 but 400 or more. so i don't even try unless i have it!

 

 

Only implied, yes, but there are limits to what is reasonable, even for unreasonable people. One month, two months three months, those things can be as a tourist, but eight months or more!

 

The problem stems from days of old when expats were living here on tourist visa's and doing visa runs every month, often for years at a time, to say they were taking the p*ss is an understatement. So you can see why IO's are nervous and perhaps come down harder than might normally be expected, it's because so many people have tried it on in the past.

[saengd]

19 minutes ago, Bruntoid said:

Is this new ?
 

I’ve always wanted to do the 6 months UK, 6 months Thailand thing, if only to get a break from the Mrs! or can she only enter the U.K. with me ?

 

ie my idea I stay here while she catches up with her mates back in the U.K. 
 

How much is it ? 

Not new, it's been around for ages, 6 months, 2, years, 5 years, 10 years, costs get successively higher.

[metisdead]

An offensive troll post and the replies have been removed. 

[madmen]

4 hours ago, sunnyboy2018 said:

Actually they are effectively the same. We import hard currency. We frequently travel around the country  We drink and eat in tourist areas sometines. We stay in hotels sometimes. We effectively renew our visa via the 90 day reporting system which makes us more like tourists.

From what I read on here the majority stay in cheap rooms and think paying more than 40 baht for a meal is outrageous. They are not even close 

[saengd]

3 minutes ago, madmen said:

From what I read on here the majority stay in cheap rooms and think paying more than 40 baht for a meal is outrageous. They are not even close 

Agreed, tourists don't buy condo's, houses, cars, insurance, visit hospitals regularly, shop in mom and pop stores, employ local labour, buy investment products from banks and a whole host of other things.

Edited December 10, 2019 by saengd

[GeorgeCross]

50 minutes ago, saengd said:

Only implied, yes, but there are limits to what is reasonable, even for unreasonable people. One month, two months three months, those things can be as a tourist, but eight months or more!

 

The problem stems from days of old when expats were living here on tourist visa's and doing visa runs every month, often for years at a time, to say they were taking the p*ss is an understatement. So you can see why IO's are nervous and perhaps come down harder than might normally be expected, it's because so many people have tried it on in the past.

 

personally i couldn't give a rats behind about what you or anyone else thinks is reasonable

 

i care about:

 

1) is it written down by immigration?

 

2) where is it written down?

 

if not - THAT IS A PROBLEM 

 

someone (in authority) obviously thought it WAS reasonable, they gave the guy a visa, then when he arrives to use it, bang, big problem!!!

 

the system, as is, is not fit for purpose.

 

[yogi100]

On 12/9/2019 at 8:25 PM, elliss said:

 

 Thats a new one on me . 

 However that said,  i am familiar with FOGH , heard it @ immi ..

 

it's the title of the <deleted> Off Home Then crowd.

[saengd]

12 minutes ago, GeorgeCross said:

 

personally i couldn't give a rats behind about what you or anyone else thinks is reasonable

 

i care about:

 

1) is it written down by immigration?

 

2) where is it written down?

 

if not - THAT IS A PROBLEM 

 

someone (in authority) obviously thought it WAS reasonable, they gave the guy a visa, then when he arrives to use it, bang, big problem!!!

 

the system, as is, is not fit for purpose.

 

As if your ability to read and understand Immigration based legal statutes, written in Thai, would have any impact when you quoted them to the IO at Swampy, good luck with that! lol

[DrTuner]

35 minutes ago, saengd said:

Agreed, tourists don't buy condo's, houses, cars, insurance, visit hospitals regularly, shop in mom and pop stores, employ local labour, buy investment products from banks and a whole host of other things.

And there's the real flaw in Thailand's policies. They practically closed the permanent residency route for retirees/investors and then opened a quasi-"permanent" route with flaky back to back tourist visas and non-immigrant visas. That should have never happened. Either open the PR, or throw us out. Make up your mind already.

[oznomad]

21 hours ago, Chazar said:

or  show us 20k at the  airport in CASH................stupidest thing ive ever  heard

Yep, it's certainly up there.

It announces to nair-do-well taxi drivers, touts and others that may encounter fresh arrivals, that there is a high chance the fresh arrival is carrying that 20k cash.

 

Thailand 4.0?

[yogi100]

7 hours ago, saengd said:

Too funny! This is Thailand, they don't need to prove things in the same way that a UK entity might have to follow legal guidelines and have several levels of appeal, things don't work that way here. But I do know after almost twenty years here that Immi. doesn't usually kick people out unless they have a reason. Sorry but that's the way it is. And I also know from multiple discussions with various expats on the subject of people being denied entry etc., most if not all who post their tales of woe and unfair biased cruelty on this forum, aren't telling the complete story.

