Open letter from long-stay tourist in Phuket spurs action from Prime Minister

[webfact]

Open letter from long-stay tourist in Phuket spurs action from Prime Minister

By The Phuket News

 

An open letter by German long-stay tourist in Phuket Bernhard Stoever has spurred action by the Prime Minister. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

 

PHUKET: The Prime Minister has ordered his assistants to investigate the circumstances of a German long-stay tourist in Phuket whose open letter was published by The Phuket News, appealing for him to be allowed to stay in the country after the ‘visa amnesty’ ends on Sept 26, instead of being forced to go back to Germany where COVID-19 infections have recently skyrocketed.

 

An official working at the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, a research and policy advisory division that operates under the Prime Minister’s Office and reports directly to the Prime Minister, confirmed on Tuesday (Sept 1) that PM Prayut Chan-o-cha had read the open letter, penned by German man Bernhard Stoever. 

 

In his open letter, published online by The Phuket News on Aug 22, Mr Stoever urged the Thai government to consider the circumstances he and many other long-stay tourists already staying in Thailand were facing. 

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/open-letter-from long-stay-tourist-in-phuket-spurs-action from-prime-minister -77181.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2020-09-02

 

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[NCC1701A]

good work Mr. Stoever. 

[FritsSikkink]

What a BS that his life is in danger every winter because of the common flu in Germany. 

[Matzzon]

That's amazing! The PM has read it??? I guess the days of wonders ain't over.

[Pravda]

Is is old, so why didn't he come on retirement visa? 

 

Deport! 

[PremiumLane]

47 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

What a BS that his life is in danger every winter because of the common flu in Germany. 

Except you can get vaccinated against what is deemed to be the most common strains of flu for that year....

[Oldie]

Bernhard should look that he gets the correct visa or fly home. Our poor prime minister for sure has other things to do than to deal with every single "stranded" farang. For him going back to the Germany is a matter of life and death he writes. Please prime minister don't think that we all are like this Bernhard... 

 

"The second virus wave is now looming in Europe and Germany and will be probably even worse than the first. Together with the flu virus and the high age of most returnees, this means a huge risk for many people. And I too admit with discomfort that if I have to return to Germany in September, I may never see Thailand again. For me, as for many others, it is really a matter of life or death,” he added."

[Poet]

An appeal to compassion may have been the wrong angle.

A more effective one might have been: You already have all these non-infected farangs in your country. Instead of forcing us to leave, why not let us continue propping up the parts of your economy that would usually be propped up by the tourists who currently cannot come?

Always in Thailand: Money #1

 

[CorpusChristie]

Got a feeling that the Thai Government will look into Bernhards circumstances and then realise that there are many foreigners staying in Thailand with the wrong visa and taking advantage of the amnesty.

  

[Oldie]

4 minutes ago, Poet said:

An appeal to compassion may have been the wrong angle.

A more effective one might have been: You already have all these non-infected farangs in your country. Instead of forcing us to leave, why not let us continue propping up the parts of your economy that would usually be propped up by the tourists who currently cannot come?

Always in Thailand: Money #1

 

He is so scared of flu and Corona in Merkels Germany. Flu is there every year and Corona can be there for a very long time too. So how much longer does he want to stay here without a proper visa - years? 

[Poet]

1 minute ago, Oldie said:

He is so scared of flu and Corona in Merkels Germany. Flu is there every year and Corona can be there for a very long time too. So how much longer does he want to stay here without a proper visa - years? 

If he is happy to be here, and has the money to spend here, why not?

The restrictions on how long people stayed only made sense when Thailand had tens of millions of tourists pouring in. That situation no longer exists. For at least the next decade until their tourism industry recovers, they should be happy to get as much foreign money as possible into their country.

 

[Oldie]

8 minutes ago, Poet said:

If he is happy to be here, and has the money to spend here, why not?

