Many farang must leave their families, friends and Thailand

[finnsk]

Many farang are living here on non O ME, which means they had to make a border run every 3 month and do not need to meet financial requirements.

They are now caught in the covid restrictions, they can not make border runs and many of them can not change to meet the financial requirements with 400/800 kbaht in bank or pension/income at 40/65 kbaht pr month.

They where legal here before the covid, in this moment they only have one thing to do after the end of the amnesty, leave their families, friends and Thailand.

It is a very unlucky situation to many people.

Thailand will miss income from these people.

These people will not come back under the covid restrictions, it is simply to expensive, to flight out/in to born country under covid ticket prices and to come back with 2-3 weeks quaranetine in state controlled hotels, insurances up to 50,000 baht, it will maybe cost up to 100.000 baht to get back into Thailand if you can meet the other requirements.

I have no numbers on how many people this can be, but around me here in the north it seems that I will miss around 50 % of my farang friends.

This looks to be a really loose/loose situation for all, involved people and Thailand.

 

I hope there will be another and fair solution to these people, they have planned their lives in a legal way in Thailand.

[Sheryl]

Bear in mind that while there is no law against border runs, ME visas were not designed with the intention that they would be used in that manner; they are designed for people who make multiple separate trips here, with genuine gaps in between, and the "border run" approach is basically a loophole. 

 

So no reason for Immigration to view inability to do border runs as a legitimate problem; from their standpoint people living here full time should get annual extensions of stay.  "I can't afford to meet the financial requirement"  will get zero sympathy as the government does not want retirees here who lack the minimum required funds.

[glegolo]

I dont know what kind of a crowd you are socializing with, but losing out of 50% of them because they all have Non Imm O ME, seems to me, where I live (Isaan) way different.

95% of the guys living here full time is on extensions of stay on a yearly basis nd have the pensions to do it, or income to do it....

 

I think you are overreacting a bit, and is a bit too fantasyfull in your describtion of reality...

 

glegolo

[tonray]

1 hour ago, finnsk said:

Thailand will miss income from these people.

Miss income from those who don't have savings or income to qualify for an extension  ?

[luckyluke]

5 minutes ago, glegolo said:

I dont know what kind of a crowd you are socializing with, but losing out of 50% of them...

Very relative.

3, for example, is, in essence, not that much;

but is 50% of 6.

[fishtank]

As Sheryl said, Non O Imm Visas are not designed so that people can live here full time.

If you want to live here full time get the correct Visa/Extension instead of finding loopholes.

[richard_smith237]

While there are flaws in your arguments what you point out is ultimately heart breaking and should garner a great deal of sympathy. 

 

This morning I watched a video of a father reunited with his children, arriving home after ASQ. It reminded me of how devastatingly torn apart I was when I couldn’t get home to my family. It reminded me of that day I was reunited with my Wife and Son.

 

I was one of the fortunate ones able to return to Thailand with a Non-Imm Type O Visa (based on marriage to a Thai) and secured a repatriation flight. But there is potentially a great many people slipping through the gaps, unable to get back to their families and loved ones and friends. 

 

This is devastating and more could be done to help people. The hard line and restrictions unnecessary. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[luckyluke]

5 minutes ago, tonray said:

Miss income from those who don't have savings or income to qualify for an extension  ?

A monthly income, for example, of 35000 is not enough for Immigration, but still a dream for many Thais.

[Pattaya Spotter]

23 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

Bear in mind that while there is no law against border runs, ME visas were not designed with the intention that they would be used in that manner; they are designed for people who make multiple separate trips here, with genuine gaps in between, and the "border run" approach is basically a loophole. 

 

So no reason for Immigration to view inability to do border runs as a legitimate problem; from their standpoint people living here full time should get annual extensions of stay.  "I can't afford to meet the financial requirement"  will get zero sympathy as the government does not want retirees here who lack the minimum required funds.

Agree...the presence of these foreigners in Thailand is basically illegal...it's too bad they have to learn the hard way.