I've only personally met one fellow who was accused of working by the IO at the airport. I know for a fact he's never even considered working in the LOS.

 

They let him in after a 40 minute interrogation. He was telling the complete story when he told me about it. He was shocked at the unwarranted aggressive attitude and the rudeness of the woman who grilled him.

 

He's now showing an interest in going to Vietnam. The whole episode definitely convinced him we're not wanted in the LOS any more.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by yogi100

[yogi100]

5 hours ago, Deported said:

who tell you than I'm worked in thailand? The immigration I guess. ????????????
I never worked in thailand.

I used a METV visa maybe not far of 7-8 month, (like authorised) and then 3 months later than I left, I come back with a single entry tourist visa. Why to sell me these visa if I'm not authorised to stay like a tourist ?


 

Deported.

 

Some people can't get their heads around the fact that others sometimes have the money and the time to be long term tourists. They just don't understand it.

 

You don't have to be members of the British Royal Family to have such a lifestyle.

 

A friend of mine was a taxi driver in London. He'd grown up as an only son in a big house in Kilburn in London. When his parents died about 15 years ago they left him the house which he sold for two million quid (roughly about $2.5 million or 80 million baht). They'd bought it for relatively peanuts in the 1940s or 50s. He immediately quit work and came to live in Pattaya.

[yogi100]

1 hour ago, saengd said:

As if your ability to read and understand Immigration based legal statutes, written in Thai, would have any impact when you quoted them to the IO at Swampy, good luck with that! lol

Forget about being able to read Thai. The main gripe is the fact that having been sold a visa most level headed people would think that that should be the end of the matter.

 

Any objections to their entering the country should be dealt with when they obtained and paid for said visa.

 

For example I paid 125 GBPs for an O annual visa at the Thai embassy in London so I expect it to be respected by the IOs at BKK airport when I come for my holidays. 

 

The way things are right now how do I know that I'm not gonna be refused entry, accused of working, detained at the airport and have to pay again for a flight back to the UK when I've just paid out 600 quid or more for the flight I've just arrived on.

 

That's without any hotel bills and other expenses incurred.

 

When my current visa runs out I doubt that I'll bother coming to Thailand any more. They've stopped issuing the O ME retirement visa anyway. And the 240,000 baht I approximately spend each trip will no longer be spent in Pattaya or wherever else it is I or fellows such as myself wish to stay.

[Cake Monster]

On 12/9/2019 at 8:46 AM, keith101 said:

What and expats living here do nothing for the economy , maybe you should look at ways of helping us instead of making it harder .

I am sure that many people do not come to Thailand now on recommendations from their Friends and Family that reside here.

Certainly, non of my Family or mates want to come here any more, citing that the Country is overpriced, and a wholly bad experience

A few Years back people would say that once you have been to Thailand, you just want to keep going back.

Not any more

[Langkawee]

8 hours ago, Deported said:

It will be fair if they warn the tourists before, if they inform the tourist before than they not allowed to stay more than 6 months with tourist visa, and if they not continue to sell tourist visa to the long stay tourist...
Not suddenly take the tourists like criminels with supposed things...

Being fair to farang, 555, that made me laugh

[saengd]

3 hours ago, DrTuner said:

And there's the real flaw in Thailand's policies. They practically closed the permanent residency route for retirees/investors and then opened a quasi-"permanent" route with flaky back to back tourist visas and non-immigrant visas. That should have never happened. Either open the PR, or throw us out. Make up your mind already.

What's happening now is a tightening of an extremely lax regime, anyone who visited here before 2000 will understand that. Is it a case of tightening or is it overtightening, I say it's the former.

[DrTuner]

4 hours ago, yogi100 said:

For example I paid 125 GBPs for an O annual visa at the Thai embassy in London so I expect it to be respected by the IOs at BKK airport when I come for my holidays. 

AFAIK that's not the case in any country. What you paid for were the processing fees. IOs can and should verify an entry to the country is legit every time. For example TR visa states quite clearly "Employment prohibited". It does seems they have been too draconian lately, though.

[dcnx]

5 hours ago, yogi100 said:

Deported.

 

Some people can't get their heads around the fact that others sometimes have the money and the time to be long term tourists. They just don't understand it.

 

You don't have to be members of the British Royal Family to have such a lifestyle.

 

A friend of mine was a taxi driver in London. He'd grown up as an only son in a big house in Kilburn in London. When his parents died about 15 years ago they left him the house which he sold for two million quid (roughly about $2.5 million or 80 million baht). They'd bought it for relatively peanuts in the 1940s or 50s. He immediately quit work and came to live in Pattaya.