The restrictions on how long people stayed only made sense when Thailand had tens of millions of tourists pouring in. That situation no longer exists. For at least the next decade until their tourism industry recovers, they should be happy to get as much foreign money as possible into their country.
 

There is no guarantee that such people spend much money here. And there are laws that allow them to stay longer. There is no need for begging with open letters. I understand the situation if people don't have flights. But Bernhard simply wants a special treatment. He should apply for a visa like all others. And again - for how long does he want to continue this? And who will decide that it is enough now and when? 

[CorpusChristie]

18 minutes ago, Poet said:

If he is happy to be here, and has the money to spend here, why not?

The restrictions on how long people stayed only made sense when Thailand had tens of millions of tourists pouring in. That situation no longer exists. For at least the next decade until their tourism industry recovers, they should be happy to get as much foreign money as possible into their country.

 

Why doesnt he get either a retirement visa or an Elite visa ?

[Poet]

13 minutes ago, Oldie said:

There is no guarantee that such people spend much money here.

Well, how does he pay is rent or buy food if he spend no money here?

I am not suggesting that he is a big spender but whatever he spends is money that would otherwise not come into the country.

 

13 minutes ago, Oldie said:

And there are laws that allow them to stay longer.

In his case, yes, he would be entitled to a Retirement extension, but his letter draws attenion to the plight of all farangs trapped in the same situation, many of whom will be younger than 50.
 

 

13 minutes ago, Oldie said:

And again - for how long does he want to continue this? And who will decide that it is enough now and when? 

Again, it shouldn't matter. You and I both know that much of what the Thai government is currently planning - the return of massive tourism with a three-week quarantine - is simply not going to happen. The current situation is going to last many years, fresh supplies of high-spending tourists are not coming. In that context, all the non-infected farangs already in Thailand, including Bernhard, should be encouraged to stay as long as possible. As long as the world is restricted by Covid, for Thailand to also apply visa restrictions would be to methodically, one-by-one, shoot off it's own toes.

Seriously, right now, the entire immigration apparatus is against Thailand's best interests.

 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Poet

[Captain Monday]

9 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Why doesnt he get either a retirement visa or an Elite visa ?

He can get Elite. Perhaps he is too old or had health issues to buy redundant expensive Thai insurance when he is probably insured already? I could not use my comprehensive US insurance this year simply because they won't sign a bit of paper properly that costs them nothing.

[Poet]

10 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Why doesnt he get either a retirement visa or an Elite visa ?

Perhaps he cannot afford the Elite visa, or the €22K deposit for the Retirement extension, on top of what he already spend to live here.

Is it even possible to apply for those visas without leaving the country? I don't know.

Presumably he ran out of options but the simple reality is that, right now, in this incredibly unusual situation, small Thai businesses actually need the income from Bernhard and hundreds of thousands of others like him.

 

[Yinn]

42 minutes ago, Poet said:

An appeal to compassion may have been the wrong angle.

A more effective one might have been: You already have all these non-infected farangs in your country. Instead of forcing us to leave, why not let us continue propping up the parts of your economy that would usually be propped up by the tourists who currently cannot come?

Always in Thailand: Money #1

 

BS

 

if money #1 we already be open for foreigners. 

 

 France and Spain etc money#1. Now look what happen. Stupid.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-france-spain-record-biggest-daily-spikes-in-cases-in-weeks-europe-second-wave-2020-8

 

please not talk rubbish. 

[CorpusChristie]

2 minutes ago, Yinn said:

BS

 

if money #1 we already be open for foreigners. 

 

 France and Spain etc money#1. Now look what happen. Stupid.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-france-spain-record-biggest-daily-spikes-in-cases-in-weeks-europe-second-wave-2020-8

 

please not talk rubbish. 

Are you OK Yinn ?

You just seem to be a bit angry today 

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, Yinn said:

BS

 

if money #1 we already be open for foreigners. 

 

 France and Spain etc money#1. Now look what happen. Stupid.