[RichardColeman]

I am currently stuck outside of Thailand in the UK, away from my wife and daughter. I am in the situation of needing to return to the UK every 9 months for personal reasons for a couple of days. Now, I can return if I jumped through the hoops, and maybe even quarantining if I had to, but having to potentially do it every 9 months would make it so impracticable that waiting and saving money - if only about 100 quid a month after financing a household in thailand and a b and b in the Uk - is far more preferable than satisfying ridiculous demands like quarantining in a hotel when I have a house, that my wife could quarantine in but i can't ! 

[DrJack54]

Is 400k stuck in a Thai bank for 2 months and then able to use it, that difficult.

[Maestro]

8 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

satisfying ridiculous demands like quarantining in a hotel when I have a house, that my wife could quarantine in but i can't ! 

 

Your wife, even if she has Thai nationality, is currently not allowed to quarantine at home if she arrives from abroad.

[poohy]

I assume many people are similar to my situation, live here with long time partner in her house but i need to make yearly visits to UK for personal reasons.

This year i have put it off twice but will fly out 01 April 2021 hoping situation is normalised or quarantine is cheaper or allowed at home

If not, its  time to rest in UK for a few months and get the benefits of NHS driving licence etc..basically become resident there again

[connda]

Because this country is run by the heartless who have no compassion for the sanctity of the family, and although they call themselves "Buddhists", those who make laws affecting Thai/Foreign families unit lack even a thimble-full of compassion.  Virtually every other nation in the world recognizes the value and sanctity of The Family and as such have laws in place allowing those who are married to their citizens to eventually gain at least residency.

Thai lawmakers are an embarrassment to humanity and should be ashamed to claim that they follow the teaching of the compassionate Buddha.  Buddhists in name only at best.  Xenophobes are worst.

 

 

 

Edited September 3, 2020 by connda

[rumak]

1 hour ago, finnsk said:

I have no numbers on how many people this can be, but around me here in the north it seems that I will miss around 50 % of my farang friends.

This looks to be a really loose/loose situation for all, involved people and Thailand.

 

I hope there will be another and fair solution to these people, they have planned their lives in a legal way in Thailand.

Where are you in the North ?    curious

Also,  i agree with your post.   It is going to hurt many guys who have been living here with that Visa,

and also those out of country who want to come back.     

And please.  I can guess English is not your first language..... but so many use the spelling LOOSE instead of LOSE.     If you are going to let one loose let me know,  so i can get lost first

[ICELANDMAN]

I don't know of any country in Asia that welcomes immigrants with no money apart from Europe which is a case of the mentally ill.
These friends of yours knew the risk they were running, now crying tears doesn't move anyone.

[Daithi85]

As hard as it maybe, people need relax stay calm and probably stay off the internet for a while.bank of  of Thailand, tourism authority of Thailand,and the main man himself this week have all said Thailand is in trouble if without tourists,even the health minister had something to say.... nobody is going to be getting thrown out...in 3 weeks time the internet will be full of" thank you so much Thailand for letting us stay.;comments...????????

[whiteman]

the sky is falling get the right visa

[Pattaya Spotter]

49 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

I am currently stuck outside of Thailand in the UK, away from my wife and daughter. I am in the situation of needing to return to the UK every 9 months for personal reasons for a couple of days. Now, I can return if I jumped through the hoops, and maybe even quarantining if I had to, but having to potentially do it every 9 months would make it so impracticable that waiting and saving money - if only about 100 quid a month after financing a household in thailand and a b and b in the Uk - is far more preferable than satisfying ridiculous demands like quarantining in a hotel when I have a house, that my wife could quarantine in but i can't ! 

I have a couple friends in similar situations...stuck outside Thailand but with condos here. It's all a huge mess now trying to get back. Fortunately, the vaccines do appear to be making really good progress and may be approved and in mass production sooner than anyone expected. If so, it will change the game and things may return to "normal" sooner than expected. Just hang in there.

[Nout]

1 hour ago, tonray said:

Miss income from those who don't have savings or income to qualify for an extension  ?

Yes. Because plenty of people have more than the minimum monthly income requirement in terms of amount of money but not in the unreasonable form that IO requires.  Some people have multiple income streams not consistent with a regular monthly payment but often in excess of  it.

[nightfox]

Many guys in Thailand on a Non O multi based on marriage including me I would think have common sense to realize that time is ticking as they have to extend to permission of stay or leave Thailand. Many of those guys dont have the 400k and majority of IO wont accept the 40k 2 month income from abroad method.