Peasants and older people think this way. Many people live well and don’t have to work while they travel, even if it’s extended travel. I technically haven’t had to work in over a decade and could live comfortably if all I wanted to do is travel, but I do work because of opportunity. 

 

The world has changed. Old minds can’t get their head around it.
 

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by dcnx

[noone223]

6 minutes ago, dcnx said:

Old minds can’t get their head around it.

It's not about old minds, most IOs are around mid 20's to late 30's. High ranks are 50s at most.

It's jealousy and short-sightedness.
Thai people are jealous, at each other, and even more - at a farang. It's a tough pill to swallow because they're so friendly.

They know you're making a passive income,

they know you don't have to work,

it doesn't mean they won't resent you for it.

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by noone223

[steven100]

On 12/9/2019 at 9:09 AM, z42 said:

Reeking of desperation. Things must be incredibly dire, too much to cover up for maybe even ????

are you dreaming ….  

[saengd]

3 minutes ago, dcnx said:

Peasants and older people think this way. Many people live well and don’t have to work while they travel, even if it’s extended travel. I technically haven’t had to work in over a decade and could live comfortably if all I wanted to do is travel, but I do work because of opportunity. 

 

The world has changed. Old minds can’t get their head around it.
 

 

The world hasn't changed that much, people of all ages have been doing that for many many years, that's not the point. The point is that Thailand is tightening it's immigration rules and it's not a fully developed country so the chances are there will be upset until things settle down, if you don't fit clearly into one of the many well defined buckets you can expect problems. If a person has got serious money they should have no problems finding a way to spend as much time as they want to in Thailand, regardless of their age. But if a person is merely mildly nouveau wealthy and they expect Immi. to accept their story at face value, without a longer stay visa, it isn't going to happen. The problem is that in the past, far too many westerners have scammed their way past Immi. for far too many years and lived here whilst breaking all the rules. If a person today is expecting leniency and tolerance, just because they happen to be innocent but want to spend eight months here on holiday, be prepared to be disappointed, unless you get a visa that allows that.

[noone223]

6 minutes ago, saengd said:

The problem is that in the past, far too many westerners have scammed their way past Immi.

why is it always the westerners fault?

How many Nobel prize winners are Thai?

How much technology and science the Thais have contributed?

You want smart , check out Japan , Korea, Taiwan.

It's ok to be short, and it's ok to be tall.

It's ok to be fat, and its ok to be thin.

It's ok to be smart, and it's ok to be stupid.

Let's just call it what it is, stop blaming westerners.

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by noone223

[Magsg]

On 12/9/2019 at 8:46 AM, keith101 said:

What and expats living here do nothing for the economy , maybe you should look at ways of helping us instead of making it harder .

Exactly

[madmen]

7 hours ago, saengd said:

Agreed, tourists don't buy condo's, houses, cars, insurance, visit hospitals regularly, shop in mom and pop stores, employ local labour, buy investment products from banks and a whole host of other things.

Condos? 99% rent. A cheap house built on a rice paddy would be the vast minuscule minority , cars? a vast minority ...Insurance? BAHAHAHA...Visit hospitals and then leave the bill for the Thais to pick up ! Investment products? You must have missed the zillion posts over 10 years all saying never invest anything in Thailand especially not with banks..what host of other things? mom n pop dont pay tax so how is that a boost to the economy, Nor does the flip flop and wife beater shops or the noodle cart

 

Like I said Expats dont even rate a mention hence immigration's tough stance on them. 

 

How about everybody start really spending because the truth is its zero dollar expats 

[noone223]

11 minutes ago, madmen said:

How about everybody start really spending

So basically, its the westerners fault (again) , damn farangs.

Mom & Pop don't pay taxes - farang's fault.

Some russian bailed out on a hospital bill - %100 of all farangs bailed out (and clearly the rate is the same for thais)

Investment's not good - farangs fault.

Noodle cart dont pay tax - farangs fault.

 

Taiwan is so much nicer,  3 months on arrival, can easily do back to back for years on it.

locals actually pay tax, cops are not as corrupt.

That's why it ranked #1 two years in a row now, as a real heaven for expats.

You guys are just angry cause you're stuck with a thai family! so you blame other foreigners.

Leo pop gan mai.

 

Edited December 10, 2019 by noone223

[DaRoadrunner]

24 minutes ago, noone223 said:

Taiwan is so much nicer,  3 months on arrival, can easily do back to back for years on it.

So how is it when discussing the list of SE Asian alternative countries to move to, Taiwan is never mentioned? Is it time we had a Taiwan thread started by someone who has been there?

[DaRoadrunner]

Heading needs a re-write

 

Immigration chief: Don't scare the tourists away by being too strict - we need them and their money

 

Should just read - we need their money

[Redline]

It’s likely too late