 

https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-france-spain-record-biggest-daily-spikes-in-cases-in-weeks-europe-second-wave-2020-8

 

please not talk rubbish. 

 

You don’t believe money trumps all moral standards in Thailand, Yinn? 

 

Money may not be as critical for those wishing to maintain power, they are extremely wealthy already and continued isolation of Thailand does not impact them financially, those in positions of power are only interested in maintaining their power, why? because power = money in Thailand, and more money = more influence which = more power. 

 

Money is most definitely #1 in Thailand, of that there is little doubt. 

 

IF the government opens up freely to tourists and Covid-19 cases increase dramatically there is potential for the grip on power to be compromised for those senior officials in government. For those who ‘risk falling from grace’ they risk their position at the trough, no kickbacks from seeing through various government projects, submarines, rail links, high-speed rail etc etc.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2020 by richard_smith237

[Mavideol]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

In his open letter, published online by The Phuket News on Aug 22, Mr Stoever urged the Thai government to consider the circumstances he and many other long-stay tourists already staying in Thailand were facing. 

and he just open a "big" can of worms.....

[CorpusChristie]

11 minutes ago, Poet said:

Perhaps he cannot afford the Elite visa, or the €22K deposit for the Retirement extension, on top of what he already spend to live here.

Is it even possible to apply for those visas without leaving the country? I don't know.

Presumably he ran out of options but the simple reality is that, right now, in this incredibly unusual situation, small Thai businesses actually need the income from Bernhard and hundreds of thousands of others like him.

 

Its quite possible to get long term visas for less than 100 Baht per day , all inclusive  

[roger101]

1 hour ago, Pravda said:

Is is old, so why didn't he come on retirement visa? 

 

Deport! 

Perhaps he only planned for 3 or 4 months stay. A  60 day Tourist Visa, 30 Day Extension and possibly a Visa run to give him 3 or 4 months.

 

And why would you want to deport him. He hasn't done anything wrong.

[Poet]

11 minutes ago, CorpusChristie said:

Its quite possible to get long term visas for less than 100 Baht per day , all inclusive  

Yes, I have heard that you can buy a volunteer visa under the table for around 35k per year, which is indeed around 100 Baht per day.

[CorpusChristie]

1 minute ago, Poet said:

Yes, I have heard that you can buy a volunteer visa under the table for around 35k per year, which is indeed around 100 Baht per day.

Which can be reduced to about 50 Baht per day for subsequent years 

[Zikomat]

Looks like another amnesty is unavoidable.

[Oldie]

10 minutes ago, roger101 said:

Perhaps he only planned for 3 or 4 months stay. A  60 day Tourist Visa, 30 Day Extension and possibly a Visa run to give him 3 or 4 months.

 

And why would you want to deport him. He hasn't done anything wrong.

The immigration clearly said that people who can leave have to leave. And now Bernhard does not want to listen. I think we all should accept that most Thais have nothing to do with us. We are NOT SO important. Mass tourism yes but not some stranded tourists who are stranded because they don't want to accept decisions the government made. If he continues like this then he will be on overstay and then he will be deported. Hope he doesn't complain then like many other overstayers... 

[Berti]

How did he survive up to now in Germany, a country with a highly developed social system and one of the best healthcare systems in the world?

 

It is disgusting to see a grown up man begging to bend the rules for him like a little puppy.

[GeorgeCross]

i 100% support his actions

 

once his new 'visa' or whatever, is granted, then the curtesy can be extended to the rest of us!

 

no more long stay (or short stay) visas

 

hoo-rah!

 

 

[Zikomat]

1 minute ago, GeorgeCross said:

i 100% support his actions

 

 

Me too

[CorpusChristie]

3 minutes ago, Berti said:

How did he survive up to now in Germany, a country with a highly developed social system and one of the best healthcare systems in the world?

 

It is disgusting to see a grown up man begging to bend the rules for him like a little puppy.

Embarrassing to see the deceit , groveling and begging  as well