 

That would mean using an fixer agent like I and many others did to secure your 12 month extension or leave Thailand. Many guys realize it will cost more to buy a ticket to leave Thailand and go back to your home country then pay the agent fee which is 25k+. 
 

All I can say the agents are doing a roaring trade these days.

[SteveK]

The visa rules and regulations are so convoluted that even the IOs don't know everything and you get different answers to questions at different offices. Seeing as there are no tourists here now, wouldn't this be a fantastic time to use all those idle hands to improve, upgrade and simplify the visa regulations? I'd gladly pay double if my marriage extension could be 6 pieces of paper instead of more than a hundred. Other countries seem to manage it.

Edited September 3, 2020 by SteveK

[Daithi85]

1 minute ago, nightfox said:

Many guys in Thailand on a Non O multi based on marriage including me I would think have common sense to realize that time is ticking as they have to extend to permission of stay or leave Thailand. Many of those guys dont have the 400k and majority of IO wont accept the 40k 2 month income from abroad method.

 

That would mean using an fixer agent like I and many others did to secure your 12 month extension or leave Thailand. Many guys realize it will cost more to buy a ticket to leave Thailand and go back to your home country then pay the agent fee which is 25k+. 
 

All I can say the agents are doing a roaring trade these days.

I wonder how Thai citizens overseas are getting on,are they also been held to Ransome and been left with no choice but to pay extortionate amounts of money to visa agents??,,,I highly doubt it 

[checkered flag]

1 hour ago, luckyluke said:

A monthly income, for example, of 35000 is not enough for Immigration, but still a dream for many Thais.

Need to use money in the bank option then. If you bought a house and car you made the wrong choices.

[john terry1001]

2 minutes ago, nightfox said:

Many guys in Thailand on a Non O multi based on marriage including me I would think have common sense to realize that time is ticking as they have to extend to permission of stay or leave Thailand. Many of those guys dont have the 400k and majority of IO wont accept the 40k 2 month income from abroad method

Although there have been reports of the occasional use, it has never been a legal option to show just two 40k transfers to get a twelve month extension.

 

So, once you've used the illegal agent method to obtain your twelve month extension I hope you have the common sense to bring your income of at least 40k into Thailand every single month to be able to show twelve monthly transfers for next years extension.  

[Matzzon]

@Sheryl Spot on. Great explanation!

 

Also to move abroad and start a life in another country with a family and children, that could be the only reason it´s hard for some people right now, must be considered irresponsible without having the money to even meet the financial for a sure and problem free stay in Thailand. The requirements are not high at all. Only 400 000 baht for stay as married or have children. In my opinion you must have at least 5 times that to be able to provide security to your family in life. With that said, there is no possibility to complain about currency exchange value either. Nobody lost 80% yet!

[Phillip9]

32 minutes ago, ICELANDMAN said:

I don't know of any country in Asia that welcomes immigrants with no money

If you are married, I would bet there are lots of countries in Asia that have no income requirement.  Philippines for one, I know has no income or proof of money requirement if you are married to a filipina.

Edited September 3, 2020 by Phillip9

[473geo]

Seriously, there is an option to not have to travel out of the country and return, this option costs less than 50k baht and there are people highlighting this and others refusing to utilise it

 

Are you mad!!!

[treetops]

21 minutes ago, Nout said:

Yes. Because plenty of people have more than the minimum monthly income requirement in terms of amount of money but not in the unreasonable form that IO requires.  Some people have multiple income streams not consistent with a regular monthly payment but often in excess of  it.

Yet they don't have the brains to consolidate that income somewhere and bring it in to Thailand in a way that does satisfy IO requirements?

[john terry1001]

9 minutes ago, Daithi85 said:

I wonder how Thai citizens overseas are getting on,are they also been held to Ransome and been left with no choice but to pay extortionate amounts of money to visa agents??,,,I highly doubt it 

At least Thailand  have given people with short stay visas a free amnesty, the UK haven't. My wife's cousin has been there for nearly a year now on a tourist visa. Thai border lockdown occurred just before her six months were up and, she says, she can't get back yet. Don't know how true that is but she certainly hasn't been given a legal amnesty to stay longer.